Tranquility of DeTour Village Is Where Correspondent Buschbacher's Heart Lies
By Ryan Schlehuber

This is one in a series of articles to introduce readers to correspondents covering their communities for The St. Ignace News.

Barbara Buschbacher was once a big city woman, an executive secretary at Ford Motor Company's headquarters in Dearborn, living in the heart of Detroit. Today she prefers living in the peace and tranquility of DeTour Village.

Mrs. Buschbacher has been the DeTour correspondent for The St. Ignace News for roughly 20 years, almost as long as she has lived in the small town that lies near the eastern tip of Chippewa County, the entrance to the North Channel and to Drummond Island.

Mrs. Buschbacher and her husband, Michael, former chief of the arson squad for the Detroit Fire Department, retired to DeTour in 1983 because her parents, Nicholas and Catherine Toth, owned property at DeTour.

Ever since then, Mrs. Buschbacher said she and her husband enjoyed the slower pace they found here.

"We stayed in Florida for six months one time," she said. "Never again. It was too busy. People everywhere.

Barbara Buschbacher, standing in front of her daughter's business, the Dockside Cafe in DeTour, has been The St. Ignace News correspondent for DeTour Village for roughly 20 years.

"I don't even care to go back to Detroit," she said laughing.

DeTour Village was known as Warrenville in the mid-1800s, named after Ebenezer Warren, the area's first postmaster. It was later renamed DeTour in 1856, when a new postmaster, Henry Williams, assumed the post. It was incorporated as DeTour Village in 1961.

The town was not named for the word that means an alternate traffic route, as some may believe.

The word de tour is French for "the turn," for which the area was named, owing to the bending of the St. Marys River at DeTour. The DeTour Passage is the turning point for the shipping channel connecting the St. Marys River with Lake Huron and the Straits of Mackinac.

DeTour was later renamed De- Tour Village, owing to confusion in the mailing process between DeTour and Detroit before ZIP codes had been established, said Elma VanHouten, president of the DeTour Passage Historical Museum.

"It may have been because people in the post offices probably quickly read the 'D-E-T' on envelopes, mistaking them for DeTour or Detroit," said Ms. Van- Houten.

Historically, the village was a boom town for lumbering, fishing, and hunting. Today, it is a yeararound tourist location, holding true to its bountiful fishing and hunting traditions, and has established itself as a must-stop location for boaters. It offers a 79-slip marina, a working, automated lighthouse built in 1934, excellent ship-viewing areas, and an onshore freighter, the Lewis G. Harriman.

The community's friendliness and people's efforts to continue to improve their town is the heartbeat of DeTour, said Mrs. Buschbacher.

"It's amazing just how friendly people are and how eager they are to give you news," she said. "The closeness and friendliness of our people really tells the story of this community."

Mrs. Buschbacher, an avid reader of nonfiction books, keeps active in the community, which helps her gather news for her weekly column. She is a member of the Redeemer Lutheran Church and keeps close tabs on the Friends of the Library, the museum, and the village hall, and she attends many community meetings. She also enjoys her monthly visit to Fisher's Restaurant to play the dice game, Bunco.

"I follow up with everything I hear," said Mrs. Buschbacher about her news-gathering technique. "I find it mentally stimulating and interesting in knowing what's going on in your community. I love that writing for the News gives me a chance to talk with so many people and know what's going on in town."

Mrs. Buschbacher said the community leaders are busy upgrading and improving DeTour.

A new, 33-acre industrial park is underway, with six businesses expressing interest in the location already, said Village President Terry Nelson. He hopes to move in businesses this spring. The project is federally funded.

The village is also partaking in Michigan State University's Small Town Design Initiative, a cutting edge project that allows community planners and students studying architecture to interact and design better communities.

The Department of Natural Resources is planning to upgrade the marina, which was built in the early 1970s, and plans to create longer slips for larger boats, said Jim Hooker, the manager of the marina.

"It's been fun and a good learning experience keeping up with all the activities here," said Mrs. Buschbacher.

She has two daughters, Annalee Buschbacher, who owns Dockside Cafe in DeTour, and Susan, who lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Mrs. Buschbacher also has two grandchildren and a yellow Labrador, Sophie.

News can be submitted to Mrs. Buschbacher at (906) 297-8075 or via e-mail at bbann@sault.com.