2
12
104
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/44900dcfff5e081bcbc257fb5f7fea5e.jpg
5d7aeeefed0495024d6b1ebb223c7f80
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-LordB_Snowy-Beach
Title
A name given to the resource
Snowy Beach
Description
An account of the resource
Page from Bob Lord's family phtograph album with three photos. In the top, a woman in a puffy jacket stands next to her son in front of the water. Snow covers the ground. The bottom left picture shows the snowy waterfront and various fowl that sit on the beach. The bottom right image is another shot of the mother and son hugging on the beach, this time shot vertically.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Families
Beaches
Ducks
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e2c99fc4b10cef029b37dd66d1736105.jpg
0c3a8b7426fc929980cd5058d5467f47
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-LordB_Beach-Days
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1978-07
Title
A name given to the resource
Beach days
Description
An account of the resource
Page from Bob Lord's family photograph album with four photos of a woman in a kitchen, children in a school recital, and people on the beach. The photos have yellowed with age and have "JUL 78" stamped in the corners.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Families
Children
Beaches
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b81e72f568d04ab1ed9c18779a7f0152.jpg
a7942b4dcbc8cad560ae82a8d48762c3
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-LordB_A-Snowy-July
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1978-07
Title
A name given to the resource
A snowy July
Description
An account of the resource
Page from Bob Lord's family photograph album with four photos depicting snow on the ground near homes and the beach. The photos have yellowed with age and have "JUL 78" stamped in the corners.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0fad1024f91c418f0afbf1d686e0989a.jpg
239e7fa7435919f373e26635b6de96fe
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-Heuchan_Visiting-from-Kentucky
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1930
Title
A name given to the resource
Visiting from Kentucky
Description
An account of the resource
A photo of a woman in what appears to be a bathing suit in front of two houses taped to a piece of paper. Above the picture, someone wrote “Taken in front of what used to be called “Maisonette” on left, current [unknown] cottage on right. McVea store was on east side of Lakeshore here.” Below the photo, it reads “1929-1930 Becky Talbot, visiting vonBrechts from Bardstown, KY.”
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Outdoor recreation
Beaches
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f3708b1ffadb9279fbd9cab50248a8fb.jpg
59bef1aeffb416c8f7f2ab7b748ea59d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-Heuchan_Beach-Umbrella
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1923
Title
A name given to the resource
Beach Umbrella
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph of two women and a man on a beach in front of an umbrella that is taped to a piece of paper. The younger woman and man appear to be in swim gear, while the older woman is in a dress. Below, it reads: “1922-24. L. to R. “’Pete’ vonBrecht, Bertha & Charles vonBrecht.”
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Outdoor recreation
Families
Children
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/002a253315d6d5aeca1ddf525c413556.jpg
b28b96bdf31c653cb36d8c36118a98e0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-Heuchan_Beach-Fun
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1928
Title
A name given to the resource
Beach Fun
Description
An account of the resource
Hand-captioned photograph of a group of twelve on hat appears to be a beach that are posed for the image. One man holds a child in his arms, and there are personal items strewn about. At the bottom, someone crossed out 1923-24 and wrote “Oops- says 1928 on back” and then the names of the families depicted. It also reads “Same location as #1.”
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Outdoor recreation
Families
Children
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/30d509af9c69453be02242f1d3700bfd.jpg
35076ba2d7faf7daabc45100aa9e64fe
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-Heuchan_Bathing-Suits
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1925
Title
A name given to the resource
Bathing Suits
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph of four individuals in what appears to be bathing suits. The photo has been damaged slightly with time. At the top of the image, there is a set of handwritten text that reads “Taken on front of now [unknown] cottage on left + [unknown]. Hollard cottage on right.” Below the image “1923-24-25 era LTOR” is handwritten, as well as the names of those depicted.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Outdoor recreation
Families
Children
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1322f210241914cf360c088b3cfe19ea.jpg
b8e018bf71a50d34054301514e779832
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-Heuchan_2018_09_24_11_36_27_002
Title
A name given to the resource
109 Lakeshore Drive
Description
An account of the resource
A scan of two photos stacked on top of each other that is labeled “109 Lakeshore Dr.” The top image is of an enclosed porch or sunroom with various patio furniture. The second is a taken down the hallway from what appears to be the dining room of the house.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Outdoor recreation
Families
Children
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
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Barbara Kiszonas- Interview by Tyler Smith
July 21, 2018
0:02
TS: All right. So this is Tyler Smith, and I’m here today with
0:11
BK: Barbara Kiszonas
0:13 TS: At the Saugatuck Douglas History Center in Douglas, MI, on July 21st, which is a
Saturday of 2018. This oral history is being collected as part of the Stories of Summer Project,
which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities Common
Heritage Program. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today. I’m interested to learn
more about your family history and your experiences of summer in the Saugatuck Douglas area.
Can you please tell me your full name and spell it?
0:45 BK: My full name Barbara Kiszonas. Spelled, well Barbara you know, but Kiszonas. KI-S-Z-O-N-A-S.
0:54
TS: All right. Um. Do you use any accents when spelling your name?
0:59
BK: No.
1:01
TS: All right then. Can you spell Barbara really quick to just in case?
1:05
BK: All right. B-A-R-B-A-R-A [laugh]
1:08
TS: Standard Barbara spelling
1:10
BK: Standard
1:11 TS: Perfect. Um. So we’ll start off with some basic questions. So tell me about where
you grew up. Um. Yeah.
1:18 BK: Oh. All right. I grew up in Chicago on the north side, and lived there about, uh, until
I had my children, my two daughters. Um, and then we moved to New Jersey around, um, I
guess it was 1981.
1:38
TS: All right. What are some of your most vivid memories from your childhood?
1:43 BK: from my childhood? Oh my goodness. Um. Wow. Well, I grew up in a big family.
I’m the oldest of 8 children. So there was a lot of, always a lot of activity in our house. Uh, we
lived in a house on the north side of Chicago with a big yard. And um, we were pretty much our
own play group, although we did have other friends, obviously. But we did a lot of things in our,
in our big yard. Um, we had a big willow tree we like to climb. Um, we would play games, and
we would have parties there. Um, we even would like to, we would put on little fairs and shows
and sometimes the neighborhood kids would come. Um. So it was a lot of fun.
�2:24 TS: [laugh] That is excellent. Uh, so, if you could tell me a little bit more about your
family and family history, I guess particularly as would relate to this area. Who’s still in this
area? Who travels through here?
2:39 BK: mm hm. Um, well, my family I guess you could say is kind of immigrant family.
My, my father and myself actually were born in Ireland. And my mother is English, born in
London. And they emigrated to Canada, uh, when I was probably about 14 months old. And so
we lived in Canada for about 5 or 6 years. Um, and then my father had already left Canada
already to come down to the States to look for work. He was in construction. Um, and he first
went to New York and then he went to Chicago. And my mother and, at that time three children,
uh, eventually followed. And made our home in Chicago. So two of my brothers and sisters, uh,
one brother one sister were born in Canada as well, um. And we moved to Chicago, and that’s
when the reminder of the children were born. In Chicago.
3:41
TS: All right. And what was your father’s last name?
3:44
BK: Boyd. B-O-Y-D
3:46
TS: OK. What was your mother’s maiden name?
3:47
BK: My mother’s maiden name was Kronenburg (?)
3:50
TS: Ok. That is a pretty fascinating family history
3:53
BK: [laugh]
3:56
TS: All right. Um. [clear throat]
3:59 BK: And we went by train. I remember that. I was, um, probably 7 years old, and we
went by train from Canada. And I remember saying afterwards to my mother “I never knew how
long the night was until we rode on that train.” Because we didn’t really sleep very well, and you
know it was like it was still night outside. And yeah it was a long trip.
4:23
TS: Man. And how old were you when you came over from Ireland?
4:26
BK: About 14 months
4:27
TS: Ok. So you don’t remember that
4:29
BK: No. no.
4:30
TS: Did, how did your parents get over? Was it by boat then?
4:33
BK: By boat. Yes
4:34
TS: Ok. Wow
�4:36 BK: yeah. Yeah. Actually when I was 10 years old, um, our family took a trip back to
Ireland and England to visit relatives.
4:44
TS: Ok
4:45
BK: And that was the first time I’d ever been on a plane. It was Pan Am.
4:47
TS: All right.
4:48
BK: Yeah. It was great.
4:50
TS: That’s excellent. What, um, what county of Ireland is your father from?
4:54
BK: Antram
4:55
TS: Ok. Interesting.
4:58
BK: Oh, I guess. Yeah. Is that the county? Antram? I think it is. Is that the Province?
5:02
TS: Yeah. I have uh, a bare understanding of how it works over there
5:06
BK: Yeah. Northern Ireland
5:08
TS: ok.
5:09
BK: Yeah. Belfast actually
5:10 TS: Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah. There, um, I don’t know if you’ve been up north in
Michigan, but I think there is an Antram county. There as well
5:18
BK: Yeah. I’ve seen some of the names. Yeah. Over there yeah.
5:25 TS: All right. Let’s see. Well you would qualify as a seasonal resident then. You spent
summers up here, correct?
5:35 BK: Uh, yeah, we spent summers. Like when I first went to camp I was still in grammar
school. And I don’t know if you want me to get into too much of that right now, but, um, came
for a couple of years and then what happened, um, when I was in high school. Some of my
brothers and sisters also came, but Mom came up as a cook for the camp.
6:01
TS: Ok.
6:02 BK: Um, so then she brought the younger children with her, and they stayed up for the
summer and we would visit. And I came up twice as a counselor. Once, uh, when I was in high
school, once when I was in college.
�6:15
TS: So then when, when would be the first time you were in Saugatuck Douglas?
6:20
BK: the first time, do you want me to say the year? And really date myself [laugh]
6:22
TS: You can if you want
6:24
BK: Um, I think it was 1961.
6:28
TS: Ok.
6:28 BK: Um. Yeah. That was my first time up here. The first time I had ever seen it. Um, one
of my friends from school, um, a girl named Linda, uh, in, had gone to camp, or maybe her older
sister had gone to camp. And so she invited me to come, and I did. And that was my first
experience. First time being in Michigan, and first time being in a sleep away camp.
6:52
TS: Ok. How long was the camp back then?
6:55 BK: It seems to me, I was talking about this with my sister. I think it was a little less then
two weeks. So I’m not sure if 10 days, 12 days, I don’t think it was full two weeks.
7:05
TS: Ok. That’s a pretty good chunk of time, though. To be away from home
7:07
BK: Yeah. It was, it was, yeah.
7:10 TS: And what was, um, what was your first impression? Especially being here for, um,
overnight stay probably with your friends, you know away from everything? For a block of 10
ten days. What was it like when you arrived in Saugatuck?
7:22 BK: Um. Well, we arrived by train back then. They used to leave from, I think it was
Grand Central, which is no longer there. It was down on Harrison Street I think. Anyway in
Chicago. Sort of like the near south side. And so that was an adventure coming on the train with
all the girls. I think we took up a whole car. And for years I’ve wondered where the train
stopped. Because there isn’t a train station in Saugatuck, but there is one in Fennville or there
was. And I think, I’m pretty sure it was the Fennville Station. We didn’t stop exactly in the town,
because I remember getting out of the train and it was like fields, farm fields all around us. So
maybe because we were towards the front and that end of the train stopped further away from the
station. Um. And there would be a school bus waiting. And the school bus would take us to
camp.
8:20
TS: Ok.
8:21 BK: Yeah. So I can still remember that being, looking out the train window and seeing
the school bus and, um. So anyway the school bus would take us to camp. And of course I think
this was the first time I ever saw sand dunes as well. So it, it was great to be out of the city. Like
I said. We lived on the north side of Chicago. Um. And I guess the really great thing about it was
�how close it was to the lake. Cause my family had always enjoyed being really close by the
water, and it great to have the beach within walking distance.
8:52 TS: Oh yeah. It must have been pretty amazing. Especially coming down the road toward
the camp, right? In the school bus on that narrow road going along the river.
8:57
BK: yeah. Yeah. Right.
9:02
TS: Man. Yeah. So. You were mostly struck by, I guess the natural area
9:07 BK: Yeah. Just the, the outdoors. The amount of time we were able to spend outdoors. I
mean, my family always did like to go to parks and to the beach and that, but it was nice to have
it right there at your doorstep. Everyday come out of your cabin, um, and just, you know, be able
to walk outside in the, just to be in the midst of the, the trees and just nature itself.
9:32
TS: Yeah.
9:34
BK: yeah.
9:35
TS: I guess when you went back home how did you describe that to your family?
9:39 BK: Well, my mother said, it was funny, my mother said for the first few days after I got
back from camp I was like an angel. It was just, I was a changed person for a few days anyway.
Until I got back in with my brothers and sisters. [laugh] But, uh, it really did I think create an
atmosphere of calm. Mm. Yeah.
10:03 TS: I understand that totally. Um so you’ve been coming to the area since 1961. What
places have you stayed?
10:12 BK: Well that’s interesting. When you go to camp, you go to camp, and that’s it. And
like we were talking before, the last day before you left camp, you would go into Saugatuck. We
would walk through the woods on a trail, and come down to the ferry you know, and take the
ferry across. And we were free I, I guess it was a few hours. I mean they specified a time where
we had to meet back, but it was the one time were we actually had, you know, a certain amount
of freedom to go, and to go to the drugstore. And we would go sometimes to the drugstore and
get ice cream or, um, a phosphate. Uh. Uh yeah. And then at that time they used to rent um, like
paddleboats right around the ferry area. Which they don’t anymore, so I don’t know when they
stopped that. A lot of times we would get in the paddle boat with one of our friends and kind of
paddle around Lake Kalamazoo, and um, also go to the post, also at the drug store we would get
post cards. Post cards to send home. Although they had those at camp too, because they, you
could buy them. They had a little, they called it a Tuck Shop. Kind of thing. Actually they called
it Shack. Which sounds funny now. And it was outside the dining room. And every day after
lunch. Oh, actually it was the rest period after lunch. But after that they would ring the bell, and
then you could go to the Shack. And they had the, they had like penny candy, um, you know.
Just little treats that you could get. And at the beginning of camp you came over with a certain
�amount of money, which handed over for the Shack. And so they would deduct it from your
account. If there was anything left you got that at the end.
11:56 TS: Yeah. That’s pretty cool. The credit system.
12:00 BK: Yeah. Yeah. It was, yeah. In fact, my sister, Jennifer who came up the next year
because she’s three years younger than me, um, she later on, when my mother was up at camp
being the cook, she would be, she was in charge of the shack. And she said she used to dread.
