Small Town Tours

Today, I deviate from my regular entries to write about a destination, Island Lake Recreation Area.

This little gem of a park, a few miles east of Brighton off I-96, offers some great hiking.  While there are only 18 miles of trails noted on the map, we were impressed with the variety of terrain on the trails, particularly the paved trail which ends at Kent Lake and the Huron River.  However, be sure to watch out for cyclists!  The park is open during daylight hours all year round, so bundle up and get out there for good walk.

This month's Small Tour Town includes my parents, whom I joined on a weekend visit to my Grandmother in Niles, just across the Michigan border from South Bend, Indiana. On the way to Niles, we dipped a wee bit north on M-40 to stop in Paw Paw (pop. 3363), another underrated small town of Michigan. Paw Paw is named for the pawpaw trees which once grew along the Paw Paw River. However, the pawpaw trees are less common at present due to the clearing of the shade trees that pawpaws require. An experimental planting of pawpaw trees on the high school grounds failed to flourish due to its location in an open, sunny field.

Paw Paw is proud of its primary agricultural product: grapes. Local grapes are used both in the local Michigan wine industry and for juice and jellies. The St. Julian Winery and Warner's Winery started in Paw Paw. While we were too late for the Wine and Harvest Festival: "A grape time for everyone," 2008 dates are already posted. The Festival features a beer tent, bandstand, live music, a popular grape stomping competition among barefoot locals, carnival foods, and fireworks over Maple Lake. However, a hidden gem in Paw Paw is Bistro 120 - a great family-owned local restaurant. If you like soup, this is the place for you. There were no less than eight choices of homemade soup when we popped in on a Saturday afternoon. Salad and sandwich portions are big, so we recommend getting your own bowl of soup and splitting a salad or sandwich with a companion.  And, don't even get us started on the pie.

Back en route to our desination, we traveled through Decatur and Dowagiac. Decatur (pop. 1838) is named after war hero Stephen Decatur, Jr.  Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen grew up in Decatur and a street is named for him. 

Dowagiac (pop. 6147) is the next main stop before Niles. The city name comes from the Potawatomi Indian word meaning, "foraging ground". Recently, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm visited nearby Cassopolis to discuss alternative energy resources and this event was featured prominently on the city's very attractive electronic newspaper, the Dowagiac Daily News. Unfortunately, the photo of Governor Granholm (of whom I am a fan) was less than flattering.

Our final destination was Niles, the largest of our small towns visited this weekend (pop 12, 204). Niles has an interesting history. Niles is located at the site of the French Fort St. Joesph, which was established in 1681. About 100 years later it was captured by the British, who held it for 2 years until it was captured by the Native Americans during Pontiac's rebellion. The British later retook the fort, but during the American Revolutionary War, it was captured by the Spanish. The city's nickname, City of Four Flags, represents the presence of the British, the French and the Spanish, as well as the United States.  So much for the Native American influence, huh?

I've always known Niles for being famous for its train depot, built in 1892, and where three films have been made: Continental Divide, Midnight Run and Only the Lonely. It still functions as a train station. Due to its fame, the depot is a source of pride in the community and is brightly decorated for the Christmas holidays. So, you might want to pencil in visit to Niles in early December, so you can also take part in the Niles Holiday Home Tour. 

A visit to downtown Niles is worth your time, too. An influx of funds to renovate many of the historica buildings has turned the once drab strip into a charming shopping district.  And, if you come for one thing, it will be candy.  Veni's Sweet Shop at 228 E. Main is described by area bloggers as the best candy shop in the world.  Read Terry Phillip's testimony for a small sample.  For a proper meal, you can try the Hob Nob Bistro, the charming Paris Soda Shop, both on Main, or just up the street at the corner of 5th and Main is El Amigo Pepe's Authentic Mexican Food.  Niles has a lovely riverfront walkway, with a very cool skateboard park and a solemn tribute to the area's war dead.

Well, that's it for this month's tour.  Not sure if we'll get to a tour in November, so see you again in December!

