Leslie F. Leatherman

Reflections, summer, 2020

10% 

            The summer of 2020 was like no other, not only on The Belvedere, but worldwide as well.  Here in Charlevoix, many of us were in our own cocoons, all by choice, just social distancing and spending time with family, much more than previous years of the cocktail party scene.  I am proud of our Belvedere family working together for the common good of all, and perhaps future summers will  be dialed back; however 2021 may shape up to be a real bell ringer.  Who knows?

            The 10% refers to me, and probably lots of us.  10% is pretty much the amount of my life spent here at the club and in northern Michigan.  My parents started bringing me in the mid 1960’s when I was old enough to attend “Baby Gang.”  We stayed with “Grandmother” in cottage 519, now Aunt Irene’s.  Grandmother would have all her grandchildren of gang age under one roof where board and card games were taught, enjoyed and fought over.  We roamed the resort with our lifelong friends who are all ten percenters and we still roam 50 plus years later.  Grandmother did require us to have dinner with her almost every night unless she was going out.  The table was set, and Nat would announce:  “Dinner is served,” to all of us on the porch talking with Grandmother and Granddaddy and in the sun parlor playing games.

            Nat was my grandparent’s beloved butler, bartender, chauffeur, handyman, confidant and my best friend.  He would drive their car up from Mississippi each summer and take care of everything around the house.  Grandmother also had a cook, Davey, from Cincinnati, who made the best brownies and cinnamon rolls, and Frankie, a housekeeper. Many families brought help up during those times. Thursday’s and Sunday’s were the help’s off days, and we would eat lunch and dinner at the Casino, with all our friends. 

            Each evening the kids of all ages would usually be at the beach playing “Capture the Flag” or “Kick the Can.” As you grew older, climbing on the roof of the Kiddy Koop and Cabanas was the fun, waiting for the night watchman, Cecil, to make his rounds as we tried to hide from him, not realizing he just chose what to see and not to see.  As teenagers, the lifelong friendships gave way to porch hopping—which grownups would be out latest—or trips to Bells Bay, Mt. McSauba, or the old drive in.

Gang in those days was much the same activity wise but we were granted longer leashes.  Soap eating was the mandatory punishment for cursing, regardless of age.  Overnights always consisted of raids.  Jordan River trips entrusted big gang kids with their own canoes, which resulted in a mad race to set up the proper ambush point to tip the canoes of the little ones.  We also went horseback riding once a week and I am glad the Mueller’s are restoring the stables.  As I look at the tennis and golf tournaments, it is easy to see how the twice a week lessons paid off as gangsters become adults and enroll their kids in Gang.  I was quite fortunate to have had Ginger and Chris Payne as gang leaders, as well as Sarah Meyer and Doug Kuhn.  They let us have great fun but did keep us in line.

Teenage years turned to college, work and family, and time became limited up north, but as my children became gang age, the cycle renewed and is still going strong.  For the last 20 years I have spent as much time as I can in the winter in northern Michigan.  It is beautiful and the skiing is great for middle aged.  I am looking forward to being able to get on the seasoned citizens cycle—arrive by Memorial Day and stay through Apple Fest, with some winter trips thrown in.

The greatest pleasure and treasure of The Belvedere is the endearing friendships of a lifetime, and watching the cycle continue through the generations.  So much has changed in this world, but our little special place has done a magnificent job for a child born in 2005 to walk the same paths as a child born in 1925.

lfl