Remembering Camp Indian Sands: Step 25

Most of the family vacations we took were camping trips. Mom and Dad struggled to get up this huge dark green canvas tent. We used it to camp at Devil’s Lake, Terre Andre and High Cliff State Parks. When we weren’t swimming or hiking we would play tourist and visit places like Baraboo, where Ringling Brothers started their circus or Wisconsin Dells, where you could ride on amphibious vehicles called “ducks” to hear stories of the various rock formations formed by the glacier thousands of years ago. When we were real little we went to Frontier land and Storybook Gardens, miniature theme parks that had grown up around “the Dells.” Two family vacations stand out in my memory. The first, and the only one I can recall where we actually left Wisconsin, was to visit my sister, Peggy, who had gone to Young Judea camp in western Michigan. We drove through Chicago and around the southern tip of Lake Michigan and stayed at an Imperial 400 motel near the camp. Before heading back we visited Battle Creek where they made both Kellogg and Post cereals. That night we stayed in the Post Hotel. A new state, a motel and a hotel, my world was expanding. The second, which may have taken place during the summer between going to John Muir and attending the new junior high, was at a place called Camp Indian Sands. Now, it was no further away than Devil’s Lake or Wisconsin Dells, but the difference was our family did not take this vacation alone. We went there with the Sutcheks. Windy, referred to previously when talking about my father’s co-workers, was a good friend who may have recommended taking a vacation together to my dad. More likely it was his wife, Lucy, who came up with the idea. She was a real estate agent and one of the most organized and assertive women I knew growing up. The Sutcheks had two sons and an older daughter. Coincidentally, their sons’ names and my parents’ two sons names were pronounced exactly the same. Their oldest son spelled Neal with an a, while my brother spelled it with an i. Marc, who was a year older than my younger brother spelled his name with a c instead of a k, the way I do. Neal was a year older than me, but treated me like an equal. Karen, was at least two years older than Peggy, which proved too much of a separation for them to relate well during that week. My guess that Lucy planned this vacation is based on the fact she was a hard working woman who did not want to spend her leisure time putting things together or cooking. At Camp Indian Sands we stayed in cabins and ate meals prepared by a staff in the lodge. We swam, paddled canoes across the lake, and told stories in the lodge at night. Nothing extraordinary, except we spent time with another family, and it’s the only time I can recall seeing my parents actually relax. As usual, your comments and ideas are welcome.