By Jim Bloch
Some kind of ecological climate karma must have resulted from turning a 100 year old industrial wasteland into the Blue Water River Walk.
Ten years ago, June 7, 2014, the grand opening of the Blue Water River Walk in Port Huron was wrapped in warm weather and flooded with sunlight.
The 10th anniversary of the River Walk, held Sept. 17 unfolded under blue skies in unseasonably warm temperatures. If you stuck around long enough, you could behold a partial eclipse of the full harvest moon.
When the River Walk debuted, it featured a mile-long stroll along a newly naturalized section of St. Clair River shoreline amid native plantings, a small beach, the training ship Gray Fox’s moorage, striking remnants of a nearly bygone industrial age, and sculptures of a giant sturgeon and a horse fashioned from industrial debris. A number of changes have take place since then, including St. Clair County’s creation of a wetland park and the removal of the old River Rat clubhouse.
“We had a tremendous turnout, nearly 300 people,” said Sheri Faust, director of Friends of the St. Clair, which sponsored the celebration in conjunction with the Community Foundation of St. Clair County and St. Clair County Parks and Recreation Commission. “It was really encouraging to see so many people supporting such a gem in our community.”
Attendees were treated to catered food and beverages, live music by the 12-member Pine River Legacy Band and a live community art project led by Jodi Parmann.
“The band was phenomenal and created a great atmosphere for the celebration,” said Faust.
The art project featured a big “canvas” fashioned from cedar slats on which Parmann painted the trunk and limbs of a tree. All the celebrants dipped their fingers in paint and created leaves from their fingerprints.
The finished product will be mounted along the River Walk, acknowledging its 10th anniversary.
The tree in the painting is a nod to a red maple planted along the River Walk a decade ago.
“That was the very first tree planted there in 100 years,” said Faust.
Andrew Kercher led a guided tour that featured river stories dating back to the first inhabitants.
Key partners spoke at the event and talked about future goals, including lighting the River Walk and finishing the fishing pier, which is about half-completed.
Philanthropist Jim Acheson gave the River Walk property to the Community Foundation in 2011. More than $6 million has been invested in cleaning up the old industrial riverfront, which included removing 10,000 tons of industrial debris. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funded the shoreline and habitat restoration. The Michigan Department of Transportation paid for the trail, along with private contributors. Donors and the Blue Water Arts Committee paid for the sculptures, including the horse.
The River Walk has come to represent the intersection of Acheson’s vision of a vast area of public access to the river and the Friends of the St. Clair River’s commitment to restore the water and wildlife habitat so central to the Blue Water Area.
“A lot of the restoration is underwater,” said Faust. Shoals were built offshore to break up the waves and provide acres of habitat for fish. “Our partnerships demonstrate how collaboration and clean-up can pay off for the community.”
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
