It has been about 35 years since I have seen the 3 cabins where I summered as a girl and teenager in Big Bear Lake California. This July, my husband and I stayed on the property for 2 1/2 days. My mother sold out her interests when I was in college to her brother. At that time, his children who had lived in San Diego region began to locate in Los Angeles and Orange counties so could use the cabin more. My mother’s sister retained her interests in the 2-story cabin and eventually took over the cabin that my grandparents used in the 1940-1970 era. My cousins graciously offered us the use of the rock and log cabin when they heard we would be in Southern California this July.
The land was purchased about 100 years ago by my great great aunt and uncle. Over a decade, they hired people to build 3 structures. A small log cabin they called Home Cottage with a board platform in front of it for open air sleeping in tent cabins was first. During my lifetime, this was where my mother’s parents stayed during the summer months. The board platform was no longer there though.
The second building was a stone and log gathering place, all one room with a fireplace at one end. This was converted by my parents to living quarters with a bunk bed, suspended bed with ladder, and a double bed underneath; sofa and chair; picnic table with benches; and a small kitchen. It was still all one room. My mom, I, and sisters spent many weeks here across from my grandparents’ place. My father would come up on some of the weekends. We would sit on a ledge on that big rock in the center of the photo early evening, trying to spy his car as it turned off the main road. Those were the days when families had 1 car; my grandfather took us to the grocery store during the week since my father had the car for work. Except for the grocery store, dime store, and occasionally a visit to church on Sundays, we didn’t spend much time in the Village. My dad would take us for drives on the fire roads sometimes where we would look for meadows of flowers and deer.
I relived some of my girlhood activities. I didn’t do much hiking because I wasn’t sure of the strength of my ankle yet, but I sat on the porch reading, did a jigsaw puzzle while looking out at the lake, and at my husband’s request I climbed on the rocks behind the cabin with a book so he could photograph where I read as a girl. When we were young, my mom took us to the dime store where we were allowed the purchase of one coloring book and one paper doll set to last the summer. We made s’mores by roasting marshmallows in the fireplace. Some nights we would visit my aunt and 3 cousins in the upper cabin, playing Pit, popping corn over their fireplace with a metal mesh shaking basket with long handle. We had to be sure to take our flashlights because when we were done visiting it was dark and we needed to go down the slope to our cabin. (Now they have solar lights strung along the path.) When we had melon, we put the scooped out seeds on a smaller rock in front of our cabin for the chipmunks.
When my grandmother started a family, her aunt decided it would be best to build the 2-story cabin up the mountainside so the children would not disturb the other guests. It was completed in 1922. This cabin was the summer home for my mom and her family from toddlerhood to adulthood. It is remarkable because it sits so high up; most neighboring cabins were built on the flat meadow. It originally had a sleeping porch where beds could be pulled out into the fresh air and under the stars. My aunt’s son recently enclosed that.
Many changes have taken place. We used outhouses and went with buckets to the hand pump on the flat. Now outhouses are not allowed. My relatives have wells and electric pumps so there are bathrooms and sinks and showers and running water. I can’t say I missed the outhouses. The smaller cabins have been expanded and remodeled slightly to accommodate kitchen cabinets and bathroom fixtures. Home Cottage also has a deck added for outside seating and dining. Board steps have been installed to help older relatives navigate the path from the flatland to the first set of cabins.
Still, many familiar things remain. The padlock and chain set-up for locking the cabin amazed my husband. The chain would be pulled inside at night thru a hole in the door, with a big heavy bar lifted into a slot for no entry. Can you see the chain here? Maybe not; it is pretty dark wood.
The old dish/food cabinet and the picnic table (now on the porch) and even those TV trays were part of our 1950s and 1960s décor which remain.
Because we had an ice box (had to buy a block of ice from time to time), we could not keep ice cream in our cabins. Many evenings we would walk across the flat meadow, ford a small stream, and walk a few blocks to Boulder Bay store to buy an ice cream bar of our choice. It seemed like a long walk, but I walked to the stream this summer and couldn’t believe how short it was.
Today, there is still a small store there, but close by is Boulder Bay Park, a wonderful development.
People fish off a dock, rent kayaks, sunbathe on sand beaches, and picnic. We got some sandwiches from Von’s and ate our first lunch in this park.
Lots of big newer houses surround the bay now.
My husband rented a kayak from Pleasure Point Landing over in Metcalf Bay. None of these rental places open until 9 a.m. though which means you miss the nice smooth glassy lake of early morning.
We actually spent our first night at Grey Squirrel Resort which is close to Pleasure Point. We ate breakfast at Grizzly Manor, an interesting experience. The walls and door are covered with cartoons and sayings and pictures, definitely not pc monitored. The pancakes are huge. I had been forewarned so did order only 1, but couldn’t even finish all of it.
My nostalgic visit to Big Bear was enjoyable, but tinged with a bit of sadness that I no longer live close enough. I am glad my cousins and their children have opportunities to relish the beauty of Big Bear.
