As my brother and I were sitting and sipping
coffee at our cabin on Whidbey Island, we started laughing as the screen door
slammed noisily. We both felt so
nostalgic for our youthful Aberdeen summer days spent at the family cabin on
Richmond Lake. We have always felt so
fortunate to have had those days. Our
cabin was far from fancy, rather it was a cabin that the family built
together. I recall helping my parents
with the project when I was
only about seven.
Initially there were no trees on the lot as it was among one of the
earlier cabins and most of the cabins were small weekend places. My parents put
a lot of sweat into making a fun retreat that we would use during the summer
months. We would wake up, put on our
swimsuits, play all day, and then change into our pajamas at night. The days were full of many outdoor activities
such as boating, skiing, swimming off big inner tubes, fishing, playing hide
and seek, volleyball, etc There were lightening bugs which we would put in a
jar. We were always barefoot and sometimes too sunburnt. Often we would play on
the spillway and were so fortunate that we never fell in. Sometimes the lake
would turn a mucky green due to algae, but we would swim anyway. Our parents
had a fairly open door invitation for friends as they loved to have the cabin
filled with friends and laughter. There were baskets that contained orphaned
swimsuits, sunglasses, and towels which guests could always use. And they did.
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| Whidbey Island |
In high school there were times that I felt
that I might be missing out on some of the mischievous summer fun in town. We
heard that friends were tee-peeing each others homes in town so some of
Richmond lake classmates had to try it too, however we were caught, had to
clean the cabin, and decided that was not much fun after all. 
Our 'wild adventures' also included sneaking into the Youth Camp, ringing the large camp dinner bell, and then escaping by boat.
I know that both my brother and I have always wanted
to find that "lake life" quality again. Now we have an old, funky cabin on Whidbey
Island in Washington state. The floor is
uneven. It is decorated with hand me down, thrift store and/or garage sale
furniture and other items. There are
tables, hutches, wicker chairs, etc. that we brought here from Aberdeen. Many items are from farm auctions that Mom
and Dad used to go to. Nothing is fancy
and we don't want it that way. Many
classmates have asked me to describe the island. Whidbey is a beautiful place
to spend time., particularly in the summer.
It has wonderful quaint port towns, farmer's markets, barn tours, garden
tours, fun restaurants, beaches, blackberry bushes, etc. It is not quite the
same as the lake life we
grew up with, but we do love it and the friends we
have made here. It all takes me back to my fun days growing up on the lake in
South Dakota with friends and family...especially sitting sipping coffee and
hearing the slamming porch door.
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| Flower Power Carole |
There are many of you classmates that have also spent or
still do spend summers on a lake in the Aberdeen area. Or perhaps you have a
memory of a summer at camp, playing at a local park or at the municipal
pool. Perhaps you were a lifeguard, a
camp counselor, or had another fun summer job.
We would love to hear your stories. Please share your memories from the
early days in Aberdeen or consider telling us your more current stories,
travels, hobbies, or adventures. We hope you might have something to share in
our blog. It is so easy to do if you are interested. Simply email Terry. He can do the rest.
2 comments:
Carole, You and John Hendrickson were the ones who introduced me to Richmond Lake. Unbelievably, I had never been out there. I have such warm memories of the lake that summer of my senior year. I remember that your Dad had one of the first pontoon boats on he lake (now they are more popular than speedboats), a home-made model built by his good friend Lloyd Fluke, with old oil barrels welded together. I remember John Hendrickson and John Ridgeway trying to teach me how to waterski. I remember when we swam at your cabin, Bud would have all of us line up and pick up sharp rocks from the swimming area, as our little contribution to upkeep. I remember having lunch with you and your folks in the bright lakeside frontroom of the cabin--Ruth decorating the table with just the right touch of colorful wildflowers. They made me feel so welcome and grown up. I remember picking you up in the old rusty pickup to go to the American Legion races (we got my Dad to put our money on the horses). Your folks truly did share their cabin, and I would guess that it was the source of warm memories for many of your friends. The beautiful trees that we enjoy on the way to the dam and the spillway were planted by Bud--maybe with the help of you and Butch?
When I was at USD, my Dad bought a cabin on Richmond, and after Susie and I got married in 1975, we bought it from him, winterized it, and lived there for the first three years of our marriage (we had one floor furnace and a fireplace to heat the place). We then kept it for our family, and my kids grew up on the lake. It was a rite of Spring for my sons, Alex and Patrick, to camouflage themselves, and sneak into the girl scout camp to ring the bell. My good friend, and our classmate, Jerry McNeary bought a place right next to ours, and our children grew up virtually as brothers and sisters. After Jerry died (he had a heart attack at the lake, and he died as I drove him into town), his wife, Cathy sold the house in town and moved to the Lake. Now our daughter, Caroline, and her husband and four children bought and remodeled an old cabin one lot from ours, and the two cabins combined are a treat for all six of our kids and our 13 grandkids, who are at the lake many weekends. I putz around in the garden, read, and just slow down--taking in the beauty of God's creation around me.
So, Carole, thank you for introducing me to Richmond Lake. It's been at the center of our lives, and probably will be of our children.
Rory.
This is a test blog to show how to do it
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