4th Blue Star (1949, rededicated 2009)
Federated Garden Clubs of Michigan (currently Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc.) dedicated a Blue Star Memorial Highway in 1949, paying tribute to the Armed Forces of WW II. Its installation was completed on June 8, 1949. The marker was originally located about 10 miles north of Muskegon at a Roadside Park on US31.
The once vital Roadside Park was abandoned following road construction on US31 sometime around 2005. When the project completed, the marker was nowhere to be found.
In 2009, Marilyn Swanson, then President of the Muskegon County Garden Club, wrote a letter to the Muskegon Chronicle asking for help to find the marker. And, low and behold, an MDOT employee responded that he recalled carefully packing it away in a county warehouse.
The Muskegon County Veterans Association sponsored the restoration of the marker which was expertly done by Port City Signage. The Muskegon County Garden Club gifted the marker to Muskegon County Department of Veteran Affairs and jointly rededicated the marker on Veterans Day, 2009 at its new location on the northwest end of the mile-long Veterans Memorial Causeway Park on US120.
The marker resides in a grassy area adjacent to a large patio displaying a collection of memorial monuments and an arrangement of military service flags. The surrounding park hosts a trail of memorial walkway stones and trees, making a beautiful place to remember and honor those who served our country.
42nd Blue Star (2009)
The Muskegon County Garden Club dedicated a Blue Star Memorial on August 2, 2009, and gifted the marker to Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum which is now known as the USS Silversides Submarine Museum. The Museum is located at 1346 Bluff Street, Muskegon, on the channel between Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan at Pere Marquette Park. Due to the marker’s sandy location, it is surrounded by beach grass.
Pin: 43.26106902374041, -86.24402567196714