Social Life and Community Groups
During the 1940s, Lake
Montowese was a community of older adults and retirees.
Many were only “summer” residents. Gradually, summer
residences became permanent and, by the mid and late
1950s, younger families began moving in.
Since the
original Deed of Restrictions could not be changed and
assessments could not be raised, fundraisers and
donations were common throughout the 1950s, 1960s and
1970s. Residents formed committees and held bake sales,
carnivals, raffles and auctions to add to the
Maintenance fund.
The women
living at Lake Montowese formed the Kaffee Klatsch in
the late 1940s, which continued until the late 1970s.
The women alternated hosting mid-morning monthly coffee
get-togethers in their homes (when few women worked
outside the home), socialized and planned social
events. They also held “dress-up” luncheons in each
others’ homes. The Kaffee Klatsch planned children’s
and adult parties, the Spring Clean-Up Day and other
activities. Early on, they published “The Spillway,” a
monthly community newsletter using a hand-cranked
mimeograph machine in one member’s garage. It continued
to be published by various groups until the late 1980s.
In 1950,
the Lake Montowese Improvement and Taxpayers Association
was formed to get the men involved and specifically to
raise money to add to the Maintenance Fund. The Kaffe
Klatsch and the Tax Payers worked together to plan and
carry out various social and fundraising events:
carnivals (which included food, cash prizes and game
booths, as well as special activities for children,
including a pony concession and fish pond), picnics, pig
roasts, Clean-Up days, and even a water ski show.
The grove
was used often in the early years and had an outhouse.
With permission of the Board of Directors, residents
could hold family or corporate functions there. Various
picnics, pig roasts, barbecues and rummage sales earned
money to help make improvements to the grove during the
1950s and 1960s.
By the
mid-1950s, families with children began moving in. As
the children grew up and their numbers increased,
residents created special parties for them – a
Valentine’s party, Easter Egg Hunt at the entrance, a
Halloween party and the Christmas Santa party. The
children always wore their “Sunday best” and learned
some social graces. During the 1950s and 1960s, winter
activities included skating and sleigh riding, and, in
summer, mothers gathered almost daily at the beach with
their children.
The adults
also partied – and not always for money! Some parties
were open to all residents and some were private.
Typically, they were BYOB and a dish, and people danced
to records. The first pig roast lasted from Friday
night to Sunday afternoon. For several years, one
resident hosted a 4th of July party lasting
from breakfast through fireworks in the evening.
People
enjoyed a lobster party, beach party, birthday or
anniversary parties, theme parties, costume parties, a
street dance, etc. Many of the parties, such as the
Progressive Dinners and Christmas parties, were dressy,
with cocktail dresses for the women and suits and ties
for the men. The Christmas “Season” officially began
after Thanksgiving and often three parties would be held
in a single weekend. From the 1950s through the late
1980s, groups also went Christmas caroling from door to
door, collecting money for various charitable groups.
In 1958, a
resident working for a government mapping company
obtained some black and white aerial shots of the lake
and offered them for sale to residents. Some residents
still have copies of these in their homes.
During the
1960s, three women on the lake qualified with the Red
Cross as instructors of swimming and life-saving. In
following summers, the women gave free lessons to all
lake children. Those who completed the course received
Red Cross certificates. Many of the children born at
Lake Montowese could swim by age 3 or 4, but the lessons
improved their ability.
During the
1960s and 1970s, the lake often froze over. Skating,
sledding and ice hockey were favorite winter pastimes
and residents often hosted bonfires and served hot
chocolate. Snow was not plowed off of Navaho, known as
Kraus’s hill, so children and adults could sled
downhill.
During the
1960s, the residents decided to build a community center
to provide a bigger place for parties, lake meetings and
record storage. The Kaffe Klatsch began raising money
via various parties and collected and stockpiled donated
building materials in the grove. Money was slow to be
collected, however, and the center plans were downsized
to a cement slab and possibly a roof for an outdoor
pavilion. However, the LMDC Board successfully blocked
any plans by insisting that the sewer plant would be in
the grove.
In 1967,
the Kaffee Klatch requested permission to have the
“swamp” by the grove dredged and cleaned up for
ice-skating. Because it had such shallow water, it
froze more quickly than the lake. The kids usually held
ice hockey games down there. A local contractor was
hired to do the work, but his equipment got stuck in the
mud – where it stayed until the ground dried out enough
to retrieve it!
