By Staff
CASSOPOLIS - Diamond Lake Bike Club presents a Home and Garden Tour on Beautiful Diamond Lake on Saturday, Aug. 6, from 1-6 p.m. to benefit the paving of the Diamond Lake Bike Path.
Tickets are $20, but there is a limited amount. They are on sale at Dussel's Farm Market, 21764 M-60, Cassopolis, or from Bike Club Committee Members. This event is for adults only.
There will also be vendors with floral, art and pottery items for sale.
Begin your tour at the lake home closest to your own location. Please car pool if you can, due to limited on-street parking. The tour includes:
61480 Park Street
Park Shore
The multiple rook gables invite you into this cottage of many rooms to accommodate the needs of an extended family of 28 members plus guests.
This charming house was built by E. L. Lowitz for his son and daughter-in-law directly across from his Park Shore lake house.
The cottage "A Painted Lady," the title given to a home of five different colors, sprawls on two lots at the northwest corner of Park and Maple. The exterior gingerbread trim was added.
22254 Lake Street
Kamp Kozy
This home on Diamond Lake was built with both retirement and a growing family of grandchildren in mind.
You can enter the home in several ways. The most frequently used door enters from a deck overlooking the pond into a family room. A screened sun room opening to a deck with a hot tub complete the first floor.
21770 Howell Drive
(Guest House) Howell Point
The cottage was built in the 1950s by Ernie Scheunemann, Ginger Luxemberger's father. Ginger still lives in the Howell Point area of the lake.
The current owners purchased the lakefront house in the 1990s. A small guest house across the street is a part of the property and sits on a quiet triple lot. It has managed to ride out various tornados unscathed.
The plaque on the front door aptly names it "The Little House" as it was described by its owners.
Today for the Home Tour it has come alive with the decor "on loan" from Springdale (all of which is for sale after the tour). You will see home furniture of Heywood-Wakefield as well as vintage rattan of the 40s and 50s.
In a tent next to the guest house, local art will be exhibited for sale. Ten percent of the sales will benefit the Diamond Lake Bake/Hike Path. Come for fun, art and music.
Northeast Corner of Maple and Walnut
Park Shore
The McCarthys were the original owners of this late 1890's cottage. Only 20 years ago did the current owners see a for sale sign put up and decided quite quickly to purchase this historical landmark on Diamond Lake.
Bring only the second owners of Woodbine, they acquired all of the original furniture, dishes, lake photos in the bureau drawer, and food in the pantry.
Woodbine nestles today in between some of the largest beech trees on the lake. There have been little to no changes to the outside or inside of this charming green cottage, one of the few original dwellings. An original photo of Woodbine can be seen on page 89 of the book A Diamond Sparkles.
Enjoy a glimpse inside this two story cottage and feel the way early lake residents felt as they summered on out beautiful lake.
20660 Diamond Shores Drive
Diamond Shores
This 1920's cottage was purchased in 1993 and completely renovated. It had been on the market for a year and the current owners couldn't pass it up because of the tremendous view of the lake.
The center of attention is always the dining area located lakeside, where many family gatherings and the meetings of several of the organizations this family supports are held.
The owners love Diamond Lake and thank God every day for giving them this "Lil bit o' heaven" here on earth.
61236 Carlton Drive
Eagle Point
This shingle style cottage was built by Terry Barter in 2003, to replace a 1920's bungalow that was on the verge of collapsing. Designed by Todd Nunemaker in collaboration with the owners, this home is filled with original artwork and family antiques. Bold colors infuse the rooms with warmth and drama.
The spacious great room with its 24 foot ceiling, plantation style fan, and expansive views of the lake exemplifies casual lake living. The dining room can seat 16 for large family gatherings. Lake views flow from the screened porch through the den to the master bedroom and bath. The soaring windows in the stairwell offer views of the homeowner's garden and the woods beyond. All four bedrooms on the second floor have lake views and one has its own private veranda.
This Eagle Point cottage has found a comfortable home on Diamond Lake.
22232 Lake Street
Kamp Kozy
This contemporary home was on the 2002 Home Tour. Today it is featuring paintings in acrylic and pastels as well as functional stoneware and earthenware pottery by Diamond Lake artist. Come browse and ship in this "garage" art gallery.
A 10 percent donation from the art sales will be gifted to the Diamond Lake Bike-Hike Path paving project on Crooked Creek Road. Cash or checks written to the individual artists will be accepted.
20737 Decatur Street
Spring Beach
When we bought out "summer cottage" a 1920's vintage, with its Model-T Ford garage, we never dreamed of making this our permanent home. Retirement meant no more "two homes to maintain" But we wanted something to be fun, and still accommodate our memorabilia that we have collected through the years.
With the help of our architect, Todd Nunnemaker, we achieved our goal. We wanted to take advantage of the great view from most of the angles in our home. The great room, kitchen and sunroom have achieve that. The upper level has a nice loft with guest bedrooms. The "picture room" has all the family pictures of four generations. The lower level has another view of the lake with the family room, and wet bathing suits, if they sneak by grandma, and a nice screen porch. And there was still room for the flower gardens.
The Model-T Ford garage has been replaced with a big garage. Across the street is a 3-stall garage/barn for all the "male toys."
61440 Walnut
Garden Walk behind the Red House
This natural shade garden in the backyard of a turn of the century Red House invites you to "snoop around" as the gardener puts it. It features assorted perennials, ferns, many varieties of hostas, and day lillies.
The owner/gardner has always loved flowers and working with them for the past 50 years she has resided on Diamond Lake. Many of her own family live in various Park Shore cottages surrounding her.
Reading many gardening books, she is self taught, but has never followed too many planting rules and her success, she says is based on the 'survival of the fittest"!
The Diamond Lake Bike Club has been putting its resources to a bike path around the lake.
This year's event will go toward a section of the path along Crooked Creek Road.
For more information about the club, or the home tour, call Jean Schultz, president of the Diamond Lake Bike Club at (269) 445-2822.