The Wind Advisory sent me to Frankfort to photograph choppy Lake Michigan, blowing beach grass, and two lighthouses with crashing waves. I stood the forceful winds for about an hour. On the drive home, I noticed sand covered my sweatshirt and my mouth felt gritty. What fun it was!!
It sets in late fall before the beauty of winter arrives.
This in-between time begins after the leaves drop…
and the earth turns brown.
No sooner than the farm markets close…
the Christmas tree farm begins cutting and baling evergreens.
The corn has been harvested, and the dregs await hungry cranes. Ahhh, but they’ve already journeyed to their southern feeding grounds.
Hmmm. Maybe I should chalk up my moodiness to the full moon.
Two individuals were especially influential in creating the area we now know as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. On October 6th, I wrote about D.H. Day, the young entrepreneur known for developing Glen Haven. Today, I’m going to share Pierce Stocking’s story.
Before the fall color left, I drove the Piece Stocking Scenic Drive one last time before it closed for the winter. As with Glen Haven, I’ve driven this route many times, taken a gazillion pictures along the way, yet its beauty still appeals as much as the first time I drove it.
Pierce Stocking, known to most as Pat, was a lumberman who bought forest land from D.H. Day south of Glen Haven. A self-taught nature lover, Stocking loved the woods and dunes, he often walked the bluffs above Lake Michigan.
Stocking wanted to share the raw beauty of the dunes with others and conceived of the idea of building a road to the top of the dunes. As a lumberman, he was used to building roads in difficult terrain. But Stocking was also a land speculator. In the mid-1950s, during his time with the woods and dunes, he noticed that federal surveyors were in the Glen Lake area. Quietly, he began buying up land, deemed cheap worthless sand at the time.
Over the course of its operation, Stocking made many enhancements to his park to attract visitors. “Dunesmobiles” had been operating on the dunes since the 1930s but were later discontinued for environmental reasons. Stocking also built a covered bridge, picnic areas, and overlooks along his road.
While Stocking was running “his” park, a firestorm began brewing in Washington D.C. Michigan Senator Philip A. Hart introduced legislation to turn the whole Sleeping Bear Dunes area, including Stocking’s land, into a National Lakeshore. It took over ten years of public outcry and wrangling for the new federal park to open and for inholders to receive payment for their land. Stocking didn’t receive his settlement of $3.5 million until September 2, 1976, the day before he died at age 68.
In 1984, the National Park Service reconstructed the Pierce Stocking Drive. Parts of Stocking’s road were closed due to drifting sand. The resulting 7.4 mile loop was paved for the first time. One of my favorite vistas is from the Dune Overlook. Not only is the view stunning, but the presence of the D.H. Day Farm on the land below seems to connect the two giants responsible for creating an area that we now all enjoy.
Today, my photography comes from more accessible points, such as the North Bar Lake Overlook with scenic Platte Bay and Point Betsie in the distance.
In addition to the scenic drive, both Pierce Stocking and D.H. Day have roads named after them in the National Lakeshore. I find it interesting that the two roads intersect with each other. Perhaps it’s a metaphor for the intertwined legacy these two men left after creating one of most beautiful places in America.
This blog was inspired by the research I’m doing for one of my next Northwoods Mystery books. National Park Service Publications, especially Who Was Pierce Stocking?, and Reflections on 50 Years of Sleeping Bear by Kathleen Stocking in the Glen Arbor Sun informed my reading and writing.
My friends Don and Diana Burton introduced me to a new natural area, Elberta Dunes, which is just across the river from Frankfort. A towering 225’ dune gives a panoramic view of Lake Michigan, the harbor and lighthouses, and a quarter mile of beautiful beach. It’s off the beaten path, making it a peaceful place to visit.
