Michillinda
had its beginning in the summer of 1894, when Reverend Theo Willson,
formerly pastor of the Congregational Church in Muskegon, told
some of his parishioners that he knew of a spot “where there was never
a hot day in summer”. He rented a cottage at Sylvan
Beach—where
the first cottage was built in 1883, eleven years earlier—and three of
his deacons, H.W. Cooper, C.L. Gimes, and Sullivan Hill asked him to
rent a double cottage for them in the summer of 1894. When
they arrived they found only one half of a double cottage
available, which became a bit crowded for three families with children.
Some of them ended up sleeping outside in a tent. Eventually these four
men bought the land that now houses Michillinda Lodge. With its
quiet beauty, shade, ease of access, gorgeous beach, low banks, and its
privacy for family, with resources at its gates.That very same summer,
Reverend Willson and three friends together purchased 22 acres of land
from John R. Austin for $1,000. Twenty-three lots were platted
along the lakeshore.
Most of the original leaseholders were
families from Grand Rapids, Michigan and Moline, Illinois along with
one from Indiana. The rule was that a leaseholder had to build in
two years or relinquish his lease. No cottage could cost less
than $600, which was not as ridiculous as it would seem today
since white pine was as low at $10 per 1,000 feet and carpenter wages
were not over $0.15 per hour. In compliance with these rules this small
group of summer pioneers built mainly simple, comfortable, two-story
cottages andappropriately named their colony MICH-ILL-INDA, using a
syllable from the names of each of the home states of these new
residents, where the first homestead was built in 1902.
The Beginning Of Michillinda Tavern
In
1920, Emanuel “Manny” Duttenhofer of Whitehall purchased one of the
only two Michillinda summer homes which had been built on a grand
scale as early as 1904—the large spacious house owned by the Charles
Stevens family of Moline, Illinois. However, the death of
his wife, Tina, followed shortly and Mr. Duttenhofer found himself
owning an oversized summer retreat that was no longer needed by
him. For a few summers, “Manny” hosted friends and relatives
at
his ample Michillinda abode and this may have been the embryo of
the idea to convert his great house into a summer resort hotel. With
the assistance of his two sisters, the conversion was accomplished and
the envisioned hotel, under the name of Michillinda Beach Tavern became
a reality. The original name however was short lived. Soon
after the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed in 1933 and most corner
saloons throughout the nation became known as “taverns” the hotel
was
renamed Michillinda Beach Lodge. Mr. Duttenhofer and his
sisters ran Michillinda Beach Lodge until 1950. From the very beginning
Michillinda Beach Lodge was a business success, and became one of
the most popular and distinguished resorts in the White Lake
area. Each summer’s business exceeded that of the previous
year. Its program of constantly adding on to and improving the
hotel with many new innovations, its delightful cuisine and novel
entertainment for guests, insured its continuing popularity even during
and after the years when many other resort hotels were failing.
To
accommodate the steady increase in patronage, “Manny” built a
two-story
annex consisting of ten rooms plus a small lobby on the first
floor. The new addition of the annex was a popular topic at
Michillinda. In 1951 Mr. & Mrs. Ray Johansen purchased the
property. Mr. Johansen was a commercial artist and he and his
wife together operated the South Shore Resort in Twin Lake, Michigan.
After their initial season the Johansen’s contracted to have an
apartment constructed on the North end of the Lodge,which became their
permanent dwelling for the next 23 years. This executive
apartment is now part of the lodge and is rented during the season.
The
Johansen’s continued the same high standards of their predecessors and
added some services such as the “Evening Coffee Hour” to help
create a
more homelike atmosphere. This has continued these many years
since and has been a time of refreshment and warm fellowship for the
guests who assemble in the Lodge gathering room to watch the beautiful
sunset and help themselves to cookies and coffee. In 1952 Mr.
