Jean Klock Park

Joseph Harris, the emergency manager appointed to take over Benton Harbor, may also help facilitate a land-grab of Benton Harbor's Jean Klock Park.

This park was deeded to the city in perpetuity in 1917 for the use of Benton Harbor residents.

IN PERPETUITY.

There is a plan already underway to develop the city's lakeshore and to grab this park to build luxury homes and part of the golf course that is already under construction nearby.

Here's what the Michigan Messenger reports:

The Emergency Financial Manager of the city of Benton Harbor has issued an order stripping all city boards and commissions of all their authority to take any action.

The order, signed Thursday, limits the actions available to such bodies to calling a meeting to order, approving the minutes of meetings and adjourning a meeting. The bodies are prohibited under the act from taking any other action without the express authority of the Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris.

Actions such as Harris’ are explicitly allowed under a newly approved law which granted sweeping new powers to emergency financial managers. That legislation had drawn large protests, including attempts by some protesters to take over the state capitol building. The sit-in resulted in numerous arrests.

And reporting on the Rachel Maddow Show:

Daniel Burnham's plan for Chicago was to keep the lakeshore open and undeveloped so that the citizens and visitors to that great city could enjoy the lake.

I guess the new vision is to push poor people out of the way, take power from their elected officials, grab their parks, and build luxury home for the wealthy.

If lakeshore access is restricted to only those with means, then the lake becomes a possession instead of what it should be: a natural resource and treasure that all should be allowed to enjoy freely.

Silver Beach Reborn

When I was last out to the lakeshore, I stopped at St. Joseph's Silver Beach. This is the beach that is closest to my home, and I have watched the sun extinguish in Lake Michigan from this stretch of white sand many times.

When I was on the Lake Trek, I stopped in at Forever Books in St. Joseph and picked up Daryl T. Schiender's Silver Sands and Golden Memories. This book traces the history of Silver Beach from the early 1900s to the late 1970s. In it, Schiender explores Silver Beach's amusement park that drew crowds from hundreds of miles away. Silver Beach was a destination for many years, the Cedar Point of the early 19th century.

The amusement park and bandstand were all scrapped in the late 1900s, but the beach has been preserved. Recently, a pavilion was added near the river, along with a sculpture.

When I visited this month, I was delighted to find the new carousel was open, and a fountain had been installed by the Whirlpool corporation.

When I drove through St. Joe's sister city on the other side of the St. Joe river -- Benton Harbor -- there were signs of life returning to that downtown. There was a working artists' center and a new coffee shop. Benton Harbor is also spiffing up their beaches with more parking and picnic shelters.

Crossings

Several people have asked me how I get around all of the obstacles on the lake (rivers, streams, industry, power plants). For most of the big obstacles, I just hike inland to a point past the thing I want to get around, then hike back out to the lake.





With large rivers, I just go inland to the nearest bridge and cross over, but with smaller streams and creeks, I have learned to be a little more creative with my crossings.


















With many streams (especially this time of year) there is a lot of debris (trees, stumps) in the water that can be used for a careful crossing.












For deeper streams that lack a good downed tree to walk on, I've devised the 'two garbage bag' method of crossing. The feet stay DRY!















For shallow or narrow streams, there's always the walk through (with waterproof boots) or jump over methods.








It's all about getting safely to the other side, and avoiding getting soaked in the process (especially when the day is cold).

[*I mailed out more hats this week. Don't forget to sign up by clicking the hat in the sidebar! They are very cool hats.]

Segment 2 Complete!

Segment 2 took me from Union Pier to South Haven up the west side of Michigan. It stretched 53 miles, passed through St. Joseph and Benton Harbor and ended in South Haven. Along the trek I also had to circumvent two nuclear power plants on the shores of Lake Michigan.

A special guest joined me on this segment, Ben, my son. He's 19 and a freshman at Calvin College studying engineering. And he was great fun on the trek. Well, except when he wanted to jog the last mile.

This segment covered a lovely section of the lake. The shoreline was quite varied. It ranged from high, treed bluffs, to sandy stretches, to eroding cliffs of clay and sand, to high dunes. Small towns stud this stretch and two nuclear power plants hold their ground on the lakeshore, too.

I've gone 125 miles around the lake now. The next segment will stretch from April 6-8. Another guest will join me on this segment: my son, Lucas. He's 16 and a soccer and track athlete. I fear there will be more jogging in this next segment.