Inner Tubes and Mark

Mark dearly enjoyed using our inner tubes in Big Bass Lake despite the fact that he only used them in vary shallow water. Now, Mark could swim but he didn’t seem to like lake swimming preferring a swimming pool over the former. And, he seemed to have acquired a most unusual nickname, Poo, Poo Magoo, and I’m not sure I care to know how he got that name. I do know that he wasn’t nearsighted like another Magoo nor did he wear glasses. I’m sure his nickname had an interesting origin but not one that I would care to dwell on.

Mark even took his inner tube to Lake Michigan but even there it was only in real shallow water that he used it. At Lake Michigan he only sat in it where the waves tended to end up so Mark was actually more on the beach than in the lake. He was content in that he got wet without any risks. He did not care to elaborate on the risks.

Next to inner tubes Mark liked to eat. He relished all meal times and especially breakfast. He always was a helper at our second fire pit nearest the swamp. Maybe the first part of his nickname was based on how he liked to eat so much. No, I won’t go there again. I do wonder how long that nickname stuck to Mark. Not long I’d hazard a guess. That is unless he wound up to be Mark the Poo. Nah!

Docking at the Haunted Island

Docking at midnight was always a challenge at the Haunted Island, especially so with a boatload of nervous kids making their first journey there. We always docked on the western shore of the island and about mid island. Here you can observe the central and southern shoreline on the west side of the island. Our docking point was just past the central location you can observe here.

The dock itself was rickety to say the least as it must have been 50 years old.  I took this picture of the dock in the 1970′s.  On this trip, the Hoffman Estates Boys Club was about to see what they all had been hoping to see. Although now that the time was really here they weren’t as anxious as before. There’s something about seeing this island safe from shore as opposed to actually being there.

We docked and climbed the small hill that led to the one person pathway. It is a short walk to the haunted house which is surrounded by pine trees in an opening in almost the mid central part of the island. And there it stood, a two-floor old house with no windows, only empty window frames.

The boys slowly and cautiously walked once around the house and then a story was told about the legend of that old house, which is found elsewhere under the category Haunted Island on the sidebar. Just as I was into mid story the wind picked up which startled the boys. Two of them nudged closer to me and then an ear jarring bolt of thunder broke loose and they all hugged the ground.

We then proceeded back to our wooded beachfront making sure that lightning was NOT in the area before we started back. All in all it was a great trip to the Haunted Island and my thanks to Mike Elsner for this great photograph of the island itself.

Track Meet at the Hoffman Estates Boys Club

The Union League Boys Club of Chicago once invited us to their club for swimming. In turn we invited them back to our club for a track meet on our large athletic field. The Union League kids were so impressed with our outside facility that one member said, “I’d like to trade our club for yours”. The reason why is that the Union League Boys Club that we visited had no outside facility whatsoever. The nearest park was nearly six blocks away. Our physical club could in no way compete with what the Union League Club had to offer but their kids liked our outside facility very much.

The kids competed in largely running events although we did have a running broad jump and discus toss. After the meet we hosted them for a hot dog roast and taught them Roof Ball and Tire Endurance.

Our club had a special relationship with the Union League Club in that their camp director had allowed our members access to their resident camp in Salem, Wisconsin, on a monthly basis and we could even send our kids to their summer camp.

Hiking Backwoods Roads

Hiking backwood trails was great fun as they were wide enough to nearly get all our kids in one line.  They were fun to explore especially at night when any ongoing traffic would have lights to them so they would be easy to spot.  These types of roads were found in abundance within the Manistee National Forest and you didn’t have to look too far to find one.  They were found nearly every mile within a ten ile radius of Big Bass Lake. 

The Hoffman Estates Boys Club kids stayed on just one such road when we rented a cabin in the spring.  It had a very small kitchen, a large living room, modest bathroom, and large bedroom with several bunkbeds.  Just under the bedroom was an outside bar-be-que area right next to the Little Manistee River.  The cabin itself was just above the river and the road outside weaved in and around the area with few houses along its course.

That sandy road itself went in many different directions within a mile of our cabin providing us with many hours of hiking.  Some of the boys tried their hand at fishing the Little Manistee River but were often driven from it by hordes of mosquitoes.  Chris enjoyed fishing the most and would spend hours at it despite the pesky insects.  Alan, on te other hand, often stayed indoors fearing large animals especially after we encountered a wolf looking into our window one afternoon.   There is more to that story on another post here at BBL and Beyond. 

