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CORNERSTONE INN continued from 51
Together, they began expanding beyond the inn’ s original footprint, buying up adjacent properties, in part to be able to offer more parking in the tight downtown.
The couple launched one of their most ambitious projects in 2011 when Bruce Gould retired from the post office.
The evening he retired, the couple went for a walk and sauntered over to the log cabin he had long had an eye on. They looked in the window. The cabin was falling in and appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry.
Pam spotted a piece of paper sticking in the door, and saw it was regarding a sheriff’ s sale for the property. It required more than $ 100,000 in cash, but the couple took the piece of paper as a sign.“ It was a big leap of faith for us,” she said. But she also joked that the couple needed to buy something to keep him busy in retirement.
The cabin proved to be a good fit. It needed new flooring, foundation work, windows, plumbing, a kitchen and other things.“ It needed everything,” Bruce said. Nine months later, the couple moved to another property they owned in town and offered the renovated log cabin to tourists.
52 Our Brown County • Nov./ Dec. 2026
The cabin helped expand the Goulds’ portfolio beyond the original inn and reflected an effort to cater to different customers. As travelers increasingly sought larger spaces, fireplaces, hot tubs and gathering areas, the couple continued adapting. In their main building, they repeatedly combined smaller rooms into larger suites, while other properties were renovated to offer the kinds of amenities modern visitors expect.
Another fixer-upper the couple purchased in 2005 had been vacant for five years. The roof leaked, the plumbing was shot and a strong draft moved the curtains. Behind the kitchen cabinets, they found a possum skeleton. That killed the couple’ s plan to immediately move into the house.
Instead, they gutted the house and started over, adding new drywall, wiring, plumbing, heating and cooling.
The couple usually have a good idea as to how much it will cost to make a space livable, but as they get into a project, costs
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