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past the cottages and, after taking a 45 degree turn just beyond our cottage, went across the island to Govern- ment Bay on the other side. Lover’s lane was more or less on the boundary demarcating the cottage properties from the “Hotel Park”. No one was supposed to build structures of any kind on the “park” land, but of course some cottage owners built storage sheds on it, along with docks and boathouses.
There is a steep rise of 30-40 feet from the shore to the path, followed by a more gradual slope upwards on which cottages were built. The view from the top of the hill is lovely (see photo on previous page), but the sloping, rock-infested ground did not lend itself to easy cottage construction. The flattest area on our lot, where our cottage was sited, was at the very rear and the cottage, when completed, actually extended a few feet beyond the back lot line, but no one was checking. This inadvertent trespass was discovered much later when electric service lines were strung along the back lot lines of the cottages and had to veer outward to go around ours. The cottage was also not oriented along the lot lines, but rather at a slight angle to capture the view across the bay toward Connor’s Point, the tip of the narrow peninsula of mainland where a large buoy with a flashing red light warned of rocky shoals.
The cottage was built on a 24 x 24-foot platform supported by upright cedar posts, as were most other cottages. The rustic cabin next door, built on a stone foundation, was an exception. The only structural elements larger than 2x4’s in the cottage my uncle built were the floor joists, which were 2x6. The 2x4 studs
framing the walls were spaced 24” on center, not the standard 16”. The outer walls were 3⁄4-inch shiplap. There was no top plate to support the upstairs flooring; instead, 2x4’s used as joists were nailed to the sides of the studs just under the single 2x4’s that functioned as a poor man’s top plate. The attic floor, resting on these weak 2x4 joists, sagged and complained when we walked on it. Light streamed through holes in the rough pine board attic flooring where knots had popped out.
The main floor of the cottage was divided in half by a wall from front to back, placed one foot off center, crisscrossed by a second wall across the middle, creat- ing four rooms: a living room, a kitchen/dining room, and two bedrooms. In the living room, at the intersection of the two interior walls was a “LaSalle Island” chimney, a square shaft of brick that rested not on the ground, but, instead, on top of a small, sturdy custom-built cabinet about 18 inches square and 5 feet high, with open shelves on which games and sewing materials were stored. The heavy brick chimney rested on the top of this cabinet and rose up through the attic floor and through the roof at its peak. Ours was not the only cottage on the island with this type of poorly supported “island” chimney. Most of the cottages were supported on pilings; a chimney foundation resting on the ground was not feasible. (This was well before lightweight, insulated metal-bestos chimneys were manufactured.) The chief problem with this kind of chimney was that because of its weight, it slowly but surely bowed the cabin floor downward while at the same time pulling through the roof, leaving gaps through which rain and small crea- tures, bats in particular, could enter. More than once, we
deployed buckets in strategic positions to catch the rain, and, in the dark, chased after bats with badminton rackets and brooms.
A dangerously steep stairway, which was remark- ably loud when people clomped up and down on its steps, led from the back wall of the cottage up to the gloomy attic. The opening to the attic space at the top of the stairway could be sealed closed by a heavy, hinged door, presumably to
Uncle Fred and unnamed carpenter clearing land to build the cottage around 1932.
Volume 73 • Number 4 Washtenaw County Medical Society BULLETIN 19