MR. ALAN'S
WEST BLOOMFIELD
SIDEWALK SALE
Water Wonderland
Continued from Page 8
s.
— s90-$100 Values —
Assorted ZODIAC'S
FREEMAN Leather Slip-ons . .
CAPEZIO Kilte Tassels
STACY ADAM% Loafers .....
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NIKE, REEBOK, TODDLER U., AND MORE
Toddler and Baby Shoes
FILA Pro-Beach Athletic-wear
FILA Golf Shirts
FILA T-Shirts
FILA Shorts
FILA Jackets
$4 5 Value , Now $ 10
OFF!
1 / 2 OFF!
1 /2 OFF!
1 /2 OFF!
1 / 2 OFF!
/2
6895 Orchard Lake Road • In the Boardwalk Plaza
Mon.-Weds. and Sat. 10-7 Thurs. and Fri. 10-9 • Sun. 12 - 5 • 626 - 3362
I
SALLY DESIGN
tee--
SALE
I
Spring/Summer
With Savings to 50% and More!
Thurs., July 11 -Sun., July 14
6260886
Orchard Lake at Lone Pine
West Bloomfield • CROSSWINDS MALL
"People find out about us by
word of mouth"
wB-10
FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1991
Flours: Thurs. & Fri. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. 5:30 p.m.
Sun. 12 p.m. 4 p.m.
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-
the biggest source of pollution
in our lakes," said Mr. Laar-
man. "It actually fertilizes
algae and seaweed as soon as
it rains." Even homeowners
who live near, but not on a
lake, contribute to this pro-
blem. Their fertilizers actual-
ly wash down into the lakes.
Cass Lake was named after
Governor Cass, who dis-
covered the lake in his survey
of 1817. Union Lake was
named so because at one time
two separate lakes were join-
ed together by a glacier.
Green Lake was named after
the green color of the water,
and Pine Lake's name came
from the enormous pines
which bordered it. Pleasant
Lake was just a pleasant lake.
Simpson and Cross lakes
were named after two
individuals.
It is evident that Cass Lake
is the largest lake by far, both
in West Bloomfield and in
Oakland County. Over 1,200
acres in size, it is the only
lake in this area on which a
seaplane can land. Cass Lake
releases its water through
Pickerel and Timber Lakes
and the Clinton River into
Lake St. Clair. Cass Lake lies
mainly in West Bloomfield,
with two of its arms exten-
ding into Waterford. It has
both a state park and a
township park, as well as sub-
division parks in different
areas. Public access is allow-
ed via boating and swimming.
Upper Straits Lake is the
second largest lake in West
Bloomfield, although it does
measure less than half the
size of Cass Lake. It is 828
acres in size. Upper Straits
has township parks as well as
a beach, although swimming
is not allowed. Boating is
permitted.
Orchard Lake is next in
line, just slightly smaller in
size than Upper Straits Lake.
Orchard Lake is circular and
measures 788 acres. Al-
though swimming is not per-
mitted off the shore of Or-
chard Lake, one may swim off
the side of a boat. Apple
Island, a natural preserve,
graces the middle of this lake.
In fact, it was Apple Island
which Orchard Lake was
named after. The Indians
named Apple Island "Me-na-
sor-ning," which either stands
for the beautiful isle of some-
where or the place of the or-
chard. Apple trees were found
on the island by early settlers
and Indians. Additionally,
Chief Pontiac often passed
through the region where Or-
chard Lake is located, and
legend has it that the Or-
chard Lake/Apple Island
region was one of his homes.
"In evaluating a lake," said
Mr. Laarman, "the aesthetics
(eg., an island) are valuable.
Additionally, "places like Ap-
ple Island are up and beyond
pure economics. They are
West Bloomfield's natural
resources," he said. Believe it
or not, in 1970, Apple Island
was bestowed with a queen,
and that queen was the fun-
loving and free-spirited Carol
Fink. "I was elected Queen of
Apple Island through the
Friends of Apple Island
organization," said Mrs. Fink.
Carol conducted tours on this
33-acre island.
For those who are boatless,
lakes such as Orchard Lake,
Cass Lake and Pine Lake all
have boat rental available.
Yet Mrs. Fink insisted that
one doesn't need a boat to en-
joy the lakes. "Pull over in
your car and park. It's
peaceful, calming and
beautiful," she said.
Most of the lakes are drain-
ed by the Clinton River, with
others drained through the
Rouge. Nearly all the lakes in
the early days were almost
entirely encompassed by
forests of the American larch
or tamarack. And, another in-
teresting fact which Mr. Laar-
man provided is that Cass,
Orchard, Upper Straits, Pine
and Union Lakes are the on-
ly lakes which are over 70 feet
deep.
One of the main reasons
that swimming and other ac-
tivities are restricted at many
of the lakes is that the lake
owner is held liable for any
problems incurred. The owner
could be, for example, the
township, the school district,
a private owner or a combina-
tion of the three. "A subdivi-
sion recently took down a div-
ing board," said Mr. Laarman.
"A lawyer advised them that
they could get sued if they
kept the diving board up."
Along with these lake
challenges can come sewer
problems. Sewer networks are
close to lakes, said Mr. Laar-
man, and if a network breaks
then all the waste flows into
the lake. Safety precautions
such as generators, improved
design and the lake planner's
awareness of urbanization all
help to eliminate this type of
problem.
And then there's Mrs. Fink,
who went fishing the other
day with a friend. "Catching
fish," she said, "was secon-
dary to the opportunity of
spending time at the lake. I
did catch a bass, though, and
my friend caught two sun-
fish."
West Bloomfield's pictures-
que lakes occupy nearly 15
percent of its 31 square miles.
Whether you decide to picnic,
boat, fish, swim or gaze at the
water, make sure you get out
there and utilize the lakes of
West Bloomfield. O