By Chip Leakas, #506 Belvedere
The Leakas’ kids first summer at the Belvedere – forged
friendships lasting over 50 years. On our very first full day on the resort, my
brothers and I set out to walk down Belvedere Ave from the cottage to the
beach. Without warning, we suddenly found ourselves in a ROCK FIGHT as we
walked along the train tracks leading to the swing bridge over the channel. We
darted in and out of the 15-foot-high hedges bordering the tracks seeking cover
from our attackers – this was not the warm welcome I had anticipated!
Rock fights - by and large - are not meant to hurt or injure
anyone. They are really just used to mark your territory – and scare the
opposing forces. As “the new kids”, we
found ourselves under siege – being pelted with small rocks that made up the
roadbed of the train tracks that passed through the Belvedere Club. Why were we under attack and what imaginary
territorial boundaries had we mistakenly crossed?
Unsure of the opposition, we engaged them in a return
barrage of small stones – hoping to send a message that the new kids would not
be scared away easily. A few harmless volleys had been exchanged as we were taking
cover in the tall hedges along the tracks – when we heard a cry of pain! I
can’t remember exactly which warring soldier was injured, but blood had been
drawn – creating the cease fire and imminent evacuation of the injured party.
I think it was only a superficial head wound - but it needed
immediate medical attention. I remember that sincere apologies were expressed,
but of greater concern was that we stop the bleeding. I remember thinking this
was not a great start as prospective new members at The Belvedere Club, and
that we would have some explaining to do with the parents. This included the real
prospects of the potential loss of our freedom to roam the new club grounds
with some ensuing form of corporal punishment for our reckless behavior.
It seems we went to the Alexander household first– The
Leakas boys and the Alexander boys all together now – with a primary concern of
getting band aids, and soap and water to clean the wound and stop the bleeding.
We tried in vain to explain the circumstances, that no one
was supposed to be harmed, that we were in a make-believe territorial battle.
We swore that we would not throw rocks anymore, and that we understood rock
fighting was extremely dangerous as a result of the sustained injuries during our
mock battle.
Our parents (Ann and Bill Leakas) were called to an
impromptu meeting with the Alexander boy’s parents (Bud and Stella) to account
for our behaviors. It’s always difficult to PROVE who started a ROCK FIGHT. But
now - with wounds repaired - we all made apologies and shook hands agreeing to
be friendly and nice towards one another from this point going forward or risk further
punishment. It was a teaching moment - an exercise in parenting, patience,
respect, and learning important lessons about how to treat other people, and how
we wanted to be treated (The Golden Rule).
We had demonstrated empathy and concern towards our former
adversaries – which were now our new friends, so we were spared punishment at
this time. Our rivals had become our first new friends in the course of an
afternoon! Generally speaking - I don’t advocate for rock fights as a way to
make new friends – but in this case it worked out.
Two families with 9 boys between them of similar ages only a
few doors apart – would find many other opportunities to play together in
competitive ways generally not ending in bloodshed! We had begun a friendly rivalry
lasting over 5 decades and created new friends as the result of this rock fight.
What really became apparent to me in this whole new world of
northern Michigan was that we had our new “summer friends” who were very
different from our “school friends” at home in Ohio. Most of our neighborhood
friends and school friends from home we had known from a very early age. We
played on our bikes and hiked the streams near our home after school. We played
sports like baseball, basketball, football, and soccer with these winter and
school friends.
But our “summer friends” were different! They spoke and acted
differently, dressed differently, had different traditions, and came from
different backgrounds. This really opened our eyes up to the world. We would
brag about our summer friends to our school and neighborhood friends at home…tell
them the wild stories and about the great adventures we had with our summer
friends.
We had all kinds of competitions with our summer friends
that forged great friendships and alliances through these shared experiences. To
establish a pecking order within the pack of teenage boys…EVERYTHING we did was
either “a competition, a race or a dare”!
There were of course organized competitions in golf, tennis,
sailing and other club sanctioned events that we all participated in thru GANG.
