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Originally published in the
Sept, 2006, issue of Signpost, the newsletter of the Highland Township
Historical Society
Recollections of Dunham Lake
By Dr. Eugene H. Beach,
Silver Spring,
Maryland
I was fascinated
by the article on
Dunham
Lake that appeared in the June, 2006, issue of the
Signpost since I myself had some wonderful experiences at the lake in the
summers of 1929 to 1931. My age was 11 to 13. My father was the rural mail
carrier that serviced the people living on Dunham Lake road. This was a dirt road that ran north from
Highland Road (now M-59) to Dunham Lake, then west past two cottages, then north
(some 10 to 20 feet from the lake) and up a hill where you were even with the
lake’s north shore. At the top of this hill there was a house, a factory, and a
very large garden with all kinds of fruit and berries.
The western-most
cottage on the south side of the lake was owned by a Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris was the
postmaster for
Pontiac. He, his wife and their son, Jack Harris, used to
spend the summers at the cottage. Mr. Harris used to commute from
Pontiac and spend every other night or so at the cottage. Mrs.
Harris found out about me when I was riding around with Dad on his mail route.
She invited me to come and spend several days with Jack (who was about my age)
at the cottage. Dad would drop me off in the morning as he drove around
Dunham
Lake.
Jack and I used
to hike along
Dunham
Lake road. Sometimes we would climb up on the steep bank on
the west side of the road. The trees on the bank were quite large and close to
each other. We would look at the birds and sometimes pick a few flowers. Mrs.
Harris would fix us a good lunch. After lunch we would swap stories of things
that had happened at our schools. Then we usually went for a swim or went
fishing. At dinner-time Mr. Harris would sometimes arrive from Pontiac, and Mrs. Harris would always fix a delicious meal. I
would spend the night with Jack, and after breakfast we would play checkers,
etc. Dad would then pick me up as he came by with the mail.
When you came down
Dunham
Lake road to the lake there was a large white house (a
year-round dwelling; not a cottage) on the right side of the road. The yard was
nicely landscaped and was fenced off so that you could not walk or drive around
to the east side of the lake. I dimly remember that the house was owned by
someone in township government.
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The factory on the
north side of the lake was owned and operated by the Hares, who manufactured the
Liberty Fire Extinguisher. The extinguisher was a tube about two inches in
diameter and thirty inches long. It was filled with a mixture of fine sand and
baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) . If the mixture was
scatter along the base of a fire, the heat would release carbon dioxide (CO2)
and snuff the fire out. My Dad used to pick up cartons of these extinguishers
(2, 4 or 6 in a carton) and carry perhaps several hundred pounds of these
cartons, in the back seat of his Model T, to the Highland Post Office. I believe
the Hares were of German extraction. They were very friendly and often gave Dad
boxes of strawberries, etc.
I am not certain
of the year, but the Hares were taken to court with the charge that they had
moved the road by their house a number of feet to the west. My Dad was asked by
the Hares’ lawyer to be a witness. The trial was held in Pontiac and Dad testified that in all the years he had driven
the mail route past the Hares’ home there had been no change in the road’s
location. Based on this and other evidence the case was dismissed. Afterwards
the Hares and their attorney invited Dad and me to dinner at a fancy restaurant.
I can remember having Great Lakes white
fish, which was quite tasty!
As you drove past
the two cottages on the south side of the lake and made the turn to go north
there was a house on top of the steep hill. It was not possible to reach this
house from
Dunham
Lake road since the hill was too steep. This was home to a
family that had recently emigrated from Finland. Very little was known about them, although they had
several children whom we used to see playing in the yard. In the back of the
yard was a small metal clad building with a conical metal roof and chimney. This
was a Finnish bathhouse or sauna. Several times, especially on weekends, you
would see smoke coming from the chimney!
Dunham Lake was always a very quiet and peaceful place. It was a
good place to relax and think about your past and future, and I will always
remember the good times I had there with Jack Harris.
More information on the
Highland Historical Society can be found at
http://members. aol.com/highland 1835/home. htm There you will find a picture of the fire
extinguisher on the web site.
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