Our cabin experience was a unique one in all our trips hat we had to the greaer Big Bass Lake area.  At least our nights were comfortable with real beds!

The Hoffman Estates Boys Club 300 and Pig Roast

The Hoffman 300 was a three hundred lap bicycle race around one half of our building on a cement platform complete with pit stops. There were two divisions among our membership, one for older and younger members. Surprisingly, the younger member time was the best of the two age groups as the older members seemed to take their time at the race.

Perhaps what made it harder all day for all the members was the fact that during the race, a pig roast was also taking place directly behind the club on the large softball field for a fund-raising dinner that evening. The two winners were to receive a complimentary pass to the supper that evening. Both events that day were a rousing success much to the delight of my Board of Directors. Each seemed to compliment the other.

Though there was one bike accident, it only amounted to a skinned arm as protective devices were being worn that day as well.   A little Bactine and a bandage took care of that quite well.  The race took place in the early afternoon while the Pig Roast occurred in the evening in our gymnasium.  The dinner raised a great amount of funds for club programing.  The aroma around the club all that evening was heavenly. 

After the supper the two winners of the Hoffman 300 were presented their rewards capping off the great day.

Conversations on The Rowboat

One of my most enjoyable things to do on camping trips to our property was to take a few boys out in our rowboat for some bonding conversations. On this day two members of the Marion Boys Club went with me to the Big Bass Lake Store but our course was to follow the shoreline this time. Calvin Little remarked several times how deep the water looked even so close to shore and worried about the weeds he saw just under the surface. He also complained that his tennis shoes were getting wet.

Eddie Crouch shed his tennis shoes before we left our campsite and didn’t mind his bare feet getting wet one bit. He dangled one foot over the side of the boat and into the water. I told him that a fish might consider his toes some tasty bait and his foot returned to the boat faster than a speeding bullet. We had to wait a little for a boat to get into the water near the Public Landing so the boys listened for frogs on the lily pads.

As we approached the bridge to the Big Island, Calvin got the opportunity to take over at the oars and move under the bridge. His inexperience showed as he bumped into the foundation twice before getting us through. He also noticed a bird’s nest lodged underneath the bridge.

Along the way the boys talked about the Haunted Island when we passed it and also of what they were going to do at the store. All in all it was good conversation that day as we skirted along the lake at a casual speed. Best yet, we had the return trip to our campsite just ahead of us.

How The Hoffman Estates Boys Club Came To Be

This was the Hammerstein farm and it was the beginning of the history of what one day would become the Hoffman Estates Boys Club. In this affluent suburb of Chicago, the Park District, Boys Club, and YMCA all had as their headquarters barns in the late 1970′s. Allan Binder was the Park Director at that time and Bob Williams the YMCA executive while I was the director of the boys club.

The Boys Club can be located in this picture nearest the dirt road in the upper right side.  It was located right next to the then Chino Park but in this photograph no softball fields can be found.  Our next door neighbor St Hubert’s Elementary School and the fire department behind us were yet to be constructed.

The Gieseke/Hammerstein farm-house and barn is one of the most historic buildings in Hoffman Estates. It can be found on a quiet residential street surrounded by small ranch homes that were built-in 1957 and 1958.

John and Caroline Gieseke were immigrant German farmers who bought their 165-acre farm from the U.S. Government in the mid 1850’s. Land sold for $1.50 an acre. An Indian trail went through the farm and Pottawatomie Indians would stop for a cold drink or sit and rest on the front porch.

The third generation of Giesekes, John and Edwin, sold the farm to Arthur and Dorothy Hammerstein in 1943. The Hammersteins added additional barns, new silos, and several smaller homes along with an additional 100 acres. They hired Architect Thomas McCaughey of Park Ridge who made major changes to the old farmhouse. When finished the newly renovated farmhouse had 5 bedrooms, seven bathrooms, servant quarters, a kitchen in the basement and a wine cellar.

Arthur was the uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II who was famous for his Broadway musicals and Dorothy was a silent movie star. Dorothy especially enjoyed the quite rural life. Their farm was known as “Cardoa Farm” but Arthur jokingly called it “Headacres” when the farm work got the best of him. They raised pure-blooded and registered Duroc Jersey hogs and Holstein dairy cattle.

