In the late 1800's as the Civil War came and passed, the game of base ball spread across America and eventually became what it is today. Next time you get a chance to see the beginnings of base ball don't pass it up. It's a wonderful game!
Read MoreThe Haven Hill Festival is this coming Saturday, August28 at Highland Recreation Area!
Read MoreThe Highland State Recreation Area has many wonderful things to experience in the summer. Put on some sun screen and some insect repellent and get outdoors! Brave the heat and some of the parks' natural insect population (read "bugs") and enjoy the trails that traverse the areas deep into the woods of the park... here's a few pics from a hike on July 18th on the trails north of Haven Hill Lake...
Above: Ferns carpet the forest floor.
Above: Beautiful wild flowers abound in Highland State Recreation Area.
Look closely for things big and small...
Mushrooms and fungi in the shade on the cool forest floor.
The small glacial ponds are full of almost flourescent green algae...
The wetland trail was filled with bird life...
Such as this Cedar Waxing...
The Waxwing was probably searching for these berries...
On the return leg of the hike the water lillies on Haven Hill Lake had started to open in the morning sun...
Enjoy the summer... hike Highland State Recreation Area... one of Michigan's true wonders.
www.fohra.org
This years' 4th of July Parade in Milford, Michigan will be held on Saturday, July 3 at 11 am. The Friends of Highland Recreation Area will walk and drive in the parade to promote the Highland State Recreation Area, the historic Edsel and Eleanor Ford Haven Hill estate within the park, and the upcoming summer "Haven Hill Festival". The Festival will be held from 10 am until 4 pm on Saturday, August 28th in the Goose Meadow picnic area of the park. A vintage 1929 Model A Ford, driven by Chuck and Jean Sherman, members of the Livingston A's driving club, will escort FOHRA's members the length of the parade. Come on out and enjoy supporting FOHRA in the community!
On Friday, May 14 an enthusiastic group of Ford Motor Company volunteers came out to historic Haven Hill and helped continue the rescue of the Edsel Ford Barn inside the Highland State Recreation Area in Highland/White Lake, Michigan. The Haven Hill section of the Highland State Recreation Area was once the grand country estate of Edsel and Eleanor Ford.
Above: Ford Volunteer Corps team members at the Haven Hill Carriage House on May 14, 2010.
The Ford Volunteer Corps members were participating in a "Better World Accelerated Action Day". The Friends of Highland Recreation Area (FOHRA) applied for and were selected as a recipient of a mini-grant and the Edsel Ford Barn as an Action Day location. The Edsel Ford Barn is in the final stage of a massive cleanup after the violent storm damage that occurred during the summer of 2008. FOHRA has handled the clean-up with environment-friendly techniques, sorting much of the fallen debris by hand for potential reuse.
Above: The Edsel Ford Barn pad is nearly 100% cleared of fallen debris after two seasons of hard work with help from volunteers like the Ford Volunteer Corps.
The Ford folks helped sort and clean metal, wood, cedar shingles, and more as the giant concrete pad that was once underneath the barn is cleaned and readied for the next stages of renovation. Continued work on the historic barn occurs the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month.
The Haven Hill restoration and re-purposing project in Highland State Recreation Area is an excellent way for your group to volunteer, and we need your help. Check us out at www.fohra.org. To learn more about the Ford Volunteer Corps, go to www.volunteer.ford.com.
The dogwoods and redbuds are in full bloom at Highland Recreation Area! A true sign of spring, the Lilacs will soon follow.
Park trails are filling with spring foliage. Yesterday I found a trillium just starting to get going.
And a few dogwoods decorated the trail...
Mayapples are filling the forest floor... like small palm trees. No blossoms or fruit yet though.
Kick off your snowshoes and get out to Highland Recreation Area today for a refreshing spring hike.
- Jay
The Highland State Recreation Area can be as enjoyable for you and your family in the winter as it is in the summer - if you dress right and get out and enjoy the beautiful winter scenery.
The Friends of Highland Recreation Area are using winter to continue the work around the historic Haven Hill structures despite the cold weather and snow. Planning and research continues, and construction is slated for the early part of the year.
Come on out and enjoy the park. Try sledding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and more!
Members of Highland State Recreation Area's support group, FOHRA, got together on November 8 and cleared away years of brush in front of the Haven Hill Gate House. The old building can now be seen from the M-59 entrance station as visitors enter the park.
Above: Heavy brush blocks the view of the Haven Hill Gate House.
Above: Members clip and pull the years of brush that had obscured the Gate House from view.
Above: FOHRA members Tim Wiles and Jerry McManus review the clearing.
Above: The Haven Hill Gate House, once the entrance to Edsel Ford's Haven Hill Estate, exposed to public view beyond the entrance station turn-around at Highland Recreation Area.
Above: Friends of Highland Recreation Area marvel at the new view.
FOHRA plans to improve these sites within the park. The Haven Hill Gate House may become an informative Visitors Center some day. Come on out and help the effort. Visit www.fohra.org for more info.
