The Lake Cabin

The Lake Cabin

Black Lake, Michigan

July 5, 1976

Fred Rose and his son, Adam, had stopped at a diner on their way back to the cabin
where they would see the rest of their family later that evening. Father and son ate greasy
hamburgers and French fries. Not exactly a gourmet feast, but to this bright-eyed eight year
old it was the most delicious meal he had ever eaten. Adam and his father had just spent the
entire day fishing together for the first time in his young life. He was excited and anxious to tell
his mother, sisters, and brother every detail about his day. Dad was tired and couldn't wait to
get home and relax with his family. They were still about ten miles away from their vacation
home. The drive was mostly along winding roads towards the huge glassy lake which their
cabin bordered. It was about 6:00, so there was plenty of daylight left. This meant they could
see all of the beautiful scenery consisting mostly of woodlands until they reached the vast lake.
As they came upon the lake, Fred thought about how great everything was for the Rose
family. He was certain his wife, Caroline, was spending an eventful day with their three
younger children. The day before the family celebrated the country's bicentennial anniversary.
The family had gotten away from their busy lives in the big city of Detroit. They were staying
at their peaceful cabin next to the calm lake in Northern Michigan. For at least a few days they
were relaxing all together, both physically and mentally, and were creating pleasant memories
which would last a lifetime. Everything was perfect. There was no good reason to believe the
Rose family wouldn't just continue down this glorious road and watch their wondrous lives
unfold.
Father and son had to travel around the lake as their cabin was directly opposite on the
other side. Unfortunately their car couldn't just float directly across. It was almost four
miles across from east to west, and a little over six miles from north to south. On a clear day
one could faintly see the other side of the lake on the horizon. However when there was cloud
cover of any kind, visibility was nearly negligible. As they reached the water they turned right
and started the long circuitous drive around the north side. As the sun was beginning to set, it
made for a breathtaking landscape with the calm waters acting like a mirror, giving the
appearance of a glass surface. As a distraction to the tranquility all around, they could see a
commotion of some kind in the distance beside the lake. It appeared to be a number of trucks
causing traffic to back up. As they approached Fred and Adam could see that these were
emergency vehicles with their red lights flashing. There were firetrucks, police cars,
and an ambulance all clustered together in the road. The only way for Fred to get through was
to slow down to a crawl.
As Fred and Adam approached this scene, they saw a woman sitting on the back of the
ambulance. She was covered by a large woolen blanket as if she was attempting to hide from
the world. Even though she was almost completely covered by the blanket, it was obvious that
she was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. It didn't appear that she could be consoled by any
of the emergency workers, so the emergency workers chose to leave her alone for now. Fred
and Adam also noticed two smaller blanketed figures who were both wailing at the top of their
lungs. "That poor family", thought Fred. Then panic set in for Fred.
One of the blanketed children looked familiar. The taller figure looked a little like his five
year old, Michelle. Now Fred was frantic inside, though he knew he had to remain composed
for his son. He stopped the car by the side of the road. He looked closer. It sure looked like
Michelle. His eyes turned to the smaller child next to her. This looked like his three year old,
Bryan. Fred couldn't be certain, because the blanket was covering the child's face. He didn't
see his youngest daughter, Evi, anywhere. His paternal instincts took over. He needed to get a
closer look. As he opened the car door, he ordered Adam to stay inside. The young boy froze
in place and nodded his head.
Fred ran up closer to the three huddled figures. The children were covered by their
blankets and didn't notice the man squinting at them. As he got closer he was more certain it
was Michelle and Bryan, though he prayed that he was mistaken. Unfortunately in this case, a
parent can recognize the sounds of his own children. He then turned his focus to the woman
beside the two smaller figures sobbing underneath a blanket. Just then Fred felt a firm hand
grab his shoulder. It was a fireman.
The fireman shouted at Fred that everyone had to stay back. Trying to appear calm, Fred
quietly told the fireman that this might be his family. He said he needed to get a better look at
the woman beneath the blanket. The fireman informed Fred that the woman was in shock.
The authorities couldn't get much useful information from her. When she did try to talk, it
didn't come out the way she intended. Gibberish, moaning, and mumbling were the sounds
which came out of her mouth. Nothing made much sense. The one phrase she kept repeating
as she rocked back and forth was, "My husband". These were the only intelligible words which
came out of her mouth. The rescue workers pressed her for his name, but nothing more was
uttered. The fireman thought that possibly this could be the breakthrough they were waiting
for. However they had to be cautious.
The last thing they wanted was to startle her. The fireman told Fred to stay at a distance
of about five feet while the fireman slowly pulled the blanket from the sobbing women's face.
Her face was buried in her hands. She didn't even notice that the fireman had pulled the
blanket away. He then slowly pulled her hand away, and guided her gaze upward. Fred
immediately recognized his wife, Caroline, and took a couple of steps forward. He immediately
knelt down to hug her. No words were spoken, but he could feel the entire weight of her body
against his. Hopefully this comforting embrace would bring his wife out of her stupor.
Fred glanced back at their car. Even though it was almost forty feet away, father and son
locked eyes. Fred made the "stop" sign with his hand held flat at arm's length. Adam nodded
his understanding of staying put until further notice. The other blanketed children noticed that
their mother's sobbing had not seized but slowed its rhythm. Michelle looked up and saw her
father comforting her mother. She nudged her brother. Bryan looked up and both kids went
to join their parents' embrace. Fred wanted to blurt out, "Where's Evi"? He didn't want to
send his family back into shock, so he thought it best to just live in the moment. Eventually the
complete story would come out, but for now Fred would just appreciate small steps of
progress beginning with this family hug. The four just held each other as if nothing else existing
at that moment. The sobbing and moaning diminished slowly over time. After what seemed
like hours, but in actuality was closer to 20 minutes, Caroline blurted out, "There's been an
accident." Now Fred felt a burst of emotions. His face went blank and the panic returned.