Cedar Creek Voice

CEDAR CREEK VOICE was started February 14, 2008.

It is a weekly news blog intended primarily for people living in or near Cedar Creek Township, Wexford County, Michigan.   However we now have people from all over the country and even other parts of the world reading about our little township.   [I know -- I was surprised, too!]

Allow me to introduce you to the area we call home in the great State of Michigan.

Our area of the state is known as “northern Michigan,”  but is actually the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula – and not to be confused with the Upper Peninsula.  The only way to drive directly to the Upper Peninsula from the Lower Penninsula of Michigan is across the 5-mile-long Mackinac (pronounced MACK-i-naw) Bridge which spans the Mackinac Straits.  The straits separate the Upper Penninsula from the Lower Penninsula. 

The straits are a strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes — Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  The straits are an important shipping lane allowing ships to go from place to place on the Great Lakes.  For example, iron from mines in Minnesota, far north on Lake Superior, can be shipped to the steel mills in Gary, Indiana, on the southernmost shore of Lake Michigan. 

If someone asks a “Michigander” from the Lower Peninsula where he lives, he will probably hold up his right hand and point to a spot on the palm!  It sometimes takes strangers a few minutes to figure out that the Lower Peninsula is roughly shaped like the palm side of the right hand,  with the Mackinac Bridge at the tip of the middle finger (“the Tip of the Mitt”),  Traverse City on top of the small finger,  Petoskey located atop the ring finger, Bay City located where the forefinger meets the thumb, and Detroit found half-way down the outer thumb.  If a Michigander can show you his hand, there’s no need to find a map!

Michiganders like to say,  ”There are two seasons in northern Michigan–winter and July!”   Actually it’s not terribly cold here — low temperatures are generally on a par with cities 200-300 miles further south like Detroit and Chicago.   But even 40 miles inland,  we still get a lot of  “lake effect” snow.  (Winter storms pick up additional moisture when passing over Lake Michigan and dump it as snow on the western side of our state.)   It usually snows from November 1st through much of April and sometimes later.   Spring planting shouldn’t be done until the end of May, when the danger of hard frosts at night is past.   The weather gets hot in the summer, (up in the 90s degrees F.) but is usually not as humid as further south and the nights are usually more pleasant, with frequent breezes coming through the trees.   Autumn colors here are breathtaking!

The small town of Manton is surrounded by Cedar Creek Township and is about 10 miles north of the small city of Cadillac, the county seat.  It is located about 40 miles southeast of Traverse City (on Grand Traverse Bay), about 40 miles due west of Manistee (on the shores of Lake Michigan), and it’s located approximately 90 miles north of Grand Rapids (on the Grand River) .  Cedar Creek Township has a population of 1,550 people, give or take.

Our area of Michigan is made up of rolling hills, hardwood and conifer forests, rivers (like the nearby Manistee River) , and many small lakes (like Lake Cadillac and Lake Mitchell in Cadillac and Lake Billings in Manton).  There are apple orchards, blueberry farms, corn fields, hay fields, dairy farms, horse farms, Christmas tree farms, light industry, and there is still some logging in this part of the “Northwoods” like in the old days.  Many towns, like Manton, started off as logging camps and are proud of their history. 

Amish people, driving their horse-drawn carriages and wagons, break up the usual traffic here.  They live simply, making sturdy wood furniture and other items on their farms.  They are proud of their heritage, too.

Tourists visit this area summer and winter, especially those who love the outdoors.  Hunting for small game,  various birds (duck,  wild goose,  wild turkey,  grouse, etc.),  coyote,  deer,  and  bear,  occurs all year — each in its own season.   Excellent fresh-water fishing, boating, swimming, and hiking are available all summer.  When the weather turns cold, this area is known as Michigan’s “Winter Wonderland”  and features ice fishing, ice skating, snowshoeing, as well as downhill and cross-country skiing.   The Cadillac area calls itself the “Snowmobile Capitol of the World”  with thousands of enthusiasts here all winter, as long as the snow hold out.

Many of our problems are the same as those of people living anywhere:  exorbitant prices for gasoline, heating fuel and electricity; rising prices for groceries and other necessities; air polution; groundwater contamination; unemployment; small business woes; mortgage foreclosures; rising taxes; insidious government and crooked politicians.   Learning how people in other places cope with these problems is vital, but I think others might be able to learn from us, too.

Welcome to our little corner of the world.