The kids would come pouring out. She was afraid they were going to knock over her, because it
was just about the size of um, not much bigger than a telephone booth. And it was right on the
edge of the ravine. She said she just envisioned someday they were just going to push her over
into the ravine. But that never happened.
12:35 TS: Oh, yeah. So it, now you said your mom came up to camp with you and your sisters,
did all of the members of your family? Have they been through this area?
12:44 BK: All of them have yeah. Um [throat clear] my mom didn’t come when we were
campers. She came up later on when I was in high school, and I was not going to camp anymore.
Um, and I think it was then at that time we got to explore more of the area. Because like I said,
when you came to camp you only came to camp. They had activities that were filling your day
every day and what reason would there be to go site seeing? You know, with camp activities, and
the beach, usually twice a day you can go there in the morning and then in the afternoon.
Campfires at night. So they really kept you busy. Um, but then as I came up later when I was a
teenager, um when my mom was at camp and my sister and I would sometimes drive up and
camp the family for the weekend, then we got to explore a little bit more. You know, what was in
Douglas, and at that time Douglas was, you know, nothing like it is now. Um, a lot of it had, I
don’t know. I don’t want to say closed down, but there were a lot of empty store fronts. And
there certainly wasn’t any artistic community. So about the only thing we did in Douglas was
sometimes go over to the bowling alley.
13:53 TS: ok
13:54 BK: Yeah. Um, yeah, and then of course we walked around Saugatuck. And that was fun
and taking the chain ferry, um, and then later on, um, when our daughters were very small, when
my husband and I were still living in Chicago we would come up here sometimes, um. And we
would stay at what was then called, uh, Shady Shores? Um, which is all condos now
14:20 TS: ok.
14:21 BK: Right at the entrance of Saugatuck. Right on the riverside. It’s all new condos. But
at that time it was little cinderblock cabins. And we would stay in that. And we would walk in to
town from there, um. Um, and I remember our little girls would like we would take to the
playground, and Pumpernickel’s was at that time kind of a campy store. So we’d go in there to
pick out candy
14:50 TS: That’s cool
�14:50 BK: yeah.
14:51 TS: So how, um, would you say that Saugatuck has changed from when you first got
here as a camper and you just saw it as a camp to when you bring your kids here to now?
15:00 BK: Uh. Well obviously it’s gotten more and more built up over time. I guess it always
was kind of an artist’s community. Oxbow was still, or was pretty active back then. When I was
a camper I didn’t know anything about it, but later on, and we visited there. Um. Certainly a lot
more restaurants. Um. The waterfront has probably been improved. Uh. Lot more boats, although
I can remember as a camper walking along and looking at the big boats and just being in awe of
these beautiful big boats and trying to imagine what it would be like to go on one of them. Rich
people [laugh]
15:44 TS: [laugh] right
15:45 BK: just a dream.
15:46 TS: I know, it’s still a dream. Walk down the board walk
15:52 BK: Yeah. Yeah. I know. It’s fun just to look at them, and it was back then. Yeah.
15:57 TS: Definitely. Well, what was um, your favorite place to eat in the summer? That could
have changed. You know, several different places.
15:59 BK: Oh my goodness. What was our favorite place to eat? Um. I rem, probably the
Butler. You know just because we didn’t know a lot about what else was here and we started
going there, and yeah, we enjoyed going there. And it was a good place to take kids. You know?
You didn’t worry about being too formal or anything.
16:30 TS: Yep
16:31 BK: Not that anyplace in Saugatuck is formal. But it was just very casual family
atmosphere. And there used to be a place called the Logan Muff. Loaf and Muff Deli. Which is
where Hercules, which was where Hercules is now. Yeah. And we used to enjoy going there for
like a casual breakfast or lunch sometimes.
16:52 TS: Yeah. I remember that place too. Uh, did you ever get a summer job in the area?
16:58 BK: No. Other than camp? No. no.
17:01 TS: ok.
17:02 BK: I came up probably when I was about 15 and was what they called a junior
counselor, and then I came back when I was in college and was a full counselor.
�17:09 TS: ok. All right. Well, we’ll dive into those in a few minutes I think.
17:14 BK: ok.
17:15 TS: Um, did you spend time on or near the water? Which we know you spent some time
at the beach, yeah.
17:18 BK: A lot. A lot. As much as we could
17:24 TS: Perfect. Yeah. What did you guys do? Uh. In the water? In the area?
17:28 BK: Um. Well we mostly. We would go to the beach and mostly just play in the water.
Play, swim. Whatever. And I said at night we would have campfires. Sometimes. Down on the
beach. And, um, actually sometimes, I forgot, there were sometimes when we’d come up for a
family camp that they had. And we would come up actually after we moved to the east coast we
only came a few times because it was a long trip. But we would go to the family camp and they
would have campfires on the beach. It was nice.
18:01 TS: That’s excellent. Outside of the paddle boat excursions on Lake Kalamazoo, did you
ever get out on a boat?
18:06 BK: Yeah. Uh. We’ve, we’ve rented a pontoon. We’ve gone, again as we came up. We
sort of, my family itself as we had such a big family, um, we sort had our own little reunion,
camp reunion, up, you know, up here. And we would get the canoes from Camp Gray and go out
and that was fun. And we also rented pontoon, and we had we’d gone kayaking from the uh, boat
launch in Douglas
18:40 TS: Ok. Yeah.
18:41 BK: We actually, my husband and I actually have our own two person kayak, which we
have used I think one time in the three years we’ve owned it [laugh]
18:48 TS: [laugh]
18:50 BK: um, but anyway. We’ve used several different kinds of boats on the water.
18:57 TS: Cool. Yeah. A lot of manual powered
19:00 BK: Yeah I guess that’s why maybe I’m not too crazy about it. Um. It takes some
strength in your arms. Yeah.
19:10 TS: Oh it does. Yeah. Especially in the river currents if you have to go back up
19:15 BK: Yeah. It’s nice if they drop you off. Like we rented kayaks from, um, whatever the
name was that, from Douglas. And she drove us up to I think New Richmond. And then, then we
came down. And that’s nice. You just come down the river and you get off. But when you take it
�out yourself that’s another story because you’ve got to get yourself up the river and back down.
Yeah. So we don’t normally go too far. Just kind of paddle around that little bay.
19:44 TS: Yeah. Makes sense. So how’s the river changed since the first time you’ve seen it.
19:49 BK: A little busier I guess. Yeah. More boats on it. You know. We had some friends that
had a cabin off, on Lake Kalamazoo. I’m trying to think. Off of the old Allegan Road.
20:05 TS: Ok
20:06 BK: And we went out one time with them in a rowboat. But it was a very quiet area, so
you didn’t really run into other boats. And I guess the bigger boats don’t really go up the river.
They mostly stay in the marina and then go out to Lake Michigan. So you don’t really run across
them. Although sometimes motor boats and you know, you have to watch out for them.
20:24 TS: Yeah. They don’t watch out for you sometimes
20:27 BK: Yeah. Yeah. You hope they’re watching out for you.
20:30 TS: Right? On those busy weekends though you can never tell.
20:31 BK: Yeah. So it’s usually, if you’re going to go, it’s usually better to go during the week
when it’s not that busy. Like the weekend
20:39 TS: Not major holidays either.
20:41 BK: Right
20:42 TS: Um, you talked about spending time in Douglas. Um, I guess could you tell me a
little more about the difference between the two towns.
20:54 BK: Oh. At the time. When we first started coming Saugatuck was really where all the
action was. Douglas was, was a little sleepy backwater town. Um. There really wasn’t much to
do in Douglas. You know, I can’t, there probably were some things, but like I said, um, we really
didn’t venture beyond the Demonds, which, the grocery store. Um, you know, it’s been there for
such a long time. Um, or the bowling alley. And that’s probably as far as we went. I don’t think
we went to the library at that time, because, just because we were more oriented toward the
camp. Yeah.
21:32 TS: Yeah. Yeah. All right.
21:35 BK: So I, you know. My memory of Douglas is just, there was nothing there.
21:39 TS: Yeah.
21:41 BK: In the 60’s [laugh]
�21:42 TS: It’s changed a lot even in my life time, too.
21:46 BK: Yeah, yeah. It continues to change. Um, yeah. You know the buildings. They put up
Center Street and just you know, things have been coming more alive. Pretty much active in the
downtown area of Douglas. And even started to extend on Center Street toward the lake, which
you know was never really there before.
22:08 TS: Wow. That’s pretty crazy. Yeah. Are there any other places or institutions that were
important to you in the area. We talked about the camp, you talked about
22:18 BK: Um. Well. I am a member of the historical society. Um, and I always like to go and
see what exhibits they’re showing in museums, so. My family has always loved going to
museums, so we were really happy to see that being active, and the programs here at the school
house as well. Other institutions? Um, I can’t really say I can’t think of them off hand, but you
know. [laugh]
22:52 TS: Good. That’s totally fine.
22:56 BK: Great supporter of the library too. I hope they get their new building.
22:58 TS: yeah. That’d be great. Right? All right. Let’s see. So where, where is your vacation
home currently in the area.
23:09 BK: In Douglas.
23:11 TS: In Douglas
23:12 BK: In Tower Marina
23:13 TS: Ok. Excellent
23:14 BK: Yeah. By the water. [laugh] Well you know, um, almost any place in Saugatuck
Douglas, you’re near the water. Not far, but we really like being able to look at the marina from
our patio. It, uh, yeah.
23:32 TS: It is a wonderful thing.
23:33 BK: Yeah. It is, it is
23:35 TS: That was the biggest problem I had in Tucson is that there’s no water, so it just starts
to grate on you
23:38 BK: Oh yeah, I, yeah. I guess a lot of people like that, but I can’t imagine living in a land
locked place. Even in Chicago had the lakefront. Which is great. You know within, within half
an hour um, you could be on the beach.
�23:58 TS: Yeah. Yeah. What, what neighborhood in Chicago were you
24:04 BK: uh, it, it’s called Irving Park. It’s in, it’s the Northwest side. Yeah. Well, I grew up
there. Then my husband moved to live a little bit further west. Moved to Portage Park for a few
years. Several years I guess.
24:20 TS: Yeah. So, Irving Park. I spent a year in Chicago, so I was up in that area, um, easy to
get to the lake from there.
24:28 BK: yeah. Yeah. You can go straight down to Irving Park, although my friends and I
used to go to Foster Beach which is a little bit further north. Uh. Yeah.
24:35 TS: Yeah. There’s a dog park in there now
24:42 BK: Oh is there?
24:42 TS: Yeah. You know. All right, I think we should dive into your, your camp experience
24:48 BK: Oh, ok
24:50 TS: So give me the, the breadth of your experience. You started off as a camper and
ended up as a senior counselor
24:57 BK: Counselor yeah. Yeah, uh I actually went to camp as a camper for I think only two
years. And my sister, my sister came my second year, and then she went a few more years. And
then my brother came. Brother Jim came and brought his friends. And then, uh, I’m not sure
about the younger siblings. How many of them went to camp on their own, or if they just came
up with my mother. I’m not sure about that. Um, and one thing I should mention because we’ve
been talking we were talking earlier about Camp Gray, um we were actually in a separate camp
called Peniel Camp, that was part of Camp Gray. But it was one section, and sometimes you’ll
see old pictures of the Penial Dining Hall, and it went up the hill probably, um a little bit to the
north
25:46 phone starts ringing in background
25:47 TS: I guess we’ll wait for the phone to stop ringing. I have no authority to answer it, so
we just have to
26:00 BK: Ok
26:05 pause while waiting for phone to stop ringing
26:07 TS: All right
�26:08 BK: All right. So Peniel was on the north end of Camp Gray. And the activities were
totally separate. They did not mix at all. It was a different, different, maybe population. The time
we went to camp, and I can’t swear to it, but my impression was that Camp Gray, the boys and
girls camp was for primarily intercity at that time, um, and we came from the north side of
Chicago. And some of the kids also came in from the suburbs, so camp, Peniel Camp was much
smaller, probably I’m going to say, maybe 25-30
26:45 TS: Oh, ok
26:47 BK: Yeah. Girls or boys. The girls and boys were separate. They had different camps,
um, so it was a smaller group, um, and um, different activities from Camp Gray. We didn’t even
share the same beach. There was, yeah, totally separate. In fact when I went to camp I did not
even know what Camp Gray looked like.
27:08 TS: Really?
27:10 BK: Yeah. Never ever went over there. So it’s not til I got older that, um, that I found out
about the rest of it, and we actually go over there sometimes. You know. Especially when they
had the camp, the family camp, or the camp reunions we would sometimes go over to their
dining hall. But when we were campers no. It was totally separate.
27:30 TS: Wow. And how’d you spell Peniel
27:35 BK: P-E-N-I-E-L
27:38 TS: Ok. So entirely separate? Separate administrations?
27:40 BK: Everything.
27:41 TS: Really. Wow. And there’s, uh, so you never actually even saw the other camp while
you were there.
27:46 BK: no. No. Um, when we would go down to the beach, was as close as we came. They
were up on the hill from us. And you could look up on the hill and sometimes you would see,
you know, the other kids, but. Never any mixing, intermingling. Whatever.
28:08 TS: So, back then, what, what did you think of that? Another camp and you just didn’t
know
28:14 BK: Um. I don’t know. They were just different kids from a different place. I don’t
know. They just, we had different schedules. Maybe it was, maybe they scheduled the beach
time so we weren’t on the beach at the same time. Maybe that’s why we didn’t see them.
28:28 TS: That could be. Yeah.
�28:29 BK: Yeah. I don’t know. But I also think that their beach, I mean honestly the whole
shoreline is beach, but I think that when they went down to the beach they were much further
down then us. Yeah. So we never saw them in the water or
28:40 TS: Ok. Ok. Yeah. That’s fascinating
28:44 BK: Yeah.
28:25 TS: So then for camp, Camp Peniel, was there a specific focus for the camp, or was it
mostly like get away do activities sort of basic camp.
28:54 BK: Um, they were both sort of under the hospices of the Presbyterian church. Um, I
suppose they had similar programs. I mean we would start the morning after breakfast we would
have chapel. And, um sometimes in the evening, but then there were various activities
throughout the day. And, uh, well, here’s one difference. Peniel was started by a group of what
they were called at the time Hebrew Christians. So they were Jewish people who believed that
Jesus was their Messiah. So they had that distinctive about them, but really and so there was a, a
block of people who had been part of this community center on the north side of Chicago who
had since moved out to the suburbs. And their children continued to come. But anybody then that
lived in the neighborhood, no matter what religion or background they had was welcome to come
to camp.
29:50 TS: Ok
29:51 BK: So. There was at that time it was run by a couple called Mr. and Mrs. K, our camp.