By 1969,
the old outdoor toilets in the grove were demolished.
The bricks and boards stockpiled in the grove for the
community center eventually disappeared. The money
collected for the community center was added to the “Ski
Show” money for the basketball/tennis court built in the
mid-1970s, with additional donations from residents.
On July
16, 1969, a local newspaper published the story of a
young girl at the lake who wrote an adaptation of Romeo
and Juliet. She served as director, while many of the
lake children made their own costumes and performed in
the play. They used the upper balcony of the house at
3661 S. Lakeshore for the famous balcony scene and
charged for admission and snacks.
In the
early 1970s, residents organized a more structured
fireworks show and moved that to the dam.
In 1972
and 1976, Lake Montowese kids and teenagers created
haunted trails at Halloween, called “spook trails” and
also held dances in connection with Halloween
celebrations. In 1975, a newspaper carried a story
about this group, who had built an impressive Halloween
haunted trail through the grove, the surrounding woods
and across the “swamp” on a floating bridge, charging
admission.
In 1974, the Kaffee Klatsch
had a Christmas cookie exchange and printed a recipe
booklet. In 1982, a “bakeless” Bake Sale helped to gain
donations for road repair. In 1983, women in the
community gathered recipes from their family, friends
and recipe boxes to produce the “Lake Montowese
Cookbook,” which included a short history. Sale
proceeds were used for projects around the lake. One
talented resident sketched scenes around the lake that
were used for the cover and inside pages.
Beginning in the 1980s, LMA
allowed the High Ridge Fire Department to use the lake
to practice siphoning water with hoses and water
rescues.
During the
late 1970s and early 1980s, a fall evening Chili Supper
and Square Dance was held on the tennis court.
(Residents brought
different kinds of canned or homemade chili, which were
combined in one large cast-iron pot; different liquors
also were mixed together into a strong “punch.”)
The Taxpayer’s Association also sponsored an
annual “100 Family Garage Sale” on the tennis court,
filled with items donated by residents. The proceeds
were used for projects around the lake.
In 1981,
five families offered their homes for a house tour and
luncheon to raise money for the Maintenance Fund.
During the mid to late
1980s, LMCA supporters held fundraisers, parties, dances
and social events (including a surprise “come as you
are” breakfast), took over the publication of “The
Spillway” and sponsored many community events, including
a large barbeque and costume contest on the Fourth of
July.
The
long-standing Lake Montowese Improvement and Taxpayer’s
Association was renamed “Lake Montowese Community
Services Organization” on Sept. 10, 1991. A party
celebrating the lake’s 50th birthday also was
held that year.
The new
Lake Montowese Community Services Organization reported
that it “will be for the social, education and safety
for the betterment of the community.” In the past, the
organization had been responsible for lake cleanup days,
July 4th fireworks, the long-standing
Christmas Caroling party and a fall hayride. In 1991,
the group announced that they would provide CPR classes,
revitalize and participate in the Neighborhood Watch
Program, update the Lake Montowese phone books and
provide family outings.
Asking $15
per year from each household, the group today welcomes
new residents, organizes social events and children’s
parties, collects for the annual Lake Montowese Fourth
of July fireworks and sponsors fundraisers, such as
monthly raffles and donations at community events.
In 1992,
the first official Fishing Tournament and Fish Fry were
held. By the mid-1990s, LMCSO added a children’s parade
and “Blessing of the Boats” to the 4th of
July annual celebration. In the early 2000s, residents
also began sponsoring a community-wide Bunco party, a
fall bluegrass/bonfire party and a hayride in
conjunction with children’s trick-or-treating on
Halloween. Inaugurated on January 1, 2004 at the beach,
the Polar Bear Plunge collects donations for the
Backstoppers program. Residents volunteer their homes
to hold the Chili Supper after the Polar Bear event.
Lake Montowese: The Early Years
Lake
Montowese was developed by H. Glenn Weber and
Associates, who purchased about 80 acres from a local
farmer, Henry Hess. Lake Montowese was formed by a dam
that blocked the spring-fed creek crossing the property,
Hess Creek. (His old boarded-up house and farmstead can
still be seen on the right as you enter Upper Byrnes
Mill Road. The Hess rock quarry was located on the
other side of the street, with a small half-stone house
on the left still standing, which belonged to Henry’s
brother.)
