What are the names of the two camps that became Camp Michigania?

The post office has certainly moved around quite a bit — from the quaint “pointy roofed” building, to the Shepherd Building, to the new building next to the General Store that opened in 1960, to the Melrose Township Hall or to its present location in the old Kent State Bank building — but wherever it was located the Walloon Post Office has always been the place for people to meet, greet and exchange news. The General Store has also been another favorite gathering place for Wallooners over the years. Once called the W.H. Ransom General Store, it was later owned by L.A. Spalding who sold it to his son-in-law Ross Renwick. Many people remember the picturesque wooden two story building that housed the general store during those days, but unfortunately it burned in 1972. A smaller, one story building was eventually constructed for the store; it is currently owned by Linda and Calvin Penfold. Today the General Store still remains a place to meet for coffee or a Wallooner sandwich, pick up groceries or chat with lake friends. It has also become the preferred spot to buy Walloon shirts, memorabilia and other gifts. Many Wallooners have fond memories of the General Store from their younger days. “One of the favorite activities of the children along the North Shore was to walk the path to the Foot.” recounts Lucia Oelz. “My sisters and I started that activity when we were six or seven with a dime clutched in our hand for a comic book to bring back from Ross’s general store. And sometimes a bit more for an ice cream cone from the famous marble soda fountain there. Through the years we would pick up mail, check out the racing standings on the board outside the store, and then start home along the North Shore Path, visiting with families along the way.” Lauren Macintyre has similar memories. “Nearly every single morning we would walk the North Shore path to the Village,” she recounts. “We would run through Si’s just for fun to look at the boats, check the mail at the post office and then buy candy and pick up our dad’s newspaper at the General Store.” Going to the Village was often about cinnamon rolls and other sweets. “Cinnamon rolls at the General Store — with LOTS of icing,” Nanette Jacob Derkac recalls. “And ice cream from the soda fountain and comic books and post cards.” And then those boxes of Almeda chocolate sticks ... and the long johns at the Sail Inn. Of course, the other defining characteristic of the Village in summer time was the presence of all those boats...

Boats were, quite simply, everywhere around the Village back in those days. Parked in the road on trailers. Being serviced and repaired at Masters Boatworks and Si’s Marina. Boats constantly going back and forth to the Foot, and docked all over as people picked up groceries or gas. Nanette Derkac recalls the thrill of the first time she boated by herself to the Foot at age 12 to pick up groceries, or boating over as a teenager for lunch at the Keyhole. “I also remember the rows and rows of boats stacked on each side of Si’s and Master’s, with walkways down the middle. And people fishing everywhere.” And of course, sailing on the lake itself were the elegant “17” sailboats, unique to Walloon. “Sailing was everything back then,” remarked Link Krimendahl. “It dominated our lives.” If you are interested in more information about the history of North Shore and the Village, try Karla Howard Buckmaster’s excellent web site walloonlakewanderings.weebly.com.

DID YOU KNOW: Fun Facts

The Walloon Lake Inn Is One of the Lake’s Most Historic Buildings

Although we all know it for its elegant dinners and inviting ambience, our beloved Walloon Lake Inn has an interesting and storied past. Originally known as Fern Cottage, it was built by the Bixby family in the 1890’s and operated as a resort. At one time it included several large buildings as well as eleven surrounding cottages, but eventually only the original building remained. After the Trixler family bought Fern Cottage in 1948, it was renamed the Silver Birch Inn, and operated under various owners. Roger and Anne Srigley purchased the inn and the surrounding cottages from Marv and Eloise Nickey in 1971, and changed its name to the one we all know best, the Walloon Lake Inn. The cottages were eventually sold separately. The Srigleys owned the Walloon Lake Inn for ten years, and then sold it to chef David Beier in 1981. David operated it as a gourmet restaurant, cooking school and bed and breakfast until 2014, when it was sold to Matt Borisch. One of the oldest buildings on the lake, today the Walloon Lake Inn continues its legacy as a favorite gathering place for Wallooners.