NORTH WEBSTER - Someone took a picture of Robert W. Gift and his friends grinning from a mostly submerged rowboat.

The photograph, which includes the Gift cottage on Black's Landing in the background, is on the jacket cover of "Memories of Lake Tippecanoe, A Pictorial History of Lake Tippecanoe, Kosciusko County, Indiana."

The photo is just one of more than 500 chronicling the development of Tippecanoe Lake from the sketchy information available in the 1700s to the conservation efforts of the 1980s.

In between, author Carole Shelby has brought the history of Tippecanoe Lake to life, scouring museums and libraries and interviewing the people who remember the early days of the lake's development.

"Interviews with the older people was the most interesting part of writing the book," Shelby said of the five-year project.

The comprehensive, 276-page volume is packed with local names and landmarks.

Because of its lakes, Kosciusko County has historically drawn people from other parts of the state, from other parts of the country, who sought to escape the summer heat in the cities.

Sportsmen came to fish. Families vacationed in tents or built seasonal cabins.

Many came to stay.

The first developers purchased land and constructed cottages to rent, hotels and groceries.

By the early 1900s the two major resort areas were Cripple Gate Heights and Kalorama Park.

The histories of the Tippecanoe Baptist Camp, Dick Runyan Camp and Camp Crosley are presented.

The financial ups and downs of the Tippecanoe Lake Country Club are woven throughout the story.

Shelby's narrative follows a chronological order. Each chapter covers a particular decade.

It's fun to trace popular places like the Tippy Dance Hall, which will be 100 years old in 2004.

In 1904 George Smith, one of the founders of Cripple Gate Heights, and his brother, John, moved the Grange Hall from Oswego to Cripple Gate.

The Smith family had a morning glory Victrola, which, when played on the hall's porch, drew neighbors to listen. Couples would dance.

The enterprising Smith soon expanded the hall and established the Arcadian Dance Pavilion.

In 1923 Walter "Pappy" Crooke and his son, Dallas, bought the hall, renaming it Pottawatomie Gardens.

In the 1940s the hall was purchased by Paul and June Lowman. They called it The Tippecanoe Gardens.

In 1956 George Paton ended up with the facility just in time for the rock 'n' roll "craze" and teen-agers flocked to the hall, drawing crowds of as many as 2,000 kids per night.

Working on the book in her spare time, Shelby owns Golden Mermaid Gifts in North Webster.

Shelby grew up at the North Shore Hotel building and is a lake resident.

She was overwhelmed and surprised by the amount of memorabilia and photographs people generously gave for the book.

In addition to her own research she interviewed many, many people in person, on the telephone, in written correspondence and by e-mail.

"After the book was published others came forward with stories," Shelby said. "It's only humanly possible to contact so many people. I literally could have gone on for years and years talking to folks."

The author said the interviews were one of the greatest joys of the project.

Eventually she had more than 800 photographs for the book. They have all been digitalized and the Lake Tippecanoe Property Owner's Association has them on CD.

Proceeds from the first printing go to the LTPOA for lake enhancement projects.

"Memories of Lake Tippecanoe" is available at Golden Mermaid Gifts. The cost is $60. [[In-content Ad]]