Traverse City Record-Eagle

Ed Hungness

Related Photos

  • Ed Hungness

    CSS14F6.jpg
May 29, 2011

Reflections: A diamond in the rough

By ED HUNGNESS Local Columnist

Tucked away in the southeastern corner of Grand Traverse County, between Fife Lake and Manton, is Walton Junction.

Founded in 1872 during the heyday of the lumbering boom, the railroad town prospered. By 1880 Walton had grown to include three hotels, 10 saloons, a store, post office and a number of bordellos. It was a rough and ready town with fewer than 100 peace-loving residents who were joined on Fridays by hundreds of thirsty area lumberjacks looking to spend their paychecks and have a good time.

The demise of the lumbering business, proliferation of the automobile, and the resulting decline of rail travel spelled the end of Walton. Today, little is left except for a few foundations and several structures that might date back to the once prosperous town.

Instead, Walton Junction is now synonymous with the sportsman's club of the same name.

The Walton Junction Sportsman's Club, about three miles east of U.S. 131 on County Line Road, was founded in the late 1950s by a small group of ardent outdoorsmen. The membership has grown steadily, and now there are 250 hunting and fishing enthusiasts, some of whom live in other states.

What makes this club a diamond in the rough is its dedication to the preservation of our natural resources, education, sportsmanship and service to the community.

In 1969 the club began construction of a series of trout raceways on their property. A raceway is best described as a long narrow swimming pool. The cold clear water is supplied by a spring-fed stream that runs through the raceways, entering at one end and exiting at the other. Since 1971, the Department of Natural Resources has annually entrusted the club with around 30,000 brown trout fry, each the size of a small minnow.

The project begins with the fishes' arrival in May. Club members feed, care for and protect these young fish until mid-September. By then the trout have grown to 4 to 6 inches and are ready for planting in the Manistee River not far from the clubhouse.

On fish-planting day, volunteers transfer the trout from the raceways to water tanks loaded on pickup trucks. The fish are then driven to various access points upstream and downstream and transferred to custom-designed fish-planting boats for release into the wild.

Since 1971, the club has planted more than 750,000 brown trout, populating the Manistee with large and healthy fish.

To help finance the many activities and services of the club, members host a breakfast on the third Saturday of each month from April through November. This lumberjack-style breakfast is open to everyone, and offers an opportunity to see the club facilities and to meet and visit with the members. During deer season they also serve hearty breakfasts and prepare a Hunter's Dinner, also open to the public.

The club also holds hunter safety classes, awards two annual college scholarships, and makes donations to four nonprofit organizations each year.

The town of Walton Junction may be a long-ago memory from the early days of Michigan. It might not be on your map or have its own ZIP code. The buildings and residents are not to be found, but the can-do spirit of the north lives on at the Walton Junction Sportsman's Club.

Ed Hungness and his wife owned their cottage on Fife Lake for six years before moving there after his retirement in 2005. He can be reached at edhungness@yahoo.com.

Text Only