And that is what many families along the shoreline of Green Lake did at the time, as probably did families on most lakes elsewhere.  These lucky "displaced" kids found others in the same situation or made friends with the year-round children and adjusted and became lifelong friends with lake memories. When children got lonely enough, they got brave enough to go knock on a door where they knew there were other children! Most mothers weren't in the workforce as the majority are now. Many mothers stayed with their children throughout the summer and fathers commuted as time allowed, but fathers almost always returned for the weekend. I remember Bill Hanan's car heading out in the dark at 4 a.m. every Monday morning to get back to his Chicago company, whereas my father only had an hour drive and came to us nightly, whenvever possible.  Cottages were busy places all summer. When one boated at night in the middle of the week the entire lakeshore was lit up with house lights, where as now it is darker and many come only Friday through Sunday. Houses were smaller cottages but families spent more summer time at them.  Times have changed, but love of Green Lake has not.

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​However, on Sandstone, mothers weren't alone in their care of children all week long. Many families, including ours, had a summer girl. Our live-in babysitter was usually a college or high school girl who sat for us back home and wanted to try lake life. It was a wise decision with the waterfront property and age range of children in our neighborhood. I recall times when four of these girls down the shoreline would be sharing pier and house duty with the moms so the tots could sleep at the house and the older kids could enjoy the pier. Always a lifeguard!  These girls became friends, and were much like camp counselors to the younger children. They orchestrated fun activities for the many children on Sandstone Bluff.  We held pet shows, game nights and baking contests and slumber parties.  When the fair was in town we were encouraged to "earn" our way. The summer girls would help us hold bake sales, and we created circuses and mini golf courses and charged admission from attending parents and neighbors.    The girls were our chaperones to the Lazy L, a wonderful horse ranch to the west of the lake. They drove us to weekly sailing lessons, from which we all earned our summer certificate and got to make friends with others from around the area.  They were allowed to use their record players and we learned about pop music from them. They watched over us as we lived on the pier, had our evening bath, and put our pajamas, and then they sent us to bed to repeat in the morning. They got a weekly wage and one evening off per week to hang with other teens they'd met on the lake. They didn't get rich, but I think they made great memories!