Ortonville- The Brandon Library. The A&W Restaurant. The Skate Park. The Old Mill.
These places express ‘The Spirit of Ortonville,? say anonymous citizens who took part in a photo survey last February.
Volunteers from the Main Street Design Committee handed out disposable cameras in February to six random people in town, along with instructions to take nine photos? seven of things they like in downtown Ortonville, or things they believe express the spirit of Ortonville, which could be their favorite place, memorable places, places that symbolize Ortonville, places where they most like to spend their time. The other two photos could be things they don’t like, or things they believed do not express the spirit of Ortonville ? places that are problematic, difficult to use, unsightly, unsafe, ‘dead zones? (places that people avoid).
They were asked to add a description and comments to a sheet to help volunteers identify and analyze the photos and then pass the camera and comment package to someone else unlike themselves (for example, a teenager might give it to a teacher or a senior citizen to a retail clerk). The persons who used up the last pictures on each camera were asked to return the camera and comments to the village offices. Five of the six cameras were returned, with more than 120 photos taken by 15 different photographers.
‘I believe we got true diversity,? said Lois Robbins, a Main Street Design Committee volunteer. ‘It was a good cross-section of different opinions from the residents. I thought the photographers were very honest because they were anonymous. They were really thoughtful with this.?
Robbins created a large display of the photos with the comments that was shown at the town meeting Dec. 4, when results were given about a Downtown Development Authority market survey.
The Brandon Library had seven photos taken of it as something the photographers liked about Ortonville. The A&W Restaurant was also a popular choice, followed by the Village Skate Park, Crossman Park and the Old Mill.
Comments about the library ranged from ‘warm and inviting? to ‘nice building style.? There was also a wish that the building was accessible from M-15.
A & W was called ‘nostalgic,? with ‘amazing food,? and ‘a fun place to go with friends after school.?
Other places receiving positive comments included Mann School, Kearsley Creek, the Old Town Hall, Narrin Park, the Edna Burton Senior Center, the Ortonville United Methodist Church, and the Ortonville Baptist Church.
Things that were not liked included the sidewalks (‘need to be replaced?), the township offices (‘an austere, harsh looking building?) and Pond Street (‘needs (to be) fixed?).
Also on the display was a ‘wordstorming? exercise. Robbins asked several organizations, including the Brandon Township Planning Commission, the Ortonville Community Historical Society, the Ortonville Lions, the Red Hat Society, St. Anne’s Church staff, and the Brandon Preservation Committee, to shout out words to describe Ortonville. Some of the most popular responses included ‘friendly,? ‘home,? ‘family,? ‘community,? ‘safe,? and ‘small town.?
‘I think the hope is that people will wrap their arms around their community and really appreciate it in a new way,? said Robbins. ‘I think once people get a feeling for the spirit of a place they can enthusiastically support any initiative to build that up, such as keeping the downtown’s authentic feel, promoting gathering places, such as the A & W and the library, keeping it beautiful and attractive… When we started (the photo survey), we were stepping off into the unknown. We had to trust people would take it seriously and make a good contribution and they did that.?