travel
South Haven
Memories
A search for treasured memories
at Fidelman's Resort.
Dodie Harris
Special to the Jewish News
M
y husband, Larry, and I recently
celebrated our 50th wedding
anniversary. Our daughter and
son-in-law, Nicole and Todd Miller, took
us to Saugatuck to celebrate this milestone
together. We stayed at a beautiful Victorian
B&B, the Delano Mansion Inn, built in the
1860s. We spent our time shopping, taking
long walks in town, and cherry picking and
blueberry picking from Crane's Orchards.
I knew we were close to South Haven. I
had a yearning to go there and check it out,
as memories of my youth filled my heart
and mind. I knew South Haven was a stone's
throw away from Saugatuck where I had
many fun-filled summers with my family
and extended family of aunts, uncles and
cousins at Fidelman's Resort — "Where
Vacation Dreams Come True" was written on
its sign.
My son-in-law Todd drove us to South
Haven.
Back then, Fidelman's Resort was an all-
inclusive resort owned by Morris and Belle
Fidelman. It provided wonderful accommo-
dations, three served meals a day in a beauti-
ful dining room seating 150 plus guests, a
stage in that dining room where families were
entertained each evening with talented musi-
cians and entertainers. At dinner time, my
family would dress nicer than our day clothes,
as there were lovely china and glass goblets
with white linen tablecloths on the tables.
My eyes would be wide open to see what
food was being served. Plenty of Jewish tra-
ditional foods were made in the Fidelman
kitchen. I'm sure no one was counting calo-
ries, fats, carbs and fiber grams way back in
the 1950s! I remembered the huge outdoor
Olympic-size pool, bigger than any I had
ever swum in, and the pingpong room where
I beat many boys with my quick serves and
targeted overhand slams.
On our way to South Haven, we looked
on the Internet using our cell phones and
could find no address for the resort, just the
history of how this once-popular resort, first
started in 1911 as a fruit farming business on
80 acres of land bought by Belle and Morris
Fidelman, had evolved. Six years later, after
a depressed apple market, it was decided
by the Fidelman family that their 14-room
house needed renovation, leading to a small
80 September 18 • 2014
fig
resort, which would prove to be more
lucrative than fruit farming.
Various stages of further development
followed. The number of interested visitors
led to more guest accommodations, and
in 1930 a major addition was built at an
impressive cost of $40,000. Business grew.
Its fine reputation brought many prominent
people to its door. In 1948, a huge round
Olympic-size swimming pool was built.
The Fidelmans' sons became active in the
business. Fidelman's Resort remained family-
owned for more than 75 years. I wanted to
find it or see what was now on this once
beautiful piece of property where I shared
many good times with my sisters, parents,
cousins and extended family.
Our Search Begins
We had no address to go to, no clue where
to drive on my search for the property. Todd
suggested stopping at some B&B in the
heart of South Haven to seek information. I
was the "runner" getting out of the car with
determination to seek out and find some
clues as to where we could drive. The man-
ager of that B&B knew very little but had a
faint memory of hearing about Fidelman's
and its approximate location. We drove in
that direction with no luck.
That manager thought the land was
bought by some camp and gave us some
sketchy directions. Todd drove on. We found
an RV campsite. The RV manager told me
I was so close, that it was across the road
and now an Orthodox Jewish camp. Bingo! I
found my Fidelman's Resort site!
I went onto the grounds of Camp Agudah
Midwest and was greeted by a rabbi sitting
outside on a glorious day at a small table
under a tree, studying from a thick Jewish
book. I carefully approached him, trying
to be noticed, but also trying not to be too
much of a distraction to his concentration
and focus. He looked up and inquired why
I was on the grounds. I told him about my
quest and all the wonderful memories I had
of Fidelman's. Rabbi Rothstein patiently
listened to me ramble and then took me to
Rabbi Frank, the executive director of the
camp who knew more of the history of the
land Camp Agudah Midwest was on.
New Memories
I spent two hours with Rabbi Frank, learn-
ing how the Fidelman resort at one point
Larry and Dodie Harris with daughter
Nicole Miller blueberry picking at Crane's
Orchard and Cider Mill in Saugatuck.
went into foreclosure, was bought by another
resort company that also went into foreclo-
sure and that 28 years ago, Camp Agudah
Midwest bought the property and kept many
of the original buildings, adding more to bet-
ter fit its needs as a camp.
Rabbi Frank offered to take me on a tour.
I ran to the car and told Todd, Nicole and
Larry to join us. As we walked around, we
saw the Orthodox teenage girls in their long
skirts, heads covered playing sports, dancing,
having fun. I was told July was the month for
Orthodox teenage girls to attend; Orthodox
boys came in August.
The rabbi walked us through the grounds,
telling us which buildings were original and
which were built later. I was happy to go
into the main building that housed the huge
memorable dining room and stage. The
building is now used for offices and other
purposes/activities for the camp. I saw the
downstairs pingpong game room where I
spent a lot of time in my youth. I noticed
younger children, both boys and girls, walk-
ing around with their separate camp classes.
I was told children under the age of bar
mitzvah, both boys and girls, can attend the
camp.
Before I retired, I spent many years as a
third through fifth grade classroom teacher
in the Farmington Public Schools. I love
children and quickly "connect" to any and all
children no matter their color, ethnicity, level
of intelligence, culture, background, etc.
I am still in touch with many of my for-
mer 9- and 10-year old students. I am proud
to say over the years I have been invited to
their bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and
baby namings. A teacher can ask for no
more than I have experienced, and I am
Daughter
and son-in-law
Nicole and Todd Miller at
Crane's Orchard and Cider Mill.
grateful for the impact I have had on chil-
dren.
When Rabbi Frank took me into some
camp activity classrooms, the little girls were
looking at me and interested in my presence.
I began telling them my story of why I was at
their camp and how it wasn't a camp when I
was there at ages 9, 10 and 11 years old with
my family and cousins — but how I loved to
dance, do arts and crafts, and swim in that
huge pool that was still there today.
I was grateful that the teenage counselor
allowed me the time to talk to the young
girls, who were very expressive and attentive
listeners when I told them of the memories
of my youth.
I had a wonderful nostalgic visit at Camp
Agudah Midwest. The maintenance man,
Marls, had been there 28 years. He knew
much of the Fidelman family history includ-
ing the present day family. He recently
helped to build a newer synagogue on the
camp's property to meet the religious needs
of all who attend.
There is a waiting list to get into this
Orthodox Jewish camp and it is very popular
among Orthodox families from Detroit and
other places in the Midwest.
The wonderful experience that came
along with my determined search to find
Fidelman's Resort property on a sunny day
in July, part of a celebratory vacation to
Saugatuck in honor of our 50th wedding
anniversary, was well worth the time. We all
learned a lot that day. Knowing that a Jewish
Orthodox camp took over Fidelmaris Resort
some 28 years ago and is thriving leaves me
fulfilled in spirit.
❑