Celebrate memories of Luckey’s Landing with a community picnic Aug. 19

Event: Community picnic for residents of Wolf Lake, Bear Lake and High Lake area, and those who remember the good times at Luckey’s Landing

Date and time: Saturday, Aug. 19, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Location: Luckey’s Landing – Wolf Lake, Ind.

Cost: Free. Hot dogs, homemade ice cream and drinks provided. Bring a dish to share and a lawn chair or blanket to sit on.

Event sponsors: Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College and the Luckey Hospital Museum

For more information or to RSVP: Call Jennifer Schrock at (260) 799-5869 or e-mail jenniferhs@goshen.edu.

WOLF LAKE, Ind. – Longtime residents of the Wolf Lake area remember Luckey’s Landing as a popular spot for a swim. The flat, grassy lakeshore served as a summer resort during the 1920s through the 1960s, drawing boaters, fishermen and picnickers from miles around.

On Saturday, Aug. 19, residents of the Wolf Lake, Bear Lake, High Lake area – and those who remember good times at Luckey’s Landing – are invited to a community picnic at the Landing.

The picnic is co-sponsored by two Wolf Lake organizations of interest: Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College and the Luckey Hospital Museum. Both the landing and the museum take their name from the Luckey family. Dr. James Luckey owned the hospital; his son and daughter-in-law, Hugh and Hazel, owned the landing that is now part of Merry Lea.

From 1930 to 1959, the 20-bed Luckey Hospital and Clinic provided complete medical care for the Wolf Lake community. Today, the restored hospital building offers an intimate look into medical history, including an iron lung and nursing uniforms from many eras. Guides are well-versed in the hospital’s history and full of stories. The Luckey Hospital Museum, located in Wolf Lake at the intersection of Rts. 33 and 109, will be open for guided tours from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, before the picnic.

Merry Lea acquired the Luckey’s Landing acreage in 1985 and the former beach is now located at the center of the 1,150-acre nature preserve, under the auspices of Goshen College. A number of the environmental education programs Merry Lea offers local school children take place at Luckey’s Landing. Children come to study water quality and explore nature at this site.

“Luckey’s Landing is one of my favorite parts of Merry Lea,” said Paul Steury, Merry Lea’s K-12 education coordinator.

Lisa Zinn, one of Merry Lea’s teaching staff and an avid birder, said, “Luckey’s Landing is also one of our best birding spots.”

Sisters Shirley Hile and Mary Goodrich, owners and curators of the Luckey Hospital Museum, recall a different Luckey’s Landing. The two women spent some of their most pleasant childhood moments at Luckey’s Landing: swimming, roasting hot dogs, buying homemade ice cream for a nickel or visiting the Coke cooler, packed with frosty glass bottles. The women still treasure a picture of their mother, proudly holding a seven-pound bass caught with a cane pole at Luckey’s Landing in the 1930s.

The Aug. 19 picnic will revive some of these lost memories. Swimming is not an option, but the Coke cooler, the homemade ice cream and the hot dogs are back. Nine canoes are available starting at 4 p.m. for those who would like to paddle High Lake. At 5 p.m., the hot dog roast/potluck begins and from 6 to 7 p.m., attendees will gather for storytelling centered on Luckey’s Landing. Also from 6 to 7 p.m., children will have the chance to play games their grandparents played, such as Kick the Can, Annie-Annie Over and sack races.

There is no charge for the picnic. Instead, attenders should bring a dish to share and a lawn chair or blanket. Drinks, hot dogs, marshmallows and homemade ice cream will be provided. Please RSVP by e-mailing jenniferhs@goshen.edu or calling (260) 799-5869.

Guests in cars should enter Luckey’s Landing by the north gate. Directions: From Rt. 33 on the east side of Wolf Lake, turn on 100 S at the Community State Bank. Pass Metzger’s Dairy, turn left at 500W. Take this gravel road and it will dead end at the gate to Luckey’s Landing. OR: From 109, take 200S just north of Merry Lea’s Farmstead. Pass Rieth Village. At the first T, turn right on 475W and continue past Bear Lake Camp. Turn right at 525W when the road becomes gravel. At next stop sign, turn left and follow dead end road.

Merry Lea is owned and operated by Goshen College, Goshen, Ind. Its five miles of hiking trails are open to the public from dawn until dusk.

Schedule of activities for Aug. 19 community picnic:

1-4 p.m. – Visit the Luckey Hospital Museum, Wolf Lake, corner of Rt. 33 & 109.

4-5:30 p.m. – Canoes available for boating on High Lake

5-6 p.m. – Potluck and hot dog roast

6-7 p.m. – Local Storytelling: Luckey’s Landing; Games for children

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Jennifer Schrock at (260) 799-5869 or jenniferhs@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.