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Belle Isle 'Soul of the City'

From July 18 through Oct. 10, the Detroit Historical Museum played host to an exhibit on Belle Isle. This was the second time this decade that the Friends of Belle Isle were asked to put together an exhibit for them. The last one was in 2001 and focused on the tradition and history of the island. The 2009 exhibit focused on the present and future preservation of Belle Isle, using the theme "Soul of the City".

The theme was selected on the concept that when people visit Belle Isle it becomes a part of them, and they are drawn back again and again for fun, meditation and celebrations. Memories made there stay with you.

Friends of Belle Isle (FOBI) was the logical choice to create this type of exhibit since its mission is to promote the preservation of the natural beauty, restoration and preservation of historical sites and the adaptive use of existing structures on the island for the enjoyment and use by all people.

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Is Belle Isle still a jewel for Detroit to cherish?

Our beautiful Belle Isle Park is often referred to as a "jewel." Detroiters have cherished this jewel for years, and I personally feel that this is a true statement.

I have seen the island when it looked rather trashy, but lately, I have seen this jewel shining better than ever.

Over my many visits to the island this summer, I have seen it looking cleaner than ever. The city crews have been working hard to keep it that way. The Friends of Belle Isle (FOBI) contributed funds to post signs with rules for the island and conducted an annual clean up on the last Saturday in April.

On behalf of FOBI, I recently narrated a bus tour for a group of ladies from the Bloomfield area who could not stop complimenting the island on its beauty and cleanness. Yes, there were a few pieces of trash around, but not many.

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Detroit's Big Peace

Call me a Jesus freak ... a Dylan-inspired hippie ... a pacifist ... a left-wing fruitcake.

Take your best shot; I don't care. Truth is what got us to this point and I'm not going to back down now.

So what's your vision, Mike?

I've been asked that question a number of times during the past two years as it relates to the old neighborhood and the growing coalition working in and around Fletcher Field.

It's a tough question for me to answer because this isn't really my vision. Like I've told many of you before, this whole thing began because I listened to a voice, which started out as a whisper and then absolutely shouted to me, finally shaking me out of my apathetic ways.

If you spend any time around me, you'll notice that I've grown obsessed with peace, wear shirts emblazoned with peace signs, carry notebooks with doves and the words peace, love and freedom on the cover.

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Welcome aboard, Friends of Belle Isle

There was a time when almost all of Detroit was friends with Belle Isle.

You'll find that quote on the Friends of Belle Isle Website, under the history section of the site, and I couldn't agree with it more.

Planting flowers at Sunset Point on Belle Isle in May.

If you grew up in and around Detroit, Belle Isle is part of you. As I said in a post back in May, the island is to all of Metro Detroit what Fletcher Field is to the neighborhood around McNichols and Van Dyke -- our very own Central Park. And I think we would all love to bring it back to its pristine state, to see our kids enjoy it as much as we once did.

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Dumping on Belle Isle

I took a ride around Belle Isle on a beautiful sunny day last week, and it looks like a garbage dump. The waterfront is strewn with the cast-offs of fishermen -- empty bait boxes, packages that once held rods and reels, milk jugs and broken lawn chairs.

The fields are blooming with crumpled fast food bags. Nearly every foot of pavement is covered with glass fragments. Meanwhile, the trash barrels scattered every hundred yards or so are empty.

This is a real dump and looks nothing like Belle Isle.

The above is part of a May 19 column by Detroit News editorial page editor Nolan Finley -- words that cut at the heart of Roberta Henrion, Friends of Belle Isle president. She said so during Monday's meeting with me and Jon Morgan at the Big Boy's on Jefferson, just west of the island.

"It's just not true," Henrion said of Finley's observation of Belle Isle. "Everybody works so hard to keep the island clean. It's not perfect, but it's no garbage dump."

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A pair of Detroit jewels

"Say Nice Things About Detroit."

Whether you actually followed through on the 1970s and 80s slogan or not, you must remember it and, perhaps, the woman who dreamed it up.

Emily Gail back in the 1980s.

Detroit News columnist Neil Rubin did a nice column today, Singing the city's praises, about Emily Gail, who now sells real estate and hosts a radio show in Hawaii but was among the first Motor City boosters.

Also today, The News' David Josar writes about Belle Isle's two faces: Island jewel, lawless landmark.

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We're all Friends of Belle Isle

Have we caught lightning in a bottle at Fletcher Field -- or could this grassroots effort to bring former and current residents of the city together to work on problems expand well beyond the park?

That's the question being pondered by some at the paper right now.

I firmly believe that we have come up with a blueprint to move into other neighborhoods almost immediately, tackle eyesores and sore spots across the city.

Still, others are skeptical, are not willing to allocate our limited resources to this project without having duplicated our success at Fletcher Field in some other spot.

Which got me to thinking last night: Where would be the best place to go next -- a spot that means a whole bunch to all Metro Detroiters, a landmark we would all love to return to its pristine state, to see our kids enjoy it as much as we once did? Then it hit me.

Belle Isle -- our very own Central Park.

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Bridging

On Labor Day, my husband, Mike, and I were blessed with the opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation of the Mackinac Bridge.

We've always been in awe of the "Mighty Mac" -- the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere (third longest in the world). But this past weekend we experienced the supreme privilege of a (free) boat ride under the bridge, while watching the sun set on Lake Michigan and then rise just hours later on Lake Huron, as we were heading out on foot to cross over this five-plus miles of engineering marvel.

Words can hardly explain the exhilaration of standing at the base of one of the 386-foot towers (which has a twin) and waving up at a handful of (more) fortunate folks waving down at the throngs below. It's estimated that 50,000 people participated in this year's Mac walk on the only day of the year that foot traffic is allowed.

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