Idlewild, Michigan
Encyclopedia
Idlewild is a vacation and retirement community in Yates Township
located in a small rural northwestern part of the U.S. state
of Michigan
near the southeastern border of Lake County
. It was one of only a few resorts in the country where African-Americans were allowed to vacation and purchase property before this discrimination became illegal in 1964.
Idlewild surrounds the lake it was named for. The headwaters of the Pere Marquette River
run through here, with a couple of public access points adjacent to Broadway Road, where it crosses. About half of the township is contained in the Manistee National Forest.
Called the "Black Eden", from 1912 through the mid-1960s, Idlewild was an active year-round community and was visited by well-known entertainers and professionals from throughout the country. At its peak it was the most popular resort in the Midwest and as many as 25,000 would come to Idlewild in the height of the summer season to enjoy camping, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, roller skating and night-time entertainment.
When the 1964 Civil Rights Act opened up other resorts to African-Americans, Idlewild's boomtown period subsided but the community continues to be an important place for vacationers and retirees and as a heritage landmark.
The Idlewild African American Chamber of Commerce was founded in the summer of 2000 by businessman John O. Meeks for the purpose of promoting existing local businesses and for attracting newer ones to the Lake County area.
resort communities in contemporary United States
history. Idlewild was founded over ninety six years ago in 1912. Recognized as an intellectual center for African Americans, Idlewild was and continues to be an oasis for black economic success and community development.
largely composed of professionals and small businessmen and women had been established in several urban centers. Like many urbanites, they wanted the opportunity for recreational pursuits in a setting removed far from racism
and discrimination
in the cities. In this time period of strict racial segregation
, such an escape was nowhere to be found in the midwest for African Americans.
, and Wilbur M. Lemon and his wife, Mayme, and A.E. Wright and his wife, Modolin, of Chicago, organized IRC during the pre-World War I era. To secure land rights, E.G. Branch built a cabin, homesteaded the island for three years, and eventually obtained the title to the island through his Branch, Anderson & Tyrrell Real Estate Company, which became the central focus of the resort community.
professionals from Detroit, Chicago
, and other Midwestern cities to tour the rustic community. During their visit lots were sold.
A 1919 pamphlet used to promote the community, which was produced and distributed by IRC, entitled "Beautiful Idlewild," describes Idlewild as "the hunter’s paradise," as a place renowned "for its beautiful lakes of pure spring water" and "its myriads of game fish."
One prominent personality to relocate to Idlewild was Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
who, in 1893 became the first surgeon in the United States to perform open-heart surgery. Dr. Dan, as he was to be later called in Idlewild, Herman O. and Lela G. Wilson of Chicago, three of Dr. Dan’s associates from Chicago and Cleveland
, and twenty others were among the first group of African American professionals to join IRC’s excursion. Later, tours were conducted from Chicago
, Indiana
, Detroit, Grand Rapids
, St. Louis
, and other cities by train.
IRC had acquired over 2700 acres (10.9 km²) of land. The company sold a good deal of that land, and then turned the island over to Dr. Dan and Louis B. Anderson of Chicago, and Robert Riffe and William Green of Cleveland, who collaboratively formed the Idlewild Improvement Association (IIA) and helped build the clubhouse. IIA sold property to such notables as NAACP co-founder, Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, cosmetic entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, Lemuel L. Foster, president of Fisk University
, Dr. Albert B. Cleage, Sr. of Detroit, and the famous African-American novelist Charles Waddell Chesnutt.
IIA was also responsible for recruiting other middle-class professionals such as William Pickens, field secretary of the NAACP, the Reverend H. Franklin Bray, a missionary and early settler in the community, along with his wife, Virginia Bray, who together founded the first formal church in Idlewild, and the Reverend Robert L. Bradby, Sr. of Second Baptist Church of Detroit, who was instructional in significantly contributing to the development of the Idlewild Lot Owners Association. IIA encouraged this new influx of community leaders to foster racial pride, economic development, decency, and respect to Idlewild.
One activity that garnered much respect from outsiders, including Michigan Republican Governor Fred Green
, was the annual Idlewild Chautauqua organized by Reverend Bradby. These Chautauqua events, which lasted for one week, added a unique intellectual favor to the recreational life in the community. People came from everywhere to participate in the event.
