Reinickes and Schicks have shared more than just a home.

By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

This is the story of a small cabin built at Lake Panorama in 1973 and two families who made this cabin their home. It is located on Chatham Lane, a short stretch of road between the Lake Panorama dam and a small cul-de-sac up the hill. The cabin is the first house north of the dam. 

Lynn and Jan Reinicke owned the house for 36 years. Lynn grew up a town kid in Grundy Center, and Jan grew up on a dairy farm near Elkader. They met while students at the University of Northern Iowa and got married during Jan’s senior year. 

“We moved that fall to Cincinnati, Ohio, to go to graduate school and stayed there for three years,” Jan says. “We returned to Iowa to teach one year at Upper Iowa University in interim positions when a friend of ours became the president there. We spent some time teaching high school after that. We were in Coon Rapids for five years where we first became aware of Lake Panorama. One of our faculty Christmas parties was held at The Port.” 

By 1980, both Jan and Lynn were searching for a career change. Jan was hired by the Iowa State Education Association as a government relations specialist and eventually became the executive director. Lynn was hired by a company servicing the publishing industry, which later became CDS Global. 

“We both had busy schedules and wanted a place to relax and have fun on the weekends,” Jan says. “We spent a weekend at Clear Lake with friends in the early 1980s and had such a great time, we decided lake life might be for us. We were living in Des Moines and didn’t want a long drive. We remembered Lake Panorama and decided to look there.” 

It was the fall of 1984. 

“We immediately fell in love with the location of this house. It was built in 1973 and needed some loving care. But we saw it had potential and it fit our budget,” Reinicke says. “We made some immediate cosmetic changes on the upper level and spent most of our time there. Eventually, we replaced the cement block foundation with a poured concrete one and turned the lower level into three small bedrooms, family room and a bathroom.” 

Reinicke says she and Lynn loved the privacy the location afforded. 

“It offered great lake and river valley views, as well as abundant wildlife. It was common to see deer and wild turkeys. Over the years, we looked at several other properties, but we never found one we felt the same attachment for as our little private getaway,” she says. 

The Reinickes’ primary home was in the Des Moines area. 

“When we remodeled both the upper and lower level over the years, the changes always were made to accommodate friends and relatives enjoying the place with us,” Jan says. “We turned it into a four-bedroom, two-bath walkout with an upper and lower family room. We added a four-season porch to accommodate extra guests. 

“We made sure to leave space for an expandable dining area with both upper and lower decks suitable for meal gathering times. We had annual visits from Lynn’s nephews for many years of boating and fishing. And my family visited often. For many years, we hosted a small golf outing at Panorama West over Labor Day weekend to celebrate my dad, finishing with awards and a dinner at the house. We did birthday parties and even a luncheon in December; one year everyone had to walk down from the cul-de-sac,” Reinicke says. 

Lynn traveled on business, and Jan had weekend and evening meetings, so the lake house was an easily accessible escape for both of them. 

“We used the house more in the warm weather months but kept it open year around,” Jan says. “Winter weekends were a welcome retreat as the snow always made it seem more private, especially when the road was undriveable and we walked down.” 

The couple retired in 2008 and spent time traveling the world but returned to Lake Panorama when they could. 

“It remained a retreat we both appreciated,” Jan says. “It was a very distinct part of our lives together.” 

Lynn passed away in 2017. 

“I sold my house in Urbandale almost immediately and moved to a Des Moines townhouse but hung on to the lake property,” Jan says. “Eventually, I realized I wasn’t doing the house any favors by not being able to take care of it. It made sense for me to let go so a new family could enjoy it.” 

Jan wasn’t ready to give up her connection to Lake Panorama. 

“I have served on the Friends of Lake Panorama board since it was formed in 2013, and that is important to me,” she says. “The perfect solution was to buy a townhome on Karen Drive.” 

When Reinicke sold the Chatham Lane property in 2020, she didn’t know the buyer. 

“I only knew they were a young family with children. That thought made me happy as I knew another couple would be making memories in a place that was very important to me,” she says. “It’s the kind of place where young people should be running up and down the stairs to the lake, jumping off the dock, taking off on a boat ride and watching the wildlife. I felt confident they, too, would come to appreciate it. Or at least that was my hope.”

Tyler and Hayley Schick bought the Reinicke house on Chatham Lane. The pair met in seventh grade. Hayley grew up on a farm between the towns of Gladbrook and Reinbeck, and Tyler grew up in Reinbeck. 

