From the Shores of Killarney to the Shores of the Country Club

From the Shores

OF KILLARNEY TO THE SHORES OF THE COUNTRY CLUB

By Lauren Macintyre

At 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 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

Classic boats on Walloon: John Mcllwraith in the "Braw Scot" and the Barber Family boat the "Marty B" (Photos courtesy of the families)

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The Nields’ attractive “Deer Creek” dock and vintage head house is one of the most distinctive on the lake.

relished many happy summers there, sailing and taking an active role in the nearby Walloon Lake Country Club activities. Picturesque Greenwood Lodge was eventually sold to Frederick and Edith Kroeger of Anderson, IN. Later, when the country club decided to sell its lakefront land just south of the club house, the Klages family bought land and built a new cottage in 1954, which family members still enjoy today.

While the Kroegers resided in Greenwood, their daughter Barbara Kroeger Gamble and husband John built a family home next door. Judy Gamble Mainland, daughter of John and Barbara, holds fond memories of growing up there, "My brother and I would spend countless hours fishing, sailing and swimming until it was time to return to Indianapolis in late August. We had a snipe and a sailfish that we would race in the Yacht Club races three days a week.” Judy later married fellow Wallooner Ernie Hemingway Mainland and became a yearround resident. Her grandparents left the iconic Greenwood Lodge to her aunt Marge Kroeger, a beloved Wallooner for many decades.

Scenic Country Club Shores, once simply a dirt, two-track road, now extends from the country club to North Shore Drive. Just south of the country club golf course, which at that time ran along the lakefront, was a cluster of cottages where some of the lake's oldest families spent memorable summers. These cottages were originally owned by the Mcllwraith, Cockrell, Baker, Morsches/Call, Gedge and Barber families, most of whom are still on the lake in the same cottages. The small bay in front of the houses is known as "Buzzard's Bay." According to Jack Gedge, the original "buzzards" were friends with business concerns in Anderson, IN, who came to Walloon to golf, fish, and socialize.

John G. Mcllwraith built a large house there around 1900, immediately adjacent to the golf course. His granddaughter Jean Mcllwraith Tebay recalls her days on Buzzard's Bay as the best days of her childhood. She said, “I remember the sounds of the lake lapping at our old log pier, collecting shells, playing Monopoly with Marty Barber, old Joe Ecker delivering wood with his team of horses, scavenger hunts by boat and 'aquaplaning' behind our Chris Craft, the Braw Scot.” Jean has never forgotten those dreamy days on Buzzard's Bay.

Wick and Martha Diven Barber built a cottage on Buzzard's Bay in 1939 that their granddaughter, Laurie Lowrance, still enjoys today. As Laurie reflects, "To me Walloon is a gift. It is full of the happy, precious memories of those gone before...It is coming home.”

WALLOON LAKE COUNTRY CLUB

Michigan, a storied destination played by legendary professional golfers such as Walter Hagen and Tom Watson. As special as that is, what truly sets the Walloon Lake Country Club apart from others is its strong sense of lake tradition. The history of the club is inextricably tied with the history of Walloon itself.

WLCC had its beginnings with the purchase of the Homer Bennett farm on the North Arm, with an old renovated barn as the first clubhouse. The golf course was originally nine holes, maintained first by Harlow Wheaton who swam his horses across the lake from Birch Point to do the work. John Jones, and later his son Oakley, of nearby Jones Landing took over the groundskeeping after the horses apparently tired of all that swimming!

The man who spearheaded the creation of the club back in 1904 was Llewellyn Gedge of Orlando, FL who went on to serve as club president for 33 years. His son Si also served in that capacity. The fact that their son and grandson, Jack Gedge, still lives nearby and has been a member of the club for over 60 years is apt testimony to the club's extraordinary legacy.

In the early years of lake settlement, WLCC was the social and community center of the lake, and not just for members but for other lake residents who came for corn roasts, square dancing, and games. Shortly after the founding of the club, the Walloon Yacht Club was established at a meeting there. A few years later some of the same men involved in the founding created the first iteration of the Walloon Lake Association. Over the years the club has continued hosting community meetings and sharing its facilities with other organizations.

Jack Gedge has a veritable treasure trove of memories of summers at the club. He remembers the corn roasts, the wooden bridge on the course, adults dressed in their summer finery, and children racing up and down the fairways. "When I was in college, during the summers, I was the night waterboy from 5:00pm until 5:00am," he recalls. "Greens and tees every night, fairways every other day. The sky was brilliant. Listening to baseball games all night. Best job ever!"

Club manager and Petoskey native Harry Dixon, who began as a bag boy 34 years ago, has a keen understanding of the club's special sense of tradition. "The interaction between members and staff has always been warm and positive," he notes. "People love working here because of that, so we have great longevity among our staff members."

Ann Warfield, a Wallooner for more than 70 years, has been a member of the club since

she and her late husband Trev joined in 1952, making her the member with the greatest seniority. Ann has cherished memories of the themed parties, corn roasts, bingo, working with caterer Addie March to serve dinners, and the great enthusiasm about sailing.

Unlike many other country clubs, WLCC has no gates or guards, no formal his and hers locker rooms, and no swimming pools, but what it does have is an open, elegant setting on a lake of incomparable beauty and an unparalleled tradition of goodwill, coupled with a love of the lake. And that love of the lake is what brings Wallooners together, wherever they may be.

A vintage photo of Walloon on the shores of the country club. (Photo courtesy of the Mcllwraith family)

This scenic 1910 barn with the old water cistern in the back right, part of the Jones Family Farm on Jones Landing Road, reflects the rural nature of many of Walloon’s roads.