Wolters Woods Park at 30 years: A piece of the past in fast-growing Laketown Township

Lloyd Wolters still takes a walk out his back door to enjoy the peaceful 34 acres of the Laketown Township park that bears his family’s name.

“It’s wonderful,” said the 92-year-old, whose house abuts the park. “Praise the Lord. My dad would be pleased. We’re very happy with the park the way it is.”

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Wolters Woods Park, 6281 147th Ave. The park was the first major land purchase for the township and is still a key to the rural past as the township continues to grow.

In need of a park

The township acquired the land from the Wolters family in 1992, thanks to a $225,000 grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. In 1993, the township received $150,000 from the state with township matching funds of $50,000 for the construction of a trail network, picnic shelter, fencing, playground, parking and restroom.

Wolters Woods is the only township park with playground equipment including swings, slide and merry-go-round.

“It’s a popular site for young families,” said Tom Shuff, Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission chairperson.

Until 1992, Laketown had two parks — the beach acquired in 1926 and Farview Park off 138th Avenue that was dedicated in 1982. Neither were on the growing northside.

The township’s population grew by more than 12 percent between 1980 to 1990. At the time, there were 12 subdivisions or condominium developments within 2 miles of the park. The City of Holland is immediately to the northeast.

A natural place for a park

The property that eventually became the park was originally owned by Lloyd Wolters’ grandfather, Benjamin Wolters, who acquired in the late 1800s. When Lloyd’s father, Edward, passed away in 1986, the property was maintained by five children. Developers were pressing to purchase the acreage.

In early March 1991, Wolters was out on the property, came across a woodchuck and went to get his shotgun, “the one I believe Mom gave Dad in the 1920s,” he wrote in a letter on file in the township office. “So I went to see Harlan Lubbers at Graafschap Hardware.” Lubbers loaned him another gun until he could repair the damaged shotgun. He also took a moment to talk to Wolters about the family’s property.

“Harlan sketched his ideas of what might happen,” Wolters wrote.

“Because in the ultimate sense, our world belongs to God as we read in Psalm 24:1, the key question is, what use of the property would please Him most?” Wolters responded. “Surely people need a place to ‘come apart and rest’ before they ‘come apart.’ People need a place to walk through the woods, watch birds and ‘look for a rabbit’ as you say. But people also need homes. …”

Lubbers lived across from Wolters — in fact, Lubbers, now age 76, still lives across from the park. He played on the land as a child.

“I thought it would be a great idea” for the township to acquire the land, Lubbers said on June 28, 2022.

“Harlan’s communications with Lloyd really helped facilitate the progression of events that took place to acquire the land for the park,” Jeremy Van Hoven wrote in his history of the park. Van Hoven is a member of the parks commission.

It took some time to work of the details and funding, but the Wolters family and the township came to an agreement. The township purchased the land and would, among other things, keep the area as natural as possible, not have any lights on the property and close the gate at sunset. And there would be a plaque dedicating the site to Lloyd’s mother and father.

The plaque was installed Oct. 14, 1995: “In Memory of Edward and Laura Wolters.”

Important park

Wolters Woods Park remains important as the township has continued to grow with a population in the 2020 Census of 5,928.

“Most of the population growth in Laketown occurs in the northern one-third of the township. Wolters Woods is in the middle of that,” said Township Manager Al Meshkin who shepherded the project to completion. It was his first of several property purchases as manager.

“The community was very supportive of the purchase. Using grants and township fund balance made the idea fairly easy to sell,” he said. “The harder part for me was learning the patience needed to work within the grant process.”

Meshkin and township leaders used what they learned from the Wolters Woods process to grow public spaces including Sanctuary Woods (a 40-acre park on the township’s northside), Shore Acres with the Felt Mansion (40 acres nestled in the Saugatuck Dunes State Park) and the Huyser Farm (102 acres with an organic blueberry field).

“Once again, patience with the grant process. It also helps prove the importance of public land and why Laketown needed to be aggressive in purchasing more land for our residents,” he said.

Pleased with the park

Wolters and Lubbers are both pleased with how their efforts have played out.

“We’re very happy with the park the way it is,” Wolters said. “We just want it to be kept as natural as possible. The present and the future should look pretty much the same.”

Lubbers still checks on the park two to three times a week.

“We made it for the township people, just like it is,” he said. “It’s just a neat park. People use it. I think it worked out good.”

Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission is made up of five elected representatives — Tom Shuff, Karen Simmons, Dick Becker, Jeremy Van Hoven and Anne Brand. Members meet at 6 p.m. every third Wednesday of the month at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road.

The Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission through its board of commissioners, staff, programs, services and facilities seeks to enhance the quality of life and the environment, to acquire, conserve and protect natural resources, and to provide quality leisure time opportunities for the benefit of the community. For more information, call 616-335-3050 or visit Laketowntwp.org.

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— Jim Hayden is the public information officer of Laketown Township and a former reporter for The Holland Sentinel.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Laketown Township's Wolters Woods marks 30-year anniversary