07/12/2007

Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
The Village of Buckley is getting ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary as a village. Sheila Gokey has been leading the organization of the celebration that will take place July 27-29, and Carl Zue, 91, will be the grand marshall.

Buckley at 100

Community to hold centennial celebration

By
Record-Eagle staff writer

BUCKLEY — Buckley, which was incorporated as a village in 1907 so that it could receive fire protection, will observe the 100th anniversary of that occasion with a three-day celebration later this month.

"The day the bill was introduced into the legislature, one of the biggest buildings in town, the Walton Hotel, burned,” said Steve Harold, president of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center who is helping compile a book on Buckley's history.

People of the town have come together to organize the centennial, coordinator Sheila Gokey said.

"We decided to put something together for the community and for families to come and have a good time,” she said.

School children were involved with a centennial logo competition. Sixth-grader Shelby Weber won it with a design that incorporates the Manistee River, woods, railroads and the number 100.

Buckley was originally a railroad town, growing up around a stop on the Manistee and Northeastern Railroad line that was established in 1904.

"When the railroad comes, there's an intense development period for about a decade,” Harold said.

The town grew to about 700 people by about 1910, and had three forest-products manufacturers in its first decade, he said.

At the time of the 2000 census, it had a population of 550.

"Like so many railroad towns, it was never as large again,” he said. "It's become a suburb of Traverse City and that's causing intense development now.”

The railroad meant more profits for area farmers, since it became quicker and cheaper to ship their potatoes and other produce to Traverse City by train rather than by horse-drawn wagon.

In more recent history, many lifelong Buckley residents remember when free movies were shown outside in town on summer nights until about the 1960s, Gokey said. So as part of the celebration, free outdoor movies will once again be seen.

Carl Zue, 91, believed to be the oldest living resident both born and raised in the town, will be the grand marshal of the festival.

Zue's father farmed and Carl also farmed until 1967. He worked for Traverse City schools as a custodian from 1965 to 1980. He and his wife Marie have been married for 70 years and raised six children together.

He is also one of the early members of the Northwest Michigan Engine & Thresher Club, which has organized the Buckley Old Engine Show since 1967.

Events during the 100th anniversary celebration — which will run Friday, July 27, through Sunday, July 29 — will include street dances on Friday and Saturday evening, a 5-K run, historic exhibits, a tractor show, a classic car "cruise-in,” a parade and children's games. Most events are free.

For more information, call Sheila Gokey at (231) 360-0460.