By RYAN E. SMITH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Not everyone was thrilled about Patti Winzeler becoming a calendar girl at age 49.
"I have a 15-year-old son, and he was like, 'Mother, that's sort of nasty,' " she said.
But he came around once he saw the Women of Clear Lake calendar.
It's a collection of mature women - almost all of them over 50 - who posed for a calendar to help raise money to save an island in their beloved Clear Lake, Ind., from development.
The lake, about 70 miles west of Toledo near the Ohio and Michigan borders, has been a refuge and playground for many of them, including a number of women with northwest Ohio roots.
"It's been a long history of people who have loved that island from generation to generation," said Judy Johnston, 53, one of the calendar's creators who took most of its photos. "It's just a place to get away and relax and see friends."
Reared in Morenci, Mich., she now lives at the lake full-time.
So far, more than $1 million of the required $1.6 million has been raised to buy Kasota Island; about $15,000 of that has come from the calendars, which sell for $25 each at www.clearlakeindiana.org/fun.
Bryan native Mary Jo Fitzenrider peeks out from behind a boat’s sail in one of the Women of Clear Lake calendar photos.
The idea came from the 2003 movie Calendar Girls with Helen Mirren, about middle aged women who doff their clothes to pose for a charity calendar.
The women of Clear Lake, who range all the way up to age 87, is more about the illusion of nudity.
"We wanted it to be cute and fun," said Ms. Johnston. "We didn't want it to be a pinup calendar."
And so the 75 women who posed for the calendar strategically position objects like colorful foam water noodles and other props.
"At first I was a little reluctant," she said. "Mine are very conservative poses."
Susie Snyder, 57, of Napoleon, said the women had a blast doing the project.
"We had a ball," she said. "We giggled and laughed and we just had a great time."
Still, there remained one concern for Mrs. Winzeler, who lived in Montpelier before moving to the lake.
"I was a little worried to show my mom," she admitted. "But to be honest, she did sort of laugh it all off."
Originally published in The Blade on Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Calendar raises funds to prevent development of island getaway
