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Lake Tales

Memories from the Community

Hundreds of families have memories of Crystal Lake. Here are just a few of the stories shared with us over the years. We'd love to hear yours too.

01

Camping at Crystal Lake

— Mark Phillips

From Mark Phillips: I lived and grew up in Deer Park, Texas, outside of Houston. I can remember my family and I going there every year in the early to mid 70's. We would bring a tent and all our camping equipment and spend 3 or 4 days there. I remember waking up to the smell of bacon and scrambled eggs my dad was cooking on a Coleman stove. We would eat the hamburgers that y'all made… best I ever ate. Also remember getting my first kiss from a girl in a white bikini… And we would listen to Freddy Fender on the juke box… Wasted days and wasted nights… Anyway, they were some of the best summers of my life. It's a shame that places like that are no longer.

02

Piney Woods Paradise

— Carolyn Lackey

We spent many a summer Saturday at Crystal Lake — a small lake somewhere near enough to Carthage, TX to make for a good day trip but enough of a drive to keep a 6-year-old lounging on the back dashboard asking 'are we ALMOST there?!' about a thousand times. It was a very special place back in the day to kids who thought of visiting Disneyland as an unattainable pipe dream and a day at Six Flags as the trip of a lifetime.

03

A Lifeguard Remembers

— Susan Baucom

I was a lifeguard there 1963, 1964 and 1965. In the photo gallery, pictures #22 and 23 is my brother, Bobby Baucom, who was a lifeguard there from 1966. O.C. Whiddon believed in hard work — he helped many kids in Joaquin through the years. I go back every now and then and it's so sad for me to see it closed. Susan still lives in the Whiddon house across the lake. Thanks for posting this — please keep the memories alive!

Share Your Memory

Have a story or photo from Crystal Lake? We'd love to hear it. Your memory will be shared with the Whiddon family and preserved for future generations.

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