When Arthur died in 1954, Dorothy sold the farm to F & S Construction for $150 an acre. Within a year Hoffman Estates was springing up from the corn fields. The farm-house became the field headquarters for F & S Construction. The largest of the barns became the first Community Center but on Noember. 11, 1959 a fire broke out and the barn burned to the ground. Another fire damaged part of the farmhouse.

Shortly after the fires Jack Hoffman deeded the property to the Hoffman Estates Home Owners Association. With incorporation in September of 1959, the farmhouse became our first village hall, police department and maintenance garage. Fire insurance money along with an additional $19,500 was used to remodel and repair the 100-year-old building. Certified Construction Company was awarded the bid in late September of 1960.

This photograph provides you with an even better vantage point of where the boys club was in conjunction to Chino Field. The dirt road did not exist when I came to Hoffman Estates in 1977.  The club was razed shortly after I left the organization in 1979 to accept a new position with the Joplin, Missouri, Boys Club as their Executive Director.  The club in Hoffman Estates deserved a better fate.

Deserted Cabin

On one of my trips with the Hoffman Estates Boys Club to our property on Big Bass Lake we happened across this old house within the Manistee National Forest on one of our day hikes. It was just off a deserted dirt road seemingly in the middle of nowhere. In restrospect, this would have been better for a night hike however I usually only took night hikes in areas that I was familiar with and this was not one of them.

We arrived at this location in my station wagon and I parked the car within a hundred yards of this deserted cabin. The kids entered the old house and searched around for anything that caught their interest. Whatever might have once been there that was interesting was now long gone. About a hundred yards behind the cabin was a small creek and we noticed two freshly caught fish all by themselves and that was a clue to exit, stage right. Apparently we had interrupted either a bear or raccoon in their noonday meal and I had no intention of adding more meals to that agenda.

During our day hikes in the Manistee National Forest we often came across these deserted cabins and the kids always wondered who would want to stay in the middle of nowhere all by themselves. Good question!

Campers Departing Big Bass Lake

After about ten days of camping most of the boys from the Hoffman Estates Boys Club were ready o return home. After a good breakfast we began the task of taking camp down. Tents had to be dismantled and all the boys personal property taken back up to my station wagon. A few of the boys took down the commode and tarp covering it while others went with me to take our tent up to my grandmother’s granary for storage until next year.

Then as we hiked back to our wooded beachfront to see if we had forgotten anything the memories of that trip started to flood the boys minds.  Some wondered if they would ever be coming this way again.  One asked if we could stay another day.  It was starting to sink into each boy that this particular life experience was over.

It was ever so quiet as my car left our property and sped toward the Big Bass Lake store.  Upon passing that we skirted the length of Loon Lake and soon thereafter Sauble Lake.  Then as we turned south onto M-37 the boys started to talk again about things like Lake Michigan and the Bloody Antler Trail.  They laughed at how brave they had all been at the Haunted Island.  Then it was quiet again until we reached the White Cloud refreshment station.

The kids used the restroom and then fixed their eyes on the last they would see of the Manistee National Forest perhaps forever.  And then as we drove through Grand Rapids talk returned to things regarding home and what would be happening at the boys club the next week.  But the boys would never forget their time at Big Bass Lake and the fun they had there. 

Zack the Fruit Eater

On most trips with various boys clubs we took the opportunity to go berry picking on our property for blueberries or blackberries and just off our property for strawberries.  We used the berries for toppings for pancakes or just for dessert after a hearty meal.  The problem with berry picking was that some boys put more berries in their mouth than their basket and Zack was the worst of the lot.

Zack was a member of the Hoffman Estates Boys Club and when we were picking strawberries off of our property he decided not to waste those strawberries on pancakes or dessert.  He instead opted to eat them as he gathered them.  The other boys did grab a few quick bites of this tasty fruit but not to the extent that Zack did.  After a good hour of gathering strawberries, Zack had only three in his basket compared to the other boys nearly full baskets.

He had his patterned sheepish grin on his face saying that he went a little overboard.  Yet when back at the campsite, he was bold enough to ask for his “share” in the other boys strawberries on his pancakes that night.  Now to be fair, when Zack gathered other berries his basket was also nearly full.  As for strawberries, well, that was another story.  Zack, the strawberry monster!

Andy and Marathon Day at the Hoffman Estates Boys Club

Marathon Day at the Hoffman Estates Boys Club came twice a year with the express interest to encourage the boys of the club to participate in a well-rounded program.  Each event was scripted with a specific activity area of the club to be used.  The games room event this time around was air hockey whereas the gymnasium event was Paddleball.  Arts and Crafts had a pencil sketching event whereas the club exterior event was Roof Ball and the field event being Frisbee Golf.  Each event carried a specific point total with it and the winners needed to accumulate as many points as possible to earn a victory.

