Generations on Lake Michigan

Traditions, simplicity, family, and the slower pace of cottage life on the shores of the lake.

In 1906, Henrietta Kerr built a cottage near the lakeshore in Glenn, Michigan.

Long before there were cars and freeways, Henrietta made the trek north from Chicago by boat across Lake Michigan to a pier near the small Michigan town. She spent her summers playing organ in the small chapel at the local girls’ camp. She must have found something here worth returning to, because eventually she purchased a piece of property next to the camp and built a summer cottage of her own.

Fast forward 120 years, and that little cottage along the shores of Lake Michigan is still in the

family.

The cottage passed down from Henrietta Kerr to Esther (Hood) Kerr and then to Patricia Kerr, which required each one to take on the role of caretaker to maintain the old timber-frame cottage. Because of their care, it remains virtually intact today, faithfully fulfilling what it was intended to be: a place for family and a place for summer.

The Rhythm of Life at a Michigan Cottage

While Michigan cottages have grown over the years into large modern homes, life at Kerr Cottage has held on to its century old roots. Summer living at the cottage still requires a little elbow grease.

Karen, who asked me to paint the cottage as a gift for a family member, shared with me some of the stories that have shaped life at the cottage.

There is no indoor plumbing. Water for the dishes is carried from a hand pump and warmed on the stove, with old enamel dishpans serving as the sink. No dishwashers and no modern creature comforts force a particular family-learned system for washing and drying.

The rhythm of summer life in a Michigan cottage can feel at odds with the fast pace of modern life. Mornings come with the rise of the sun and afternoons are reserved for the beach. On special evenings, everyone heads back to the beach for a bonfire under the stars, and of course, S’mores! The dinner bell might ring a bit later than normal and kids know that that they can’t come in for dinner until they wash the sand from their feet.

Kerr Cottage has always been a place where generations have come together to share a dinner, laughs, stories, and maybe a bottle of wine or cocktail. Evenings often end with music around the old Steinway in the living room. The sing-a-longs even inspired the family to write a song about life at Kerr Cottage with lyrics like “if you swim every day, you’ll never grow old.”

On cool Michigan evenings, heat in the uninsulated cottage is provided by a central fireplace that sounds more like the heart of the home and walls are filled with rare books, old china, and even the family-favorite elephant-shaped piece of driftwood.

Family traditions, quirks and oddities, generations of memories all captured in this simple place.

Creating Memories from Slowing Down

What I found interesting about Karen’s story was how simple life is at the cottage. There are chores, swimming, dinner, dishes, stories, cocktails, and a sunset. It’s essentially a record of an ordinary summer day, and I can’t help but think that that is exactly the point.

We spend a lot of time making our lives more convenient, usually for good reason. We love running water and indoor plumbing. Who wouldn’t? There isn’t anything inherently better about carrying a bucket of water or washing dishes by hand. But the story of life at Kerr Cottage makes me think that these inconveniences reinforce something that is often lost.

They give people reasons to do things together. No modern distractions, no phones, nothing to pull our attention in a thousand directions.

A small cottage puts everyone in the same place and the beach is the star attraction. A deck is a place for sunsets and snacks. And an old piano gathers people around the same music. After enough summers, those little routines become the things people remember.

Painting a Memory

When I was asked to paint Kerr Cottage, I wasn’t trying to make a literal portrait of the building. I was given several pictures to choose from. When I looked through the pictures, it became clear that the focus should be more on memory than documentation.

One of the things I chose to emphasize was the large chimney. It anchored the cottage visually and I wanted it to have a prominent place in the painting.

The final painting of Kerr Cottage

Later, I learned how important the fireplace actually is. I like the coincidence. To me the chimney felt important visually, but I had no idea how central the fireplace is to life at the cottage.

More than anything, I wanted the piece to feel more like how I imagine it feels to arrive on a summer day. The dirt road, the tall trees, the cottage ahead, and a glimpse of Lake Michigan beyond.

The family members around the dining table have changed over the years. Children have become parents and grandparents. Another generation arrives and learns where everything is kept, how the dishes are done and when it’s time to head down to the lake.

For more than a hundred years, Kerr Cottage is still doing what Henrietta built it for in 1906. A place to enjoy the simple life of summer on Lake Michigan.

It’s not the building itself, it’s the time spent there that we preserve in our memories.

Scott

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