What is Under White Lake?

This story was written by Eric Elfner in 2007, and updated by one of our members who wanted to stay anonymous.  They were originally published in the November 2007 and June 2008 WLPOA Newsletters.
- Eric Elfner, August 2018

What is Under White Lake? (from the November 2007 Newsletter)


With the water levels as low as they are, it has become easier to touch and see the bottom of our lake in areas that at one time were under several more feet of water. I have never gone deeper than a snorkel can take me, but I have talked to scuba divers and heard stories about objects that have been lost in the lake. I would like to share a few with you and invite you to share any information you know about others. I will divide it into three sections, objects I am sure are down there, objects that were down there but have been recovered and objects I have heard of being in the lake but 
have not verified.

What’s down there now? Lisa Vich, who has spent some time scuba diving in the lake, told me that there is a surprising amount of silt at the bottom of the lake. Rather than the sandy bottom you might expect, there is a layer of fine silt that would cover any small items that were down there. Lisa told me you could stick your entire arm into the silt and not reach solid bottom. Any movements you make with your arms or fins stir it up and impede visibility. 

We all know that there is a fair amount of vegetation in the water. We’ve got the Eurasian Milfoil here and there, but there are native plants in the lake as well. All of these  plants can make good fish habitat, but is not always pleasant for swimming. Dead vegetation and the periodic algae blooms contribute to the layer of silt mentioned above. 


In 1939, the WPA installed some 434 minnow spawners around the lake. Unbelievably you can still find the stakes that the  logs were attached to embedded in the bottom. With the low water levels, we were beginning to stumble on one this summer. As we started to dig it out, we were  amazed to find some logs still attached under the sand. The wood was in pretty good  shape for being underwater 68 years!

There are some newer, larger fish cribs in the lake as well. In 1997, the WLPOA and some private donors built and placed 16 fish cribs around the lake. They were built on the ice and dropped in when it melted. The cribs are 8’ x 8’ x 4’ high with brush stuffed in the middle. There is steel rebar driven through each corner to tie the logs together. They were originally installed in 15’ of water, which is about 12’ now. (Several were not placed deeply enough and had to be towed out deeper.)

They must be working because I was snorkeling this summer for the first time in 10 or  so years and saw much bigger bass than I remember from years ago. I also was surprised to see a perch swimming by. I didn’t think any of them were still around.  The last thing I can report is a discarded cast-iron bathtub at the bottom near our place in the southeast corner of the lake. My brother spotted it in the 80s with one of those small ski rope buoys attached to it floating below the surface.


Objects that were under the lake, but have been removed:  One of the objects that Lisa reported to me was recovered by some scuba divers this summer. Lisa told me that she had seen an old rowboat near Buck’s Point in about 20 feet  of water. This summer, said rowboat was back on the surface and moored on Fred Forest’s beach for a couple weeks.

The Rumor Mill: These are objects that I have heard are under the lake, but have never gotten confirmation from anyone who has seen them.

• In the middle bay of the south side of the lake, just off of the white boathouse, there is a deep hole, almost 100 feet, in which resides an ice fishing shanty that was left out too long and fell through the ice.  I heard about this at a WLPOA meeting when I was a kid and was intrigued. I can’t tell you how many times I motored around with a depth finder to try to find the hole. I’ve never seen more than 43’.
• On the north side of the west basin of the lake there is a horse-drawn wagon or sleigh that fell through the ice.  I heard about this a long time ago too and thought it was just a ghost story, but Bill Vich had heard of it as well from a different source.

If anyone has confirmation of these objects, or other interesting finds, I’d be interested in hearing about them and reporting them back to the membership. If you run across any of them (and assuming they are environmentally benign) I would encourage you to leave them there as fish habitat and for future snorklers to explore. If you haven’t snorkeled in our lake before, I’d encourage you to try it and let us know what you find!

What’s Really Under White Lake? (from June 2008 WLPOA Newsletter)

Last fall I wrote an article for this newsletter discussing some of the objects I am aware of under  White Lake’s surface, and relaying some rumors I had heard as well. One of our scuba divers sent me  an e-mail confirming and denying some of the speculation I had shared: 

“I have been diving in White Lake since 1965 and have found a rowboat laying upside down on the drop off along the north shore. It can be found in the  early spring when the sun is out and the water surface is calm. It may have been there since the drought in the 30’s when water levels were much lower. Get on the water about 2-3 weeks after ice out and see if you can find it.

“I have found what I believe is the remains of the horse drawn cart that went through the ice one winter, it is located in the northwest area of the lake in about 12 to 15 feet of water. Originally there were 2 partial wagon wheels stuck in the mud but all that remains now are the wood poles that were apparently being hauled. No skeletons to prove a horse or other animal perished during the event. That particular area is one that has many springs so the ice may have been weakened by the upwelling water. (I almost went through the same spot on a snowmobile.)

“Also there is an old “ice” box along the west shore which lays on its back and the door has been removed. I have seen some very large bass around and in the box. It is covered with weeds most of the summer so one needs to get out in the spring to find it at a depth of about 15 feet.

“Some large boulders in the northwest corner of the lake make for interesting diving with depths starting at 7 feet and continuing down to 30 feet.

“I too have heard of the deep hole in the “volcano” in the middle bay on the south shore but have not found it using a depth finder. One of these days I’ll try to find it diving, but would be surprised if it gets anywhere near the rumored depth.”

Here are a few more photos of the rowboat and other items that became more evident when the water was low in 2007.  Once you get into the pictures, click the little "i" in the upper right to see my descriptions.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ta9e8xBoAfGPwLYt9

Al Buck's Cottages in the Pines

This story was written by Eric Elfner in 2008 after some correspondence with Donna Hansen.  It was originally published on the old WhiteLakePOA.org website in 2008 and printed in the November 2008 WLPOA Newsletter.

