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Note: Memories from Darlene (Ruark) O'Ruairc
As children we did a lot of camping, including fishing and swimming on small lakes in Michigan. We also helped plant and cultivate large gardens with many varieties of vegetables. We had our own strawberry as well as red and black raspberry patches. Although we lived on the edge of the city, we were really quite country folks. Mother did a lot of canning and was a wonderful baker, which helped us make it through the winters. I remember getting an ice cream cone for being brave enough to touch a tomato worm!
Grandma, Mary Elley Reid, was the head cook for many years at church camp and mom always went to help her out. Grandma made her famous dinner rolls once each week at camp. We were the envy of a lot of fellow campers when they found out we got to have them almost every Sunday, as after church was Sunday dinner at Grandma's.
Grandma Reid lived one street over from us and in the Spring of the year our street would "wash-out". To get to church, dad would have to put on his work clothes, try to make it through the washed out section, and if we didn't make it through, he would have to get out and dry off the carburetor, get the car restarted and then continue to Grandma's to change clothes and be on our way.
In 1953, when a friend of dad's invited him to his "up north" place on Lake Huron, one of the Michigan Great Lakes. My brothers, sister and I were excited. It was a long trip for us, about 3.5 hours and we tried to envision a lake so big that we could not see across it. I am sure "are we there yet?" are words my parents never wanted to hear again. This trip eventually lead to the purchasing of their own property and building a Marina with a small trailer park for travel trailers.
Harlan and Viva built and operated the Harbor Marina in Grindstone City, Michigan from 1959 to 1982. He was considered a "grouch" by many as they had to return rental boats an hour before dark and they wanted to continue fishing. The logic behind this was if they were stranded out on the lake, it gave us time to try and find them. This proved to be a life saver many times over the years. In over 20 years of boat rentals we prided ourselves in never having lost anyone.
Harlan was a carpenter by trade and during WW II he worked for Stinson Aircraft, Wayne, MI. He was the president of the local union at Stinson. Stinson Aircraft Corporations was one of aviations early "greats" and is where the Consolidated Vultee B-24 bomers were constructed.
He built the first four rental boats for the marina from kits he purchased. They were rugged 16 feet long and about 5 feet wide wooden boats, perfect for the waters of Lake Huron. They were eventually replaced with smaller aluminum boats, however, one was kept for personal use and named "The Orange Blossom Special".
Memory from Aunt Rosie: Harlan was always the one who came home to see if anything was needed to be done when they lived in Indiana. She felt he was the most caring of the boys.
Rememberance Card: In Memory of Harlan C. Ruark - Date of Birth 8-23-1911, Date of Death 10-30-1986
Funeral Service: Knoblock Funeral Home, Kinde, Michigan - Sun. Nov. 2, 1986 2PM- Rev. Robert P. Garrett.
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