Heather Wilks Shelby Shares Lake Memories

Heather (Wilks) Shelby is the newest family member to own the home, originally bought by her grandparents, Elmer and Genevieve “Sally” Rose, in 1948.

When they passed, Heather’s mother, Cheryl Wilks, a former secretary for the Barron Lake Association, inherited the home. In 2016, Cheryl passed, and Heather inherited the home.

While it is with sadness the home now belongs to Heather, the home still holds much joy and fond memories.

A job as an estimator for Kawneer prompted Heather’s grandfather, grandmother, and two small children in 1935 to relocate from Attleboro, Massachusetts to Niles, where they became quite active in town. Her grandfather served on the local school board and was a justice of the peace. He was an avid baseball and basketball player, and coached youth sports. Her grandmother was active in many clubs such as the Lioness Club, an election inspector, the building committee chairman for the Howard Township Conservation Club, the Howard Township Zoning Board, and volunteered for Meals on Wheels.

“The house is a duplex. My grandparents lived on the smaller side and rented from Bill & Ruth Eisner. He and his family lived on the bigger side. They became great friends,” Heather said “While they were renting, my grandma and grandpa lived there with their two teenage kids (high school age) and my great-uncle. And in 1948 my grandma was pregnant with my mom. That side of the house is two bedrooms and one bath. About 600-650 sq ft. I can’t imagine!!!  And the bedrooms are small, so I have no idea where everyone slept.”

In earlier years, the house was a dance hall called Edgewood Beach and owned by Bill Eisner. The location was also the site of a terpisichorean (dance record.). <Editor’s note: Leona Shissman and Dorothy Knott danced 143 hours and 20 minutes at Edgewood in July 1923 to win the marathon contest.> “The house was built in 1920 and I don’t know if the Eisner’s built it, but there was a fire in 1927. The burn marks are still in the attic. After that it was turned into a duplex residence,” Heather said.

Heather grew up in town but spent a lot of time on the lake with her grandparents and other family members.

“When I was 12, I got a summer job at Kugler’s in the concession stand. I lived with my grandma and rode my bike to work. My grandma rented the other side to her sister, Katherine, for most of my childhood, so it was a gathering place for all our family.” 

Heather reminisced about the year everyone came to the lake for Thanksgiving. “My cousins called it an “Eat-O-Rama” and hung a sheet outside with that on it. It was loud and chaotic, and I loved it!  I think there were only 12 to 15 people there but in such a tiny house it was a lot,” she said with a laugh.  

She recalled walking down Lake Shore Drive to the grocery store located on the site where the Avalon Ballroom was once located. “The floor was the old wood dance floor,” she said. “There also was a guy within walking distance who had a little ‘shop’ and sold candy.” And she recalls Roy’s—where people could rent small fishing boats. “This was in the 1980s and I believe it was where the Kennedy’s lot is now on Lake Shore Drive where they have the pavilion and their family reunions.”

Growing up with access to Barron Lake was a treasure for Heather. “Some of the things I remember most from when I was younger was having friends over and swimming all day. My grandma couldn’t swim so she would always yell at my friends and me, ‘Heather Ann, you’re out too far!’ My birthday is in July, so a lot of my birthdays were spent at the lake,” she said. “The house has a three-season back porch, and I would sleep out there at night,” she recalled as a favorite memory. “I adored my grandma and I just loved being there.”

The water level was extremely low in the summer of 2012 and Heather recalled there was an unusual item peaking from the lake. “We found very large ice tongs that could have been used to pick up large blocks of ice during the Hunter Ice Brothers days of harvesting ice on Barron Lake.” And in June of 1950, when the water rose quite high—all the way underneath the house—Mrs. Bradley (a renter at the house) was catching fish off the back steps.

Heather’s mom’s best friend growing up was Dorothy Kennedy. “She lived on Shady Shores. Not long ago I saw a corner street sign—“Rose Drive and Kennedy Drive.” I wondered if it was from the two families, but I have no idea,” she said.

Another memory was the Cabin Fever Spaghetti dinners at Hass’s (which is now Wegner’s Lakeside Bar and Grill). “There used to be this spaghetti dinner every winter. My mom and Dorothy organized it one year. I was in maybe 5^th or 6^th grade sitting on the old wood floor opening giant cans of spaghetti sauce.” Hass’s also was the site for her Aunt Shirley and Uncle Fred’s wedding reception in 1956, she said.

As an adult, Heather was the inspiration for the boat parade returning to the lake and was the original lake association webmaster. She continues to make great memories on the lake with her husband, Kraig, and their two children Brady and Sally, and looks forward to many more years of making memories. 

“It’s very hard to think about not ever having this house in our family. There’s been so many friends and family, reunions, laughs, cries, birthdays, graduation parties, a wedding, bonfires, s’mores, boat rides, sunsets, fishing, outdoor movies, and a lot of hard work. So many memories! If the walls could only talk.”

 Written by Jodi Marneris for the Barron Lake Association  September 20