Please note that location entries may feature older photos or post card views that may not represent the current appearance, features, addresses, phone numbers, or contact names of the attraction. This site is intended to be a historical as well as current record of various attractions but it is not always possible to have up-to-date information due to the vast number of locations featured here. We ask you consult the propietor for current information.
Update 1/1/2025 from Doug Fairbanks:
It's a shame. I grew up here. My Parents bought the place in the early 60's from the Mason's, Pat and Ed I believe. When they had it, it was an open to the public restaurant with a small bakery and a few cabins. They would close for the winter.
When we had it we did away with the bakery, except we kept and served home made bread for all meals. We did away with the cabins and added the motel. We were able to keep the clients we inherited from the previous owners and added skiers and snowmobile owners since we are open in the winter.
Dad eventually went on to start guide service on the Big Manistee. Due to lifestyle changes and all that by the mid to late 60's we wound down the restaurant being open to the public and kept it for our motel guests. By that time we had a decent clientele built for the guide service which led to dad becoming a charter boat operator on Lake Michigan. That meant fishing year round.
October thru the winter months, as long as the fish were hitting on the river and you could stay warm, there was fishing. Then starting about in late April early May, Lake Michigan would start up, usually dad would start operations in South Haven and Moving north to Pentwater and then back to home port of Manistee as he followed the fish migration.
The clientele were avid fisherman and usually were business executives or business owners looking for a get away. They would book with dad as he followed the fish. When everything came back home, the clients would stay with us in the motel, have their meals and we would pack their lunches to take with them.
Meanwhile, mom and I (being the oldest of the 4 kids) would tend to our local guests and operations at home. This pretty much how things went until we got to the 70's. By that time the writing was on the wall that I was going to take a different path in radio broadcasting, and my younger brothers really had no interest.
The beginning of the end happened in the winter of 74-75 if memory serves. During that time we had a fire that was sparked by a faulty wire in the attic. At the time Wellston had a still pretty young volunteer fire department but by the time they got there we had severe damage to the upstairs and then a lot of water damage to the downstairs.
Right after that there were, as I remember, there were a couple offers to buy the place, but nothing ever came of those. We went ahead and rebuilt. Things never really went back to the way they were. By that time I was finishing up at community college and had starting working part time in radio at WMTE AM & FM in Manistee. But all that is another story. From this point I don't have a lot of details as I was pretty much out of that loop. I do know dad continued with the guide service and the charter boat. At some point we closed and the lodge went up for sale.
As I Iook at things now, we had it when the Wellston area was at its peak. Since then the shifts in economy, recessions, lifestyle changes took there toll on the area in general. The school system I went to, Kaleva-Norman-Dickson which was a system consolidated in the early 60's from Kaleva, Dickson Township, the Brethren area and Norman Township, the Wellston area that actually went as far south as the northern portion of Lake County, the Irons area.
When I was attending Wellston had it's own elementary school that was added on once while I was still there and then once again several years after my HS graduation. Then there was Brethren HS where grades 7 thru 12 attended for the whole system Kaleva had it's own elementary and based on location, elementary students from Brethren area were divided between Wellston and Kaleva. As I understand it, everything is now under one roof at Brethren High School.
While I haven't been since the 80's, I do follow up with family that still lives in the area as well as what I see on the internet. Wellston doesn't have a lot left. The IGA at the corner and that Crystal Flash next door are both gone. I believe what used to be Hayes Plumbing & Heating may be gone. The Wellston INN I here that opens and closes about like our old place. The hardware store at the corner of M55 is gone as is the grocery on M55.
There use to be at least 2 civic organizations that from what I can find no longer exist. The Wellston Improvement Association and the Wellston Teen Association.(I was one of the founding members).
As I mentioned earlier, I haven't been back since the 80s'. To me it would be a a major disappointment as it wouldn't be the same. Things no longer there, people Iv'e known have passed on etc.... But I will say that I am glad that's where I grew up. There are a lot of great memories and it was a great place to live. I now live in Indianapolis with coming up on a 50 year career in radio, both on air and behind the scenes.
My words of wisdom to whomever owns the lodge. Be a one shop stop that can offer more than one service year round. With the internet and all that entails, you have the best possible chance to advertise to a vastly bigger crowd then we could have ever imagined with audio and video at your disposal. Be as opening and welcoming to your clients with hospitality as you would with family and friends, offer fair prices and they will be with for a lifetime. My parents would still receive cards from former clients after they sold. I wish you all the best!
This old motel in Wellston has operated under a few names. As of 2024 it appears to be closed.