A Flair for Fun

A trip down memory lane lands many at Kramerโ€™s Lake

If you find yourself at a loss for conversation in Southwest Indiana, just ask if anyone remembers Kramerโ€™s Lake. Located near the line between Posey and Vanderburgh counties, the Kramer family operated the rural destination from 1961 to 1998. The five-acre lake offered fishing and picnic areas, floating docks equipped with trapezes and sky-high water slides, and an entertainment pavilion with live music performances many months of the year.

Kramerโ€™s Lake drew nearly 1,000 visitors a day at its peak, and generations of those merrymakers enjoy reminiscing. Here, a few share their memories.

Photo of Kramer’s Lake provided by Brad Kramer

โ€œI have people still now tell me, โ€˜Oh, I met my wife, or I met my husband there. โ€ฆ We used to come there and have a good time.โ€™โ€
Paul Kramer
Mount Vernon Senior High School Class
of 1967, and son of Kramerโ€™s Lake founders
Lucille and Earl Kramer

โ€œIโ€™ll never forget meeting Bob Griese in the summer of 1964 with a bunch of his football players. As I was sliding down the slide, I slid right into him. It was my first encounter with a celebrity-to-be. We all rented a paddle boat and raced all day long until my legs about fell off. He was such a down-to-earth great guy.โ€
Marcia Matthews Hocker
Modern expressionist painter in Owensboro, Kentucky, William Henry Harrison High School Class of 1967

โ€œ(In the 1970s) Kramerโ€™s Lake hosted bands on Wednesday and Sunday evenings โ€ฆ a melting pot for people throughout the Tri-State area.ย You could meet new friends from as far away as Princeton and Jasper.โ€
Dr. Ray Lamey
Evansville anesthesiologist, Gibson Southern High School Class of 1976

Photo of Kramer’s Lake provided by Brad Kramer

โ€œI lived at Kramerโ€™s Lake every summer. I mean, every high schooler went there every weekend. Back in high school in the โ€™60s โ€ฆ that was the place to go. As silly as it sounds, all those โ€˜Beach Blanket Bingoโ€™ movies, well, that was our โ€˜Beach Blanket Bingo.โ€™โ€
Matt Williams
Television and film writer and producer in New York, F.J. Reitz High School Class of 1969

โ€œIt was THE place to be on the weekends! Of course, we all wore bikinis that came up to our belly buttons, and that was considered risquรฉ. It was a wonderful way to meet others from everywhere in the area, not just Evansville.โ€
Joni Matthews
Evansville marketing executive,William Henry Harrison High School Class of 1976

โ€œLifeguard parties. Once they shut down the park and all the people left, once a year โ€ฆ ohh buddy, we would do crazy things on the trapeze and the water slides. We were young and dumb, and it was fun.โ€
Mike Moran
Financial advisor in Carmel, Indiana
Mater Dei High School Class of 1989
Kramerโ€™s Lake lifeguard in the mid-1980s

Photo of Brad Kramer at Kramer’s Lake provided by Brad Kramer

โ€œ(In 1991) typically, Iโ€™d sleep as late as possible, and the lake would open at 10 a.m. I would ride my bike up there. Itโ€™s hard to imagine a 10-year-old riding their bike a mile down the road now. โ€ฆ (As a teenage lifeguard) it really was about the friendships with the other employees. There was a lot of fun to be had after shifts.โ€
Brad Kramer
Evansville pilot, Mount Vernon Senior High School Class of 1999, and Vernon Kramerโ€™s son and the youngest Kramer grandchildย 

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Jodi Keen
Jodi Keen
Jodi Keen is the managing editor of Evansville Living and Evansville Business magazines.

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