The A-frame

The Olson family started coming up to Washington Island in the 1960s from the Milwaukee area (Fox Point).  For a few summers we stayed at Hansen's Cottages in Jackson Harbor.  But while Hansen's was great, the folks got the notion to buy some property.  They bought 200 feet of beachfront property in a somewhat swampy area on the east side of Washington Island.

Eventually the folks got an A-Frame cottage built.  Here is a picture I took of my Dad standing on the deck:

  It wasn't completely finished at this point.  The local builder was good at making schedules but not as good at sticking to them - my Dad and his Cousin Earl (a carpenter) eventually finished the job.

I remember that deck - someone had the idea of using tongue and groove flooring for the deck but then the next spring when we came up the deck had swollen up and we couldn't get the door open :)

I also remember that the beam in the middle of the floor was held up by a log spacer between the beam and the footing - I wonder if the place is still standing ?

After a while the folks realized that a cottage wasn't so much a vacation destination as a vacation to-do list and they sold it.

It had a sand beach, a view of Hog Island and lots of mosquitos !  I remember the water was really low then and I could launch my model rockets out in the open areas where the lake had receded.  The late 1960s was a sunspot peak so we saw plenty of auroras.  I used to bring the Hallicrafters S-120 to do my shortwave listening.  The water was really shallow so not much chance for swimming but even less chance for drowning.  I had fun there but I was a grade school kid, I would have had fun anywhere.

Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm