Feature Article August 15, 2001
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Sand Lake cottagers retire after 56 yearsby David BrisonRose Marie (82) and Jack (86) Haney have been making a yearly pilgrimage from their home near Cleveland, Ohio, to their cottage on Sand Lake (near Plevna) for 56 years.
This will be their last summer they have sold their cottage. They will miss their life at the lake and also will be missed by many in the Ompah/Plevna area.
Jack says that he is responsible for the decision to leave, but one senses that both he and Rose Marie have jointly come to the conclusion that a good thing has come to an end. Rose Marie has arthritis, and it is difficult and sometimes painful for her to get out and around as much as she likes -- she is known in the community as the woman who goes to all the card parties and other social events. Jack loves to fish, but this year has seldom been out in his boat.
Although age has caught up with their bodies (Jack has had 11 operations), their interest, enthusiasm, and zest for life hardly seems diminished. Jack, known locally as the hellgrammite man -- after his preferred fishing bait, extolled the virtues of the little creature (see photo). He fell off his chair reaching for one that had fallen on the floor and spryly bounced back up without missing a word. Rose Marie mentioned that shed made Carol Frasers Plevna news column for having the lowest euchre score (I dont imagine that happens very often).
Rose Marie says, We have met a lot of very nice people up here and made some very special friends. Many of their lake friends have visited them at their home in Elyria 20 miles from Cleveland.
The cottage the Haneys purchased in 1967 is one of 14 cottages sitting in a row on a natural sand beach on Sand Lake. The cottages were owned by the Kring family, and are now maintained by a second generation of the Krings --John and Mindy Kring. Jack Haney is very complimentary about the recent renovations that John Kring has done on the cottages that he still rents. Jack, a tool and dye maker who worked 20 years for General Motors, is an astute critic. Mindy Kring made the comment, Jack is never idle he is always at work on something. When we went outside to take pictures, Jack noted a slight mark on the side of the house that he said needed touching up.
The Haney have seen many changes over the years. When they first came to the lake, the cottage rented for $18 a week (including two boats), a fishing license cost $6, there were far fewer cottages on the lake, and the fishing was better although, according to Jack the fish are still out there. However, he has to work harder to get his favourite small-mouth bass. There will be many memories of the Haneys after they leave, but both Rose Marie and Jack are very pleased that there will be a permanent reminder the Township of North Frontenac has named a road after them. The laneway that runs in front of their cottage is now Haney Lane, and the Haneys are just as proud of that naming as Leo Enright and Denise Sabatini were when a minor planet was named after them. They should be.