Water Runs Through Us: For fur traders to industrialists, Muskegon Lake gave ...
So instead of coming to Muskegon to cut down trees and ship lumber out of the harbor or mine out sand dunes and create iron parts, people are coming to Muskegon to enjoy Pere Marquette Beach on Lake Michigan, to sail on Muskegon Lake or to kayak through the Muskegon River flats.
That has created a tension in the various public debates over the past generation when it comes to jobs and the water environment. Local citizens tied to the industrial heritage in Muskegon County still are looking for the water resources to produce solid, well-paying middle-class jobs.
Those who come here for recreation, summer homes or are residents not connected to the industrial sector may have a whole different view of Muskegon’s water resources, according to Dan Yakes, retired history instructor at Muskegon Community College who has extensively researched the area’s tourism industry.
“I think our tourists would be the biggest advocates of protecting this environment,” Yakes said. “The locals might not care as much. In the past, summer residents didn’t like all of the industrial smoke. But the locals went to those mills for their jobs.”
Even our closest counterpart city, Baltimore, gets a nod. But on the glories of our two treasures, the Scholar Shop (the Clayton location,
