Future of pavilion site, subject of a meeting; scouts honored

by Peter Jakey

Managing Editor

Onaway State Park has been buttoned up for the winter.  As always, it’s picturesque and beautiful with a blanket a snow across the ground, or during any season for that matter.

More than a year ago, it was a scene of disaster and heartbreak. The historic pavilion building was leveled by a fire, which lit up the southeast shore of Black Lake.

Now, there has been movement as to what will be done in the future.

Officials from the Department of Natural Resources have scheduled a public meeting to discuss the status and future of the pavilion site.

 

“The purpose of the meeting is to involve the community, and update them on what is going on,” said Jeremy Spell, unit supervisor for Onaway and Aloha state parks. “Before we move forward, we want to get the community involved.” Spell said there is no plan for the short term.

“We will also be seeking those interested in the possibility of forming a Friends Group of Onaway State Park,” he said.

The meeting will be at the Onaway Council on Aging building on Lynn St. March 12 at 5:30 p.m.

“I’m looking to see what the community’s interest is, to help us,” said Spell. “Whether it would be the pavilion or the lower toilet building at the park.”

The park certainly received a big helping hand at the park in 2012 from area scouts.

Local scouts adopted the park last year and put in hundreds of hours cleaning and fixing it up.

Cub Scout Pack 3086 was recognized at last weekend’s Blue and Gold dinner with a plaque. Boy Scout Troop 86 will be honored in April by the DNR.

Plaques will be posted on the historic state park entrance sign.

Both groups involved had to contribute 100 hours each to qualify for the plaque. There were 19 Cub Scouts who participated, seven Boy Scouts, eight Girl Scouts, which included a few Brownies, and 14 adults, said Donna Allsteadt. The Girl Scouts did not reach the 100 hour mark.

 

One of their most ambitious projects was refurbishing 80 park benches. “They sandblasted them down to the bare metal, repainted them, put new slabs of wood on them and stained them,” said Allsteadt. “We also did a spring clean-up, fall clean-up, and a winter debris clean-up, which included raking leaves, stocking wood piles and maintaining all the fire rings at the park.”

“It was tremendous, to have that kind of community involvement with the park,” said Spell. “We really appreciated it.”