Those wishing to take part in the special history boat cruise focusing on legendary Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s connections to Lake Maxinkuckee will have a second chance to visit one of the east shore cottages so familiar to the “Slaughterhouse Five” novelist, due to a weather-related reschedule, on Weds, Aug. 31.
The boat cruise will take attendees into a restored 1890s cottage where the late author spent many childhood summers. It will launch from Culver Marina on at 6:30 p.m., and will delve into the extensive history of the Vonnegut family and related families, who occupied a number of cottages on the lake’s east shore, starting in the 1880s.
Local historian Jeff Kenney will lead the cruise, which will dock at the cottage of Clemens Vonnegut Jr., which a group of Culver Academies graduates recently restored to resemble as closely as possible its late 1800s architecture and aesthetics, and which won recognition and awards statewide. Attendees will tour the cottage and learn about other Vonnegut-related properties in the area. More information about the house is available online at vonneguthouse.com.
Vonnegut made a number of references to his childhood on Maxinkuckee, calling the lake his “Aegean Sea” and “my Eden lost,” in reference to a golden childhood spent playing on its shores and swimming its waters.
In addition to the Vonnegut cruise, the Marina continues to sponsor historic cruises around the lake, also led by Kenney and focusing on the lake’s unique and storied history, which includes notable literary and cultural figures who frequented and were inspired by the lake (among them Cole Porter, Booth Tarkington, and Lew Wallace), to the cherished traditions and famous graduates of Culver Academies, among other topics to be explored on the cruise on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. (a light meal and non-alcoholic beverages are served; attendees may bring their own alcoholic drinks).
Cruises last approximately 90 minutes to two hours (the cruise will proceed in the event of rain, though lightning or high winds will cause cancellation). Food and beverages are provided by the Marina’s Boardwalk Bar & Grill, which is now open at the Marina, 3000 East Shore Drive in Culver (www.culvermarina. com).
Those wishing to reserve seats may call 574-842-3375 or contact Jessica in the BoardShop. The cruises have limited seating. Cost of the cruise is $30 per person plus cost of food, when served (which is $20 per person when food is included, bringing the total to $50).