There were two age groupings and they were Intermediate and Cadets.  Andy was an Intermediate that excelled in outdoor events and some gymnasium events.  His weak points were games room and arts and crafts.  Yet he soon found out that some of the events were not best suited to him thus he had to learn some of the new games to achieve a good point total and that was the heart of Marathon Day.

It was held to stretch the boys in areas that they were weak in and make them stronger.  It was intended to broaden each boy’s activity level to include all club programming.  This particular time around, Andy came in third place overall whereas a new boy finished first even though he had never played Frisbee Golf or Roof Ball.  In fact, the latter later became his favorite activity at the club.

Award winners in both age groupings were treated to a pizza party after the all day events.  Ribbons were passed out to first through third place in each age group.  Not a bad way to spend a day at the Hoffman Estates Boys Club.

Windy Night at Big Bass Lake

On a trip with my Hoffman Estates Boys Club, one night in particular was rather chilling in more ways than one. A strong wind was present for most of the night causing the tents to sway. As the evening got longer, the temperature dropped and by morning it was in the upper 40′s, though it was only late July.

Some of the boys came out to the fire to get warm but even the fire was jumping about from side to side being whipped by the high winds.  The strange thing was that there was no storm with this wind.  It would have been a perfect night to go to the Haunted Island except the lake had dangerous white caps on it and I thought better than to rish it. 

I went up to our cottage and got some blankets from my aunt to help keep the kids warm in the tents as I had not counted on this cold of a night.  On this trip we were using three tents and the one furthest from the lake seemed the most stable.  By the time morning had arrived I had already begun preparing a beef stew for breakfast that would stick to the kids ribs and get them to feel warm.  Never on any of my trips to our property had we ever experienced a night either that cold or windy. 

Despite the coldness of the morning, the day quickly warmed up into the low 80′s and the kids were swimming and having fun in Big Bass Lake.  The next night had a low in the upper 60′s.

Hearty Breakfast at Big Bass Lake

There’s nothing better on any camping trip than that first breakfast.  After the Hoffman Estates Boys Club boys first full night at Big Bass Lake, I wanted them to wake-up to something special so I donned the chef cap that first morning and whipped up the Noreika special. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package of maple sausage
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 8-12 eggs
• 4 pre-cooked medium potatoes, sliced
• cheddar cheese, sliced or shredded
• 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil

Preparation:

Put a little oil in a large skillet and cook meat until 3/4 done. The meat will create its own grease, so use just enough to help it not stick at first. Add onions, peppers and potatoes to the skillet. Cook until meat, onions and peppers are cooked completely. The potatoes just need to be heated since they are pre-cooked (which I did the night before in our second fire pit).

Add eggs to the mix. I like a pretty even egg to food ratio, so that it sticks together rather than falls apart. If you start mixing them in, and it looks like you need a few more eggs, just add them in. When the eggs are done cooking, I add the cheese to taste. If you’re a real cheese lover, you may want to double up on it. I will sometimes put aluminum foil or a lid over the skillet to make the cheese melt faster. When the cheese is melted, you are done.  You now have a breakfast that will last kids for hours and get them ready for the day ahead.

Billy’s Vigil for Fish and Crawdad’s

If young Billy had his way, the rest of us would have been dining on Crawdad Dip as often as possible. Yuck! I prefer Bean and Bacon Dip any time of the day over that. Even so that would not detour Billy from catching them and had he known how to make Crawdad Dip that is what we would be feasting on with our crackers.

He was even upset that no one wanted to feast on his “mess of minnows” at mealtime even though we did eat other kids catches of perch and bluegill on a regular basis. His older brother related that his “mess of minnows” would not even serve as a good appetizer. As for his crawdad’s, well, after some of the boys viewed them during one of our bath times at the lake, no one wanted to even think of eating one.

So Billy was just content to catch them and then let them go. I suppose there’s just not a market for Crawdad Dip apart from The Beverly Hillbillies? Maybe either Nolan Hauser, Bob Hamilton, or Nick Horner could create a market for Crawdad Dip? It could be the start of something big

A Morning Constitutional

This is the extent of League Lake of the Union League Boys and Girls Club Camp in Salem, Wisconsin, and it is about a one mile hike around this lake. This is the course that I took my campers each and every morning before breakfast weather permitting of course. Flanked on both sides of the lake by forest and the far side by a marsh, my boys worked up a good appetite for breakfast each day on this hike.

