Sachs, Family Boat Story (by Pam Sachs)

Sachs Family History: The Boat

Compiled information from Pam Sachs

My parents had another connection to Gull Lake. Because my father was established in the grain trucking business, which also involved a feed store in Ironton, he was in his truck on the road most of the week. Saturday mom and dad would have “date nights,” most often at Bar Harbor, their destination for fun.

That’s probably where they met a resident (perhaps a doctor) who wanted his large boat hauled from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Gull Lake. Around 1948 or 1949, dad was hired for that job and mom went along on the excursion. My Uncle Harry and Aunt Verna Nelson stayed with my brother and me in Ironton, because my folks were gone quite awhile.

While going through Georgia, they saw some men in a watermelon patch getting the fruit ready to ship and sell. Monty was always looking for a way to make a little money, so he filled the boat with those wonderful, freshly picked melons and brought them home. We ate some and he sold the rest.

At that time, the boat was the first big one on the lake. The pictured photo of the boat was taken while it floated in original waters before being loaded and hauled to Minnesota. Pearl and Monty each had their photos taken on the dock pier prior to departure from the eastern waterway.

Also pictured are two smaller photos of the original Bar Harbor, which was destroyed in a fire the summer of 1968. Sitting inside at a booth are my uncle, aunt and parents.

(Editor’s note: Pam believes the boat is still somewhere on the lake and hopes this story will generate more information about the craft and its history.)