Little Bass Camp (A Mystery Solved)
By Jerry Angst
(As told by Ruth Dickie)
© 2010

During at least part of the 1940s and most of the 1950s, a sign in the shape of an arrow 6 feet long and 8 inches wide, pointing the way to "Little Bass Camp" was at the corner of Highway 2 and East Bass Lake Road in Cohasset. Every year Clyde Jellison, the owner of Little Bass Camp, took the sign down, repainted it, and put it back into its place at the corner. This went on for a long time until one year in the mid to late 1950s the sign mysteriously disappeared. Naturally Clyde assumed that it had been stolen, though he didn't know why anyone would do such a thing, so he replaced it with a new sign. Then when John Anderson bought the property and eventually renamed it Little Bass Lake Resort, he quit using the sign at the corner and presumably destroyed it. However, the whereabouts of the orginal sign was still unknown. What had become of it remained a mystery for more than 50 years, until a short time ago (May, 2010) when Ruth Dickie (Clyde's daughter) came across it while helping an old friend clean out her house, garage, and barn. She asked her friend if she could have it, and her friend readily agreed to give it to her. There were "no questions asked" (as the saying goes), so I therefore hasten to point out that there is no direct evidence to explain when or how the sign came into her friend's possession, but feel free to conjecture if you like. Ruth was thoughtful enough to give it to me (for which I am extremely thankful) and we both agreed that it's nice to have it back where it originated. But now the question is: What do I do with it? The board is aged and warped, and the paint is flaking off. Should I restore it by scraping it and repainting it as Clyde did for so many years, should I leave it as it is, or is there some way that I can preserve it in its current condition? Any suggestions would be appreciated. The sign is shown below.