Grandma’s Hat From the Waite Bridge

Off to the left of this photograph, you can make out the smallest island on Big Bass Lake that being Grandma’s Hat. It has also been known as Tiny Tim and even Loon Island. The picture is taken on the Waite Bridge that leads to the Big Island which is right next to the small one. The bridge was built in 1954 and is a one lane bridge set off a dirt road.

The island, as you can tell, is not very big. Yet it has its charms and was once noted as having one great sandy bottom all around the island and many boaters stopped by for a swim. It aslo once held two trees but now seems to be made up of a variety of bushes.

If anyone knows more about this island, please let us know by way of a comment, such as who might currently own it. Our thanks to Mike Elsner for taking this photograph for us.

Grandma’s Hat Reverts to Loon Island

What is Grandma’s Hat without her standout flume treetop?  That is what gave that island its name in the 1940′s and 50′s.  On this website I still call it that today and to avoid confusion, on ou category sidebar it will still be known as Grandma’s Hat.  Yet, for this pos it is now Loon Island for that is its current function.  It serves as home for countless loons.

Once, though, it could be stood upon as the island had its namesake tree and a few bushes.  Now it seems over run with the latter.  It also once had a great swimming beach.  Now it seems that no man could stand on that island since it is permeated with bushes. 

The island seems somewhat smaller these days as well.  Is it slowly receding into the lake itself?  For Big Bass lake already has a sunken island on the north side of the lake.  Thoughts anyone?

Natahki Drive on Big Bass Lake

My new blog friend, Joan, from “My Quality Day (Blogroll)” recently featured the northern two most islands (Turtle and Four Winds) on Big Bass Lake which she mistakenly thought were the two largest islands. She snapped the picture from Natahki Drive or Road on the land that used to be owned by Camp Martin Johnson. The area she outlined in yellow bears that out. In fact, Four Winds Island was owned by the camp.

From Joan’s satellite view you can observe the two islands in question just off the shoreline of what used to be Camp Martin Johnson.  However the two largest islands are south of there and can be photographed by either the Public Landing or by taking the bridge to the Big Island and gaining view of that island as well as Haunted Island to its west. 

I personally believe Haunted Island to be the most fantastic of all the islands on the lake.  Natahki is what Big Bass Lake used to be called in its early days.  There was even a girls camp under that name once on the lake. 

Here now are Joan’s two islands on the north side of the lake.

All of the islands on Big Bass Lake can be found in our Categories on the sidebar. And that even includes Sunken Island which is just east of the two islands pictured here. That underwater island is between the two islands here and the channel between Big and Little Bass Lake. Last December I did a multi-part series on Turtle Island featuring pictures around and on that island.

Its twin, Four Winds Island, can also be found in Categories and features many pictures of the remains of Camp Martin Johnson.  Also check out Grandma’s Hat Island, Haunted Island, The Big Island, and Sunken Island.  Of the latter one in a few days I will have a great shot of that submerged isle.  You also might want to check out the Category about The Big Bass Lake Channel for some excellent photographs. 

The Islands of Big Bass Lake Transitional Names

By way of a reference point, the island names on Big Bass Lake were given to me by my grandmother, Barbara Noreika, who homesteaded the land in the 1020′s. She provided me the island names in the 1970′s when I was taking camping trips with Boys Clubs of America to our property. By the way, you had better keep a scorecard handy.

1.  Sunken Island:  North central part of the lake near the channel between Big and Little Bass Lake.  I call it that because of the three-foot depth there in the middle of the lake making it ideal for swimming and it is usually surrounded by pontoon boats doing just that.

2.  Turtle Island which is also sometimes known as Pirates Island.  I kind of like that latter name and it is the twin of Four Winds Island.  It was once owned by the Manistee National Forest but is now privately owned.  It is located just past the narrows of Big Bass Lake to the north.

3.  Four Winds Island is now privately owned but was at one time the property of Camp Martin Johnson.  To my knowledge it has always been known as Four Winds and it also is just past the narrows to the north.

4.  Grandma’s Hat Island is also known as Tiny Tim and Loon Island.  It is the smallest island on the lake and is in the southeast portion of the lake.

5.  The Big Island was formerly known as Waite Island.  Clyde Waite put up the bridge in the 1950′s.  It is now known as Isle of the Wilds.  It is located in the south central part of the lake.

6.  Haunted Island is a term I gave Matson’s Island because of the old house in the middle of the island which made midnight visits to the island ideal with various boys clubs.  It is located in the southwest part of the lake.

