Workingmen Relax At Saline

Workingmen Relax At Saline

Sunday September 5, 1971

By Doug Watkins

(News Staff Reporter)

SALINE — Labor Day: a holiday to recognize the workingman in the United States.

More than 5,000 working men from Teamsters Local 299 will celebrate the long weekend reserved for their recognition by taking their families to an old-fashioned picnic today at the union-operated Health, Education & Recreation Center, formerly Saline Valley Farms.

Festivities start at noon with free hot dogs, beer, pop, potato chips and other refreshments.

There will be softball for the adults, contests for the youngsters, and old-fashioned picnic chit-chat for everyone. Two dance bands will play from early afternoon until late evening.

The “Rec Center,” as it is known by the Teamsters, is located off Milkey Rd. in York Township, a few miles south of Saline.

Purchased by the Detroit-based local in June, 1969, the 637-acre center was formerly used as a cooperative farm venture and as an American Youth Hostel site.

Saline Valley Farms was founded by Harold S. Gray in the early 1930s.

Gray, a former banker from Detroit, served more than a year in Leavenworth Prison during World War I as a conscientious objector and also opposed World War II. Later he served as a missionary in China. He purchased the farm site in 1932 to be used by people who loved the land and wanted to live in a small community.

The farm became a center of activity. Some 20 families started a produce canning factory, dairy, poultry, and orchard organizations.

The dairy operation involved 800 guernsey cows while the hatchery produced 15,000 chicks annually. A number sheep and hogs were raised and there was some truck gardening.

Farm production lasted more than 20 years. But operations stopped in the early 1950s.

The canning facility was later used as a hostel, becoming the overnight stopping place for thousands of travelers who came by car, bicycle, and foot.

Teamsters Local 299 purchased the property and facilities with the intent of providing its members with a place to enjoy an undisturbed natural environment.

“That same goal exists today,” declares the center’s supervisor, John McMullen. “Although we have spent more than $1 million dollars (including the purchase of the property), we have done nothing to destroy the natural beauty of the land.”

Projects which have been completed include the clearing of several wooded areas for picnic groves, roadways connecting all parts of the center, several loot and vehicle bridges, a beach area on Lake Ella Lee within the grounds, a camping trailer site, as well as a designated area for tent camping and many other physical improvements.

“Many Teamster families have gardens out here,” says McMullen. “We plow it up for them in the spring; from then on it is their responsibility. More than 100 small gardens are now producing vegetables for our members.”

Seven full-time employees are hired by the local to maintain the grounds and do administrative work. All employees live with their families at the center in houses formerly used by the tenant farmers.

“We work hard,” notes McMullen, “but we enjoy our work because we know that our generation as well as future generations of Teamsters will benefit from our ambitions.

Hard work is nothing new for McMullen.

He has been involved in the labor union movement since childhood. When he was 14-years-old, he joined a railroad Machinists Union in Baltimore. He has fought for organized labor ever since. He helped organize coalminers in West Virginia from 1935 through 1939. Then he joined the Teamsters Union as a truck driver.

“This work is very satisfying because you are helping fellow workers without opposing another’s view or commitment,” McMullen contends.

Future plans for the center include more picnic groves, the possibility of constructing a manmade lake, more camping facilities with added sanitary facilities, and a bathhouse to complement the recently completed $150,000 swimming pool.

“The bathhouse is our next priority because we are restricted by the County Health Department from using the pool,” says McMullen.

Long-range plans also include setting up a welding school for Teamster members, a lounge-restaurant combination, and an 18-hole golf course for members and guests.

This Building, Once A Barn, Is Used For Dancing By Teamsters

Members Of Teamster Local 299 Relax On Shore Of Lake At Center In Saline

ANN ARBOR NEWS PHOTOS BV JIM KANE