Uh. The K stood for Kominski but everybody called them the K’s. And Mr. Kominski would tell
Bible stories during chapel. And he was such a fascinating person. He’d be telling stories from
the Old Testament about David or whoever and he would just tell them in such a graphic way. It
was so entertaining. Of course it was before, um, you know all of the media that we have today.
But he was just a lovely, lovely person. Everyone loved him, and he was really the heart of the
camp. And then later on his nephew, Larry Rich took over. And when I came as a counselor
Larry was in charge, and we got to be good friends, and Larry was the minister at, uh, our
wedding.
30:42 TS: [laugh] very nice
30:44 BK: So that, that is a connection there
30:45 TS: Yeah. Yeah. That’s really cool. And you mentioned you know, that one of your
friends brought you up to camp and your brother brought his friends up to camp, so was it like a
local neighborhood word of mouth
30:58 BK: Yeah. Yeah it was. It was pretty much because I don’t know if they, if out of the
community center, outside they probably you know, promoted it. Advertised it. But, um, for us it
was word of mouth. Mmhm.
�31:14 TS: That’s cool. Do you know if, um, Camp Peniel and Camp Gray were on the same
timeline then? Did they both, were they sold at the same time?
31:22 BK: Um, [throat clear] Camp Peniel, um, probably ended, oh my gosh, um, I don’t think
they had campers past the 70’s, but they continued the family camp. And that was probably just
like once a year. You know, maybe like um, I think for a long weekend. They did have like a
week of family camp in between, but it got to be I think, um, like in the 2000’s, it was just
maybe like a long weekend. Uh, in the summer. Mm hm.
32:02 TS: Ok. And then, so what, what activities do you remember from your time as a
camper? Not necessarily the activities you did, but where did you sleep, where did you eat, you
know. Anything that stands out.
32:15 BK: Ok. Yeah. Um, well we slept in wooden cabins. Had no insulation. Of course you
didn’t need it in the summer. But basic, you know. The bare wooden walls. Um, pretty primitive
accommodations. You brought your own bedding. Um, thin mattresses. Uh, single, single beds
and in one set of cabins they had, um, they, they were probably I don’t know, three or four
different types of cabins. Um, some of them would sleep like three people. Two campers and a
counselor. Um, some of them would sleep 8 in bunkbeds. And I know there was one up in the
hill, up in the hillside that had the sinks outside. So I think I think it had, oh gosh, um, yeah. You
had to go outside to wash. I know that. And I don’t know exactly, if there was a toilet in the
cabin itself or not. I mostly stayed in the other ones that had just a sink and a toilet both enclosed,
but pretty, pretty primitive. But you didn’t spend much time in there. You slept in there and you
were busy all day long doing stuff. Um, and the dining hall, um the meals I’m going to say again
were pretty simple. The camp, camp was incredibly cheap. I mean I don’t even remember, but it
seemed to me that even back in the 60’s and of course that is a long time ago, it was something
like $20, $25 for a kid. So cheap. So you know they did what they could with the money that
they had. They certainly, we certainly didn’t have anything that was tech because there wasn’t
anything like that back then. But we had a lot of activity and the meals were pretty simple. Um, it
was enough to eat. I’m not going to say that you went hungry. They had this policy that you had
to sample everything. Even if you just took a tablespoon, you had to sample everything. Yeah, so
if you were a fussy eater, well you might be out of luck. But that was interesting because, um,
when as I mentioned the previous director’s nephew took over, one of the things he changed is
no more powdered milk. He said “I couldn’t stand when I was a kid, when I was a kid, and we’re
not going to have it now.” [laugh]
34:35 TS: [laugh]
34:38 BK: And also when my mom came in as cook, um, she, she introduced uh, different
foods. Having raised 8 children, she knew what kids liked and didn’t like. Um. And she said her
kids were the fussiest eaters. She had to make something different for every of them, every night
was like running a restaurant. Well at camp they didn’t do that. Um, there would always be an
alternative. If you didn’t really want to eat something you could have a bowl of cereal. Yeah.
Yeah, right? And, uh. Oh yeah, I was just thinking about some of the activities. One thing that
we used to do and I hadn’t thought of before we used to always have an outing, maybe two
outings to Mt. Baldie. We called it Mt. Baldie at that time. I think they call it Mt. Baldhead now,
�but it was always known as Mt. Baldie back then. And so then we would go over there, and we
walked everywhere. We hiked everywhere. Which is another reason we didn’t go very far. But
anyway we would go over to Mt. Baldie and, um, we didn’t climb the stairs but we did, I think
we up the back side of the mount, the dune. From the beach. And then they would have trails that
you would run down, and sort of like, yeah. Just running down them. And they had names to
them. I don’t remember the names now. My brother would. But um, so and yeah, yeah. That was
a lot of fun. And then you would come down. There’s a pavilion right at the bottom of Mt.
Baldie, and there would be somebody there. And they would have like peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches or whatever kind of sandwiches they made. And we’d all eat there before we went
back to camp. One of my brothers, my oldest brother, Jim. The one that was born up in Canada,
um, I think set a record. He went up 20 times, 20 or 21 times, hiked up and ran down. [laugh]
36:32 TS: Jeez [laugh]
36:33 BK: He deserves a special t-shirt for that.
36:38 TS: Yeah. Oh man. Because I’ve done it lately, and I did it three times. And I was done.
36:42 BK: I know, right? Oh, I know, he was probably about 12 or 13 then. Lot more, lot more
energy [laugh]
36:48 TS: Yeah, boundless energy back then. Oh that’s cool. Um, what was like your favorite
location in camp. Was there a specific spot that you enjoyed them most?
37:00 BK: Oh. Other than the beach? Cause really the beach was, I think a big draw. Um, we
had like a game area outside of the dining hall. Uh. It was down the hill a little bit. And they had
shuffle board and ping pong, and they had this pole with a ball attached called tether ball. Yeah.
So the games were fun too. And there was free time. And we had a lot of activities scheduled,
but there was also free time, sometimes after supper or sometimes in the afternoon and you could
play games. And there was also a volleyball court up on the hill. And we used to play games up
there sometimes.
37:40 TS: Ok. Nice.
37:43 BK: Yeah. And we used to hike. We used to play a game called capture the flag. And we
would do that in the dunes. We would go over by Oval Beach in the evening
37:52 TS: Oh, that’d be the ultimate capture the flag spot
37:53 BK: Yeah. [laugh]
37:56 TS: Fantastic. Do you keep up with any of your friends from the camping days?
38:01 BK: Um. No. Not really no. Um, I’ve heard stories of some of them going around the
world, but no. Actually I won’t say I actually kept up with my friend that first invited me, Linda,
but um, I did get in touch with her sister on the internet one time. Her sister, who told me that
�Linda married a man whose mother owned a place in Saugatuck. So I thought that was a really,
really interesting connection. Yeah.
38:35 TS: Really? Yeah. Small world isn’t it?
38:38 BK: It is
38:41 TS: So having been there as a camper for just a couple years, how did you get involved
in coming back as a junior counselor and then a full counselor?
38:52 BK: Um, I guess because we sort of stayed. Because of the fact that I had brothers and
sisters coming in, and also my mom coming up, and so it sort of kept some kind of loose contact
and um, I just, I knew that there were opportunities there. That they needed people at camp, so
yeah.
39:08 TS: What were your, um, I guess tell us, tell us about your responsibilities as counselor
of the camp.
39:14 BK: Um, as a counselor, oh wow. Um. Basically I believe I’d have a cabin with some
girls and um, it seems to me, well as junior counselor you didn’t have that responsibility, but as a
regular counselor, you’d have responsibility for a cabin of girls. And it seems to me the girls I
had were a little wild. Had a little bit of a problem keeping them under control. But yeah I was
responsible for them for being there, uh, making sure they got to the activities they were
supposed to and talking with them if the needed someone to talk with and things like that
39:53 TS: All right.
39:54 BK: Making sure they didn’t get lost and [laugh]
39:55 TS: [laugh] yeah. Playing capture the flag
39:59 BK: Yeah.
40:00 TS: So you were a camper when you were in like elementary school, junior high?
40:06 BK: Um, junior high yeah. Yeah.
40:08 TS: And then a counselor, a junior counselor in high school, and then a senior counselor
in college?
40:12 BK: Uh huh. Yeah. I think that was sophomore year in college. Yeah.
40:14 TS: All right.
40:15 BK: I came up
�40:16 TS: Did you enjoy being a counselor?
40:19 BK: um. I did. Um, it’s, it was challenging. Yeah. It was challenging. But, uh, I did.
Yeah. I actually before had been a counselor at this, at Peniel camp. I was a coun, not a
counselor but I ran up and um. Yeah, I was actually. I’m sorry. I’m mixing things up. Um, I had
gone up to a camp in Canada called Pioneer camp. Pioneer Girls’ Camp. And it was up in the
north woods of Canada. And I spent six weeks up there. So that I did after my freshman year I
think it was. And then I did this after my sophomore year.
40:52 TS: So this was like a walk in the park, right?
40:54 BK: [laugh] yeah. Pioneer Girls’ camp. That, that was really, um, really a bit more
rugged because we slept in tents the whole time. But they, they were huge tents. They were big
canvas tents on wooden platforms. Yeah. And we had, we were actually the camp was on a lake,
up in the north woods of Canada. It was beautiful. Um The mornings were chilly. Especially
when it got to August. Mid or late August it was pretty chilly. Um. Yeah. But that, that was a
really wonderful experience.
41:34 TS: That sounds good
41:35 BK: yeah.
41:36 TS: Different weather here. Um, what would be then, like if you had to pick one singular
camp memory from your time as a camper and a counselor, is there anything that stands out to
you ? Like this is a story I tell
41:46 BK: Oh my goodness. Uh. Wow. Hm. I can’t, you know I can’t think so much of
something distinctive when I was a camper other than just, you know, enjoying the environment
and um, hm. That, that’s a hard one. Yeah, I really, you know, I have different memories of
different things, but it’s hard to think of something that was distinctive.
42:20 TS: yeah. That’s understandable. Um, you talked about the Shack and the snacks
42:25 BK: [laugh] the candy shack
42:29 TS: Yeah. So, what sort of facilities were there then. So you had your cabins, and you
had the game area, and the dining hall. Was there, what, what was the layout of the buildings I
mean?
42:40 BK: Um, they were all on the side of the sand dunes. So you would come in on the road
that led off the Oval Beach road. Is that Ferry? It has a name, but I can’t remember
42:52 TS: I think it’s Ferry
42:56 BK: Ferry goes down the bottom of it. And it might be Perryman, I think that goes up the
hill. Yeah. Well at any rate, you get how, like half way up. It’s where that whole new
�development is now. Um, but you go beyond their main gate and there’s another road, sort of a
backroad. And that’s where you went in to Pineal Camp. That road. Um. And so you would
come up the road, and it would be at like a little bit of an incline. And then to, to your right
would be I think the chapel. Small building was the chapel. It was also game and craft room, so
first, in the early morning it would be a chapel, and then later on it would be a craft room or a
game room whatever. Pretty flexible. And on Sunday we always had a church service in there.
And then across from that was the shuffleboard and the game stuff, and then above that was the
dining hall. And then in between would be the director’s cabin, and then to the left of that, just
on the ravine was the candy shack. And then there was the cook’s cabin, which my mom stayed
in, and there was another staff cabin over there. And there was another, then you’d go up the hill
and there’d be some more cabins. Smaller cabins. And then as I said there was that one big cabin
up in the near the top of the hill. Which had, I think, two main rooms and probably four
bunkbeds in each of those rooms. Often the younger campers would stay in those. I don’t know
why they put them at the top, but whatever. So they’d have to pass everybody else when they
were on their way out or trying to escape [laugh]. Something like that. Um, yeah. So basically
you would come in off the road and then you would go up the hill, and then the cabins would be
like up a mountainside, but a dune side. Until you got to the top of the hill. And then that was
where the volley ball court was.
44:48 TS: All right. That’s excellent. Um
44:50 BK: And no showers by the way. If you wanted a shower you had to go down to the, one
of the staff cabins. And then underneath was a shower area.
45:00 TS: underneath the cabin? [laugh]
45:01 BK: [laugh] Yeah. I mean it was up, I mean it was raised up on you know
45:04 TS: yeah.
45:05 BK: Yeah. But I’m just saying like the first floor, the lower floor was the shower room.
Where’d you go take uh, if you wanted a shower.
45:13 TS: So you guys didn’t take your soap down to Lake Michigan and
45:15 BK: No, but that’s funny. When I was up at the camp that was up in Canada, and I know
that’s a whole another story, but, um, they would wash in the lake. Mmhm. Yeah.
45:22 TS: All right. I can see the whole thing in my head now
45:27 BK: [laugh]
45:28 TS: And how did your mom get involved?
45:32 BK: I guess just because of the fact that I, um, you know she had children, several
children going to the camp. I think, um I had a brother Steve who lived here. You may, may or
�may not know about him. He and his partner Jen, um own the Joes and Heath (?) Colonial Inn.
The B&B. Mm hm.
45:48 TS: Ok. Yeah.
45:52 BK: So, um, he, he came to camp. I’m sorry. I lost my train of thought. What I was
talking about
46:02 TS: Um, oh. Your mom and having
46:03 BK: Mom. Yes. So anyway, he says he came as a camper. I don’t remember. I guess I
was maybe in college by then and I didn’t, I don’t really know. Or maybe I was even married by
then. Um. At any rate, yeah he came as a camper, but he also came with my mom. I guess he
came with my mom first maybe, and then came as a camper. Um, and so, and also as I
mentioned Pineal was managed, directed whatever, out of this community center on the north
side of Chicago. And they had programs for um, children and mothers and families and
whatever. So my mother would go up there sometimes to, you know. Yeah.
46:47 TS: I, I can’t remember if you said the name of that community center
46:52 BK: Pineal
46:53 TS: Pineal. That makes sense right?
46:53 BK: Pineal Center it was called [laugh]. Yeah. Pineal Center, and they ran Pineal Camp.
47:00 TS: What, um, do you remember any of the menus your mom made? You mentioned
that she took a different approach to the food
47:05 BK: To the food. Yeah, yeah, well, that’s basically was her area of responsibility. So she
did what she could to try and make kid friendly
47:15 TS: Yeah. And I’m sure everyone appreciated that
47:17 BK: I think so
47:18 TS: Powdered milk is out
47:19 BK: Yeah. Yeah, you know. It was different days then. I mean today people, powdered
milk, what is that? Some people cook with it I guess still, but
47:29 TS: That’s true. And what, um, you may have said it already, what was your mother’s
name?
