S. Blaze and Jean Cunningham have owned Crystal Cave since 1986.  Prior to becoming owners, the Cunninghams worked as mineral and oil and gas exploration geologists for Exxon, Gulf Oil Corporation and Chevron Corporation.  Blaze, originally from San Antonio, Texas, graduated from Texas Tech, Lubbock, Texas and attended University of Houston for graduate work.  Jean, a native of western Wisconsin, graduated from University of Wisconsin-River Falls and University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.  Both have had a life-long association with caves.  Blaze began exploring caves in high school while Jean’s first job was as a tour guide at Crystal Cave.  The couple live on the property along with their teenaged son, Samuel, also intimately involved in the operation of the cave.

Crystal Cave was developed, or commercialized by Henry A. Friede, an advertising agency manager and amateur geologist from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  Mr. Friede had been interested in caves for some time and had studied many possible sites in the Spring Valley/Elmwood/Plum City area, hoping for a discovery equal to that of Blue Mounds (now Cave of the Mounds) or the caves near Harmony, Minnesota (Mystery Cave and Niagara Cave).  The most likely prospect was Sander’s Corner Cave. a quarter mile south of the junction of State Highway 29 and County “H” (now County CC).  Work began during the week of November 2, 1941 on the first and second levels.  By November 20, 1941, six men worked daily using a drag line to remove the silt and debris filling the cave.  It was during this same time that Alvin Peterson began developing plans for the entrance building.

By early April, 1942, much of the debris had been removed and construction was begun on an entrance building.  Arthur Maher, from Durand, Wisconsin, was hired as stone mason.  At that time, plans called for a building measuring 52’ x 30’, built from “loose fragments of dolomite removed from the cave, and will be of one story with a full basement.  An easy series of stairways will lead from the basement to the first and to the second and third levels below.  The basement will be used to display the numerous minerals, rocks, and fossils found at the cave site...”.  (Taken from the “Sun”, April 23, 1942.)  The cave itself had a reported 1101 linear feet of passageway open to the public at a depth of 81 feet.  The April 23, 1942 “Sun” reported opening day as sometime in June of that year.  In conversation with Mrs. Henry Friede, original plans were to have a “Memorial Day Weekend Grand Opening!”.

There are no newspaper accounts of opening day.  On Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30, 1942 the area received 8” of rain in 30 hours causing massive flooding of Spring Valley (water depths of six feet and more almost destroyed the newspaper office).  Mr. Friede was forced to delay opening weekend until June 7, 1942 when, according to the September 15, 1942 “Wisconsin REA News”, “four thousand people visited the opening”.
 
Construction of the building continued throughout 1942.  The “Assembly Room” had been completed and was used as a curio and souvenir shop. The REA News article mentioned a separate opening providing an exit from the  cave but no more information can be found on these plans.  Photographs of building construction show completion during the summer of 1944.  Sometime between summer 1942 and summer 1944, an apartment was added to the building plans increasing the size to 80’ x 30’. 

Mr. and Mrs. Friede continued to operate the cave making it a well-known local attraction.  A few years after opening, the Assembly Room was  converted into a restaurant where such (in)famous people as Joseph P. McCarthy dined (September 3, 1951).

As successful as the business was, Mr. and Mrs. Friede sold the cave in June, 1957 to Mr. and Mrs. William Moe of Minneapolis.  Mr. and Mrs. Moe continued to operate the cave as a highly successful enterprise until it was sold in December, 1975 to Glenn Buss of Prescott, Wisconsin.  Mr. Buss, unable to maintain the high level of operation, returned the business to the Moes in 1983.  Mr. and Mrs. Moe, again, sold Crystal Cave to Blaze and Jean Cunningham in December, 1986.  Blaze and Jean, geologists by training, continue to operate the cave as an underground educational facility.

Beginning in 1992, major exploration began in the cave.  Following a major breakthrough made by Blaze Cunningham and Nathan Carlson, the Minnesota Speleological Survey (MSS) led by David Gerboth, has almost tripled the length of the known cave.  A new survey of the cave is in progress, spearheaded by John Lavass and Dawn Ryan, members of the Wisconsin Speleological Society (WSS).  Data collected from this survey will be incorporated into the most detailed map of Crystal Cave to date.

Exploration of the cave by Dave Gerboth, (MSS) continues from April through October with new footage being discovered almost weekly.  A second cave, Fuzzy Critter Cave, has also been discovered and is currently being explored by father-son team Allen and Chris Lewerer (MSS).  In addition, Hank Boudinot (MSS) and Evelyn Townsend (MSS) also provide assistance to the project.