Our Story:
Chester, Alan, Stella and Herb
It all started with one canoe...
Chester and Stella Heavner lived in the city of Detroit, where they were very active in American Youth Hosteling. They were very outdoorsy people, who for their honeymoon took on the adventure of coming home to Michigan from California by bicycle, a trip that took 30 days! Since they also enjoyed boating, they bought their first canoe in 1942, a red canvas Old Town. Soon, friends wanted to borrow their canoe, and that left them without a boat of their own to use. They bought another one so they would have one to loan and one to use themselves. It wasn’t long before both canoes were on loan constantly, so they bought yet another. They decided to start charging a small fee to use them, the rest, as they say, is history. To be fair, a canoe rental was their second choice – their first business attempt was a Dairy Queen. Lucky for everybody, that didn’t take off and the family business was born.
A business is born...
In 1953, after an epic canoe trip from Commerce to Lake Erie, Chester & Stella bought property next door to the Proud Lake Recreation Area, upriver from what would eventually become Kensington Metropark. They came with 3 canoes and by the end of the season they had a total of 8 canoes, plus a trailer to haul them. As Stella remembers it, the first fee they charged was 25 cents an hour! For the first summer, they lived in a tent, right about where the canoes are now. It was a tough season – they dredged a canal out to the river and started construction of their house up on the hill that fall. They then camped in the living room for several months while they built the house around themselves with the help of friends and out of town family.
Fast Forward...
Through the past 70 years some things change and some things don’t. Early customers came into the office in the basement of the house, talked to whatever family member was at the desk, then walked down to the river – now we operate the business right at the waterfront. A hand pump was the only water source for many years – now we have running water (unfortunately still just pit toilets). New for 2024 is a spacious picnic shelter – built with funding secured by the Friends of Proud Lake and built by volunteer boy scout labor. We’ve grown from 8 canoes to approximately 200 canoes and kayaks for rent, as well as for sale options. We offer many options for beginners and adventure seekers alike – from 1-1/2 hours to multiple days, following our original trek to Lake Erie if you have about a week to spare. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the natural beauty of the river – it’s the same scenic Huron that initially drew Chester & Stella to the area. Mr. Heavner died in 1998 and Mrs. Heavner in 2014, but the tradition continues. After taking over in the mid 1970s, Alan continues to be a formidable force in the outdoor community, and shares his passion and mission of “No child left inside” to whomever will listen.
The tradition continues...
In order to help out Uncle Alan, Bruce & Dana moved their family into the what had previously been Grandma’s house in 2019 right before Covid hit. Bruce was able to help the business adapt to the electronic age and has modernized the business a bit, bringing all reservations online and making the customer check-in process quick and painless. We used to not be able to take reservations for busy weekends as it was difficult to track our boats – now our booking system keeps up with when boats should return and automates inventory management. While technology and business improvements are great, by far the best thing about their move was bringing the next generation of Heavners into the business. With six kids, odds are pretty good that at least one of them will want to continue the family business for years to come.
