Jean Klock Park

Jean Klock Park is a historic city park along Lake Michigan in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States. In 1917, John Nellis Klock and his wife Carrie purchased a 90-acre (360,000 m²) parcel of Lake Michigan frontage property, and then conveyed it to the City of Benton Harbor to be used explicitly and forever as a public park and bathing beach for the people of the city and surrounding communities. The property was dedicated to the children of the City and was named Jean Klock Park in memory of the Klocks' daughter, Jean, who had died in infancy.

When asked why he and his wife gave the park to the city, John Nellis Klock stated:

"There is little joy in piling up money that you do not need....Our first major gift was Jean Klock Park, ..which was given to the city of Benton Harbor. ..My wife was very anxious to give this park to the city in memory of our little child. Her untimely death made possible the giving to other children the share of our earnings which belonged to her, but which she could not use."

At the dedication ceremony Klock also stated:

“In taking an inventory of life, we all take stock of the circumstances surrounding the happiest moments. The giving of this park to the city of Benton Harbor has been to Mrs. Klock and myself, the happiest moment of our lives. The deed of this park in the courthouse of St. Joseph will live forever. Perhaps some of you do not own a foot of ground, remember then, that this is your park, it belongs to you. Perhaps some of you have no piano or phonograph, the roll of the water murmuring in calm, roaring in storm, is your music, your piano and music box.” In closing Klock stated, “The beach is yours, the drive is yours, the dunes are yours, all yours. It is not so much a gift from my wife and myself, it’s a gift from a little child. See to it, that the park is the children's.”

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History

Jean Klock Park is one of the oldest parks in the state of Michigan and predates Michigan's state parks. Its boundaries host a half mile of Lake Michigan shoreline and include, what are considered by the experts to be, the occurrence of three globally threatened natural communities consisting of: Great Lakes Open Dunes, a Great Lakes Marsh, and Interdunal Wetlands.

Through the years unsuccessful attempts by developers were made to take over the land of this deed protected park. Unfortunately, in 2003 Jean Klock Park was threatened again. At that time the citizen group Friends of Jean Klock Park formed to prevent the sale of the park’s property for a housing development. Their efforts resulted in a lawsuit, Settlement Agreement and Consent Judgment that allowed a small portion of property to be developed in exchange for preserving the remaining park property forever.

The portion of the park that was to be preserved under the Settlement Agreement is once again being threatened by the city of Benton Harbor's interest in a development proposal by Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment, Inc. that includes a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. The proposal would impact the park’s low lying marsh, coastal wetland areas and would travel behind and along the ridge of the park's unique and fragile dune structure. The cost of a round of golf could be as high as $200. The Friends of Jean Klock Park do not believe that the proposed golf course is consistent with John Klock’s intent for the park land.

In addition to the park area, over 100 acres (0.40 km²) of neighboring wetlands along the Paw Paw River are slated as part of the development proposal. Due to the enormous value of our wetlands and the increasing awareness and concerns about them and the degradation and loss of plant, fish and wildlife habitat, Friends of Jean Klock Park question the wisdom of placing this delicate ecosystem at risk.

Future

Since 2003 the Friends of Jean Klock Park have voluntarily worked to keep further commercial development out of the park. Friends of Jean Klock Park are joined by the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the Michigan Environmental Council and Freshwater Future in the effort to save precious environmental resources from further destruction.

In 2006 the Friends of Jean Klock Park officially incorporated as a non-profit organization. In July 2008, legal action was taken by two of the original plaintiffs of the 2003 lawsuit to enforce the 1917 deed and 2004 Consent Judgment. The case was dismissed in August 2008 in Berrien County Michigan Circuit Court. An appeal was filed with the Grand Rapids Michigan Court of Appeals in November 2008. As of September 2009, no court date has been set. The Friends of Jean Klock Park are asking for donations to help fund the ongoing legal battle.

A lawsuit to protect Jean Klock Park has been filed in federal court by Benton Harbor area residents against the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, the City of Benton Harbor and the Army Corps of Engineers for violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (LWCF) and the Clean Water Act. The Land and Water Conservation Act's purpose is to protect parks assisted with LWCF federal funds, "Places That Matter," in perpetuity. Numerous encroachments on the park through the years have damaged the park's integrity through greed, short-sightedness and stupidity. The latest incursion is no exception to this long-standing pattern by self-interested snake oil salesmen conning the public with promises they cannot even begin to keep. [2]

External links

• Deed conveying the park to the City of Benton Harbor