This is a picture of a carefree, happy child
saying "Yes!" to the opportunity to be
photographed in all her natural childhood
glory. Notice the groovy 70s plaid pants
with the tummy sticking out.
Who cares? Ahh, to be 5 again...

Memories of Woodhaven Lakes Posted November-21-2007
Campy Childhood: Krazy Korner Section 17, Lot 4

My first visit to the magical kingdom known as Disney World happened in 1995, after I had already passed through my biological childhood and settled into married life (and what a wonderful time we adults had!). Why did I wait until my mid-20s to meet Mickey Mouse?

Well, growing up in a family with four other siblings made it too costly for my parents to take us on vacations to Florida or other exotic places "privileged" classmates traveled to during school breaks. But my parents did even better, they acquired a piece of property at a private campground called Woodhaven Lakes — two hours driving distance from our suburban Chicago home that became our frequent weekend and summer getaway.

Woodhaven Lakes was a nature-filled playground, and a child's dream! Being the curious and adventurous kid that I was, I'd spend whole days partaking of scheduled arts and crafts activities, swimming at the beach, bike riding on miles of road, hiking on the trails, and watching outdoor movies (often Disney, oh, the irony) on the lakefront. The nightly campfires amongst the hundred-foot-tall oak trees — looking up at the dark sky filled with stars — helped me to appreciate my place in this world. Ahhhh... the memories.

Here's some particular memories I have of Woodhaven that I'll classify as childhood "rites of passage":

• First Crush and Kiss: I met my first true crush, Timmy, at Woodhaven when I was 7 or 8. We spent many days riding bikes, hiking, and fishing out pretty rocks from my favorite creek. Timmy was an only child, an Apple computer geek (way before every house had a computer) and was never allowed to get his clothes dirty.
  
  I promised Timmy I'd marry him when we grew up, and we had a pre-Wedding ceremony with rings made out of long grass when I was 9, complete with a kiss on the cheek (my first kiss!). I last saw "Tim" during my sophomore year of high school and lost touch with him. I'm sure he's a very successful techno-geek today.

• The Foot Incident: I was a childhood tomboy and spent many hours going barefoot since I spent my days swimming at the beach and playing in the soft-grounded forests. I had no use for shoes, or so I thought.
  
  When I was 9, I was riding my pink Huffy bike barefoot and coasting slowly down a patch of road when suddenly my foot got caught in the spokes of my front tire (I can just hear you now, "eeeew!"). Well, I didn't lose half of my foot (or need to call a toe-truck!), but I did get to wait about 3 hours to see a doctor at the Mendota Hospital emergency room. Along with my parents, Timmy was with me the entire time.
  
  As it turned out, I didn't need stitches for my foot, but I spent the rest of the summer healing and NOT swimming or riding my bike. Of course I began wearing shoes after that. That's also when the cave girl in me started becoming civilized.

• The Fostering of Creativity: Woodhaven had an ongoing recreation schedule during on-season (May-September) that featured two arts and craft sessions (10am and 2pm) that cost anywhere from 10 cents to 35 cents to participate in. I was there almost every day making dried noodle jewelry, paper tube bird feeders, crayon shaving wax art, sand candles, and every other kid camp craft you can think of. And every week I'd seem to make a new friend.
  
  The first instructor teaching the classes when I was 7 was Barbara Powers and she lived in Amboy. She was my first creative mentor and went on to become my pen-pal for a couple of years. The second teacher I remember was named Beth and she was just as nice. I lost contact with both of these wonderful woman but am grateful for their instilling a love of creative expression within me.

• Stockton Gala Days: When I was 8, I met my best childhood friend, Ruth, who became my big sister through my turbulent teens and stood up in my Wedding as the Maid of Honor.
  
  Ruth's family owned camping property at Woodhaven and our families were often out there camping at the same time on summer weekends. Ruth and I were two years apart but spent many giggly nights chatting into the early morning hours in a small 2-person tent away from the rest of our families. We talked about everything: under the sun.
  
  One night when I was 18, and after eating too much junk food at the annual Sweet Corn Festival in Mendota, I exited our private tent space and promptly threw up all of my carnival food at the side of our camper. Not thinking that I was right under an open window where my parents were sleeping and could hear me, I heard my mom wake from her slumber and yell "Who's throwing up out there!" Ruth and I laughed about that incident for years.
  
  A year later, and a weekend before I got married, Ruth and I spent one final weekend together at Woodhaven with her parents. On our last day there, we were walking on a dock that extended out to the fishing side of Woodhaven Lake. In a impulsive "this is the last crazy thing I can do before I'm married" stunt, I ran to the end of the dock and jumped into the water fully-clothed. Ruth was stunned, but after convincing her of the symbolism of my nutty gesture, she ran, jumped, and joined me in my wild water treading as we both said goodbye to our single teenage years together.
  
  Ruth's friendship through my pre-teen and teenage years was the greatest gift ever. We went our separate ways after we both married, but I still miss her a lot.

So as you can see, Woodhaven Lakes became not only my family's second home, but a frequent weekend-getaway throughout the year that we'd pack up for on a Friday night and return home on Sunday afternoon. My childhood is filled with so many memories from this wonderful place, as I spent a span of 20 or so years there between the 70s and 90s before my parents decided to sell the property when they retired and moved to Arizona.

The marvelous things that I experienced at Woodhaven Lakes through my formative years will always be a part of who I am. I am thankful that my parents decided to buy that small piece of land and spend time with their children in nature's own playground. I now have a lifelong reservoir of sweet memories that include a first crush, my best childhood friend, and throwing up junk food. Could the Magic Kingdom have given me all that?•

© 2007 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved.