Exploring Age-Friendly Cities
Petoskey stones, that’s what I had heard about long before I knew that Petoskey was a city outside of one of the Great Lakes in Michigan. Petoskey offers many age-friendly attributes. As an enthusiastic supporter of age-friendly cities, I found myself on a summer sojourn to the Upper Peninsula but got sidetracked with a new love of whitefish and a wanderlust for seaside lake communities. Hearing that Hemingway had a fondness for the town drew me closer to its heart, and I circled it on the map as my dear friend drove on through the tree-lined corridors and the well-maintained state/county roads. We arrived at a downtown filled with beautiful brick buildings and richly scented sea air. We traveled to the City Park bar and fell deeply reverent as we inhaled the smell of the old bar and the beautiful wood surroundings. The food was glorious, and the mocktails a delight.
We strolled the streets of Petoskey after a morning filled with hunting the shores for the hexagonal-shaped stones filled with calcite and wonder. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway train station called to us and the exquisite bronze statue of Ignatius Petoskey staring out to the sea informed us via a sturdy placard of his history as an Odawa merchant and fur trader.
I found Petoskey to have many attractive age-friendly qualities. There is a Michigan Master Plan which works “toward a more resilient and sustainable community.” Petoskey residents focus on community identification and engagement, public health and safety, recreation and cultural opportunities, redevelopment, and transportation options. North Central Michigan Community College has a Lifelong Learning Club and shuttles to transport people around town. There is also access to medical and non-medical transportation.
The Friendship Center of Emmet County works with senior centers to provide need-based, simple assistive care services, including Meals on Wheels, volunteer opportunities, and other types of support for those at home. They even have pet-friendly senior housing and will offer a health exposition later this summer.
Lovely shops are well within view and easily walkable with sloping inclines and well-lit streets. The seashore hugs the borders of this old but well-maintained city, and people greet us warmly as we venture into historical and newly designed sites.
Some of the highlights are:
- Crooked Tree Art Center beckoned all as did the gorgeous new public library but we opted for the small but enticing Farmers Market. There we discovered arrays of fruit and flowers, and an item new to my ears, transitional cherries, which are grown organically but have not hit the five-year mark when they are certified as organic. They were scrumptious.
- City Park Grill is renowned as one of Ernest Hemingway’s haunts and houses some extraordinary and luxurious wood carvings and accents. The whitefish freshly caught from the neighboring lake was heavenly.
- Little Traverse Historical Museum resides on the site of the fascinating Pere Marquette Train Station
- Perry Hotel houses the Noggin Room and a beautiful garden. It is a picturesque wedding or festive celebration spot.
- Petoskey State Beach has miles of sand along Lake Michigan, and rocks and stones of all shapes and sizes. The beach offers a magnificent view of shorebirds and people truly enjoying summer days.
- You may find more recommendations for Traverse City, but if your time is limited and you want a true taste of Lower Peninsula Lake life and its abundant offerings of legacy and community, Petoskey is well worth the stop. After all, the name means sunbeams of promise and that is certainly worth a search.
