Home on the Lake

By Anna Roche Clark

Many of us who love beachcombing do so for the physical benefit of walking, the meditative enjoyment of scanning the wrack line, and the healing sounds—crashing waves, seagulls, dogs, children. I often try to set an intention of gratitude for the chance to be outside enjoying nature, and I consider finding treasure an added bonus. Since the beaches of Lake Michigan are largely public, I am rarely the only one seeking their beachcombing booty of rocks, driftwood, and beach glass (we don’t find many shells in the freshwater of the Great Lakes). But sometimes, the treasure you find is a kindred spirit.

The first time I saw Kathy, with her hands clasped behind her back, head bowed and slowly stepping along the shoreline, I did a double take. The sun was behind her, amplified by the water reflecting off her blond hair, giving the impression of a haloed angel. It was clear to me, as many of us can obviously recognize, she was a fellow beachcomber. We’d seen one another before, and this time I decided to break the ice.

As it turns out, both of us had been finding many matching pieces of the same pattern of pottery dishes in a single solitary stretch of beach, and I explained that I was on a quest to try to uncover the mystery of how so many of these dishes ended up there specifically. Not only did Kathy offer her insights on the pieces she’d found, but she generously offered to give me her collection to add to my own. “I don’t have a plan for what to do with them, but I do have many,” she said. As we spoke, her eyes darted from one beach glass gem to the next, sprightly pocketing them as each wave brought in a fresh batch of pebbles. I watched in awe as she gracefully snatched the most beautiful pieces while carrying on a conversation about her 30 years collecting treasures from her home on the lake.

It was on a subsequent day that she offered, “I live across the street. When we are done hunting, I can grab those pottery pieces for you—would you like to see my collection?” I followed her off the beach and into her stately home on Sheridan Avenue, an elegant street that runs along the lake throughout the north shore towns of Chicago.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t the extensive and amazing collection of treasures all throughout her beautifully decorated residence. The dining room showcased some of her favorite collections. “My kids know that I fill this bowl with my most recent prized pieces,” she said as she pointed to the credenza. Collections of different categories of treasure covered most of the surfaces.

“My beachcombing pastime began in earnest over 30 years ago when I lived just one town south and began finding these painted doll face pieces on the beach,” she said, gesturing to a platter of over two dozen oval faces with different expressions and detail. “I found all of them the same month, and I kept going back each day to find more. I subsequently learned that they were made by a local artist, although it’s not known how or why they ended up on the beach.”

From there, we moved to impressive bowls of marbles, gold jewelry pieces, and metal beach tags. Prior to this, I had no knowledge of what a beach tag was, nor had I ever come across one. As she laid them out side by side, she explained that from the 50s to the 80s, town residents attached the metal tags onto their beach towels to gain access to their town’s stretch of beach. Each tag has the year, the town, and the recipient’s tag number. Within days of learning of this unique treasure, I found my first one. Now I have a small collection ranging in shape, size, and year, from a sample of towns along the north side of the lake. They too are now among my favorite treasures.

Next, she showed me her collection of bottles, bottle lips, bottle bottoms, heart shaped rocks, glass insulators, pottery pieces, kick ups, pirate glass, stoppers, penny dolls and doll parts, big chunks of beach glass, tiny colorful pieces, and of course, vessels of beach glass in all sizes, hues, and colors. “Wow,” I said, “That’s an impressive collection.” She giggled and added, “I also have a collection of rocks in the basement.”

As we made our way to a room completely devoted to beach treasures, I thought I’d stepped into a curated museum. There lay bookshelves, tables, and cabinets, including one of the most gorgeous antique tea cabinets with glass-fronted drawers containing shells, starfish, sand dollars, geodes, agates, other rocks, beach glass, fossils, feathers, driftwood, and shark teeth.

She also had beach rocks in the gardens around the outside of the house that she laughingly called her “dead rock beds.” She said sheepishly, “I also have some of my collection in storage.”

With such an expansive collection, I wondered if there was anything left on her bucket list. “It’s rare to find deep purple and I’d love to find coins, but maybe I would need a metal detector for that. I know that some folks with them have found such,” she reflected.

When asked what her most unusual find was, she said, “On one day I found two pieces of a marble headstone from the 1800s. And then, on a subsequent day, I found a third piece of it.” So, I had to ask the question any beachcomber would ask, “What did you do with it?” She relayed, “I contacted the local historical society who wanted it, and we gave it to them.” Their theory was that either a home on the lake had buried a family member on their property that was then subsequently washed away with erosion of the lakeshore—or the stone had a mistake and was discarded by the headstone maker in a dump and later washed into the lake.

One of the most interesting things about Kathy’s sizable collection is that 90% of it is from a small spit of lakefront that is only about 25 feet long. “I only comb in spring and fall. In winter the ice and snow cover the beach and in summer it’s too crowded and there are rarely summer storms that bring in new finds,” she said.

The obvious outliers among her Lake Michigan treasures are the shark teeth, shells, sand dollars, and starfish, gifted or found in Florida on vacations. “I belong to some Facebook groups, and I get Beachcombing, so I see the various places people go and travel to in order to hunt for beach treasures, but I feel so blessed to be able to walk across the street any day—and sometimes several times a day,” said Kathy. “I don’t feel like I need to go anywhere other than my own backyard. This has been a pastime of mine for over 30 years—not including the combing I did with my dad all my life in St. Joseph, Michigan—and I am convinced that the key to finding things is knowing your location, and visiting it frequently,” she surmised.

On this point she and I wholeheartedly agree. The weather, tides, erosion, winds, and constant movement of sand and rocks make any location hit or miss on any given day. Your own beach is the one that you can read the best, access most easily, and know when to comb. Traveling to beachcomb takes time and investment, and with all the variables at play, it’s a miracle if you get lucky to find much in the short time you may be visiting.

On the day we met, Kathy and her husband were contemplating a move from their lakefront home and the future of her collection. “Where it’s all gonna go, I’m not sure. My kids don’t want it, but my granddaughter has a collection and loves hunting with me,” she said wistfully. “I still like to sort and play with it and gain comfort in thinking about where it’s been. I like the feel and the weight of a rock or piece of well-tumbled sea glass, which is why I usually have one in my pockets at all times.”

I asked if she collected other things besides beach treasures, and she led me to the living room where she had a display of gorgeous intricate antique broaches, saying “I’m a lifelong collector.” All I could do was chuckle, “And maybe my sister from another mother.”

When we looked up, three hours had passed. “Oh my gosh, so sorry,” I exclaimed and hurried to be on my way. “It’s so nice to share all that we both enjoy, let’s do this again soon,” she smiled. I look forward to spotting my “angel” on the beach again soon.

This article appeared in Beachcombing Magazine Volume 39 November/December 2023.