THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2010
A7
Headed for a hike: Paddlers head toward the Portland Municipal Dam for their first portage of the day Tuesday on their way to Lyons.
OVER THE HUMP
GRAND RIVER EXPEDITION PADDLERS GET PAST HALFWAY POINT IN TREK TO LAKE MICHIGAN
PRESS PHOTOS/REX LARSEN
Around, not over: Rich Baily, left, of Mason, and Pat Lemson of Grant, paddle above the Portland Municiple Dam to a portage around it.
Anyway you can get there: At near right, Bob Crawford, of Lansing, left, and Chuck Amboy, of Okemos, put up the sail on Amboy’s catamaran to assist their paddle. At center, Don Potter portages his 40-pound canoe around Portland Municiple Dam. At far right, Monica Day and Larry Luce paddle out of Portland.
The Grand River Expedition is ready to take paddlers on the river’s lower portion. But first, the group had to work around some human-made obstacles as it traveled from Portland to Lyons, which also changed the look of the river at points. Photos from the series are available for purchase. Call The Press library, 616-222-5475.
AROUND THE BEND: SARANAC
Peace, quiet and a sense of history BY TED ROELOFS THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
SARANAC — Just down river from Saranac, Donna Smit believes she owns a piece of paradise. “It’s wonderful. It’s so peaceful and quiet,” Smit says, looking out from her grassy campground at a bend in the Grand River. “We have eagles. Blue herons. Cranes. Deer, turkeys, woodchucks, the raccoons, they’re all here. I love to be able to share this.” So it has been the past 35 years for Smit, who at age 81 still runs Riverbend Primitive Campground. That means quiet time at 10 p.m. No rowdy behavior. “If I can hear ’em down here at the house, then it’s too loud.” But that’s a rarity, just at it is in the village of Saranac, with its estimated 1,300 residents. The village traces its history to 1836, when a Grand Rapids judge purchased a section of land where Lake Creek meets the Grand River. By 1841, there was a sawmill. A few years later, a merchant built a warehouse to ship wheat to Grand Rapids. Stores, churches and schools followed.
PRESS PHOTO/REX LARSEN
All ashore: Donna Smit, owner of Riverbend Primitive Campground in Saranac, relaxes on the Grand River shoreline as several of her longtime campers fish and enjoy the sunset.
But its defining moment came not so much with the rush of flowing water as the blast of a train whistle. Local lore says the preacher at the Methodist Episcopal Church was in his pulpit in July 1857 when the first train to reach Saranac rumbled through, blowing its whistle. It was
the sound of the future. “Everyone ran out of the church and left the preacher standing in the pulpit,” said area resident Marilyn Cahoon, 78, a member of the Boston Saranac Historical Society. She stood in the building that shaped Saranac, the historic Saranac
Depot. Constructed in 1907, it is considered the last remaining structure tied to Saranac’s early growth and prosperity. Members of the society purchased the deteriorating depot in 1990 and raised funds to refurbish it. It was moved in 1994 to its current location along the railroad tracks at the north entrance to the village. It functions as the area’s museum, crammed with old photographs and mementos of life a century or more ago. At its peak, the railroad ran eightpassenger and mail trains each day “It was all-important,” Cahoon said. “The village really didn’t start to grow until the railroad came through.” But the locomotive era would fade in the 1950s, as the automobile supplanted trains. The community lost its movie theater. In 2001, the only supermarket closed. Still, Mayor Grieves has hope. “We take a lot of pride in the community. There’s a lot of families in town that have been here a long time. I can’t see it ever going away.” Contrary to the image of some small towns, Grieves insists there’s something for young people here as well. He notes its skateboard park is
FACT SHEET Saranac Some fast facts about this Ionia County community Area residents once gathered clams for sale to button makers. First train came through in 1857 Fish: Northern pike, bass, carp, suckers, catfish, walleye. Habitat: Supports abundant bird life, including eagles, sandhill crane and blue heron. often alive with boarders trying their latest tricks. “Downtown Saranac still boasts a hardware store, two barber shops, a hair salon, a pair of restaurants and a small discount store. It supports a volunteer fire department and public library. Residents take pride in its annual Bridgefest. And, of course, the river. Poised in a community park at the edge of the Grand, two workers were putting finishing touches on a repair job on a deck overlooking the river. As he put another screw into the deck, Mike Topp, 57, said he had been drawn to the river much of his life. “I started fishing with my grandfather when I was 8 or 10,” he said. “You never know what you are going to catch — catfish, walleyes suckers, carp. There’s northern pike. “It’s nice here.”