Charles Cushman was born in the small southern Indiana town of Poseyville in 1896. Like many other young and enterprising Midwesterners, he felt the draw of Chicago and made it his home for a large part of his adult life. But he also had a very interesting hobby.
He took pictures. Lots of pictures. Over 14,500 to be more precise – and quite a few of our fair city and lake!
When he died in 1972, he bequeathed his entire photo collection to his alma mater, Indiana University. You can check out the entire collection – taken between 1938 to 1969 – at this link.
But here are just a few swimming and lake-related ones that he took in Chicago circa 1941 – mostly around Promontory Point. As you can see, Mr. Cushman had an appreciation for feminine pulchritude!
And my favorite, circus clown Paul Wenzel training his goose between shows!
A snowy owl made a rare appearance at Montrose Beach during the swim on Sunday (the one I missed out on, of course). Fortunately, local photographer Tom Rossiter was there to capture it on film. Check out some of his amazing shots!
Nick was out at the lakefront Thursday and Friday and captured some neat images and videos. Per Nick:
I took a picture of a rainbow hitting the water crib on Thursday night right after the rain. I also shot a short video of Oak St beach yesterday morning around 6:45 and even I thought that it was not swimable as the waves were crashing everywhere.
Whenever you make a jaunt out to L1 during the warmer months, chances are quite good that you’ll see one or more of these loyal lakegoers within the vicinity. They maintain an unofficial vigilance over our beloved swimming site, and they’re always ready to offer friendly greetings or a pleasant conversation.
In short, they’re great fellows who have fascinating stories to tell. And I always enjoy seeing them out at L1 because they personify everything that’s great about summer in Chicago!
So in this spirit, I’d like to hand out some honorary Lake Monster numbers to the real “beach boys” of L1. Dave had some shots of the group taken last week, so I’ll post a few below with some details:
Left to right:
Diver Dave - #21 (Ice Monster #1!) Dr. Pete – #146 2-Liter Pete – #147 Paul (The Chairman) – #148 Dave (Paul’s son) – #149 Freddy - #150 Danny - #27 Jules (seated) – #151