On Sunday, September 23, 2007, we went through Hell and back again.  Since the weather was so beautiful today, we decided to take a short tour and a long walk ending in a picnic. So we began our tour at the Howell Farmers' Market in order to stock up on provisions.

We picked up some lovely tomatoes, peppers and honey crisp apples, along with some great cheese, and of course, a baguette from the Copper Pickle and a bottle of wine from the Main Street Winery.  Our destination was Silver Lake, part of the Pinckney Recreation Area via the Potawatomi Trail, which requires one to travel South on D-19 from I-96 and turn West onto D-32, the road to Hell.  Lucky for us, it was a big day in Hell for the rodeo had come to town.  The Helluva Rodeo, an event that raises money for local charities, was going strong on this hot day.  [photo right lower by ALAN WARD/DAILY PRESS & ARGUS].  There isn't much to Hell, but residents and merchants have wisely capitalized on the marketability of the place. But, I expected more.  There is just The Country Store, Screams Ice Cream Parlor, and the Dam Site Inn, the draw for bikers with its outdoor tables, which allow patrons to admire each other's ride while sipping a a cold brew. Hell does, however, have a wedding chapel which rents for only $66.00.  Hell has an interesting history, though. Hell was first settled in 1838 by George Reeves, his wife, and seven daughters.  George built a mill, a general store, and a whiskey still on the banks of Hell Creek. Folklore has it that when horses or wagons would return home unaccompanied, and when asked where the riders were, irate wives would remark,"They've gone to Hell!”  Later, in 1841, representatives from the State of Michigan turned up and asked George what to call his town. Apparently he replied, “Call it Hell for all I care, everyone else does.”

No time to dawdle in Hell, however, we had a trail to find.  A few miles out of Hell, we found Glenbrook Road and took it south past Half Moon Lake, parking about 0.5 miles down the road at a turn off site (figuring out later we should just have parked at Pickerel Lake, where the trail crosses Glenbrook Road).   [As a side note, check out the Glenbrook Yurt, located between Portage Lake and Half Moon Lake. It sleeps 5 and can be rented for $60/night]. My boyfriend suited up with the picnic backpack and I loaded up with water (and the dog), and we headed east along the trail, stopping to admire Pickerel Lake. 

Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am very reactive to poison ivy, and it was all over the trail, so I was a bit paranoid the first 45 minutes or so trying to keep the dog from the brush (and then transferring the ivy to me), but I loosened up after a while and just promised myself not to pet him until he could get a bath. Unfortunately, we were on the part of the trail that was met for mountain bikers, so we got in the way of some ardent riders a few times, but they didn't seem to mind.  This is not a trail for the occasional hiker, by the way.  The terrain is somewhat rugged and rather hilly, so you need to be somewhat fit to enjoy yourself.  There are also lots of trails that converge in this area, so it was nice that the trail markers were good. After about 1.5 hours, we made it to Silver Lake, where we stopped for a picnic.  After our meal and a long rest in sun, we hiked back to the car on a slightly different route. On the way home, we road through Pinckney, which on a later visit deserves further investigation, particularly because one of my former law professors just bought a pizza parlor there, called Checkerboard Pizza.  I also noted the town still had a bakery, Dexter Baker, on Pearl street.  The small town bakery is indeed dying breed.

Well, that's it for this Sunday's tour. We've received suggestions to visit Portland and Holly (not necessarily the same day), but we'll let you know where we go next!

On Saturday, September 8, 2007, we began our first small tour town.  Today our final destination was the Village of Manchester, to track down the old Henry Ford production plant on the River Raisin.

So, we headed south on M-52 off I-96 at Webberville. Our first stop was Stockbridge, Michigan.  Stockbridge is a quaint little town in southeast Ingham County with a lovely courthouse square. Stockbridge was first settled in 1835.

We first stepped into Antiques on Main, where we spent some time looking and chatting to the proprietor in addition to lavishing attention on the aging gray terrier at his side.  I ended up spending $8.00 on a piece of costume jewelry.  On our way out, we noticed a humorous sign for the candy shop next door, advertising, "candy, snacks, cold drinks & more...school & office supplies, copies and faxes."

