August 9, 2018 Happy Thursday! I hope your week is going well. We had been scheduled to begin our “On The Road with Victory & Valor” installments a few days ago, but extenuating circumstances delayed the departure. Thanks for your patience. I hope you’ll think it was worth the wait because today, Victory & Valor went on the road to Grand Ledge, Michigan! Grand Ledge is a city with a population of about 7,700 residents, situated along the Grand River about ten miles west of Lansing. It was first settled in the 1830’s. By 1850, the area residents selected the name Grand Ledge for their Post Office, based on the Native Americans’ of the area who referred to the tall sandstone ledges as “Big Rocks.” It was incorporated by the state legislature of Michigan as a village in 1871, a couple years after the first railroad came to the north side of the village. By 1893, Grand Ledge was sufficiently developed into a popular retreat and resort town, and it was incorporated as a city. It is celebrating its 125th Anniversary this year! The businesses along Bridge Street enjoy an old-town, small town appeal. And Victory & Valor will return to Grand Ledge in the near future to provide a more detailed installment focusing on the businesses here. But the emphasis of this installment is the beautiful scenery and natural wonder that it retains. Having travelled to many places, I’ve often been disappointed to discover how so many town planners of previous eras erred in their plans to strike a balance between developing economically while preserving the beauty and natural appeal of the environment. With multiple parks and areas accessible to the public, Grand Ledge captures the balance of nature and development. This is my humble opinion, of course. But on a twenty-minute walk along Second Island, just west of Bridge Street, as I reached the western edge of the island and readied my camera I recognized the familiar site of an immature Bald Eagle perched in the bare branches of a tree, high above the river, a few hundred yards away.
Welcome to Grand Ledge! Victory & Valor will be “On The Road” again tomorrow bringing you more stories of history and sights of natural wonder. See you then!
2 Comments
12/1/2022 11:02:32 am
Thanks for your patience. I hope you’ll think it was worth the wait because today, Victory & Valor went on the road to Grand Ledge, Michigan! Thank you for taking the time to write a great post!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorTom Davis is the owner of Mistletoe Enterprises LLC. He also publishes and distributes the Victory & Valor Flyer, it tells the stories of heroes from all walks of life. Archives
December 2018
Categories |