| |
About the Author --
STACY LEROY DANIELS
(1937 - ), a native of Benzie County, MI, and a long-time littorian of
Crystal Lake, read the “Tragedy” of Crystal Lake as a young boy. After
becoming a professional environmental engineer, he came to wonder more
about the uniqueness of Crystal Lake: What caused the lowering of the
Lake? Who was Archibald Jones – a scapegoat to be blamed for an
ill-conceived project, or a “bootstrap engineer” to be celebrated as a
hero? Dr. Daniels is a hybrid “lakie” and “townie”, and above all, a
(water) “shedie”. He was born in Frankfort, August 29, 1937, the son of
Oscar Lowell Daniels and Mary Jesta Daniels, who moved to town in 1928.
His father was the Superintendent of the Frankfort Public Schools for
many years. His mother was an English teacher. e original family bluff
side cottage on the NW shore of Crystal Lake was built in the early
1930’s. Stacy is married to the former Carol Yvonne (Parker), a retired
science teacher. Together, they built a second lakeside cottage in 1980.
Their daughter, Julie Lyntha, who swam across Crystal Lake one summer,
is married to their son-inlaw, Thomas P. Cavanaugh. Both are attorneys
specializing in estate planning. Their grandsons, Thomas Daniel, Drew
Michael, and Brock Ryan
Cavanaugh, are the fifth generation of the family to dip their toes into
Crystal Lake. After his family moved to Midland (MI) in 1944, Dr.
Daniels attended Midland High School, and the University of Michigan,
where he studied both chemical and environmental engineering. He
obtained his PhD in chemical engineering from the U of M in 1967. He was
associated with e Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI, from 1955-1993,
where he managed a variety of environmental projects and issues
associated with water/wastewater treatment research;
health/environmental science; hazardous waste management; and regulatory
assessment. He has been a member or chair of several national
environmental peer review groups and science advisory committees. From
1994-2010, he was Director of Research for Ingenuity IEQ, Inc., a small
business that markets critical airflow systems and new technologies for
improving indoor environmental quality (IEQ). As an Adjunct Professor in
Chemical Engineering
and in Civil/Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan, he
taught courses in water/wastewater treatment, and solid/hazardous waste
management. He has authored/coauthored ~ 300 papers, book chapters,
presentations, and communications on diverse environmental topics.
As a
volunteer professional, Dr. Daniels has been involved with the myriad
environments of Crystal Lake since the early 1960’s. He has observed,
participated, and directed many independent and cooperative
environmental studies concerning the Lake and its Watershed with the ad
hoc Committee of the Benzie County Department of Public Works, the
Crystal Lake Clean Water Committee, the North Shore Property Owners’
Association, the Crystal Lake Watershed Fund (CLWF), and the Crystal
Lake Watershed Association (CLWA). He established the Crystal Lake
"Walkabout", a "hands-on" educational program of observational
monitoring and environmental exploring for young adults in 1993 - now
offered biannually to all of the 5/6th and 7/8th grade students in
Benzie County and to the public. Its Interpretive Manual has evolved
both as an Educational Primer for Students and as A Reference Manual for
Property Owners and Visitors. He has served as Committee Chair of
Education & Communications and Co-Chair of Water Quality for the Crystal
Lake & Watershed Association (CLWA) formed in 2004 upon the merger of
the Crystal Lake & Watershed Fund (CLWF) and the Crystal Lake
Association (CLA). He has also edited the CLWA newsletter, "Crystal
Whitecaps", and its webpage www.CLWA.us. "The CLWA, together with
governmental, academic, and professional partners, develops and supports
initiatives for water quality monitoring, septic system control,
sustainable development, and land conservancy, through education, for
watershed management." He has been an active runner in the Crystal Lake
Team Marathon, enjoys reading environmental history, and writing serious
(and humorous) environmental poetry. His long-time interest in local
history motivated him to research the story of Archibald Jones and then
write the "Comedy" of Crystal Lake. Besides his immediate family, the
author is not related to anyone else within the Crystal Lake Watershed
or Benzie Co., except perhaps in spirit to his alter ego, Archibald
Jones.
Comedy of Crystal Lake -- flyer
“Archie” “Bootstrap
Engineer”
|
|
