The White Lake area experienced year four of their annual history cruises Sunday, July 27. After taking a hiatus in 2010 from the cruises, the White Lake Chamber & Visitor's Bureau brought them back in 2022 and they have been a big hit for the community ever since.
“I was brand new to the Chamber in the fall of 2021, and that winter we made the decision to bring the History Cruises back for 2022,” Chamber executive director Stephanie Ware said. “The entire process was new to me. Looking back, there have been so many standout moments over the past four years, but year one holds a special place in my heart. With no existing script or timeline to follow, it took a lot of research, collaboration, and time, especially working alongside our incredible local historians. I knew how important it was not to get the history wrong. We jumped in and the cruises really took off.
“From what I could gather, the earlier cruises from 2010 were organized by several different groups, so there wasn’t one central organization that had a saved plan or script. Thankfully, we found old programs that listed the historic sites covered, which gave us a good start. That first year stands out because I had the privilege of working closely with some of our community’s most knowledgeable historians, and even more as we continued into year two, three, and four. They were instrumental in helping me build the script and ensure accuracy. We, as the Chamber, can do the logistics and marketing that need to be done, but without the historic information and accuracy, there would be no cruises.”
The cruises included a discussion of various historical sites on or surrounding the water of White Lake.
“Twenty locations are mentioned, primarily former resorts and/or boats and ferries,” said Ware. “There was a lot more on the history of our lake, but this primarily focused on the resorts and tourism aspect, with mentions of other things such as the lumber mills and factories along the lake, as those were of course a huge part of the history surrounding White Lake.”
The Chamber will not host the cruises next summer, not wanting to see interest in them fade if they are annual events. However, Ware hopes to bring them back again in the distant future, as was done in 2022.
“When we launched the White Lake History Cruises in 2022, they were meant to be a one-time experience,” Ware said. “But the community response was so overwhelming, we kept going all the way into year four. That said, part of what’s made them so successful is that they’ve remained something special, unique, well-attended and worth the effort it takes to bring a ship like this to White Lake. Rather than let interest taper off or risk them feeling routine, we’ve decided to give them a rest while they’re still a hit. When they return down the road, we want them to do so with the same excitement and energy that made them such a standout from the start.”
Ware said though the history cruises will be going away, community members should look forward to them possibly being brought back for special occasions.
“It’s hard to say, but in my mind, I see these possibly coming back on certain milestone years,” said Ware. “For example, if one of our municipalities is celebrating a milestone year, or our Chamber is, I could see us bringing them back for one year to keep them alive and special, but it’s hard to say. I know we’ll see them back someday, but it’ll be a minute. When they return, we want them to have the same anticipation and interest as they have.”
