Walloon Lake 1974: me, Doug, no idea, Dickey, Rob, Greg, Jenny, no idea
As I mentioned in last week’s post, my parents “got” me in July 1974, and then headed off to Walloon Lake two days later for our annual two-week summer vacation. This year, the typical three-family core was sharing the cottage: Goudies, Bakers, and Dunns.
Let’s get one thing out of the way:
I was a damn cute baby
Yes, we’re all wondering what happened since, but let’s focus for a few moments on what a good-looking (and happy) baby I was:
July 1974: me
July 1974: me
July 1974: me
July 1974: me snoozing in the sun – check out my baby tan. Don’t worry, it was good for you back then
July 1974: me
July 1974: happy me
July 1974: Bill, Doug, me
July 1974: Doug, me
July 1974: Jan, me
July 1974: Jan, Doug, me
July 1974: happy me
July 1974: you guessed it: happy me
July 1974: Jenny, Jan, Doug, me
July 1974: making myself comfortable thankyouverymuch
July 1974: Jan, me
July 1974: me, Jan
July 1974: me, Jan
July 1974: me, Doug
At this point, you’re probably wondering how I coped with all this cuteness, happiness and attention. The answer:
I wish I could sleep like this now. sigh
Other things happened in early August 1974
Those of you old enough to remember might recall this incident, which happened during our stay at Walloon, and which my dad decided to document in appropriate style:
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug, me, Richard Nixon resigns, apparently also making me happy
There were other people at Walloon
Though the previous group of pictures only hint at the presence of people other than me, I was far from the only one at Walloon that year. Each year, usually towards the end of the trip, we always did a stair picture with the whole group on the front steps of the cottage.
Walloon Lake 1974: (top) Bill, Jim; (middle) Dick, Mary Lou, Jan, Sandy; (front) Doug, Dickey, me, Jenny, Rob. Greg has his back to the camera. There’s always one.
Many years there was also a kids picture like this one:
Walloon Lake 1974: me, Doug, no idea, Dickey, Rob, Greg, Jenny, no idea
There’s a parent behind me for safety – see the hand? lol
And keeping with the theme of boating safety from previous Walloon mentions, this:
Walloon Lake 1974: Jenny, Greg, Rob, Dickey, me, Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Dickey, Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Jenny (see, even the name tag says it!)
The days were filled with typical kid fun each year at Walloon:
Walloon Lake 1974: Jen
Walloon Lake 1974: Rob, Dickey, Doug, Jenny, Greg
Walloon Lake 1974: Jenny
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Jenny, Doug, Dickey
Walloon Lake 1974: Greg
Walloon Lake 1974: Dickey, Jenny, Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Jenny, Doug, Dickey. Seriously, look at those tans!
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug
So you say there’s a lake at this Walloon place?
Why yes, there certainly is.
Walloon Lake 1974: Not technically a lake picture, but Doug is eating
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Jenny, Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: no idea, Dickey, Greg, no idea, Jenny, Doug, Rob
Walloon Lake 1974: Dickey, Doug, Rob
Walloon Lake 1974: Magic Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug
There was also plenty of boating
Many years, we rented a pontoon boat for at least one outing, some years there was a ski boat, and we always had a sailboat as well (this year, the Sunfish, coming soon: the Wayfarer).
Walloon Lake 1974: Dickey, Jim, Sandy, Rob and Mary Lou with the cutest hair
Walloon Lake 1974: Dickey, Rob
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug, a bit confused about waterskiing
Walloon Lake 1974: Jenny
Walloon Lake 1974: Dick with the camera, Dickey fishing, Rob up front, Jim, Doug driving
Walloon Lake 1974: Dickey, Rob, Doug, Jenny. One of these kids does not seem happy.
Walloon Lake 1974: Greg
Walloon Lake 1974: Rob, Doug, Jenny
Walloon Lake 1974: Obligatory boating safety reference here. 12 humans in the half of the boat we can see in this frame.
Walloon Lake 1974: Jenny, Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug, Jan
Walloon Lake 1974: Jan
Walloon Lake 1974: Doug
There were other sports as well
Walloon Lake 1974: Mary Lou
Walloon Lake 1974: Sandy
For those who knew me growing up, you probably still remark on my stunning abilities to catch a football. I must have picked it up from my mother:
Walloon Lake 1974: Mary Lou, Jan, Sandy
Wait, that can’t be right, it was probably from my father:
Walloon Lake 1974: Jim, Dick, Bill
Well, damn, maybe I wasn’t that good at catching all along and now we know why. The camera doesn’t lie, Jan and Bill.
Walloon Lake 1974: Sandy, Mary Lou, Dick
Walloon Lake 1974: Jim
Walloon Lake 1974: Jan. Much better, Mom!
Walloon Lake 1974: Sandy
Yes, I participated as well:
Walloon Lake 1974: me, Bill. Of course I’m wearing my tennis whites. Of course.
There were nighttime sports, too
Walloon Lake 1974: Bill
Walloon Lake 1974: Jan
Walloon Lake 1974: Mary Lou, not impressed
Walloon Lake 1974: Dick, looking a bit ‘tired’, Sandy
In this next sequence, I think Jim is using a bubble wand, but with great intensity:
Walloon Lake 1974: Jim
Walloon Lake 1974: Jim
Walloon Lake 1974: Jim
Walloon Lake 1974: Jan
Walloon Lake 1974: Jan
These next few pictures are of questionable association to the word “sports”, but I think you’ll agree with me that they belong here.
Walloon Lake 1974: I’ll let you guess who
Walloon Lake 1974
Now, I’ve actually been quite selective about the “nighttime sports” pictures that are in this post. Kids, if you are about my age, and your parents denied having any fun when you were young, that may not be completely true.
Are you wondering where the energy for nighttime sports came from?
I offer this:
Walloon Lake 1974: A small selection of energy drinks, circa 1974
Next up: Fall 1974
My Life in 35mm is a series of posts with the story of my life as recorded on the slides of my dad and other family members. This series is updated weekly (mostly). To get email updates of new posts, subscribe at the bottom of this page.