(NAACP), others as believers of the late Booker T. Washington
’s political machine, and others as potential investors. However, for the majority of these professionals who brought their families, the idea of land ownership conveyed black social status and membership in this community.
era. The ILOA (Idlewild Land Owners Association), for example, had become a national organization with members from over thirty-four states in the country. In addition, the Purple Palace, Paradise Clubhouse and the Idlewild Clubhouse, Rosanna Tavern, and Pearl’s Bar provided summer entertainment for tourists and employment opportunities for seasonal and year round residents in the community. The Pere Marquette Railroad built a branch line to the area by 1923. A post office opened that same year, with Susie J. Bantom as the first postmaster. The Idlewild Fire Department was established, and a host of new entrepreneurs began entering the community. Paradise Palace became McKnight’s Convalescent Home.
Idlewild during the Post World War II era attracted what some sociologists have labeled the new African American "working" middle class. With the construction of a few paved roads in Idlewild, a reinvestment in the township’s only post office on the island, and greater availability of electricity, a new generation of Black entrepreneurs began to invest in Idlewild. Phil Giles, Arthur "Big Daddy" Braggs, and a host of other African American businessmen and women took advantage of the market by purchasing property on Williams Island and Paradise Gardens, and began developing these areas into an elaborate nightspot and business center. Dr. Louis Cleage and his brothers, Hugh and Henry, expanded the original cottage that his father, Dr. Albert B. Cleage, Sr. had started in the 1940s.
Warren Evans, Dr. Cleage's nephew is the current Sheriff of Wayne County, Michigan. He spent almost every summer in Idlewild, from the early 1950s on with his brothers, Dale and Blair and a sister, Jan and cousin, Dr. Ernest Martin and their families.
Della Reese
, Al Hibbler
, Bill Doggett
, Jackie Wilson
, T-Bone Walker
, George Kirby
, The Four Tops, Roy Hamilton
, Brook Benton
, W.E.B. Du Bois, Choker Campbell, Lottie "the Body" Graves, the Rhythm Kings, the Harlem Brothers, Sarah Vaughan, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Sammy Davis, Bill Cosby, Moms Mabley, Fats Waller, and Billy Eckstein and many other performers, entertained thousands of Idlewilders and white citizens in neighboring Lake County
townships throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.
The names Phil Giles, Dr. Louis Cleage and Arthur Braggs became synonymous with Idlewild. Braggs’ produced singers, dancers, showgirls, and entertainers, which helped Idlewild to become the Summer Apollo of Michigan. Phil Giles, on the other day, was a respected businessman in the community, and eventually became mayor of Idlewild. Dr. Cleage was one of the only resident physicians who owned property on Idlewild lake and served the community in the Summer months. You may add Dr. L. Nelson was a resident physician. He lived there year round and serviced both black and white for many years . He is viewed by many residents as a leader , humanitarian in all of Lake Cty. He owned The El Morocco Club , which was the best after hours place . His home and office burned down in the 70's . He was a devoted family man. His daughter , America Nelson became a physican too .
, the many rebellions that followed in 1968, the Vietnam War
and national recession in the early 1970s, not to mention the availability of the credit cards and the inability of seasonal business owners in Idlewild to be competitive with other vacation outlets in the United States (which were now open to African Americans), the community suffered a significant social and economic loss. The children of many of the old families who were born in the community were now forced to relocate to other cities in Michigan and elsewhere to find suitable employment to care for their families.
As the community underwent a significant population decline, Idlewild became a lesser-known family vacation and retirement community. The community began to take on a new identity. An increasing number of new retirees, many who visited the area during its prime, relocated to the community and launched an intensive revitalization effort. Blight, trash, and junk cars were concerns that demanded the immediate attention of citizens in the township.
With these changes and other community concerns, Township officials organized a planning commission, zoning board, and other in-group initiatives as a way to encourage community input and to offer specific practical solutions to improve the community. Community Development Block Grant
s (CDBG) were obtained for demolition, additional roadwork, and other structural changes, which resulted in a complete, make over of the island. By 1977, under the leadership of Harry Solomon, Yates Township Supervisor at the time, the community formally renamed "The Island" to "Williams Island" as a tribute in honor of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
.
