Column: A little lake reveals big blessings
Findley Lake is situated in the southwestern corner of New York state, about 16 miles east of Erie. A younger me felt there was nothing special here.
The lake is small — only 292 acres in size. With the exception of the southern end, where a feeder stream renders the vicinity marshy, the entire shoreline is developed with private residences and cottages.
Manicured lawns, stone terraces, boat houses and docks line the shores. Speed boats hauling water-skiers and tubers, jet skis, pontoon boats and occasional kayaks generate heavy weekend traffic.
The village at the lake’s northern end offers a cluster of gift and specialty shops, a marine supply and service, a hardware store and a couple of restaurants. Peek’n Peak Resort is five miles away.
It’s a pleasant place to have a vacation home. Which is exactly what my parents thought 50 years ago, when they bought a cottage here.
For 20 years Findley Lake was our family gathering place. My parents and younger brothers spent much of their summers there. As we married and had families of our own, this was where we came over the Fourth of July weekend.
After retirement, my parents moved to Florida and eventually parted with the cottage. For the past 30 years, we’ve had little contact with the lake.
Recently, though, my children informed me that they wanted to do something special for my 70th birthday — and that I should pick the place. After some thought and discussion with them, we readily agreed that Findley Lake would be the ideal place.
This column is being written during that extended family celebration. Over a week’s time, 24 people and two dogs have gathered here, spending their time to help me finish my seventh decade.
For the past few days we’ve been enjoying the lake’s amenities and reliving family Findley Lake-traditions:
We breakfasted at our favorite restaurant, where the iced-cinnamon rolls were even bigger than we’d remembered; a new generation of grandkids experienced the thrill of catching their first fish (panfish, of course) off the dock; we boated, pulling the kids on the latest version of boat tubes.
Our outing to Panama Rocks, marked the fourth generation of Hursts to do so. This private park, first opened in 1885, features glacier-cut conglomerate formations about one-half mile long. Glaciation and weathering have created a natural playground with house-sized rocks, crevices, passages and wildly rooted natural growth that takes hours to explore.
My dad lived in Panama, New York, as a child and recalls getting 50 cents to guide groups through the rocks as an 11-year-old circa 1940. This weekend his great-grandchildren climbed on and through the Panama Rocks for the first time.
My son and his cousin played an abbreviated round of Frisbee golf to reprise the family’s Greater Findley Lake Frisbee Golf (GFLFG) Tournament we used to hold every July Fourth weekend. (I never won the tournament and didn’t give my son and nephew the opportunity to embarrass me.)
Eight of us participated in a long-standing tradition of riding bicycles several miles to the French Creek General Store, where those of us who were of legal age imbibed in a beer before returning. Along the way we visited the old family cottage, which has been completely renovated and now bears no resemblance to the place we knew.
Through all of these experiences my extended family shared both the past and present meaningfully, joyfully. What a gift for my 70th birthday!
I’m grateful for a family who cares about each other, gets along and enjoys being together. Grateful to be alive at age 70, to still be healthy and vigorous enough to ride a bicycle, paddle a kayak, climb rocks and fish with grandkids. And grateful to God for giving me all of these blessings.
The 70-year-old me has to admit that Findley Lake is a very special place.
To respond to this column — or read other columns by Dave Hurst — visit www.hurstmediaworks.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Dave Hurst column about Findley Lake
