Scope and Content[An account by Ann Wells of Indiana who visited Saugatuck during the WWII era] Saugatuck, My Utopia The years were 1943, 1944 and 1945, World War H years. I was a young adult living in Hobart, Indiana, and working as a secretary/bookkeeper at the Gary Office Equipment Company located on west Sixth Avenue in Gary, Indiana. This is an area at the southern tip of Lake Michigan in Lake County. Travel was limited; furthermore, I did not drive; however, buses went everywhere. Each year I went somewhere on my vacation, the first two weeks in July. These places included: Peoria, Illinois; Springfield, Missouri; Des Moines, Iowa; as a counselor at a girls' camp at the Dunes State Park, Chesterton, Indiana; and a summer camp at Kalamazoo. And then, out of the blue, after the area was recommended to me by a boss, Erroll Hodge, I found my Utopia -- Saugatuck, Michigan, located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. My sister, Frances Perrotta and another friend, Maxine Garr and I roomed together. What fun we had! Days were spent sunning, swimming, and boating. Nights found us dining and dancing, sometimes under the stars. We stayed at the Hotel Saugatuck, a large frame building located on the lake. At a lounge on the main floor of the hotel they served popcorn, yes, popcorn, in small tubs with our cocktails. It was an elderly gray-haired gentleman who taught me that a Whiskey Sour made a fine before-dinner drink. Across the street from the hotel there was a large frame building, a ballroom, where dances were held nightly. In the building there was an upright piano that anyone could use during the day if they wished. Sometimes groups of us would gather there for songfests. One night we were invited to take a late boat ride on a large cabin cruiser. Although my companions went I did not for I stayed behind to write a letter to my best beau, Sgt. Robert wells, and to retired early. My Robert was in the U. S. Army in the European theater of war stationed in England. Although I was eight years younger than my roommates, I usually ended up chaperoning them. However, this time I stayed home. That night my companions left for the boat ride about 9:30 p.m. After going to bed early I awakened about 3:30 am. alarmed to find my roommates had not returned. I lay awake the rest of the night wondering when might be the proper time to seek help. At 5:30 am. I heard them giggling and laughing as they climbed the stairs to our room. I was too happy to see them to be upset. Their explanation for the delay was that their boat had become stranded on a sand bar. The first year there I met a new friend, Carol Kelsey, of Dearborn, Michigan. She was a secretary at General Motors. For three consecutive years we had reunions at Saugatuck. Nothing would please me more than to renew this friendship with Carol after 55 years. One year we roomed in the home of the then-mayor of Saugatuck who rented tourist rooms. His name I do not recall. [It would have been Frank Wicks at the Maplewood] Once, after sending a postcard to my office, "Having a good time; wish I could stay," I received an immediate response. A telegram arrived from a boss, Bob Dering, "Vacation extended two days. Stop." Way to go! After the war I married Robert, and we raised a family of four children. Vacations were limited for a number of years. Today's lucky young parents live in a different world. They need merely to buy or rent a travel trailer. What choices! They can take their little darlings with them and see the world in their home away from home. --- Ann Wells was 79 years old when she wrote this account. She has been a widow since her husband's death in 1992. They moved to Brownstown, Indiana in 1956 and built the Townhouse Complex, with six commercial units. One of the shops is Townhouse Army Surplus, still run by Anne and two children, Carl, now 51 and Peggy, 45. Another son, Tom, 38, lives in Las Vegas and a daughter, Hill, 43, is married to attorney David Byers and lives in Indianapolis. Anne's address is: 723 K Walnut, Brownstown, IN 47220.