The accomplishments of these new establishments may have been gradual signs of proof of economic development and rebirth in the community, but none were more significant than the community services to follow by Mr. John O. Meeks. Having relocated to Idlewild from Detroit, after retiring from the Detroit Public Schools
system and a successful dry cleaning business, Meeks purchased the old Morton Motel in Idlewild in 1989, and immediately began renovating it in 1991. Being a visionary by seeing a need for motel accommodations in the community, Meeks was creative when he added a multi-purpose room to the 17-room motel with kitchenette
s in ten of the units. However, Meeks’ work did not end there. He purchased a second motel in the area, and began to look for other ways to promote the community. Hoping to spark others’ interest, Meeks founded the Mid-Michigan Idlewilders and was able to get a charter through the national Idlewilders organization. Mid-Michigan has since grown to a membership of one hundred active members, and a waiting list of fifty potential members wanting to join the organization. By always working to promote Idlewild, Meeks, the founding president of the Mid-Michigan Idlewilders, who is now president emeritus of the group, recently took on to another pet project, which involves the redevelopment of a defunct chamber of commerce in Idlewild, an organization that was originally founded by Phil Giles of the Phil Giles Enterprise in the 1950s.
During the summer of 2000, Meeks founded the Idlewild African American Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of promoting existing local businesses and for attracting newer ones to the area. Within a year’s time, the organization has grown under Meeks’ leadership from one to ten business members.
Some residents view Idlewild as an eden community, some embrace this designation and want it to be a retirement and family community, while others seek to revitalize it and make it a new black resort community in post-modern North American history. By either account, Idlewild is on the comeback.
Yates Township, Michigan
Yates Township is a civil township of Lake County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 714 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water...
located in a small rural northwestern part of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
near the southeastern border of Lake County
Lake County, Michigan
-Highways:* US 10* M-37-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,333 people, 4,704 households, and 3,052 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile . There were 13,498 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...
. It was one of only a few resorts in the country where African-Americans were allowed to vacation and purchase property before this discrimination became illegal in 1964.
Idlewild surrounds the lake it was named for. The headwaters of the Pere Marquette River
Pere Marquette River
The Pere Marquette River is a river in the State of Michigan. The main stream of this river is about long, running from Lake County, Michigan just west of Reed City into the Pere Marquette Lake, and from there into Lake Michigan....
run through here, with a couple of public access points adjacent to Broadway Road, where it crosses. About half of the township is contained in the Manistee National Forest.
Called the "Black Eden", from 1912 through the mid-1960s, Idlewild was an active year-round community and was visited by well-known entertainers and professionals from throughout the country. At its peak it was the most popular resort in the Midwest and as many as 25,000 would come to Idlewild in the height of the summer season to enjoy camping, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, roller skating and night-time entertainment.
When the 1964 Civil Rights Act opened up other resorts to African-Americans, Idlewild's boomtown period subsided but the community continues to be an important place for vacationers and retirees and as a heritage landmark.
The Idlewild African American Chamber of Commerce was founded in the summer of 2000 by businessman John O. Meeks for the purpose of promoting existing local businesses and for attracting newer ones to the Lake County area.
Establishment (1912-1920s)
The community of Idlewild continues to be recognized as one of the oldest, most famous, and most memorable African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
resort communities in contemporary United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history. Idlewild was founded over ninety six years ago in 1912. Recognized as an intellectual center for African Americans, Idlewild was and continues to be an oasis for black economic success and community development.
The need
During the second decade of the twentieth century, a small yet clearly distinguishable African American middle classMiddle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
largely composed of professionals and small businessmen and women had been established in several urban centers. Like many urbanites, they wanted the opportunity for recreational pursuits in a setting removed far from racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
in the cities. In this time period of strict racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
, such an escape was nowhere to be found in the midwest for African Americans.
The original developers
Because Northwest Michigan represented a likely location to establish a resort for African Americans, four white land developers and their wives organized the Idlewild Resort Company (IRC). Erastus Branch and his wife, Flora, and Adelbert Branch and his wife, Isabelle, from White Cloud, MichiganWhite Cloud, Michigan
White Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,408. It is the county seat of Newaygo County.-Geography:...
, and Wilbur M. Lemon and his wife, Mayme, and A.E. Wright and his wife, Modolin, of Chicago, organized IRC during the pre-World War I era. To secure land rights, E.G. Branch built a cabin, homesteaded the island for three years, and eventually obtained the title to the island through his Branch, Anderson & Tyrrell Real Estate Company, which became the central focus of the resort community.
