Doesn’t this picture make you want to skip down those steps to the lake? It does that to me. These steps lead to the boat dock at Lutherdale. But times have changed. Years ago, the boat dock was built with three or four slips for rowboats. You don’t see many rowboats anymore, the kind with long oars and oarlocks that dropped into place at the side so the oar was held in position to provide resistance while rowing. Five people could squeeze into those boats, making it fun for groups of friends to go out together. They were a little more steady than canoes, but not much. Maybe the extra room to move around in gave the illusion of being more steady. It took some coordination to row one of those boats if you wanted to do more than turn circles. Both hands needed to pull at the same time and with the same amount of strength to go in a straight line. And you sat with your back toward the bow, making it difficult to see where you were going.
Back then, pontoon boats were for old folks. The camp would rent one from a nearby resort during Senior Citizens week. The older campers enjoyed going for a ride on the lake and the pontoons were steady enough and slow enough for them to take in the sights. Nowadays, pontoon boats tethered to the boat dock. They’re not just for old folks anymore.
