Melissa Tlachac Memorial

Next time you are heading south on the boardwalk (by Youth Club), take a moment to observe the first light post you encounter. Funds for the post were donated by the Algoma High School class of ’89 in memory of their classmate, Melissa Tlachac, who was killed by a drunk driver in the backseat of her mother’s van on March 23, 1996.

Missy was born February 27, 1971 to her parents Steve and Pam Tlachac. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and graduated in 1993 and became a social worker in the Green Bay area. According to her mother, Pam, being a social worker was her dream job. Melissa was engaged and she and her fiancé were planning a wedding for May 1997. Missy, her mother, sister Jamie, and friend Michelle were bridesmaid dress shopping at the time of the accident.

The touching tribute of donating for a lamp post in Melissa’s memory by her classmates wasn’t the only way Missy’s legacy has been cemented. She has a brick at the Algoma Visitor Center and the Firemen’s Memorial. Pam recalls the incredible support the community gave to her and family during their grieving, “the bank I worked at closed down for the funeral….I had a pack of 500 stamps for thank you notes and ran out…” Pam remarked that while Algoma had always been her home, she knew she was living in the right place after the outpouring of support.

Friends of Crescent Beach is an all-volunteer organization working to research and compile information about the history of the boardwalk through interviews, newspaper clippings and records. If you have information you would like to add, please let us know by submitting through this link. We are collecting historical information, photographs, and personal stories of the boardwalk. If you would like to donate to preserving the boardwalk for another 25 years, please visit our donation page.