The Wallooner | Summer 2021
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From the Shores OF KILLARNEY TO THE SHORES OF THE COUNTRY CLUB
By Lauren Macintyre
A
t the tip of the North Arm lies the picturesque and pristine Schoof’s Creek, surrounded by sensitive wetlands. One of the most environmentally significant parts of the lake, this lovely, tranquil feeder into Walloon is critical to water quality for the entire lake. This chapter of “Walloon Stories” focuses on Schoof’s Creek and the surrounding Killarney Shores, then down the east side of the North Arm to Country Club Shores. Many longtime Wallooners remember a time when there was very little habitation at the tip of the North Arm, but that changed in the 1960s when Irishman Matt Doyle purchased a large swath of land there. Doyle and wife Henrietta settled in an area he christened "Killarney Shores" in honor of his native land and proceeded to sell lots to eager Wallooners. Among the early purchasers were Art and Millah Nikkel, who were encouraged to settle there by family friend Joanne Metz, a wellknown Petoskey pediatrician who had also bought a lot. Art and Millah's cottage was completed in 1967, beginning a Walloon Lake tradition that is carried on today by their son Chuck Nikkel and family. Chuck has vivid memories of carefree days on Killarney: running smelt at nearby Schoof’s Creek, sailing under the strict tutelage of Dr. Metz, and learning hunting and fishing with Mr. Doyle. Today Chuck comments, "I love the southern exposure of Killarney...and everything about Walloon.” Other early purchasers were Joanne Loniewski and her husband the late Dr. Ed Loniewski, who built a home next to the Doyle’s, still owned by the family today. The point at the end of Killarney Shores once known as an excellent duck hunting site, albeit one with an excess of poison ivy, is today called Serenity Point, where the beautiful log home of Bruce and Pamela Rhoades sits. Preservation of Schoof’s Creek, that incredibly important component of the Walloon Lake watershed, was critical. Fortuitously, the
Classic boats on Walloon: John Mcllwraith in the "Braw Scot" and the Barber Family boat the "Marty B" (Photos courtesy of the families)
late Mary Ellen King, daughter of Matt Doyle, helped the WLAC preserve the pristine nature of the creek through the purchase of the 47 acres of land now known as the Doyle-King Preserve. On the east side of the North Arm were two popular Walloon resorts, Alpine Acres and North Arm Resort. Alpine Acres, situated on West Gruler Road, stretched from Hwy. 131 to the lakefront. Founded in 1936 by Milo and Anna Fleming, the resort consisted of 11 cottages. It had various owners over the years, including Jim Faunce and wife Ruth Crago Faunce, part of the family that owned well-known local grocery store Crago's. The Faunces owned Alpine Acres from 1981 until it closed in 1993. Across the road from Alpine Acres was the large farm of the Jones Family, one of the oldest families on the lake. Homesteaded in 1885 by Frank Jones, the first postmaster of Walloon Lake, the farm eventually encompassed a large expanse of land down to the lakefront. A small boat launch on their property that current farm owner Jack Jones describes as originally "pretty rough" was eventually improved by the Petoskey Outboard Co. and became a popular spot for boaters to access the lake - today's Jones Landing. The Jones family kept three small boats they rented for $1.00 a day, and Jack recalls selling minnows to fishermen to earn pocket money. The picturesque North Arm Resort on Jones Landing Road, which consisted of eight cottages, a lodge and 350 feet of beach, had been founded by Verne Jenks on land that they bought
from Oakley Jones in 1960. Over time it had various owners, culminating with Mary Crago Lorenz, sister of Ruth Crago who owned Alpine Acres, and husband Bob Lorenz. The Lorenzes painted the buildings a chocolate brown, and operated the resort year-round until its closure. Further down the shore was the home of the prominent Connable family of Petoskey. Ralph Connable's impressive business career included the vice-presidency of F. W. Woolworth Company of Canada. Interestingly, in 1919 Ralph's wife Harriet struck up a friendship with Ernest Hemingway after his lecture at Petoskey's Carnegie Library. It was Ralph Connable who then arranged for Ernest to obtain a job as the European correspondent for the Toronto Star, promoting his literary career. Built in 1929 as a one room cabin, the Connable home boasted a massive stone fireplace done by noted Charlevoix builder Earl Young. The Connable family owned the charming cabin until 1989, when Ralph's granddaughter sold the property to Jim and Martha Nield. Beautifully restored and expanded by the Nields, who maintained the historic aspects of the cabin, this stunning homestead is now known as "Deer Creek." Not too far from the Connable cabin, longtime Wallooner R.E. Klages of Columbus, OH built a rustic log cottage that he named Greenwood Lodge. The Klages and their three sons (continued on next page...)
