The Bingen family association with Wilkins Lake begins when aunt Ida and her sister buy Linnea Beach Resort.
Years later, Ida builds a cabin for herself and Denny so they’ll have a place to stay after she retires from the resort. Later, Ken and Lorraine become part owners of the cabin along with Ida and Denny. Denny sells his share to his parents and they remodel the cabin into a lake home which become their retirement home.
Wilkins Lake Albums
The Great Wilkins Lake Racing Skiff Adventure
Denny’s uncle, Lloyd, gave him the skiff. It was in bad shape. Denny and his dad repair and refinished it.
The skiff skimmed across the water with the bow only a couple of inches above the water. This made the skiff very fast but that came with a hazard. If the skiff ran into large, widely separate wakes, like those coming from a speeding boat, the bow would rise up on the first wave, then dip down catching the bottom of the second wave causing the skiff to dive like a submarine and swamp. Luckily, the front of the skiff served as an air pocket which provided buoyancy. The skiff would not sink although it would swamp.
This video was taken by Denny sitting backward on the skiff’s deck. Denny would be in the cockpit with Howie until the skiff was up to speed. He would then climb onto the deck, turn around and sit down backwards, right against the front cleat. The deck was wet and slippery. Luckily, he did not fall off.