BAY SHORE DRIVE REFLECTIONS BY GERHARD MILLER

Transcription

1 Bay Shore Property Owners WINTER 2001 NEWSLETTER page 1 BAY SHORE DRIVE REFLECTIONS BY GERHARD MILLER As tod to Betty Parsons For those of you who are new to the neighborhood, we take peasure in introducing Ruth and Gerhard Mier. They reside in their Norwegian home, which was buit and designed by Gerhard in A remarkabe coupe, Ruth, an interior designer, has worked throughout the word, and has pubished severa books, incuding a basic high schoo and coege text for interior decorating. Gerhard, who is best known for his watercoor and egg tempera, has had the honor of exhibiting in the Metropoitan Museum. Most recenty he pubished, A Spiritua Guide to the Scientific 21 st Century and is now at work on his next manuscript. Residents and tourists aike are deepy gratefu for their generous gift to the community of the Mier Art Museum. Approaching a century of ife, we thank Gerhard for sharing refections, a segment of which appears beow. There is a brass paque on our front porch that reads, On this spot in 1896 nothing happened. I augh when I te friends that my father, A.W. Mier, who came to Sturgeon Bay in 1897, checked on this undeveoped property. So the sign is correct. However, even in those eary days, the Bay Shore was quite we popuated. A one-ane dirt road that incuded a separate bike ane inand went as far north as the quarry and eventuay became the paved route for Bay Shore Drive. The ocas traveed by foot, bike, and many owned or hired a horse and buggy. Most of the eary homes were buit cose to the road, as unpowed winter roads were their enemy. In 1916, Gerhard s Dad purchased one of the first cars in Sturgeon Bay. As the car was open, protection from the dust was provided by dusters, which everyone wore. Mr. Mier s other driving accessories incuded gogges and gauntets. One afternoon a famiy drive, which began at 2 in the afternoon and ended at dusk, covered ten mies and incuded three fat tires, each caused by a horseshoe nai. As we know, Lake Michigan water eves fuctuate over a period of years. In 1914, Gerhard s Dad buit a home at 816 Memoria Drive. Severa years ater he bought the ces from the od county jai, which was ocated at the corner of Michigan and 5 th Avenue, across from the Episcopaian Church. The ces were made of strap iron, and were 2 wide and ¼ thick. Adoph Mier had Harry Hawks, a town mechanic, divide the ces in two with a bowtorch. They were then used for cribs upon which a boathouse was buit. Gerhard had the task, aong with his brother, of fiing the cribs with stones, and he recaed that the water immediatey off shore was about four feet deep. Within two years, however, rising water forced his Dad to buid a concrete wa to prevent the water from crossing the road and fooding his front awn. Shoud you be on the Bay, you can see one of the ces wedged between rocks on Gerhard s beach. Gerhard moved the ces to his property to serve the same purpose as they had on Memoria Drive, which they did unti winter ice dismanted them.

2 Bay Shore Property Owners WINTER 2001 NEWSLETTER page 2 Better (at east warmer) days are coming. This is the view at Od Quarry park ooking toward town. Photo by Jim and Barb Bunning. BAY SHORE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION GOALS Purpose: The purpose of this association is to maintain the primary natura, safe, and aesthetic character of the Bay Shore Drive area. Association Goas: To monitor deveopment proposas of recreationa/commercia properties that reate to and affect residentia character To keep members informed of deveopment proposas and issues that impact the residentia character of the neighborhood To educate and motivate members and non-members to preserve and enhance the natura, visua and historic resources of the area To encourage management of growth through effective township, city and county and use panning To form aiances with other existing property owner associations

