MONROE - It's not always 2016 on Skinner Hollow Road. You might find an artifact or two, and the resident who's been on his 300-acre property since the mid-1970s may be donning a linen shirt and breech cloth and talking fur trade.

What was once the land of an old Native American trail now sits the home of Dennis Oostdik, a man who raised his family, built his own business and hung on to the core values and concepts of the past.

Oostdik was born in Monroe as the oldest of three boys. He fondly remembers swimming at Recreation Park, playing ball and shooting bow and arrows in the summertime. The family lived on the east side, and they looked forward to the annual fair's games and the rides, and then collecting the pop bottles to turn in for deposit at the local grocery store.

Oostdik said he enjoyed school, played football and served as the president of the Industrial Arts Club. His father was a part-owner in one of the bigger Monroe construction companies, and the boys were always welcome alongside him in his shop.

"In some ways I'm mimicking my dad, I think," Oostdik said.

The 1966 Monroe High School graduate said he didn't really have a plan after graduation but with Vietnam on the horizon, he felt he should go to college so he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He had dreams of becoming an architect, but Platteville didn't offer that program. He first majored in civil engineering but missed the hands-on atmosphere he enjoyed so much.

He took several drafting courses and enjoyed metals and woodworking. He was good at math, which helped, and in 1971 Oostdik graduated from UW-P with a degree in industrial technology with an emphasis in design.

After he married his wife, Diana, Oostdik landed his first job in Milwaukee as a package designer. His job was much more than design, and Oostdik worked with each of the teams in the business to ensure everything would work with costs, the products and the machines that made them.

The job was stressful, but Oostdik enjoyed the work.

After two years, his father-in-law passed away and the couple felt Monroe would be a better place to raise a family. They moved to the country where Diana's father had lived, to an old farmhouse on about 300 acres.

"We were more alone in the big city than we are out here," Oostdik said.

Oostdik worked for a couple years at Industrial Combustion in Monroe in the design and drafting department. He then left to work for his father at Bruni-Miller Construction, where he worked for six years, even buying in as a partner.

But his real love was still in architecture - he had even attempted to go back to school, but as a non-traditional student got rejected for being too big of a risk.

It was then that Oostdik decided to go out on his own, offering architecture for residential and commercial businesses. Things started slow. He worked for local architect John Bruni for a couple years until he got more work on his own.

"I was finally doing what I loved," he said. "I loved drawing. I loved being mechanical."

Oostdik treasured the work and enjoyed the people and businesses he worked with, but when retirement came, he was ready, and after 34 years, he was done in 2014.

Retirement gave him more time to focus on some lifelong hobbies, including one that takes him back in time regularly.

After becoming interested in a black powder antique long rifle, Oostdik's interest in fur trading was piqued. He began participating in re-enactments and rendezvous. He soon became a founding member of the Yellowstone Flint and Cap Club and currently serves as its president.

He's always had a deep appreciation for early Wisconsin history and his interest increased rapidly as he learned more about American Indians, fur trading and life before the 1640s. Oostdik also has been involved with shooting, tomahawk, and bow and arrow contests and enjoys talking to people about the Bloody Lake encampment.

When Oostdik finds something interesting, he doesn't just learn about it or purchase a replica. There's always a strong urge to figure out exactly how it was made - and then he does it himself. What was once his work office is now filled with furs, bow and arrows, arrowheads and even bowls - most made the same way people made them hundreds of years ago.

"It's almost like I would have loved to live then," he said with a smile. "But they didn't live very long."

While studying more of the local land and its past, Oostdik soon realized that his home sits on what used to be an old American Indian trail. It wasn't long before he was finding arrowheads on his property, some more than 12,000 years old.

He may have modern tools and running water, but Oostdik has become fascinated with the past and attends rendezvous all over the area. He dresses in period clothing, stays in a teepee and has made great friendships along the way. He's been attending now for 36 years.

Oostdik has shared his interest with several school children and groups - his wife was Monroe's longtime librarian and that made it easy to present to fourth-grade classes. He often walked in parades and still sets up at the Winslow Antique Days.

But his interests don't stop there. Oostdik has been involved with the Monroe Arts Center for the past 22 years and serves on the buildings and grounds committee. He had a strong interest in the old MAC building and has helped with repairs. He's even done two gallery shows there, sharing his sculptures, custom handmade knives and intriguing woodworking pieces.

Often, an interest sparks something inside Oostdik and his immense curiosity takes over. He said he has a need to know how things are made.

"The urge to understand and learn how things work is in me," he said, knowingly.

Oostdik took a quick interest in flying, took a couple of pilot classes and eventually purchased an ultralight aircraft. The eight-year hobby was something that made him appreciate the wide-open sky. He has sold the plane in the past couple of years because he wasn't using it as much.

He also spent 12 years on the ski patrol in Mt. Horeb as a first responder. He wanted his family to be able to ski, and he was happy to take his family on vacations where they would enjoy the slopes. He also spent 12 years teaching hunter safety and still sometimes hunts with his long barrel rifle.

Oostdik enjoys his home and tending to his land. He makes maple syrup from the soft maple trees and finds solace knowing he is using his land the way it was meant to be used.

He and Diana have been to Switzerland three times, although neither of them are Swiss. They have enjoyed traveling all over the United States, visiting several national parks and everything in Wisconsin. Oostdik often seeks out the historical sites and fur trades along the way.

The couple has three children and three grandchildren, with one on the way. They enjoy spending time with family, and he fishes with his brother.

No matter what Oostdik is doing, he enjoys devoting his time and energy to it. And although he's mimicking simpler times, he's often fond of saying "nothing is simple."