Proposed Family Walkway

Charlevoix Library

Close Up View

Downtown East Jordan Fund-raiser Walkway … with Names on Bricks

Names on bricks are not overwhelming

Another view and brick pattern

Frequently Asked Questions Why are we even talking about a “Family Walk?” At Sequanota, we have a wonderful tradition of family, but currently no formalized way to recognize them. We do have memorial plaques for Phil Howe and Rex Blanchard, and some families have made their own memorials within their cottage area.

FAQ Continued A few Sequanota families have asked to establish memorials on the general grounds. Why don’t we just do that? It was felt that it was not appropriate to have a number of plaques around the grounds. These should be located within the cottage lot.

FAQ Continued Are there other possibilities than the proposed brick walk? Certainly. But balance and consistency are important. Penny and I have friends who are part of a compound in the UP. They have a memorial area with large stones with names on them. But it is unattractive in that some are much more elaborate than others, some are well maintained while others are not.

FAQ Continued Where might the bricks be placed? If approved, a board appointed committee will decide the placement of the bricks. Examples are: The walks to the Club House or near the flag at the Club House. Other locations are certainly open for consideration.

Front walk of Club House?

FAQ Continued Who would physically build the walk? Joe could do it out of season.

FAQ Continued Would the names on the bricks be for family members who have passed away? Absolutely not. The brick walk concept is in place from Seattle to East Jordan. In some areas the bricks have been used as a fund-raising project. Other places use it simply as an attractive walkway. A family could buy a brick with names of deceased members as well as those alive like kids, grandkids, or even cottage names.

FAQ Continued What about cottages such as the Halls and the Heroys that have had multiple owners? Would they have to do anything about the previous owners? It would be up to the current owner to decide.

FAQ Continued How many bricks could a family have? The answer depends a little bit on the arithmetic of where the walk might be located, the pattern chosen as to how the bricks would be laid, etc. But there would be more than enough bricks available to each family.

FAQ Continued What happens if a family chooses not to participate? No problem. There may well be a configuration where there is not a specific spot for each cottage. The bricks are sandblasted and then the name painted over and it would be unobtrusive enough that an absence of a few names would not be a problem.

FAQ Continued There is a double brick in the display outside. Would double bricks be used? Again, it depends on the plan and member choice. A double brick might be used as the sample “Lafalot” (though misspelled Lafolot), it might have a family name like “The Loving Family”, or a series of names like “Bill Wyne, Louie Wyne”, etc. Double bricks may be a bit more complicated to use in a design pattern, but could easily be addressed.

FAQ Continued What happens if you want to add or delete a name? No problem. The bricks are not laid in cement. They are laid in a combination of gravel and sand.

FAQ Continued How long might the bricks last? The answer is years. The bricks used are not building bricks but paving bricks. These pavers are designed to be driven on. As to the painted names, the answer is again years. The walk in East Jordan has been there a long time.

FAQ Continued How much will it cost? David has received several quotes. A single brick with a name on it will cost $15 and $25 for a double. The price per paver is $.82. It is possible that these might be modestly reduced with some volume.

FAQ Continued How will the rest of the costs be handled? The committee would devise a plan and submit it for board approval. Possibly the memorial fund could be used for some of it.

FAQ Continued How would this be handled? Assuming that the Family Walk is desired, the committee would set up a time frame and procedure for each family to decide what they wanted to do. The names would be forwarded for collection and relayed to the sandblasting company. They would do all the sandblasting and painting and then return the finished bricks (pavers) to Sequanota. We would probably have Joe do the work. Each year additional bricks could be prepared for addition.

FAQ Continued How do we proceed? At Sequanota, we do things by consensus. If there is a consensus to proceed, we would quickly institute a program and create a committee which most likely would decide the where, how, how much, when, and what it would look like. If there is not a consensus to proceed, the idea would not be approved, either as proposed, or at all.