Our parents loved GANG in that it gave them regularly scheduled time for their adult
competitions (away from the kids) …where we were supervised. But it was the
unsupervised time after gang where we had the most fun. “Race you down to the
beach” on foot or on bikes. Last one in the water is a “rotten egg” was a
refrain I recall. Bike races were common,
and most bike races were short duration sprints. Who could “pop a wheelie” and
hold it the longest (off the ground, balancing on one wheel)? Or, who could leave the longest “skid mark”
slamming on the brakes on the pavement after a short sprint - shortening the
life of most bike tires! At the beach, we had swimming races of all kinds. A
long duration endurance swim was “around the buoys”. Or, who could swim the fastest from the end
of swimming pier into the beach? This swimming race had a unique start featuring
a simultaneous dive from the high and low diving boards! Other swimming
challenges included who could swim across the channel to Pine Island? Or who
would swim out to Fisherman’s Island?
I really enjoyed the high dive and diving boards at the Belvedere
swimming pier – as we had many challenges and judges concerned with the best
method and best execution of “The cannonball” - the “The Jackknife” and the
“one and ½ somersault” (flip) dives! We all experimented with multiple
contortions to see if we had invented any new splash dives! Of course, some of
the best splash dive disasters we made up while experimenting AND yielded the
best (worst) results – which were impossible to repeat - and caused great
LAUGHTER and soreness the next day! Our family had a trampoline at home in Ohio
– which is great training for diving – and we became proficient in many diving flips
and twists with variations and combinations of all types. It’s difficult to
measure the height of the splash dive from the water, but that didn’t stop us
from trying as we waited our turn on the diving boards on the pier! Surely the
girls in the boats going past and we were also hoping the girls on the beach could
see what a great show we were putting on for them!
In our quest for greater diving heights, as young, crazy,
competitive daredevil boys – we of course sought out new diving venues. And,
when you add a small element of risk (something forbidden or discouraged) of
course that raised the challenge and quest to complete a dive or jump based on
a dare!
That’s how “diving or jumping” from the boat house roofs
began. It was after climbing and jumping from the pilings at the sailing docks in
the yacht basin and the ones near the boat houses, that we naturally began
seeking a greater elevation for our dives. The trick was finding a way to climb
on to the boat house roofs, scaling the pilings was one method that worked. And
of course, throwing a “cannonball dive” with our jump from the boathouse roof -
for maximum splash effect - was sure to draw high praise and accolades for our
frowned upon risky daredevil activity!
I’m not really sure who came up with the challenge – but
before they tore down the old train trestle – we realized that the trestle had
a considerably higher elevation and an element of risk to dive or jump from the
very end of the train trestle near the channel – as this was a discouraged
activity. We had to walk all the way out to the end of the trestle from the
shore neat the Casino and there was no way to hide! Also, there was a small
chance a train might come down the tracks, but we thought we knew the train
schedule so felt we were safe. We did manage to do it a few times, but with the
boat traffic, water depth and strong water currents – abandoned this challenge
after it had been done.
Then, someone came up with the ultimate dare and challenge,
a jump from the highest levels of the railroad “swing bridge”! Only problem was, it was on the other side of
the channel – a relatively short swim across the main channel, but a very LONG
bike ride if we had to go thru town. And there was of course the Coast Guard
station which also housed the Sheriffs rescue boat. But there it was – the ultimate fixed diving
platform “base jump” with the maximum height we could find! The 75 to
100-year-old swing bridge was designed with a ladder on one side to service the
lights atop the swing bridge. If the train trestle was 20 feet above the water,
then the swing bridge and ladder added another 20-30 feet to the top of the
mechanism – for a total of 50 or more feet directly above the deepest part of
the channel. No one in their right mind would risk the challenge of the jump
alone at almost 50 feet – let alone having the coast guard or the train swing
bridge operator catch you in the act. You were not allowed to go out onto the
swing bridge – only the bridge operator was allowed out there!
