Elizabeth McEwen to replace founding director Patty Meyer at Felt Mansion

LAKETOWN TWP. — An historic mansion in Laketown Township that regularly hosts community events and weddings has selected its new executive director.

Elizabeth A. McEwen’s first day is Sept. 18, according to a release. Current Executive Director Patty Meyer is retiring in October.

More: Felt Mansion’s past includes boarding school, convent and prison

“With the retirement of founding director (Meyer), this is a unique time in the history of the estate,” McEwen wrote in the release. “I am excited to leverage the skills I’ve gained throughout my nonprofit career to help the Felt Estate transition into its next phase of growth.”

Meyer was pleased with the selection of McEwen as executive director.

“Beth has proven herself to be a capable and knowledgeable leader,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy to know that the Felt Estate — my baby — will be in good hands during this next phase of its life. Beth will be a great asset to the estate.”

Felt Mansion is located at 6597 138th Ave. The estate’s namesake and builder, Dorr Felt, was born in March 1862. He grew up on his family’s farm in Wisconsin, but left to work in a machine shop when he was 14. When he was just 23 years old, Felt invented the comptometer — the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator.

Felt married Agnes McNulty in January 1891. In 1919, the couple purchased hundreds of acres along Lake Michigan and named it Shore Acres Farm. For the next decade, Agnes, Dorr and their four daughters stayed in a farmhouse on the property each summer. Construction on the mansion, designed by Frank P. Allen and Son of Grand Rapids, began in 1925.

One hundred workers labored for three years to build the 12,000-square-foot, three-story building. The family moved into the mansion in June 1928; but Agnes died six weeks later. Dorr died two years after that.

The property eventually became a seminary with a separate school building, then a state prison and police post. The estate was purchased by Laketown Township for $1 in 1996. The township was required to keep the land available to the public.

The former school/prison was demolished, but the mansion remained in a state of disarray until Meyer stumbled upon it two decades ago and decided to dedicate her life to restoring it.

McEwen was one of more than 30 applicants for the executive director position.

“McEwen stood out because of her experience in three area nonprofits with fundraising, events, and managing, and working with volunteers,” said Bonnie Lowe, president of Friends of the Felt Estate. “She was relaxed, prepared, knowledgeable, and personable at the first and second interviews. Beth had outstanding recommendations from her references.”

McEwen, of Grandville, is a mother of a blended family of six children, according to the release. She’s been with Girls on the Run West Michigan since 2017, and was previous project coordinator at Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women, client services liaison with Paws with a Cause in Wayland and a monthly contributing writer for Women’s Lifestyle Magazine.

“I’m so excited for all the possibilities and will certainly be connecting with the community in the coming months to seek out opportunities to grow our program options,” McEwen said. “In the spirit of Dorr E. Felt himself, I am eager to find ways for the Felt to become more accessible to the local community.”

Felt Mansion was constructed by Dorr Felt as a summer home for his wife, Agnes, in 1925. Felt was the inventor of the comptometer.

The estate will soon celebrate an important anniversary.

“The centennial anniversary of the mansion is quickly approaching, which presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate the Felt family and the estate’s place in local history,” McEwen said.

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Meyer will lead a special guided public tour of Felt Mansion at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, before her retirement. Tickets are available on eventbrite.com under the event “The Last Hurrah – Patty’s Final Tour.”

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Elizabeth McEwen to replace founding director Patty Meyer at Felt Mansion