From May
to September 1941, H. Glenn Weber, president of the
for-profit Lake Montowese
Development Corporation, platted a portion of the
land and recorded it, with restrictions, as Lake
Montowese Subdivision 1, blocks A, B, C and D on May 20,
1941. Subdivision 2 (block E), the third tier off of
Arrowhead, was recorded on August 21, 1941. Subdivision
3 (block G) Lots 4-14 was filed for record
October 17, 1941, this strip of land was intended
for small "fishing" lots, not for homes (known as the
“acreage”) . Subdivision 4 (block F) was recorded on
Sept. 8, 1941.
The
developers advertised Lake Montowese as a private resort
community, a “restricted lake vacationland” with
beautiful “lodge sites.” Originally, they sold lots for
“recreation” such as fishing, swimming and boating, as
well as for summer homes. (Original plans also included
horse trails and stables, which were never built.)
Lake
Montowese development had barely begun when America
entered World War II. Rationing of gasoline and scarce
building supplies greatly impacted the development.
Some home-building began before the lake began to fill.
Many of the homes built during those war years have
limestone walls and foundations from the Hess Quarry on
Upper Byrnes Mill Road and rough-hewn timbers from the
Moder Saw Mill on Lower Byrnes Mill Road.
After the
war, a small building boom occurred and by the
mid-1950s, there were about 55 homes around the lake.
The summer homes became permanent residences and more
full-time residences were built. Originally homes had
no size requirement, but by the mid-1950s a minimum
requirement of 1,200 square feet was established.
Later, that became1,500 feet, and, by the 1970s, it was
1,750 square feet, which required at least two lots or
100’ x 150.’
In 1941,
Lindbergh Boulevard was the outskirts of St. Louis.
Lake Montowese was 15-20 miles further out Gravois,
which was then a winding, two-lane road. Travelers
went over the bridge by Fenton, which had a sharp turn
(and that many motorists remember hitting!). Because
Gravois was so winding it was impossible for drivers to
pass, making frustration levels rise if stuck behind a
slow-moving vehicle.
After
traveling through a sparsely-populated countryside,
residents came to the area known as High Ridge, finally
making a right turn on Byrnes Mill Road, close to where
the stop light is now. Byrnes Mill Road then was a
narrow, gravel road winding down the hill to the Lake
Montowese entrance. The gravel dust turned the foliage
on either side a crusty white. Occasionally, the road
would be scraped and new gravel applied to level out the
washboard areas.
By the
late 1950s, with more permanent residents heading for
work, winter snows made travel very difficult. Often,
travelers had to turn right out of the lake and turn
around at Vogt Road for a better “run” up the hill. If
someone failed to make it to the top, other drivers were
blocked. On snowy days, it was common to see cars in
the ditch along Byrnes Mill Road.
As time
passed, I-270 was built, and, in the 1970s, travel to
Lake Montowese became easier with the new Highway 30.
Addresses at the Lake were originally Route 2; then, as
the area grew, they became Route 1; in the 1960s,
residents had box numbers and finally, in 1974, street
numbers.
Lake Montowese Development Corporation
On January
15, 1943, the residents bought the development
corporation from Weber and his associates. The board of
directors – 15 members in all – was established to
govern and uphold the restrictions of the community. In
the early 1950s, the number of directors was cut down to
nine and later reduced to seven.
Per
restrictions, The Board of Directors approved all
property sales. Residents often vouched for friends and
newcomers, and recommended them to the Board.
The new
Lake Montowese Development Corporation offered 2,000
shares of stock at $10 per share par value, each share
representing one vote at the annual stockholders’
meeting. The stock was sold to current property owners
to defray the cost of purchasing the corporation. Only
a little more than 1,500 shares of stock were ever sold
or given to reimburse donations.
During the
lake’s early development, shares were sold to new
homebuilders, or if LMDC needed additional funds, the
Board offered a limited number to residents. As early
residents sold their homes, they were expected to sell
the shares to the new owner.
Voters
could vote proxy votes for others. Monthly officers’
meetings were generally closed. Lot owners or residents
had to petition to make an appointment to present an
idea before the officers. The monthly Board of
Directors’ meetings included chairman of various
committees and were held in directors’ homes.
