I can remember Mr. Prance coming by once a week with blocks of ice for the ice boxes and another vendor came by with fresh produce. The food shopping was done at Desjardins and Mr. Merner in Dashwood had the best meat.

My father would complain that he had to drive to Thedford for beer as there was not a beer store in Grand Bend. The liquor laws were strange, as the north side of Main Street [Huron County] was 'dry' and the south side [Lambton County] 'wet'. This changed with the war. The army cadets and regulars were brought in by the truck load on Saturday nights.

My first summer job was at Hank's burger joint where the Lakeview is now. I remember this well, as I was a coin collector at the time and came across a rare 1925 nickel.

Grand Bend was, and still is, a place of history and mystery. Less than an hour from London it still seems remote and away from civilization. Our renters seem to feel the same as they arrive loaded with water and food as if they needed to sustain themselves for the next week.

My first memory of Lake Huron is playing on Ipperwash Beach in the fall with a few native children. We had seagull feathers in our hair and ran around with bare feet, mindless of the wind that threatened to blow out the flame of the Coleman stove my mother used for cooking. As I recall, the beach was empty, no doubt due to the season, but my parents were new immigrants from England and of hardy stock. The English are known for sitting on the beach in any weather.

It was 20 years before I returned when, as Cam's girlfriend, he brought me to the "cottage" in the early summer of 1969. His aunt Vera, of amazing age and memory, was at the old Taylor cottage and she was the first family member I met. Cam knew where the key was hidden so we were able to use the facilities at his dad's place across the laneway from Vera's. I had been to a few cottages before, mostly rather rough affairs with unfinished interiors and very basic facilities. Cam's father's cottage was a house you could comfortably live in all year. As we walked the beach and swam that warm summer day I remember thinking how much I would love to be a part of that lifestyle. There are many factors that enter into our choice of a life partner and I credit that day in Grand Bend as one for me.

There were many family gatherings at the cottage but I remember one of my first. New Year's Eve 1970 Cam's mother invited us to come to a party. When I asked Cam what I should wear he replied that any cottage wear would be suitable so I packed thick sweaters and jeans. To my horror at about 8 pm Helen, my mother-in-law, announced that she and the other women present were going to change. Within a short time it was obvious that jeans and sweaters were not going to cut it as the women drifted downstairs in cocktail wear. There was a lot I had to learn about cottage life à la Taylor!

After we were married, Cam and I spent many family times there with his parents and siblings. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter as well as May 24 usually saw us at the cottage. My mum was also welcomed and she became very close to Auntie Vera, staying with her each July when Vera became a sailing widow. Even when my aunts visited from Wales a visit to the cottage was top of the agenda and they loved it. Having been an only child, the cottage was a place where I saw the very best of a large family. Music is central to the Taylors so many a night saw Cam's siblings playing guitar and singing while his dad strummed a wash tub base.

Once our daughter Jessica arrived we used the cottage for getaway weekends. She took her first steps on Kingsmere beach and spent hours with her great aunt across the way colouring; Auntie Vera patiently removing the papers from the crayons because 3 year old Jess said they were dirty! All of the children were fascinated with the old player piano -- how did the keys go up and down when your hands weren't on them? For each of our three children the cottage was one of the first places they visited.

When we left Canada in 1984 Grand Bend became the place to which we returned each summer. Because Cam's dad sadly sold his cottage in 1986 when he and Helen moved to Grand Cove for a year, we rented in North Kingsmere. By then the old Becker cottage used by Cam's uncle had been bequeathed to his cousin Pat whose children matched ours in age and disposition. And so that branch of the family returned to the fold through yet another generation of Taylor cottagers. Pat and I, alone for much of the summer with three children each, made use of the Busy Bee program in Grand Bend run by the town recreation dept.

Trips to Grand Bend Zoo kept them entertained and we were there on the opening day of the Lambton Heritage Museum. [Ted Relouw's love of animals and hobby of raising homing pigeons as a boy in Holland grew into the Pineridge Zoo south of Grand Bend after he moved to Canada in the early 1950s. He started to gather animals and at one point had 28 varieties of ducks and 17 varieties of pheasants. When his hobby became too expensive he decided to open his zoo to the public in 1970. The large birds -- peacocks, turkeys, geese -- had the run of the 22 acres property. The more dangerous animals -- sheep, goats, bear, lion, llamas and ostriches had sturdy cages and large fenced pens in which to roam. The zoo has since closed.] The playground established by great grandfather Bert got lots of use and impromptu ball games were often played on the ball diamond. As they grew older we took them to the Shipka Drive-in where the older two would watch a double feature while the 4 little ones slept in the back. On rainy days we had indoor picnics, played board games and made crafts; there wasn't a video console in sight. We did have a tired old TV and Pat and I would rent the odd video from the gas station on Highway 21. Those summers cemented the relationships between second cousins which still endure today.

Trips into the village have always been a highlight of a weekend at the cottage. Cam was always willing to load kids into our large station wagon for a visit to the Cheryl Ann for ice cream. There was often a stop at the mini golf as well. As they grew older we felt comfortable dropping them off at Main St. with a pocket full of change. One of the great joys of the Bend is the relative freedom children can enjoy that isn't available in their home towns.

Of course the beach and water are what Grand Bend is all about. Swimming lessons were available at a house in Southcott Pines and later on a farm near Parkhill. All the grandchildren were taken to these, used life jackets on the beach and grew up with a healthy respect for water. Pat's husband Dave taught the kids to waterski and boogie board behind his boat. Jumping from the dunes and playing in the gully provided hours of entertainment. Even finding a quiet spot to read a book was a joy to our two avid readers.

Winters at the cottage were entirely different. Our 5 year old son was puzzled when we planned a trip one January day. He had only seen the Bend in the summer and couldn't understand why he didn't need his bathing suit. Before we left for Saudi in '84 the woods behind the cottage flooded and froze -- a perfect skating surface for our daughters. Pulling a sled behind the car caused screams of excitement and exploring snow caves was a real adventure. Returning to the warm cottage for hot chocolate was a treat even when my sister-in-law tried to make it in an electric kettle!

As the years passed we have had many visitors from overseas and all have been brought to Grand Bend. Without exception they are astounded by the size and beauty of the lake and love the quirkiness of the village. On the first visit our son-in-law made, Cam awoke us all at about 2 am to see the Northern Lights. Phil has never forgotten and has developed as great a love of the Bend as any of us.

Last July Cam's great nephew and his mother visited us from Japan. Kai had never met any of his Canadian relatives and spent his 6^th birthday here. On his first visit to the Bend his grandfather bought him fries at the Cheryl Ann, introducing him to a Taylor summer tradition. At first he was cautious of wading into the lake but soon lost that fear and cried when he had to leave. Lake Huron had captured the heart of yet another Taylor. Now we have a grandson, Luca, and he too has been to Grand Bend and swung on the same swing his father and grandfather did, erected so many years ago, played on the same beach and in the same cottage. There is a 5^th generation of Taylors now coming to Bert's Kingsmere Cottage and soon there may be a 6^th. His original dream of building an intergenerational gathering place has been amply achieved as the younger generations, who would have had little knowledge of each other as second and third cousins, have instead a central summer home at which to become acquainted.