As newcomers take up residence in Huron County and visitors
look around, they often remark regarding how they feel about
the area. Those of us who have been here for years have memories
of a much different place.
Throughout
the County changes are many, not all for the best. Those
of us who remember when have pictures in our minds that
don’t resemble what we view today. When we describe
our memories to others, they are beyond comprehension.
One
example is the roadways. People rave about the beauty of
the trees lined along M-53 as you depart Bad Axe headed
west
from the traffic light. In the fall, the view is magnificent
as the trees burst into color. Who can remember M-53 where
it ended in Port Austin as it crossed M-25 south of town?
If you were traveling north, you entered a near tunnel
of trees
some as high as the homes along the street. In the fall,
this scene was the most beautiful encountered between Marlette
and
Port Austin. As you passed through the tunnel the bright,
blue color of Lake Huron was at the road’s end. Few
people could make the turn at the last cross road without
being drawn
down to the circle drive at the beach, a view long since
removed. The harbor area has been re-designed twice to
accommodate boating
facilities. Not a bad idea, but doing so replaced many
fond memories.
If you turn east at the stoplight in Port Austin, you travel
along Pte. Aux Barques Road and quickly reach Grindstone City.
Little has changed there over the years. The quarry area on
the southwest end of the city is now a campground along with
property around the area where the grindstones were cut and
shaped. A monument right in the middle of the grounds commemorates
those by-gone days.
Grindstone’s
natural harbor, with its points jutting out into the lake,
remains unchanged. A restaurant and
docks at one end and MDNR boat launch and parking area
have been
added at the other Heading east past the harbor, the
view of the old Gristmill is much the same with some
renovations.
An
old barn just past the curve has been given a huge
facelift and another restaurant sits across from it. The
famous
Grindstone ice cream shop is still scooping out cones
along what was
once the main street of Grindstone City.
As you depart Grindstone and head east to Port Hope, you travel
a highway stretch that was once a gravel road. It is a cement
surface now and said to be the most expensive stretch of road
in Michigan. You pass Huron City Museum and its collection
of historic buildings, and just past that you reach Lighthouse
Road and the same great view of the lake. If you turn in and
follow the road, you can tour the Pte. Aux Barques Lighthouse.
When
you drive through Port Hope, the old hotel still stands,
as does many other old storefronts. A new
bank structure
looks odd among all the older buildings. Continuing
along M-25, you
reach Harbor Beach, where a new city campground
sits right along the roadway on the north side. On the
water front,
a new small boat harbor is tucked into what was
once said to
be the world’s largest man-made inland harbor.
A new Coast Guard station is also located on the
waterfront in
the harbor area. As you drive downtown, there is
a blend of old
and new buildings. Making the turn west out of
Harbor Beach
toward the city of Bad Axe on M-142, there is the
same stretch of farms and homesteads as viewed
in the past.
Going through
Verona, you encounter a familiar sight, Verona
Hills golf course that dates back to the 1920s.
Entering
Bad Axe, the county seat, you see many changes and fond memories
come to mind. There was
a time
when downtown Bad Axe was the busiest place to
shop in the
county. You
could buy everything you needed in a two or three
block passage.
Almost all of the stores were family owned, and
I believe they
far exceeded the current big department store
with their friendly greetings. You could hardly get
in the door
of a downtown store
without being met with a smile and a welcome, “How can
we help you” question.
The
grocery store just east of the downtown shops is long gone.
A few businesses; a man’s clothing store, a tavern, a
shoe store and paint store remain along the main street, as
does an old favorite, Murphy’s Bakery, where the area’s
best doughnuts can still be purchased. New owners in the old
storefronts offer a variety of goods and services. Michael
J’s Designs, a jewelry shop, is a nice reminder of the
past where you can actually have pieces made to order. What
was once the only bank in the area still stands alongside the
historic Bad Axe Theatre with its distinctive marquee. The
downtown bank has been joined by seven additional bank buildings
(at my last count) throughout the city. West of Bad Axe is
a large school complex and Huron Memorial Hospital surrounded
by multiple medical clinics and doctor’s
offices. My memory harkens back to Hubbard
Hospital, which
was located in the heart of downtown.
As
you leave the stoplight in Bad Axe headed north, you encounter
a very different business
environment.
There
are the big
names; K-Mart, WalMart, Walgreen’s, along with at least a dozen
fast food opportunities to drive through. An old standby, McDonald’s
Food & Family grocery store is still
family owned, serving the area since the
50s. Ace
Hardware is another
survivor
that has been around almost that long.
As
I see it, memories of days gone by are great and I’ll
bet a lot of readers will sit back and say, “Oh
yes, I remember when.”