If the children's story about the city mouse and country mouse had been written in this area, it might have been titled "Town Mouse and Lake Mouse." But unlike the popular children's tale where two cousins don't understand the other's different lifestyle, here town mouse and lake mouse would be one and the same - a town resident who turns into a lakeside dweller during the summer. For some local families it's a way of life that dates back three or four generations. A young couple might have purchased a cottage along the shore of Lake Ontario in the 1930s or 40s; summered there with their children each year, and now their children's grandchildren are spending at least part of their summers at the near-by get-away. In 1928, Andrew and Grace Schlageter bought a small cottage on Sandy Harbor Beach east of what is now Hamlin Beach State Park. A Rochester contractor, Schlageter and his wife had four children - Bruce, Janice, Noel and David - who grew up spending their summers on the lake. The cottage is now owned by those four siblings. Their 12 adult children, ranging in age from 29 to 49, bring their 18 children to the cottage on a regular basis. "Sunday is family day," explains Bruce's daughter, Liz Banner. "Anyone in the family can come, the more the merrier." Weeks are rotated among each of the four siblings and their offspring. Liz, her husband, Scott and their son, Will, take advantage of the time the cottage is available to them. They enjoy a variety of water sports - boating, skiing and riding jet skis. The cottage serves as a place where her family can get away from home without having to go too far. But more importantly for Liz, the cottage helps preserve the connection with her extended family. "I love being able to get together with my cousins and their kids," Banner said. "We watch them doing the same things we did as kids - jumping out of the big tree, skipping stones, hunting turtles." For 70 years, the Schlageter cottage remained basically unchanged - the family wasn't interested in winterizing it or making it any more elaborate than its humble beginnings. But over the past couple of years, a kitchen addition was built, a new bathroom installed, and a couple of decks added. The atmosphere is still casual with the emphasis on relaxing. In 1998, the Schlageters held a celebration for the 70th anniversary of summer cottage living; another celebration marking the 75th anniversary is already in the planning. Nearby is a cottage mostly used by Arlene Dilger Race, her husband, Phil, and two children. Arlene's great-grandfather was A.V. Fowler, the founder of the funeral home business in Brockport. He bought a cottage at Sandy Harbor Beach that was passed down to his son, Keith Fowler. At some point the Fowlers decided to sell the main cottage but kept the garage, which fronts the creek instead of the lake. They turned the garage into a small cottage. Although Arlene's parents own the cottage, she and her family, who live in Gananda, use it the most. The Races move in the day after school lets out and don't move back home until Labor Day. Arlene and Liz grew up together, swinging on ropes and boating - now their children share the same activities. "We feel very fortunate that we're able to live here in the summer," Arlene said. "My son had some friends come visit and they didn't know anything about boating or how to hunt for turtles." Liz and Arlene agree there is a camaraderie among the cottage neighbors and it isn't limited just to those who go back a couple of generations together - but extends to the newer lake lovers, too. "We keep an eye on all the kids," Liz said. "When someone is doing a project, who's ever around will pitch in." Arlene said she finds life on the lake to be therapeutic. "The sound of water lapping is the most relaxing sound in the world." And occasionally the lakesiders are treated to free laser shows - Mother Nature sometimes provides "intense weather that is both a little frightening and exhilarating," she said. Arlene and Phil have decided to tear down their garage-cottage and build a larger cottage for the future. "We're here for as far ahead as I can predict," she said. A few cottages down the beach, Wayne Moore hopes that his children and grandchildren will keep the cottage in the family in the future. His father, former Brockport dentist Kenneth Moore, bought the cottage in 1947. Wayne and his wife, Jean, took it over in 1982. His sister Ruth Ann, who lives in Cooperstown, still visits. The Moores have kept the cottage just the way it was. "We have the best of both worlds here," he said. "We can be here at the water all day, yet be back in Brockport in 10 minutes. Although summer lake living seems idyllic, it isn't always perfect. In 1952, Wayne's father was blown far off shore when a strong breeze blew in. His boat motor quit and the weather worsened. The Coast Guard launched a search and rescue mission. Local pilot Earl Siegfried spotted Kenneth Moore 20 miles off the coast of Charlotte and guided the Coast Guard boat to Moore's location. After seven hours adrift, Moore was rescued. Wayne said his father was sunburned and had accepted the fact that he probably wasn't going to be rescued from the choppy waters as night approached. As traumatic as the experience was, it didn't dull the Moore family's desire to spend time on the water. Neither did some trying years when the lake level was so high, the cottage wasn't usable. "They seem to be doing a little better job controlling the water level now," Wayne said of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' efforts to monitor the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence Seaway navigational use needs with those of property owners along the shores. There are other enclaves of summer cottages along Lake Ontario that have been homes to local families over the years: The Dunn family of Brockport at Newco Drive; the Lesters and Websters, also of Brockport, at Troutsburg. "The pressure's off when you're out there," said Buddy Lester, whose parents met at the cottages. His wife Karen, a teacher, and their three children spend the whole summer at the lake. "I've always loved it," he said, "and my kids love it. They can play the whole day. There's nothing that has to get done. And if there's something going on back in town, we don't have to miss it." If it's possible, like Wayne Moore said, to have the best of two worlds, being a town mouse/lake mouse may be the way to have it. |