About ten years later the boys of the Hoffman Estates Boys Club would also take this jaunt with me but not before breakfast. They would take it as just one of their activities over the course of a long weekend at the camp during the fall and spring seasons.

It was ever so interesting to return to this camp that I had earlier served as a tent counselor. I always found the Union League forest fascinating and on the left side of the lake there were two separate trails, one high and one low.

I was very grateful to J A Markle and Al Mackin for allowing my club kids to have the same experiences in camping that the Union League Boys Club of Chicago enjoyed at this their personal camp. My kids were also part of Mackin’s Woodcraft Ranger program which we took back to our club at Hoffman Estates to practice and explore.

Had a Bonepicker Invaded Our Camp?

Yesterday I spoke of the “haunting spirit” that draped itself over our camp site on our property on Big Bass Lake. Well it was heightened the night after our journey to the Haunted Island and House not to mention hearing of the Bonepicker’s. So after a short hike the following evening, we returned to camp for a campfire with the Hoffman Estates Boys Club kids.

As we were roasting some marshmallows, one of the boys glanced behind him and down the shoreline a bit and horror came to his eyes as he beheld what he thought was a Bonepicker coming ashore. He related that to the other kids and they thought he was crazy until another youngster said he saw the same thing. Then everyone else wasn’t too sure and they huddled closer to the fire.

I told the kids that I had never heard of Bonepickers leaving that island much less raiding a campsite. Yet Billy insisted that he saw one not twenty yards away. So by myself, I walked down the shoreline until I saw what Billy had thought he had seen. I beckoned the kids forward twice for the first time they were rather unwilling. But as they approached what Billy had seen they all broke into laughter. It was a series of branches that resembled a creature but it was nothing else whatsoever.

All of what Billy saw was a combination of the previous nights adventure added to a little imagination on his part. Yet for a moment all the boys felt that same haunting spirit that so envelops our campsite especially when night falls on the area. For some reason that same spirit never affected the kids in the daylight hours. I suppose there is something to be said for our journeys to the Haunted Island which stood before them each and every night of our trip in full view of their eyes.

Yet each trip, on the way home, you’d think that the Haunted Island was nothing what with all the bravado going on about it. You’d think that they never even knew the meaning of the word scared at that time. That is, until the next camping trip to our property and then that same haunting spirit seemed to return. Hmm?

Was a Bear at the Cabin or Not?

On one of our trips to our property we opted not to tent camp but instead rented a cabin overlooking the Little Manistee River about five miles from our land.  The cabin had a small kitchen, large living room, modest size bathroom, and large bedroom.  Underneath the bedroom, outside, was a cement platform right next to the river that could be used for grilling. 

The Hoffman Estates Boys Club was with me on this trip and on one night I suggested a night hike but two boys were slightly under the weather and asked to stay at the cabin.  They were Mark and Alan.  The rest of us left the cabin for about a two-hour hike.  About a hundred yards away from the cabin Tim volunteered to go back and watch the younger boys, Tim being one of our older members.  Yet Tim had other things in mind.

When he got back to the cabin he peered through the window and saw Mark and Alan watching television.  He let out a loud growl and began banging on the cabin’s walls.  The two boys inside bolted to the restroom as that was the only windowless room.  Undaunted, the two boys emerged from the restroom with Mark carrying a broom and Alan a plunger.  Perhaps Alan thought the bears plumbing was clogged?

Tim kept up his growling for quite a long time as the two boys inside finally opted to retreat to the bedroom and hide under the covers.  The rest of us returned a bit earlier than planned out of concern for the three boys back at the cabin.  We saw what Tim had been up to and then I let out a huge growl and Tim almost dropped his pants as he ran inside the cabin. 

Later all had a good laugh about it all except for Alan still armed with his plunger.  I think he had visions of unplugging Tim’s internal plumbing?

I Wonder What’s In There?

Some of my boys club kids got to check out our family barn on some of the trips to our property. We entered through a narrow door into the area where the cows were once milked. The aroma was definately musty and you had to be careful where you walked because the floors were rotten. Slivers of light penetrated throughout via the tiny cracks in the barn walls and roof.

