The most popular Glen Arbor Sun story of 2014 was an investigative article in February that featured a proposed canopy air walk in Kasson Township, near Burdickville, that never materialized. Local opposition to Mark Evan’s “air walk” was nearly unanimous, and passionate. Our story attracted thousands of views, and 55 comments.
Worried about the viability of this aging community without its long-term doctor and without a prescription shop, the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce took the proactive step in late April of circulating an email that explored whether it should go out and recruit a new, young doctor to Glen Arbor. But the response from Chamber members was resounding: there was no need—for an energetic and dynamic young doctor had just arrived in Empire.
HomeTown Pharmacy announced yesterday that the Newaygo-based drugstore chain will close its Glen Arbor location, effective May 1. “With the local Doctor Matthew Houghton’s decision to retire, the business took a marked decrease in prescription volume. An already low volume went lower, and the sustainability was not looking like it would ever be regained,” wrote regional manager Anna Rider.
It’s 8:30 on a Saturday morning in May. Doctor Matthew A. Houghton, Jr., sits in his office at Glen Arbor Medical Arts, once the Glen Arbor Beauty Salon, with a few quiet moments to himself before the first patients arrive. He smokes a cigarette — “My last bad habit,” he says — and mumbles something about needing to smoke when you habitually jump out of helicopters.