May 17, 2000
Preserving the past, ensuring the future
Heritage League celebrates Preservation Week 2000
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
The verdant grounds of the Grand Traverse Commons are one flowering dogwood richer.
Saturday morning, behind Building 50, a small gathering watched as Boy Scouts from Troop 28 planted a tree in honor of Joe Kilpatrick, a local educator who died in March. Dedicating the day to Kilpatrick and planting the tree provided the perfect way to kick off Preservation Week 2000, a week devoted to historical education, tours and celebration. Preservation Week 2000 is sponsored by the newly formed Northwestern Michigan Heritage League, an alliance of local individuals and historic groups committed to preserving the region's history.
Connie Binsfield, the retired lieutenant governor, and Kathryn Eckert Omoto of Leeland gave the tree's dedication. Eckert Omoto is a retired State Historical Preservation Officer, the Michigan Advisor to the National Trust for Historical Preservation and a trustee for the Americana Foundation. She noted that during her career she has watched preservation efforts evolve from trying to save one building to creating historical districts to preserving whole landscapes, such as the Grand Traverse Commons.
"I can't think of anything more significant than planting this tree in front of Building 50," Eckert Omoto said. "I know of no other partnerships like this one in the Northwestern Michigan Heritage League; it will give you a lot of strength as we work together to solve a lot of these preservation issues."
Saturday's Preservation Week 2000 events also featured a tour of Building 50, the Hawthorn Cottage, the work at the Munson Hospitality House and the Grand Traverse Art Center. Booths from local organizations such as the Heritage Center, Botanical Gardens, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and the Committee to Preserve Building 50 lined the hallways of Building 50, sharing a mutual interest in the Commons' future.
"Two years ago there was not as much of an emphasis to preserve Building 50 as there is today," noted Brian Upton, member of the Committee to Preserve Building 50. "People realize that this building is just too much a part of Traverse City history, that it could be reused and renovated. There's peeling paint and it is not too pretty, but it is structurally sound."
Lynne Nicolen of Mount Pleasant is a Traverse City native who drove up for the day to tour the former State Hospital grounds. An employee of the hospital many years ago, she is convinced that the community must protect the landmark.
"It is very important to preserve this, it is a part of Traverse City history," Nicolen said. "I worked here in the administration building working the switchboard and in the business office. We used the tunnels all the time to get around."
Another project for the day was to shore up the banks of Kids' Creek, which winds its way through the Grand Traverse Commons property. The streambank restoration project was sponsored by the Boardman River Project and led by Steve Largent of the Grand Traverse Soil and Water Conservation District. Largent and ten volunteers lined the creek's banks with dirt and rocks and anchored logs at strategic points to prevent erosion.
"This is an annual effort to put the kids back into Kids' Creek," Largent said. "It is part of our overall Boardman River project." A number of the volunteers helping out were parents and students from nearby Willow Hill Elementary, led by sixth- grade teacher Ed Hargis.
"We care about Kids' Creek at the school," Hargis said. "We do stream testing there and use it to teach the students about the watershed."