Mid Oaks Cottage

My wife Christine and I bought Mid Oaks from the Prosch family in September of 2019. We are excited to maintian it as a summer rental retreat for those who love the Lake Michigan shore and its magical air, woods and sunsets.

Mid Oaks has been a joint project of care by our family and the Prosch family for 3/4 of a century. In 1945 my grandparents built the cottage as a summer residence for them and my parents and eventually me upon my father's return from the war in the Pacific.

But the story actually started earlier, about 100 years ago, when my grandparents began bringing my father, then a small boy who had survived scarlet fever, to the beach at Lloyd's Landing (a 5 minute walk downhill from Mid Oaks) in order to camp out in the fresh air during the hot Chicago summers.

They soon became good friends with another beach camper from Chicago, Charles Scott. In the 1920's, saying farewell to tents, my grandparents built a cottage on the dunes behind the beach, while Mr. Scott built his cottage called Scottswood, on a wooded hill. In 1945 my grandparents decided to move uphill and built a new cottage, Mid Oaks, next door to Scottswood (the current cottage location).

I spent all summer every summer at Mid Oaks from 1945, when I was not yet 2, until I was closing in on 13. In late 1956, my family moved from Chicago to Southern California. Our move led my grandfather to retire to Florida and put Mid Oaks up for sale.

My family has come back to Mid Oaks for brief visits nearly every summer, enjoying the wonderful hospitality of the previous owners (Tim & Pam). We hope to keep coming back every summer. Having loved this cottage since forever, I can testify that the Prosch's did a wonderful job of both preserving its charm and updating its comforts in the right ways and places.

The poem on the hearth in the living room is by my grandmother.