47:35 BK: Reeny. Mmhm.
�47:37 TS: Cool. Um, did all of your siblings pass through Camp Pineal?
47:42 BK: Um, I think so because Steven was the youngest, my, my brother. Who I just
mentioned?
47:46 TS: Yeah.
47:47 BK: And he’s the youngest of the family so yeah. I guess everyone did.
47:52 TS: All right. And how many siblings did you say you have?
47:54 BK: Uh, seven
47:56 TS: 7, that’s what I thought. Ok. Yeah. Lot of kids
47:58 BK: Yeah. It was, um, it was a wonderful thing for a family of a lot of children you
know, just to be able to, to do that. To go away so inexpensively and you know, have that kind of
experience
48:10 TS: Yeah. And summer must have been uh fun time for your parents with 7 kids out on
the loose right?
48:15 BK: [laugh] 8 actually
48:17 TS: 8. Yeah. 8 total. Yeah.
48:22 BK: Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, yeah. There was enough space between us that the older ones
took care of the younger ones.
48:27 TS: Oh that’s good
48:28 BK: yeah.
48:30 TS: I’ll bet. Yeah. Well, what um, are there any other details or images or memories or
48:37 BK: Oh goodness. Yeah, wow. I think I’ve. Let me think is there anything else. It’s
funny because I was talking with my sister I said I don’t remember a lot. And she said “Oh sure
you do.” And we started talking about it. But now it’s like, I think I told you everything I can
remember. Um. Yeah. The only other thing—oh! You asked about the boats that we went on
49:00 TS: Yeah.
49:01 BK: The paddle wheel. I forgot that one. We, we have been on it numerous times
because just because everybody that comes to visit us we take on that boat.
49:12 TS: All right
�49:13 BK: Yeah. So. Wyatt and I really enjoy it. The old star of Saugatuck. Yeah. It was there
when we were campers. I don’t remember if we ever went on it when we were campers. I think
probably not. But certainly saw it
49:25 TS: Yeah. Ok. yeah
49:27 BK: It’s been around a long time
49:29 TS: And you, you still enjoy taking it to this day then?
49:30 BK: Yeah. Yeah. It’s probably been a year or two since we’ve been on it, but yeah. A
couple years ago we had some cousins from Wisconsin come to, and we took them on it
49:40 TS: It’s a great tour
49:41 BK: mmhm. It is. It really is. We also like to go on the sunset tour. That, that. I think
that’s the best, provided there’s a sunset, but even so it’s nice to take an evening boat ride
49:52 TS: Yeah, on a nice summer day.
49:54 BK: uh huh. yeah
49:57 TS: I helped out with, uh, I worked on the boat a little bit last year.
49:59 BK: oh did you?
50:00 TS: And my girlfriend works on it this year. My mom actually works on it too, so I’ve,
you know, we’ve crossed paths in our various
50:08 BK: yeah. I guess so. yeah
50:10 TS: Associations around town. Yeah. All right Camp Pineal. I guess we can move toward
the, the uh. These questions here. I guess an obvious one is, um, that property’s been sold, you
know. What do you think about what’s happening now?
50:31 BK: uh, well, I would have done whatever I could have to try and save it. Um, a lot of
emails went back and forth among my siblings and the camp. And we just felt so bad it was
being sold, that other kids wouldn’t have the chance to experience what we did. Um, but
probably my sister and I, my sister Jennifer and I are the oldest, and we probably feel, felt the
most keenly. Um, my brothers were more philosophical, and said well, it had its time and now
it’s moved on to something else, yeah, um, but yeah. I, I, am really sorry that it went. I just think
it was such a fantastic opportunity for kids and families to just come and really enjoy the area
and enjoy the beauty of the lake, and you know, the woods and the dunes, and now, well what
could I say? Progress. Yeah. Some people call it progress. [laugh]
�51:32 TS: Yup, yup
51:34 BK: but to me, um I felt really sad about it
51:40 TS: Yeah. Yeah. Well then what, I suppose this is a hard question, but if you could sum
up what Camp Pineal and Camp Gray and your time there, what it meant for you, just in general
in your life, and your outlook and your perspective
51:55 BK: yeah. Uh. That’s a hard one, um, it had a very positive influence on me. Um. I think
in terms of my faith, I wouldn’t say that it was that strong then, but I think that it probably
planted seeds in me, and just um, I mean my family had, all my family had gone to church really,
but there was something about camp. There was a spirit there that, um, I don’t know. Just kind of
awakened a spiritual hunger in me. And, uh, yeah I’m just always thankful um, that I had that
opportunity. And it, it’s an interesting thing. Because I told you we live now in Douglas, and
how that came about I mean we had been from Chicago and certainly were familiar with this
area and had come up on vacation sometimes when our children were small. And then we moved
out to the east coast, and I don’t think we didn’t come back again until our older daughter was in
college
53:08 TS: Ok.
53:09 BK: Actually later than that. She went to law school at the University of Michigan. And
so we decided one summer when she was out there in Ann Arbor, um, to all meet up for
vacation. And we said “Why don’t we go to Saugatuck? We haven’t been there in years.” And so
we came, and so we did. And we rented a cabin on Lake Michigan, um, actually down in Glenn.
But we were right at the top of the dune where you could look down over the water. Incredible.
So beautiful
53:42 TS: Beautiful view
53:45 BK: Um, my daughter had been going through kind of a stressful time. You know, law
school’s not easy, but actually this was at the start of law school now that I think about it, but she
had been going through some stress and it was such an incredible, beautiful, relaxing time. And
so we kind of got reacquainted with the area again. And then we came up to Saugatuck and, I
don’t think it was that year. It was maybe a year later, and we were looking around, and our
daughters said “Why don’t, we like this place so much, why don’t we have a place here?” I said
“Well I don’t know if we could afford it. I don’t” and, but we had been talking about getting a
vacation home. And so we were looking around and, uh, and then we came back home and it
was, the Fall um, you know we hadn’t made any decision. We had looked at a number of
properties from Glen all the way up to Saugatuck. Um, and then this one condo we, we had
looked at came, was up for sale, and the realtor called us and said, uh, one, the one place that we
really liked. She said “Somebody else has put a bid on it.” But she said “there might be an
opening for you.” And we thought, oh, we really did, did want to be here. We really did want to
have a place. So we put a bid in, and the other people dropped out, and we got it. So here we are.
We’ve been here 11 years now
�55:09 TS: That’s great. Yeah.
55:11 BK: Yeah. So that, it was funny how, it was something like how from our past that had
really been a place that we enjoyed and had good family memories from, uh then serendipitously
you might say we reconnected with our daughter going to law school in Ann Arbor
55:30 TS: That’s pretty amazing
55:32 BK: Yeah
55:33 TS: And your brother’s here too, right
55:34 BK: Yeah. And then, yeah. What happened like three or four years ago, um, we always
have a big family party on Labor Day. We invited everybody to come up, anybody that wants to
on Labor Day, the weekend. And, um, he and his girlfriend Jen came up, and um, they stayed at
uh, they stayed in town at one of the, the other rental, and um, I don’t know. They’d been
thinking about it, talking about it a lot, but they found out a house was for sale. Actually it was
owned by a family which we knew. We knew for years. Um, and he called me and said, uh, “do
you have a contact number for them?” he said “I’d like to talk to them about, about their house.”
And that’s how that started. I guess about 3 or 4 years ago. Yeah. Yeah. So now my brother is
like really, really cemented in the community.
56:28 TS: His inn, yeah.
56:29 BK: Yeah. He really put his heart and soul into, into building that place
56:32 TS: It’s a cool looking place. Yeah, yeah.
56:34 BK: Or rebuilding it, yeah.
56:35 TS: So he’s here year around then, huh
56:38 BK: Yeah. Well, they just opened up, um, they had their first guests I think, uh, late
spring. Yeah
56:44 TS: Yeah
56:45 BK: Yeah.
56:46 TS: Excellent
56:48 BK: Spent about two years of rehabbing it. Restoring. Yeah.
56:50 TS: Yeah, that’s, that’s a big task.
56:54 BK: yeah. Incredible property, uh, so now he’s an anchor in town.
�57:00 TS: You know, it’s fascinating that your friends came up to this camp, then you came up
to the camp, and then your siblings and your mom, and then you guys came back later and you
guys
57:07 BK: Yeah, yeah. All hinged on my one friend Linda Cahill [laugh]
57:10 TS: [laugh] All credit to her, right? That’s really cool. Um, I thought another question but
I lost it. [pause] Well. We can plod at the ones on the list. What are some of your hopes for the
future, for yourself, for your family members, or your community?
57:31 BK: Mm. Oh my goodness.
57:34 TS: Narrow easy to answer questions here
57:35 BK: [laugh] yeah right? Uh, well you know there’s always a balance between, um,
keeping things the way they are and making progress and improving things. And so yeah, um,
from a selfish point of view you want to keep as much open space as possible. Um, but then you
realize that, um, in order to have the amenities that people want, changes have to happen. Things
have to be, uh, old things sometimes have to be torn down. New things built up. Um, so I guess
I’m hoping that as much open space can be preserved as possible. That, that, they’re, they won’t
get so crowded, um, that it won’t be as enjoyable as it is. Yeah. But then you know. Why
shouldn’t people enjoy it? So yeah, you know, it’s a selfish point of view just wanting to keep
things just as they are, um, or wanting others to enjoy it as well without getting to the point
where it’s too crowded, too busy. Um. One of the things that we love about here compared to the
east coast is event when, when it’s crowded it’s never like it is out there where you sit in traffic
jams on single lane roads for well hour, could be hours. It’s um, well, I love Cape Cod. But, we
have not been out there in years. Probably since we bought this place. Um. But, uh, you, you
have, it’s just as beautiful here as it is on Cape Cod to me. Um. With half the traffic. Half the
crowds. And a lot less expense. For us to have the same condo out there would be at least twice
the price or three times.
59:37 TS: Oh man. you did it right then
59:40 BK: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s um no it’s one of, like some people say one of the best kept
secrets. People from the east coast and the west coast too, they, they know the ocean. Which is
fantastic. But Lake Michigan is not a lake. As, you know, talking to people they say “Oh lakes
are nice.” It’s not a lake. It’s a great lake, it’s like an inland sea. And we have had friends come
to visit as say, standing on the beach say “You wouldn’t know this wasn’t the ocean.” They don’t
realize, you know you look out, as far as you can see on the horizon, it’s water. Except for the
fact of course the waves and the roughness of the ocean is different, and salt water, too, but um,
it’s every bit as beautiful. And, in some ways, nicer I think. Yeah.
1:00:33
understand
TS: That’s a good perspective. The ocean versus the lake. A lot of people don’t
�1:00:37
BK: Yeah, they don’t they, if they haven’t been to the Midwest they have no idea
what it, what a great lake is like
1:00:42
TS: No. yeah. Yeah. Seeing it on the map does not do it justice in person. That is
for sure. Um. Would you want your children to go into your line of work? We haven’t talked
about your line of work
1:00:54
BK: [laugh] Retired
1:00:59
TS: Would you like them to be retired?
1:01:02
BK: Actually, God willing, um, um, no, so do you want to talk about what I did?
1:01:08
there
TS: Yeah, we’ll talk about what was your line of work and then we can go from
1:01:13
BK: Um. Well, I worked a lot in media, in fact for the 20 years before I retired I
worked in the New York Times. And, um, I worked in research. And I really enjoyed what I did.
Yeah. In fact, one of the, um, big projects that I had, ongoing projects, was reader panel, where,
um we maintained the, um a panel of a couple of thousand readers would give us their opinions
on various things, and so I got involved in writing surveys and analyzing results and reports. And
it was interesting to me because it was never the same thing all the time. So that was a lot of
variety. Which I enjoyed. I get bored if I have to do the same thing all the time. As most people
do
1:02:04
TS: Yeah. Yeah.
1:02:05
Yeah.
BK: But, um, anyway I retired about ten years ago. So. Oh actually, nine years.
1:02:12
TS: Congratulations on that.
1:02:14
BK: [laugh] and then for a couple, and then for a few years, I actually have a
degree in counseling. Masters in counseling, so for a few years I worked at a women’s
community center. And that was, that was very enjoyable. Yeah. I liked that a lot. But right now
I’m, I’m just doing things with my family and traveling and enjoying Saugatuck.
1:02:38
TS: Good.
1:02:39
BK: In summer. Saugatuck Douglas I should say. Right
1:02:44
TS: Um, looking back on your career as research at the New York Times and as a
counselor, would that be something you would have wanted your children to go into?
1:02:54
BK: Oh, both my daughters are teachers. One is teaching at inner city school in
Philadelphia. Um, the other one is a PhD candidate, and she was teaching at college level, and
�this year she’s in a special program, um for graduate students, well for PhD students, um, at the
university of Pennsylvania. Uh. It’s a wonderful opportunity. She’s in history. So, if I had to do it
again, I think I might have become a teacher. And I’m glad that they’re teachers. Yeah. So.
1:03:33
TS: All right. I understand that. Yeah. I taught as well
1:03:38
BK: Yeah, I think it’s, uh, I did, at the community center I taught, um, work
readiness program. So I, um, worked with women. Inner city women, who were, uh, trying to get
back into the work force. And that was a wonderful experience.
1:03:54
TS: Very nice. Very cool. A useful profession. That is for sure.
1:03:58
BK: Mm. A challenging profession.
1:04:01
TS: Yes. Very challenging. Yeah. That’s not a job you get to leave at home.
1:04:05
BK: Yeah. Yeah.
1:04:10
TS: Um. What do you think are some of the greatest needs currently facing your
family and/ or your community?
1:04:16
BK: [pause] hm [pause]. Huh. Greatest needs. Huh. I don’t know. Well [pause]
hm. How to say this? Um. Saugatuck is a wonderful party town. If you like to party. There’s tons
of stuff to do, you know especially being in the outdoors. Um. I’m probably going to say, I think
the greatest need is spiritual. I think that sometimes I feel a little emptiness, a little shallowness,
like it’s uh, yeah. Um, it’s, it’s easy to, uh, especially when there’s a lot of money, it’s easy to
get caught up in just having fun, and I think there’s more to life than just having fun. [pause]
[laugh]
1:05:26
TS: That is true
1:05:26
BK: Is that kind of negative?
1:05:29
TS: No. It’s not
1:05:30
BK: Um. Yeah. So you know, I think it’s important to value people, um, I think
faith is important too. I believe this is not all there is. And there’s an emptiness if you think this
is all there is and this is all you live for. Just to have fun. So fun is great. I’m not against fun. Or
having a good time, enjoying, you know, whatever resources you’ve been blessed to have. Um,
but I also think you need to care about others. You need to care about um, people in need. Yeah.