3 Bay Shore Property Owners WINTER 2001 NEWSLETTER page 3 PUBLIC POLICY UPDATES AND OBSERVATIONS By Terry Lappin The Appeas Court rejected the Moorings Condo/Hote appea. The court rued that the Door County Board of Appeas acted propery in refusing to approve a permit for this arge deveopment. The owners of the Moorings may further appea this ruing or they coud deveop a new, scaed down pan, and restart the permit process. The Sevastopo Ad Hoc Land Use Committee competed their work and formay presented their resuts to the Town in September. Since then, nothing has happened and the Town Board seems to have itte enthusiasm for proceeding on any of the report recommendations. Work continues on attempting to get egisation prohibiting the construction of private, soid fi docks. A meeting wi be hed with our new State Representative, Gary Bies, to inform him of our concerns and to try and get him interested in pursuing the egisation drafted by Dave Hutchison. The meeting is being organized by Door Property Owners and wi incude as many interested organizations as possibe. Severa Bay Shore Drive residents joined other citizens reviewing the proposed 2001 Sevastopo Budget. We wrote to the town chairman, Leo Zipperer prior to the Town Budget review meeting and presented our issues at the meeting. The budget (and tax evy) did not change as a resut of the discussion. It is cear that to have any impact, citizens must attend the Budget Workshop session in October. Another tax observation is that tax bite for the North East Wisconsin Technica Schoo is becoming significant. It is now a arger part of our tax bis than the Town of Sevastopo. It may we be money we spent, but it seems to be uncontroed by oca citizens. PRESIDENT S MESSAGE By Jim and Barb Bunning We think of each of our property owners as members of the BSPOA Committee of the Whoe. To do what, you might reasonaby ask. We, as members you each represent the eyes and ears support for our organization. The Steering Committee members try their best to be aware of activities or projects in the area that might affect the membership in genera and the natura, aesthetic character of the Bay Shore Drive area. They then respond to those issues as best they can. We are ony a few, however, and we count on each of you with your varied information sources and perspectives to hep monitor activity and happenings in our area. Those not knowedgeabe about our Association might wonder if we stand against a deveopment in the County. Our Steering Committee does not ook at our mission in that way at a. Rather, we try to highight information for members that iustrates projects and ideas that attempt to protect the natura beauty of the area and manage deveopment in order to hep maintain the same. If there is a proposa that appears to threaten the character of the area, we then respond and inform membership of the situation. We hope that in turn members wi be motivated to preserve their own properties in order to attain the overa goa. Growth and change is a fact of ife and is often a wonderfu thing. The trick is managing the growth and deveopment in such a way as to preserve the character of the area. Now back to the Committee of the Whoe concept. We encourage your input to Steering Committee members on matters reevant to our purpose and goas. We count on your mutipying our own knowedge of issues with your own contributions. You can encourage a non-member neighbor to investigate what we do and consider joining. The newsetter photos taken this Fa and Winter are iustrations of what we treasure and hope to maintain aong Bay Shore Drive. Thank you for your continuing support of our efforts.

4 Bay Shore Property Owners WINTER 2001 NEWSLETTER page 4 BSPOA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS The foowing members were eected to terms of eadership in BSPOA for the association year running from the September 9, 2000 annua meeting date through the September 2001 annua meeting. Pease address questions, comments, or suggestions regarding our association on e-mai to BSPOA@ao.com or by phone to steering committee members isted beow. (Area codes are 920, addresses are Sturgeon Bay uness otherwise indicated.) We vaue your input. Co-Chairmen Jim & Barb Bunning Bay Shore Dr Vice Co-Chairmen Terry & Mariyn Lappin Bay Shore Dr Secretary/Treasurer Betty Parsons Bay Shore Dr Steering Committee, One Year Term Richard Fomer Laurie Lane Henry Martens Bay Shore Dr Bryan Troutman Backhawk Rd.... Wimette, IL Bay Shore Dr Steering Committee, Two Year Term Joan Fomer (Membership Chrm.) Laurie Lane Corky McWey Bay Shore Dr Shirey Pickering Bay Shore Dr Steering Committee, Three Year Term Bob Graef Bay Shore Dr Maryce Jirovetz Bay Shore Dr Katie Richards Laurie Ln Emeritus Members Bi Parsons Bay Shore Dr Cathe & Bob Tiden Bay Shore Dr NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH AND CLEANUP By Barb Bunning We encourage a property owners to provide throughout the year their own persona neighborhood watch for neighboring properties, observing for unusua activity aong roadsides and near part time resident properties. Athough roadsides are now buried in snow, most can reca driving or waking on Bay Shore Drive and noting occasiona itter ying in ditches. We can a make it a New Year s resoution to hep maintain the drive s natura beauty by picking up trash papers, cans and bottes on our individua properties and carrying a sma trash bag for coection as we wak aong our beautifu road. The County highway department does not empoy adequate personne to absorb this responsibiity, so it s up to us. We re good picker uppers!