Name origin
One folk saying suggests it refers to Idle men and wild women. Current residents embrace this version of the story by selling playful t-shirts at the annual Idlewilders summer festivals that read "Idle Men and Wild Women!"The first notable residents
Whatever the circumstances, IRC organized its first excursion to attract middle class African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
professionals from Detroit, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and other Midwestern cities to tour the rustic community. During their visit lots were sold.
A 1919 pamphlet used to promote the community, which was produced and distributed by IRC, entitled "Beautiful Idlewild," describes Idlewild as "the hunter’s paradise," as a place renowned "for its beautiful lakes of pure spring water" and "its myriads of game fish."
One prominent personality to relocate to Idlewild was Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
Daniel Hale Williams
Daniel Hale Williams was an American surgeon. He was the first African-American cardiologist,and performed one of the first successful open-heart surgeries in the United States. He also founded Provident Hospital, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States.-Career:Williams was among...
who, in 1893 became the first surgeon in the United States to perform open-heart surgery. Dr. Dan, as he was to be later called in Idlewild, Herman O. and Lela G. Wilson of Chicago, three of Dr. Dan’s associates from Chicago and Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, and twenty others were among the first group of African American professionals to join IRC’s excursion. Later, tours were conducted from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Detroit, Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
, St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, and other cities by train.
IRC had acquired over 2700 acres (10.9 km²) of land. The company sold a good deal of that land, and then turned the island over to Dr. Dan and Louis B. Anderson of Chicago, and Robert Riffe and William Green of Cleveland, who collaboratively formed the Idlewild Improvement Association (IIA) and helped build the clubhouse. IIA sold property to such notables as NAACP co-founder, Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, cosmetic entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, Lemuel L. Foster, president of Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
, Dr. Albert B. Cleage, Sr. of Detroit, and the famous African-American novelist Charles Waddell Chesnutt.
One activity that garnered much respect from outsiders, including Michigan Republican Governor Fred Green
Fred Green
-Military service and legal work:Green served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War. He was a first lieutenant in the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry and later was promoted to battalion adjutant. After the war, he returned to Ypsilanti as the city attorney, as well as attorney for the...
, was the annual Idlewild Chautauqua organized by Reverend Bradby. These Chautauqua events, which lasted for one week, added a unique intellectual favor to the recreational life in the community. People came from everywhere to participate in the event.
Other notable residents / civic leaders
Leon E. Bates retired UAW-Leader; Yates Township Supervisor and Lake County Commissioner, he was favored to win re-election to his third term as the Yates Township supervisor at the time of his untimely death in 1972.The height of popularity (1920s – 1964)
Idlewild, by then known throughout the United States as the Black Eden of Michigan, had become one of the few places middle class African Americans could find peace of mind, and could escape systematic practices of racism and discrimination in North America.Presence of notable organizations
As this new black intelligentsia began to settle in the community, some relocated as activists and members of Marcus Mosiah Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), some as followers of Du Bois’ National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP), others as believers of the late Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
’s political machine, and others as potential investors. However, for the majority of these professionals who brought their families, the idea of land ownership conveyed black social status and membership in this community.
Growing businesses
Idlewild quickly became the intellectual center for economic development and community progress in Black America during the Pre World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era. The ILOA (Idlewild Land Owners Association), for example, had become a national organization with members from over thirty-four states in the country. In addition, the Purple Palace, Paradise Clubhouse and the Idlewild Clubhouse, Rosanna Tavern, and Pearl’s Bar provided summer entertainment for tourists and employment opportunities for seasonal and year round residents in the community. The Pere Marquette Railroad built a branch line to the area by 1923. A post office opened that same year, with Susie J. Bantom as the first postmaster. The Idlewild Fire Department was established, and a host of new entrepreneurs began entering the community. Paradise Palace became McKnight’s Convalescent Home.
Idlewild during the Post World War II era attracted what some sociologists have labeled the new African American "working" middle class. With the construction of a few paved roads in Idlewild, a reinvestment in the township’s only post office on the island, and greater availability of electricity, a new generation of Black entrepreneurs began to invest in Idlewild. Phil Giles, Arthur "Big Daddy" Braggs, and a host of other African American businessmen and women took advantage of the market by purchasing property on Williams Island and Paradise Gardens, and began developing these areas into an elaborate nightspot and business center. Dr. Louis Cleage and his brothers, Hugh and Henry, expanded the original cottage that his father, Dr. Albert B. Cleage, Sr. had started in the 1940s.