Johansen Sr. and his wife came to work at Michillinda Beach Lodge to
help out their son and family. Ole and Thora Johansen took over
the responsibility of caring for the lawns and gardens during the
1950’s and 60’s. Mr. Johansen Sr. also did all of the repairs
and
maintenance during the summer seasons while Mrs. Johansen Sr. helped in
the food preparation for the Sunday buffets and prepared the famous rum
pudding and homemade cookies featured weekly as a lunch dessert.
In
compiling this history of Michillinda Beach Lodge, it would be
inconceivable not to include a very important event, which
stands out in the annals of the White Lake area. On Saturday
night, September 1960, the White Lake community was electrified as they
watched their television set to see one of their hometown beauties,
Nancy Anne Fleming, become Miss America. In October of that year
Nancy came back to the area for the first time since her crowning to
participate in a homecoming parade and celebration. Michillinda
Beach Lodge was selected as the ideal spot for a private retreat where
the relatives and pageant officials could meet without the
public’s knowledge of where they were. The party arrived in their
official white Miss America convertibles. They were all served a
buffet lunch and had several hours to visit. Miss America used
the room Lodge 19 in which to dress and put on her crown before leaving.
Management
has, since the beginning, stressed the point that Michillinda is a
place for “rest or recreation as you wish”, also a “restful
lakeside
retreat”. With this in mind the Chalet was added in 1965 so that
evening programs could be moved to that building, allowing for
increased activities and at the same time leaving the living room in
the Lodge for those who preferred a quiet evening doing whatever they
enjoyed most. One of the most popular uses of the Chalet is the Friday
Night Variety Show. Both guests and staff take part in this
weekly entertainment. It was fun had by all. While at college,
Judith Johansen, the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Johansen Jr. met
Donald Eilers, who was a chemistry major from Morton Grove,
Illinois. Don was involved in the ROTC and upon his graduation he
was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. His first assignment was to
spend three years in Germany with the air defense unit. Faced
with being separated, they decided to get married and said their vows
on September 18, 1965 in Wilmette, Illinois. Soon Don was
sent to Vietnam and Judy was back helping at Michillinda.
Eventually Don was finished with active duty and their daughter Kristin
was born in 1970. Soon Don and Judy were back at Michillinda
where conversations of them taking over the Lodge became more frequent.
In
1972 Don, Judy, and Kristin came to the lodge to spend six months as
part of the managing team to learn everything there is to know about
running a resort. Soon after their arrival Judy became ill and
after a period of diagnosis both at home and in the hospital, she had
surgery. She responded well but during the summer her condition
worsened, finally ending in her death in August, at the age of 27.
After the loss of Judy, nothing more was said about the Lodge operation
until late autumn when the Johansen's, who were considering
retiring, approached Don Eilers on the subject again. In spite of
his loss, Don felt compelled to go at it alone, as he was most
interested in the resort business and the Lodge especially. Later that
year arrangements were made for Donald Eilers to purchase the
Lodge, so in January of 1973 Don Eilers became the new owner of
Michillinda. He and Kristin stayed with the Johansen’s as he sold
his home in Western Springs. The Johansen’s remained with the operation
of the Lodge until after the 1973 season thereby assisting Don in his
first year. They then purchased a lakefront home on Scenic
Drive. Quoting Don Eilers, “only the close friendship,
co-operation and valuable assistance from the Johansen’s made the
change in Michillinda ownership a smooth transition enabling the
continuing of the fine traditions of the past.”
For the next 28
years Don and Sue ran Michillinda Beach Lodge with the care and
gracious hospitality that had long been a part of Michillinda
history. Traditions were kept alive and new ones were made, with
the addition of Sunday night bingo and the western style campfire
with Cowboy Glen! The years soon passed and Don and Sue felt that it
was time to retire. The couple started looking for new owners who
would keep the tradition of Michillinda alive. In the summer of
2000, Promise Land LLC took over the operations of Michillinda. The
word “beach” has been taken out of the name, but Michillinda Lodge
is
still a popular family resort. Traditions that have been
prominent through the years are still strong today. Coffee hour
is still served in the gathering room at 9:15 pm, Sunday night
bingo is just as popular, and the long-standing tradition of feeling at
home still stands true at Michillinda Lodge!
