~ Starr Property By Walloon Lake Public Beach ~
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Please do not copy the photos on this site, many of which have been submitted by private individuals...
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
The design and compilation of the text and photos on this site are copyrighted 2014.
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
The design and compilation of the text and photos on this site are copyrighted 2014.
In about 1908 Roy Brown had bought the bathhouse (first building on the left) and gas station (two buildings in on the left) and the Merrill Boat Livery (third building on the left). Next, Alva Frank Starr and wife Goldie, parents of Kenny Starr, bought the beach front property with the bath house from Roy Brown. Alva and Goldie turned the bathhouse into the Gray Gull Tavern. Kenny's family had lived on the upper floor of this building, above the tavern. Kenny says that he has no pictures of his ancestors because the Gray Gull Tavern in Walloon Lake, Michigan, that his parents owned, burned with the pictures in it. The tavern burned January 1940 after Kenny entered the Army in 1939. After the tavern burned, Alva bought the gas station property from Roy Brown. Roy Brown also owned the house by Scroggie's (near the school/church now in 2013) that Kenny and Marion Bush Howard Starr bought after they married about 1956. Susie Sherk, another Walloon Lake person, however, thought that a Maude Kleinhanz had owned the house at one time. Kenny said that that Dick Kleinhanz lived near where Dale Cooper had lived where the Walloon Lake Library is located in 2013> 2024. Kenny also said that Maude Kleinhanz may have been married to Roy Brown because Kenny remembered that Roy's wife's first name was Maude. UPDATE: Roy B. Brown married Maud Teachout 5 October 1898.
07/10/17: Roy Brown's great-grandchild has clarified the confusion above about Roy Brown's wife's name. His wife's name was indeed, Maude, but her maiden name was Teachout.
07/10/17: Roy Brown's great-grandchild has clarified the confusion above about Roy Brown's wife's name. His wife's name was indeed, Maude, but her maiden name was Teachout.
Ken Starr told the following: "My folks, Alva & Goldie Starr, owned, and ran, the Gray Gull Tavern right next to the beach in the village of Walloon Lake, Michigan. My family lived on the second floor over the tavern. I worked across the street at the Spalding’s general store for which I drove up the North Shore of the lake on its Seven Hills road, once a day, taking grocery orders, and making deliveries. Those hills meant some carrying of heavy grocery loads, and large buckets of fuel oil, down to the cottages; and then hiking back up the hillside to the vehicle. So, at twenty-two years old, the decision to leave that job behind was not complicated. I made arrangements with Mr. Holmberg, who delivered the Gobel Beer to our tavern, to hitch a ride in his truck on one of his beverage runs into Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Holmberg dropped me off in Detroit where I hoped to enlist in the Navy. My dad had served in both W.W.I & W.W.II with the Navy; some of that time as a parachute instructor. My brother Miles Starr also served in the Navy in W.W.II as an aircraft mechanic in Guam. I tried to volunteer there in Detroit into the Navy like my dad, and my brother, but the Navy would not accept me due to my hay fever. I then approached the Detroit Army Recruiting Office and discovered the Army was more than happy to have me enlist with them.”
FIRE
Article Below: 23 January 1940 the Gray Gull Tavern burned to the ground.
Mr. and Mrs. Starr had purchased the property about three years ago.
Article Below: 23 January 1940 the Gray Gull Tavern burned to the ground.
Mr. and Mrs. Starr had purchased the property about three years ago.
Regarding the 1940 fire mentioned above, Mrs. L.A. Spalding who was the Sec.Treas. for the Walloon Lake Women's Guild recorded on 2 February 1940: "The regular meeting of the Walloon Lake Women's Guild took place at the Com. (Community) House Feb. 2nd. A Potluck lunch was served at the noon hour. The gathering was in the form of a shower for the Frank Starr family. They recently lost their home and furnishings by fire. The good will of the community was shown by the generous gifts which were brought. The ladies tied and furnished four comforts which were also presented to them." The 8 July 1938 Article Above Right: Frank Starr had purchased the Gray Gull Tavern from Roy Brown only a short time before the fire.
The photo below of a 1952 Petoskey Newspaper advertisement is of the Ranney Oil Co. in Petoskey,
on the corner of Michigan and Howard streets,
but the sidebar mentions Walloon Lake A. F. Starr gas station.
on the corner of Michigan and Howard streets,
but the sidebar mentions Walloon Lake A. F. Starr gas station.
