Small Town Restoration
History has always been my thing… especially local architecture that has stood the test of time and still shows us a glimpse of days gone by. Last month we accidentally happened upon the rural community of Burgess in Charlevoix County, Michigan. Once a thriving farming community, at its center was a post office, a general store with a filling station and a church. Post war, around 1946, the new main route running thru Burgess was moved to run along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. This put the hurts on the local establishments of Burgess and as traffic ceased to pass thru, the owners were forced to close down. Enter Joe and Kathy Rivard who purchased the property that contained the old run down grocery store and filling station in 1976. They recently decided to restore the tiny building and the local neighbors were so enthused that they began dropping off momentos, pictures, even the original orange Gulf sign that used to hang out front. What a joy it is to be driving thru on old 31 and see this darling station beginning to come alive – looking much like it did in the 1900’s! I just had to stop and make my husband and friends wait for me, while I snapped a few pictures.