35 SUNSET LAKE RD (Formerly Wasigan)

Pat and Dave Simmons, July, 2009

The first summer our family spent time on Sunset Lake was 1981. We rented from Russ & Charlotte Geer. At that time that camp was considered #5. Our three girls were 3, 6, & 11. We enjoyed the lake so much that we returned to rent the Geer’s place several times. 

There were several years that we were not able to rent the Geer’s. We truly missed the lake. Spring of 1995 we learned that #7 – Bob Draper’s camp was for sale. Although Bob would visit the camp for the day, we understood that no one had spent the night for close to 20 years. It needed a lot of help. We passed papers and became the happy owners of that camp in December of 1995. We spent the next year working on the property. Chris Robbins put on a new roof, and deck. He added a few feet to the kitchen end so that we could put a shower “inside” the camp. Since then, our girls have attended college and were married and we now have 3 granddaughters who enjoy the lake and 1 grandson on the way.

What we have been told…
1932 - Ernest White purchased the property and built the original structure, 2 rooms and a porch.
(1944) - Sold to Elmer Draper, who added 2 bedrooms and the bathroom (sink & toilet) instead of the outhouse.
Elmer sold it to his brother – who we believe left it to his son Robert Draper.
1995 - Sold to Pat & Dave Simmons – current owners

From Eileen Simmons Carey:

To me the lake means family.  Whether it means grilling dogs and burgers, playing board games or telling stories, it is about spending time with my family.  I hope that my children will enjoy it in that same way.

From Cheryl Simmons Miles:

It seemed to take us a whole day in the car to get to Sunset Lake.  From our suburban streets and highways out into the woods, it felt like we didn't just leave the state – we left the planet.  It was a whole other world up at Russ' cottage, not just because the bathroom was across the street and we had a lake for a swimming pool.  For me that otherworldly feeling became that much more certain at nighttime.

In Dedham, we had stars.  We could pick out the dippers, and on especially cold nights the stars showed better and shined brighter.  But at the lake, those stars multiplied and grew.  They filled the sky in a way I never had fathomed.  It seemed as though the sky would run out of room, it would just become too full and fall down because it was so heavy.  It seemed impossible to pick out constellations because there were just so many stars shining brightly, clamoring for our attention.

And it wasn't just the stars.  In retrospect I'm sure my child's mind exaggerated it, but it seemed as though every time we were at the lake something even more special happened in the night sky.  I remember stopping our Monopoly game on Russ' porch to look at a satellite crossing the sky or a space shuttle, or looking at a planet.  I recall so clearly the way the planet shined brighter than the rest, and almost had a reddish hue if you stared at it long enough. 

And now, on nights when we brave the bugs to go look at the night sky from the dock – it all comes back.  The lake clearly reflects the sky back up onto itself, and I feel lost again in the magical place that I loved when I was a child.  It's so quiet, calm and still – and it feels like those stars that have grown and spread out and are there for Sunset Lake's own private viewing.