Pond life is good for Presque Isle houseboat residents
Andy Colwell/Erie Times-News
Erie resident and Horseshoe Pond houseboat owner Mike Hirsch poses for a portrait with his dog, Yahtzee, aboard the houseboat at Presque Isle State Park.
Andy Colwell/Erie Times-News
Nancy Bloom and her husband, Tom, pose aboard their houseboat on Horseshoe Pond at Presque Isle State Park in Erie. Since 1981, the Blooms have spent the summer months aboard two different houseboats, including this one, No. 28, for the last 10 years.
Andy Colwell/Erie Times-News
Tom Bloom of Greene Township in Erie County looks toward Horseshoe Pond houseboat No, 28, which his family has owned for 10 years, at Presque Isle State Park in Erie.
Andy Colwell/Erie Times-News
Horseshoe Pond houseboat No. 7, owned by Mike and Carol Hirsch of Erie, at Presque Isle State Park in Erie
ERIE – Tom and Nancy Bloom don’t like to travel.
The retired Erie couple – both are 76 – say they don’t crave the Florida warmth like many of their friends.
Their dream escape unfolds nearly every day from April through October on Houseboat 28 in Presque Isle State Park’s Horseshoe Pond.
“This is our vacation,” Nancy Bloom said. “It’s all here. We have our family and friends we can share it with. We consider it our treasure, and we like to share it with people.”
And houseboat culture certainly has its perks: Beautiful sunsets, magnificent wildlife viewing and countless recreational water activities.
On a recent sunny, breezy afternoon, Nancy Bloom pointed to the sun’s rays glistening off the gently moving waters near her Horseshoe Pond residence.
“We’re near nature out here and I’m a nature person,” she said. “I’m a spiritual person, and I love it out here because you can do whatever you want.”
Twenty-four houseboats dot Horseshoe Pond on the southeast end of the park. The Blooms have spent their summers since 1981 living on two of them, the most recent of which they bought 10 years ago.
Their houseboat neighbors, Erie residents Mike and Carol Hirsch, both 54, became Horseshoe Pond denizens in 2001, when they purchased a houseboat.
They decided for the first time to live permanently this summer season at their houseboat from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
“Both of us are stoked,” said Mike Hirsch, a retired Erie firefighter.
When they purchased the house 15 years ago, it was “the worst place out here,” Hirsch said.
The roof leaked, there was a broken anchor chain, the deck was unsafe to walk on, and muskrats had chewed a hole through part of the floor.
An extensive renovation and rebuild has transformed their summer residence.
“I fell in love with it,” Hirsch said. “We knew we could make this into something that would be our little getaway.”
Their home living space measures 997 square feet, and the wraparound deck measures 998 square feet, just below the combined 2,000 square-foot-limit allowed on the boats, Hirsch said.
A unique feature at the Hirsch’s abode is a small replica of Presque Isle State Park’s North Pier Light they had built and attached to their deck on hinges.
Its purpose?
“A lot of people say it’s great … but when I tell them it’s a bathroom, I get this sort of look,” Hirsch said with a laugh.
Tom Bloom is the resident authority on the history of Presque Isle State Park houseboats.
He also is president of the Presque Isle Houseboat Owners Association.
From the early 1900s into the 1950s, houseboats were scattered in three areas of Presque Isle State Park, including Misery Bay, according to Tom Bloom. He said authorities wanted to have all the houseboats together in one place.
Houseboats began making their way to Horseshoe Pond in 1962, he said.
“Five houseboats got lost in the process,” he said. “There’s only 24 in here, but at the time they were drawing the numbers, there were 29. The highest number here is 29 and the lowest is 1. There’s five houseboat numbers missing. They never came in here.”
Tom Bloom said Horseshoe Pond’s houseboats are governed by the commonwealth, and no additional houseboats can be added.
The Blooms’ floating domicile features two bedrooms – the captain’s quarters and the crew quarters – a kitchen, dining and living rooms, and a small workshop Tom Bloom calls “my mini-man cave.”
A composite deck wraps around the house. Three kayaks occupy a portion of one side. A grill is stationed on another.
Two jet boats are tied to the deck, along with two smaller rowboats equipped with outboard engines, and a 24-foot-long powerboat.
From 1981 to 2006, the Blooms spent their summers living on another houseboat south of their present water dwelling.
They sold that first model and purchased their current houseboat 10 years ago.
Tom Bloom, a retired engineer and former co-owner of Erie Specialty Products, renovated and built it into their ideal getaway.
“There’s a good deal of work you have to put into it, but I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t sit around much,” Tom Bloom said.
“Out here, there’s always something to do, whether it’s new or not. You have to have a good work ethic. People who don’t often find things going down the tube in a hurry.”
An ideal summer day of fun and relaxation for Nancy Bloom means getting up early and cooking breakfast for her husband, children, grandchildren and any guests.
“The kids will go out on their Jet Skis, they can take their little ride while I cook a big breakfast,” she said. “Then, when they come back, they say, ‘Wow, that’s the best food I’ve ever tasted because it’s always better on the water.”‘
After breakfast, the Blooms might take one of their boats over to Beach 11 and meet friends.
Mike Hirsch said every month and each of the four seasons offer something special on the pond.
“You wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee on the deck and watch a bald eagle fly overhead,” Hirsch said.
A small power boat, kayaks and paddleboards are Hirsch houseboat essentials.
“My favorite time is when you have someone fishing on one side, kayakers and paddleboarders on another side and my 80-year-old mom is sitting on the sunset side,” Hirsch said. “That’s the day you want – everything fun you can do at the peninsula is being done right there.”
Pond life has its upsides.
“Horseshoe Pond is basically a swamp, but it’s the nicest swamp I could ever think of in the world,” Hirsch said.