The Omaha Sunday Bee
PART THREE
HALF-TONE
PACES 1 TO
A PAPER FOR THE HOME
OMAHA BEE
YOUR MONEY'S WORTH
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VOL. XXXVIII NO. 48. OMAIIA. SUNDAY MOUSING. MAY 1909. hi km. v. nnnv vim?. pkct
SUMMER PLEASURES ON THE WATERS OF CUT OFF LAKE
Home of the Rod and Pan Club and Interesta that Employ Ita Members During the Days When Water Sports and Diversions Have the Inference Over Other Forms of Amusement
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MAHA people were a
long tlmo waking up to
the fact that out at
Cut-Off lake were neg
lected possibilities, but,
now that these same have been
recognized, the delay of the past
la forgotten In the haate of the
present to take advantage of what-,
ever the pretty little body of water
may offer for summer pleasure.
Fishing and bathing, boating and
all that goes to make for a few
hours', or a few days', diversion
can be found there as well as at
the f.ir-away and more expensive
places. For water Is only water,
after all, and flshins la only fish
ing; and a canoe and a pretty girl
are as mucha picture In the
proper setting one place as an
other. So you may call it Cut
Off, or Nakoma, or Sallna Sea, or
any other name you like, the long
neglected lake Is being sought
out by folks who are compelled to
pend their summer days downtcwn
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No. 1, Members of the Rod and Gun Club; No. a, "Laiy Lodge," the Summer Home of Alfred Morris; No. 3, Scene on Cut-Off Lake on a Rod and Oun Club Social Day;
Lake; No. 5, Algonquin Lodge, Another of the Pleasant Summer Homes at the Lake; No. 6, Getting Ready for a Morning on the Lake; No. 7, Tub Race.
' SCENES AT THE ROD AND GUN CLUB BEACH ON CUT-OFF LAKE.
In Omaha, and who like to
spend their summer evenings somewhere by the waterside. Bunga
lows have sprung up on both sides of the lake and club houses and
bathing beaches and a fleet of boats of all conditions, sizes and de
scriptions, from the flat-bottomed punt to the expensive motor boat.
The skiff and the rowboat, the canoe and the yacht, flit over the
placid bosom of the waters, and the evenings are merry with the
songs and laughter of the light-hearted folks who are enjoying the
beauties that those who stay downtown know nothing ef.
For Cut-Off lake is coming into its own, and the Rod and Gun
club is making it a place of pleasure for Its members and for the
unassoclated who enjoy indirectly the benefits of the club's enter
prise. This organization was originally formed to protect the fishing
at the lake. Year after year the state had planted game fish in the
waters there, and year after year poachers had seined them out. Then
came the strong organization, and now fishing is protected. Any
citizen can enjoy the privileges of the waters at any time, but the
seiner finds his nefarious efforts thwarted by the law, enforced un
der the watchful care of the Rod and Gun club. But the club has
far outgrown Its original scope, and now finds itself taking on the
aspect of one of Omaha's Important social organizations. Its grounds
and club house have become the nucleus tor a cluster of summer
homes, and around them center a pleasant little community that
leads the simple life all summer long. This community in turn ia
daily Invaded by a host of folks who have to spend the hot hours
down town, but who find on the lake the surcease that comes with a
bathing suit or a canoe. And the lake is peopled as it should be all
through the days of summer until late in the fall. Then, when winter
has come, the skaters and the ice-boaters have their turn, and so
Cut-Cff Is a scene for outdoor aquatic sport all the year round.
Now that the public is Interested, through the Park board's con
trol of I cvl Carter park, Cut-Off lake and its surroundings are to be
ii a V ' v n ji.oro attractive, and a place where all the hot folks of the
city v ..1 . ai t to go In the evening is to be provided. It may be that
a ml 18 cuplii. ulcus name will in time be adopted, but Cut-Off will
always bj dear to the old-timers, who cling with obstinate fondness
to the nomenclature of the days that are as dear to them as passing
years can make the past to any of the actors in its history.
The Omaha Rod and Gun club was formed in 1905, and since
that time It has made a continued and persistant fight against the
Illegal seiners and poachers who live by seining these waters, which
belong to the public. "The half-hearted manner in which they have
been prosecuted does not seem to stop the lawbreakers, and after
they serve a short jail sentence they soon secure another seine and
resume operations. Members of the club have tired of this sameness
and, to act more effectually, the club has hired an attorney to assist
the county attorney in the work of prosecution. Since its organiza
tion the club has hired a man, appointed a deputy game warden,
whose business it has been to patrol the waters of the lake at night
and stop Jthe seining. This has helped to some extent, but a united
effort is now to be made to stop the seiners altogether.