When you add all these elements together – then of course
the “dare” and “reward of recognition” of becoming the “super alpha male” to
any in our pack of teenage boys willing to attempt this risky display of
fearless teenage masculine bravado! We had seen the cliff divers in Acapulco on
ABC's Wide World of Sports – and this was our Acapulco! Names will remain
unnamed (actually, I can’t recall who did it first, and more than one person
did the jump!) We didn’t get caught, we
did have numerous witnesses and best part of all, no one got hurt! And after
that summer – we never attempted it again! I am proud to say that my nephews
carry on the grand tradition of boat house roof jumping to this day and make it
a regular part of the summer challenges!
On a much calmer surface (clay) – we regularly competed in
tennis! We were so fortunate to have the tennis courts behind the Blue Bell
cottage. My dad was an avid and highly competitive tennis player. We admired
his athletic talents and aspired to play as well as he did. Dad was always
eager to give us tennis lessons, and we could get lessons from the tennis pro
to further hone our skills. And of course, with GANG, we had the opportunity to
play tennis several times a week and entered tournaments at the Belvedere Club
when they came up. With either my dad or
3 brothers – it was easy to get a single or doubles match just about any time
of the day! And sometimes we played 2 or
3 times in one day – 6 or 7 sets or more - whenever someone wanted to go “hit tennis
balls” we were ready in a minute’s notice!
But tennis was just the first and most obvious and available
form of formal and structured organized competition living in the Blue Bell Cottage
and at the Belvedere! What my parents loved, was the wide variety of outdoor sports
and endless outdoor activities that the Belvedere Club and Gang offered,
especially to a family with 5 kids, all close in age. And they loved having all the other young
families and kids around for us to play with. This was truly a midwestern
summer paradise!
We got all kinds of lessons and engaged in many activities –
testing our newfound skills with our friends and family members. Sailing
lessons, golf lessons, tennis, archery - even canoe lessons! And we had this
large group of kids and families close to our ages, all with different interest
and backgrounds we could play with during the long summer daylight hours! Can you believe it doesn’t get dark until
almost 10pm in the summers in Northern Michigan? Even with curfew at 9:30 we still managed to
linger outdoors long into the evening near our cottages.
There were certain “tribes” we had discovered at the
Belvedere which were based on where you were from and if you had a certain lineage
and parentage! We had the Ohio clans, the St. Louis Clans, the Southern Clans
and a few more clans. Large
multi-generational families with rich traditions and strong family values made
up the core of our friends. The parents
and kids all seemed to get along well and enjoyed BOTH competitions and
cocktails together at the many parties and get togethers during the summer
seasons.
Our nextdoor neighbor, Steve Schleman worked for my dad as a
stockbroker in Dayton, Ohio. Steve invited my family over to watch the Venetian
Boat Parade one summer (1967?). We had been renting a cottage on Hoffman Point
at Walloon Lake. My dad, an avid tennis player – also played tennis that day of
the first visit – and I think instantly fell in love with The Belvedere Club. I am pretty sure that it was on this same
initial visit to the Belvedere – my parents ALSO inquired about the possibility
of renting a cottage here. They loved the idea that there were SO MANY
ACTIVITIES for a young family and the town was within walking distance. We
learned of the process to be “approved to rent” – and fortunately were able to rent
the Blue Bell Cottage the following year.
We instantly fell in love with “lake life” and the abundant
activities we could experience for the first time as kids. There was small
mouth bass fishing with Brad Schade on a nearby pond – or fishing for giant
lake trout with Sammy Sherer and Tommy Alexander out on Lake Michigan. Our family
did not have a boat, but our new friends’ families did! So, we were always
angling for a boat ride out on the lakes!
Boat rides in fiberglass ski boats were fun – as the boats were
light and could go very fast. But a few
people had these old mahogany “hot rods” that sounded and looked amazing!
Classic designs, long and sleek – made of polished mahogany – gliding smoothly
at slow speed in the “no wake zone” of the channel and Round Lake has inspired
my lifelong romance with these classic watercrafts. With names like Hacker Craft, Gar Wood,
Century and Chris Craft to name a few!
On each boat ride - we all would SCREAM “PUNCH IT” as we
reached the end of the “no wake zone” and entered the larger bodies of water.
To hear those engines purr in the fiberglass boats did not compare to the ROAR
of the exhaust in the old wooden hot rods!
