Haughn’s keep it local

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor
Dave and Susan Haughn are the new owners of the Maple Lane Resort on the south shore of Little Glen Lake. Residents of Burdickville, Dave (a teacher in the Traverse City school system) and Susan (a social worker/therapist) are delighted to be moonlighting at Maple Lane Resort on Dorsey Road. “We are happy to be able to keep a local business in the hands of locals,” Dave said. The Haughns bought the popular resort from Kent and Laura Smith, the owners for 23 years. “It has been a motel/resort since the 60’s when it was owned by Mr. Hodge,” Dave explains. Originally just a 10-unit motel, the Maple Lane Resort added a second story in 1987. “The office and manager’s quarters are in the main Victorian house, and there are three bed & breakfast guestrooms upstairs. Bob and Linda Turner of the Lakeshore Inn are our managers. We also feature a carriage house with apartments,” Susan continues, “a ‘gathering room’ with toys, books, and a player piano, and a kitchen for the guests who don’t have a kitchenette.” So there are now 26 units in all.

Besides offering quality rooms and apartments, the Maple Lane Resort hosts small weddings, wedding and baby showers, and office parties in the 200 square foot ‘gathering room.’ Dave continues, “We have a website with 360 degree views of rooms, all of which are uniquely decorated. One, for example, has a Victorian theme with a sleigh-style day bed. The web address is www.maplelaneresort.com. We’ve been getting 250 hits per day!”
How has the transition to summer resort owners been for Dave and Susan Haugh? “We closed on June 11, and it has been a mad sprint since then, like the movie Groundhog Day. Time stood still! It wasn’t really painful, but it was exciting, fun work getting ready for high season. June was a long month of work.”
Because it is under local ownership, Maple Lane Resort will be open throughout the year and offer docent-led hikes, cross-country ski trips and menus from all of the local restaurants. The Haughns know every trail and eatery in these parts, so visitors who stay will be pointed or led in all of the right directions.