In 1957,
the dam needed repairs. Volunteers solicited donations
of $150 from residents, and collected about $5,000.
Forty residents donated to the “Dam Emergency Fund
1957.” At the time, people asked, “Is this a loan to
the development company or a donation?” In the end,
stock was issued to those who gave donations, one share
per $10. A stockholders list clearly showed who had
contributed to fix the dam and who hadn’t!
Throughout
the 1970s and ‘80s, some stockholders approached people
before they sold their property or died, asking to buy
their stock. Large stockholders could vote themselves
into a seat on the board of directors. One stockholder,
attempting to hoard stock, often spoke of it as being a
“legacy” for his children, and rumors were that the
upper acreage or even the entrance field would be sold
to a developer for apartments, condos, or a mobile home
park. Others bought stock to prevent development-minded
people from owning it.
By the
early 1970s, residents were beginning to watch who had
what at the annual stockholders’ meetings and vying
aggressively for proxies. As disputes over various
issues pertaining to lake government increased, many
lake owners, when they moved away, would sell only one
share to the new owner and sell the rest to a
like-minded friend. The result was that stock became
concentrated in the hands of fewer residents. Later,
the Board became reluctant to sell more shares – it
jeopardized voting power and “watered down” stock value.
By the
mid-1970s, it was obvious that about one-third of the
residents held no stock and therefore had no vote at the
annual stockholders’ meeting. By 1969, 1,473 shares
were on the roll call and, by 1990, there were 1,518
shares – 55% of it held by five resident families and
25% held by non-property owners. The imbalanced voting
power of stock had always been an issue, but it tore the
lake apart during the 1980s when the dam required major
reconstruction.
Transition From Corporation to
Association: 1984-1988
When the
dam “slipped” in 1984, LMDC claimed that “the repair of
the dam” would be about $4,500 or $450 per family. What
they didn’t tell residents was that the State of
Missouri would shortly require more stringent safety
measures for dams, and the Lake Montowese dam would not
pass. Although some residents sent in their $450,
others requested that the dam be rebuilt to meet the new
standards.
Later, a letter from
the corporation asked residents to “Please remit $1,500
as soon as possible to repair the dam.” As in past
years, LMDC assumed that enough people wanted to have a
functioning lake without thinking about the long-term
ramifications of “contributing” to an organization
essentially controlled by five families, who owned the
majority of stock.
About a dozen residents
met together to form “Choice” and seven men served on
the Board, which, about six months later, was renamed
the Lake Montowese Community Association. LMCA
supporters saw this as the “last chance” to fix the
stock situation before older residents died and passed
on LMDC shares to their children.
First, volunteers went
door-to-door, asking residents to boycott repair of the
dam. Why should people give away their money to a group
who owned all the shares and voting power? Second,
“Choice” offered $40 a share to each stockholder to sell
it to the Association. Their plan was to accumulate 51%
of the stock, retire the development corporation and
form a new association that would function as a
democracy. The rallying cry throughout those years was
“one house, one vote.”
On Memorial Day weekend
1985, 58 residents put up the round logo of LMCA on
signboards on their property, usually on trees facing
the road. Sides were drawn quickly. For five years,
the community was involved in all-out civil war. About
60% of the residents refused to repair the dam until a
democratic system of government was established. About
20% of the people controlled the stock or remained loyal
to the Corporation; another 20% of residents simply
wanted the lake fixed and didn’t care about the
long-term political situation.
Corporation leaders retaliated by lowering the lake as
much as possible (saying that water pressure would burst
the “weak” dam). About three-quarters of the lake
(except for some water near the dam) became a dry
weedbed during the summer, with sewer pipes hanging
above it. During seven winters, volunteers went out in
boots or rowboats to wrap the sewer pipes with foam
insulation to prevent them from freezing. It was not
uncommon to see deer and other wildlife in the lakebed
during the winter months.
Lawsuits and counter-lawsuits addressing property rights
and the sewer system pitted neighbor against neighbor.
Communications from all sides tried to keep residents
informed of different points of view. Residents pooled
what little stock they had to put three LMCA supporters
on the seven-member Board to try to represent their
view. Numerous meetings between representatives of the
Board and LMCA met, to no avail; lined up on opposite
sides of the table, neither side would budge.
