LIFE AT MINERS’ BAY c. 1936 – Part I

In his memoire, JUST PLAIN BILL, William Robinson recalled that the spring after the meteorite fell into Miners’ Bay near the Bagg cottage, his Father “took over the management of the lodge, so we were able to move into the main house.” This refers to the main Lodge, as he tells of “A long screened porch (that) ran the length of the lodge”, and had a dining room, kitchen, and guest rooms upstairs. By this time, the Tracy family was likely living in the “Winter House”, above the store.

He recalled that his Mom milked the cows and looked after the livestock, but he was responsible for feeding the chickens, and giving swill and dining room leftovers to the pigs. His Father hired “a young girl, named Nancy, to work in the dining room during meal times”. She also cleaned the cottages and lodge bedrooms, as well as baby-sitting the Robinson kids.

Bill and his brothers experienced a typical idyllic summer, enjoying row boats, fishing, and eating so many suckers that they caught in the creek that he thought he would grow gills! Apparently, the fish were so plentiful that they were served to early arrivals at the lodge. Like later boys at Miners’ Bay, they had a dog – “white with a large black spot on his forehead”. One day he disappeared, only to be found later under the lodge porch, burrowed in the earth, after tangling with a skunk.

One late summer evening, the family and guests experienced the floors vibrating, and dinner dishes rattling in the cupboard. Apparently, they had felt a small earthquake. The attached photo from Bills collection, shows Miners’ Bay – likely in the summer of 1936.

Russ Wunker, February 2021