Information on Traverse City, Michigan and the surrounding Northwest Michigan area

Summer Guide, August 2006

Historic hideaway

After 100 years and only two different owners, the Neahtawanta Inn is going strong

by erin anderson
For more bed and breakfast profiles, see our Bed & Breakfasts page

Neahtawanta doesn't feel quite like the end of the earth anymore. Vacationers no longer arrive by steamer boat; instead, paved roads now make the drive up the scenic Old Mission Peninsula a quick and enjoyable trip.

The historic Neahtawanta Inn on Bower's Harbor isn't the only choice for lodging now days, and three weeks of meals, laundry, and boat rentals costs a bit more than $30, but other than these few superficial differences, the spirit of this magical place remains unchanged from the time Mary Black opened her hotel here in 1906. A century later, the Neahtawanta Inn continues to offer rest and rejuvenation to all who pass through its doors.

At the turn of the last century, narrow dirt roads and country lanes were the only way to traverse northern Michigan's famed agricultural peninsula. Nearly half way up this narrow divider of East and West Grand Traverse Bays—a full day's horse and carriage ride from Traverse City—Mary Black had a vision for a small point of land curved around the tranquil waters of Bower's Harbor, named Neahtawanta. A native to Old Mission, Mary had been born into the large Kroupa farm family and intimately understood the appeal of the area's incredible natural beauty. She also understood the advantages of making the place that she loved accessible to others.

Having already run a successful candy store from her summer cottage for several years, 34-year-old Mary had proven she possessed the skills necessary to broaden her business scope, despite the extreme rarity of female entrepreneurs at the time. The 1885 cottage that had served as both residence and candy store was soon revamped to serve yet another purpose and, in 1906, Mary reopened the building as the Sunrise Inn.

Over the years, additional rooms, living and dining space, and auxiliary cottages were constructed to provide guests with the latest in convenience and fashionable resort vacationing. By the mid-1920s, provisions had been made to offer horseback riding, tennis and golf, in addition to boating, fishing, swimming and other outdoor sports. The Sunrise Inn dining room was open to guests and the public alike, with an impressive array of accomplished chefs hired to dazzle diners each summer season. When cold weather came, Mary would close down the un-winterized Inn, and cloister herself in a single fireplace-heated room for the winter.

The spectacular setting, comfortable accommodations and world-class cuisine attracted guests from all over the state, and as far away as Chicago, Minneapolis and New York. The Inn had a relaxed character and charm combined with the rustic elegance of a full-service "up north" resort. Henry Ford was even known to stop at the Sunrise for a meal and a rest on his way to and from the island he had purchased in the middle of West Grand Traverse Bay.

As sole proprietress, Mary was always more than just an innkeeper; she was a natural business woman who, from the very beginning, made the Inn a sort of "go-to" hub for the surrounding community. She took in laundry, rented boats, provided meals, and even offered use of an extreme novelty—the telephone—which was installed immediately upon the Inn's 1906 opening. As the Peninsula became more accessible and, thus, more populated with summer residents, she cut ice from the frozen bay each winter, and stored it in her ice house for sale to area vacationers. She sold ice cream from a side room of the Inn and, during Prohibition, she made and sold her own gin. If you needed anything, chances were that Mary would have it and, if she didn't, she'd find a way to get it for you.

In 1926, Mary married Marvin Atherton, an attorney from Indianapolis who died only three years later. Keeping the Atherton name, Mary resumed running the Inn alone, (which she would re-name the Neahtawanta Hotel in the early 1940s), for the next 42 years. Reputed to be a somewhat crusty character with a sweet heart hidden beneath, Mary is remembered in local lore with a cigarette permanently dangling from the corner of her mouth and her hair dyed fiery red until the last day of her life. Everyone knew Mary, and the Neahtawanta Hotel continued to serve as a community center and summer resort until her 1971 death at age 99.

For the next few years, the heirs of Mary's estate occasionally opened the facility for large parties and special occasions, but it wasn't until several years later that new owners would breathe new life into the Hotel.

In 1978, the Hotel was discovered by Illinois native Sally Van Vleck, and her Traverse City-born husband, attorney Jim Olson. The couple, like Mary, also had a vision for the property.

"It was so off the beaten path," Sally said. "The Peninsula was a lot less built up then than it is now, and there was so much intrigue to the old place. We could tell it was really a storehouse of history."

Sally and Jim, both interested in peace and conflict resolution issues, saw the Hotel's potential for housing both overnight guests and a center dedicated to dealing with these topics.

A massive renovation commenced with the addition of several bathrooms, French doors to the veranda and the window replacement. They intended to run the Hotel year-round, hence the construction of a massive sunken fieldstone fireplace in the main living area and the insulating and winterizing of the entire structure.

By 1984, the work was finally complete, and Sally reopened the resort as the Neahtawanta Inn Bed & Breakfast. By this time, she and Jim had divorced, but the original concept for the Inn remained intact.