The
Development Corporation confused matters further by
creating its own “community association” – Lake
Montowese Property Owners Association – with five
residents serving on its board. In effect, this shell
association was created to separate the liabilities of
the lake that needed maintenance – lake, dam, roads,
parkway, etc. – and the assets -- the balance of the
unsold lots, entranceway and unplatted property – intact
for the Development Corporation. Property values
continued to drop, and about a dozen residents sold at a
loss and moved.
In
fall 1988, a majority of property owners voted in favor
of forming a new property owners’ association to replace
both the resident-founded Lake Montowese Community
Association and the corporation-founded Lake Montowese
Property Owners’ Association. The new name chosen was
Lake Montowese Association. Most residents who had
battled through the transition did not hold office and
mostly new volunteers served as Trustees for the new
Lake Montowese Association.
In
spring 1989, LMA offered to buy all the assets and water
trust from LMDC for $150,000 with the goal of pledges of
$1,500 per property owner. (The offer was not accepted
by LMDC because one member of the Board had secured an
appraisal in 1986 of $488,000 for the Corporation
assets.)
Lake Montowese Association: 1989 to Present
By
1989, one large stockholder had died and another had
moved off the lake, taking with them 475 shares of
stock, almost one-third of the total. With the new
directors friendly to the cause, a new spirit of
cooperation developed. LMCA had given way to LMA, and
the LMPOA directors were eager to move on, turning over
the stock that they had.
After five years of property and lake deterioration, a
few peacemakers were able to explain to older residents
how important it was to sell their shares to the
Association in order to move forward. LMA offered $50
per share. (A few small stockholders donated their
shares outright to LMA; most stockholders took a credit
against a new higher assessment voted on by all
residents.)
1990 proved to be the turnaround year. Engineering and
specifications for the dam were brought up to date.
Stock collection was aggressive and LMA gained control
of 51% of the stock by July 4, 1990. Finally, a “one
house, one vote” democracy was established.
LMA supporters celebrated with an impromptu parade,
blowing whistles, ringing bells, banging on pots and
pans, waving signs, and cheering as they walked around
the lake. A ceremony was held, with a large replica of
a stock certificate being signed by both the LMDC and
LMA presidents to signify the change of control of Lake
Montowese.
The LMA Dam Committee solicited bids from contractors on
July 2 (confident that they would receive 51% of the
stock by the time the bids came back), which were due
July 27th. By July 4th, LMA had
received promised shares equal to 51%. On July 8th,
residents began burning off the growth on the dam. Bids
were opened on July 27th and a contract,
stating that the earthwork was to be completed by
October 15th, was formally executed on August
13. However, with verbal approval, work actually began
August 8th. The Registration Permit for the
dam was issued October 29, 1990.
Residents were asked for a volunteer assessment of
$2,000 each (about $200,000 total); the dam
reconstruction ended up costing about $175,000. Any
money remaining after the dam was fixed was to be used
on the roads. LMA promised that the third tier would be
paved first, because it had been overlooked in the past,
and that promise was kept.
LMA had hoped to dredge the low end of the lake when it
was dry. Unfortunately, only 60% of residents paid
their full $2,000 in a timely manner; the rest said they
would “wait and see” if the dam was fixed, and they paid
only after the work was completed. Had most residents
paid upfront, dredging could have been done while the
equipment was still on-site. (The lake will need to be
lowered again in the future for dredging.)
To
make up for the shortfall of money that 40% of the
residents didn’t pay when the contract was signed and
work began, several members of the “Dam Committee”
agreed to pay the balance if residents were tardy in
paying their share. However, as work progressed, more
and more residents paid. In the end (five years after
completion), LMA collected the voluntary assessment of
$2,000 from every resident, a feat the LMA attorney had
believed to be impossible.
By
fall 1990, after seven years of low water, the beach had
become a forest of trees, ranging from 4” to 8” in
diameter. A group of volunteers worked long and hard to
clean up the beach during the dam repair and before
water run-off again filled up the lake. Residents were
able to swim in the lake again during summer 1991 and
the lake reached full pool in February 1992.
Lake Tishomingo residents petitioned the court to raise
their assessments. LMA watched that court case
carefully and was advised by its lawyer to compile a
budget of projected needs for a three-year period. When
the Lake Tishomingo case was successful in court, LMA
submitted its new budget to the property owners, calling
for an increased assessment -- $500 per household --
beginning in 1991. The budget was approved, and the
assessment was accepted and paid by a substantial
majority of residents.
