A Morning at Orchard Market

On jaunts to the Lake Michigan Recreation Area, many boys clubs have stopped at this mid-way point on US 31 just outside of Free Soil. It is called The Orchard Market and within its walls are all manner of fruits and vegetables along with a fantastic bakery.   I usually purchase a jar of honey with the honeycomb still embedded inside.  It makes for  a great topping for oatmeal in the morning.

The boys like to walk the isles and see what their purchasing power might bring them.  On this trip with the Salesian Boys Club, the boys found Bear Claws to be their top item.  The ever so tasty pastry is topped with several sweet tasting components and some of the boys purchased more than one!

It seemed that the bakery outweighed all other options as a few boys bought a type of cream puff with a sweet marshmallow flavor.  On many trips this was our first stop en route to the Recreation Area.  However, on some of our trips there we stopped here on the way back to our property on Big Bass Lake. 

I found that when a boy’s mouth is filled with sweet things they are less likely to ask, “Are we there yet?”

The Camp Sauble Squirrel Speaks!

A few years ago, I was gathering in some nuts for the winter when a station wagon pulled into Camp Sauble near Free Soil,  Michigan,  and I saw two parents and two twin boys.  A parent asked one of the men that approachd their vehicle if  their twin boys could attend this woodland camp for two weeks.  The man in question told the parent that this particular camp was a prison and not a resident summer camp.

The surprised parent thought for a moment before responding, “How about four weeks then?”

Presently, I am about the only resident of this facility but I understand that the “Camp” has been sold to the nearby town of Free Soil.  For what, I am not sure?  Perhaps it might soon become a home for wayward squirrels?   After all, nuts never fall very far from the trees, you know?

Driving Through the Manistee National Forest

It was to be the first off-site trip for the Marion Boys Club and our destination was to the Lake Michigan Recreation Area.  From Noreika Road we hung a right at Big Bas Lake Road and skirted the north portion of our property before making a long turn from it. About a mile later we turned westward onto the Free Soil Road.

On both sides of the road for almost two miles was Bear Swamp (now known to locals as Duck Marsh).  Here the forest was very thick and dark.  The road was also very narrow.  We passed alongside the Big Sauble River twice and son thereafter went by Camp Sauble on the right.  I told the boys that Camp Sauble was not for kids but was part of the State of Michigan Correctional Center.

As we went down a hill the forest gave way to meadows and fields for a time as we approached Free Soil.  There were no stop lights in that community although we did slow down to cross over some very bumpy railroad tracks.  We then went around a long curve before finding ourselves in orchard country and this lasted until we met US 31. 

At that point we tuned left onto that highway and proceeded another mile going north until we met the Recreation Area Road on the left.  At that point, and for the remainder of our trip, the Manistee National Forest was again our companion on both sides of that seven mile stretch.  The road ended at the parking lot right next to a dune that once crossed led us to Lake Michigan. 

The boys always liked this off-site trip as at times we stopped at the Orchard Market on the way home on US 31 for snacks.  They had great doughnuts there and jars of honey with the honeycomb found within the jar.  This was but one, of several, off-site excursions that I took with the various boys clubs that came to our property at Big Bass Lake and nearly all of them were through the Manistee National Forest.

The Thriving Town of Free Soil

Just a few short miles from the Orchard Market on US 31 is the quaint town of Free Soil, Michigan. For anyone that might want to drive fast through these small towns, this railroad crossing will want to make you change your mind. It is perhaps the bumpiest railroad tracks I have ever been over! Nearly every socket in your car will take notice of this crossing. Welcome to Free Soil!

My husband, Mike, used to take me to an old drug store in this town which used to serve up the best strawberry milkshakes ever.  Using this photograph as a reference point, it would have been not that far ahead on the right side of the road.  I don’t think it’s there anymore which is a shame.  For the time that it was in business it must have been the place to go in Free Soil as there didn’t seem to be that much competition. 

A few miles east of the town was a place called Camp Sauble and for the longest time, much to my husbands amusement, I thought it to be some sort of kids summer camp.  It was years later that I discovered it to be a correctional facility in the Michigan prison system.  Ha, Ha, Michael!

This provides you with an aerial view of Free Soil. At one time it had a school there and a railroad depot.  Did any of our readers go to school in Free Soil?  I haven’t been back to Free Soil for many years now even though Mike and I travel the immediate area quite a bit.  Someday i will get back there to at least see what has taken that drug stores place.  Maybe I’ll be surprised?

No One on the Road Today

Some might say that this road is void of traffic due to it being New Year’s Day. Then again I might hazard to say that the road is clear of cars because of the dangerous snowfall that coats the road. Whatever the reason the road has become a snowmobiler’s mecca. All that fresh powder to swish through with nary a car in sight.

Or maybe the residents of the area are in their homes before a roaring fireplace getting ready to watch all those NFL games or even a bowl game or two?  Kids are probably loathing this day because school will soon again be in session unless the area gets even more snow to extend their holiday vacation. 

I might venture out in this mess to get a few supplies for watching the Lions today.  They made it to the NFL playoffs this year for te first time since 1999.  So I hope I don’t get stuck anywhere so that I miss that last regular season game.  O well, just some thoughts to share with you on this New Year’s Eve Day. 

The Ghosts of Camp Sauble

Dave Norris and Mike Elsner have done posts on the Big Bass Lake Boat Graveyard but the graveyard that represents Camp Sauble has farm implements and if only they could talk. Much of what went on at Camp Sauble had to do with horticulture. But what exactly was Camp Sauble?  It was part of the Michigan Penal System but for men that were due to be released in the near future.

Camp Sauble was originally opened as a prison camp in 1960. Sitting on 40 acres of State-owned land, Camp Sauble had a maximum capacity of 156 prisoners and employed 31 staff members (not including medical staff). Among the programs offered were group psychotherapy, substance-abuse treatment, job skills, and Alcoholics Anonymous.  It was located about two miles due east of Free Soil. 

My initial reaction was that this was a kids camp when I first passed it by.  In a sense perhaps it was as it was often referred to as The Ice Cream Camp. It was so-called because a nearby ice cream plant donated ice cream to Camp Sauble.

It has been closed for several years now and the town of Free Soil has yet to determine what the facility will be used for in the future.  Perhaps a resort or maybe even a kids wilderness camp since it is located in the heart of the Manistee National Forest. 

Yet I do wonder what tales the specters of that farm implements graveyard could tell us about Camp Sauble.  Yes, I do wonder?

Free Soil’s Orchard Market

Not all that far out of Scottville, Michigan, is the Orchard Market. Actually its almost halfway between Scottville and Manistee on US 31. Located just off the Free Soil Road it houses a restaurant and bake shop plus a generous market. Behind it are orchards of fruit trees and for a fee you can help yourself. I often go for the sweet cherries when in season.

They are finger licking good literally as the term sticky fingers really applies here. Just make sure that you can enough for your loved one to bake you a pie with your hard days work.

The Orchard Market is a must for those visiting in this area. Pay particular attention to the honey they sell there as you can actually buy a jar with the honeycomb locked inside. Great stuff! The veggies you can buy here are great too. As for the restaurant that is basically standard fare and the bakery gets no rave notice either. Still its more than worth your time to visit here.