Henes Park: The Next Century

Trails are named for great thinkers.

Now in its 110th year, Menominee's Henes Park, through the generosity of the family whose name it bears, will see an update.

Read the story here.

The late John and Jewel Henes, as thoughtful and as community-minded as any local couple could be, conceived a plan for a park building that takes the park well into the 21st century. The Heneses, along with people like Sara Lambrecht and Tom Kuber, are largely responsible for Menominee's gem of a preserved downtown with its 19th/early 20th century buildings and turrets.

No they didn't build it, but the Heneses and Lambrecht were tireless promotors of historic preservation. Kuber and his wife, Sandy, purchased many of the old buildings and preserved and maintained them for many years.

The iconic lifeguard stand.

The Heneses and their deep sense of pride in Menominee have contributed greatly to the quality of life there.

Now the park, located on Poplar Point, and given to the city by John Henes' grandfather in or before 1907, will get a new building, a lodge of sorts - not the kind with rooms to rent - with a kitchen and sanitary facilities that can accommodate large gatherings like family and high-school reunions.

What a wonderful idea! Menominee, consider yourselves lucky.

The park was designed by Ossian Cole Simonds, a Michigan native, who followed the landscape design ideals of the arguably more famous Frederick Law Olmsted, perhaps best known as the designer of New York's Central Park.

Both men knew that parks serve a number of audiences, those who seek activity and those in search of quiet contemplation. That idea gets lost all too frequently when misguided individuals - often the more athletically inclined - think parks are meant only for frenetic activity.

The road along the shore.

Just meander the inner trails of Henes Park. Despite whatever is happening at the beach and volleyball court, here you will find the sound of woodpeckers and nuthatches, the rustle of leaves, the crisp crunch of twigs underfoot. The trails are named for philosophers, not athletes.

So it made a lot of sense to me to know that Mayor Jean Stegeman asked if such a building was what the public wanted. To destroy the park's tranquility would be disastrous.

But I don't think that is what John and Jewel Henes had in mind. Quiet, gracious individuals, they surely understood and appreciated the need for silence and pondering at Henes Park. Huge patrons of art and the arts, the Heneses likely wanted to bring more creative and educational opportunities to this verdant semi-peninsula north of town. Their legacy will be well served in the hands of their niece Joanna Lewis.

At any rate, Menominee should consider itself fortunate to have thoughtful donors like the Heneses and the anonymous individual responsible for spiffing up the Menominee lighthouse.

Fortunate indeed.

I’m adding this link because it does a wonderful job describing the public parks movement. A friend told me of an older woman railing against the Henes gift because it would take the park away from kids. Parks are for everyone!