In
September 1991, LMA filed suit to require all property
owners to pay the increased assessment plus 9% per annum
interest on late payments, with permission for liens and
execution of liens at the Association’s discretion. The
suit was originally filed against 23 property owners who
had not paid. All but 11 had paid the assessment before
the case was heard by Judge Kehm on May 20, 1992.
The court rendered a favorable decision for LMA on June
1, 1992. In essence, the court ruled that a minority
cannot cause a subdivision to deteriorate for lack of
funds if the majority has approved and paid the
assessment. The court also allowed for penalties and a
means of collection.
From 1991-93, assessments were $500 per year; from 1994
through 1999, they were reduced to $400 per year. For
the first time since the development’s incorporation,
residents had enough money to dramatically improve
roads. They were paved during 1991 and 1992 from the
increased assessments and from the remainder of the dam
money. In 2000, assessments were raised to $450, in
2001 to $500 and in 2002, to $550, where they have
remained for two three-year periods.
LMA continued to purchase stock through 1999, finally
buying back 1,451 shares or 95.5% of the stock. Large
stockholders were paid in installments, as LMA’s budget
would allow. LMDC continued to hold title to the
entrance property, Block G, Block H, unsold lots in
Block F and the water company property. To meet their
expenses of taxes, insurance and maintenance, etc., LMDC
“borrowed” funds from LMA.
Although LMA now controlled LMDC, minority stockholders
had to be considered. Deeding the remaining real estate
to LMA at less than fair market value could signal
action by the still-angry minority stockholders and
their attorney. For this reason, LMDC “held” the real
estate for another 10 years. The large minority
stockholders finally accepted the buyout and turned in
their shares for $50 per share during 1996, ’97 and
’98.
On
November 22, 2000, by resolution of LMDC and a quit
claim deed, LMA received the remaining assets of LMDC in
payment of more than $20,000 indebtedness for insurance,
taxes, grass cutting, etc., since 1990. Then the stock
was retired and the Corporation dissolved.
LMA set to work to try to solve a number of old problems
in the community. In the late 1990s, a committee
revised the Rules, which were approved by 86% majority
of residents. Another committee used a plat to assign
dock spaces to each residence.
Growing pains occurred. Until 1991, there were only a
few, small pontoon boats on the lake, powered by the
approved 7.5 horsepower motors. Most people had fishing
boats, canoes or sailboats (in the late 1970s, sailboat
regattas were held near the dam on Memorial Day). In
1981, a Sailing Club was established. When the lake
filled after the dam was fixed, many residents
eventually bought pontoon boats. The large boats made
it necessary to raise the horsepower to 9.9 to take
advantage of remote starts and to move the greater
weight.
A
decade later, overcrowding and a lack of docks forced
LMA to seek a solution, changing a long-standing Rule
that lakefront property owners were required to share
dock space with only one other resident. In 2005, the
Board decided that residents with lake frontage of more
than 150 feet should offer three dock spaces; those with
more than 200 feet, four dock spaces; those with more
than 250 feet, five dock spaces. This Rule would take
effect only after property changed ownership, since
current lakefront property owners bought with the
understanding that they had to share with just one other
second or third-tier resident.
The Board also used maintenance funds to grade and
enlarge a boat/RV storage area in the woods during 2005
and 2006 to remove vehicle congestion from driveways and
roads.
Maintaining and Operating the Lake
ASSESSMENTS:
Beginning in 1941, the original Deed of Restrictions set
the amount that could be charged for maintenance at 45
cents a foot for Subdivision #1 and $35 per acre for
Subdivisions #2 and #4. No property in Subdivision #3
was ever sold. Although the restrictions did not
specifically say that the “front” was the side facing
the lake, assessments were calculated that way from the
beginning. (Occasionally some property owner with a
pie-shaped lot wanted to be assessed on the lesser road
footage.) A decree on March 20, 1967 in the Circuit
Court of Jefferson County, Suit #35.645 declared “the
front of lakeside lots is considered to be the side
facing the lake.”