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6 Bay Shore Property Owners WINTER 2001 NEWSLETTER page 6 LAKE MICHIGAN LEVELS & FORECAST Lake eves are down about 7 inches from ast year, but are forecast to be about the same as ast year by May This Corps of Engineers chart can be downoaded from: huron.re.usace.army.mi/eves/btnhmpg.htm. DATES TO REMEMBER September 8, 2001 BSPOA Annua Meeting at Cherry His 3 rd Wednesday of the month: BSPOA Steering Committee meetings. A members are wecome. (Ca Jim or Barb Bunning for ocation.) 3 rd Monday of the month, usuay: Sevastopo Town Board meetings, but check at

7 Bay Shore Property Owners WINTER 2001 NEWSLETTER page 7 BAY SHORE RESIDENT PROFILE SELECTED HISTORY of the GRAEF PROPERTY By Dorothy Laippe, 1991 Our famiy came to Sturgeon Bay from Coorado in 1955, purchasing the property (5451 Bay Shore Drive) from Reynod and Harriet Houte in We had rented the house from them for 5 or 6 years, but did not have use of the cottage. The Houtes ived in Kenosha where he was a detective in the poice department. Harriet was an aunt of Duke and Eizabeth Hanson of the Bay Shore Inn Hansons. The Houtes originay paid about $1300 for the property and panned to move there when they retired. They ater found shore property (with income) in Kenosha which they decided suited their needs better, so they offered to se the property to us. We had to scrounge a itte to be abe to afford the purchase, but we were abe to do so. My husband and I woud agree that this was the best thing that coud have happened to us. The Houtes had purchased the property from the Hood estate. Mr. Hood had estabished a eather goods factory at the cottage. Mrs. Hood was a sister to Jack Anderson who owned a paint store on 4 th Street in Sturgeon Bay. She had the reputation of being abe to catch fish just off-shore. Many tried to find her secret spot, but it remained her secret. A tragic experience took pace whie Mrs. Hood ived there. She was down at the shore one summer evening and heard someone caing and crying out. She investigated and found Leathem Smith s daughter, Patricia, hysterica and exhausted after having swum to shore from her father s overturned saiboat. Her father, a young man, and a young woman a died in that accident. Mrs. Hood was aso an avid and exceent gardener. She was the one who originay panted a of the tuips, iris, and other fowers that so prominenty adorned the property. The Hoods bought the property from a Mr. Voeks, who had moved a buiding from the Parkinson Estate where he was empoyed. Voeks had basted the basement and put in a foundation for the buiding at it s present ocation. He then remodeed the buiding so it coud be used as a home. It had been a dormitory for workmen on the Parkinson Estate. My daughters have reminded me that a part of the aura of that house and shore was the good times we a shared. Not ony was our house a gathering pace for reatives, but there were picnics for arge groups from church and schoo, weddings, neighborhood yard saes, New Years Eve parties, game nights, and singing around the piano. The girs a invited coege friends for weekends which incuded picnics and swimming in the bay. We considered it a priviege to have ived on Bay Shore Drive for more than thirty-five years.

8 Bay Shore Property Owners WINTER 2001 NEWSLETTER page 8 INSIDE BAY SHORE DRIVE REFLECTIONS BY GERHARD MILLER... 1 BAY SHORE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION GOALS... 2 PUBLIC POLICY UPDATES AND OBSERVATIONS... 3 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE... 3 BSPOA STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS... 4 NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH AND CLEANUP... 4 BAY SHORE BLUFFLANDS UPDATE... 5 LAKE MICHIGAN LEVELS & FORECAST... 6 DATES TO REMEMBER... 6 BAY SHORE RESIDENT PROFILE... 7 Bay Shore Property Owners Newsetter, Winter 2001 issue Pubished on an occasiona basis by Bay Shore Property Owners Association, 4227 Bay Shore Drive, Sturgeon Bay, WI Editors: Terry & Mariyn Lappin Contributors: Betty Parsons, Gerhard Mier, Jim & Barbara Bunning, Dorothy Laippe Eectronic page composition and computer expertise: Laddie Chapman Printing: Mark Godsmith & Bob Godsmith, Gateway Business Systems, Inc.