I miss the crackle of the marine radio in the corner of the cabin at the lake.

It used to be a veritable party line for communication in the north country where we like to fish and hunt and play. It was the only way for people to chat from cabin to cabin, or boat to boat, or boat to cabin.

The VHF radios with varying ranges, usually about 10 miles across water, but sometimes more, were mostly set on channel 10 in our area. That’s where we reported back to the cabin on how the walleye bite was going and when we might return with fish for dinner.

The great thing about marine radios is that everyone tuned to that channel can listen. You knew when neighbors had their grandchildren visiting because they got to call Grandma on the radio, from the boat back to the cabin, and report how big the walleye was they just caught, little voices being coached to make sure they said “over’’ when they were done talking.

There was the time when old Jim Stonehouse, who was pushing 90 and suffered congestive heart failure, was out fishing in his little Lund boat and didn't answer back when his wife, Betty, called him on the marine radio. Betty was worried, and her neighbors used our radios to organize a search team.

While marine radios are still considered a necessary safety measure, required for boat-to-boat communications on the big lake, cellphones have all but rendered marine radios a decoration on most recreational boats, with fishing reports exchanged via texts between sport anglers and between charter captains. Group chats just aren't as fun when others can’t listen in.