By Victoria Verplank
Spring Lake Village President 1990-1996

The 20 acres of the land that we know as the Spring Lake Yacht Club was acquired by the Thum family in 1900. In a series of transactions the land then known as "Exmore" was purchased in May of 1927 by the Village of Spring Lake for the sum of $1.00. The land was obtained from the estate of Chicago sticky flypaper magnate, Hugo Thum. It was Mr. Thum's wish, and requirement, that the land be utilized for recreation, education and parkland.

There were at that time three homes on the property. They were called the girl's, boy's and caretakers . These buildings were used intermittently by the girl scouts and various ex servicemen clubs until 1986 when the Village deeded them over to the Yacht Club.

The alliance between the Village and the Yacht Club was already established in the 1940's and 50's, and the Village had by then assumed most of the financial responsibilities for the property. In 1948 the Village put in a new gravel road and moved the road bed to the west in it's present location. Also, during those early years, several fund drives spearheaded by the Village were successful in keeping up thru various club improvements.

The Village was very supportive of the yacht club and in 1957 acquired a boat winch, pump and extension cords for the club's use. It was also documented that the Village, on several different occasions, provided the yacht club with new sailing buoys.

The first license agreement between the Village and the Spring Lake Yacht Club is dated 1942. In November of 1953, then Commodore Victor Tuthill requested a 10 year lease and permission to remove the middle cottage, old boat house and water tower.

Ferrysburg became a city in 1963 and chose to exclude the 20 acres from their proposed new community. In 1992, the Village, with the interest of the yacht club in mind, consummated a friendly annexation between the City of Ferrysburg and Spring Lake Township. This annexation best served the yacht club because it simplified boundries and utilized North Bank services. Prior to this, the yacht club relied on the Ottawa County Sheriff and the Spring Lake Township Fire Department. I had the privilege as Village President to sign this agreement.

In the unspoken spirit of cooperation, the Village maintains its support of the 150 area families that make up the yacht club membership. It recognizes that the club over the past 100 years, continues to flourish and provide a much needed service to our communities.

The relationship between the Village of Spring Lake and the Spring Lake Yacht Club has always been a healthy alliance, and we're all confident that this long time association will extend far beyond the year 2033.