Can’t Wash Away Memories

Johnny-om-the-Spot … by John Foster …

Just returned home from yet another Pelee Island experience.

Our little red Chevy Trax got a decent “dusting” on the dry limestone roads on Lake Erie’s largest island but while that washes away quickly, the memories remain.

This most recent week, we stayed in a home on the northwest side of the island.

It’s every bit as nice as our own home but when you consider the beach, deck and nightly sunset visibility, it’s actually a better deal.

Air conditioned, carpeted, total appliances and roomy.

Back in the day when I started visiting Pelee Island, the cabins were small, sandy and if it was hot and humid, you were, too.

My first visit to my island paradise was seventy years ago when my Mom and Dad dragged me along.

We stayed in some small cabins on the northside that are still standing.

As I grew up, we started staying at “Holzie’s Cottages” on Scudder Bay until I graduated high school.

The cottages are still there but your beach access is blocked by a break wall, created after storms chewed away the beach right up to the fronts of the cabins.

In those days, every cabin had a bucket of water at the front screen door to wash the sand from your feet and I remember lugging buckets of lake water to be emptied in the “standpipe” toilets.

That was one of the daily duties we had to accomplish.

We even had an old-fashioned pump in the kitchen to get water for cooking and cleaning.

Seems to me there were row boats available for renters and I delighted in pushing one into the bay and rowing east to west for an hour or two, A great workout but my hands would often blister because I was a bit of a weenie.

No TV in those days but we delighted in listening to CKLW out of Detroit/Windsor and they were a legitimate rocker in those days with a definite Motown flavor.

In later years when we took our daughters, they would listen to the same station and even today, they’ll hear a tune and say, “That’s a Pelee song!”

Lots of time was spent on the beach and playing in the water.

Adults would play cards at night after dinner and we kids sacked out pretty early because the combination of waves and sun eat up a lot of youthful energy.

My Dad always invited another couple or two to experience Pelee Island with us.

There were The Doggetts, The Traicoffs, The Hunters and The Dills to name a few.

There was also a gal nicknamed “Alabama” who was a guest at least one summer.

I brought childhood buddy Alan Berry with me one week.

I think we both got sick experimenting with Canadian ale.

Dad had his brother Thurman Eugene and boys up for awhile and Mom’s sister and brother-in-law came for a visit.

When he donned his swimsuit, it was one of the rare times when Uncle Chuck’s legs ever saw the light of day.

Dad’s buddy Dave Windbigler paid a visit or two and and on of my favorite pics is Windy attempting to keep his balance walking down the beach with the waves rolling in.

I’ll also never forget Dad’s friend Ronnie Kerst coming to Pelee, in a boat too small for most bathtubs, running ashore while singing, “I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech”.

There was the morning our 21 foot cabin cruiser had the anchor come loose floated ashore and thanks to burly Johnnie Holzmiller, we were able to push the boat back into the water.

Then Walter Weir had the cabins for a few years.

There are also fond memories of empty cases of Labatt’s beer bottles stacked behind the cottage front door.

The adults stayed hydrated.

Now while our accommodations recently have upgraded, the Scudder dock is still there along with some of the most glorious sunsets you’ll ever want to see.

You can walk to the old lighthouse on the northeast side as long as you have an easterly breeze, otherwise the bugs will consume you.

Fish Point is just a sand spit that meanders into the lake on the southwest side and it’s can be a a great test for products claiming to be effective insect repellants.

Many today come for the island winery or to ride bicycles but I don’t think it’s best best place for two-wheelers since actual paved roads are limited.

McCormack’s general store is long gone, along with the Trading Post but there are a few food trucks/trailers and ice cream spots plus more “artsy-fartsy” craft and art locations to visit.

But honestly, Pelee is the best treatment for high blood pressure.

We eat when we’re hungry, splash in the watter when we’re hot, sleep when we’re tired, play some games and laugh.

Not ideal for many but just right for me.