Leaving that area we walked into the larger room where hay was often stored, oftentimes up to the rafters. Those days were fun when you could climb nearly to the top of the barn. Now, on this trip, the area was empty except for a few odd tools here and there upon the wall.

The Benish barn across Big Bass Lake Road was still usable but more for Frank Benish’s workshop. Our barn had seen its greater days long past.

Just behind the main room was another large door which was used to let the cows out to graze. Each cow wore a bell in the event that they drifted away. In that way they could still be found if you listened hard enough. Once when my dad was sent out to find a missing cow, his sisters Beth and Barb led him on a merry chase with just a bell, ringing it every few minutes as they

So at least now the kids knew what was in there. That “in there” they didn’t seem to mind but they weren’t as anxious to learn what was “in there” at the haunted house on haunted island.

The Transition to The Hoffman Estates “Schaumburg” Boys Club

It took me nearly a year as the Executive Director of the Hoffman Estates Boys Club to convince my Board of Directors of a no-brainer. Schaumburg, from the beginning, should have been part of our corporate name as the club was actually closer to Schaumburg than the main part of Hoffman Estates. Now the Boys Club of America Regional Office is located in Schaumburg.

The new name reflected our membership much better and made fund-raising all the more efficient.  Once the headache of the football program had been resolved, the name change was next on my agenda.  The football program had detracted from the image of our facility much to the displeasure of the local United Way which demanded that the club have a full year program over that of being largely a football organization.  As it were, our football program was a disgrace as the boys routinely got slaughtered by opposing teams. 

With the infusion of a camping program in conjunction with the Union League Boys Clubs of Chicago our club sprang to new depths of programming as they allowed us usage of their summer camp in Salem, Wisconsin, in both the off-season and summer.  But, for all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together it took the name change of our corporate enity to establish roots in both Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg.  And, that was the beginning of positive change for our organization.

The Eerie Sunsets at Big Bass Lake

One of the things that the boys of the Hoffman Estates Boys Club first noticed when rowing on Big Bass Lake at sunset was how dark and foreboding the water became. Even at modest depths they could not see the bottom or even the weeds that were a few feet below the surface.  Yet, at the same time, the brilliance of the sky caught their notice.  Billy Borst was often seen gazing into the sky especially as night permeated the area.

He had never seen so many stars in the sky before.  In fact most of the boys were taken with the same marvel as Billy.  Alan admitted that the color schemes of the sky was what interested him the most and each night was slightly different.  Take this night for example.  There was purple, pink, orange, and yellow ribbons throughout the sky. 

Add to that was the eerie stillness of the lake at that time.  There was nary the lap of even the smallest wave to be seen.  Only what the oar did to the water as it dipped within it broke that stillness.  It was hauntingly serene for the boys on those such nights.  And even more surprising was the quietness they exhibited as they took in all that their eyes could behold.  Such moments of stillness one can only hope to dream about on camping trips.

Light Fog Over Big Bass Lake

This was a light fog over Big Bass Lake but I recall several times when thick fog blanketed the lake and I used to like to row at those times. As long as I could see the shoreline I could make it from our pier to our wooded beach with nary a problem. If I had tried to head over to the Big Bass Lake store across the middle of the lake that might have been a problem even though the Haunted Island and Big Island are close enough together that the shadows of each island should have been visible enough to do just that.

On our boys club trips to the lake we often woke to fogs upon the lake but not very thick. Morning swims were common on those trips to get the sleep out of their eyes in a most refreshing way. After 30 minutes or so in the water chores were started to get ready for breakfast such as wood gathering, fire starting, and the cooks getting ready for whatever was on the menu for that day. Our Hoffman Estates kids were probably the earliest risers of any boys club I ever took to Big Bass Lake as they squeezed out every moment of every day for their activities and work.

Fog also kept low over our wooded beach making mornings rather errie. But by the time breakfast was down the hatch the majority of those fogs had lifted and the kids were ready to tackle the rest of the day. Even so on some hikes we encountered thick fogs as well so fogs were often an essential part of almost every trip up to our property.

Salesian Boys Club Travels to Hoffman Estates Boys Club

My old Salesian Boys Club of Columbus, Ohio, made their way to my new club, The Hoffman Estates Boys Club in suburban Chicago for a basketball tournament that also included the Cicero and Bellwood Boys Clubs of Chicagoland. Our club in Hoffman Estates hosted the Salesian team for an overnight at our facility.