There aren't a lot of places to eat in downtown Stockbridge, but The Lighthouse looked interesting, so we checked it out. While there we learned we were a weekend too early for the Vintage Motorcycle Festival, Sept. 15-16.  Our waitress explained that because Stockbridge is on the road to Hell (Michigan), it is a popular stop for bikers. For lunch she recommended the popular turkey and swiss flat bread sandwiches (made from a George Foreman Grill), which were pretty tasty. On our way out, we stopped to admired a 1962 Triumph convertible in the parking lot - the only vehicle there other than ours.  Moments later, the owners arrived and we chatted for sometime about the car.  They even were kind enough to open the hood and let my boyfriend, a vintage car enthusiast, admire the engine. 

After lunch, we proceed to Chelsea, which is well-known to foodies and theater-goers in Michigan, being home of the Common Grill restaurant and the Purple Rose Theatre, started up by Chelsea's own Jeff Daniels.  First, though, did anyone know that Chelesa, Michigan is home to Jiffy, of the Chelsea Milling Company? 

Chelsea is pretty big as small town go, and it is certainly thriving with unique shops and cute cafes, but its specialty seems to be art galleries.  We especially enjoyed the "reusable products" modern sculptures at the River Gallery, where John Schwartz's "Earth friendly art made from recycled materials" is currently on display.  We were told by an artist we met later, John Mitchell, who just opened a new place on Main Street, that the River Gallery advertises in the New York Times.  Zou Zou's is a nice looking coffee shop and cafe that we passed, but our favorite food stop in Chelsea was the Gourmet Chocolate Cafe, where we stopped for ice cream and a chat about college football, as the U of M game was about to begin. 

Our next stop was Manchester, the smallest town on our tour today (pop. 2160), which was deeded and platted in 1826. It has a lovely old mill next to the river downtown, which has been converted to shops and office space.  While my boyfriend inspected the old mill's engineering, I stepped into Bittersweet Farm Antiques to admire the selection of quilts. 

Our goal was to locate the Henry Ford's largest production plant, build here on the River Raisin in 1941. It operated for 16 years and employed over 300 people.  For automotive history buffs, the except from Village Council Member Patricia Valliencourt's speech at the of the building (now used for city operations) in March of 2002 is very interesting.  It is a shame that there are no historical markers to indicate the location of the building, which we finally found with the help of Mapquest.

Since we still had time on our hands, we decided to return through Dexter on M-19.  As luck would have it, Dexter was having a musical festival in support of local arts, so we stopped to take a concert.  On stage was a local teen band, Untitled, who were pretty good for being such young musicians.  The young girls in the audience were clearing having as much fun in the role of adoring fans as the young men playing on stage.  One our way out, we also noted that Dexter has two very upscale restaurants that look worth returning for, Bistro Renaissance and North Point Seafood & Steak. 

By this time, we decided to head home, which took us through our own small town, Howell.  Howell has an unfortunate history as it was once home to the Michigan Chapter of the Ku Klux Clan, but that relationship has long since dissolved (though it is clear the area still lacks diversity).  However, the downtown area of Howell is experiencing a renaissance due to receipt of a Cool Cities Award in 2005.  The following year, a more specific Cool Cities Grant was awarded for renovations to the The Opera House, an ambitious project dedicated not just to historical renovation and preservation, but also to promote arts and cultural activities in Livingston County.  The Cool Cities Award cleared spurred business activity in the downtown area.  One of the newest and most exciting finds for local wine drinkers is Howell's Main Street Winery. Stop in for a taste (there are 30 wines to select from), find something you like, and make a purchase in support of this innovative locally-owned business.  Also check out Le Boutique Upscale Women's Retail Resale and Sunny D's, high-end and specialty lingerie.  If you are hungry, stop into The Copper Pickle Deli for a sandwich or Cleary's Pub & Restaurant for a more substantial meal.  The menu was revised this summer to include more meal salads.  Be sure to try the goat cheese and roasted garlic appetizer.

Well, that's the end of the road for the M-52 South and D-19 North Small Town Tour for September 8, 2007.  Feel free to write and suggest destinations.