A 20-year Labor Day tradition nearly fell through the cracks. These Michigan towns made sure it didn’t.

SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MI – For 20 years, Shiawassee County residents have spent the early portion of their Labor Day holiday gathering near the Curwood Castle in downtown Owosso.

They mass themselves in a group around 8 a.m. – some prepared to run, other inclined to take a leisurely stroll. And then they step off, over a foot bridge crossing the Shiawassee River, through parts of Owosso and then down the James S. Miner Trail before ending in Corunna’s McCurdy Park.

But this year, the annual Labor Day walk almost didn’t happen.

“(Corunna) found out some time last week and called us,” said Owosso Assistant City Manager Amy Fuller, describing how the cities learned about how the event nearly didn’t happen. “Their mayor called our mayor and said, ‘What can we do to make sure this happens?’”

It’s still a little unclear how the event fell through the cracks, Fuller said. A local organization had been tasked with coordinating and sponsoring the event since 2021. That’s when former Corunna Mayor Chuck Kerridge retired. He and his wife, Donna, had organized the event for years.

It was actually Kerridge who first recognized the lapse in planning, according to Corunna City Manager Joe Sawyer.

“They were getting phone calls from people planning/wanting to participate,” Sawyer said in an email.

But when it was learned just days before Labor Day that the go-to holiday activity in Shiawassee County was on the brink of disaster, the communities of Owosso and Corunna came through in the clutch – especially in the wake of sad news.

Former Owosso Mayor Jack Davis, one of the creators of the now annual tradition, died earlier this month.

“I was interested because I didn’t want to dishonor the mayor of Owosso who created this thing,” said Owosso City Manager Nathan Henne. “We wanted to honor Jack and keep this thing going.”

One issue was ensuring the James S. Miner Trail, which follows the Shiawassee River as it twists and turns its way from Owosso to Corunna, was in good enough condition for the walk. But Owosso and Corunna public works employees traversed the pathway and made sure it was clear of trees and debris following recent storms that brought high winds and tornados to the region.

There was also the concern of flooding due to the storms, but as it turned out only one portion of the route was affected by that – where the trial goes below M-21 in Owosso. A detour has been developed for that portion of the route.

“The biggest challenge was trying to find a shuttle,” Fuller said, explaining walkers are typically transported back to Owosso from Corunna at the conclusion of the walk. “In the past, there was a shuttle. We felt that was something pretty important that we wanted to make sure we had.”

Bus transportation company Indian Trails, which has a location in Owosso, had a bus available for the use of Labor Day walkers. The Indian Trails involvement was coordinated by Corunna Councilperson Becky Hoddy-Smith, who used to work for the transportation company.

Henne and Sawyer put up the money to fund a volunteer driver for the bus.

In the past, restrooms had been set up along the route to ensure easy-access when walkers needed to make a pit stop along the 3.5 mile course. This year, porta-johns will be available along the trail at the Owosso Amphitheater, Rudy Demuth Fields and at Stu Coutts/Mitchell Fields by the footbridge in Corunna.

Some things couldn’t be amended in time for this year’s walk. While most years feature a new shirt, none were made in time for this year’s event. Participants are encouraged to wear shirts from past years.

There also won’t be a pancake breakfast greeting participants who finish the miles-long trek. And the temperature will likely be high – so planners are encouraging people to bring their own water and drinks.

But the last-second effort to ensure the event continued did come with some familiarity. Fuller said by coming together the way the communities did, “it kinda brings it back to how it all started.”

“When it started, it was a couple mayors that kinda got together and spearheaded it,” Fuller explained.

One of those mayors, Owosso’s Jack Davis, died on Aug. 20.

He served on the Owosso City Council for 10 years, eight of which he served as mayor from 1997-2005, according to Davis’ obituary.

“Especially with that weighing on us, we just thought, this has to happen,” Fuller said.

The event is free of charge.

Going forward, the cities may work together to make sure nothing like this happens again.

“(It would be) way too much work for any one of us to pull off alone on such short notice,” Sawyer said. “(It’s) always fun to see that small town can do attitude. We are fortunate to have friendly, cooperative and respectful relationship. We operate as both neighbors and friends.”

“It just makes it fun that we can do stuff like this that’s not really related to city service but that’s really important to the community,” Henne added. “It’s never difficult here to work with a fellow community and that is certainly appreciated.”

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