History Lesson (2)

The old lumber town of Watervale, Michigan, remains beneath new paint and renovations — its history enhanced, not lost. I've learned this much as I walk along the shore's edge with Jennie Schmitt, who manages the family-owned Inn at Watervale resort.

She regales me with tales of how back in 1892, the rambling main three-story inn was once a boarding house for single men while married loggers lived in homes that are now 17 cottages. The town's former general store and post office have been turned into spaces for family fun.

Bustling when first built in northern Michigan on the shores of both Lake Michigan and Lower Herring Lake, Watervale was abandoned and then rediscovered by Schmitt's great-great-uncle Oscar Kraft in 1917 when he sailed close to shore.

The Chicago ophthalmologist bought the town as a family retreat but also opened it as resort with the first guests arriving the following year. Today, it's a National Historic Landmark in the town of Arcadia.

"We still have my great-great-uncle's plans," says Schmitt, noting Kraft wanted to expand the property and also build a yacht club. "But with the Depression, he wasn't able to make the changes so Watervale is much the same as it was."

Guests come here to unplug. So I take full advantage of not having a TV and Wi-Fi in my cottage by heading out in the early morning when a light haze rests upon the waters of Lower Herring Lake. With the fishing rod my father gave me long ago, I jump into one of the canoes Schmitt keeps on the beach.

The sound of the paddle as it dips in the water and the calling of early morning birds is all that I hear as I head toward my fishing destination. Lower Herring is known for its trout, bass, yellow perch, walleye, Northern pike and bluegill — the latter is a personal favorite but heck to clean. I catch and release throughout the day, but I also pack a cooler so I can clean and keep the fish fresh in the refrigerator in my cottage.

But before checking out with today's catch, Schmitt tells me I've got to make another stop. So I head to Frankfort, just northeast of Watervale. The splendid town is filled with Victorian-era commercial buildings that now house art galleries, restaurants and shops.

It's here that I find the Garden Theater, a 1923 art deco single-screen movie theater that Schmitt and her husband Rick bought along with another couple almost a decade ago.

"It had never really closed, but they stopped showing movies in the winter because the furnace wasn't working," Schmitt says. "There was mold and water damage. It needed lots and lots of work."

Local artisans donated time and materials to bring it back to its former glory. The seats were replaced and the sound system upgraded. It's particularly pretty this night with its pink and green neon lights casting colorful glows on to the street — another reminder of an enchanting step back in time.

Close Encounters

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