I promised to continue the cottage saga. We had just sold the first cottage we and “we were moving on up to the east side”. It was 1983. There was a sitcom called the Jeffersons in the 70’s that had a family moving up to the affluent east side of New York. The “moving on up” music still haunts me.
No, we hadn’t hit it big financially but the equity built up in the first cottage helped make the second cottage more palatable. It had one of the best locations on Crystal Lake. Great lake frontage. We had one of the few boat houses on the lake (new construction was not allowed). Being on the east side of the lake (technically the north-east), the winds moved sand to the lake front so we had a sandy beach. The cottage itself was old and needed lots of help. We considered tearing it down and rebuilding something more substancial but we lacked one thing. Money!
Did I mention when we moved up to the east side we inherited new neighbors. On the one side were the Yankes. Marge had a limitless supply of bathing suits for every occasion. Lance had a neverending supply of cold martini’s. Good friends.
On the other side we had Floyd. Yes sir! Mr. Congeniality. I know that we have pictures of Floyd raking weeds and debris from his lake front onto our beach so that we would have to get rid of it. I know that Christopher, who is a forgiving soul, had heated arguments with good old Floyd. It didn’t change anything but Chris felt better.
Since it was 1983, Debbie was in Milwaukee with husband Lee, Kelly was going to school in Madison, Chris was hauling something and Paul would have been 11 years old and Margaret 6. The three older kids were visitors but for Paul and Margaret it became part of their lifestyle.
The cottage itself was seasonal. It had a sandpoint for a water supply and heat was electric. We would close it down from November through March.
The first thing I did (alone) was tow the raft that Grandpa George had built across the lake from the old to the new cottage. Because it was so big and heavy, it was awkward to anchor and keep from drifting. So I decided to take raft apart, nail by nail, board by board. It took me 8-10 hours to disassemble. I put the treated boards behind the cottage where they sat for 5-6 years. I gave the boards to Christopher (or he took them). He reminded recently that he used the boards to build a deck on the back of his house and they are still being used. Grandpa George’s raft is now Grandpa George’s deck.
The gold-flecked glastron boat looked great moored to our long pier. It almost appeared like we belonged.
I will say that that day we closed the deal to purchase 192 Crystal Lake Drive, I remember the drive out to Crystal Lake to look at the new property. It was Mom, Paul, Margaret, and myself. It was a warm sunny summer day. I had the keys. It was exciting.
I’d like to say that there was a lot of insight of purchasing a cottage for an investment but that never entered my mind. It was a place that the family could enjoy in the summer. It conjured up thoughts of fun and fantasy.
Let the fun begin! Next time? The personal stories. You are invited to e-mail your good memories.
Love,
Dad