Bare Hill Pond at Jodi and Alan's Camp

Jodi and Alan's Camp

Bare Hill Pond was one of those places that kept coming back through different stages of my life. Long before Jodi and Alan lived there, my parents had bought that tiny little summer place on the pond, and that became one of the great turning points in my life. It was not fancy at all, just an old camp on the water with a dock and some old rowboats, but it connected me to fishing, boating, swimming, ice, hiking and exploring the woods, 13 differrnt islands, and the feeling that life was always better when it was lived close to the water and the natural world.

Years later, when Jodi and Alan bought it and rebuilt the place, the pond became a family gathering place again. All of the kids could swim, fish, ride in the boat, check the minnow trap, climb on the rocks, eat on the deck, and spend the kind of long summer days that kids remember forever. It was the same basic magic as the old days — water, docks, boats, family, and that easy sense that nobody needed much more than a pond and a few people willing to have fun.

Boats, Kids, and the Old Pond Life

Boats were always part of Bare Hill Pond for me. In the early years, maybe 1976, we had a little old runabout that we bought from Gary next door, and later we built a homemade houseboat out of an old floating dock, empty barrels, scavenged lumber, an old Sears motor, five old car batteries, party lights and underwater headlights, an 8-track player, and anything else we could find. That houseboat became a whole floating world of fishing, music, friends, and summer nights.

By the time these photos were taken at Jodi and Alan's campin the late 1980s, it was the next generation getting the same kind of pond memories. Uncle Alan's speedboat, my old kayaks and canoes, swimming rocks to stand on, and tons of fishing gear all became part of the same family story.

Shannon and Joseph out on Bare Hill Pond, carrying on the same family tradition of summer days on the water.

Another boatload of kids on Alan's boat — exactly the kind of scene that made Bare Hill Pond such a family gathering place. — Patrick driving Uncle Alan's boat — exactly the kind of scene that made Bare Hill Pond such a family gathering place.

Shannon enjoying one of those easy summer days at the camp.

Alan giving Michelle the old heave-ho, with the kind of joking around that always seemed to happen at the pond.

Shannon harassing Alan — another little family moment from Jodi and Alan's camp.

Cormac the Captain, learning early that Bare Hill Pond was meant to be explored from the water.

Lunch on the deck, with the pond right there as the center of everything.

Goofing off at the camp, which was always a big part of the fun.

Going fast in Uncle Alan's speedboat. — Cruising in Uncle Alan's speedboat.

Going even faster in Uncle Alan's boat — one more generation getting hooked on the thrill of boats and water.

Going way fast and taking a 180-degree turn, with everyone holding on tight and Cormac holding on for dear life.

Another summer memory from the Bare Hill Pond years. — Another goofball summer memory from the Bare Hill Pond years.

Aunt Marty sitting at Gary's camp next door to Jodi and Alan's place. Gary was part of the old camp world that existed before so many of the small summer places became trophy homes. — Aunt Marty sitting at Gary's camp next door to Jodi and Alan's place. Gary was part of the old camp world that existed before so many of the small summer places became trophy homes, but he still has his original camp there.

Cormac in the kayak, with Uncle Tim getting ready to take Patrick out in the canoe — the kind of simple pond adventure that shaped so much of my life. I always loved teaching everyone how to kayak and canoe!

Shannon, Jenny, Lisa, and Braun enjoying the pond in June of 1999.

Michelle on Uncle Alan's shoulders, standing on 'the Rock,' one of those familiar landmarks that every pond kid remembers.

Swimming and playing at Jodi and Alan's camp, keeping the Bare Hill Pond tradition alive.

The Same Bare Hill Pond Thread

The more I look back at Bare Hill Pond, the more I realize how many different parts of my life are tied to that place. It was where I learned the pleasure of getting up early to fish at sunrise, where my mother loved fresh bass for breakfast, where Marty and I lived through brutally cold winters in the old camp, where we skated and snowmobiled on the ice, and where, with the help of friends, we somehow turned a floating dock into a homemade houseboat. Some day I'll find and load some awesome pics from that old beater houseboat!

Jodi and Alan's camp carried that thread forward. These photos are not just old family snapshots. They are part of the same long story of a pond that gave all of us a place to gather, laugh, explore, swim, fish, and grow up a little closer to the outdoors.