Lake Wah Wash Kesh

While reading Gwendolyn Bounds' book Little Chapel on the River, i found myself thinking about my version of Guinan's in Canada. Every summer since my great, great uncle Herman in 1906 bought a small hunting lodge on Lake Wah Wash Kesh my family has spent every summer on the lake and although we have a great time water skiing and relaxing its the people that we see for a short while every year that make the place special. One of the greatest memories that I have on the lake is of a place called Hayward's, which is a small bakery slash grocery store. When you dock your boat and walk up to the store, which is in a small, rundown trailer, you half wonder how it could be a bakery, but then the smells of fresh baked bread and sticky buns begin guide you to the door. When you walk Gene would behind the counter with a big smile to ask how you were doing and to no fail she would always respond, "just fine, thanks." Then normally sitting in the stores "lobby" her brother Kenny, would normally be sitting there enjoying some type of ice cream bar after a hard days work. Then in the back is their sister, Ruth, who would be bringing packing up the sticky buns and bread. The Haywards are some of the nicest and genuine people I have ever met and have been a huge service on the lake. Not only have they acted as a grocery store on a lake that is an hour from any town, and provided propane for families like mine that have no electricity, they have also been a signature part of the lake, but things have recently changed. In June of 2005, Gene passed away after her struggle with lung cancer, even though she did not smoke, and Ruth has recently been struggling with her fight against cancer. The bakery no longer operates to the full capacity that it used to, but we still frequently visit just to sit and talk for a few minutes and share stories and here the "just fine thanks" that always awaits as you walk through the door. One of the reasons that makes Haywards special is not because of the sticky buns or bread, which were delicious, but because of the people that run the store and the camaraderie and lightheartedness that filled the room as you entered. The second place on the lake that reminds me of Guinan's on the lake is Bennett's Landing. The lodge, as it is mostly referred to is in its third generation of being run by the Bennetts and is in as good of shape now as it was a hundred years ago. The lodge as doubled as a hunting lodge for hunters in the winter, which the Bennetts would host the hunters and serve great meals for the wary hunters after a long day and as a lodging for the employees of the store during the summer months. The lodge has always been a very welcoming place and there have been countless times that members of my family as well as others on the lake, have slept on the couches downstairs when weather or other situations have made the trip back across the lake not possible. The Bennetts, like the Haywards, provide a great service with the store, but it is the selflessness, and friendship of the family throughout the years that make it a special place in my eyes.