More on The Cottage

This is today's lakeside view ... The cottage was a duplex when my family owned it. The open porch side here was the Laughlin's side.

Hurricanes are rare in this area, but wind is not.

Windy days that kept us out of or off of the lake were good for going into town. Nearest town is Brechin, small then and now. We got our ice there. Beaverton is next largest and about 10 miles away. We had relatives living near there, the lumber yard was there, and they had a 5&dime for windmills, all-day suckers, water floats and such fun things. Wider range shopping could be done in the small city of Orillia about 20 miles one way. I always liked to go along when the family went there. I took no part in the shopping for supplies except to pick out cutout doll or coloring books. I still remember getting lost in a variety store in Orillia. We often went to Champlain Park for a picnic as part of the trip.

Cut-out dolls were big in my sit down and be quiet play choices, but they were fragile. One time we didn't have enough commercial paper dolls to go around for my friends who'd come over. The wind was whipping up white caps on the lake so we were sitting on a blanket out of the wind on the road side of the cottage. My grandmother (Olive Cowie) came up with a creative idea She gave us some of her old magazines, scissors, glue, crayons, paper, and cardboard. We were to look through the magazines, find models with full body photos and cut them out, paste them on cardboard, then design and color our own clothes for them, remembering to make tabs to fit over their shoulders and waists. We came up with some pretty cute stuff. Future Coco Chanels? I don't think so, but it was fun and diverting.

more next posting...