Indian Lake is located Cass county, just west of Dowagiac in southwest Michigan. Indian Lake is about 500 acres of surface waters.
This is an unused postcard, no message on the back, so someone must have purchased it for the picture. They probably had just gone for a cruise on the Fenetta L and wanted a souvenir of their trip. Either that, or they intended to send it to Aunt Susie and just never got around to it. That is something I would do!
Isn’t this a great picture? Yes, it does look a bit posed, but I think you can tell a lot about the personality of each person just by looking at them. There is the mother in the water with her little brood of kids sticking close by. She probably warned them at great lengths about the dangers of venturing too far from her. Then, there is the young man sitting on the side of the boat. He doesn’t want to ruin his dashing appearance by getting wet. Not with all those young women on board!
The two women in their sailor dresses seem to be having a good time. Sailor dresses must have been fashionable in those days, and these women were right in step. And that woman at the top of the boat ready to dive into the water; look at her hair style! I wonder what happened to it when she hit the water. The older, more sedate crowd, stayed in the boat where it was comfortable and they could keep their hats on.
I can’t find a lot of information on the Fenetta L, but I do that it was a that steamer traveled on Indian Lake. At some point in time, the Fenetta L sunk to the bottom of the Lake, just off Indian Beach. Today there is a yacht club at that site.
If you know anything about the steamer, or the years it was in operation, I would be interested in learning a little more.
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