1:06:08
TS: That’s not a negative approach at all. It’s not. I think that’s wonderful advice.
Um. Remembering that this interview will be saved for a long time, when someone listens to this
tape, 50 plus years from now, what would you most like them to know about your life and
community now in 2018.
�1:06:27
BK: Oh my goodness. About the community? Um. [pause] well I hope that it
becomes more and more of a welcoming place. Um. [pause] we, how should I say this? We’ve
often commented, my family has commented on the fact that you hardly ever see minorities in
town. Um, of course we don’t want to go back to where it was in the 60’s where riots and police
had to come in. You know. And you know. Everyone wants a nice place to come to. Yeah. But I
guess I would like to see more types of people just enjoying, being able to enjoy what’s here.
Um. As for myself [pause] what I would like people to remember about me? Well two things are
important to me: one is my love of God, and the other is my love of family. And I hope that um,
that I will have had had a positive impact on other people because of those things.
1:08:02
TS: Ok. Very good. Um segwaying onto that. Any advice for a young person who
may listen to this tape, perhaps 50 years in the future, or 5 years in the future.
1:08:14
BK: Oh, advice, uh, yeah. I would say that this life is not all there is, and don’t
live as if, don’t live just for yourself. Remember that God created for a purpose, and you need to
seek that purpose.
1:08:37
TS: Excellent. All right. Anything else that you would like to share that I may not
have asked you about? Anything you want to describe, get off your chest? Put down for
posterity? Any details we missed?
1:08:51
BK: I can’t think of anything else [pause] I don’t know. I, no doubt when I walk
away from here I’ll think oh I could have told him about this, or I could have told him about that,
or how come I forgot, but right now I think we’ve pretty well covered [laugh]. Yeah. It seems
like we have.
1:09:17
TS: Well right. Well. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your
memories with me. This concludes the interview
1:09:27
BK: Right
1:09:27
TS: [laugh]
interview ends 1:09:29
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
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Various
Rights
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<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
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Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
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Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
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image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
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Image
Text
Language
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English
Date
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2018
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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DC-07_SD-KiszonasB-20180721
Creator
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Kiszonas, Barbara
Date
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2018-07-21
Title
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Barbara Kizonas (Audio interview and transcript), 2018
Description
An account of the resource
Barbara Kiszonas grew up on the South side of Chicago but shares memories of spending summers in Saugatuck-Douglas as a camper and as a camp councilor.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smith, Tyler (Interviewer)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Outdoor recreation
Camping
Beaches
Oral history
Audio recordings
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Documenting the Histories of Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas, Kutsche Office of Local History
Publisher
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Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
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Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
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<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
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Sound
Text
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audio/mp3
application/pdf
Language
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eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0ddf34117183630198601de254db2183.mp3
a289f21bfa455dc1f89be5333f785cd4
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/92dddc6b5bd6489d989989cc151a9f99.pdf
995546d8fa3da6386ac14d963392493e
PDF Text
Text
Jean Hays Arnold- Interview by Eric Gollaneck
October 4, 2018
0:03
EG: This is Eric Gollaneck, and I’m here today with
0:07
JA: Jean Hays Arnold.
0:09 EG: At the old school house in Douglas, Michigan, on October the 4th, 2018. This oral
history is being collected as part of the Stories of Summer Project which is supported in part by a
grant provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities common heritage program.
Thanks, Jean for taking the time to meet with us today. I’m interested in learning more about
your family history and experiences of summer in the Saugatuck Douglas area. Can you say your
full name again and spell it for us?
0:40
JA: Ok. Jean Marie Hays Arnold. J-E-A-N M-A-R-I-E H-A-Y-S A-R-N-O-L-D.
0:52
EG: Fantastic. Thank you. Uh, and any special accents when spelling your name?
0:58
JA: No.
0:59 EG: Ok. Great. So, jumping right in. Tell us a little about growing up in Saugatuck
Douglas, and your experiences here.
1:09 JA: Ok. Wow. That leaves it wide open. All right. Um, I guess what I wanted to do also
is tell where I grew up. That’s my reference for my memories, which is my address at 177 St.
Peters Drive. And we moved there in about 1964. So that is where I spent my childhood and
1:35
EG: And this is in, this is in Saugatuck?
1:38
JA: Douglas actually
1:39
EG: Or in Douglas. Ok.
1:40 JA: Yeah, so, um, some of my earliest memories just in the general area are that, um, I
would like to play in the area what’s now West Shore Court, Hamilton, which connected to St.
Peter’s Drive, and there was a military tower at one time, that’s gone now, that I would climb up
to and look out, and it was very fun. It was like my own little personal fort. And um, had a lot of
fun there, and it happened to be right next to where the famous root beer barrel was.
2:20
EG: Right. Right
2:21 JA: But, at the time it was closed in the sixties already. When, when I knew of it, but I
had fun running around, and sneaking and peeking into the little
2:34
EG: [laugh]
�2:35
JA: There was a little, there was a little associated house to the barrel
2:38
EG: yeah
2:39 JA: And so I had fun there, and before all the warehouses and the boat storage was the
Hamilton, West Shore Court, um area, it was very open. I did a lot of kite flying in that area
believe it or not. You could not fly a kite there now. And, um, also the Parish family sticks in my
mind as having a house and a very distinctive tower, which I don’t know if that was the tower or
the military tower was behind the name of Tower Marine. Which is the marina
3:19
EG: Ok. Sure
3:20 JA: Down below the hill. And um, on the hill, just is where we would park or we would
sit and watch fireworks over Lake Kalamazoo.
3:33
EG: Right
3:34
JA: When I was a child, so that kind of covers that general area
3:40 EG: Right. Right, and just to back up, it was really interesting about the military tower.
We’ve done other interviews and uh, young, young people being up there has come up, and
during World War two, watching, and this is the same tower, and observation tower.
3:56
JA: Oh. Observation tower. Yes
3:59 EG: For plane spotting. For watching military aircraft. So how old would have been
when you were flying kites and climbing the tower and exploring this area.
4:07
JA: Oh this, this was, probably 8,9,10
4:14
EG: mmhm
4:14
JA: In that time period
4:15
EG: yeah.
4:17
JA: Young, but not real
4:18
EG: Independent
4:19
JA: Yeah exploring the area.
4:19
EG: out there, doing your own thing, exploring the
4:22 JA: Yeah. It was fun. Um, also in that area, um, in the mid 1960’s the Keewatin came
into the area. And I, I pretty much had the Keewatin pretty much as the backdrop of my
�childhood and where I lived, because we were on a bit of a bluff on St. Peter’s Drive, there. Um,
down below they had pulled the Keewatin up. So, um, that’s been, that’s always kind of been the
backdrop for me as I said. And when I became, was approaching thirty years old, I said, “Either
I’m going to be married, or I’m going to have one whale of a party.” So I thought, what better
place to have a birthday, uh, 30-year-old birthday party than the Keewatin?
5:20
EG: Yeah
5:20
JA: So, so, I did that
5:24
EG: [laugh]
5:25
JA: It was a party for 50. Prime rib dinner. Catered by, get this, the Terra restaurant.
5:32
EG: wow
5:32
area.
JA: Where I worked when I worked when I was 16, in the back, in the salad and dessert
5:38
EG: Right
5:38
JA: So I thought, oh, they must cater my event
5:42
EG: Right.
5:43
JA: I shall have my event right next to where I lived practically
5:48
EG: Right
5:48 JA: Um. We had a 6 pieced band in the ball room area. And the dinner, and it was all
videotaped at the time
5:58
EG: Yeah
5:59
JA: So that was a really grand event. I had a ball gown and the whole thing so.
6:05
EG: Right? You did this in style
6:07
JA: Yeah. So
6:07
EG: And this is your life moment with the Keewatin and Terra and
6:08
JA: [laugh] yeah. It was really perfect.
6:13
EG: All this history. Yeah.
�6:14 JA: So, little did I know 24 years later I would get married. But, at the time, I thought
I’m going to do this and do it right, so. I’ve actually had two receptions in my life, so that was
fun. Ok. I think that is kind of the area, um
6:32 EG: Let me, let me ask you a little bit. Do you remember when the Keewatin arrived? Is
that a memorable.
6:38 JA: That was 1964, 5, or 6. Very soon after we moved in. I think we moved in first and
then, and then the Keewatin came along
6:52 EG: What was the reactions to people, or your reaction to that then when this ship, you
know lake, lake steamer just arrives in town?
6:57 JA: Oh, I mean you can imagine. Yeah. Well, we, for sure, had to have a tour and had
more than 1, 2, 3, tours because it was a very special landmark, of course, for the Saugatuck,
Douglas area
7:13
EG: Yeah. Yeah.
7:14 JA: Huge and really kind of a loss. Kind of a piece of Saugatuck, Douglas missing now,
because it had been here for so long. I think just recently in the last, maybe five years
7:21
EG: Right. Yeah. A number of decades.
7:28
JA: It was, uh, removed
7:28
EG: I think it was, yeah. Within that time frame.
7:31
JA: Yeah. It’s been significant to the area and to me, for sure in particular
7:37
EG: Right. So changing, changing eras
7:41
JA: Yeah. Definitely
7:42
EG: yeah.
7:44 JA: So, um, otherwise, I would, I tried to think of some of my earliest memories of, and
trying to keep it focused on summer.
7:52 EG: Yeah. And we can, we can talk about other things as they come as well. So that’s
fine, but, uh
7:58
JA: ok, um,
7:59 EG: Did you have something else specific, or you could talk about school. Did you go to
the Douglas school?
�8:06 JA: Oh, Douglas Elementary School. Of course, yeah. Um, some of my classmates went
to St. Peter’s, to the Catholic school for a while, and then eventually we all joined up during the
elementary years because the St. Peter’s closed down. And it’s funny St. Peter’s Drive, we lived
on St. Peter’s drive. We lived right next to the school and the church, but I did go to the public
school. So, um, yeah. I don’t know so many memories having to do with Douglas Elementary
School. Um.
8:44
EG: Did you walk to school, or get rides, or bike, or?
8:49 JA: I remember the bus. I did take the bus, but good heavens. I could have taken the bike.
Uh, the biking was, very significant, I think for me and the Saugatuck Douglas area to um, get to
your destination. I never really needed transportation or a car later on because Saugatuck and
Douglas was really bike riding easy distance. So you’d bike ride wherever you needed to go.
Which was really fun. And then thing about biking from Douglas to Saugatuck, you cross the
bridge, there’s kind of swampy land on either side. And I had a bit of a traumatic experience
every time I went from Douglas to Saugatuck sometimes. I would be waving my arms above my
head like this as I’m speeding, speeding like the Wicked Witch of the West on the bike because
there are red winged black birds
9:48
EG: Ok yeah.
9:48 JA: That took up residence, uh particularly on the, what would I say? The west side. And
they would dive bomb my head.
9:56
EG: Sure
9:58 JA: Land on my head. So it was a bit traumatic, and I’m waving my hands above my
head wildly to try and to veer the blackbirds away, so that sticks in my head, of course, because
the, the blackbirds were terrorizing me, so a bit of a downside to biking. But still
10:16 EG: Right, er, passers. I’ve not heard that story, but that’s a great description of passing
the bridge
10:20 JA: [laugh] yeah. So.
10:23 EG: Did, primarily bike in the summer I guess then
10:29 JA: Oh yeah. Absolutely. Biked. Yeah. That’s the way to get around, and it gives you
independence as a kid to
10:38 EG: For sure.
10:39 JA: That was fun. Parents provided me with a five speed. I don’t know if they even have
five speeds anymore, but that was big at the time
�10:50 EG: Definitely. That’s good for these hills, good for the, good for some of these hills
getting around as well.
10:50 JA: Yeah. Around late 60’s [laugh] yeah
10:54 EG: If you go down to the beach, then you can make it there and back. Yeah
10:59 JA: Uh, one other thing, backing up to the Keewatin, I remembered was at one point,
probably pretty early, probably late 60’s they had, they used the life boats off the Keewatin in
life boat races. And my mom was on a crew of one of the life boats, and I believe you even tried
to, or it was requested if you could try to dress in period type costume if I’m not mistaken. I’m
not sure about that.
11:32 EG: I think, I think we have photos that are mentioning it
11:36 JA: Do you? Yes!
11:37 EG: Because I’ve seen those boats, and I’ve wondered what are, what are those? What’s
going on?
11:41 JA: Yeah.
11:42 EG: That must what those are, yeah.
11:44 JA: I wonder if it, if it was for a significant Saugatuck event maybe. I’m not, I’m not sure
if it was
11:50 EG: Yeah. The centennial
11:52 JA: Centennial, or something like that. So, uh, yeah. My mom was in that along with
Carol Frikengust (?) and Frey Whiteman (?), that I remembered. So. Ok. I’m just kind of looking
here to see, um, real young memories, I guess anytime in the summer, um, I took swimming
lessons when I was maybe 5 or 6 so at Goshorn Lake. Pottawattamie Beach. In that area. So.
Um, I don’t know if they do that anymore, but I remember jumping off a dock, and it was sink or
swim basically.
12:40 EG: [laugh]
12:44 JA: Um, after you had your little, you know, floating on the shoreline and head in the
water and all that, so, uh, but Goshorn Lake and Pottawattamie Beach and course near to that the
Dune Scooner (?) rides, taking a Dune Scooner (?) ride. Now those have been around huh, my
whole life probably
13:04 EG: A long time, for sure. Yeah.
13:05 JA: [laugh] yeah. So all in that area is a big memory to me.
�13:10 EG: Was that something that you did on a regular, like did you do it once a summer basis
or if people came to visit or with friends or tell me a little bit about that experience as you
remember it.
13:20 JA: Yeah. I think, oh. I, I, was really young at the time, but it really made an impression
on me. And, um, the whole mystery surrounding the Singapore. Um, yeah, and a few things
about that area. And just going through the dunes at fast speed and sand, so it was really exciting
and really fun. I don’t know if we did it so much, but I remember it being pretty significant in my
little child
13:50 EG: Yeah
13:50 JA: mind, so
13:53 EG: Yeah. It’s such a strange experience that’s right there.
13:56 JA: yeah
13:57 EG: I mean you wouldn’t know driving through the area that that there’s this lunar
landscape almost. This other worldly place
14:03 JA: Yeah. So really interesting. So. That is a little bit of, oh and also I remember, when I
was very little, like that age too, my dad took me to Funk’s News Stand, on Butler to get a
newspaper and get me a little stretch candy necklace. And so that was a big treat.
