I was the only kid guest at Banner Lodge in 1945-49. My parents were regulars.The wait staff had twin brothers, Izzy and Dizzy, who befuddled guests at the weekly lakefront competition in retrieving dessert plates from underwater. The best a guest might do was 15-20 plates. Izzy would dive in and stay under for the longest time, absolutely amazing guests on shore. When he finally came up, with 50 plates in hand, everyone was astounded. What they didn't know was that when he ran out of air he would surface UNDER the raft, where Dizzy would take over, and they'd work as a relay team and win every time.
My parents were Morris (Skee) Batalsky and Evelyn. Their best friends at Banner were George and Eva Mandell, from Hartford. Skee and George are pictured on the web site with a 1947 beauty queen on stage, Skee on the far right, George on the far left.
Those were as happy days as I have ever experienced.
Gary Gilson, Minneapolis
