12/11/2025
Greetings friends-
During 2025, our community has made further progress for the Village of Honor and the surrounding area. The Platte River Park continuous to get many visitors that enjoy the beautiful river. The park is visited regularly by school groups and civic groups that study its flora and fauna.
The 1.5-acre blueberry patch is in regular need of management as several invasive species need to be removed. HARP organized work bees and Homestead Township received funds from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for that purpose. The Seeds Ecology and Education Center has been the entity to provide crews to do the actual work. We will do more of this work in the upcoming year.
Other actions in the area have been the creation of a new playground across from the Honor Plaza which is still under construction and will be available to kids next spring. The building across from the former Shell station downtown has changed ownership and is currently being reconstructed and slated for long-term housing and a retail unit on the ground floor.
The Cherry Bowl changed ownership as well and we are happy that it will continue to be used as a drive-in theater. It has been reported that 2025 had record attendance which is a great sign of future viability.
A significant development is underway as the Corridor Improvement Authority has been established by the Village. It is being run by a nine-person board of enthusiastic members representing businesses, non-profits, county, and residents which, again, bode well for future developments in the area. Their mission is to plan for and raise money for improvements along the US31 corridor. We will hear more from this group in the upcoming year and beyond.
HARP hosted a community gathering for friends and neighbors in September. This was another opportunity to have a conversation about what is currently taking place in our area as well as what the focus of the future ought to be. Approximately 35 people, young and old, were in attendance and we had a great conversation with great ideas to consider. Some of them were additional trails, disc golf course, walking access from the Village to the Platte River Park. Also, traffic calming, street scaping and arts downtown, community garden, and affordable housing were suggested. As you can tell, there is plenty of work to be done in our little town.
As the year ramps up, we need to let you know that we need to increase our funds for future projects as well as for the endowment fund to secure future maintenance at Platte River Park. Therefore, we urge you to contribute to our cause. Please consider doing so by clicking the link in the comment section.
We wish you happy holidays and a prosperous 2026!
Our volunteer board consists of:
Ingemar Johansson, Chair
Bruce Wildie, Co-Chair
Michael Wendel, Treasurer
Bill Ward, Secretary
Paul Schulte, Trustee
Heather Brushaber, Trustee
Randi Lyn Stoltz, Trustee
Mike Mead, Trustee
Peter Galopin, Trustee