The game was played at a local grade school as our gym was not a full sized basketball court. A trumpeter from a local high school played the National Anthem and then Bellwood Boys Club defeated us while Salesian trounced the Cicero Boys Club in the second game. Salesian went on to defeat Bellwood by a large margin in the championship game.

Then the Salesian club traveled back to our club in Hoffman Estates for an overnight of pizza and fun. They were treated to Roof Ball which our members won handily and paddleball along with the Tire Endurance which were all foreign to the Salesian kids. Brother Emile Dube and “Judghead” Jones were the supervisors for the Salesian kids. I enjoyed talking old times with each. Judhead had even managed to go to Michigan on one of our camping trips to our property.

Before returning home to Columbus the following morning they attended a Catholic service at St. Hubert’s Parish which was next door to our facility. I think the Salesian kids went home not only with the basketball trophy but a greater appreciation for the other games we had at our club.

Night Camping

I think that on all my camping trips to our property my favorite times were at night. During the day we would swim a lot or take side trips to Ludington or the Lake Michigan Recreational Area, or even to Wellston and the Pine River. But after supper the real great times began. One time each trip was reserved for a voyage to the Haunted Island but largely our hiking times began at dusk until about one o’clock in the morning hiking both on our property and down the Bloody Antler Trail by and near Bear Swamp.

On our property we would travel down the old loggging trails that led to two large swamps and then to a creek. We would play hound and the hare or scouting games or just enjoy the night air. Once we went over to the blackberry patch but there were too many mosquitoes also enjoying that fruit.

Some nights we would just stay by our camping site and roast marshmellows or hot dogs while telling stories or singing songs. Some of the boys enjoyed sitting on the soft moss while taking in the night time beauty of Big Bass Lake. At times we took a rowboat excursion onto Big Bass Lake to take in all the stars of the heavens.

Talks about God were also not uncommon on those trips as many boys prayed before heading back to the tents for sleep. The kids just seemed to open up more in the evenings as the night air was more refreshing and stimulating to their thoughts. Campfires were real special at those times. Some deep theological issues were discussed right there in God’s creation.

After a full day of activities and campfire times sleep was welcome and appreciated at all times. After all another day of activities was about to come forth.

Jay Markle of ULBC Camp

Jay Markle was th Executive Director of the Union League Boys Club operation based in Chicago.  There were four boys clubs and the camp in Salem, Wisconsin that he was in charge of during his tenure.  He was the CEO of ULBC the summer I was there in 1969 at the camp.  Once I became the Executive Director of the Hoffman Estates Boys Club in suburban Chicago, I met Jay gain at a regional conference in Chicago where I approached him about the idea of having my local club use the facilities of their camp.

Jay put me in touch with Al Mackin who was then the director of the ULBC camp and he allowed our usage of the camp both off season and even in season where seven of our kids attended camp one summer.  In the off season, my boyus club took monthy trips to the camp.

I found Jay Markle to be a soft soken gentleman whom I always respected.  He had a great love for his work and it showed.   Our photograph is of his summer residence when he was at ULBC Camp and it as not all that far from the dining room.    Thanks Jay for making the kids of the Hoffman Estates Boys Club even richer by their experiences at ULBC Camp.

Night of the Hunter’s Moon at Big Bass Lake

On a brisk July evening at Big Bass Lake I spoke of our indention on our farm field. The whole of that quarter-mile stretch of farm line was perfectly level with the exception of one area that was circular and about ten feet deep as each step took you down a notch. Why had that area also not remained level as the rest of our field?

Speculation had it that a flying saucer once landed in that very location.  When I took the boys of the Hoffman Estates Boys Club to that very spot under a Hunter’s Moon, the wind began to pick up almost on que.  Our farm field lies between Big Bass Lake Road to the west and our forest to the east.  The boys had picked various spots around that circular area to sit while I told of the options of how that had been created. 

Due to the chill the boys had worn wind-breakers that evening and as the wind began to increase, the boys moved lower and lower into the crater to escape its chill.  Soon they were all nearly at the bottom.  Another thing had happened as they retreated lower into the crater and that is the distance between themselves got shorter and shorter until they were all lined up in one line together.

Just then something blew across the crater and the boys hugged the ground for dear life.  It might have been some brush but on a Hunter’s Moon night, who really knows?  And right after that occurred the boys asked to return to our wooded beachfront.  One of the boys suggested that had experienced a ghostly specter that night.  Only the Hunter’s Moon knows for sure!  And it wasn’t saying a thing!