Discovery

I remember yet when dad saw an ad in the Mining Journal advertising lots for sale on Casey Lake. That was the summer of 1946, probably August. Up to this time there was no lack of lakes to swim in. Two or 3 families regularly picnicked ‘out south’ on summer weekends, usually in conjunction with berry picking. The promise of going to a lake to have our lunch when the berry pails were full was a great incentive to us kids. Big Perch, Little Perch, Big Bass Lake, Little Bass Lake, Lake Dewey and Heart Lake were some we usually ended up at. But the thought of owning your own camp on a lake was almost beyond belief.

The writer of the ad included a date when he would be at Casey Lake to show lots to potential buyers. I was happy to realize that pa showed interest in actually buying lakefront property But where was this unknown lake? I had never heard of it. Of course Pa had a good idea having hunted and fished all over ‘the south’ in his youth. On the Marquette County map I could see it was outside the berry picking ‘south’ I was familiar with. When the day finally arrived, ma packed picnic lunch and the blackened lard pail with a bail for boiling coffee over a fire.

After we passed Perch Lake and Schmeltz’s camp it was a new adventure for at least 3 of us. The road was the typical bush road we were accustomed to on our Sunday drives, but probably lesser traveled. In places the banks rose above the road and some turns were pretty tight. The roads were strange to me but pa seemed to know where he was. In those days we didn’t go towards Skinnies Lake but turned south on a road that passed by Sagola Lake and came out on the now familiar road to Casey Lake south of Helen Lake. I’m sure that ma kept her eye peeled for blueberry bushes in this new territory.

Finally a lake appeared right along the roadside and a simple sign on a post proclaimed it to be Casey Lake. We parked farther on and a gentleman soon appeared. The entire lake shore was divided into lots and he invited us to explore them all. Many lots were on hillsides, or had marshy shores. It seemed the lots with the nicest shore, and the most accessible, were on the end where we first viewed the lake. The big objection was that the road passed between the lots and the lake. But Pa was thinking ahead and visualized the road rerouted toward the rear of the lot, connecting with an existing road and back towards the lake. With this in mind he told Mr. Uren, the seller, that he would buy two 100-foot lots on the hill across the road from the lake. Nobody had selected these lots yet, most likely because of the road location. The sale was sealed on September 17, 1946 at the Hotel Northland (now the Landmark) in Marquette where Mr. Charles Uren was headquartered. I remember sitting in the car parked on the street while business was transacted. Pa said they celebrated the occasion with a shot of brandy.