14:30 EG: Yeah
14:31 JA: And, um, Funk’s News Stand is no longer there. I recently run into the son of Roscoe
Funk, and I forget the wife’s name. Paula. I’m not sure.
14:43 EG: And that was a regular stop.
14:44 JA: Yeah
14:48 EG: What newspaper? The Holland Sentinel? Or Grand Rapids or
14:52 JA: Yeah. Or even the Commercial Record, um possibly too, but I think it would be, my
dad would read The Sentinel, the Holland Sentinel, or Grand Rapids Press for sure. So, that was
a regular visit.
15:05 EG: You drove over there? From home?
15:08 JA: Yeah. Yup, yeah. So yeah
�15:12 EG: How did you, what was the, one thing that is interesting in our interviews is people,
the kind of separation, or distinct identities between Douglas and Saugatuck.
15:25 JA: Oh yeah
15:26 EG: Which is true somewhat today, but describe a little bit about that. How often did you
go to Saugatuck, uh, what was that? How did you see the differences between those two places
15:38 JA: Yeah. It’s funny, in my organization of thoughts I started putting Saugatuck Douglas
Douglas Saugatuck on, on, um topics that were in my mind. So that’s interesting. I should say
that, um. And, and thinking about classmates, the classmates that lived in Saugatuck vs the
classmates that lived in Douglas, and, um, yeah. That’s kind of a neat thing. Saugatuck was more
flashy and, you know, Douglas was a little bit more subdued and, you know reserved like and,
not fancy. But you know, Saugatuck was the big place where everything happened. And that’s,
that’s what I kind of remember a little bit. We’d go to Saugatuck. It felt almost like I lived in
Douglas, but Saugatuck and Douglas were all one as well. We just went to Saugatuck like it was
our downtown
16:40 EG: Yeah. Was that on a, would you say on a daily basis. On a couple times a week, or
weekly basis.
16:47 JA: Oh, all the time
16:48 EG: Yeah
16:49 JA: Yeah
16:49 EG: Yeah
16:50 JA: It was just like where we lived
16:52 EG: Yeah.
16:52 JA: So yeah. It was pretty neat. Um, I, I have. Let’s see. Some things. Oh. Another
young memory was, of course, boating is so huge in the area, with, uh Kalamazoo Lake, and my
dad had a small boat. It was a motor boat which could be converted if you put the rudder in and
put the mast up and the sail, it could be a sail boat. And we had our little orange life jackets, you
know, they were all little orange life jackets back then. And, um, my mom, my dad, myself, and
my brother. We’d have our little outing around the lake. So that was a special memory too, and
on that side, also Mt. Baldhead of course is big in any Saugatuck and Douglas mind. Uh, going
up the stairs. Running down the other side. Walking back to the area. And we’ve had more than
one family picnic there, with roasting hot dogs and um having a little picnic by the water at the
bottom of Mt. Baldhead’s stairs. So
18:05 EG: yeah.
�18:06 JA: That was fun too. Yeah,
18:12 EG: Ok
18:13 JA: I, leading up to jobs that I had in the summer, because once I hit maybe 13, 14, 15,
16, um, jobs came about. Oh, I’m seeing that you had an elementary school thing. Douglas
Elementary was very close to a little place called the Tasty Freeze. And that was a big
destination of course. And that’s where I found I loved, uh, dipped top cones. Oh baby. That
was, that was a treat. So I don’t want to forget Tasty Freeze.
18:50 EG: That’s great. Did you have a favorite? Did you have a favorite combination that
18:56 JA: Well, I always got the dipped top cone. I thought that was amazing how you could
have milk chocolate
18:58 EG: Milk chocolate
18:59 JA: On your vanilla ice cream
19:02 EG: Yeah.
19:04 JA: That was fun, um, ok. Let me see what else here. I have memories, think. Uh, oh, I
was baptized in the United Methodist Church on Mason and Griffith. So that is a little. It’s still
there. So. I know about that. Um
19:27 EG: What, was church a regular, regular routine regular part of life?
19:30 JA: Oh my gosh. Yes. And we had to have gloves and a little purse, and possibly a hat,
and little shoes, little Mary-Jane, patent leather probably. Oh. The biggest thing. This is not
summer, but in winter time, I had a muff. You know the muff? Where you have a furry little
tunnel where you can warm your hands. That, that was for Sunday, so, yeah. It was, that was
when I was very young 5, 6. That kind of thing. So.
20:06 EG: And regularly went to church. Whole family?
20:08 JA: Yeah. Pretty much. Yeah. We started in the Saugatuck United Methodist Church.
Moved eventually to (?) but up until I was 12, which would have been early 70’s, it was church
every Sunday
20:23 EG: Yeah
20:24 JA: That’s how it was
20:24 EG: Yeah.
�20:25 JA: Not anymore. So then after that it was not so much, so. Um, yeah. Let’s see. I guess I
will go into jobs. Oh wait. There used to be a tennis court in Douglas. I’m kind of jumping all
over
20:50 EG: You talked about that today
20:53 JA: yeah
20:53 EG: That’s all right. There’s no, uh, formula for this. There was the conversation we had
this morning with another person about the tennis courts that were
20:54 JA: Um, oh did you? Yeah. My sister and I were there. Now there’s just a play park
where it used to be I think, but my sister and I would go there and just lob, volley, whatever you
call it, back and forth and that was a fun thing to do in the summer too, is the tennis court.
21:17 EG: Yeah. Tell us a little bit about for the folks listening to this down the line about your
family, so your mom, you mentioned your mom and dad, your sister
21:27 JA: Yup
21:27 EG: Kind of say a little bit about that
21:29 JA: Ok. Uh, I’m the oldest, um, 3 years later was my brother, Dave, and then ten years
later, or seven after my brother was my sister, Laura. And my brother was, um, mentally
handicapped you could say or developmentally challenged, or however you want to word it. So
that was a big impact on our family. My sister, she also went to Douglas Elementary and
Saugatuck High School, and she graduated ten years after I did in 1989, so, yeah. So that’s kind
of the makeup of our family, and a lot of the focus on my brother, which impacted the family
quite a bit too. And he like to escape, run, drive his little car, or walking on foot, and I remember
people in the area guiding him back home again, so. Um, that was kind of what was happening
with us at the time
22:42 EG: yeah. But it, it sounds like a supportive community. Through all that
22:28 JA: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah
22:51 EG: That kind of village culture.
22:52 JA: Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much. I mean, we didn’t have a lot of neighbors at the time, but
yeah, there were some helpful ones there so yeah. So, ok. I think maybe I will just touch on some
jobs I had. My first job, very significant landmark in the area, I worked at Anchor Park. Have
you heard of Anchor Park and the Island Queen?
23:28 EG: Yes.
23:30 JA: I was, that was that was the first of the paddle wheel, paddle wheel boats of the area.
�Um, owned by Dick Hoffman, Dick and Debbie Hoffman and their kids, Tom, Annie, who was
in my class, and Kate. And I was a crew. I think I was the one person crew for the island queen
for pushing off and docking, so that was a big thing, going out into the lake
24:06 EG: Yeah. So you were on the boat.
24:08 JA: Yeah the whole time. I, I would even steer a little, bit so that was fun
24:10 EG: Yeah.
24:12 JA: I thought the world of Dick Hoffman.
24:13 EG: And you were about 14? You said.
24:15 JA: 13 and 14 I did it two years. The second year I had a little lemonade stand on the top
deck. So that was fun [laugh]
24:24 EG: [laugh]
24:25 JA: And I remember, um, there were charter trips where big groups would rent the boat,
and we’d go out to the basin, the area just before the lake, and go out into the channel. And they
would get off the boat and have their parties or whatever, and Mr. Hoffman and I, there were
mosquitoes galore. This was summer time
24:49 EG: yeah
24:50 JA: Beach water.
24:50 EG: It’s a marsh
24:51 JA: We’d hide under his military olive green wool blankets to keep from the mosquitoes.
While everyone else was having a high old time we were trying to take a nap until they would all
come back. So that sticks in
25:05 EG: Oh my goodness
25:07 JA: My mind, um, also with anchor park, they had not only the Island Queen, but they
had mini golf. They had paddle boat rentals. Canoe rentals. I don’t know that they even had
kayaks at the time. That’s probably a newer thing from the sixties
25:21 EG: Yeah. Probably
25:22 JA: Early seventies. They had darts and, um, Debby Hoffman, she was a wild one, and
there was a boat, a large yacht that had a mermaid on the bow, that, they, you know the owners
of this boat, they didn’t care. The mermaid was wide open in all her chest full glory and Debbie
Hoffman didn’t really think that that was appropriate. And she got an idea that we were going to
�take a bucket of red paint, a paint brush, myself and her daughter Kate, in the night with a flash
light. We paddled all out to the mermaid on the front of this yacht and painted a bra on the
mermaid. [laugh] So the mermaid was now acceptable, and we paddled back and Kate still
remembers that. And that was oh, we were very stealthy, and we thought “Oh my gosh, is
anybody going to catch us?” But you know nobody caught us. We got away with it, and the
mermaid had a bra, so all was well with the world
26:40 EG: Was there, that’s an amazing story. Was there, was there any reaction to that? Did
you wake up, this was in the night time? Was there, was there moon light so you could navigate
across the water?
26:51 JA: Well we brought a flashlight. It wasn’t too far away from the park so we just paddled
in the night and did our thing and that’s a memory
27:01 EG: Right. No reaction, no reaction. At the dis, at the discovery of this
27:02 JA: No, not, no. No. Unfortunately, it would have been good because I would have
known we did that, so.
27:09 EG: yeah. Yeah.
27:11 JA: But it was fun. Um, so yeah. That was one of my jobs. That was my first job. And,
uh, learning about
27:20 EG: How, how did you get that job? Was that just through, through your friend?
27:23 JA: Oh, no. I got that job, my mom and dad played volleyball at Saugatuck High School.
I believe it was with Dick and/or Debbie Hoffman. And they must have gotten the word out that
they had a need for the Island Queen and I remember my mom coming home and saying “Jean,
how would you like a little job? I’ve heard that they could use somebody to help with the Island
Queen.” And voila
27:55 EG: Yeah. That was it. That’s how it happened.
27:56 JA: That was it. And that really taught me a love for water, for boats, um, to this day I
love it, so, um, you know, what you’re close to in your childhood. Just goes to show you what a
long lasting impact it has. So, the area, the water, the boats. So yeah. It’s part of me. Yeah. So,
um a little bit about Douglas, speaking of fun little stories, Douglas Beach, we went to Douglas
Beach more than we went to the Oval Beach. Um, living in Douglas in particular, and just
because it’s a little quieter, little more serene and, um, my dad chose Douglas Beach. And if you
go to Douglas Beach there is usually a big rock. Huge rock. Either on the shore or in the water a
little bit depending on the year and, um, the circumstances. But my dad proposed marriage to my
mom on that rock.
29:10 EG: [laugh]
�29:11 JA: So that is very significant too. So I always look at that rock and think about that. And
later down the road I, I had my little swimming suit on and my mom, I think, took a little photo
shoot, and I was on the proposal rock, um, getting pictures that I was there too, and so, that’s fun.
Something like that, that will always stand there. Go to the Douglas Beach, see the rock and
remember that
29:40 EG: Right. Right. Proposal Rock
29:42 JA: Yeah. Yeah.
29:43 EG: That’s a good name for that, that spot
29:44 JA: I don’t know anyone else that did that but, um,
29:48 EG: Yeah. They should.
29:50 JA: Yeah.
29:50 EG: Great idea.
29:51 JA: Um, we didn’t go to the beach in Saugatuck, but when we did, I loved to, or it was
kind of a tradition to walk out to the pier and back from Oval Beach. That was a big thing, um,
and I don’t know if it’s still, um, that way, but when I was younger, childhood time, I didn’t want
to look to my right because there may be nude gentlemen in the dunes that don’t care whether
someone sees them or not. So I remember not wanting to look to my right as I was going north
along the shoreline
30: 35 EG: Right. Yeah.
30:36 JA: To the pier. That was, that was a little significant memory. Because that was already
the gay population kind of staking their claim at the time to that area and doing what they wanted
to do.
30:48 EG: Do- do finding out about that? I mean do you remember being warned about that?
Or was it kind of self-evident when you went out there?
30:56 JA: Yeah
30:56 EG: Were there signs and things and tents and things, right?
30:59 JA: Oh there were bodies
31:02 EG: Yeah. You couldn’t miss it is what you’re saying?
31:02 JA: [laugh]
�31:04 EG: [laugh]
31:08 JA: So then that’s uh, a little memory that stands out
31:10 EG: What was, what was some of the reactions to that among your, among your friends
or family or neighbors? Or what was your recollection of that?
31:18 JA: Yeah. It, it was kind of well known. It was just kind of a given, but I felt a little
embarrassed.
31:25 EG: It wasn’t hostility toward them from other people necessarily
31:30 JA: I guess there might have been some, but I think as a rule we here in Saugatuck and
Douglas—yeah!
31:34 EG: Said live and let live. Yeah
31:38 JA: Why not? That’s one of the great things about this area
31:40 EG: just avert your avert your eyes.
31:41 JA: Yeah! Right! If you don’t like it don’t look
31:41 EG: If you don’t like—there—there’s other beaches you can go to. Yeah.
31:47 JA: [laugh] but or just carry on with your own business. And they’re free to do what they
want to do was kind of the attitude
31:52 EG: Yeah.
31:53 JA: Yeah. It’s good. I like it. I did, as matter of fact, work at the beach house on a
summer. Speaking of going into jobs
32:04 EG: Ok. Yeah.
32:05 JA: So, um, in the concession stand with the hotdogs and the hamburgers and the chips.
32:10 EG: Right.
32:10 JA: and pop and, um, did that, um, I happen to remember that, um, nothing
32:15 EG: Was, was that a fun job?
32:18 JA: It was a fun job. Of course. I mean, you see everybody and all the beach goers, and
that’s a lot of fun
�32:27 EG: Yeah. What were your hours like when you worked out there? Was it part of the
day? The whole day? Sun up to sundown? Late at or
32:34 JA: Oh, um, yeah, it wasn’t extensive hours. It seems like maybe it was 11-4 or
something like that
32:43 EG: Mmhm. Kind of a lunch. Kind of a lunch
32:44 JA: Yeah.
32:45 EG: Crowd. Afternoon snack.
32:46 JA: yeah. So that was kind of fun. And that was the beach house before the current one.
Now we have the nice modern one. This was the old, maybe there are pictures of the old beach
house out there so, yeah. The beach house. That was
33:05 EG: What did you —how many people worked there with you?
