West Turtle Lake Club
- This article is about the location. For the novel, see The West Turtle Lake Club .
West Turtle Lake Club is a frequently mentioned nudist camp, although rarely a location in a book. "Even though the West Turtle Lake Club had been out north of Spearfish Lake since shortly after World War II, probably not one Spearfish Lake resident in a hundred had ever been out there."BAR87 It has a beautiful wide beach and several cozy summer cottages on the lake, but it is best known for Commons, the huge Ursula Mandenberg designed log dining hall, built in the fifties that had won a number of architectural awards. The Commons was strictly vegetarian with the sole exception being at the end of October.
The golf course Ursula Mandenberg had designed was treacherous and golfers thought it would have been better if Ursula had learned to play.BHF18
The idea, obtaining land for and building the Club is covered in The West Turtle Lake Club. In August 1975 the golf course was the location of a grudge match between Gil Evachevski & Frank Matson and Sam LeBlanc. After losing Sam had to clean up his jokes.WTLC59
Garth and Helga Matson lived at the club with their children as much as possible during the summer. In August 1955 Garth picked up a scout, Bob Rathburn, ill with polio and took him to the Sanford Memorial Hospital in Spearfish Lake. Following this he told Helga to keep the kids at the club and quarantined himself in their house on Point Drive.FK10
Gil and Carrie Evachevski moved their Halloween party out to the Commons at the Club sometime around 1980. Being the off-season and with little nudity expected in October, plus some anonymity from costumes, the popular party became the only chance many non-nudist residents had to visit the club. The 1987 party appears in Chapter 87 of Busted Axle Road.
The club has its own day-care center as is mentioned in both Chapter 34 and
Chapter 72 of Busted Axle Road, and its own landing strip as mentioned
in Chapter 55.
The Outlanding describes how Jackie Gravengood had to land her glider there on May 2 of 1987 due to running out of altitude.
Known members of the Club include the Langenderfers, the Matsons and the Evachevski family.
Jackie Gravengood had to land her Cessna at the club to leave her daughter Becca and take Ryan Clark to fly over the Birdwatcher Hill Fire and report to Clint Bork on the side he couldn't see.BHF15 Becca enjoyed her time playing sand court volleyball and wanted to return for a tournament the following Saturday.BHF18
Becca and her friend Myleen Kluske often played volleyball at the club and were in the middle of a game when Myleen noticed a glider low over the club.RFW4 Bree Gravengood spent about half an hour scratching for lift to avoid landing on the club airstrip.RFW5
