Cleora Kelsch has been coming to Barron Lake since she was about 10 years old spending weekends and summers with her immediate and extended family. Roughly 12 years ago she and her husband, Leo, purchased one of the cottages she used to stay in, which is also one of the oldest cottages on the lake.
The cottage, located on Huff Avenue, was built in 1910 by the Smith Family. “The man told his daughter that when he built it this was the second cottage on the lake. Now where the first one is, I have no idea. And it may have been torn down. Most of them have been torn down.”
Cleora said the Smith family kept the cottage until Thelma Smith was diagnosed with a terminal cancer. When Thelma passed, the Smith family decided to sell. Cleora was living in California and was disappointed when she had to tell Selma she could not purchase it at that time. “That didn’t work out, but 50 years later it came up for sale and I bought it. I’m sure Thelma was very happy that I ended up getting the cottage.”
Cleora was born in South Bend, Indiana. “We lived in a duplex house with my cousin Leila (longtime Barron Lake resident Lee Lawson who passed away in March 2022). Her dad had a lot over on Breezy Beach. So, mom and dad and uncle George started with a tent. Then they put in a floor and then a ceiling and then they finally put sides,” she said.
The one-room house on Breezy Beach was renovated and soon had two rooms. “They added a little square room. That was our sleeping quarters, and it was just divided by sheets. Behind that, my uncle Andy, had a little trailer. And then behind that was the outhouse,” she said. Down the road and up on the hill was Mr. Tuesday, the farmer. “My mother would yell up, ‘Mr. Tuesday, I need a bushel of corn,’ because people were always showing up unexpectedly and they always had to provide.”
Cleora went to Michigan State University, where she met and started dating Leo. “When Leo and I got together, people shortened my name to Cleo. We’ve been Leo and Cleo for 66 years,” she said. After they got married, Leo’s job as a CPA moved them to Albuquerque, New Mexico. They also lived in Tennessee, California and Ohio. “Leo and I moved to several different places in the country, but we brought the children back and spent eight weeks every summer here,” Cleo said, noting Leo couldn’t take that much time off work so he would go back and forth, but she would stay.
“We always spent our summers up here when I was growing up, except for during the war. Then we would go to Campa Tannadoonah (in Vandalia, Michigan) for eight weeks. They were rationing the gas and my parents didn’t have a lot of money for gas. But they would come see us every Sunday at camp,” Cleo said.
Cleo’s parents were coming to Barron Lake for many years prior to Cleo being born. “My parents, of course, go back much further. They used to come to dances at the Avalon and at Reid’s Casino. I do remember, though, when Bartak’s was a skating rink. We used to take the canoe over there and go roller skating,” she said.
When Cleo was a pre-teen, she used to work at Kugler’s Beach. “They had little changing rooms with baskets for your clothes. I used to take the money. I thought I was so big. I was probably about 12 years old,” she said. She recalled when her uncle Andy (Reid) married Hanby Starr. “That’s when they took over Reid’s Resort and they opened it up for public swimming,” she said.
“Then they built that house at the end of Starr with the big picture window. I remember I was staying out there and there was a cyclone coming across the lake. Sparky (her cousin) and I were fascinated by this.” Cleo says her children remember watching the storms come across the lake. “My one daughter, who lives in California, especially liked it and she said she just wanted to come and see one more lightning and thunderstorm come across the lake.” She said she used to hang out in the hotel at Reid’s Resort. “Sparky and I used to play in the hotel all the time. We thought it was really spooky, but we loved it,” she said.
One of the things Cleo mentioned that has really changed was Bonners Woods. “When you are looking out over there where Bartak’s was, there were only about four or five houses all the way down to Breezy Beach. Nobody was there when we were small. And the bottom of the lake there was so stony, so we never got out of the canoes. Of course, now it’s all built up,” she said.
Since purchasing the cottage, Leo and Cleo have made a few renovations to make it work better for their children and grandchildren, who visit quite often. “The cottage had an air conditioner in the window upstairs and a TV. I threw them both out. When the kids come to the lake, they’re going to play outside. I don’t want to see them with any electronic games,” she said. “Eventually, we gave up on the TV.”
They also put in some storm windows and new screens out on the lake side porch, which is where they have a large dining table. “We love to sit out here. We have always loved this lot because we have such a gorgeous view,” Cleo said. They also had to reconfigure the tiny and narrow bathroom on the main floor. “You had to open the door, go in shut the door before you can sit down on the commode,” Leo said, noting it was one of the first tasks they undertook. They also did some reconfiguring of the kitchen area to open it up.
Though they feel like they have reached a point where they may need more bedrooms to accommodate the family visits, Leo noted that it would not be an easy task because of the way the foundation was laid. So, for the time being, they are leaving the cottage the way it is. They said they always had access to extra bedrooms at her cousin, Lee Lawson’s house, but now that is no longer possible. “The family would all stay down at Lee’s house, but all seven dogs stayed with us,” Leo said. Cleo noted the design of the cottage was completed with great insight. “Who ever built this, I think did a wonderful job in laying it out. It’s tiny but they made great use of all the space,” Cleo said, pointing out the wooden floors are original floors.
Cleo and Leo have continued to enjoy their time at the cottage. “We have such wonderful memories here,” they both said.
Written by Jodi Marneris for the Barron Lake Association. July 2022.