33:08 JA: Um, a couple I think. Don Treckingust (?) I remember worked, um, he was just a
class below me. We worked together and, another one. So someone as at the front and someone
was doing the burgers and it was a lot of fun.
33:25 EG: How, how old were you at that point?
33:27 JA: Oh, I think I was around 16, 15, 16, in there. Maybe 15. So, just a teenager
33:35 EG: Yeah. That sounds like a great teenaged job
33:38 JA: [laugh] I know! There were great jobs!
33:42 EG: Good nostalgia for them
33:43 JA: One that was not so great, or a couple of jobs actually. One job, uh, Timberline
Motel, which I think is now the Starlight or something crazy like that. But Timberline Motel was
owned by, um, parents of a classmate of mine. Debbie Clem. Her parents. And I thought I was
going to be a maid at the Timberline Motel with my girlfriend and her family. Well, I found out
very quickly I don’t want to clean bathrooms and make beds during a summer. That is not my
idea of fun. So we crossed that off,
34: 24 EG: [laugh]
34:24 JA: And I think that might have been a week. My duration of maid at Timberline Motel.
[laugh] Also, uh, waitress, when I was about 16 at a place called the Cousin’s Kitchen. Oh my
word. I’m not cut out for top organization and you need pancakes, and you need a muffin, and
you need butter over there, and syrup over there. This was probably a six table restaurant, and it
just blew my 16-year-old mind.
�34:55 EG: Yeah.
34:56 JA: This Cousin’s Kitchen, I think was in the, um, Peder Gallery. In the southern most
section of the Peder Gallery they had a little breakfast lunch place. I should have been able to
handle it but I, j, oh. It’s painful to this day, and I, I have had nightmares of waitressing the
Cousin’s Kitchen restaurant
35:23 EG: Sounds like a humbling experience [laugh]
35:26 JA Yes. No waitressing, but that was another job trial. Um, of a teenager in the
Saugatuck Douglas area. Um, got that, then when I was older, moved out after graduating. I
worked at a little shop called Brigadoon. This was probably 1979, 80. And it was at the height of
preppy-dom. And we specialized in monogramed sweaters. And I think they might even be
coming back now decades later. So yeah. Polo Shirts. You know, um, whales on your pants, um,
patchwork, madris (?), and all that. And we had customers interestingly enough that we would
send products out to Chicago, to St. Louis, to Kansas City, um, just shows you how far reaching
the visitors were that came to Saugatuck, shopped, and wanted things sent out to, back to their
homes. So, that was interesting. Um, also, I worked at Carl Gables as a coat check girl for the old
Crowe during the height of Disco time. So I thought I was born a little too late. I should have
been born a few years earlier because there were all the Disco dresses and Disco suits going
through, and I was missing it. I was a coat check girl, being 18.
37:10 EG: yeah
37:10 JA: I don’t, I couldn’t, I don’t believe I could get into the bar. But I could check coats
37:16 EG: Right
37:17 JA: So yeah. That was another little stint of mine. Coral Gables.
37:23 EG: Yeah. Now was this, was this a summer job? Was this, yeah.
37:26 JA: Oh, summer job, and July?
37:30 EG: Yeah
37:30 JA: Packed. Woo. Coral Gables was the kind of center of everything. Boats
37:37 EG: Even in, even in the late 70’s? I should say even, but in this moment we’re talking
the late 1970’s or early 1980’s. Yeah
37:45 JA: Mm. Oh yeah.
37:47 EG: This was a dis- And Disco
�37:48 JA: Yeah
37:49 EG: Disco. Disco came
37:50 JA: [laugh] can you believe it?
37:51 EG: In, in Saugatuck
37:52 JA: I know
37:53 EG: Yeah
37:54 JA: Hard to believe. It was really fun
37:55 EG: Well, do you have any particular customers or people, or types of people you saw
coming and going in, in those places?
38:04 JA: Oh, well, of course. The few that were especially inebriated, but I don’t know any
names. There weren’t any celebrities
38:11 EG: Oh, you don’t have to name names
38:14 JA: [laugh]
38:14 EG: just, I’m just thinking what, what people wore or or,
38:17 JA: Oh yeah
38:18 EG: Or kind of just the dynamics. The vibe
38:21 JA: Oh. Well, I mean, there were long lines to get in, and it was just, fun. People
watching and seeing what they wear and the music blaring. And you know, visitors all over, and
boats and people coming off their boats, and oh my gosh, it was just, it was the place. You know.
El Forno (?) if you wanted fine dining, Old Crowe downstairs, the Rats kellar (?). So, um, it was
fun to work there.
38:54 EG: It was kind of resort. Studio 54
38:56 JA: [laugh]
38:56 EG: On the Kalamazoo River
38:58 JA: Exactly. Yes. It was a lot of fun. Loved it, so, um, yeah
39:04 EG: Did you just work there the one summer?
�39:06 JA: The one, the one summer
39:08 EG: Yeah.
39:08 JA: Yep. Yup. Um. Oh, another fun thing that people do at that time, in the summer, is
play golf. At the time, at one time we had 3 golf courses. We had the Myro (?) which went with a
motel, which had a huge, larger than life, very memorable, horse on its back two legs. Reared up.
A white horse. I’ll never forget it. That was quite a landmark.
39:35 EG: This was at, this was the Myro Hotel?
39:37 JA: Myro Motel. Yeah
39:40 EG: OK
39:41 JA: At the intersection of the Blue star high way and the 130th or Wiley Road. And there
is, there is still. I think it’s the Dunes Inn.
39:50 EG: Ok. So that same area
39:51 JA: Yeah. Same area. So there was an associated small golf course there, and of course
the west shore, I believe it’s the West Shore golf course. Uh, with the Wick’s family ran that.
And now that’s done and houses are going up and uh, and of course Clear Brook. So. Golfing,
golfing is a big thing, and with friends
40:16 EG: Did you, did you spend time golfing then
40:20 JA: I did, but this was kind later on, but a fun summer activity that people gravitated
back to Saugatuck for, even when I moved from the area to the Holland area um, I’d come back
with my friends to the Saugatuck and Douglas area to hit the golf courses. So that was another
draw to the area. Which was fun. Oh, and another big draw to the area which I’m sad to see go is
Red Barn theater. Did anyone talk about Red Barn Theater?
40:48 EG: A fair amount. Yeah. Yeah, but tell us, tell us some of your experiences there.
40:49 JA: Yeah. That was, that was special. Yeah, in the summer time, uh, seeing a production
there was, was, great, and we had big names coming from Chicago, and maybe New York even,
uh, as guests.
41:04 EG: Yeah
41:05 JA: And seeing the production. And it was like our own Broadway, right here in
Saugatuck Douglas and
41:13 EG: Such a unique setting I understand as well. Describe it, a little bit of that. Of the
experience of going to the theater itself
�41:18 JA: Oh.
41:19 EG: What the theater was like
41:20 JA: Yeah. I mean it wasn’t fancy. Just a barn. But, um, you know, you go in and they
have little tables set up. They’d usually have little drinks, little snacks available, and um, oh, so,
you’d go in and, um, it’s rather rinky dink. Right, but it’s magical because there it is. It’s a stage
and production, and I wonder if I saw Harvey there. I think I may have seen Harvey, as one, but I
have seen probably a handful of productions over my lifetime and that was always very special,
and I’m sorry to see it go. Like, oh, darn. But a really good memory. Um, so, um, but going back
to Saugatuck, um, the women’s club in Saugatuck was, I like, I like dancing. Hence I was by the
Coral Gable’s Old Crowe. I liked dancing. And in the women’s club, the summer of 79 probably
or 80, George and Joanne Gallis (?) who were famous for their dancing, held dance lessons in the
women’s club in Saugatuck, and I, that’s where I first, uh, got exposed to ballroom dancing. And
loved it. Loved them. I think Nicky, their daughter, is still in the area, and um, dancing’s always
kind of been a thing with me and my name is also kind of known as Jean, Jean, the dancing
machine. So that was part of it [laugh]
43:11 EG: [laugh]
43:11 JA: My teen years I loved to dance at the high school and then ballroom dance. And the
dancing at the Coral Gables well, bi-curiously
43:23 EG: Right. You really did. I can understand the context for your comment about the
disco
43:23 JA: yeah... [laugh] yeah. It was like oh
43:32 EG: That, and that moment passed as well
43:34 JA: yeah
43:34 EG: Disco didn’t live, didn’t last long enough
43:38 JA: yeah
43:39 EG: It sounds like.
43:40 JA: Exactly.
43:41 EG: yeah
43:42 JA: Um, also in Saugatuck I remember Lloyd J. Harris Pine company. My dad, every
Christmas, ordered mince pies, which are kind of an unusual pie. Not your standard. And, uh,
always Lloyd J. Harris and of course, now that’s the location for the Center of the Arts. So, um,
�memories about that and having a manufacturing plant right in Saugatuck was kind of like whoa.
Wow. So.
44:14 EG: Did you have any family or friends that worked there?
44:18 JA: Uh, no. Not, not anyone I knew. It seemed like it was more, almost, I’m not sure if
this is right, but my impression of it was that it was more of uh, almost like a migrant or
Hispanic, you know Mexican, kind of population that worked there. Maybe from Fennville area
or something like that. It seemed to me. It didn’t seem to me like very many locals worked there.
44:48 EG: Like friends from high school or recent graduates. Not those people at all
44:52 JA: mm mm. Nobody I really knew or knew of worked there. And so my impression of it
was that people outside of Saugatuck Douglas worked there. So that was interesting. Um. Yeah.
Um, oh, another thing I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned, but there used to be a teen
center that was open in the summer time where the Douglas Library is right now.
45:24 EG: So at the center across the street you mean? Or the
45:28 JA: yeah
45:29 EG: Yeah? Ok.
45:30 JA: Yea. So. Um, we had basketball in there. And just games and, um, Margaret
Longshore was the one that kind of spearheaded that. And I always remember that, and I still see
her at, uh gatherings of friends.
45:45 EG: Yeah. No kidding. What were, what were some of the other things you enjoyed
doing there? Specifically. Hanging out with friends. Meeting with people
45:54 JA: Just kind of hanging out. Yeah. It was a place to call our own. And for teens that’s
that’s kind of a big thing
46:00 EG: Did they have music there? Or TV?
46:02 JA: Oh music. There was dancing. We have a theme here
46:03 EG: Yeah. Ok. There we go [laugh]
46:07 JA: [laugh] So it was funny. It was called The PITS. And that was an acronym. P-I-T-S.
And I cannot for the life of me remember what that stood for, but I’m going to have to ask
Margaret when I see her next
46:23 EG: Yeah. Was that open year round? Or mostly summer?
46:27 JA: No. It was more of a summery thing
�46:30 EG: Yeah. Ok.
46:30 JA: So, and it was like a big gymnasium inside before they turned it into a library so. It
was, it was fun for the kids to hang out. Friends and so, yeah. Ok. Wow. Believe it or not my
gosh, we’re, I think I’m out of time. I
46:52 EG: You must, you had some great material here
46:54 JA: I’m out. yeah.
46:54 EG: For sure.
46:57 JA: Believe it or not I think I hit on, on most of it
46:58 EG: Some uh, some great memories there. Few, a few things kind of tying that together
or coming out of that, some of the things you said, so you had these jobs. You worked at the
beach. You worked at the Coral Gables. On the Island Queen. What was it like growing up here
as someone who lived their whole life in Douglas, and then this kind of influx of people from
other places. What was that, what was the experience like?
47:25 JA: Oh. Yeah. It, it kind of felt like an invasion in the summer time actually. And, you
know the store, which was Taft’s at the time would be bombarded. And grocery items would
disappear because we have an influx of, of purchasing going on and, oh, there’s no parking
which also led the benefits of biking, and um, just a big onset of hustle and bustle uh, in the
summer time. Which has its fun aspects. The bustle and the people and the fun, but also it took
away from, our being local and living there, took away our peace and our calmness of living in
this relatively small village at the time. Um, locale, so it wasn’t always a welcome feeling. It was
“Oh, here they come from Chicago, and Missouri, and Indiana, and Ohio,” and you at Douglas
Beach, uh cars parked and um, people in for the summer, and you just look at all the license
plates and see where everyone’s from. You know, all over. But primarily Indiana, Illinois, Ohio.
Rounding Wisconsin. That kind of thing
48:57 EG: Did, did you have friends? Or did your friends living here have friends, family that
they knew came back on a regular basis? Did you develop friends over, you know, that came
seasonally? Or not so much?
49:08 JA: Oh. Um, gosh. I, what comes to mind is Brigadoon. And I don’t, I think I was only
there one year, but there were familiar faces who were visitors, um, and we catered to them and
knew them by name. Um, and they were not local. A lot of non-locals that, because I worked in
local business, I was friends with them of course. And they were regulars and got to know them a
little bit. Yeah.
49:46 EG: So yeah. So it was part of the excitement, but also brought its own baggage
49:51 JA: Yeah, pluses and minuses really but, like with anything.
�49:57 EG: Do you have any sense of change over your childhood? This is kind of maybe a
difficult thing to understand, because you’re developing see the world differently, but any sense
of change in the community around that? Over the time period
50:10 JA: Oh my gosh.
50:11 EG: As you were growing up?
50:12 JA: Yes. What was sad to see was the unstoppable development going on in the past few
decades as I’ve been away to, and just as I was leaving. Condos, condos, condos, condos,
development and really taking away our quaint, small town, um, feel. With all these condos, that,
to me in my mind, came to outsiders. Not really to locals as much and, so of course that was
disheartening, and of course the struggle over the Dennison property and the Dunes and the
Padnos, I, in-interest in that land and the development. As locals, I think that generally we could
say we like our, our, our peace, and our calm and our small time feel, and we, I feel, resistant to
any invasion of development and, um, it seems like it’s, of course it’s greed for money. It seems
like and we suffer for it. They build and hopefully people will come. And it’s all about money,
um, we suffer because it, losing what we want for ourselves and our environment.
51:44 EG: Yeah. So something you mentioned, you mentioned about the Keewatin and just the
visible landscape right, and just the visible landscape of looking out there. And certainly the
development just looks, to see that the development of those condos and things.
51:56 JA: Oh, yeah.
51:58 EG: It really has changed the visual landscape.
51:59 JA: Oh, big time. Yeah. Unfortunately
52:00 EG: Other, other changes. Just think about, you know as you were talking about Disco in
the late 1970’s and high school and into the 1980’s. Uh, and you mentioned the dunes earlier,
that area of town. What do you remember about the reaction to, uh, LGBT folks in Saugatuck
Douglas? And maybe the dunes specifically which opened right in, right in those years?
52:35 JA: Hm.
