During the 1970’s the significant events for me at Big Bass Lake were the multiple trips I took to our family farm with Boys Clubs of America including the Marion Boys Club, Salesian Boys Club, and the Hoffman Estates Boys Club. The Marion YMCA even took one trip there using their large bus as our transport vehicle.
Our picture today is of our pointe just off our wooded beachfront. The Marion Club took the most trips to Michigan including two spring trips where we stayed in cabins off our property. The remainder of the trips for Marion were tent trips to our property. Salesian took one tent trip where it rained every day but one. Hoffman Estates had two trips, one in tents and the other in a cabin.
On every trip a midnight visit to the Haunted Island and House occurred. The Marion club on one of their trips visited Camp Martin Johnson which closed in 1976. I worked at the Marion club from 1972-74. Side trips always included trips to the Ludington State Beach, the Lake Michigan Recreational Area, and to the Pine River Bridge near Wellston.
The first campers got to meet Otto Bartlett, the owner of the Big Bass Lake store before he sold the business. The Marion kids also saw our old house before it was replaced by the newer cottage closer to Big Bass Lake. That Marion club also spent a night in the two room cottage on a stormy night where my grandmother actually walked down to our beach advising us to leave our tents for that evening.
The Hoffman Estates kids saw a wolf on their trip to a nearby cabin as part of their adventures while the Marion kids saw a bear. All the Salesian kids saw on their trip was raindrops except for one clear day. Thus the 1970’s were a time for kids to enjoy the pleasures of Big Bass Lake and the surrounding area.
Big Bass Lake & Beyond 