Photos of the gas station below: These are early photos of the gas station,
before the apartment was built behind it,
with the Gray Gull Tavern to the left of the gas station, right on the beach.
Later on from when these photos below were taken, from about 1960 to 1963
Margaret Tillapaugh Sherk rented the gas station building, and ran her beauty shop there.
She named it Margaret's Beauty Shop.
before the apartment was built behind it,
with the Gray Gull Tavern to the left of the gas station, right on the beach.
Later on from when these photos below were taken, from about 1960 to 1963
Margaret Tillapaugh Sherk rented the gas station building, and ran her beauty shop there.
She named it Margaret's Beauty Shop.
Photo Above: Probably Russell Spalding was mowing the yard by his parents' home which had been Sunset Lodge at one time. Across the street was the Sinclair gas station, and the Gray Gull Tavern. The gas station did not yet have the apartment built behind it.
Photo Below: The photo was taken to show the benefit of having Red Cross Lifeguards, but also shows in the background the perspective of the Starr property with only the Starr's gas station, but not yet a restaurant building.
Below: Starr's apartment behind the gas station with the quonset hut in the background...
Photo Above Left: Behind the Sinclair gas station an apartment sized unit was built where Alva and Goldie Starr lived for some time after 1940 when the Starr's previous home above the Gray Gull Tavern had burned. About 1959, David Howard was shoveling the snow away from the door of the unit. The gas station roof could be seen in the right background. Photo Above Right: David Howard was shoveling snow away from the apartment, but still had more snow to shovel to uncover the snow buried car right off the shore of Walloon Lake (visible in the foreground). The two photos below were taken at the same time as the two photos above.
Article Below: Walloon Lake Postmaster Elver Carroll wrote this article, when the post office was located just across the road from where The Sail In Grill was in the process of being built. The back half of the Starr's restaurant building was going to be rented by the Walloon Lake Yacht Club in the summer.
Advertisement above for "home of the 'Long-Johns'"... People arrived by car, and by boat, from all around the area, to buy my mom (Photo Above) Marion Starr's Long-John pastries. I still have people who remember the Long-Johns and ask me if I have Mom's Long-John recipe. Cooking has never been a forte of mine, so sadly, I do not have Mom's Long-John recipe. Consequently, even my own children and grandchildren have never been able to experience one of Mom's Long-Johns which I daily used to help fry, and flip, individually, in our restaurant's deep fry cooker. What I liked even better than the Long-Johns that Mom made, were her cinnamon rolls which she also sold at The Sail Inn. And, no, I didn't learn to make those either.--- Karla Howard Buckmaster
In 1959 Ken and Marion Starr built the building in the photo above, right beside the Walloon Lake public beach, for their business called "The Sail Inn Grill" where Marion's deep-fried Longs-Johns were a calling card to people from all around Walloon Lake. People came by boat, and by car, to buy the frosted rolls. The Starrs owned ten or more paddleboards which they stored right at the beach beside their grill restaurant. The paddleboards were rented out by the hour. The back half of the building was rented to The Walloon Lake Yacht Club which was founded in 1907 with Fred Adams as the first commodore. The Walloon Lake Yacht Club facility was used for a place of recreation for their young people [See photo/text below of the Yacht Club]. A ping pong table took up much of the space, with built-in benches around the perimeter of the room, and a simple pay-telephone hung on the wall. Will Splan, a wood workshop teacher with the Petoskey Public School System was employed in the summers by the WLYC to mop the brown tiled floor, monitor the space, and to "start the boat races". Will Splan passed away 16 December 2013. Many of the summer resorters set up charge accounts for their children, so the children could come in and get a 10¢ Long-John, a 10¢ ice cream cone, a 35¢ hamburger, or some other dietary delight, and Marion then sent a bill to the parents once a month, with never any problems from anyone.
In the Fall of 1966, Ken and Marion sold the grill property to Bruce and Phyllis Cotanche who changed the name to "The Beach House". The Cotanches used the entire building as a restaurant. After Bruce and Phyllis had owned the property for about four years, they sold it to a Mr. Griffen, who continued to operate The Beach House, but not very long. The building then had a change of outside design with a keyhole facade style, and a new name of The Keyhole. The Keyhole building went through different businesses, like a continued sandwich shop, and a real estate office. Eventually a Dr. Webber ran an office from the building. Next Mr. Mettler through Mettler Walloon, L.L.C. bought the property, and attempted (28 October 2008 Petoskey News Review) to get the permissions from the Melrose Township Planning Board to build the resort "Mettler Project" with boat housing under the condominiums, along with retail developments. That was never developed after an ensuing court case. An article titled "Developer wants to turn Walloon village into resort" noted: "Mettler has already purchased properties in Melrose Township that locals know as the Keyhole property, Shepard property and the old Triton Marina. He has formed purchase agreements on an old Victorian house on M-75, and property on both sides of the Walloon Lake General Store. Essentially, 10 acres - 80 percent, according to Webster [Melrose Township supervisor] - of the downtown district in the Walloon Lake Village will be owned by Mettler." A 25 February 2006 Traverse City Record Eagle article gave a synopsis of the Mettler Project to that point titled "Lakeshore development project appears stalled out".
