I grew up in Flint, Michigan. Late August 1964, I came with my parents to visit my aunt and uncle, Lynn and Betty Wilda, at Barron Lake. They lived on Breezy Beach for the summers, just around the bend from Kugler’s Beach.
My cousins tell me the story of them sneaking out in the middle of the night with the neighbor kids, going to Kugler’s and taking paddle boats out. They would paddle all around the lake and then return them. No one ever knew!
It was a little, two-bedroom bungalow. The houses were so close together, they could each almost be touched by just holding both arms out straight. To this day, that little house looks exactly the same as it did in 1964… white, with a green and white striped awning. Most of the other houses have been renovated and a second story added on. Not this one. It remains the same to this day.
We were there for the weekend. A friend of my uncle’s from South Bend, came often for the day with his son, and a friend, to water ski. They were there that same weekend. A cousin and I spent as much time as we could out in the sun, on the dock and on rafts. It wasn’t until the last 15 minutes before we left, that I actually spoke with one of the boys…Troy Sloderbeck. He would be heading to Ball State in a week. I had one more year of high school. At the end of our talk, he asked if he could drive me home, a three-hour drive! Like a starry-eyed young girl, I asked my parents if he could. They said “Absolutely, not!”
Two years later, Troy and I were married. We were blessed to be able to rent that bungalow from my uncle for the entire first winter of our marriage. We bought ice skates and skated all over the lake. In the summer, my uncle and family would move back.
My in-laws, Jim (Big Jim) and Mary Jane Sloderbeck, visited and fell in love with the lake. One day my uncle found them just sitting at the end of his dock at 6 a.m. gazing out and dreaming of owning their own place someday on Barron Lake. In 1968 he helped them find a house for sale, and they bought a little place on Shady Shores Drive.
It didn’t even have an indoor bathroom, so they made some renovations. It was their year-round home. We lived in South Bend and would come to the lake on hot days. We would soon discover it was much cooler there on the shady side of the lake. That never stopped us from having loads of fun! In the winters, they kept a 20’ by 20’ skating spot shoveled off. Our two children, Dayna and Scot, learned to ice skate, swim, and later water ski there. Many of our friends and even later, our grandkids have learned to water ski there! We enjoyed lots of corn-on-the-cob and Coquillard’s fried chicken picnics!
Jim and Mary Jane were deeply involved in the lake association and worked at all the activities connected. He operated the huge weed cleaning machine for years, also manning the gate at the Cass County Fair, cooking for Barron Lake picnics, and fundraisers. Probably more we didn’t know about. That generation was filled with hard workers. The Barron Lake annual picnic had a big turnout and was a blast! They scoured the local businesses and all sorts of prizes were donated. They had fun games — Euchre and horseshoe tournaments, kids’ games, raffle drawings, and bingo. There was an “all you could eat” rule. They cooked hotdogs, hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, baked beans, potato salad, Mary Jane’s chicken and noodles, sodas, & more.
When the house next door came up for sale, they told their friend, Jim Wagner about it, which he bought and moved in. They were good friends, neighbors, and fishing buddies for the rest of their lives. In 2010, when my in-laws passed away, we became the proud owners of their home. Troy, our son Scot, and a friend, fully renovated the entire place. It took them three years. We enjoyed fishing, having friends over, and playing, at the lake. To our surprise… there were fabulous fireworks every 4th of July!! All those years the parents lived there, they never said anything to us about those fireworks! Mary Jane didn’t like the loud booms, so that might be why. We LOVE to see them, and that is one of our highlights each and every year!
In August of 2013, Troy passed away suddenly, of an aortic aneurysm. He loved the lake and had lots of fishing tales and fun stories. One winter he fell through the ice. Back at the house, standing there shivering, and still soaking wet, our little one asked, “Daddy, when you were down there, did you see any fishies?” He was an avid fisherman, and ice fishing remained his favorite.
So far, our place there on Shady Shores Drive is my summer home. However, I fully intend to make it my permanent, full-time home one day. I love having friends and family come often. It makes me happy to see how much they enjoy the lake. That is where they want to come and visit, and continue to make more happy memories.
Written by Paulette Sloderbeck for the Barron Lake Association website.
January 2022
