Ed's Travelogue: My First Flight In An Airplane Aug 1978

Do you remember your first flight in an airplane readers? This little excursion was a joint venture between me and my sister Cathy. One weekend while up in Shawano, Wisconsin at the summer trailer we decided to see what it was like to go in an airplane - it would be the first time for both of us. The weather wasn't great, being overcast and all, but still we wanted to try it. Shawano has a small airport nearby and we drove there having heard there were airplane flights for tourists available and sure enough, without too much searching we found the charter service. I don't remember exactly what kind of plane it was and I didn't have the presence of mind to take pictures, but I believe it was just a small single-engine job. These were the only pictures I have of that flight. My memory of it was that it was a lot of fun - take-off was a thrill. I also remember my sister looking green around the gills afterward - she was, how shall we say? - a tad bit scared!! :-) Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Shawano Lake as seen from above

 

Ed's Travelogue: Shawano Lake, Wisconsin 1978

I have a picture from 1948 showing my dad with a string of fish he caught on Shawano (pronounced: SHAW-no) Lake, Wisconsin. He must have liked the lake and countryside a lot, enough so that during the '60s he bought a trailer in Washington Resort there. The resort was quite large and had a mix of permanent type houses and trailers. Those, like my dad, who had trailers would buy the trailer from the previous owner and pay rental fees to the resort for the plot of land it sat on. You could always get an empty lot and buy a new trailer but dad opted for a nice used version, a 10x45 pink and white affair. The trailer we had was nice but every year in the fall dad had to turn off the water and drain the water lines - which were exposed underneath the trailer. If we wanted to go up there during the winter, we still had heat and elctricity but would need to get fresh water from the resort for cooking. If nature called there was an outhouse about 30' away! What a thrill that was on a cold northern Wisconsin day!! hahahahaha Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Our trailer on Shawano. I think that is the one-and-only fish I ever caught! Like ever! LOL

The resort's 'HQ' - lounge, bar, resort office, etc

By mid-to-late 1978 I was still using my Polaroid SX-70 and slowly taking more and more shots using my new SLR

Here's a homemade panorama. I took two copy prints from my SX-70 and spliced them to get this view

Shawano Lake was pretty big, ca 14mi long x 7mi wide

Tracks in the countryside near the lake

Sunset over Shawano Lake