Have any of these islands also known other names over the years?  Let us know by way of a comment.

Around the Next Island at Big Bass Lake

One of my favorite past times at Big Bass Lake was to go “Island Hopping” and since there were five to choose from, it was a great deal of fun.  I would take our motor boat and first encircle Haunted Island before turning slightly northeast and travel the shoreline of the Big Island.  As I finished that course, I circled Grandma’s Hat which took all of 30 seconds to do since it was the smallest island on the lake.

Then I turned northward and traveled through the narrows of Big Bass Lake to get to the two islands on the north side of the lake.  Four Winds Island was once home to Camp Martin Johnson and still has all the buildings that were used at camp yet today.  Then I took a turn around Turtle Island which is the only island on the lake owned by the Manistee National Forest. 

Then it was back through the narrows again to Haunted Island on the southwest side and back to our dock.  Private homes are today found on the Big Island, formerly Waite Island, and on both Haunted Island and Four Winds Island.  I’ve always loved going around the next island at Big Bass Lake and would recommend that journey to anyone.

Big Bass Lake Store and Grandma’s Hat

This photograph provides you with an excellent look at the tiny island known as Grandma’s Hat behind the former Big Bass Lake store. Even with Larry Bender’s new store right across the street, I am surprised that no one has come forward to renovate the old Big Bass Lake store with some commerical element to it. How about a novelty store complete with an ice cream parlor? There are many ice cream venues that are only open during the late spring to early fall times of the year.

With the view from the back of the Big Bass Lake store it would be a natural for an ice cream shop.  Or what about a combined barber and beauty shop?   The vuew is probably one of the best on the lake as you can observe the Big Island along with the small one and even take in the narrows in the distance of the lake.  I know that the old store would need a lot of remodeling or even perhaps starting over from scratch.  But that store deserves better than to just sit there empty.  For decades it has well served the greater Big Bass lake area. 

Maybe a roller skating rink could be erected on that location?  Then the old Loon Lake Roller Rink would give place to the Big Bass Lake Pavillion.  Or put a new “Fun Spot” in that location with bowling lanes and an arcade.  It’s in a prime location on the lake and needs to be reopened whatever the venue.  Other ideas?

Aerial Big Bass Lake and Noreika Property

This is an excellent aerial photograph of Big and Little Bass Lakes as well as the one time Noreika property (to the left and three-fourths to the top of the page).  The southern islands, left to right, are the Haunted Island, The Big Island (complete with a bridge leading to it), and tiny Grandma’s Hat.  Just to its left is Bluegill Lake.  In the lower left of this picture is the Softball Field and a new church in the area.

The two northern islands are Fou Winds Island and Turtle Island.  To their left is a small greenish area in the lake which  refer to as Sunken Island as the water is only three feet deep there and in the middle of the lake.  Just to its east and slightly north is the channel leading to Little Bass Lake which you can locate in the upper left side of this photograph. 

My grandparents, Joseph and Barbara Noreika, purchased their land in 1912 and part of the original deed included one-half of the Haunted Island.  Of their 256 acres some was farm land extending from what is today the public landing site all the way to Noreika Road and along side Big Bass Lake Road.  To its north and all the way back to Big Bass Lake was our forest land which included many swamp marshes. 

This land was a natural setting for many boys club camping trips which I took with three separate clubs in the 1970′s and 80′s. 

The Little Island Over The Years

I knew this island when it was called Grandma’s Hat because of a tree that for all appearances looked like a plumed hat.  It’s also been called Tiny Tim and Loon Island over the years but now it could well be called Bushy Island as it seems to be over run with them.  There is a lot of vegetation on this island per square inch.

It always had a great sand beach around it which I presume exists to this day.  When it was called Grandma’s Hat in the 1950′s there was ample land so that one could be seen on that island from as far away as the Big Bass Lake Store.  Now unless you are my height (6’10″) that would no longer be the case as you would be absorbed by leafy bushes. 

Maybe the island could be renamed just “Bush” Island in honor of one of the former two President’s?  That’s a thought!

The Little Island From East and West

After going under the Waite bridge, this is what your eyes would be taking in and whether they call this island Grandma’s Hat, Tiny Tim, or Loon, it sure has changed over the years. It looks much more bushy than it once did in the 1950′s and 60′s. And what are those white signs? Is it something akin to “Do not disturb the loons?”

I was curious as to the nature of those signs. Perhaps no trespassing? It used to be a great location for swimming having one of the few natural sand beaches. It was also located fairly close to the ski jump. Gone is the plume tree that looked like a hat, ergo the name Grandma’s Hat.