We knew very well that it wasn’t safe to “floor it” in a car - as it
would spin the tires, burning the rubber and making horrible noises - frightening
women, children and dogs nearby. But, a boat – well that’s different! You could
absolutely push the throttle to the maximum (floor it) – and this was essential
in the case of water skiing! Those huge 6- and 8-cylinder engines would really
make an unforgettable sound as they left the calm waters of the harbor and
caused many a head to turn to see who or what boat was heading out on the lake!
Did I mention we had about a dozen or more (maybe 2 dozen
during the peak summer weeks) of adolescent teenage boys - who are the worst
possible incarnation of dare devils? We were all striving for attention and of
course highly competitive – up for any challenge and test of our skills and our
newly developed athletic abilities. What better way to “show off” than behind a
ski boat performing slalom cuts on the glassy surface calm of the early morning
or late afternoon lake? Who could make
the biggest spray or deepest cut without catching a shoulder and going for
tumble? Who could go the fastest on one ski (according to the boat speedometer)
without wiping out? If we could do a “double slalom (2 skiers pulled behind one
boat) - could we pull 3 slalom skiers behind one boat? Ski backwards? Could we
use the spray of our slalom ski to knock another skier off his (her?) skis?
Could anyone do a flip on skis as we had seen on TV at Cyprus Gardens? Barefoot
water ski? A standing “dock start”? Was anyone crazy enough to jump out of a
ski boat going 15 knots? 25 knots? Or faster? (Answer; yes, of course! But
after the high-speed boat jumping record holder took a pretty bad spill, we
decided this competition could result in more serious injuries so wisely we ended
the competition!)
Of course, with teen age boys, we were always clamoring for
attention and willing to bend or break a few rules – it’s how we test the
elders and make the perilous transition into manhood. Writ large - we had many
rules at the Belvedere Club – we were made aware of them, and were reminded of
them often by parents, siblings, friends and neighbors.
One of the best-known local rules of course is the “no wake
zone” of the channels, Round Lake, and the harbor. These rules were there for
the safety of ALL BOATERS! Signs were everywhere and the rule was enforced by
both the local sheriff and the coast guard if they were out on patrols!
Occasionally, we would see tourists not familiar with the area and not really
understanding this local rule. We would see these new people going a bit TOO
FAST, putting out an unnecessarily large wake and causing the boats to rock
back and forth on the docks which could potentially cause damage or swamp a
canoe or small sailboat. So, naturally, we would stand on the shore OR if we
were out in our boats shout at them “SLOW DOWN!” – you are going TOO FAST! And
of course, we would get nasty looks back from the inexperienced new first-time
tourist arrivals who were taking their family out sightseeing in the ski boat
they had just rented for the family at WARDS BOAT RENTALS in town.
The NO WAKE rule – it was one of those rules just asking to
be BROKEN! It was a dare as plain as day! Who would do it? I won’t say who –
but after a late afternoon spin around the lake in a ski boat- out to Oyster
Bay -then Ironton and Shades Point and back – we were headed back into the
channel and into a private boat house in the Belvedere Club. I think it had
started to rain, and we were unprepared for the deluge! Not wanting to get
totally soaked and with only 2 of us in the boat, and being mid-week – not much
boat traffic out on the lake or in the channel that we could see on our return
back to town…the boat driver (unnamed can you guess who?) kept the boat at HIGH
SPEED thru the channel entrance toward Round Lake. We were throwing out a HUGE
wake as we rapidly slowed at the last minute and ducked into a boat house at
the Belvedere Yacht basin and PULLED the door shut shutting off the engine
immediately! Doing everything possible to contain our roars of laughter and
squeals of delight at what we had just done – hoping the sheriff OR coast guard
had not dispatched chase boats with armed militia to apprehend the NO WAKE ZONE
excessive speed violation scofflaws!
We told a few others in our clique of our “now wake zone law
breaking spree” (no boats were harmed in this escapade that I know of) which
inspired additional adolescent “no wake zone” violations escapades to TOP ours!