After that, Thomas Siebold & Associates, Inc. of Bloomfield Hills then, bought the property, and constructed the condominium units that are on the property directly next to the public beach in 2013 > 2024. Then in July of 2012 Siebold sold the surrounding property to Jonathan Borisch who has been able to totally rejuvenate the surrounding area with various businesses, while leaving open space for the public to enjoy.
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As noted further above:
Before Ken and Marion Starr used the property for their restaurant, it had a large building on it, called "The Gray Gull" tavern, which Ken's parents Alva and Goldie Starr had run. They and their Starr Family lived in the seven room upstairs until the building burned.
Eventually the property was cleared, and sold to a developer who built a very large condominium project on the location. Even though the condos are very close to the main road, the view from the condos is gorgeous of Walloon Lake.
~Karla Howard Buckmaster
In the Fall of 1966, Ken and Marion sold the grill property to Bruce and Phyllis Cotanche who changed the name to "The Beach House". The Cotanches used the entire building as a restaurant. After Bruce and Phyllis had owned the property for about four years, they sold it to a Mr. Griffen, who continued to operate The Beach House, but not very long. The building then had a change of outside design with a keyhole facade style, and a new name of The Keyhole. The Keyhole building went through different businesses, like a continued sandwich shop, and a real estate office. Eventually a Dr. Webber ran an office from the building. Next Mr. Mettler through Mettler Walloon, L.L.C. bought the property, and attempted (28 October 2008 Petoskey News Review) to get the permissions from the Melrose Township Planning Board to build the resort "Mettler Project" with boat housing under the condominiums, along with retail developments. That was never developed after an ensuing court case. An article titled "Developer wants to turn Walloon village into resort" noted: "Mettler has already purchased properties in Melrose Township that locals know as the Keyhole property, Shepard property and the old Triton Marina. He has formed purchase agreements on an old Victorian house on M-75, and property on both sides of the Walloon Lake General Store. Essentially, 10 acres - 80 percent, according to Webster [Melrose Township supervisor] - of the downtown district in the Walloon Lake Village will be owned by Mettler." A 25 February 2006 Traverse City Record Eagle article gave a synopsis of the Mettler Project to that point titled "Lakeshore development project appears stalled out".
After that, Thomas Siebold & Associates, Inc. of Bloomfield Hills then, bought the property, and constructed the condominium units that are on the property directly next to the public beach in 2013 > 2024. Then in July of 2012 Siebold sold the surrounding property to Jonathan Borisch who has been able to totally rejuvenate the surrounding area with various businesses, while leaving open space for the public to enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As noted further above:
Before Ken and Marion Starr used the property for their restaurant, it had a large building on it, called "The Gray Gull" tavern, which Ken's parents Alva and Goldie Starr had run. They and their Starr Family lived in the seven room upstairs until the building burned.
Eventually the property was cleared, and sold to a developer who built a very large condominium project on the location. Even though the condos are very close to the main road, the view from the condos is gorgeous of Walloon Lake.
~Karla Howard Buckmaster
Photo Below: The closeness of the Sail-Inn Grill restarant to the public beach is obvious...
~ Yacht Club members enjoyed the semi-private fenced yard behind the Sail Inn Grill ~
~ Paddleboards ~
Three 1954 Photos Below: The Walloon Lake Public Beach was enjoyed by people all around the area.
The Starr's paddle boards were offen rented as seen in the photo below.
The Starr's paddle boards were offen rented as seen in the photo below.
July 1960 ~ The Sail Inn Grill was located right next to the beach. The paddleboards were on the beach beside the grill to be rented by the hour. The back half of the grill, toward the lake, was rented to the Walloon Lake Yacht Club for their young people to enjoy. ~ Submitted from the Collection of Louisa Taylor.