Yesterday's 1st annual Fords, Friends, and Fun in the Park event at Highland Recreation Area was terrific! Vintage Ford Model A and Model T vehicles lined the Goose Meadow Parking lot and attracted visitors from all over the Detroit metro area to what was once Edsel Fords' Haven Hill Estate.
Park Users' Groups such as the Highland Trail Riders, the United Flying Organization, and even visitor groups such as the Pontiac Lake Horseman's Association (PLHA), the Kensington Trail Riders, Michigan Barn Network, the Highland Equestrian Conservancy, and the White Lake Historical Society (to name a few) all put on great displays for the visiting public as well. Kyler's Koral of wonderful petting farm animals was a big hit too.
Below: A smiling goat who's about to get a snack in Kyler's Corral from the PLHA.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources had the park and meadow in tip-top shape for everyone. The smell of grilled hot dogs, donated baked goods and the sounds of music, all traveled across the Meadow on a light breeze during the warm summer day. Ice cream and cold pop and water were enjoyed buy all.
Above: The Highland Trail Riders display at Fords, Friends, and Fun in the Park 2009.
Games for young and old kids included fishing casting, wiffle ball golf, butterfly collecting, and frisbee toss. Below, an Optimist's volunteer shows fishing tackle to a family enjoying the day.
Members of "the Livingston A's", a regional Model A Restorer's Club (MARC), brought their prized vehicles from all over the area. Horns tooting and vintage engines purring made everyone reminisce of a by-gone era, while overhead the wizz of model airplanes from the United Flying Organization filled the sky.
The Highland State Recreation Area provides visitors with a wealth of activities from quiet forest hikes, to horseback riding and model airplane flying. The Haven Hill section of the park, entrance located off of Highland Road (M-59), is the site of what was once Edsel Ford's grand country estate. The estate was built in the 1920's and 30's, and preservation/repurposing plans for the historic structures are being pursued by the MDNR and the Friends of Highland Recreation Area (FOHRA).
Above: Pam Sienkiewicz, , Marge Sawruk, and Dick Russell, all members of FOHRA, pose amidst the vintage Ford cars.
The Fords, Friends, and Fun in the Park event was held primarily as a fund raiser for the Friends of Highland Recreation Area (FOHRA), the parks' support organization. Thanks goes out to everyone who attended and supported yesterday's event. Web links to groups' websites include:
Pontiac Lake Horseman's Association and Kyler's Corral
Michigan Barn Preservation Network
The White Lake Historical Society
The Highland Equestrian Conservancy
The United Flying Organization
and FOHRA...
Have a great summer!
Friends of Highland Recreation Area members are readying themselves for a great summer family event: "Fords, Friends, and Fun in the Park" will take place on Saturday, August 15, 2009 at Highland State Recreation Area in Highland/White Lake, Michigan.
The big day will be an alternative to the famous "Dream Cruise" which will occur the same weekend on Woodward Avenue. The event will feature vintage Ford automobiles such as Model T's and Model A's. "The old cars don't take kindly to the slow speeds of cruising. These vintage car owners often drive them to locations and gather for picnics, contests, barbeques, and other activities, but they don't cruise much at all", said Jay Fitzgerald, event coordinator.
Activities for families will include the "Kyler's Corral" petting farm, historic displays, park Users Groups displays, educational information about the Haven Hill Estate (once owned by Edsel Ford), and radio controlled model plane flying demonstrations. Children's activities such as kite making, butterfly/bug hunting, frisbee toss, fishing pole casting pools, and more will be available all day. A "Family Horseshoe Challenge" will allow families to throw horseshoes for points to win prizes. Food sales will include hot dogs, ice cream, popcorn, and other summer items. Period music will be played all day to add to the atmosphere.
Fitzgerald said, "A fun item for sale at our food pavilion will be a picnic basket of 4 hot dogs, 4 cookies, and 4 soft drinks of your choice. The whole basket of items will be sold at a discount compared to the individual price of each item. We're hoping to encourage families to come out and enjoy a picnic in the park!"
FOHRA will use the day as a fundraising event for the Recreation Area, and as a membership drive.
The event will be free of charge, except for the normal $6.00 vehicle permit pass for Michigan State Parks, or an existing $24.oo annual vehicle permit sticker which many people already have in their car window. "We've put together a fun time for a whole family in the outdoors where the expenses add up to far less than the price of a single movie ticket and a trip to the snack bar. You can't beat the Fords, Friends, and Fun in the Park event for something to do at such a low cost to you for your family".
The fun will be from 10 am until 4 pm Saturday at the Goose meadow picnic site of of Haven Hill Road. Highland Recreation Area is in Oakland County off of M-59 between Bogey Lake and Duck Lake roads.
"Vintage vehicle owners need to contact us at "info@fohra.org" or call 248-787-1750. We also have a website just for the event, www.fordsfriendsfun.com", commented Fitzgerald. "Owners will be let in free for the day, but need to register so that we can get them on a list for free entry into the park."
Friends of Highland Recreation Area
PO Box 800, Highland, Michigan, 48357
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Within one of the most picturesque, fascinating, and historically significant state parks in southeast lower Michigan, our goal is to combine the former Haven Hill estate history with Highland Recreation Area’s existing amenities, wilderness, and recreation.
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