- Eric Elfner, August 2018

Until 1964 there were two resorts that operated on White Lake.  One was Scharenberg's, which still operates at the east end of the lake to this day.  The other was Al Buck's Cottages in the Pines, which operated on the south point of the lake, where it narrows across from the main point.  This picture from May 1955 shows the resort at the beginning of its 1955 season.

Al Buck's step-daughter, Donna Hansen, still owns the original Buck residence.  She contacted the WLPOA after I wrote an article for the newsletter about a rowboat, probably from Buck's Resort, that was recovered by scuba divers in 2007.  She shared the following information with me in a March 2008 letter.

"In the 1950s, there were only five rental cottages at 'Buck's Cottages in the Pines'.  When the resort was operating there was a boat for each cottage, and a few extra."

At some point I heard that Scharenberg's had been the family resort, and Buck's was more of a sportsman's resort for hunters and fishermen.  But current resident and WLPOA Board Member, Bill Vich, told me he had found old metal beach toys with his metal detector so I asked Donna for clarification.

"The resort at one time could have been more of a sportsmen's place, but I only remember it as mainly a family resort.  Often the children of these families, mostly from the Chicago area, would arrive wearing their swimsuits and were in the lake even before the luggage was out of the car."

I sent Donna the 1955 photo and noted that if you zoom in on it, you can see a boathouse and a shed with an overhang that still exist today.  Donna pointed out a fireplace you can see to the right of the shed.  It's no longer there, but I have photos showing it still in place in 1985.  I think the high water may have gotten it soon after.  Here is the zoomed photo with her thoughts below.

"The small shed with the overhang was used for boat storage in the winter.  In the summer, cottagers could leave their innertubes, fishing tackle, etc., rather than taking it back up the hill.  Every Tuesday night my folks hosted a wienie roast for the guests with lots of pop, beer and marshmallows.  There was also at one time a little fireplace on the beach, and that was where everyone cooked their hot dogs.  Just to the west, there was also a small fish cleaning shed, screened in.

"Al's brother built the house and the boathouse, where two boats were always stored.  The guest house and the garage were built by Al later.  Everything was painted white, except the stairs which are no longer there.  They were stained."

Today the boathouse has a red door.  There's plenty of beach between the boathouse and the water today, but I do remember walks around the lake in the 1980s when I had to squeeze between the water and the boathouse on its narrow step.  Most of us remember the high water of the 80s, but Donna mentions folks remembering high water from before the 1950s!

"Al had a hired hand, Gus Heller, who always talked about when the lake was really high, so high the 'point' was under water.  When that happened he said the crappie fishing in the spring was spectacular.

"As for the lake levels, old timers always talk about the cycles it has gone through, but I admit this is the lowest I have ever seen it."

She also mentioned the joys of swimming in our beautiful lake.

"I enjoyed swimming off our point, but we always kept guests away from it because the drop off was only a few feet from the beach.  In my swimming days my mother would row one of the boats while I swam from the south to the north many times.  I only swam the length once."

Donna tells me that Al died in 1963 and recalls that her mother operated the resort for one more year, then sold it to a man from Wautoma, who divided the property and sold the lots as they are drawn today.  Fred Forest picks up the story from there in an e-mail he sent me in 2007.

"Spoerl, Lenert, Vich's upper house, Spoerl's white shack, the boat house you have shown---- All are remnants from Buck's Resort. Our home, Rowe, and Vichs were built at a later date on the original Resort grounds after the sale. This is my understanding from word of mouth. Each place has beach waterfront and the lots are highly irregular to make this possible. As a result driveways drift from one lot to another (such as Forest/Rowe) and most of Lenert's lakeside property is Spoerls. It's really wierd but has worked quite well over the 27+ years we have been here."

In August 2007, scuba divers recovered a rowboat that had likely belonged to Buck's.  This story can be found here.

Finally, Donna shared some memories of Scharenberg's, the resort that operated down the lake from Buck's.

"Everyone has a special place in their lives, and White Lake is mine.  In my mother's album, there is a picture of me at two or three playing in the sand on Scharenberg's beach with my mother.  In the background are my grandmother and uncle sitting on one of those rustic benches that I guess maybe "Grandpa" Scharenberg made when that resort was first established.  At one time there used to be a beautiful stone fish pond with a rustic bridge located next to the walkway from the restaurant down to the beach.  And I can remember going to dances there as well."

My dad remembers the fish pond too, but I don't.  Donna suggested I talk to Eddie Scharenberg for some further lake history.  I already have a bit, but it would be nice to get some history on that resort as well.  Thanks for sharing your memories of Buck's Cottages in the Pines with us, Donna!

1938 Photo of White Lake

At the August 2018 WLPOA board meeting, Jane Terry shared this picture that her friend Karen Weiss found of White Lake.  If you can believe the date in the corner, it is from 1938.  And that rings true because there is no golf course or developments around the lake at all.  In fact the only structure that is visible is the resort.

It's interesting that you can see the shallows back then follow the same pattern as today.  The lake level appears to be low with lots of beach showing.  Supposedly White Lake got its name from all the white sand beaches surrounding it.

More photos from the first half of the 20th Century at and around White Lake can be found in this gallery.  When you get into the photos, click the little "I" in the upper right to display captions.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sVx82UgVY1rzR2ar5

Spring 2018 WLPOA Newsletter

Here is a link to the WLPOA Newsletter that was sent out in Early June:

Spring 2018 WLPOA Newsletter

Previous Newsletters going back to 1995 can be found on our archive in google drive:

WLPOA Newsletter Archive