Recent guests of Col. John A. and Irma Brooks, of Hess Lake, were their son, Brig. Gen. John A. Brooks 111, USAF, Retired, and his wife Jane, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; their grandson and great grandson, Jo hn IV and V, of California; and their granddaughter Carolyn and great granddaughter Terri, of Great Valley, N.Y.

The Brooks family has been intimately associated with the Newaygo area since the winter of 1836-1837 when the first John A. Brooks, with a small party, covered the country from Grand Rapids to Traverse Bay on snow shoes, examining the v arious

rivers. He later cut logs 10 miles above "The Forks" (Croton), and floated the first logs down the Muskegon. He became a permanent resident of Newaygo in 1B41, built a home on Brooks Creek and a saw mill at the mouth of the Creels When the Newaygo Post Office was officially established on Dec. 30, 1347, he was appointed the first postmaster Possibly because he was the only permanent resident! ).

He built the road between Grand Rapids and Newaygo, and, while a member of the legislature, obtained funds for and built a canal through the Muskegon flats, between

Bridgeton and Newaygo to facilitate the passage of logs and permit the operation of a steamboat between Musket Son and Newaygo. Parts of the bulkhead are still visible:

With an associate he platted the town of Newaygo Brooks Park was donated as a site for the Court House. He also built the Brooks House, a hotel which stood on the site now occupied by the Valley Inn, and he and his son operated it for m any years.

Later generations have vacationed at Hess Lake, first at the Oakland Beach Hotel, and later at the Richey Cottage, which is now the Brooks summer home.