A place can leave a mark on you. For many at Clark Lake today, and for generations before, that is true of this special place. You can also leave a mark. When looking at Mike McKay’s Clark Lake experience, his mark is dramatic. Whether it’s the...
Jean Ward Dowsett was born in Jackson on October 14, 1909 and passed away September 23, 2003. She left behind this story about her time at Clark Lake and family cottage on the North Shore near Kentucky Point. This story, never before published, was preserved by...
When I look back to my earliest days, I remember only from June through August. September through May was meaningless. My life started every June and ended on Labor Day when we returned to the suburbs of Detroit. It all started at the Eagle Point Hotel where my family...
Let me start by saying something that I have always felt about our lake. From the time I was growing up, I have always thought nothing really bad or tragic could happen while at Clark Lake. I realize the word “happy” covers a lot of ground. But that’s the word that...
In November 2012, we began the tear down of our cottage at 1032 Eagle Point Road. It wasn’t that we wanted to do, but time had passed its sentence. When I was a teenager, I spent one summer digging out a boat storage area underneath the cottage. As we were built into...
My husband, Don Falk, and I came to Jackson in the 1950’s from Minneapolis. We arrived the day before Don was to begin work as a controller for L.H. Field’s Department Store. We checked into the Hayes Hotel. The day was hot and the hotel had no air conditioning. I was...
What was it like to grow up at Clark Lake? First let me tell you that I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in January of 1933 and was named after my dad, Lorenz (a World War I veteran), but we both went by the name of Larry. My memories date back to when my dad...
It was early morning at the end of August in the summer of my last year in high school. My father was dropping the 14-foot Glastron into the water from the boat lift. The water was starting to turn cold. I put on my full wet suit to start a slalom ski around the lake....
It is finally warm enough for the first venture out into Clark Lake on Memorial Day weekend 2015. That is significant for me because it marks the 65th consecutive year that I have experienced the refreshing waters of this spring feed lake. You see, my parents brought...
Like some other Clark Lake families, the Timberlake’s go way back—to 1895. To get an idea of why Clark Lake has meant so much to Charlie Timberlake, you’ll find it helpful to learn something about his family, including the career of his father-Clare Timberlake. His...
As America recognizes the accomplishments and sacrifices of its combat veterans, it’s fitting to salute a World War II veteran in our midst. The following is based upon several lengthy interviews with Dr. Bentley. It was March, 1944, and World War II would not...
Six Generations of Summer People at Clark Lake My family has been coming to Clark Lake from Toledo, in the summers since the 1890’s. I have a picture of my grandfather, Valentine Seeger, at about 14 years old, standing on a dock with two other young men. They all are...
