Unchained Liberty

04/23/2026

Chapter 6: “The River Gives Back”
(Written Tuesday, 4/21)

The river is beginning to loosen its grip.
Since peaking mid-day Saturday, the water has dropped about three feet.
For the first time in days, I can once again see a clearly defined bank on the far side.

It’s a small thing…
…but it doesn’t feel small.

At this rate, we’ll be back to official “flood stage” by Friday.
And then—another three feet down from there—
to where the Muskegon is supposed to be this time of year.
In other words…
We’re getting closer.
And with that… comes something I’ve been waiting for:

Hope.

Because if the river is giving ground,
then somewhere out there…
she’s waiting.

This morning, I thought I might have found her.
Not far from where she once stood, I caught a flash of silver
reflecting from beneath the brush along the newly forming riverbank.

For a moment… I let myself believe it.
I grabbed the binoculars, moved closer…
trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
But as I dialed it in, the truth came into focus.

Not Lady Liberty.

Just the crushed remains of someone’s silver inflatable float—
something the river had picked up… and dropped… along the way.
A false alarm.
Probably the first of a many.

But we’re getting closer.

Stay with me.

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04/22/2026

CHAPTER 5 — “Missing” {Written on Sunday 4/19)
This is the part I never expected to write.
Friday morning (4/17), the river didn’t look like itself.
It wasn’t flowing…
it was surging.
Fast. Relentless.
Four… then five… then six feet above flood stage.
By late morning, the water had reached her feet.
I remember standing on the deck of my RiverHouse…
watching…
feeling that quiet, uneasy sense you get when something isn’t right.
The kind you can’t quite explain.
Around 11:00 a.m., I went outside to check.
She was still there.
Still standing.
Still holding that torch.
A little after noon, I stepped out again—
And she was gone.
Not just the statue.
The stump—the century-old maple base she was anchored to—
and a good section of the riverbank…
gone with her.
Taken.
By a river that, in that moment, wasn’t asking permission from anyone.
My first instinct was to act.
To grab a rope and go down to see for myself.
But I was warned not to try.
Even rescue boats were being kept off the river.
Drones circled overhead.
Officials. Reporters.
People surveying the damage from above… because that was the only safe way to do it.
And I’ll tell you something I didn’t expect…
The moment word spread that Lady Liberty was M.I.A.,
neighbors, friends—even people I’ve never met—
started reaching out.
Asking.
Looking.
Watching.
It’s not just me who feels this.
People care.
Because whether they knew her story…
or just caught a glimpse of her once from the river…
She meant something.
So now…
we wait.
We watch.
And we ask a simple question:
Where is she?
If you’re anywhere along the Muskegon—
downstream from Newaygo—
keep your eyes open.
Because this story isn’t over.
Not even close.
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04/22/2026

CHAPTER 4 — “Liberty Bend”
If you’ve floated the Muskegon, downriver from Newaygo, you know how it goes.
You drift… you laugh… you lose track of time in that emerald-green forest…
and then—without warning—
the river turns.
A sharp, hairpin bend.
And that’s when people see her.
Well above the waterline.
Framed by trees.
Torch lit when the sun begins to fade.
I’ve watched that moment unfold hundreds of times.
Boats slow down.
Tubes bunch together.
People point.
Sometimes they cheer.
Sometimes—out of nowhere—they break into a patriotic song.
And sometimes…
they just stare.
Because they weren’t expecting it.
And for a moment… something shifts.
Out here — where the current carries everyone forward —
she stands still and strong.
A reminder.
That whatever’s had a hold on you…
whatever’s tried to define you…
whatever chains you didn’t choose—
You can break free.
You can start over.
You can live the life you were meant to have.
Some folks around here have started calling this stretch of river…
Liberty Bend.
And I can’t think of a better name.

