NATCHEZ — Fred Voss and his family are used to sharing Lake St. John with the Labor Day crowd, but this year the family had the lake almost all to themselves.

Empty driveways and few boats were the sight at the lake Monday afternoon, but Voss and his wife, Pat, come to Lake St. John from their home in Natchez almost every week, and Labor Day was no exception.

“It used to be the last big weekend before school started, the end of summer,” Voss said.

Pat said she had never seen so few boats on the lake, and the family has their theories as to why that may be.

Voss said the previously postponed high school football games that were played today may have kept some people away from the lake.

The Voss’ daughter Lori Olinde said she thinks Tropical Storm Isaac may have spoiled some people’s lake plans.

“A lot of people missed work last week, so they may have had to work (Monday),” she said.

Either way, the family wasn’t complaining as they enjoyed the sun at their lake house, Del-Sa-No.

“With hardly anybody here, it really is like having the whole lake to yourself,” said Jennifer Voss, who is married to Fred and Pat’s son, Van Voss.

The family reminisced on their lake memories and talked about how Del-Sa-No came to be. Voss’ father, Axel, bought the property in 1945 and built the house.

“My mother’s name was Delphine, and when he asked if he could buy the property, she said ‘no,’ so he named it Del-Sa-No,” Voss said.

The family proudly displays a Danish flag on the house in honor of the Danish heritage of Voss’ father, who was originally from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Although the kids don’t bathe in the lake with Ivory soap like their parents did when they were young, Hunter Voss, 12, Rossie Olinde, 13, Nolan Voss, 16, and Justin Livingston, 15, still enjoyed football and fishing at the lake.

Lori’s 4-year-old daughter, Lawson, whose dance moves were the family’s entertainment for the weekend, napped as the boys played football.

But it wasn’t all football and fun for the family, Fred said he gave his grandsons a Labor Day lesson.

“They were asking me why it was called Labor Day, so I put them to work,” he said laughing. “We’ve been straightening and moving a couple of posts out here in the yard.”

Hunter said he learned his Labor Day lesson, but he said working is not what Labor Day means to him.

“It’s about spending time with your family,” he said.