Photo Above Left taken June 1960: The porch on the lakeside was used by the Walloon Lake Yacht Club which rented the back half of Ken and Marion Starr's building. The building sat right beside the public beach area seen at the left in the photo above.
The Starrs added on to the roadside portion of the building in 1963. In 1963 a full sized juke box was added along with a few booths for seating (See Photo Below). Previously, only a long bar, with short bar stools, made for a crowded seating arrangement. The early bar seating arrangement had juke box selectors attached to the bar, but the juke box itself could not be accessed by the customers. Photo Below: Karla Howard was the waitress for her mother's business. In the background the Coke machine, the large jukebox, the corner of the ice cream cooler, the cash register, and the corner of one of the booths can be seen.
Ken and Marion Starr owned the Sail Inn Grill in Walloon Lake in June of 1963 when they held a graduation party in the restaurant for their daughter Karla. Family and friends gathered where the recent addition had added booths to the otherwise stools-only building. This movie was digitized from an 8mm camera film.
Photo Above: Marion Starr, front row second from left, attended a local area cook school.
Marion continued after selling the Walloon Lake Inn by
becoming head cook at the Petoskey District School's high school for many years.
Marion continued after selling the Walloon Lake Inn by
becoming head cook at the Petoskey District School's high school for many years.
1990
DNR Proposes New Launch Ramp in Walloon Lake Village
DNR Proposes New Launch Ramp in Walloon Lake Village
Photo Below:
The Starr's previous grill shows that the quonset boat building still was located in the background.
The Starr's previous grill shows that the quonset boat building still was located in the background.
The Shores on Walloon Lake
Built by Thomas Seibold & Associates
Built by Thomas Seibold & Associates
By 2006 site preparation for, and the very beginning of building of,
the custom cottages "The Shores"
to be built next to the public beach at Walloon Lake were underway.
the custom cottages "The Shores"
to be built next to the public beach at Walloon Lake were underway.
View the activity of 29 November 2006 in the condominium area, and the Village of Walloon Lake,
by clicking on the upper left corner to PLAY the slideshow below.
by clicking on the upper left corner to PLAY the slideshow below.
2007
Construction of the custom cottages next to the public beach at Walloon Lake was underway.
View the activity of 27 March 2007 in the structures' area, and the Village of Walloon Lake,
by clicking on the upper left corner to PLAY the slideshow below.
Construction of the custom cottages next to the public beach at Walloon Lake was underway.
View the activity of 27 March 2007 in the structures' area, and the Village of Walloon Lake,
by clicking on the upper left corner to PLAY the slideshow below.
By the end of Summer 2007 construction of the Custom Cottages appeared complete on the outside.
View the activity of 1 August 2007 in the structures' area, and the Village of Walloon Lake,
by playing the slideshow below.
View the activity of 1 August 2007 in the structures' area, and the Village of Walloon Lake,
by playing the slideshow below.
2008
A Walloon Lake Community Art Show was held
in the structures of the Custom Cottages of The Shores of Walloon Lake.
The view of Walloon Lake was as pristine as ever from inside one of the custom cottages.
A Walloon Lake Community Art Show was held
in the structures of the Custom Cottages of The Shores of Walloon Lake.
The view of Walloon Lake was as pristine as ever from inside one of the custom cottages.
View the surroundings Rosemary and I enjoyed while attending a Walloon Lake Community Art Show,
on 8 August 2008 in the area of the Custom Cottages [Condominuims],
by clicking PLAY on the upper left corner of the slideshow below.
on 8 August 2008 in the area of the Custom Cottages [Condominuims],
by clicking PLAY on the upper left corner of the slideshow below.
18 June 2013 ~ Four Photos Below:
Top Two> "The Shores" from the docks in front of Borisch's Barrel Back Restaurant.
Bottom Two> "The Shores" roadside from the Village of Walloon Lake Community Park.
Top Two> "The Shores" from the docks in front of Borisch's Barrel Back Restaurant.
Bottom Two> "The Shores" roadside from the Village of Walloon Lake Community Park.
The tall pine tree right by the beach next to The Shores has been a distinct tree there, forever?
Notice in the Odalaigh photo two photos down from here...
it appears that sometime between 2013 and 2014, the tree has been topped.
Notice in the Odalaigh photo two photos down from here...
it appears that sometime between 2013 and 2014, the tree has been topped.
~ 2014 ~
Above Photo Credit: Odalaigh
Access drone footage of The Shores of Walloon Lake by clicking HERE.