McHenry County Blog

Sunday was the day that local golfers took part in the Crystal Lake Park District's almost annual Doc Haznow Chili Open.

Sometimes, like when the lake was low and it did not freeze sufficiently (because of the springs?), the golf day is canceled.

Sometimes, like this year, it is postponed.

This year that meant it was held last Sunday, February 17th, instead of the Sunday before.

Here is how the park district promoted it this year:

“Golfers will play one of two championship, nine-hole, par 32 courses on frozen Crystal Lake.

“All foursomes will receive our great giveaway, one bowl of chili and the chance to win several prizes.

“Prizes include: various golf bags, Ping golf clubs, Ping apparel, and other prizes.

“Decorate a sled and enter it in the Chili Open "Best Sled" contest.”

After we got back from our treacherous trip home from the Milwaukee area, we stopped at Gate 3 beach in Lakewood to take some photos.

It had rained a lot and the temperature was in the forties.

The surface of Crystal Lake was covered with water.

The golfers didn't quite look like they were walking on water, but it was close.

Brightly visible was a device that looked like a Zamboni from a distance.

What we saw was mainly people walking around.

Maybe the tournament was over and people were cleaning up.

We did see a couple with golf clubs crossing to the parking lot about noon.

Monday was a completely different scene.

The water had frozen.

The ice had been covered with snow.

The wind was so strong that anyone on the lake would have experienced a near whiteout experience.

The evergreens around the holes were still visible, but the golfers were elsewhere.

All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Labels: Crystal Lake, Crystal Lake Park District, Doc Haznow, Golf

Andy Warhol predicted everyone would get 15 minutes of fame.

I got 15 seconds, maybe less, as the picture you see was flashed on the Channel Five 10 O'clock News screen by Brant Miller after his weather report.

While me name and hometown were in the upper left hand corner of the television screen, I'm sure that most people were looking at the golfers on the water covered Crystal Lake ice last Sunday.

The three photos were shown. All were of ice.

Labels: Brant Miller, Crystal Lake Park District, Doc Haznow, Golf, Ice, WMAQ

This license plate holder tells it all on this work day:

I’d rather be golfing

And the guys in this photograph were golfing on the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend at the Crystal Lake Country Club.

Guess they could afford to take that workday off and make a four day weekend of it...or at least a three and one-half day weekend.

Labels: Crystal Lake Country Club, Golf, License Plate Holder

With the temperature 25 degrees warmer than this past week, a few brave souls, including my son, ventured out on the frozen water of Crystal Lake.

This is the day that golfers played on a course laid out on Crystal Lake. I caught some of them across the lake from Gate 3 in Lakewood after church.

After taking ordering some pictures of Cub Scout Pack 158’s Blue and Gold Dinner, we drove by the Main Beach and my 9-year old asked if we could walk out on the ice.

“Sure,” I said. (Understand that I am not a cold weather devotee.)

We walked out as others were playing hockey and ice-skating.

I was too cold soon enough after my son had showed me bubbles under the ice that looked like jelly fish, thought he found a fish under about (or frozen into) about 8-10 inches of ice, and sliding like a steel puck on the hardwood surface of a basement shuffle board game.

I took some pictures of hockey players. A sophomore on the South High School hockey team was teaching some of the youths with sticks tricks of the game.

And, I learned that one family had been on a hockey team near Tampa, of all places.

I also learned that District 155 does not consider hockey a school sport, even though three of the four high schools apparently have full teams and even junior varsity teams. The young man explained that although he had to keep up his grades to stay on the team, the school system doesn’t subsidize the sport the way it does football, basket ball, golf, etc.

That seems strange to me.

As I was warming myself outside the concession area of the Main Beach House, my son stayed outside with other kids without ice skates, just enjoying the work of the park district employees I wrote about previously.

He came in insisting I go buy him ice skates immediately.

Now, I know where to find new skates, but you know how fast children’s feet grow. A mother suggested Play It Again Sam’s and I told the insistent one we could go look tomorrow afternoon after school.

He then asked if he could go out on the snow, where the guys had earlier played golf, because some of his newly made friends were out there.

With the ice being as thick as it is, I again said, “Sure,” but “Don’t be gone too long.”

Eventually, even he got cold and came in to warm up, ready to go home.

Almost forgot.

Lots of folks were at the Raue Center where local talent like Jim May, the story teller, were being featured.

As we drove past on the way to Sam's Club some emergency was being handled by the Crystal Lake Fire Department.

Labels: Crystal Lake, Crystal Lake Fire Department, Golf, Hockey, Raue Center, South High School