The
Maintenance Fund never amounted to more than $8,000 a
year and so Lake Montowese was plagued by financial
problems from its beginning. The Development
Corporation, now owned by stockholders, derived funds
from the sale of lots. Their expenses included property
taxes, insurance, annual stockholder meeting expenses
and legal fees. During these years, there were many
loans between the maintenance fund and the Corporation,
as well as road bonds and water bonds. Residents
constantly volunteered work or held fundraisers to help
maintain the property.
An effort to voluntarily
raise assessments failed in 1974. The original
restrictions (requiring 100% vote to change
restrictions) were renewed every 25 years – on September
15, 1965 and September 15, 1990.
CARETAKERS: From the beginning, a caretaker lived on
the property. The original real estate sales office
near the entrance (across from the tennis court and
adjacent to the gravel parking space now) became the
caretaker’s cottage. Earlier caretakers were deputized
and their responsibilities were guard duty at the
entrance, grass-cutting the entrance grounds and
ditch-cleaning. Later, their services grew to include
helping to treat the lake with chemicals, trapping
muskrats and servicing the two water pumps twice a
week. He patrolled daily to see that there were no
trespassers, particularly on the dam or beach.
Caretakers sometimes earned extra money by doing small
jobs for residents.
In 1979,
LMDC hired an off-duty deputy sheriff to patrol the lake
area and to do guard duty at the entrance, due to a rash
of burglaries, vandalism and trespassing. Duties of the
caretaker were also contracted out and rent was charged
for the house.
The last
caretaker suffered a heart attack and died in the house
in the early 1990s. His wife remained on the premises
and cut grass for a year after that point. That
residence was torn down in the late 1990s and parking
for the tennis court and the field was created.
LAKE:
In the early years, the Corporation charged an annual
fee for dock space that provided some money to buy
copper sulphate to treat the lake for abundant weed
growth. Some lakeside owners refused to pay a dock fee
because their property adjoined the parkway. They had
built a seawall, and they felt an additional charge was
unwarranted. At first, members of the Lake Committee,
assisted by the caretaker, dispensed the chemicals.
Later, a local contractor was hired for the job.
After the
dam was reconstructed in 1990 and the water began to
rise, the nutrients from the decaying weeds in the
lakebed caused vegetation to choke the lake. A
professional from Sunset Country Club was hired to treat
the perimeter of the lake. At the same time, the DNR
recommended introducing grass carp to the lake. Too
many were added and depleted almost all the vegetation,
causing the fish population to decline. (The Lake
Committee fastened together pyramids of 55-gallon
plastic drums to create underwater coves in the late
1990s so fish could breed.) Currently, residents are
seeking ways to achieve the right balance of chemical
treatment and weed growth for both swimming and fishing.
When the
concrete V-ditch was constructed behind the dam, excess
dirt was deposited in the swamp area. After a resident
contacted the DNR, which threatened prosecution for
destruction of a natural wetland, another place was
found for the dirt.
ROADS:
The roads were originally gravel and eventually received
a chip and seal. In 1980, a request was made for $300
donation from each resident for roads. By the
mid-1980s, roads were in such disrepair that desperate
property owners personally bought gravel or cold asphalt
to throw into connecting potholes. (In fact, the first
Annual Pot Hole Plugging Party was held in 1982, funded
by an auction of donated items or cash by residents.)
After assessments were raised and major
improvements could be made, nearly 25% of assessments
are used to maintain and improve roads.
ENTRANCE, GATEHOUSE AND BUS SHELTER: A small
gatehouse stood at the entrance until the late 1950s.
The local Lions Club, urged on by many members who also
lived on the lake, sponsored the project of tearing down
the gatehouse and constructing a bus shelter for the
lake schoolchildren. Some parents drove their children
to or from the entrance in bad weather since the bus did
not go around the lake.
In 1970,
when parents wanted to have the bus come around the lake
to pick up children, a resident designed a raised
roadway over the spillway and another resident
volunteered to oversee the project. (Until then, when
water was running over the spillway, residents on foot
could get to the other side via a wooden bridge
constructed of telephone poles with boards on top, and a
2’ x 4’ handrail.) After the spillway was raised to
allow a bus to travel around the lake, the old bus
shelter was moved to the grove tree line as storage for
a time and later demolished.
In 1980, a new guardhouse
was constructed at the entrance and, in 1981, LMDC
completed it – with a planter box and trim – and
reconstructed the entrance sign.
