24 October 2007

Wickham Park


Last week we went to a park called Wickham Park. We drove by the entrance a couple times on our way to other places and Sean would always say how beautiful it was and we should go one of these days. So last Wednesday we decided to go. He was right, it is very beautiful. I looked up the park history on line and found out most of the land had been owned by Clarence and Edith Wickham. They left the land and a large portion of their estate to fund the park. The park is over 250 acres. I know you are probably thinking "who cares where the park came from". Well it turns out this couple met in Europe but he was from Connecticut and she was from Michigan. In June of 1900 they were married in Muskegon, Michigan! Her maiden name was Edith McGraft. McGraft might sound familiar to those who know Muskegon because it is a name of a park. She donated money to build the community building at McGraft park and when she died she left money to the trust for the park funding.
We had a great time walking around taking pictures. I tried to capture some of the colors of a New England fall, but with the little rainfall we had this year I am told the color is not as great as it normally is. I still think it is beautiful.














8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kelly what a wierd story. So neat. Glad to hear you are doing well, congrats.

Unknown said...

that is so cool! what a small world! ;) hope you're doing good out there. maybe ine day we'll actually be in MI at the same time and get to see each other!

Kate Rudd said...

oohhh...
so cool.
you know how much of my youth was spent in McGraft park.
and now you have the Wickham park..
the connections are uncanny.
I'm so glad you wrote about this, and I can't wait to hear more.
:)

Kate Rudd said...

hi. thought about you like twenty times today.
hope you're having a good week~also, I saw Bubba at meijer tonight..he says hi!
:)
miss you..love you..

Daniel Rudd said...

just found your blog while trying to avoid the work I'm supposed to be doing. (will bookmark for future distractions)
beautiful pictures.
hope you're doing well, maybe I'll see you guys when you are in town for the Christmas.

Kate Rudd said...

when are you coming home? hurryhurry!!
Sean and Kelly, I miss you!
Lots of exclamation points in this comment!
Generally punctuation I avoid because overuse is annoying!
so...come to michigan and I'll promise to stop!

Anonymous said...

What a neat story...it seems that park is meant for you two. It is so beautiful there; my mom had almost booked a picnic area there for your barbecue. So bizarre how you thought to look up the history and it just so happened to draw a parallel to your own.

Kate Rudd said...

Happy Thanksgiving, Kelly and Sean..I was thinking about you today and can't wait to see you soon!
Hope your day was fun :)