Hyla (Smith) Skudder

Grandpa (Charles) Parlin was a brilliant corporate lawyer, international negotiator and statesman, among other things. But from my childhood's perspective, one of his most brilliant accomplishments was the list of swimming rewards he devised to encourage all of us young cousins to become strong swimmers, and therefore safer when we were either on or in Lake George. And especially for when we were out ON the lake, and might inadvertently end up IN the lake! This list was I believe originally a printed wooden sign that was posted down at the communal family cement dock. But even though the sign is no longer physically there, it still serves as a continuing incentive for new generations of budding swimmers.

 

The list of rewards got a few updates over the years, mostly to the list of rewards for the longer more challenging swims. Some prizes I remember were receiving a jack knife (for swimming in from Skippers Island I think), and a set of mask, snorkel and flippers that I really liked (for swimming "around the islands" - a long triangular swim from the dock out to Skippers Island, then around Pudding Island, and back to the dock). And I think the original prize for swimming the mile and a quarter across our section of Lake George was a silver dollar. But the prize for the first several "small swims" (first 5 strokes, first 15 strokes, swimming from the big cement dock across to the big rock at the other end of the beach, and swimming in from the raft) remained the  same: being taken out for an ice cream cone! In addition to the incentive of the prizes themselves, there was also the enthusiastic cheering and applause from the assembled family at the dock who always gathered to witness these milestone accomplishments. There was also the unspoken competitive element among the cousins that spurred us on to try swimming feats we might otherwise not have attempted on our own. But for many of us the biggest incentive of all - which I think Grandpa knew very well - was the privilege to take a boat out on the lake alone to the farthest extent to which we had been able to swim! So the further we proved we could swim, the more freedom on the lake we had. Taking the rowboat out alone for the first time to row within the narrow confines between the raft and the dock just whetted the appetite for farther away rowing adventures! So when we accomplished the final challenge - swimming all the way across the lake from one  shore to the other - both we, and importantly also our parents, had the confidence to know that if we should ever happen to fall out of a boat, we could make it safely to the nearest shore. And the whole lake was now ours to explore! It was a brilliant plan!

 

              I think cousin Jennifer still holds the prize for the youngest lake swimmer, making her swim at age 8. My sister Heather and I were older, perhaps 10 and 11. For whatever reason, it had been decided that we would both try our lake swim on the  same day. Mom (Camilla) was to row for me, and Dad (Harold) was to row for Heather. Although both our swims ended up being successful, we both ended up irritating our respective rowing parents no end! For very different reasons...

 

              All was fine on the long row from the dock across the lake to the opposite shore. There was a bit of chop, but not too bad. Heather and I scrambled out of the rowboats onto the rocky shore, and after a brief pause, jumped into the water and started swimming. Mom and Dad rowed ahead of us to help keep us on course and to encourage us. As we approached the middle of the lake the wind had come up and the waves were getting rougher. The short chop kept smacking me in the face, and I was swallowing quite a bit of water. I started whining and complaining and telling Mom I wanted to get into the boat. Mom would have none of it. She knew I could swim just fine, since I spent my days like a fish, mostly submerged in the water. She yelled, "Hyla, stop complaining and SWIM!!" I picked up my pace trying to reach the boat to get in, and my Mom picked up her rowing pace to keep the boat just out of reach. So I pretty much chased my Mom across the lake, complaining the whole way.

 

Meanwhile, in the other boat, Heather had a whole different approach to her lake swim. For her it was a grand outing. She was enjoying herself immensely and full of conversation. She spent much of her time floating on her back, leisurely paddling, and talking up a storm to Dad. As they got into the windy part of the lake, Heather's leisurely approach to swimming had them drifting North up the lake, and Dad had to keep yelling, "Heather, STOP TALKING and SWIM!!!" So Heather would turn over and swim to get back on course for a while, but then would roll back over and carry on her conversation, and drift some more, and Dad would have to yell again...

 

The upshot was that I made it back to the dock about 45 minutes ahead of Heather, but she had a much better time! We were both very happy to have made it, and BOTH our parents were very happy it was done!

 

The most dangerous lake swim on record

One interesting footnote in relation to Heather and my lake swims: A reason why my Mom was probably not especially sympathetic with me whining about a few waves smacking me in the face, is because my Mom was involved in the most traumatic and dangerous lake swim on record! I had not heard this story at the time Heather and I were making our lake swim attempts, but some time later Mom told me her story. And it  was astounding.

 

As a bit of background, there were several summers, when all four of us children were very young, when Mom hired two young college women to come up to Silver Bay to stay with our family as helpers. The summer that Jean and Marilyn were with us, the two girls  decided that they too wanted to swim the lake. So Grandpa Parlin agreed to row for Marilyn, and Mom volunteered to row for Jean. My Dad (Harold) decided he would follow along in the powerful wooden Chris-Craft to keep an eye on things (also probably because he just loved any excuse to take the boat out!)

 

All was fine on the row over to the other shore, and the girls got out and started their return swim. They had gotten a good way out into the lake when the weather suddenly turned and a rare water spout (tornado over the water) suddenly touched down and swept down the lake directly towards them. The winds became fierce and the waves grew huge. One wave completely engulfed Jean, and Grandpa Parlin's rowboat, with all his camera equipment on board, was in danger. Both girls were terrified and struggling in the water. My Mom, struggling to manage her rowboat, was also very frightened.

 

My Dad, a little way off in the lake, saw the water spout bearing down on the small group, and quickly gunned the throttle on the powerful inboard motor, and raced over to help. As he approached the scene he saw my Mom's rowboat get snatched off the top of an enormous wave by a ferocious gust, carried right over the heads of the girls in the water, and dumped back down in water on her other side! This was serious! Dad carefully aproached the two swimmers and threw them each a life jacket, and headed toward's my Mom's rowboat. But Mom yelled that she was OK for now, and told him to go help Grandpa and the girls. Dad pulled along side Grandpa's rowboat and helped Grandpa climb aboard the Chris-Craft. Dad wanted to help rescue the camera equipment too, but Grandpa yelled at him to forget the cameras and go get the girls. So Dad scooped up Jean and Marilyn, pulling them into the boat beside Grandpa. And then he went and helped Mom out of her rowboat. They somehow managed to secure the two rowboats to the back of the Chris-Craft with ropes, and Dad brought them all safely back to the dock. Incredibly, NOBODY at the dock had had ANY idea of the life threatening scenario that had been playing out in the middle of the lake! Afterwards Grandpa took my Dad aside and apologized for yelling at him, and heartily thanked Dad for being there and for acting so quickly and skillfully with the boat to rescue them all safely. That meant a great deal to Dad.