When reading anything historical, while fascinating, it can be hard to connect to the information as it is not personally relevant or the idea that the historical event happened a long time ago creates a divide. The hurdle for the historian is how to bridge the reader to the past and make the information relevant? The newest release from the Leelanau Press, “Glen Arbor Township: A History to 1920” beautifully bridges the past for the contemporary reader.
Ed Ricker has driven the grand marshal in Glen Arbor’s Fourth of July parade in his iconic 1976 black Cadillac for decades. This year, Glen Arbor Township has bestowed the honor of grand marshal on Ricker, himself. The owner of Glen Lodge, pride of Miami University (Ohio) and longtime fixture at Art’s Tavern, passed away under tragic circumstances last November. Ricker was 95. Former Art’s owner Tim Barr will drive the Cadillac; Ricker’s daughter, Glen Lake Chamber president Darci will ride next to him.
See 67 newly placed headstones placed on formerly unknown and unmarked graves at the historic Glen Arbor Cemetery on Friday, May 24. Previously, 13 marked graves were the only ones known to be there. Then, one year ago, Glen Arbor Township employed ground-penetrating radar (GPR), revealing 75 unmarked graves and a “potter’s field” which holds additional remains. The 10 am ceremony will feature a eulogy of Civil War veteran Edmund Trumbull, poetry by Anne-Marie Oomen, taps by Norm Wheeler, and the Glen Lake eighth graders will claim the names of those buried at the cemetery whom they each have studied.
Glen Arbor’s celebrated Fourth of July parade—proudly an “anything goes” fete for 60 years—has a few rules and structure now. But not too much will change. In late founder Stan Brubaker’s absence, the Glen Arbor Township will manage the parade, which lines up in Glen Haven and leaves for Glen Arbor at noon. Water guns, cannons and water balloons won’t be allowed this year. “People have complained in the past, and we’re getting rid of things that can hurt little kids or make older people wet. Getting creamed in the head by a water balloon you weren’t expecting is no fun, especially when you’re 75 years old.” Glen Arbor’s iconic citizen kazoo corps returns to the Fourth of July parade this year, following a three-year hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Glen Arbor Township will host a community open house on Thursday, Aug. 19, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Township Hall, located at 6394 W. Western Ave, to discuss a preliminary design for a connector route for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.
Codified into laws and upheld by the courts, modern zoning ordinances have evolved to become the “laws of the land.” In Leelanau County, townships possess police power to enact and enforce zoning ordinances, while the county takes an advisory role through its planning commission.
Glen Arbor was described in 2011 by the Good Morning America TV show as “The Most Beautiful Place in America.” Today Glen Arbor Township, which has experienced unprecedented growth pressure as a resort destination, faces a community reckoning. It involves a new resident with ambitious development plans, deep pockets, and close partnership with regional heavy hitters; longtime neighbors; zoning irregularities; and old wounds from a 40-year-old environmental controversy.
The historic, 1870s era Kelderhouse-Brammer grist mill on the Crystal River is a step closer to being reborn—potentially next summer—as a museum, a café, and a community gathering space. Turner Booth, the ambitious entrepreneur who acquired the mill from The Homestead Resort two years ago, secured a site plan approval from the Glen Arbor Planning Commission on November 5.
The McCahill family hopes to greatly expand its boating business on the Glen Lakes by acquiring Crystal Harbor Marina. But they face staunch local opposition.
The former Glen Arbor Township Cemetery, located in the backwoods behind Boonedocks, has been buried in a tangle of trees since the brutal storm of August 2015. The place is dear to me because my first book, Aaron’s Crossing, began its life and death saga when I sensed a ghost there.