The view of Charlevoix from across Round Lake.

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Barry and Nancy Lefkowitz and family cross the Charlevoix Bridge.

Henry Obron

Obron bought his La Croft con-
dominium in 1980. "Charlevoix is a
cute little town. You walk down the
street and everyone says hello."
After working hard in Detroit,
Obron enjoys his Charlevoix routine.
"I get up in the morning and jog, then
I buy a paper and take a shower.
Maybe we'll walk into town for
breakfast and buy some magazines. If
the weather is bad we take a ride to
Petoskey or Harbor Springs. And I
can always take a nap.
"You don't have to shave or dress
up here. No matter what you do here,
it's beautiful. Even doing nothing is
beautiful!"
There's that word again, nothing.
The people who will never understand
Charlevoix say there is nothing to do.
That's exactly the same reason other
people love it. Shirley Wayburn, says
it best: "There is nothing to do and
it takes all day to do it."

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ell, what do people do in Lake Charlevoix. Some people
Charlevoix? For one thing, discovered Charlevoix by boat. That,
they eat. Certain edibles in fact, is how the "Dexter Bus"
are de rigueur for every visitor. arrived.
"We went to a business conven-
There's Tom's Mom's cookies, Mur-
dick's fudge, whitefish and banana tion on Mackinac Island in our boat
bread at the Parkside, cinnamon toast and took a day to go to Charlevoix,"
at Juilleret's, smoked fish at John says Margo Goldman. "It was so
Cross, a waffle cone at Cravings, and quaint and beautiful that we got
grilled cheese and frozen Milky Ways hooked. For the first three years we
at the beach. The term "fudgie' is us- took our boat back and forth between
ed by permanent residents to describe Detroit and Charlevoix. The last eight
years we've just kept it in Charlevoix.",
the summer visitors.
Goldman lives on the boat from
When people aren't eating, they
may play shuffleboard at the beach or the middle of June through Labor
in East Park. Some folks golf, others Day. Her husband, Michael, com-
play tennis. People shop at the stores mutes every, weekend. Their four
on Bridge Street, and bikes abound. children have grown up in Charlevoix.
"Charlevoix has always been very
There's swimming in frigid Lake
Michigan and less frigid Lake safe and we never had to worry about
Charlevoix. The fishing is fabulous our kids," she says. "During the week
I lay out on the boat, I read, walk the
and the boating is great.
The Pine River Channel runs dog, and visit with friends. In the
right through the city, connecting evenings I meet the ladies for dinner.
Lake Michigan with Round Lake and Sometimes we go to the show, and on

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Monday nights we play bingo at the
VFW Hall."
On weekends, her husband takes
the boat out, sometimes visiting
Leeland, Northport, Harbor Springs
or Boyne City. "I love the atmosphere
in Charlevoix," he says. 'Everyone we
invite up to visit wants to come back."
Goldman also says he enjoys the ac-
tivity on the dock and in the town.
"It's like walking doWn Dexter. I
always see people I can talk to, and
I always feel at home."
So why the name "Dexter Bus?"
"The name comes from an expression
we used at the Sammy's fraternity
house at Wayne," Goldman answers.
"When guys asked us what we were
doing, we answered, 'We're waiting for
the Dexter bus: "
While some Charlevoix families
have picnics and barbecue, others
gather on their boats. On a recent
sultry afternoon, Beth and Earl Er-
man anchored at Oyster Bay, a cove

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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