52:37 EG: If, if anything. If anything stands out to you.
52:38 JA: Yeah. You know, there the first inkling of that type of thing, way back when, it must
have been early 60’s is probably what others have talked about, I hope, is a place called the Blue
Tempo or something like that
52:57 EG: Yeah
�52:59 JA: I remember that, and that was a little bit of, I don’t know. Would you call it den of
iniquity maybe? Or something going on. I knew that was something, woo, outside of the norm a
little bit out there. Um, unusual things going on. I was very young. In the 60’s
53:17 EG: Right
53:17 JA: I was just a young child, but I remember that place
53:20 EG: Or people talking about it at least
53:21 JA: Yeah.
53:22 EG: Having reactions to that
53:23 JA: Yeah. That, that, that was hmm. And um, so I don’t have a lot of clarity on that
because I was so young when that was happening. That’s my first exposure to something
alternative to your normal, accepted, uh, standard lifestyle going on, so. But I think, I think it
gave me, it opened my mind. That this is ok. Because of Saugatuck Douglas and its acceptance
and that group, um, feeling comfortable in this area. Coming to this area and putting, frankly, a
lot of money in this area. And improving the area. And, uh, embracing the arts. And embracing
class and elegance, and really kind of doing good things for the area I think. So. That’s been a
good thing. Live and let live and they have made a lot of contributions to the area, which I
appreciate.
54: 37 EG: Yeah, yeah for sure. Yeah. I was just interested, thinking about the, the kind of
timing of that. The reaction and being in high school
54:44 JA: Yeah
54:46 EG: And one way or another. But not really
54:49 JA: No
54:49 EG: Not all that remarkable
54:51 JA: Not, not
54:51 EG: Like the beach, it’s kind of like the beach story. Let people do their thing right?
54:55 JA: [laugh] yeah! It’s, it’s a good thing
54:48 EG: Do you remember much of being, just being a teenager, being a high school student.
Were there, yeah, what was that like? What was the culture of high school, Saugatuck High
School like in the 1970’s, late 1970’s?
�55:10 JA: mm. Well, I what really stands out, one big thing is there was the old high school,
and then there was the new high school. And the old high school, I was, um able to go. I was,
um, 7th grade, which it was a 7th, 8th, and up high school, I went to 7th grade in the old high
school. I was the last class to come in and to go there before they, they built the new high school.
So um, I was really glad to have that experience. And there’s still cement steps that were put in
place for the students to go back and forth to that high school yet. So that’s kind of a nice
remnant of what was. Um, and the new high school was 8th through 12th. And that was where I
spent most of the time, and it was very exciting to be in a brand new high school. Very modern,
uh, lots of sports going on. I did track, I, I was a little bit of an outsider. I, I got along with other
groups, but I kind of had a group of outsiders in a way, um, Wendy Strum. Steve Wa, and
myself, and, so, um, I was the MC for the pep rallies. I was actually, strangely enough and
maybe not, the senior class president for my class. So. What do you know? [laugh]
56:53 EG: How is this just coming up now? You should have started right there.
56:54 JA: I know. Yeah
56:57 EG: Yeah
56:59 JA: Yeah, so I, I was, I usually ran the dances at high school. You know. Because I was
Jean, Jean the dancing machine, and the music, and we’d have music in the cafetorium. That was
a new catch phrase at the time. We ate there, we had dances there, we had
57:19 EG: How, how often were those? How often did, every week or?
57:20 JA: Yeah. With the football season, it was at the time and um, pep rallies in the
gymnasium. That was me on the microphone
57:29 EG: Firing up the crowd
57:30 JA: [laugh] Fired up and ready to go. Woo
57:37 EG: All the, all the, all of that.
57:39 JA: Yeah. Making posters. The whole thing
57:42 EG: What, what kind of dances? What kind of music were you all listening to?
57:48 JA: Oh yeah. Well
57:52 EG: Was Disco, was there any tension, was there a disco vs.
57:54 JA: Yeah, vs Rock. You know, we had Boston, and the Cars, and Led Zeppelin, and but
what I liked was Michael Jackson, and I could pretty much cut a good robot in my day, so um,
so, we had a variety. Had to have a variety of music, but I was more of the dancey, discoy,
�because I was trying to get in on that. Because at the time, that was the disco time when I was in
high school. So I’m trying to recreate that on a high school level. The dances
58:34 EG: yeah. Was that successful? Did you have followers?
58:36 JA: Yeah, somewhat. I mean, we had a variety of music. But there were a lot of hard
rock people too, so. Yeah. So there you go
58:50 EG: So high school life. Um, graduated
58:57 JA: Yeah
58:58 EG: Left, left the area
58:59 JA: Senior trip we should say
59:00 EG: Senior trip. Talk about that. Yeah
59:03 JA: Senior trip. That was a summery deal. We went to Daytona Beach, Florida. [laugh]
so
59:07 EG: [laugh]
59:08 JA On a bus, on a school bus with, I don’t know how we had music playing, but we did.
And that’s where I remember the Cars and Boston and that type of music
59:20 EG: So you took a school bus from Saugatuck, Michigan to Daytona, Florida
59:21 JA: Yes. Can you believe it?
59:25 EG: How long did that take?
59:27 JA: Way long. Really long.
59:29 EG: Really, I mean that would by car that would be like 20 plus hours. Days.
59:34 JA: Yeah. So, I don’t know. We were on a budge obviously.
59:39 EG: Clearly
59:39 JA: Yeah. Yeah.
59:40 EG: No air conditioning?
59:41 JA: No. No you know we were
�59:44 EG: This was in, this was in May or June when school got out
59:47 JA: Yeah. Yeah. So, um, at, well, oh boy that was fun. Um, once we were down there on
the beach in our bathing suits, and the, the gift shops, and oh probably a little, you know, less
than ideal behavior happening. Um, I was pretty, pretty goody two shoes you could say, but I
know there was an all, not everyone was.
1:00:18
EG: This is in a, to compare with some earlier time periods we asked people too,
and I’ll ask you, you know what sort of shenanigans were pulled? Did people get into? Maybe
not yourself, but other people that you were high school with? I mean, what was, or didn’t they
much, was there much, was there much issues with, and you don’t have to name any names or
say anything you don’t want to share, but, uh, you know. Parties. Run ins with the law.
1:00:49
JA: [laugh] yeah. Oh no.
1:00:50
EG: Pranks.
1:00:50
JA: I guess I don’t know a whole lot of that because that was, that was not my
circle. I wasn’t a real bad girl. I was kind of a good girl, which, eh, so that doesn’t lend to a
whole lot of exciting, stories, but that’s what I got.
1:01:05
EG: all right. That’s totally fine. Yeah. Um, thinking kind of, you commented on
a little bit on things that since have changed over time that you really valued about the
community. Hopes for, hopes for the future of, of the community; looking ahead
1:01:30
JA: Oh, well, probably just continuing with the thought of, um, guarding against
more development and preserving the quality of the area. And the, um, oh. What, oh, how do I
want to say it. Preserving the good parts, the best things about the area. Not losing that to the
greed and the development that I think probably continually pushes in on the area from someone
trying to make a buck from our wonderful little Saugatuck Douglas area. We want to, we want to
keep it wonderful. And, and the dunes area, and the environment, and preserving that because
that is a real treasure. So yeah. Those are the two biggest things, I think.
1:02:30
EG: yeah. For sure. So, last, last question I like to ask, penultimate question, uh,
we’re doing these interviews so they’ll be saved for a long time. Uh, imagine someone listening
to this 50 plus years from now. That’s a long time. 2068
1:02:48
JA: [gasp] wow.
1:02:48
EG: You know, uh, what would you like them to know about your life and about
the community, as you’ve experienced it?
1:02:58
JA: Hm. Yeah. Well, wow. Yeah. Somebody in the future. What do they need to
know? Well, I, I would hope that it would still be similar. That they, the water would be a big
aspect of it, the, the work of the area, and the inspiration of the area on artists. That’s really, I
hope that is still going on. And that was a big part of it now. Um, and hopefully they can enjoy
�the dunes. And enjoy the water, and still, I’m hoping that the elements that make Saugatuck
Douglas so special are still intact and still able to be enjoyed and treasured. It’s like, oh, I’m
getting, [laugh]
1:03:56
EG: [laugh] It’s powerful, it’s powerful stuff right? The sense of place here is so
strong. I’ve got to ask you one more question to kind of follow up on that. Thinking about art, we
didn’t touch on this at all, but growing up here, all of your experiences, kind of on the
Kalamazoo and in this area, uh, what was your awareness of or any interaction you had with
Oxbow or artists that came here? Uh, yeah
1:04: 24
JA: Well that’s a significant place is Oxbow, and it’s kind of a secret society art
place, art school in a way. I mean, it’s not main stream. I mean, everybody kind of knows about
it. Although they always have a wild representation in the parades for holidays, but, um, yeah.
That’s pretty significant that that was established here in this area. Which accounts for the
inspiration of this area to artists
1:04:57
EG: Yeah, do, do you remember much out of it, I mean what did you notice
growing up. Particularly different states, as someone who grew up here, from childhood through
adolescence and teenaged years. Do you have, do you have early memories of it, or was it just
kind of always mysterious place?
1:05:17
JA: Yeah, memories but also you could drive through it and see some of the
buildings, went through it. I don’t know that I knew anybody that attended there. It seemed like it
was kind of an outsider um thing, that came locally to study there and be a part of Saugatuck in
that way. So, um, but art has been a big part of this area. And here we are, sitting in a room full
of artwork and watching dunes, so it’s kind of perfect, but um, art fairs, art shows. Always a big
part of Saugatuck, and um, artists in the area. I mean, that’s huge. That’s how you, that’s a big
descriptive of Saugatuck. So.
1:06:08
EG: Yeah. Anything, anything else in your notes that’s come up that you want to
share that I haven’t asked you about?
1:06:15
JA: Yeah, well, one thing I mentioned last night, um, that just speaks kind of to
the pride of being from here as a fact, like I said last night, when somebody asks where are you
from, and I say Saugatuck, and they say “oh, wow? You’re from Saugatuck? That’s great. That
must have been wonderful to group up in a place like that,” So the reputation of Saugatuck
wherever I go, and they find out where I’m from, they have a positive, um, impression of
Saugatuck. That it is a wonderful place to be, to visit, and someone at the time said she had
responses of “You actually live there?” Because I think it’s a lot of understanding that this is a
resort town, and we just have visitors come in, but, um, yeah, there are locals. There are native
Saugatuck and Douglas people. And I was born in Douglas Community Hospital. So I am truly
of the area
1:07:31
EG: Legitimate. Exactly legitimate Douglas, Doug, Douglas person
�1:07:36
JA: Yeah, and Dad delivered me actually. Dr. Hayes is my dad. I should mention
that. He was a prominent physician in this little area so
1:07:48
EG: Right, yeah, we didn’t, somehow skipped over that. Family connections. I
can’t believe I didn’t circle back to that.
1:07:49
JA: Well you did ask me. I didn’t mention that so yeah. He set up a practice I
think in 19, 1959, 1960. In that area. In Douglas actually.
1:08:00
EG: Is that, is that how your family came to this community? Was he from here?
1:08:07
JA: No. He wasn’t from here, but he went to Flint for his residency, I believe, and
um, came to explore Michigan and really appreciated the coast line and the water. Considered
Petoskey and maybe a couple others. And settled on Saugatuck Douglas, so.
1:08:30
EG: Where had he gone to school before coming to Flint?
1:08:33
JA: Uh, he was in Ohio. Ohio State. That, that system in, originally born in
Kansas, so completely out of the Michigan area, but his residency took him here and he fell in
love with Michigan, so. And my mom is an RN, and they met at Holland Hospital, and they
settled here and the rest is history. [laugh]
1:09:02
EG: yeah. [laugh] Well this has been a wonderful interview. It was so great
1:09:05
JA: Oh, well thank you, Eric. I appreciate you having me, and your time
1:09:09
EG: That’s great
1:09:09
JA: I appreciate. Thank you
1:09:10
EG: That’s wonderful, well, all right. Thanks so much for, for your time, and, uh,
this concludes the interview.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-ArnoldJ-20181004
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Arnold, Jeanmarie Hays
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-10-04
Title
A name given to the resource
Jeanmarie Hays Arnold (Audio interview and transcript), 2018
Description
An account of the resource
Jean Arnold describes growing up Douglas with many memories of various jobs she held as a teenager. She also describes her encounters with the LGBT community in the 70's
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Gollannek, Eric (Interviewer)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Allegan County (Mich.)
Outdoor recreation
Beaches
Sailing
Oral history
Audio recordings
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Documenting the Histories of Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas, Kutsche Office of Local History
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
audio/mp3
application/pdf
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9267e993b003097a787b6cf57207e553.pdf
d50216331f42c5449c237ebd79b42869
PDF Text
Text
' The House of Music"
< .
)~
:
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-BlueTempo_0006
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1964-07-30
Title
A name given to the resource
The Blue Tempo "The House of Music"
Description
An account of the resource
Front cover advertisement for The Blue Tempo "The House of Music" in Saugatuck, Michigan. The background photograph is a sepia-colored image of a crowded beach, which is most likely Oval Beach on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich)
Allegan County (Mich)
Advertising fliers
Gay culture
Beaches
Michigan, Lake
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file contributed by the Saugatuck Douglas History Center as part of the Stories of Summer project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/07ae194ebd466e293199212e012c1381.jpg
0c37d8eb6375c75286f0c5768886ad26
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/488f1bcd8903c4b43bd96146a623fad3.jpg
f13768cfbb45aae583406f22ba76f2ba
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History
Description
An account of the resource
Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1910s-2010s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Various
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Michigan, Lake
Allegan County (Mich.)
Beaches
Sand dunes
Outdoor recreation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas History Center
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DC-07_SD-70s-coll_0036
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Armstrong, Joe
Title
A name given to the resource
Beachgoers at Lake Michigan
Description
An account of the resource
Black and white photograph of a Lake Michigan beach scene in Saugatuck, Michigan. It appears to be a busy day at Oval Beach where people are sunbathing on the sand and swimming in the lake. On the back of the photograph there is a stamp which reads: "Saugatuck-Douglas Chamber of Commerce, Saugatuck, Michigan." In the bottom left-hand side there is a stamp which reads: "Joe Armstrong, Allegen, Michigan."
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Saugatuck-Douglas Chamber of Commerce
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich)
Allegan County (Mich)
Michigan, Lake
Beaches
Outdoor recreation
Black-and-white photography
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Digital file contributed by the Saugatuck Douglas History Center as part of the Stories of Summer project.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Stories of Summer (project)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
Language
A language of the resource
eng