The Bartak family is probably one of the older families around Barron Lake. I was a Bartak, well ha, I still am a Bartak! My grandfather, John Bartak, and grandmother, Fannie, lived in Vandalia in the 1940s. He made his money in real estate, buying and selling, buying and selling. My folks would laugh that he would often come home and say, “Fannie, I sold the house,” and grandma would pack up to move.
They moved to Niles when grandpa bought Kennedy’s Resort on Rose Drive and lots of vacant land in West Shore Park on March 25, 1946. The lake was beautiful and quiet back then. You would see canoes, lots of rowboats, and an occasional motor boat or pontoon. Locally we just called the resort Bartak’s Tavern. There were still hotel rooms upstairs and they still had rowboats for rent.
To help the family business, Uncle Bill and my dad tended bar; Aunt Norma, Aunt Bernice, and my mom waited tables; and Aunt Mary took care of the roller rink and the snack bar. Grandma cooked and grandpa would say to his customers, “Come and see my Fannie!” I was just little, but in the afternoon, when the tavern was not busy, we could play the table shuffleboard game. I still remember the shiny silver weighted pucks that slid on the brightly polished wood table. And I recall very busy Friday night fish fry dinners.
I’m sure many locals on the west side of the lake fondly remember Bartak’s Tavern. Grandpa sold the tavern to Raymond and Corrine Lappan, and for a few years more it was Lappan’s Tavern. Then the hotel, bar and restaurant, roller rink and bath house were all taken down. The steps down to the beach remain, along with good memories. The tavern was sold and became Beachcomber, but I don’t know much about it.
I remember grandma and grandpa lived in the big white farmhouse (now its blue) on Rose Drive. Grandpa’s friend, Bob Kennedy, would come over and they smoked big fat cigars. Grandma would chase them outside and they would sit down by the lake. Bob Kennedy lived in a small house on Rose Drive and he passed out dimes for trick or treat at Halloween. At Christmas I remember Mr. Kennedy came to have a drink with grandpa and wish all the family “Merry Christmas” and then he was gone.
All my cousins were there and we heard big brass sleigh bells outside. We ran to the window and saw Santa Claus wave and heard him say, “Ho, ho, ho” in a loud voice and walk away jingling the bells. We turned around and there were presents piled under the tree. In a few minutes Mr. Kennedy was back to have dinner with our family. Soon we learned it was Bob Kennedy who dressed up as Santa for the Bartak grandkids.
In 1952, grandpa had the farm and vacant land subdivided. It is legally known as Bartak Acres. He sold lots all along the lake and throughout the subdivision. He sold the lots on land contract and folks would come to the house to make monthly payments. Grandpa named streets for our family: Williams St. for Uncle Bill, Mary St. for Aunt Mary, Eddie Dr. for Uncle Edward, and Bartak Street for my dad. They wouldn’t let him name a Joseph Street because there was already a Joseph St. in Niles. At the end of Mary Street grandpa named a small pie-shaped lot with 48’ lake frontage Bartak Park (that’s where the new well and pump will be).
Grandpa also bought property from City Consumers Ice Co. in 1952.
My parents, Joe and Vivian Bartak, built the limestone house on Rose Drive around that time. I think the old icehouse was on their empty lots, or I’m sure at least part of the ice business was there because I remember when mom and dad made plans for the house, big bulldozers were brought in to dig enormous holes on the hill facing the lake. They pushed in huge slabs of concrete, giant pieces of iron scrap, piles of debris, and covered it all with lots of dirt. Mom wouldn’t let me go barefoot in the yard because of all the rusty nails and broken glass.
We raked and cleaned the yard for a long time before we had any grass. We found bricks, barbed wire, and railroad spikes in the lake. Dad made the pier with wood slats on top of cement blocks, and we hung old rubber tires on the pier posts for boat bumpers.
I remember at that time dad was selling cars in Niles and someone traded in a used motorboat on a new car. Dad bought the boat and brought it home to surprise us. Mom saved money to buy a pontoon. Wow, now we were really enjoying the lake and it got busy and noisy. My brother, Larry, drove the boat and I learned to water ski. We had lots of friends over to swim and go boating and they all thought we were so lucky to live at the lake.
You would see lots more speed boats and pontoons. The sewer went in, and small cottages were replaced by big homes. I remember lots more snow in the winter and the ice freezing very thick. You would see many shanties out on the ice for fishing in the winter.
I graduated from Niles High School, went off to college at Michigan State, met and married Galen Johnson, and raised our family in Dewitt, MI. I was an elementary school teacher so I had lots of summer days to bring our son and daughter to the lake, especially on long holiday weekends. They are married with children of their own, so now they bring our grandchildren to the same family home they have always known on Rose Drive. Now you see jet skis, hydrofoil skis, wakeboard surfers, and the grandkids like to go tubing behind the speedboat.
The lake has changed a lot, but one thing remains the same: We will continue to make memories and be thankful the Bartaks found Barron Lake long ago!
. Karen and her grandmother, Fannie Bartak,
with Bartak's Tavern in the background.
Written by Karen Johnson for the Barron Lake Association. August 2022.
