Ottawa County Parks Foundation – February Newsletter
Why We Love Our Parks
In honor of February, the month of love, we asked people to share their “love stories”; stories of why they love Ottawa County Parks, how parks inspire them and bring people together. This is our second year of running “love stories” involving Ottawa County Parks.
Jennifer’s Story: The love of North Beach and Lake Michigan
I live in Michigan now, but I used to live in Alaska. In the summer of 2013, I traveled to Michigan for the very first time with my oldest daughter. She was 15 months old and we were visiting her dad’s side of the family who lived in Grand Rapids.
I had never been to Lake Michigan. His family planned a beach day and took us to North Beach Park in Ottawa County. I was not prepared for Lake Michigan, especially after living in Alaska. Lake Michigan was so beautiful. All of the blues. At 15 months old, my daughter played in the sand on the beach for the first time at North Beach Park.
We flew back to Alaska and lived there for a few more years. In 2017, I moved from Anchorage to Grand Rapids. And the first beach I took my youngest daughter to was North Beach Park. For both of my daughters, their first beach was North Beach Park. In 2018, I moved to Spring Lake and my daughters and I began the first of many summer days at North Beach Park.
And last year, I was very grateful to purchase my first home just 2 miles away from North Beach Park in Ottawa County. I wanted to live close to the very first beach I ever saw in Michigan. The beach I fell in love with 10 years ago.
I didn’t know it a decade ago, but I never forgot what it felt like to see Lake Michigan for the first time. North Beach Park is where my daughters learned to build sandcastles. This is where they have looked for seashells. This is the place we go to when it’s the golden hour. We will have no plans to go anywhere, but see the sunset from our house, grab our things, get in the car, and go just to see the beauty of the sunset off lake Michigan. But, the best part of this story for us. This is home, North Beach Park. I get to live near the place that made me fall in love with Lake Michigan.
Audrey’s Story: The love of nature
I have loved nature since I was a little girl. Now, thanks to the beautiful West Michigan parks, I get to share this love with my family every summer!
Jamie and Travis’ Story: Celebration of love
The outdoors are very special to Travis and me; we met on a college trip backpacking the Appalachian Trail and made several trips to Glacier National Park together before we were engaged at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 2013. When we started researching wedding venues, Ottawa County Parks made it high on our list. At the time, I was working as a naturalist for Hemlock Crossing, the diversity of landscapes and natural beauty that the park offers made it a special place for me. Travis and I would often hike there in the evenings keeping an eye out for the resident beaver, the grey fox, and barred owls.
The autumn foliage and crispness of the season led us to choose October 11, 2014, as our wedding date. Unfortunately, the parks were booked on that Saturday, but Friday was available for a rehearsal dinner! We were able to rent the Weaver House at Pine Bend for our rehearsal dinner and do our photos the day of the wedding at Hemlock Crossing. Pine Bend offered a lovely backdrop for an intimate gathering of our closest friends and family the day before we wed. We loved the romance of a historic home welcoming our group. The large front porch offered a space for a BBQ buffet, s’mores bar, and mingling. We also took advantage of the yard to play bocci ball! On the day of our wedding, we traveled to Hemlock Crossing for photos; we kicked off with the “first look” on the bridge, snapped a few pics overlooking the river, strolled down to the boat launch for some group photos, and had some taken in the Nature Center. It was lovely!
A Grateful Tribute to Marjie Viveen
by Bobbi Sabine
One of the original founders of the Ottawa County Parks Foundation has gone off the Board of Directors. Marjie Viveen was among a group of a dozen local park-loving citizens who started meeting in 2015, hoping to establish a non-profit independent foundation intended to benefit and support Ottawa County Parks.
Fast forward to 2023: The Ottawa County Parks Foundation is now in its seventh year and going strong. Marjie contributed to that success in just about every way possible. She served on the Communications Committee and came up with endless ideas for events and public outreach, including a very popular 150th anniversary celebration for the historic Poor Farm at Eastmanville County Park, attended by thousands. She contributed much time, energy, and financial support to numerous other Foundation events. She helped connect her wide network of friends and associates to the parks and often invites them to hike in the parks with her.
A well-known and respected local historian, Marjie also researched and compiled a massive amount of information on parks history, creating and organizing a filing system which made locating archival parks information so much easier. She spearheaded research on Ottawa County’s Poor Farm, including innovative ideas like using ground-penetrating radar to help locate unmarked graves on the property, and combing through hundreds of old records to help identify those interred there. She tracked down descendents of Poor Farm residents for interviews and got them involved in the cemetery project. She presented countless programs on Parks history to many groups.
Marjie has been a personable, active, and valued volunteer not only on the Board but with many other Parks initiatives, including researching and writing storyboards for interpretive historic signs in the parks. Her ideas, creativity, generosity, and boundless enthusiasm for the parks have made a huge impact. The Parks Foundation will be ever indebted to her for her many contributions.
Does your employer have a match program?
Many employers match dollar for dollar the charitable gifts their employees make – some will double or even triple match an employees donation.
Featured Park: Pine Bend
Pine Bend offers 239 acres of woods and wetlands along the Pigeon River. Over six miles of trails for hiking and cross country skiing. Trails connect to Hemlock Crossing on the east end of this property. Pine Bend is also the site of a beautiful ceremonial trellis and the Weaver House, a restored 1901 home that is available for reservations.
Location: Fraternal Order of Eagles 925, 20 North 2nd Street, Grand Haven
Join us for a jigsaw puzzle contest, compete with other teams, win prizes, and learn about the healing power of nature.
Team name and themes encouraged!
$50 (or more) donation per team to Parks Foundation to register.
Each team will get to keep their puzzles! The winning team will receive a prize.
Looking to update your current puzzle collection? There will be a puzzle swap table. Bring puzzle(s) you no longer want and swap them for one(s) you have not done before.
Co-sponsored by the Ottawa County Parks Foundation and the Grand Haven Eagles.
summer of 2013, I traveled to Michigan for the very first time with my oldest daughter. She was 15 months old and we were visiting her dad’s side of the family who lived in Grand Rapids.
2 miles away from North Beach Park in Ottawa County. I wanted to live close to the very first beach I ever saw in Michigan. The beach I fell in love with 10 years ago..jpeg)
trips to Glacier National Park together before we were engaged at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 2013. When we started researching wedding venues, Ottawa County Parks made it high on our list. At the time, I was working as a naturalist for Hemlock Crossing, the diversity of landscapes and natural beauty that the park offers made it a special place for me. Travis and I would often hike there in the evenings keeping an eye out for the resident beaver, the grey fox, and barred owls.
group of a dozen local park-loving citizens who started meeting in 2015, hoping to establish a non-profit independent foundation intended to benefit and support Ottawa County Parks.