Walking With History

History can often be dry and uninteresting, or sometimes it can totally come alive and capture every part of your imagination. It can tell us who we are and what lives we could experience and know. In our every day walks everything could suddenly be different - it could become a world where we might walk beside people, and sometimes can even stand side by side with that day in a different time. When I think of those times in the early part of the century, I often think of my own favorite haunts in our small town. They are often those that look and feel of the town's early history. And if I tightly close my eyes I can almost see those people wandering in and out of my world.

What makes any place historical is often more than simply its age, or the nostalgia that it can call to mind. The Holland Peanut Store at 46 East Eighth Street offers an inviting combination of mouth watering aromas. From the roasted nuts and homemade chocolates that seems to permeate the air of the small store, and that's only the beginning because this establishment has a large selection of goodies for special holidays, or any kind of important occasion, but this store holds close a family history too that makes this confectionary gem a strong memory both past and present to many in our community.

The store, which has been a part of the city's fabric for over a hundred years, has so much more to offer than just tantalizing scents and memories, though. With square bins fit tightly together filled with all varieties of candies, glass cases filled with roasted nuts and specialty chocolates, colorful piñatas, storage tins, and an assortment of other small gift items. Their homemade ice cream creation the Nutty Paddle Pops are sensational!

But sometimes history here can be clothed in other forms too. Sometimes it can be found in the buildings that really have come to symbolize a city's center. One such icon here is the Tower Clock found on the corner of 8^th Street and River Avenue. Built in late 1892 this building first housed the Holland City Bank, and later the Chamber of Commerce. But the main attraction of this place is the huge clock that looks down over much of our downtown. Saved from destruction and restored by many donors including some wealthy patrons the Tower Clock in 1988 became a part of the changes that was known as the Streetscape project that brought to life our whole retail district. From an important beginning to continued life that huge time piece has continued to stand over lives, and many more stories than even I can imagine.

The Wow of Discovery

Do you know the area where you live well? I thought I did until I began to write a column in our local news paper about "Exploring Holland." Funny how much I am finding in my research. I began with all the local special places and after six months I have progressed to a bit of history and a lot of those little places that truly make the area special.

I've lived in Holland, Michigan since 1974 and my kids were involved all over the area, and I thought I knew this area. I've discovered how steeped this town is in its little pockets of fascinating events, people, or sometimes the little thigs I never had a clue existed! My best find was the picture and small caption that went with that simply said, "Tower Park; An observation platform for viewing Lake Michigan." I'm a history buff and consider myself a lover of local history and never heard about this way to view the beach and cottage area surrounding it. It disappeared in a storm in 1933 so all there is about it is this photo, caption and the memories of those who remember it.

Or how about that the Getz Farm (Local farm/zoo) when it closed sold 250 animals to the Brookfield Zoo of Chicago? They are still finding elephant or large python bones there when they build a new house or cottage! This has been such an interesting journey for me...and I've only begun! The best part is I've really enjoyed my transformation into "the researcher!" I am really beginning to love the distinctive smell that is the archive of our museum. Who knew there would be so many mysteries to be discovered in old pictures, written stories, and memories?

A Storied Home - Marigold Lodge

Today, summers in a big city can be unbearable with the stifling heat, but in the early 20th century it was much worse. If you lived in any city like Chicago or Milwaukee the heat and humidity made for long, hot, and oppressive summers. Many would look for a way to escape for days or weeks along the cooler lakeshore. The natural beauty of the eastern shore of Lake Michigan offered a cool and peaceful escape during the summer months.

Many of the affluent would cruise along the green and cool shore and enjoy the quiet of the woods and small cities and towns peppered along Lake Michigan’s eastern shoreline. As with many historical homes around Holland, the story of one such summer home begins with a wish for cooler and more peaceful summers.

Chicago industrialist Egbert H. Gold, was searching for a place to build a house during the summer of 1912 where his family could escape the summer heat. The north shore of Black Lake (now Lake Macatawa) on Point Superior offered a wooded haven and Marigold Lodge was built in the Prairie School style in 1913. Named for his wife, Margaret and only daughter, Mary Jayne it became the summer house for the Gold family that also included 2 boys Egbert Jr., and Samuel.

Most of the acreage surrounding the house still remains as it was in the early life of the area courtesy of Mr. Gold’s appreciation for the natural setting and his insistence on keeping much of the wooded areas around the home as he found them. Because of his care we have a truly remarkable example of the early natural world surrounding the lake.

This part of Holland was a summer retreat for many others who lived the city life too. Countless people came by ship or train to stay in cottages, resorts or camps found along the lake’s shoreline. For many the shore, wooded areas, and beaches offered a truly wonderful summer refuge.

Today’s cottages and homes along the lakeshore harken back to those earlier days that gave our town that leisurely, summertime image. Many of the cottages we see along winding lakeshore roads today hold memories and stories that have helped craft our history. The residents, homes and those who visit all help create the image we have of Holland, the town that is a welcoming, friendly place to vacation and live.