January 2021 – Letter From The President

Friends on the Lake,

2020 is over. Glad it is. The pandemic drove a huge wedge through our collective normalcy. The civil unrest was an awakening, the political climate was turbulent, and the environment continued to send messages that all is not well. Hopefully, 2021 will be a year to gather again both emotionally and physically as the pandemic will surely subside and the daily deluge of politics that rained down will slow to a mist. Perhaps 2021 will be a year of healing. The sun will somehow seem to shine brighter in 2021, of this I am confident.

I did, as always, find great emotional comfort in the tranquility of Lynx Lake. There I felt like I could take a deep breath again. The comforting of the soul that nature provides was a tonic for me. Covid was at the proverbial gate, but I always felt I was in a safe place by the shores of Lynx Lake. A place where I could put perspective on things.

Last summer, I learned the very important lesson on how to “look small”. The smaller covid made my world, the more I somehow saw. I now have an even greater appreciation of the health of our Lake and the surrounding forests, because that was my world for the entire summer. I have added to our website, www.lynxlakepi.com a series of photos taken by my daughter of mushrooms that grow on my property. They were always there but never appreciated. Now, I will look forward to their arrival like a long lost friend. I suggest next you are at the Lake that you take some time to “look small”. You will, no doubt, be rewarded for your efforts. There is so much to see if just look close enough.

As you know, our Lynx Lake Property Owners had to forgo its annual meeting because of covid and the associated risks, but we still managed to forge ahead and made a positive difference. Our April donation to The Boulder Junction Community Food Bank to help those less fortunate was one of the largest donations received. Our continued financial support of the Carlin Lake’s legal efforts to stop the pumping of water from Carlin Lake to be bottled was finally resolved and the threat removed. Our new information board at the boat landing is finally beginning to take shape and is out of the ground, hopefully to be finished in early spring. The recent walleye stocking is now starting to yield some positive results. I understand that the early ice fishing for walleye this year was excellent. The bass logs we placed around the Lake have been a bit of a disappointment with only several clearly displaying nests, but that could be a factor of water depths that through the years will continue to fluctuate. We are now at year five into our study of Lynx Lake, and the information collected clearly tells us that the Lake is in great shape. We now have a great baseline of data that will help us to better monitor the future health of our lake.

The Lynx Lake Conservation Foundation also launched  its’ scholarship to help a student from the area pursue studies related to conservation. The first deserving recipient was given to a student, Estelle Byrnes, whose Mother Bonnie resides on Lynx Lake. Under Fritz Behr’s watchful eye, the Foundation also keeps abreast of related conservation efforts in the area, and was the impetus in purchasing and placing at the Presque Isle Library a new Dissolved Oxygen Meter so that other Lake Associations could begin to monitor their lake health as well. We remain very fortunate that to date our Lake remains free of aquatic invasive species, and thanks to your continued donations and support of our Foundation, we now have over thirty thousand dollars ready to take on the fight if the need arises.

2020 was a memorable year for a lot of the wrong reasons, but to four families that have found their way to the shores of Lynx Lake, 2020 was a good year. A year that will start new traditions, friendships and an abundance of positive memories. I’d like to welcome the Alfs, Kim & Henry Setzer, Mark & Tanya Edwards, and Steve & Barb Garritson to the Lake. We look forward to meeting you at our next annual meeting that we will be scheduling most likely mid to late summer, or whenever it is again safe to do so.  In addition to gaining four new families, we also lost one permanently! This is a good thing, honestly, as Sheila and I bought that old quasi “Swiss Chalet” on Peninsula Road and tore it down. Our plan is to restore the shoreline and plant a field of wild flowers where the house once stood for all to enjoy.

Now the question of dues? Last year we decided to to take a brief hiatus as everything was in such a state of flux. Unsolicited dues were received from several families (THANK YOU) which if you desire we can give you a credit for in 2021, please advise accordingly. At this time we are reinstating dues which are $25.00 for an individual and $50.00 for a family. Dues are at your discretion and are not mandatory to attend your Lake Association meetings, but as a reminder, only dues paying members will be able to vote for the board. My term as President, as well as several board members, will be ending in 2021. I just wanted to disclose that. Your dues can be sent to to PO Box 259, Presque Isle, WI  54557, and in case you forget to send them in, you can always bring them with you to our annual meeting. It is however, much easier for us to account for if you send them in prior to the meeting. Thanks.

As you are aware, we are now relying on our website as the best way to disseminate announcements and newsletters. We will, however, still be mailing out invitations to all annual meetings, so if you have a change of address please let us know.

I apologize for my months of silence. Frankly, I was at a bit of a loss as to what to say. Covid had rendered me a mute. You can probably guess that is not a common occurrence for me!  But moving forward, my intention is to shorten my letters but to increase their frequency through the website. My goal is to make www.lynxlakepi.com a website that you visit often. Ours is a community built around our mutual love of Lynx Lake, our website will help you stay connected to the Lake no matter where you are.

See you at the lake in 2021 when the sun will be shining brighter,

Gary J. Gruca

www.ggruca1@yahoo.com should you ever have any questions….