Island neighbors share a relaxing lifestyle

Prior to purchasing their home on Coon Island, Don and Carol Sanders had camped all over the United States.

Yosemite National Park, the Grand Canyon and Black Hills all were destinations during the more than 20 years that the Arlington Heights couple spent camping with their children.

But the destination of choice during the last two decades has been the couple’s home on the waters of Pistakee Bay.

“This was the best campsite,” Carol Sanders said. “[It’s] right on the water [with] our own fire pit and flush toilets and electricity. We thought we could adapt.”

The homes that dot the shore line of this island are far from any ocean or tropical locales.

But many of the residents who spend summer days on Coon Island find the place to be a home – and a community – away from their mainland residences.

"It's very relaxing," resident Tim Stelzer said. "It's a lot more peaceful and quiet on the island than on the road."

Creating family bonds

Dorothy Stelzer’s house on Coon Island has been in her family since it was built in 1927. Her father bought the property as a refuge for his ill sister who needed a place where she could spend plenty of time outdoors, Dorothy Stelzer said.

Today, the home continues to be a refuge for the Stelzer family. With enough beds to sleep 20 people packed into their cottage, family vacations on the island are common in the summer.

Although the family generally just spends weekends at their island home, an added sense of privacy and peacefulness is evident during the week when boat traffic is significantly less, Tim Stelzer said.

The home also brings with it an opportunity to spend time with siblings who live across the Chicago suburbs, said Tim’s sister, Barb Polich.

“When we’re out here we can all be together,” she said. “In the winter we don’t see much of one another, except for holidays.”

Family also was the reason Mario and Gladys Vega purchased a home on Coon Island 25 years ago. Not far from their home in Chicago, the island residence made for a family vacation that was cheaper than a long-distance trip, Gladys Vega said.

The house, however, was far from an island paradise when it was purchased by the couple.

“It was in very bad condition. It was a shack,” she said.  “It took us years to fix it little by little. We had to carry every material [to the island].”

The Vegas are not the only ones who have to endure transporting everything and anything they use on the island by boat.

“Everything you bring over has to come by boat, no matter what,” Barb Polich said. “If you need a new refrigerator or a new stove, it’s got to come by boat.”

Some people have asked Polich why she and her family continue to come back to Coon Island summer after summer. They wonder if the work and hassle of bringing everything and everybody from the mainland to the island is worth the trouble, she said.

"It's nothing different for us," she said. "We're island people."

A community of neighbors

Since island supplies are limited to what residents bring themselves, a friendly neighbor willing to share can be a useful resource.

Borrowing from a neighbor’s fridge, or catching a ride on a friend’s boat back to shore is not uncommon, Don Sanders said. He and his neighbors even have set up a community garage with tools that are at everyone’s disposal.

“We leave all the doors open,” Sanders said. “I’ve got keys. They’ve got keys. We’re like a big family.”

The calmness of the island also can provide a psychological break from the rest of the world, said Sanders’ neighbor James Rasmussen.

And boundaries that may exist elsewhere are not found between neighbors, Sanders said.

"Everybody walks over everybody else's [yard]," he said. "There's no such thing as a fence."

Packing up for winter

With Labor Day past, many residents on the island will begin packing up their belongings and boarding up their homes for another winter season.

Before leaving for the winter, the Vegas shut off their electricity, pull the pier in and pour anti-freeze in the pipes, Gladys Vega said.

Neighbors help each other out with the necessary chores, Rasmussen said.

“That’s when the community effort really kicks into high gear,” he said.

It can be a lot of work. But most residents would agree it’s a small price to pay for their summer getaway.

“It’s two to three hours of work for six months of enjoyment is what it really boils down to,” Don Sanders said.