Through God’s intervention and guidance, the Braeuners have owned and managed The Riverside Motel and Mallards’ Landing in Hayward, Wis., since 1995.

“Was du nicht willst das man dir tut, das fug auch keinem anderen zu.”

Corinne Scott / Living Stones News/address> Elisabeth and Horst Braeuner have owned and operated The Riverside Motel in Hayward since 1995.

That sentence in the German language basically means to “treat other people the way you would want to be treated.” But German-born Horst and Elisabeth Braeuner, owners of The Riverside Motel and Mallards’ Landing in Hayward, Wis., take it a bit further and believe “it is better to treat others better than yourself.”

This Biblical philosophy has guided the Braeuners for the past 16 years as they have managed their family-friendly motel. Elisabeth said they don’t just check people in and check them out, they make their customers’ stay personal.

“We visit with the people,” she said. “We ask where they are going and who they are visiting. We have many reunions. We’re a great place for a reunion.”

Paula Gallagher of Southern California recently sent the Braeuners a thank-you note after a family reunion: “Thank ya for taking care of me and my big family while we were in Hayward. We all miss being there. Now we are all spread out again. … God bless ya both. Love — Paula Gallagher.”

Hayward’s motto is “Where Dreams Come True.” Horst, 68, and Elisabeth’s, 60, dream of owning their own business came true in 1995 when they purchased The Riverside Motel, peacefully overlooking the Namekagon River/Lake Hayward and within walking distance of downtown Hayward.

The Riverside Motel, consisting of 10 rooms, was built in 1953 by Harry Watral. In 1970, five larger rooms overlooking the river were added. After the Braeuners bought the motel, they added six deluxe German log cabins overlooking the Namekagon River and named them Mallard’s Landing.

Elisabeth said these cabins were designed and custom built in Germany and shipped to the United States. Two German carpenters constructed the cabins in Hayward, and Horst built some of the wooden furniture. Mallards’ Landing opened in January 2000, offering hotel amenities in a more rustic, natural environment, but still within the city limits and walking distance to downtown.

“We recently converted Mallards’ Landing log cabins to six condominium cabins and four waterfront building lots,” Elisabeth said. “The cabins are now offered for rent or for sale.” Summers are the busiest time for the Braeuners. People come from all over the U.S. and overseas. However, Hayward’s many events and local attractions fill the motel year round. Just one event, the American Birkebeiner, which is made up of several ski events, draws about 10,000 skiers.

“People come to the Birkebeiner from as far away as Australia, France, Czechoslovakia and Germany,” Elisabeth said. “It is a great celebration, very organized like clockwork with many
volunteers. All the town turns out to cheer the skiers.”

The Braeuners, who attend the Hayward Wesleyan Church, seek to apply Christian principles to their daily decisions. They said there are challenges every day in a business — little ones and big ones — and it takes faith to meet them and learn from them.

“We are not perfect,” Elisabeth said. “We don’t have it all figured out. We don’t hit people over the head with the Bible.”

Horst said he grew up in a Baptist church in Germany and attended the youth group there.

“When I came to Chicago in 1964 for an adventure at age 21, I stayed with a family from the German-speaking Baptist church that sponsored me,” Horst said. “I was baptized in 1965.”

Horst took a leave of absence from his job and went back to Germany to marry Elisabeth. She came to the U.S. in 1977 and attended the Baptist church.

“I had a Catholic background,” Elisabeth said. “Horst introduced me to his Baptist friends, and I saw a difference. I decided to believe Jesus died for me.”

The Braeuners believe the reason they came to own The Riverside Motel and Mallards’ Landing is the promise that “God provides.”

One of the reasons Horst first came to America was to have his own business. He said he always wanted to own a small hotel or motel. Prior to running the motel in Hayward, the Braeuners owned The Old World Craft Shoppe and Galerie in Barrington, Ill. One of their customers urged the Braeuners to travel to Hayward to a visit a woodcarver who made beautiful carvings with a chain saw. Elisabeth said they made the trip to Hayward, found the woodcarver and purchased a bear for their store.

“While we were in Hayward, we inquired about how much it would cost to own a motel there,” Elisabeth said. “We discovered The Riverside Motel but didn’t have the money to buy it.

“My husband said the only way this would work is for the owner of The Riverside Motel to trade for our business in Barrington.”

That’s exactly what happened. The owners traded The Riverside Motel for the Braeuners’ craft store in Barrington. And, as it worked out, the truck that moved the motel owners to Barrington was used to move the Braeuners to Hayward!

“Because of the way everything came together, we believed the promise that God provides,” Elisabeth said. “With His help, we had come this far, and looking back, it couldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

The Braeuners have The Riverside Motel and Mallards’ Landing for sale. After 16 years in the motel business, they would like their Sundays back. They have no plans after that other than staying to train the new owners.

The Riverside Motel

Address: 10429 N. State Road 27, Hayward, Wis., Phone number: (715) 634-2661, Website: www.riversidemotelhayward.com, E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text2923 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mallards’ Landing

Phone number: (715) 634-0910, Website: www.mallardslandinghayward.com, E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text70703 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it