Frank Brown, a man familiar with the waters around Omaha,
on request of the club, has been appointed deputy game warden, with
juriauti-iiuu mi iiiw UVe, U prctcct the i'.zt. H! :;'.'ry is paid is !uM
by the Omaha Rod and Gun club. On request of the club Frank
Vllllams and Gus Wiodhelra heve also been appointed deputy game
wardens, and with this additional help and the assistance of a special
attorney, the club hopes to clean out the illegal seiners and fisher
men that the fish may be protected for those who love to spend an
evening with the rod and reel.
Cut-Off lake la a natural home for black bass, one of the great
est known game fish. The water not only seems especially adapted
to this game fellow, but the moss beds along the edges seem to be
Jut suited to his liking. Here he may lie In the shade of the moss
and wait the coming of the shades of evening to go forth to feed.
The Omaha Rod and Gun club went through its formation
period from 1905 to 190S, when a complete reorganization was ef
fected and the club put upon a business basis. The reorganized club
started with a small membership and $12,000 In debt. Now the club
is one of the most prosperous in this section of the country. It has
a membership of 760 members in good standing. It owns the land on
which the club is located. It has a temporary club house, with plans
well under way for a new house. It has locker and canoe houses for
Its members, tennis courts, a base ball grounds, bathing beach and
fifty steel boats, twenty-five of them having been bought new this
spring.
Members of the club are Just awakening to their opportunities
and the thirty cottages, forty new canoes, fifteen sailboats and fif
teen new motor boats show the way in which the members are pre
paring to enjoy the hot summer evenings in the cool breezes which
blow across the lake. The rowboats are always ready for the use of
the club members, but the sail and motor boats are individual prop
erty of the members. New docks were built this spring for boat land
ings and the beach dyked with real dykes, and not merely ripraplng
as has been tried before. .
Bathing at the club is a real pleasure as the water is at all times
J. Jeifery Davey, T. IL Welrlch, J. C. Youngs, F. B. Holbrook, J, F.
Prentiss, Sidney W. Smith. On account of the rapid growth of the
club it was this year deemed advlsiable to appoint a house secretary,
to always be on hand and to have general supervision of the work
at the club and take care of the accounts of Its members For this
position G. O. Francisco, on account of his well known ability, was
selected, and members will , find that club matters are well taken
care of.
The Omaha Rod and Gun club has spent a large sum of money
in dredging out the weeds and silt from the shore of the lake along
its water front, and is willing to share in further expense as soon
as the city buys a dredge, as dredging can be done at a small ex
pense in the lake after the machine is once purchased. Swift and
Company has also benefited the club to a great extent in cutting the
weeds that grow in the lake. The packing company wishes the weeds
out of the way to have a clear field for its ico cutting season, and
this also clears the water for the benefit of boats and bathers. Weeds
grow most prolifically in the lake and unless crippled in this way
grow in many places to the surface of the water.
Before the formal opening of the club a cafe will be in operation
for the use of the members, who may either telephone out their or
ders for dinner or order and have their meals ready for them after
returning from a swim or a row on the lake. This will be a great
addition to the comfort of the club members, and when the new
club house is completed a more elaborate cafe will be Installed. While
club as fine a nome as any out
door club in this section of the
country. When the new club
house is built the club will have
most commodious quarters, when
used in connection with the build
ings . already owned. - With the
idea of a new club house In view
the old club house has been moved
to a Bite east of the place it orig
inally occupied, and the new one
will be placed where the old house
stood.
A rough draft of the plans
show the new club house to be
about seventy feet long and forty
feet wide, and so designed that in
the future large wings may be ad
ded to any side. The new house
may also be used as a wing for a
larger building in the future and
still preserve -the architectural
beauty of the building.
, The main room of the new club
house will be a . huge lobby,
which la the first room to enter,
finished with ratters exposed, and will be pro
a large fireplace. On one side will be the
and men's rooms, and on the other side will be
A large, expansive porch, all
No. 4, a Placid Evening on the
clear and clean, except after several days of high wind. The bathing the club membership is 750. the families of the members are given
beach has been prepared by dumping 300 loads
of river sand on the ice and letting it settle,
giving a hard clean bottom. This beach is put
to good use by the cottagers, who take a plunge
morning and evening, and also by the other
members, who keep their bathing suits in the
250 lockers of the locker house. On any hot
evening several hundred members may be seen
enjoying, the cool, refreshing water, which Is
freshened at all times of the year by an over
flow of water through sand from the Missouri
river. At no season of the year Is the water of
Cut-Oft1 lake stagnant. Bathers have noticed
numerous springs in the bottom of the lake,
which also assist in keeping the water fresh.
Decoration day is fixed as the date for the
formal opening of the club, and the members
who delay their visit until that time will not
know their own club so many and radical are '
the changes which have been wrought. The lo
cation is changed and the other Improvements
are so many that it looks like a new resort. . A
program of water sports will occupy most of the
afternoon and will Include swimming, rowing,
' canoeing, tub racing. Bailing and distance diving.
