For Winnie

Winnie and I are friends from way back.  We'd sit and swing on the porch, singing loud and clear when it rained, wash in the lake and walk all through the park like best friends do.  Summers meant Winnie and I  were together.  She lived in Utica, I lived in Cincinnati in the Winter, but Summers in Eagle Bay and childhood memories abound.  We both had brothers. Tyll and Bubby hung out with each other during the summers.
 The Park had sand streets, and a few blocks where we enjoyed walks lined with camps which housed the summer visitors, and the real houses with year round water and heat for  year round residents, and a few stores.

Crew removing old signs in 2010

Eagle Bay barely hangs on  Route 28, and one quick blink you might miss the big arrow to the Left, "Big Moose Lake, Five Miles".
Little beach was close at the end of our lane, used to fill the fire trucks, and next to the boat dock and horse stables  for Cedar Island.  Cedar Island had a Boys' Camp on it, and boys came to horseback ride each day here in the ring.  Big Beach with a parking area deemed for the visitors for  sun bathing  and swimming.  The sweet pine scent pillow made at the Big Moose Chapel  still helps me to sleep at night.
One of our games was Treasure Hunt.  We hid a prize, and then hid clues on slips of paper, and each clue led the boys to another clue, which led to another one, and on to the final prize, some candy, as I recall. Possibly Winnie's Aunt or Aunt Bea may have put us up to this complicated event.  We probably should NOT have played with Tyll, however.  He was not to be reckoned with.
Bubby and Tyll told us to wait , because they wanted to plan a treasure hunt for the girls.  We were told "not to look", and I think I felt like it took forever, for them to prepare the slips of paper, hide them, get the prize ready, hide it, and FINALLY let us start the treasure hunt.  The Boys had a lot of clues, and it took a long time chasing all over the park, from one tree to another, from one street to another, getting slips of paper, to get to the last clue, "Go to the sandpit, Where you will hit THE JACKPOT!"   We raced off to the area behind Winnie's Aunt's camp, and there hidden in the edge of the sand we pulled out a cloth, filled with....manure....from the stables!  Yes, a jackpot alright!