My Belvedere Memories
 
When Peter and I were married, there was an understanding between us that I would never miss a summer in Charlevoix, even if our visit was only a brief one.  That actually happened following a June  business  conference on  Mackinaw Island, before we flew back to NYC, we drove to the Belvedere where we found Jim Witherspoon getting the Algonquin ready for summer sailing.  He couldn’t resist our begging eyes and took us for a long, frigid sail on Lake Charlevoix.   That was the extent of our visit that summer, a few hours!
 
By sharing his many stories growing up on the Belvedere, my father, Gordon Ware, taught me and my siblings, Vicki, Keith, Janie, to love our summers there.  Indeed, he was the 3rd generation Ware and, to dad, continuing that legacy meant a lot to him.  It resonated with us as well until, as adults, we each created our own plan for summertime and mine was to return to the place I loved. 
 
Among my many childhood memories, these stand out as the most memorable: preparing for and parading around in crazy homemade costumes in the Casino on  Masquerade Nights; being a target of thrown balloons off the bridge over the Jordan River by the boys gang; playing evening capture the flag and Commandos with flashlights around the Casino; being terrified of tacking around the train trestle during gang sailing; stepping on a bee hive under the old rustic bridge during a gang scavenger hunt that sent 3 of us to the hospital for stings; and many Sunday family picnics in front of the Cabanas.
 
The Teenage years created different activities and fun, to say the least!   What would we all have done without the incredible scavenger hunts, treasure hunts and games created by George McKay and Rosemary Mueller???  They were a highlight for all of us young teens. Then, being a Gang Leader with Ginger Payne was the best fun as I relived being a gangster myself! Overnights included water balloons and egg fights, which were new to me as our camp grounds moved closer to the resort, thereby being more available to others for a little raiding fun!
 
Other memories include: waterskiing behind the Bug after gang, Mt McSauba beach bonfires followed by late night donut making at the bakery in town, sneaking into the Grey Gables to hear and dance to the piano music by Al Breeze.  Oh, too many memories to share!
 
Finally, returning as a parent and now a grandparent, the Belvedere has become a deeply meaningful place for me. Many of those friends with whom I played in gang have also returned, allowing us to reconnect with each other and grow old together. This is a place that is in my heart for many reasons; I can revisit moments with my parents there, I enjoy watching Sydney and Connor, my grandkids (and the 6th generation) do the same things I did when I was their age and I am warmed by watching our daughter reconnect with her gang friends, sharing their stories that bond them together. Where else can this happen but here, in this special place, where we are all uniquely different, have varied views of our world and chose different paths to travel in life, yet we can all come together in love and memories we share.
 
Sunnie Ware Hellman