I think the same summer – another of our group said he could go “all the way
through round lake and the channel” at high speed and not get caught! Of
course, a dare is a dare…and later that summer (again, the law breaker will go
un-named) started his record breaking attempt out in Lake Michigan – at a time
when we knew the boat traffic, danger and risk of damage or harm would be low.
The challenger made the high speed run all the way through Round Lake and the
channel past the coast guard station (did I mention that sometimes the
sheriff’s boat was kept here) and into the safety of the main body of water on
Lake Charlevoix. Again, many witnesses – as he told us he was going to do
it. There was one additional element
(that my memory on this escapade is not so clear on) perhaps on another attempt
- was that the “high speed run” through Round Lake and the Channel involved
pulling a slalom skier! (Seems like the kind of “one-upmanship” we would do for
bragging rights but can’t swear to this part of the effort!)
Nothing can beat a “sunset cruise” out to Lake Michigan on a
warm summer evening. This was almost a nightly tradition (weather permitting). One or more boats would gather a group of
friends and head out from the Belvedere boat houses and slips through Round
Lake and past the tourists sipping cocktails sitting on the porches of the Weathervane
Hotel. We had our music on, a cool beverage in hand and the maximum number of
people the boat was permitted to have as we glided past the lighthouse at the
channel entrance out into Lake Michigan. The sunset cruise fun increased if we
could get 2-3 or even 4 boats to “raft up” and watch the sunset together. Bobby
Rowe had a fast ski boat. The Alexanders and Bisbee’s had ski boats too! Could
we get Mark Herschede or Joe Morris or Bobby Leatherman to join us in their
boats to watch the sunset and join the raft? The trick when we were all tied
together was to keep the boats pointing in the optimal direction to view the
sunset (or so we thought!) We would idle
the boat motors and occasionally engage the propellers to give the raft of boats
a slight directional spin. And many
times, on a warm summers evening, we would linger well past the sunset with the
music playing and the gentle rocking of the waves as the stars came out. As darkness fell, we would break up the raft
and head back into the harbor. Sometimes
a speedboat race would spontaneously erupt as we had been sitting motionless
for a while – knowing the cool evening air at maximum speed was sure to liven
things up!
In our teens and twenties – we would do a little “bar
hopping” in town after the sunset cruises trying to find a pub with live music. If it was still warm out that night – not
wanting the evening to end - after the bars had closed…on more than a few
occasions, we would go back to the boat houses and head out on the lake at
midnight or even later! I cannot describe the feeling of heading out on the
lake at night under a FULL MOON and stars. With no wind on the lake – we were
effortlessly carving a deep calligraphic groove into the glassy gelatin smoothness
of lake. We would agree to meet up again in the middle of Lake Charlevoix and
tie the boats together into a raft so we could just drift and listen to our
music rocked by the gentle waves on a calm evening. Seals and Crofts lyrics “…Summer breeze, makes
me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind…” We listened to the music of Crosby, Stills,
Nash and Young and other acoustic musicians such as Cat Stevens, the Eagles,
Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Poco, Traffic, Jackson Browne,
James Taylor, Loggins & Messina, America, and Dan Fogelberg and many more.
We never wanted summer to end and never wanted to go home!
What really captured my interest when we first came to the
Belvedere was when our next-door neighbor Steve Schleman asked me (at age 11) if
I was interested in sailing in a weekly regatta. He asked me to crew for him in
the Belvedere Club sailboats – the Pearson Hawks. The Belvedere Club had about 8 or 9 identical
sailboats on the docks directly in front of the Blue Bell cottage which we
could see from the front porches. My dad had an interest in sailing also…and we
had tried to learn more about sailing at Walloon Lake. But, with the availability of the club
sailboats, the GANG sailing lessons, and the club Sunfish at the beach – this
was a whole new world of nautical adventures.