Warren Evans, Dr. Cleage's nephew is the current Sheriff of Wayne County, Michigan. He spent almost every summer in Idlewild, from the early 1950s on with his brothers, Dale and Blair and a sister, Jan and cousin, Dr. Ernest Martin and their families.
Famous entertainers who performed in Idlewild
The face of both nightspots, The Flamingo and Paradise Clubs, featured well-known entertainers, who when they performed elsewhere were forced to submit to segregation.Della Reese
Della Reese
Delloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...
, Al Hibbler
Al Hibbler
Albert George "Al" Hibbler was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of his singing is classified as rhythm and blues, but he is best classified as a bridge between R&B and traditional pop music...
, Bill Doggett
Bill Doggett
Bill Doggett was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist. He is best known for his tracks, "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", and variously working with The Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan.-Biography:William Ballard Doggett was born in...
, Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
, T-Bone Walker
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
, George Kirby
George Kirby
George Kirby was an American comedian, singer, and actor from Chicago, Illinois.Kirby broke into show business in the 1940s at the Club DeLisa, a South Side establishment that employed a variety-show format and preferred to hire local singers, dancers, and comedians...
, The Four Tops, Roy Hamilton
Roy Hamilton
Roy Hamilton was an American singer, who achieved major success in the US R&B and pop charts in the 1950s...
, Brook Benton
Brook Benton
Brook Benton was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he scored hits such as "It's Just A Matter Of Time" and "Endlessly", many of which he co-wrote.He made a comeback in 1970...
, W.E.B. Du Bois, Choker Campbell, Lottie "the Body" Graves, the Rhythm Kings, the Harlem Brothers, Sarah Vaughan, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Sammy Davis, Bill Cosby, Moms Mabley, Fats Waller, and Billy Eckstein and many other performers, entertained thousands of Idlewilders and white citizens in neighboring Lake County
Lake County, Michigan
-Highways:* US 10* M-37-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,333 people, 4,704 households, and 3,052 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile . There were 13,498 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...
townships throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.
The names Phil Giles, Dr. Louis Cleage and Arthur Braggs became synonymous with Idlewild. Braggs’ produced singers, dancers, showgirls, and entertainers, which helped Idlewild to become the Summer Apollo of Michigan. Phil Giles, on the other day, was a respected businessman in the community, and eventually became mayor of Idlewild. Dr. Cleage was one of the only resident physicians who owned property on Idlewild lake and served the community in the Summer months. You may add Dr. L. Nelson was a resident physician. He lived there year round and serviced both black and white for many years . He is viewed by many residents as a leader , humanitarian in all of Lake Cty. He owned The El Morocco Club , which was the best after hours place . His home and office burned down in the 70's . He was a devoted family man. His daughter , America Nelson became a physican too .
Decline (1964-1980s)
With the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
, the many rebellions that followed in 1968, the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and national recession in the early 1970s, not to mention the availability of the credit cards and the inability of seasonal business owners in Idlewild to be competitive with other vacation outlets in the United States (which were now open to African Americans), the community suffered a significant social and economic loss. The children of many of the old families who were born in the community were now forced to relocate to other cities in Michigan and elsewhere to find suitable employment to care for their families.
As the community underwent a significant population decline, Idlewild became a lesser-known family vacation and retirement community. The community began to take on a new identity. An increasing number of new retirees, many who visited the area during its prime, relocated to the community and launched an intensive revitalization effort. Blight, trash, and junk cars were concerns that demanded the immediate attention of citizens in the township.
With these changes and other community concerns, Township officials organized a planning commission, zoning board, and other in-group initiatives as a way to encourage community input and to offer specific practical solutions to improve the community. Community Development Block Grant
Community Development Block Grant
The Community Development Block Grant , one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds local community development activities such as affordable housing, anti-poverty programs, and infrastructure development...
s (CDBG) were obtained for demolition, additional roadwork, and other structural changes, which resulted in a complete, make over of the island. By 1977, under the leadership of Harry Solomon, Yates Township Supervisor at the time, the community formally renamed "The Island" to "Williams Island" as a tribute in honor of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
Daniel Hale Williams
Daniel Hale Williams was an American surgeon. He was the first African-American cardiologist,and performed one of the first successful open-heart surgeries in the United States. He also founded Provident Hospital, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States.-Career:Williams was among...
.
