Tom Diehl, who ran the Tommy Bartlett Show for more than four decades and spent most of his life pushing for Wisconsin Dells, died Aug. 29 after a long illness. He was 79.
He was a husband, father and grandfather first. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, his children Jill and Jeffrey, and seven grandchildren. Plenty of people in the Dells will mourn him.
This is a look back at Tom Diehl the civic leader.
The show
Diehl joined the Tommy Bartlett organization in 1967 and became its president in 1978. He later became co-owner of the water-ski, sky and stage show on Lake Delton, which Tommy Bartlett started in 1952.
The pandemic ended its run. Diehl canceled the 2020 season in May of that year, putting 115 seasonal workers out of their summer jobs. That September, he announced the show would not come back.
“Each fall, we begin to plan for the next season, and with so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the pandemic and travel, we cannot undergo additional financial risk and investment to beginning planning for summer 2021,” Diehl said then.
The show had lasted 69 years. The Tommy Bartlett Exploratory stayed open.
Village hall
Diehl served on the Lake Delton Village Board from 1981 to 1991 and again from 2001 until his death. That is more than 30 years as a trustee.
He backed the state’s first room tax in 1969 and the Premier Resort Area Tax in 1997. Those taxes paid for tourism promotion and the roads, police and fire service a resort town needs.
Lake Delton breached and drained on June 9, 2008, threatening the businesses that depend on it. Diehl served on the leadership committee for the lake’s restoration. Refilling started that December, and the lake was back by Memorial Day 2009.
Statewide
Diehl’s work reached well past the Dells. He chaired the Governor’s Council on Tourism from 1986 to 1999 and led the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau as president from 1982 to 1997. He founded the Association of Wisconsin Tourism Attractions and sat on the board of the Wisconsin Tourism Federation.
In 2006, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work advancing Wisconsin tourism.
The Dells today is a year-round destination built around indoor waterpark resorts. Diehl helped drive that change from the village board table and the halls of the Capitol.
A celebration of life is set for 3 to 7 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Kilimanjaro Ballroom at Kalahari Resort.
