He died of a heart attack while attending a community dinner at the Elk’s Lodge commemorating Armistice Day on November 11, one month before the landing was completed. The Cutter Escanaba arrived in December of 1932 when the landing was nearly completed, but Kelly would never get to see finished product. Working with the Corps of Engineers and the City, he was able to see his dream realized. He dreamed of turning the waste area on the west end into a landing ideal for Coast Guard vessels. Therefore it was used as a dumping ground for material dredged from the channel, and it filled up more and more as years went on.Ĭommander John Kelly was commander of the Coast Guard Tenth District (1930-1933), which had headquarters in Grand Haven. The east basin was kept deep enough to moor ships, but waters in the west were shallow to the point of being unusable. These first revetment diggings were placed to narrow and improve the channel, as well as halt the erosion at the bend in the river, known as “The Lower Diggings”. Revetment work in 1857 formed what became known as the “Government Pond” or “Government Basin”. Escanaba Park is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers and is leased to the City.
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