Yurkovics At The Lake
To the best of my recollection, this is how the Yurkovics got to Duck Harbor Pond.
As a child, I remember going to some lake far away with my family and with my uncle Jack Crambo’s family to visit friends of his from Throop, Pennsylvania. I think the people we visited were in the old Repchak cottage and Lenny Borden’s cottage. This was in the very early 1960s. They finished building our cottage in 1963.
At first, the only friends I had there were my cousins, the Crambos (Carol, Ronnie, Johnny, Paul, and Stanley). The older ones hung around together, and my cousin Johnny and I were always together. Soon afterward, I met Jimmy McMyne, and we became what was to be lifelong friends. Sometime thereafter, we made friends with the Faists, Brown/Jerseys, Von Ohlsons, Shots, Ferns, Howardths, Farrells, and Millers. Sadly, some of them have since passed away, but the friendships are long-lasting to this day with many of them.
We spent the summer together year after year. A typical day included boating up, down, and around the lake seemingly all day long. Back in those days, there were no time restrictions, so we often skied early in the morning and later in the evening, trying to find very still water. We would try riding pretty much anything that floated—especially the plain old inner tube—or nothing at all but our bare feet. We skied behind Jim’s dad’s boat (35 hp) or Mr. Faist’s boat, also 35 hp. Jimmy’s dad converted Jim's boat to one with a bow, windshield, and steering wheel. At that point in time, a 35 hp motorboat was the fastest boat on the lake. That slowly increased to 50 hp and then a fast 95 hp boat. Today, there seems to be no limit.
Nights included walks up to the fields, apple orchard, or down to Bob Teeple near the sawmill, where we would sometimes get to help milk the cows or help him hay. We even took nighttime walks up to the camps (Rosemont/Roselake, as they were called then). On our way to church on Sunday morning, we would leave an empty milk bottle at the milk house in Bob Teeple’s barn and pick up our fresh milk after Mass. Eggs were easy to get—just a short boat ride across the lake to get some from the Schnakenbergs.
A memorable occasion was in 1969 when man first landed on the moon. A lot of kids came to our cottage to watch the landing live on TV. I don’t remember exactly who was there or how many, but there were a lot of people, and it was a very exciting time.
Jim and I would sometimes walk to the sawmill and sit on the logs piled up across the road from it and talk. It was there in the summer of 1973 when he told me there was this nice girl he wanted me to meet. Later, he introduced me to Michaeline. We set up a double date for our first date. Things went very well, and Michaeline and I ended up getting married in 1976. Jimmy was in our wedding. I am forever grateful to Jim for introducing me to the love of my life.
It was through Jim that we met Skip and Elaine and many of you who may be reading this. Interestingly enough, it was my wife Michaeline who introduced Skip to the woman he would later marry.
Starting in the mid-’80s, our children Candi and Jeff started enjoying the lake. They too have many fond memories, and now they are bringing their children who, as many of you know, are very much enjoying it.
It is wonderful to watch our grandchildren enjoying it so much. It’s great to see them having fun fishing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding. At the end of the day, we all enjoy sitting around the campfire talking, roasting marshmallows or hot dogs, or making s’mores. It’s wonderful knowing our grandchildren are making such great memories of their own, just as their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents did. I’m sure the enjoyment at the lake will be a lifelong memory for them to share too.
As I think about it, this is how it was when I was growing up—only now we get to enjoy it again, but this time from the parents’ and grandparents’ side.
