By Kevin Greer
Lakeside Communications Manager
Many homecomings don’t take place at a home. They usually occur at parks, social halls, colleges and high schools. For the Wonnell brothers, it happened at their childhood home.
Don, Jim and Dick Wonnell grew up in “The Castle” at 540 Cherry Ave., one of the most unique and recognized homes in Lakeside. They recently reunited there for first time in 31 years. Don is 88 years old, Jim is 90 and Dick is 82.
“We realized we better do it now,” Dick said. “We aren’t going to be around much longer.”
Construction started on the house in 1936 and wasn’t completed until 1960. It was only a basement until 1946, which is where the family lived until moving upstairs. Most of the work was done by their dad and uncle.
“We were all born when it was a dugout,” Dick said. “It was concrete on the first floor, tar paper over the whole thing.”
The coal furnace warmed things up, but it also contributed to some illnesses.
“We had sinus trouble, coughing and earaches,” Jim said. “It’s partially because it was too tight.”
Building the upper floors started after World War II. They got the stone from the Marblehead Quarry and Don’s job was roughing out about 2,000 stones with a two pound hammer.
“You got used to it as a kid,” Don said. “You kind of build up your arms.”
There is no wood in the house, except for furring strips with the drywall. The rest is concrete floors, some brick and steel beams, girders and rafters.
Dean and Rebecca Krukemeyer are the current owners, and when they’re not in Lakeside, it’s available to rent. It sleeps up to 11 guests and has four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The radiators came from the steamer Chippewa and the maple flooring was from the bowling alley that was on the east end of the first Lakeside Pavilion that burned.
The brothers lived in the house until they left for college. After that, it was occasional visits, and they eventually left the area. The last time the brothers were in Lakeside together was in 1993, when their dad got sick and eventually died.
“There wasn’t anything for us here,” Dick said. “There weren’t any jobs.”
A big reason the Wonnells haven’t been able to meet very often is they’ve been living at different locations over the years and not close to each other. They did meet together at times in Virginia, Florida and North Carolina. There were other occasions when only two would meet.
“It was just hard,” Don said. “We don’t communicate much, but we have a lot in common. We were busy doing other stuff, like raising a family.”
All three brothers lived in several locations over the years, mostly in the eastern part of the country. Don lives in Sylvania, Ohio, and comes to the peninsula two or three times a year. Jim lives near Ann Arbor, Michigan, not far from Don. However, Dick resides in the small Canadian community Terrace Bay, Ontario, just north of Lake Superior. It’s where he met his wife, who ran a bed and breakfast. They met at the wedding of Jim’s son and married in 2012.
“I’m a political refugee,” Dick joked. “I couldn’t stand all the talking heads screaming at each other down here. I’m just a Canadian resident and kept my American citizenship. I love the population density, one person for 10 acres. I love it.”
All three are retired after successful careers. Don graduated from Bowling Green State University and was a statistician for the state of Ohio. He helped provide unemployment rates and other information. Jim earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in naval architecture from the University of Michigan. Dick graduated from Baldwin Wallace University before joining the Navy at the height of the Vietnam War. He was on an aircraft carrier, The Independence, for three years. He became a computer software engineer and worked for Corning Glass, Wrangler and Lee.