A band will be on hand during the afternoon and
In the evening a musical program will be ar-
n4 Ifi will iln tn U In th Avon.
Ing's fun. Before the opening the grounds will
be lighted with electric lights and the entire plot
made as light sr day.
The officers of the club are: John A. Scott,
president; William S. Sheldon, rice president;
A. F. Bloom, secretary; A. P. Whltmore. treas
urer. Board of directors: Fred L. Goodrich,
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A DOUBLE "HEADER."
tne privileges of the club, and this makes It a
most popular place. All the spacious room is
needed for the crowds which so often congregate
to spend the evening.
Not only has the club been making Improve
ments within its grounds, but the surrounding
neighborhood has also been greatly Improved
during the last year. The city of Omaha is pre
paring to spend the $50,000 given by Mrs. Levi
Carter in fitting up a beautiful park on the op
posite side of the lake. A race track has been
built in the vicinity of the club grounds. Court
, land Beach will be opened this year, which will
necessarily give a much better car service to the
club. The Young Men's Christian association
is building an athletic field in the neighborhood
of the club. Some of the resorts which were a
nuisance last year have been cleaned out and are
no longer a menace to the neighborhood. The
. street railway company has extended its lines to
the very doors of the club, giving splendid car
, service, and the general atmosphere of the sur
roundings has been greatly improved.
During the last few months the club has been
acquiring considerable property by purchase
that its home may be permanent and that It may
not have to move at the whim of some landlord.
A tract of some eighteen acres has been secured,
which will provide a permanent home, and more
ground is being considered; In fact, the club has
an option on some adjacent property. These
grounds lie high above the water of the lake
and make an excellent plat for club purposes.
Plans are now being drawn by the architects for
a club house, which, when built, will give the
It will be
vided with
club's office
the women's parlor and rest rooms.
screened, will surround the entire building, making a splendid loung
ing place for the members, where they may sit In the shade and en
Joy the cool lake breezes and have a fine view of the lake, which is
nearly always dotted with sail, row and motor boats.
Members of the club have great Bport at the lake. Hundreds
own their own canoes, and this form of boating 1 fast transplanting
the roawboats. Some fast sailboats are kept at the lake, and last
year some of the record boats from Manawa, owned by Omaha sail
ers, were moved from Manawa to Cut-Off lake. The lake gives a
long sweep for sailboats and no matter which way the wind Is blow
ing there is ample room for a long sail. The lake is in the form of a
horseshoe, and the long stretch of water makes a splendid place for
racing, and many Impromptu races are run during the summer.
Water carnivalB have become popular at the lake and each
Fourth of July a big carnival is held of the Venetian order. Last year
a large steamboat was secured and over 100 sail and rowboatq, all
Illuminated, were pulled around the lake at night, giving the appear
ance of a huge seaserpent winding its way along the waters.
Social features of the club are attracting more and more atten
tion each year and the cottagers have many a social session at the
sumptuous club house, when the members Join in music and dance.
Just now crappie fishing is at its height and many good catches
are made each day at the lake. All sorts of fishermen patronize the
"pond" and secure their reward in greater or less degree. The
great bass will soon be biting and the expert fisherman can find am
ple exercise for all his skill with line and lure in the killing of these
sports of the clear, cold'waters. The wily old black bass has points
that excel, perhaps, those of any other fresh water swimmer, not
even excepting the trout of song and story. No. one knows so well
as does the man who has angled in vain the wisdom of one of these
veterans of many seasons of fly and frog. The calm indifference
with which a big bass will lie in a shady place and lazily eye the
proffered bait is about as exasperating as any such thing can well be.
At times this fellow will hungrily bolt even a bit of red flannel, and
then he will not be tempted by the daintiest of morsels. Now bis
taste runs to frogs, and then he wants flies, and sometimes he wants
one kind of fly and sometimes another. He feeds in the morning
and in the evening, and during the day he snoozes in the shade and
disdains as a rule the suggestion that be come out and be caught.
And mayhap his imperial stomach craves employment, and he will
charge on his prey at any time, even high noon. It Is simply up to
the angler to determine if possible the psychological attitude of Mr.
Black Bass and take him accordingly. He has been caught with
worms when he wouldn't touch a fly or a frog, and at least one was
caught on a trot line when the most expensive of expert outfits bad
proven useless in an effort to ovrhaul him. But when be is booked
he yields only after he has exhausted every other means and the fish
erman fairly earns his prize.
It is this sport that adds zest to the days at Cut-Off in the sum
mer time. Fish Commissioner O'Brien appreciates the advantage
of the lake and keeps it well stocked with fine fish, and under the
protection of the state officials and the Rod and Gun club it is be
coming more and more a paradise for anglers every year.
And when the hot season comes, and sun beats down from above,
the fisher can Join the fish in the water, and the heat of summer will
be forgotten as the cool water embraces the weary limbs, and In the
swim will be found new vigor and seat tor Ufa,