Rebirth (1980s to Present day)
While the Yates Township (which surrounds Idlewild) population began to slowly increase, it continued to do so through a disproportionate number of retirees. However, the projected growth in business and employment opportunities that would serve the needs of these new residents was not occurring.Economic woes
A heavy burden was placed on seasonal residents to pay for community facilities and services for year around homeowners with limited incomes. By the early 1990s, federal and state funding was becoming scarce. The community’s attention was turned away from building projects and turned toward the renovation of existing township properties. Continued clean up of the community and community pride among all citizens were high priorities for the township government. Although these pragmatic developments were taking place, the community continued to suffer from a poor economy. Then under the leadership of the Clinton-Gore Administration came a pilot rural policy initiative, which followed a pilot urban policy development that fostered collaborative partnerships between business, government, grassroots organizations, and organized community agencies. Community participation in Idlewild and Lake County, Michigan resulted in a vision for social change. This vision was partially fulfilled when the federal government designated Lake County, Michigan, as an Enterprising Community, a designation, which encouraged two important major economic development projects, a sewer system and natural gas.Tourism
Although Idlewild’s tourism has significantly declined from what it use to be, African Americans throughout the United States still maintain strong ties to the community through frequent visits and their involvement in the National Idlewilders Club annual celebrations including the Idlewild Jazz Festival. The National Idlewilders consists of local chapters in six cities. In addition, the National Lot Owners Association with local chapters in eight cities contributes to the community’s significance. Finally, the memories and activism of year-round, seasonal, and former Idlewild residents and visitors who now live throughout the United States and abroad are evidence of the continuing significance of the community.Re-birth of business development
During the year 1992 the community of Idlewild witnessed the entrance of several new small business owners. Harrison R. Wilson, a longtime resident, was on the verge of retiring as Lake County Commissioner in order to provide the necessary leadership needed to nurture the Yates Township DART System. Larry’s Nursery and Landscaping, owned by Larry and Judy Portis, was fully operational, so was Burns Construction Company, which is owned by former Yates Township Supervisor Norman R. Burns, the East Meets West Boutique, owned by James and Larnell Cox, as well as Morton’s Motel, owned by John O. Meeks.The accomplishments of these new establishments may have been gradual signs of proof of economic development and rebirth in the community, but none were more significant than the community services to follow by Mr. John O. Meeks. Having relocated to Idlewild from Detroit, after retiring from the Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The student population of the Detroit Public Schools is about 65,971 , which is down about 9.7% from the previous school year. Detroit Public Charter Schools educate an additional 56,000...
system and a successful dry cleaning business, Meeks purchased the old Morton Motel in Idlewild in 1989, and immediately began renovating it in 1991. Being a visionary by seeing a need for motel accommodations in the community, Meeks was creative when he added a multi-purpose room to the 17-room motel with kitchenette
Kitchenette
A kitchenette is a small cooking area.In motel and hotel rooms, small apartments, college dormitories, or office buildings a kitchenette usually consists of a small refrigerator, a microwave oven or hotplate, and, less frequently, a sink...
s in ten of the units. However, Meeks’ work did not end there. He purchased a second motel in the area, and began to look for other ways to promote the community. Hoping to spark others’ interest, Meeks founded the Mid-Michigan Idlewilders and was able to get a charter through the national Idlewilders organization. Mid-Michigan has since grown to a membership of one hundred active members, and a waiting list of fifty potential members wanting to join the organization. By always working to promote Idlewild, Meeks, the founding president of the Mid-Michigan Idlewilders, who is now president emeritus of the group, recently took on to another pet project, which involves the redevelopment of a defunct chamber of commerce in Idlewild, an organization that was originally founded by Phil Giles of the Phil Giles Enterprise in the 1950s.
During the summer of 2000, Meeks founded the Idlewild African American Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of promoting existing local businesses and for attracting newer ones to the area. Within a year’s time, the organization has grown under Meeks’ leadership from one to ten business members.
Looking forward
In 2006, Idlewild, like most of Lake County, is well on its way to revitalizing community life for its residents. Attendance at the annual summer festivals has steadily increased since 2000. The Idlewild Jazz Festival attracts performers and fans from all over the midwest, many without any idea about the rich history of the area. Long time summer residents enjoy the 4th of July Parade and Idlewilder's Weekend with their children, grand and great-grandchildren. Middle-aged adults are starting to take over long abandoned properties, remodeling them, buying jetskis, and installing satellite dishes to accommodate the more modern tastes of their children. While the competition of major tourist destinations will keep Idlewild from becoming what it once was for African American families, the area is slowly moving towards repairing decades of neglect.Some residents view Idlewild as an eden community, some embrace this designation and want it to be a retirement and family community, while others seek to revitalize it and make it a new black resort community in post-modern North American history. By either account, Idlewild is on the comeback.
