The Idea of Preservation Manifested
Today the post comes from Sleeping Bear Dunes. A kindred spirit, the late Pierce Stocking had an idea of preservation which he saw come to fulfilment. He not only had the vision to protect and preserve a most beautiful landscape, he was able to eventually turn the property into a national park.
The following text was taken from signage in the Park, right before entering the lovely Cottonwood Trail that meanders through the dunes and its delicate typography. The markers remind the viewer that the glaciers sculpted each pond, each bluff and each dune. Lake Michigan, it is noted, finally assumed its current shoreline approximately 2,000 years ago.
“Pierce Stocking, a native of northern lower Michigan, worked as a lumberman and spent much of his leisure time in the woods. He wanted to share his love of nature with others and conceived of an idea of constructing a scenic drive onto the Sleeping Bear Dunes. He envisoned people of all ages and degress of physical fitness experiencing the sand dunes and bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan. At the same time, he hoped to protect the fragile dunes and woods from excessive human use…..In 1967, Pierce Stocking fulfilled his dream with the opening of the scenic drive to the public. The drive was operated privately until 1977 when it became part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.”
Pierce Stocking would undoubtedly be a Celery Pond Advocate, hoping to preserve the wetlands and adjacent floodplain lands. You can imagine that he surely would want this property to stay in public hands for all to enjoy into the future. Do you really think he would have ever accepted and approved such a conceptual plan as what Abonmarche designed, and which the Council approved? Stocking’s vision became a manifestation which millions of people have enjoyed from memories of yesterday, today and far into the future. I’m sure Pierce Stocking would have suggested that the public themselves vote on the usuage of the land.