In 2003,
LMA contracted to install the long wrought iron fence,
entrance gate and new “Lake Montowese” signs, at a cost
of about $32,000 total. The old entrance sign, which
had been “facelifted” at different times through the
years, was moved near the dam. A circular brick
planter, with flagpole, was removed from the center of
the entrance and moved to the right, redesigned with
landscape brick.
WATER:
Originally, the cost of water was included in the annual
assessment. In 1949, water lines were improved and the
cost was amortized among the lots at $150 per lot,
whether you tapped on or not. Residents had to pay that
$150 bill before building permits were issued.
When one
of the water pumps failed in 1953, “free water” could no
longer be provided and a $15 per year water charge was
implemented. One resident loaned $5,000 so a new water
system could be installed. Many others contributed $100
here or there and received notes. The Board made
efforts to pay down this debt as notes came due, but the
resident who made the major loan wasn’t paid off until
the 1960s.
About 15 residents brought
suit against LMDC, claiming that they had no right to
charge them for water. That controversy resulted in five
years of litigation and more years seeking a solution.
Serious vote and proxy fights began and an all-out
effort was made to prevent any of the 15 residents from
gaining a seat on the Board of Directors.
In the
same year, the water was reported to be unsafe. Although
this was due to faulty collection of samples, batch
chlorination was begun to treat the water reservoirs.
Later, pumps with continuous chlorination were added.
Bond subscriptions were solicited to pay for the new
equipment, and the annual water charge was raised to
$40. By 1960, a compromise was reached and the water
charge was reduced to $25 per year. Finally, in 1968,
property owners approved the creation of a Water Trust,
making the water system a separate, self-sustaining
entity. The water trust was renewed in 1978, but was
refused renewal by LMDC in 1988 during the “controversy”
years. (This led to four or five families on the lake
installing their own wells.)
In 2004,
due to failing reservoirs, Lake Montowese Water System
Trust arranged to purchase water from Water District #6
in House Springs. They also added a surcharge to water
bills to cover maintenance of the lines and to establish
an emergency fund. This water system continues to be
maintained by volunteers. In February 2007, the Water
Committee recommended that the four-inch pipes be
replaced with standard six-inch pipes and that the
entire system be upgraded.
SEWER
SYSTEM: Original homes were built with septic
systems, but because of large deposits of limestone
close to the surface, they never worked well. By the
1950s, problems were noticeable – wet spots in lawns,
sewer water in ditches and running to the lake, and
sometimes unbearable odor in the summer.
In 1969,
residents looked into the feasibility of a lagoon
sewerage system. Through the hard work of a number of
individuals (including a State Representative who lived
on the lake at that time), Lake Montowese qualified for
both State and Federal grants for a new sewer system in
the early 1970s. The Metropolitan Sewer District
proposed a system with 100 lift stations to go around
the lake, but one resident insisted on and designed a
gravity system, which residents approved. The lake was
lowered so the sewer system could be installed. The
treatment plant was located off of Vogt Road.
A sewer system in Jefferson
County was a rarity then and land values increased. The
system was managed by resident volunteers until 1990,
when it was turned over to the City of Byrnes Mill. The
sewer system helped Byrnes Mill qualify for County and
State grants to increase the size and capabilities of
the sewer system for more City residents.
PATHS
TO LAKE: When the lots in Subdivision
#1 were laid out, 10 five-foot wide access paths to the
parkway around the perimeter of the lake were included.
During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, paths to the lake were
marked with wooden posts and signs. During the summer
of 1968, residents volunteered many hours to improve
these paths with new wooden signs on poles and gravel
paths lined with railroad ties. These worked well for a
time, but were left for adjoining property owners to
care for and eventually fell into disrepair. In the
late 1990s, LMA marked the paths with stone-patterned
concrete markers.
Today, the
residents of Lake Montowese continue to govern
themselves and their property through the Lake Montowese
Association (and various committees), using many of the
original Rules and Restrictions. They continue to
volunteer for social functions and also serve through
Lake Montowese Community Services Organization.
Written Spring 2007
by Sally Eads (resident since
1954)
and Robin Mueller (resident
since 1978)
(They recounted events and experiences, and provided
detail
via
LMDC, LMCA and LMA minutes, newsletters and witness
accounts.
Special thanks to those who edited and provided
additional input to this history.)
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