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1970s-1980s - Steve's Family Cottage

Steve's mom found a stash of pictures from the 1970s and 1980s of their family at their cottage in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

For other pictures of the cottage, follow any of the following links.

Here is a picture of Steve catching a fish from 1972.  This may be the first fish he ever caught.  He is almost 5, while Matt is 2 1/2.  Beginning about this year, Steve's grandmother used to take the boys to the cottage for about two months each summer.  Mom and dad would come up for some of the time, and Aunt Gete and Vera would join us often.  It got pretty tight in a one bedroom cabin with no running water at the time.

Here are some pictures from August 1973.  Steve turned 6, while Matt was 3 1/2 years old.  Here they are with Johnny Mars and Linda Corrigan, fresh from swimming in the lake.  Linda lived two camps away (only 50 ft), and Johnny lived on the other side of her.  Steve spent a lot of time for many summers playing with them.  Johnny was at least two years older then him, while Linda was at least three.  Matt was lucky to have friends closer to his age, as Johnny's brother Craig was the same age, and he had a little sister, , who was only a year younger.

Here are Steve, Matt and Johnny swimming in the "lagoon:, while it is impossible to identify the kids in the next picture (Johnny is standing in back, and his brother, Craig, is likely standing on the right).

Here are a number of pictures from the next summer, 1974.  We were in the water almost every day, and I still remember the inflatable Oscar Meyer hot dogs we used to float with.

You can still catch some fish off the dock, and Matt loved to spend a lot of time trying.  Steve never really liked to fish, much to his Grandmother's dismay.  You can see their pet dog, Sprite, in the one picture.

Steve's dad and Uncle Dennis went to college across the lake at Michigan Tech.  They both developed a lasting friendship with the alumni coordinator, Tom Rhuby.  Here is Tom with his sailboat (the Rhuby-yacht) in the background sitting on the boathouse deck.  He would occasionally sail across and visit.

In 1987, the lake level was really high and the winter storms and ice significantly damaged the docks.  Some of the debris was washed up on the beach, but much of it was simply gone.  These pictures were taken by the Corrigans in April 87.

Tom and Mike Corrigan helped repair the docks that summer.  Here is the work in progress.  First they built the crib on shore, and once moved into place, filled it with rocks.  Once complete, it looked great.

Linda was notoriously camera shy, but we did get this picture of her and her dog (Lucky, or maybe Lady) in front of their cabin.