Written by CC White:
Jon Sams’ family has long ties to the Long Lake, Pine Haven Beach area. His uncle, Ben Lantz, bought a lot and built the family’s cabin on Chippewa Loop during the 1930s. (Ben Lantz bought his property with money he made on a paper route when he was just 12 years old, but that's a whole separate story.) Josephine (Jo) Sams, Ben’s sister, would come with her 2 children, Sally and Jon, to stay for parts of the summer. When Jon was a teenager he was hired by Harold White (my grandfather and owner of Pine Haven Resort) one summer to help Dick White (my father) deliver blocks of ice along the beach to all the cabins that still used iceboxes. When Jon was discharged from the Air Force he spent some time at Long Lake. As I remember it, Jon took myself and my sister, LuAnne, on fishing and rock hunting expeditions. He also carved us rubber band guns. He and my parents would go out to Chateau Paulette to eat and dance around the big fire place. In the 1960s Jo Sams bought the lot next to and north of her brother’s place and built her own cabin. Over the years Jon married and brought his family to Long Lake. When his mother died he inherited her cabin. After his retirement Jon and his wife, Linda, spent most summers here. Besides fishing on his little pontoon (The Lady Bug) every day, he also volunteered to be part of the Lake Association’s water quality monitoring team. He took Secchi Disk readings at least once a month until he sold the cabin in 2012. Jon also volunteered to teach a class in Lake Discovery in July of 2011 which showed the kids how to identify the plants and other life forms found in Long Lake.
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Jon with his dog, Suzie, on the power line trail.
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A fish story at a Chippewa Loop cookout. |
2 comments:
What a beautiful tribute to such an accomplished man. Jon sure did love his Long Lake family, thank you so much for the wonderful memories.
Jon and I became good friends as neighbors.I so enjoyed his Long Lake stories.Thank you so much for this tribute to an amazing man.
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