"A History of the West Devil Lake Community" (Printed 2007)

By C. Yvonne B. Thomas 

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One of West Devil Lake’s early property owners, Yvonne Thomas,

wrote a history of the West Devil Lake community in 2007. It includes

details on how the association came to be, the road and memories

from the early property owners. It is a must have for every cottage! The

book cost $10 and is available from Yvonne Thomas or from any

board member. Proceeds from the book are donated to WDLPOG.

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West Devil Lake Oral History Project

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The West Devil Lake Oral History Project is now finishing its fourth year.  Our first three years have resulted in over 30 hours of taped interviews and well over 350 pages of transcriptions. We hope to complete our interviews of original owners and their offspring by the end of the 2017 summer. We will document and transcribe their interviews and create a collection of tapes and transcriptions that will become West Devil Lake's Oral History. The collection will be entered into the Queens University Archives so that future generations will be able to access their past.  In addition, Queens University Archives will also house all of the archival papers of the West Devil Lake Property Owners Association (1970-1995), West Devil Lake Property Owners Group (1995-present), and book "A History of the West Devil Lake Community".

 

 If you are an original owner and have not yet been interviewed, PLEASE contact us (wdlpog@gmail.com). We will be happy to come to you for an interview. 

 

We also want to hear from the children of original owners - the second generation - who grew up summering on the lake in the early days. Some have already inherited their cottages. Others may. Still others have purchased their own properties. They will have memories different from their parents, but equally important to our project.

 

We will then move on to those who purchased property but waited to develop it - let's call them the second wave. Finally, we will interview those who purchased their cottages from original owners. We would also like to hear from anyone else who would like to share their story.

 

This is a large project and we would welcome volunteer help. Primarily we will need interviewers and transcribers, but would also welcome folks with electronic skills and filing/organizational skills. If you are interested in helping, please contact us at wdlpog@gmail.com.