Now going toward the west, this is what you would see as the island makes a perfect contrast to the Big Island in the distance. Of course, a boater would travel under the Waite Bridge heading toward the southwest side of the lake. Those white signsd? I’m sure someone knows what they say so fill us in as the suspense is killing me!

A Close-Up Of Grandma’s Hat

Grandma’s Hat is not a piece of finery. It is an island with one tree and and a few shrubs to it. Most living rooms around the lake are bigger than this island which is located on the southeast portion of Big Bass Lake. It is immediately recognizable as one passes under the bridge to the Big Island going east.

The island does have a good sand bottom around it making it attractive to swimmers that dock at the small island. One has to wonder if Big Bass Lake will one day have “two” sunken islands (the other just past the narrows to the east). I once docked on this island and it doesn’t take more than 20 seconds to cross from one side to the other.

My grandmother dubbed the island Grandma’s Hat because the lone tree at that time looked like a plume on a hat. It’s also known as Tiny Tim and probably a few other names. Just behind it is the narrows that leads to the north side of the lake and past two other rather small islands. But nothing on the lake is as small as Grandma’s Hat, and for now, that makes it a most unique indeed.

The View Behind the Big Bass Lake Store

Otto Barlett used to have some chairs kind of dug into the grass that you could sit in taking in this view. Both as a child and as an adult I used to enjoy taking in this view while partaking in a bottle of Squirt which I learned to enjoy as a boy as my favorite beverage of taste.

I could take in Grandma’s Hat (Tiny Tim to some) and almost a full view of the lake. I could see (out of picture) the bridge to the island that had many houses on it. Oftentimes after that bottle of Squirt I would get in our rowboat and take it under that very bridge on the way back to our property, past the haunted house island and then straight ahead to our dock. In those days the lake was not so crowded with high speed boats. Now about the only time that you can take that journey safetly is before Memorial Day or after Labor Day.

But I’ll never forget that view behind the Big Bass Lake store. Isn’t it breaktaking? By the way, in this picture you can observe a gasoline pump. That is a luxury that no longer exists on the lake as all gasoline must now be carried in to the boats.

Loon Island Now / Grandma’s Hat Island Then

Many on the Big Bass Lake and Beyond website have questioned my usage of the tiny island being known as Grandma’s Hat and I must admit that the way it looks today might be questionable as to that name. Today, many call that tiny island, Loon Island and it is located on the southeast portion of Big Bass Lake.

If you examine that island today, as Mike Elsner did from the bridge to Big Island, it appears as a massive collection of bushes. It would also be difficult to move about that island now by the way it appears. I understand that many loons make their nesting places on this island.

But this is how Grandma’s Hat appeared in 1962 and as you can see the island is far different than it looks today. My grandmother nicknamed that island Grandma’s Hat because of the tree on the island which looked like the phlume of a woman’s hat. Plus, the island was far less “bushy” as it appears today.

Many used that island as a beach for swimming or for observing skiiers go off the Big Bass Lake ski jump which was located not that far off the island.

So now you know why I often refer to that island as Grandma’s Hat.

Grandma’s Hat in the Distance

This patriotic Big Bass Lake resident affords a great look at the smallest iisland on the lake which you can make out in the distance. Hardly bigger than most people’s living rooms, this island is just off the Big Island’s bridge. It has an excellent sand swimming beach which many in the 50′s and 60′s used to utilize often.

This island is located on the southeast portion of the lake. It used to be a great view from the back of the Big Bass Lake store. Now that store is closed and is being resold as a residential property. The store at one time was the only place on the lake to fill up with gasoline for all the boaters on the lake and did a brisk business in the summer.

I understand this island is also known as Tiny Tim and I am sure that the five islands on the lake have been named and renamed many, many times.

The Little Island of Big Bass Lake

The tiny island on the southeast side of Big Bass Lake has gone through many names including Tiny Tim, Grandma’s Hat, and now Loon Isle? My grandmother, Barbara Noreika, told me that the island’s name was Grandma’s Hat probably because of the tree acting like a plume. The island itself is less than a few feet long in any direction. It does have a pretty good sand beach to it.

In the 1950′s there used to be a ski jump ramp just to the east of the island but that is long gone. I wonder at times why it was removed? Probably for liability reasons.

The tiny island stands in sharp contrast to the Big Island directly to its west. The little island was a great view from the Big Bass Lake store deck. If you look far enough north you can observe the narrows in the distance and that is where the lake narrows somewhat enroute to the north side of the lake.

Any other observations about the little island?