Some Like it Cold: A Sheboygan Surfin' Safari

by William Povletich

For the past six decades, twin brothers Lee and Larry Williams have been surfing the gnarliest waves despite living nearly 2,000 miles away from any ocean. To overcome the obstacles of being born and raised in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, they brought their dreams and long boards to the shores of Lake Michigan. Often braving 35-degree waters and wind-chill temperatures hovering below zero, the Williams brothers quickly realized the biggest adversaries of the "Malibu of the Midwest" weren’t the lacking waves, but rather hypothermia and frostbite. Customizing their wetsuits to allow them to last nearly three hours in even the iciest of waters, Lee and Larry helped revolutionize a surf culture where one had never been before. As hosts of the Dairyland Surf Classic, they became international surfing celebrities and attracted hundreds of surfers from around the globe eager to partake in one of America’s best beach parties. Some Like it Cold is the fascinating story of two brothers whose lifelong journey to ride the ultimate wave seemingly brought the rest of the surfing world to their hometown.

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book thru early reviewers on Library Thing and I liked it a lot. The setting for the book is in the region of Sheboygan, Wisconsin near the Great Lakes. It follows a courageous group of souls who in the sixties and seventies dominated the surfing scene. These guys really pushed the limit and created a unique surf experience. The book centers around two brothers, Larry and Lee Williams and a small group of Lake Shore Surf Club members. They had a unique style and they made their own rules in this hierarchy, led by Andy Sommersberger. I like how the book follows the Williams brothers from the beginnings of renting the surfboard for a day, to becoming kings of the Sheboygan surfing world to eventually being in a movie, Step into Liquid. They also had cartoon movie characters based upon their life, Surf’s up. The author does a good job with this book and I highly recommend it to anybody who is curious of this regional surfing culture.

[M.D. Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much when I bought this book. I couldn't have been more wrong. Even if you're not a surfer this is a must read.

[David Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having had the great pleasure of growing up in the '50s-'60s along the shores of Lake Michigan in the industrial town of Racine located midway between Milwaukee and Chicago, my brother and I and all our friends spent the warm and sunny Summer days living a beach culture all of our own. That culture was validated, enriched and enhanced by the emergence of the Frankie and Annette Beach Blanket Bingo movies of the late '50s and the Beach Boys surfing songs of the early '60s. We even perfected the art of body surfing when the waves were sufficient, but the erroneous "conventional wisdom" that "You can't surf on Lake Michigan" prevented us from even considering actual surfing on surf boards.

However, completely unknown to us, only 75 miles north, the slightly-younger Williams twins Lee and Larry encountered an emerging actual surfing scene already existing in Sheboygan, unencumbered by any similar erroneous sort of discouraging and erroneous "conventional wisdom." They were surfing. On real surfboards. On Lake Michigan waves. In Wisconsin waters.

In his book "Some Like it Cold" Bill Povletich details the fascinating story of how Lee and Larry took a nascent Great Lakes surfing scene and spent the next several decades nurturing that surfing scene and transforming their own Wisconsin blue-collar working class industrial town into "The Malibu of the Midwest." Now in its second century and continuing to grow and expand, the Great Lakes surfing community stretches all the way from Duluth, Minnesota to Buffalo, New York and all the way to Toronto, Ontario in Canada.

And his book isn't just a retelling of how surfing took hold on the Great Lakes. Povletich provides the reader with an insight into the lives of American kids back then- a peek at a lost time in history that neither TV's "Happy Days" nor cinema's "American Graffiti" would adequately replicate. You don't have to be a surfer to "get into" Bill's book. And you don't have to have grown up in America during that time. This book is very hard to set down, as it quickly and efficiently flows through a fascinating time and place, and transports you back into what it was like growing up back then, back there.

When you're done reading this book, you'll understand that you CAN surf on Lake Michigan, and, if you haven't done it already, you're going to want to try.

Enlightening and entertaining, and very highly recommended.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read that focuses on the teenage years of twin brothers surfing Lake Michigan in the 1960's-80's. Some great local flavor along with some surfing stoke.

[G.S. Oldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this from a friend who lives in Sheboygan. Apparently, a revised edition was released that I haven't read. So this may be a flawed evaluation. If not, this non-fiction story is imperfect, but it's a great story on surfing in an unlikely locale. There's really no Hollywood version of the tale, which is a plus. The whole Go Pro, X-treme! X-citement! approach is pretty worn out in the sports world and there's no reason to expect it to make the presentation valuable. Brothers Lee and Larry Williams—the prime characters, and creators of the Dairyland Surf Classic—lived interesting lives in an interesting time when none of that recorded visual style existed. Thankfully. Physical sports involvement doesn't need to be (nor should it be) hyped.

One "faulty" aspect of the book is the lack of high quality photos. But, seriously, they're all accurate and it's lame to expect vintage events to have been recorded under current standards. Surfboards as well as the sport itself went through exceptional, non-curse based times, and that's good enough. Without accepting that, we have no business talking about the definition of history. The story is well worth the reading. Occasionally, I sensed the telling was a little overdone but that might be my own perception. Enough essential facts and details are covered to seal the deal. The unlikely elements of humanity are rich. Winter inland lake surfing is crazy enough to scare surfers at the California Malibu, but that's the Midwest for you. With the cold you still get waves, so why the hell not paddle out and enjoy what you can?

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one at first. I was very plesantly surprised by this story and I'm glad that I was given the opportunity to review it as it is not a book that I would normally choose but I really enjoyed it.

It is probably cliche to say this but: I didn't even know people surfed on the Great Lakes! As a Native Southern Californian, but one who has never surfed, I was under the very sorry impression that people only surfed on the beach...boy, did this story prove me wrong! It was very interesting and fun to read about this hidden (to me) side of the surfing world.

I can relate to their story of athletes and enthusiasts who care and enjoy something so deeply it follows them through their life...both good and bad. I think that Povletich did a great job of making the reader appreciate the Williams' brothers and what their experience without getting bogged down in sentimentality. I found this especially appealing as I read about the brothers; the tone seemed to fit right in with their personality.

Definitely worth picking up this book!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd recommend it to friends.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting! I grew up in the Sheboygan area and never knew people surfed on Lake Michigan.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up 60 Miles south of Sheboygan in Milwaukee, in the same approximate time frame. I lived about two miles from Lake Michigan and my friends and I would walk to the lake often. It was the era of The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean. We often wished we could surf on the lake. We never imagined that it was happening not far from us, at " The Malibu of the Midwest," as Sheboygan was called. Unreal.

That being said I really enjoyed this book. I actually just upped my rating from a three to a four. Nothing profound in the book, but that's ok, it's not always necessary. Maybe my knowledge of the surroundings and the times made this book especially likeable for me.

Whatever...Surfs up !!!!