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04/21/2026

CHAPTER 3 — “Rebuilding Liberty”
For a few weeks, she hung out quietly in my garage—
free, but waiting.
Not chained anymore…
but not yet ready to take her place.
Because some things… you don’t rush.
I wanted her to be more than relocated.
I wanted her to shine.
So I started searching.
A glass flame globe for the torch.
Solar lighting to bring her to life at night.
Floodlights so she wouldn’t disappear into the dark.
Then came the base.
I built it stronger than it needed to be and anchored it to the stump by 8” galvanized screws.
Some things deserve more than “good enough.”
When everything was ready, with the fabulous help of Lesly and her Little Mitten Gang, we carefully wrapped Lady Liberty in a sleeping bag,
…and lowered her down that bank.
Piece by piece.
Step by step.
Until finally…
we stood her upright on that old maple stump, overlooking the river.
Anchored. Elevated. Unchained.
Exactly the way she was meant to be.
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04/20/2026

UNCHAINED LIBERTY
CHAPTER 2 — “The Idea That Wouldn’t Let Go”

Back home, high above the Muskegon, I spend a lot of time looking down at the river.
It has a way of clearing your mind…
and sometimes… of planting something in it.
One spring morning in 2017, I noticed the old maple stump down the bank about sixty feet - 10’ above the edge of the river.
That tree had been there a hundred years before we had to take it down.
What was left was solid. Grounded. Still standing.
And for reasons I didn’t fully understand at the time…
my mind connected the two.
The woman in chains.
And that stump.
So I did what any reasonable man would do…
I grabbed a rope and rappelled down the bank to take a closer look.
About three feet high. Two feet across.
I went back to Battle Creek… pulled up in front of that pawn shop
and measured her base.
Twenty-two inches.
I remember just standing there for a second… smiling.
Because now it wasn’t just an idea anymore.
It was a plan.
I called a couple of very good friends Trish & Bob Thompson — the kind who don’t ask too many questions when you say,
“Hey… I need help moving the Statue of Liberty.”
I walked into that shop with a pocket full of Benjamins…
and paid what I still think of as a ransom.
And just like that…
She was free.
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04/20/2026

UNCHAINED LIBERTY
CHAPTER 1 — “The Woman in Chains”
For years, I took the long way home.
Not because I had to…
but because something along that road kept calling to me.
If you’ve driven to Battle Creek the way I did — down M-66, through the Verona neighborhood — you might’ve seen her too.
Eight feet tall. Steel. Torch raised.
And chained… by the neck… to a pawn shop
Not displayed. Not honored.
Chained.
It was the kind of place you drive past a little quicker than usual.
But she made that impossible.
Because no matter the weather — Michigan gray, summer sun, winter snow — she stood there with a quiet dignity that didn’t belong to her surroundings.
Proud… but not free.
And I’ll be honest with you —
I couldn’t quite explain why it bothered me so much.
But it did.
More each time I passed.
Until one day…
it stopped being something I noticed—
…and became something I knew I was going to change.
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04/18/2026

I regret to report that Lady Liberty is Missing In Action. Last seen about 11 a.m. Friday as the flooding waters of the Mighty Muskegon were lapping her toes. When I went out a little after noon, she - along with the stump of centennial maple tree she was securely attached to – were gone.

04/16/2026

Thanks for asking, Lady Liberty is still holding her torch high!

04/14/2026

DNR reported that a walleye weighed in at 15 pounds during recent fish egg collection efforts

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) sparked attention and questions after it reported that a walleye weighed in at 15 pounds during recent fish egg collection efforts.

04/14/2026

An additional 2-3 inches of rain are likely over the next few days across much of West Michigan, including the Muskegon River watershed. As all this water finds its way into the rivers, it's shaping up to potentially be a significant flood on the Muskegon River! If you live along the river, stay alert over the next few days and finalize a plan to respond when water levels rise!

03/02/2026

Smallmouth Bass, Brown and Rainbow trout, as well as Northern Pike, now being caught on the Mighty Muskegon

The Muskegon river is “trying” to turn the corner from winter grip to onset of spring and maybe with the upcoming days of warmer weather, we’ll start to make that turn. This being said, we still have a LOT of ice on the 3 reservoirs in the Muskegon river system, which include Croton, Hardy and...