I wrote this column after reading the great Labor Day special
section featuring families from around the Thumb. I wonder
how those families will be impacted by future tax structures
and government powers beyond local control. Many of the changes
that occurred in the small town I live in came about due to
state and federal actions and directives that often had to
be paid for and maintained with local tax dollars.
As
I see it, all of Michigan’s small villages are being
pulled into the state’s problems. Even though small towns
have elected boards to govern them, their leaders’ hands
are tied. The percentage of tax dollars small communities
once received has shrunk and those elected as their representatives
seem to ignore them. The smaller the towns (and votes) the
less consideration they get.
Those of us living in small towns are expected to pay taxes
and support leaders and their objectives and ideas financially,
yet our needs and wants are often overlooked. A past example
of government imposition is evident along Main Street in Port
Austin. At one time as you approached the village, after traveling
north through many small towns lined by farmland, you found
yourself in a tunnel of trees that reached overhead from curb
to curb. It was a sight like no other in the Thumb. As you
passed through the tree-lined tunnel, the blue waters of Lake
Huron appeared. Passing along the two blocks of Main Street
you came to a flashing yellow traffic light.
The
two blocks of M-53 leading to the lake had a variety of family
owned and operated businesses. They all seemed
to fair
well; owners’ kids helped at the stores during
busy summer seasons. When they got a few dollars together
and
had a little
time off, they had choices of where to spend their hard-earned
money. There was a theater with a soda fountain two doors
away; Putt-Putt was kitty-corner from the show; and the
roller rink
was just past the main intersection of town.
When they were broke, there was always the beautiful, sandy
beach and plenty of fish to be caught. It was an ideal small
town life for many, especially youngsters.
There
were summer residents from down state who could not wait
to get to what was considered “way up north.” There
was an old saying in many of our Thumb towns about the visitors: “If
you shot a BB gun down Main Street on Memorial Day,
you might kill several dozen people. Fire a canon
down the
street after
Labor Day and no one would notice.”
I
was a summer resident in Port Austin in the 1950s before
I moved here in the 1960s. It was a flourishing
town.
During summer months it was busy around the clock
with traffic
so heavy most people preferred walking. They would
stroll over
to Sturm’s Scenic Dairy for a jumbo ice cream
cone then walk to the harbor and watch the sunset.
Kids would
flock to
the roller rink, one of the largest meeting places
in the county for young summer visitors. A large
county campground
sat a
block from the stoplight where families came to
spend a few days or the entire summer. Campsites
were also
located
west
of town at Gallup Park.
I
mentioned lots of traffic. It often backed up all the way
to the school (which provided a great
education
for
the town’s
youngsters). There was more traffic on one weekend
in the past than we see in an entire summer now.
To serve
all
the vehicles,
Port Austin had five gas stations within a mile
of the downtown area. Cabins and cottages for
rent were
full
all summer long.
Progress
and the government also came to Port Austin. It was decided
the main street had to
be widened
so all the
beautiful
trees that lined the avenue were cut down.
It’s still
hard to understand. Trees were removed to widen an area of
highway one-mile long, serving only two lanes of traffic at
each end. I may have the order of change a little mixed up,
but another government decision was to close the county trailer
park. It was explained there were no taxes being collected
from the people who lived there all summer long. The area became
an empty park area – and no tax dollars were paid plus
a lot fewer dollars were spent in town because the people who
lived in the park went elsewhere. The area described needed
a good amount of upkeep at the village’s
expense. Recently, grant funding plus a portion
being matched
by village funds,
has provided a beautiful waterfront park. An
on-going grant-funding project will result
in total restoration
of the harbor
area. The campsites at Gallup Park were also
eliminated and that
park was developed into a ballpark complex
and the existing tennis court was enlarged
and rebuilt
along
with a covered
pavilion. Some grants were obtained for that
area also, but much of the development depended
upon
local funding.
At some time, the state changed the flashing light at the main
intersection in Port Austin to a regular traffic light and
just recently upgraded it, at a cost of thousands of dollars,
into a traffic control with flashing walk signs. This past
month, four-way stop signs were installed and the traffic light
will soon be removed. How much can it cost to maintain a traffic
light, especially one only working during summer months?
Our roller rink burned down and the property sat empty for
years until a condominium complex was built overlooking the
harbor. The theater was purchased by a very industrious group,
PACP, which has for 25 years constantly upgraded and improved
the building. Broadway shows and other community activities
are hosted there year-round.
Putt-Putt golf celebrated 50 years of entertaining young and
old this past summer. The five fuel stops have been reduced
to one, and the school closed due to consolidation and the
building was sold to a thrift business.
Small towns in the Thumb are losing their quaintness. Our children
may hardly know what small town life is like if the government
continues to dictate how they exist. Huron County is made up
of 26 small towns and three cities. They all work together,
hosting community events to demonstrate and accentuate the
enjoyment of living in a rural, small town environment. Each
individually does a great job. If the state and federal government
would leave them alone and simply give them their fair share
of the taxes collected, they would continue doing so.