"Hi" Pray Park is located on the west side of ELk Lake Road just north of Old M-72.The majority of the property (8½ acres) was deeded to Whitewater Township from the Elk Rapids Public Schools in 1992 to be used for recreational purposes.

The park, located on the old Williamsburg School property, was named “Hi” Pray Park as a result of a request to the residents for name suggestions.

“Hi” was born June 16, 1909 and spent a good portion of his life in Williamsburg. His father, Gilbert, owned and operated the old Williamsburg feed mill and also bought potatoes from local farmers. “Hi” attended Western Michigan University and graduated in 1931. While at WMU, he was a member and captain of their baseball team. “Hi” and his wife, Rhea, taught at several schools in the area, including Williamsburg, for a number of years. He served as postmaster of the Williamsburg Post Office for fourteen years and then as rural route mail carrier.

An avid baseball player, “Hi” played semi-professional ball in the Traverse City area. He was a first class pitcher for Williamsburg and the old Traverse City Merchants. He even had a tryout with a major league team. “Hi” started the original diamond in back of the old high school. He coached and managed the team for years and also helped out with Little League ball.

Baseball was his love and “Hi” gave unselfishly of his time to work with the youth of the Williamsburg community, teaching and guiding them. Having no children of his own, the youth he worked with became his extended family. One resident summed it up by saying that naming the park “Hi” Pray Park “would be a fine tribute to a fine man.”

Amenities

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New Basketball Court [Click here to view full size picture]

New Tennis Courts [Click here to view full size picture]

Township Receives Grant

Parks and Recreation

Notification was received in June that the Township had received a grant of $25,000 from Rotary Charities of Traverse City. The purpose of the grant is for phase 1 development of “Hi” Pray Park, which meets the Rotary Charity grant making goal of providing funds for capital projects that respond to current and future community needs in the culture and recreation funding priority area.

The grant funds are being used, along with township recreation funds, to construct two tennis courts and one basketball court at “Hi” Pray Park.

This page last updated on 4/4/2005.