Books that are about or mention Idlewild, Michigan
- Idlewild by Nick SaganNick SaganNick Sagan is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the science fiction novels Idlewild, Edenborn, and Everfree, and his screen credits include episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager...
- Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan by Professor Ronald J. Stephens, University of Nebraska ISBN 0-7385-1890-5
- Passing by Nella Larson ISBN 0-8135-1170-4
- Black Eden: The Idlewild Community by Lewis Walker and Benjamin C. Wilson ISBN 0-87013-622-4
- What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary DayWhat Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary DayWhat Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day is a novel by Pearl Cleage, and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in September 1998. The book focuses on a black woman who has moved back to her Michigan hometown following a positive diagnosis for HIV. The novel was Cleage's first.- Characters :*...
by Pearl Cleage (Oprah's Book Club) ISBN 0-380-79487-X - Who Was Louis Armstrong? by Yona Zeblis McDonough ISBN 0-448-43368-0
- Louis Armstrong by Laurence Bergreen ISBN 0-7679-0156-8
- The Dark Princess: A Romance by W.E.B. Du Bois ISBN 0-87805-765-X
- Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School by Grace Llewellyn and Amy Silver ISBN 0-471-34960-7
- Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don't Go to School Tell Their Own Stories by Grace Llewellyn (Editor) ISBN 0-9629591-2-X
- Black Pioneers of Science and Invention by Louis Haber ISBN 0-15-208566-1
- No More Prisons by William Upski Wimsatt ISBN 1-887128-42-5
- Charles W. Chesnutt Stories, Novels and Essays by Charles W. Chesnutt ISBN 1-931082-06-5
- Race First: The Ideological and Organizational Struggles of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association by Tony Martin ISBN 0-912469-23-4
- Just Before Dark by Jim Harrison ISBN 0-618-00193-X
- Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class by Lawrence Otis Graham ISBN 0-06-098438-4
- The Sweet Hell Inside: The Rise of an Elite Black Family in the Segregated South by Edward Ball, Edwina Harleston Whitlock ISBN 0-06-050590-7
- A Ghetto Takes Shape: Black Cleveland, 1870-1930 (Blacks in the New World) by Kenneth L. Kusmer ISBN 0-252-00690-9
- African American Inventors by Otha Richard Sullivan ISBN 0-471-14804-0
- Extraordinary Women Scientists by Darlene R. Stille ISBN 0-516-40585-3
- Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding by Cele Otnes, Elizabeth H. Pleck ISBN 0-520-24008-1
- Take Up the Black Man's Burden: Kansas City's African American Communities, 1865-1939 by Charles E. Coulter ISBN 0-8262-1649-8
- The Gentle Giant by Yusef LaTeef, Herb Boyd ISBN 1-929188-12-9
- Louis Armstrong by Laurence Bergreen ISBN 0-7679-0156-8
- Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century by Randall Kenan ISBN 0-679-73788-X
- By the Color of Our Skin: The Illusion of Integration and the Reality of Race by Barbara Diggs-Brown, Leonard SteinhornLeonard SteinhornLeonard Steinhorn is an American author, specialist in American politics and culture, and professor of communication at American University....
ISBN 0-452-27873-2 - Buildings of Michigan by Kathryn Bishop Eckert ISBN 0-19-509379-8
- In Our Own Image: Treasured African-American Traditions, Journeys & Icons by Patrik Henry Bass, Karen Pugh ISBN 0-7624-1075-2
- African American Healers by Clinton Cox ISBN 0-471-24650-6
- Female Subjects in Black and White: Race, Psychoanalysis, Feminism ISBN 0-520-20630-4
- Bud Not Buddy.
Further reading
- Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan by Professor Ronald J. Stephens, University of Nebraska ISBN 0-7385-1890-5
- History: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams and Idlewild by Professor Ronald J. Stephens, University of Nebraska
- “Michigan’s Other Motown” Lakeshore Guardian article by Randy Karr