I am so GRATEFUL for the availability of all these sailboats
at the Belvedere Club at “no expense” as we only had to reserve them or sign up
to use them. And with patient instructors – I had found a new passion! Once I
had demonstrated my newfound skill as being a quick learner, I was granted
permission to take the Belvedere Club Sunfish sailboat out alone. Of course, it’s possible to sail a Sunfish sailboat
with two people, but for me it meant unlimited lake exploration as a solo
sailor – as long as I stayed within sight of the Belvedere Beach and kept my
life jacket on. And there were Hobie
Cats too! These were much more suited to a 2-man crew and were exceptionally
fast in the right conditions. Heaven forbid you capsize a Hobie Cat as they were
much more difficult to right than a Sunfish.
We spent hours seeing how fast and how far we could go, what were the
limits of “too fast, and too far”. Sailing
too fast and losing control meant that a capsize was eminent. We were rewarded
for these sailing mishaps with the occasional plunge headfirst into the
refreshingly cool lake water – and generally lots of laughs too!
The bi-weekly Pearson Hawks sailboat races were well
attended and now offered a new element of competition with our cross-channel
competitors – The Chicago Club. They had the same boats as we did – but not as
large a fleet or as active a group of sailing enthusiasts. It was the lessons and skills I learned here
that led to my being chosen as the Chicago Club sailing instructor when I was
17 years old. This was a high accomplishment at an early age - and a also meant
a paying staff position and required more time in Northern Michigan for summer
season.
Through my new summer friends at The Chicago Club – I met another
family in town from Birmingham Michigan who had a daughter our age – Hannah
Mathews. Hannah’s dad, Bud Matthews owned a 36’ Chris Craft Sloop which was
kept on the docks in front of his condo in town near the municipal docks on
Round Lake. Hannah invited me to go
sailing with her dad, Bud Matthews, out on Lake Michigan one Saturday early in
the summer. I told her dad Bud about my new position as sailing instructor at
The Chicago Club. Bud was impressed with my knowledge and skill handling his
boat as a crew member - and he put me on the helm for an hour or so and let me
take several tacks – as well as bring the boat into the dock and tie her up. At
the end of day, he offered me an official job as regular crew of his boat
“Amanda”. My new job would be taking his boat out whenever his guests and or
family friends were in town – but ONLY as long as it did not interfere with my
primary responsibilities at The Chicago Club and the sailing programs and
lessons there. Bud was in town most
weekends and over several weeks in June had me out as crew and in full command
of “The Amanda” his 36’ sailboat – and ultimately as captain!
I was amazed when Bud told me that I could take the boat out
– with his family, guests or crew – and that he did not need to be there for me
to take the boat out. He had full trust in my abilities as a skipper and sailor
at age 17! I asked if I could take my family out one evening for a sunset sail on
the Amanda – and he said “OK”! My parents and siblings were quite impressed
that a 17-year-old kid could handle the responsibilities of a 36’ sailboat and
give instructions to our willing and eager family crew.
It was these early experiences as a sailor in Charlevoix
that demonstrated to my dad that I would also make a competent and able crew on
other sailing adventures he was planning. I was not as good at tennis as he and
my brothers were – but my brothers had nowhere near my skills as a sailor. My
dad had a real passion for sailing. Ultimately, for several decades, he would
charter 30’ to 45’ sailboats all over the world to explore different regions - usually
1 or 2 weeks at a time - with business clients or for family vacations. I
became one of his “go to crew” for navigation and boat handling. We had the
amazing experiences and adventures of sailing together on most of the Great
Lakes, southern California, The Caribbean, the coasts of Florida and New
England including New York to Nantucket and the coast of Maine. I also participated in one Chicago to
Mackinac race in 1990 – a distance of 666 miles - where, on the return trip –
brought the 45’ race boat into Charlevoix and put the crew up at the Blue Bell
Cottage for a very memorable evening! All of this as a result of my acquiring
the sailing skills at an early age at the Belvedere Club!
These are just some of my early memories of the Belvedere
Club. In over 50+ years now, the annual tradition of spending the summer in
Northern Michigan is one that I hold dear. I cherish these early memories with
so many wonderful friends and families that I can instantly reconnect with them
each summer when we all get together – like one big happy, crazy family! I can
only hope that some of these great memories, stories and traditions will
continue for generations to come!
William W. “Chip” Leakas
#506 Belvedere Club