Her partner in this endeavor would be Bob Russell, a high school and community college math and science teacher from Saline, Mich., who had moved north only a few years earlier. Sally and Bob met while both serving on the board of Traverse City's Oryana Food Co-Op, and soon discovered they held a world-view and social ethic in common.

Bob's handyman expertise proved critical to addressing the challenges of maintaining an old inn (it now has seven bathrooms, many with original sinks and tubs), and he soon assumed the role of primary cook, as well.

Having been a founding member of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Counsel, Sally considered protection of natural resources a critically high priority, as did Bob, a past NMEAC board president. However, they were looking to expand upon their concern for the plane: to broaden the scope of their work to include peace and justice for the planet's people, as well. Hoping the inclusion of inner growth work—through disciplines like yoga—would facilitate the achievement of these goals, they added these regimens to the mix.

Sally and Bob were married on the summer solstice of 1987, the same day their non-profit—the Neahtawanta Research and Education Center—was incorporated.

"We literally married our work," Bob said.

With a focus on peace, social justice, and environmental issues, the mission of the Neahtawanta Center is "a place of gathering and a community of kindred spirits, created to serve people and institutions interested in working toward a sustainable and just society"¦." Through education, outreach, and advocacy, Bob, Sally and Center supporters strive to "take a holistic view and find hopeful, positive solutions to human problems by looking to nature," Sally explains.

With four young daughters between them (Sally's three full-time and Bob's visiting summers and holidays), the couple had more than their share of balls in the air: running a year-round bed and breakfast, tending a fledgling non-profit, and raising a family within the largely public arena of a busy inn.

"It wasn't always easy," Sally admits with a laugh. "I think we must have said 'shhhh' about a million times when our girls were growing up. But I think, in a way, it was a good way to grow up. They learned to be considerate of others, met interesting people and were more conscious of the world around them. Because they had to consider guests' comfort and needs, they didn't grow up thinking they were the center of the universe like many kids do."

In addition to family, Inn and Center obligations, Bob also launched and ran two Traverse City businesses during this time: Ernie's Soft Earth wears, a screen-printing shop; and Traverse Communications, Traverse City's first internet service provider.

In the mid-90s, they built a spacious second floor yoga studio (Sally is a registered instructor with the Yoga Alliance), an ADA-regulation wheelchair accessible guest room and bath, as well as a cozy, timber-frame kitchen.

Today, the Inn offers four antique-appointed guest rooms in the style of the Inn's early days, a two-bedroom suite, both private and shared baths, and spacious common areas for reading, conversation, or simply relaxing. Bob prepares healthy, vegetarian breakfasts each morning (on Mary Atherton's old stove), enhanced with Sally's homemade bread and granola. Guests can also join Sally's morning yoga classes, which are open to the community for a fee.

A computer aficionado, Bob designed and maintains both the Inn and the Center's Web sites; he runs a server (www.oldmission.com) and hosts the Web sites of other non-profits. The Inn is wireless internet accessible, and accommodations begin at $100 a night, with even the more expensive rooms still costing less than many peak-season hotel rooms.

"It's important for us to keep the prices reasonable. That way, you aren't just catering to one crowd," Sally said.

The Inn welcomes guests alone and in groups, as couples and as families. In fact, nearly half of their summer guests are now repeat customers, many returning the same week year after year. Although summer is their busiest season, the cold weather doesn't offer much down time either. The late autumn and winter months still produce a fair amount of guests, as well as a large number of groups renting the entire Inn for retreats and workshops.

At the Neahtawanta Inn, guests get even more than just restful days amid the wooded grounds and the tranquility of Bower's Harbor; they get the experience of stepping slightly outside the hectic confines of everyday living and enjoying the harmonious atmosphere that Bob and Sally have created.

The Inn is run in complete concert with their values, emphasizing sustainable solutions in all aspects of its operation. Local, organic food is served whenever possible, non-toxic products are used to clean the facilities and care for the abundant garden areas, and recycling is easily accessible. Food waste is composted and returned to the gardens, while inside the house, low-flush toilets and long-lived light bulbs make the building as energy efficient as possible.

Bob and Sally have always been mindful of place the Inn has held within the community and it's important to them to honor the Inn's roots as a welcoming gathering place. "It's pretty incredible that the Inn has been in operation for 100 years and we're only the second owners," Sally said.

This summer, Sally and Bob will host a centennial ice cream social in honor of Mary Atherton and the summer treat she once sold from the Inn. There will even be skits and some reenactments of events from the early years of Neahtawanta history.

As the couple reflects on their 22 years as innkeepers, their bed and breakfast philosophy is tied closely to the philosophy by which they live their lives and perform its work.

"We really see ourselves as just the caretakers of this land and this place, rather than 'owners,'" Sally said. "We are just so grateful to be able to do our work here together."

For more information on the Neahtawanta Inn Bed and Breakfast, call (800) 220-1415 or visit www.oldmission.com/inn. For more information on the Neahtawanta Research and Education Center visit: www.nrec.org.