Clang, clang, clang.

Good news!  Her doctors are reporting that Mabel Mabel is recovering from her bout with Influenza Type Z (apparently the very worst kind) slowly but surely, and they think she may even be able to return to working in the office in the very near future, possibly late spring.

We have set up another GoFundMe for Mabels' medical and pharmaceutical expenses, but as we still have not reached our goal needed in her previous GoFundMe for January's birthday cake, we are going to withold the new link until the original goal is met.

During her five night stay at Plancovania Mercy Hospital, we were concerned that Mabel would grow bored with all of that downtime, so we ported some additional materials and scanner to her hospital room.  Here are the scans she was able to procure before and after her brief time in her fever induced coma.

The power substation leading into the park district.  This building is still standing today and has been home to various "specialty" nightclubs over the recent years, most notably "Bears N' Beers" and even more recently, "The Beaver Dam."

The trolley station at the track terminus, marking the entrance to Rose Lake Park.  We were even able to get Mabel to colorize this one:

Croquet on the lawn.

Horseshoes on the right, and one of the original restroom facilities on the left.  Rather fancy for an outhouse that predates modern plumbing of any kind, but we believe the park staff made every effort to keep these accomodations clean and suitable for their respectable clientelle.

Early rowboats along the beach.  Soon to be the site of the new Grand Cocotier Hotel, which we are very excited to learn about as the Hotel has adorned the shores of Lake Leemaw for well over a hundred years now, though may be somewhat unrecognizable to modern park-goers in early photos.  We promise to begin posting the story of this glorious architectural marvel just as soon as we can waken Mabel Mabel from her current state.

The Delicate Flower.

The Plancovania Historical Society would like to apologize for the profound lack of Rose Lake Park updates in recent weeks, seems our historian Mabel Mabel has come down with some sort of flu virus and has been bedridden since the early part of February.   She indicated that she should probably have checked herself into the hospital by now, but laments the lack of health insurance provided to our volunteer employees renders this effort to be cost prohibitive for her. 

We thought about reminding her that her Medicare would probably absorb the majority of any costs, but then we thought otherwise, as it occurred to us that we can bring several boxes from the archives to her house, and set up her scanner next to the bed where she spends her days drifting in and out of consciousness.

Here are her most recent set of scans.

Above is a rare photo the Mae girls, Sr. and Jr., stepping out of the church following weekly services.  It was said that Pastor Paul held a special additional service for the girls, as each of them would take up an entire pew to themselves.

Also noteworthy, in later years the small cemetary to the left of the chapel had to be greatly expanded to accomodate the space needed to bury Edna Mae Sr., whose health began to deteriorate shortly after this photo was taken.   Edna Mae Jr. went on to continue her mother's legacy, not just at the hotel but eventually um, expanding the business into an entire empire encompassing all corners of Rose Lake.

The Burns boathouse along Fisherman's Cove, complete with upstairs apartment for the Captain and his wife.

Assembling the Team.

Good news!  Miss Mabel Mabel Knot will now be bringing in lemon bars each Thursday, help yourself at the reception desk.  Mabel would like to suggest wiping your fingers with a moist towelette before touching any of the materials in the archives.

In more good news, Mabel has made some more progress in scanning book pages for the online archive for Rose Lake Park.  She has also stumbled upon some brand new (to us) photos to help fill in the story of this wondrous place.

Mabel noted that Mr. Marvel appears to be wearing some sort of flambuoyant hat in most photos she has found, and Mr. Taureau is never to be seen without a top hat, even whilst otherwise nude.  She also observed that she is having great difficulty in locating photos of Mr. Bruin wearing any clothing whatsoever.

She believes this photo may have been taken on the day of a known urban legend in the area, that on said day the men were brutally assaulted by a territorial beaver, thus traumatizing them to great extent and causing them never to bathe near this dam again.   This may have been the inspiration for the bathhouse that was erected shortly thereafter on the nearby beach.

Photo possibly out of sequence, the boarding house was actually constructed under the guise of Edna Mae, Jr. whose story is still being researched at this point.

Upon several instances of confusion amongst the camp clientelle with a dangerous wild animal, Mother Bruin did eventually insist that her son wear clothing whilst running errands for her in the lumber camp.

So far Mabel Mabel has had some difficulty locating additional photos of Edna Mae Sr., but she does believe the task will prove more productive once we reach the invention of the wide-angle camera lens.

The Story Begins.

NOTE:  We at the Plancovania Chamber of Commerce would like to extend our gratitude to the tireless efforts of resident historian Mabel Mabel Knott from the Plancovania Historical Society.  [Yes, her first and middle names are the same and when pressed she would rather not talk about it.]  She has stepped up to the task of scanning all documents pertaining to the property known as Rose Lake Park to ensure this valuable history can be perserved for future generations.  Mabel also serves as caretaker for the archive, librarian, custodian, and handles all lawn and facility maintenance.  She works on a volunteer basis, and is the only employee.  In her spare time Mabel has been studying graphical art and website design, much to our benefit!

Plancovania Historical Society hours of operation are 9am - 9pm, Monday through Saturday.  Sunday access available upon appointment.

We would also like to wish Mabel a belated Happy 86th Birthday!  Click Here for the GoFundMe page if you'd like to donate to Mabel's birthday cake fund.

Source:  "A History of Rose Lake Park" cover and page scans

Source:  Photo scan from shoebox 12:  "One Fateful Day"  (approx. 1884)

More to come...