THE WIDOW'S WALK
by Tony Taton

Have you ever heard of or seen a widow’s walk, perhaps along the shore of Lake Huron in one of the older lake homes?

There was one in the village of Lexington, built by an old-time fisherman named Michael Meyer in his home on the Bluff on Huron Avenue at the top of the hill. The building was built in the early 1900s. It was a two-story white wooden building with the widow’s walk built on the top of the second deck. It had a staircase up to a trap door, which allowed entrance to walk.

A large window was on the lake side with a chair or two from which Dora Meyer, Michael's wife, could overlook the lake with telescope or glasses, and see the whole scope of the lake up to a five-mile distance.

When the fishing boats were out in a storm, Dora would be up the ladder and looking for her husband's boat, The Benny Boy, or one of his other tugs perhaps with a scow behind it on the way in.

Back in those days water people did not have advanced weather reporting or equipment, such as ship-to-shore phones or radios or GPS, to guide them when an unexpected storm came upon the lake.

The average length on a fishing tug was 20 feet or perhaps up to 30 feet, so in a storm that is not too large to combat one of the Lake Huron's summer squalls, which pop up out of the clear blue sky without warning.

As a boy, at age 10, I worked for Mrs. Meyer cutting grass and pulling weeds in her large flower garden. In her latter years, Dora walked with a cane and could not stand for any length of time, so she sat as I pulled the weeds.

Another of the homes in the area sits on Wildcat Road, just north of Galbraith Line Road on the east side. Perhaps you have seen this home in as much as it is unique in this area, for it is octagon-shaped, a two-story home with the widow’s walk on the top and smaller in size then the second story is. This home was built by a retired lake captain named Smith. It might seem that three miles from the lake is a long way, however, the home is high up and one can see the lake over the trees this way. A lot of stories go with this home, known by the locals. It is my understanding only two other octagon homes are in the Thumb of Michigan, one in Romeo and the other in Millington. Recently, this home was sold by 35-year owners, Betty and Eldon Cole, to a young couple who are filling it with antiques and upgrading it.

The Cole's raised their five children in this charming, odd-shaped home with plenty of room for their girls’ bedrooms, closets galore, large formal dining room, kitchen, one and a half baths, and a large mud room.

Captain Smith used to sit and paint waterscapes up in the widow’s walk while watching the lake freighters moving by.

On the second floor sits a staircase with eight or 10 steps with a lift-up hatch to enter and leave by.

Today, there are many homes along the lake with large picture windows by which one can see forever, but gone are the days of the widow’s walk.