“We became friends, and the friendship blossomed into a steady relationship through high school,” Hayley says. “After high school, Tyler joined the Army National Guard and was in ROTC while in college. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with degrees in history and military science. I attended Drake University and graduated with degrees in public relations and marketing.” 

The couple reconnected during their senior year of college and within seven months, Tyler proposed to Hayley. 

“We enjoyed traveling as a young married couple to other countries, riding on RAGBRAI and starting a life together in Des Moines,” she says. “In our 14 years of marriage, we’ve welcomed three beautiful babies — Leopold, age 7, Lawrence, age 5, and Sophie, who is 3 years old.” 

Tyler works for Stryker as an orthopedic sales manager, and Hayley works as a product manager for Sun Life Financial. They have two dogs, Zoey and Harvey.

What got the couple interested in property at Lake Panorama? 

“Before having children, we enjoyed day excursions from Des Moines, and Panora was a favorite destination. We rode our bikes there several times from our first home in Urbandale,” Hayley says. “Lake life was something Tyler grew up with, as his family had a boat and most weekends they went to Red Rock. Some of his favorite childhood memories were days spent on the water with his family. Having access to a lake became a shared dream for us.” 

In 2017, while expecting their first child, the couple purchased a waterfront property in Burchfield Cove. 

“For the next few years, we enjoyed camping in our pop-up camper at Springbrook State Park, which allowed us to spend entire weekends on or near the lake,” Hayley says. “In 2020, the perfect home for our growing family came on the market. We immediately went to check it out and fell in love.”

The Schicks liken their Lake Panorama home to living in a treehouse.

“We can hear the birds singing in the trees, and there’s lots of wildlife to observe. We love the serenity it offers. It is peaceful and offers so much scope for our imaginations. We feel so lucky to call the home ours,” Hayley says. 

They’ve made small changes, painting and adding a couple of windows. 

“We’re looking to increase more views of the lake and replace siding, roofing and work on some landscaping to increase space to host family and friends,” Tyler says. 

The family’s primary home now is in Johnston, after a move from Des Moines last February. 

“This is our getaway. We live differently here; we’re more intentional,” Hayley says. “In the summer, we enjoy nearly every weekend at the lake. In the winter, we carve out one weekend each month to visit the lake. We play games, do puzzles together, watch movies, bake cookies, and visit Crafty’s for coffee and hot cocoa. We feel like we’re on vacation when we’re in our lake home.”

Jan Reinicke and Tyler and Hayley Schick met for the first time at the 2024 Friends of Lake Panorama Beach Ball.

“Scott Kemble, my neighbor for many years and now theirs, introduced me to Hayley and Tyler at the Beach Ball,” Jan says. “I knew they were going to attend and looked forward to meeting them. Their enjoyment of their place and the Lake Panorama community was so evident in how they talked about it. I was delighted. It made me very happy the place that meant so much to me was now going to be enjoyed for many years to come. I took a lot of peace and comfort away from that meeting.” 

The Schicks were as anxious to meet Jan as she was to meet them. 

“We were so excited to meet Jan,” Hayley says. “We wanted her to know the house was a happy home and cherished by our family. We knew she remained involved with Lake Panorama after the sale of her home, which made us happy to think she wasn’t saying goodbye.” 

The couple said meeting Jan and observing others at the Beach Ball left an impression on them. 

“It was the depth of friendships that had spanned for years,” Hayley says. “Being from small towns, we feel at home here and we love that our children get to experience the charms of a smaller town. One thing great about a smaller community is it takes everyone to maximize their talents and skills to contribute to the whole. We connected so well with the people we met at our Beach Ball table.”

As the Reinickes did before them, the Schicks enjoy entertaining family and friends at their Lake Panorama home. 

“We have hosted many family members and friends,” Hayley says. “Tyler always has something thrown on the smoker, and I can whip up some decent sides. We have met so many families at the lake; we have a tendency to no longer invite non-Lake Panorama people to visit because our friends are already here.”

Reinicke says Lake Panorama is a much busier place now than it was in the mid-1980s.

“Back then, you didn’t need a tee time at Panorama West. Now, it’s a much improved course that attracts many. There are more boats on the lake but also more things to do with beach improvements, playground equipment, sports courts, and the swimming pool at the conference center,” she says. 

Yet, one thing remains the same. 

“The sense of serenity that envelops you as you enjoy time spent in a beautiful natural setting,” Reinicke says. 

The Schicks agree. 

“We feel like we’re at the start of the next 20-plus years and we are so excited and happy we’re here,” Hayley says. “We love Lake Panorama. We love the community it offers, and how people of all ages and background can so quickly connect over this one special lake that unites us.”