The foundation has seen a great deal of change in its 40-year history, from programming to the property. And when it comes to Big Rock Valley (BRV), our 2,000-acre home in southwest Michigan, I’d say there have been more changes in the last six months than the past five years.
People may not realize we have more than 50 buildings to maintain at BRV. This includes eight houses and five boxcars that are dedicated to guest housing, along with three houses for interns and out-of-town staff (a total of 22,000 square feet). Our headquarters building and Tower of Tomorrow add another 22,000 square feet to the mix, and we have additional meeting space, support facilities and storage areas.
This means a great deal of work for our building and grounds maintenance teams. What’s more, many of the guest homes are historical farmhouses dating back to the 1800s. This escalates challenges for our building maintenance team, who are constantly repairing, renovating — and reimagining our facilities.
Topping the list of current projects is our Heritage Center, which began its architectural life in the 1880s as a barn. When Ed acquired the Slipper homestead in the late 1960s, he converted the barn into office space for himself and his staff at Edward Lowe Industries. Over the years, the building has served a variety of roles, most recently as a recreational area and overflow meeting space.
After much deliberation, we’ve decided to renovate this structure and have launched a capital campaign to help offset costs. With Darlene Lowe’s artistic input, the 3,100-square-foot structure is now being transformed into premier guest housing and has been rechristened as the Edward and Darlene Lowe Heritage House. A bedroom and sitting area have replaced the former workout room, and a second bedroom now is in the works, along with two new bathrooms. Interior walls and cabinets have been repainted, and new furnishings have been installed, including Darlene’s desk from her Florida ranch. Although renovations are ongoing, the results have greatly exceeded my expectations so far.
Some other noteworthy changes at BRV include:
Penn Church — Built in the 1880s, this Quaker meeting house reportedly has ties to the Underground Railroad. After buying the building in 1987, Ed moved Penn Church to BRV, two miles from its original location. The church has served as a venue for many events through the years, including Ed’s memorial mass in 1995. Yet its original wooden siding was beginning to rot and needed to be replaced. This summer we invested in engineered siding for the entire structure, along with new gutters and tuckpointing. Penn Church maintains its aesthetical appeal, but is now poised to age gracefully.
The Caboose — Brought to BRV in the 1970s, this vintage railcar was Darlene’s first renovation project on the property and became one of Ed’s favorite pondering places. Yet due to wooden chairs that were uncomfortable to sit on for more than a few minutes, the caboose was underutilized by our guests. With some installation magic from our building maintenance team, this railcar now features upholstered armchairs — and the exterior of its lookout has been rebuilt. The caboose has now become one of my favorite spots for small group meetings.
Horseshoe pit and Heritage Hill — Although the next two things on my list are recreational projects rather than renovations, I want to mention our new horseshoe pit at Billieville, which is the handiwork of Chris Newton and Owen Rice from our grounds maintenance team. We play a lot of cornhole at BRV, but having this permanent horseshoe pit takes our lawn games to a new level. (A shoutout to Marcellus Metalcasters, one of our favorite second-stage companies, for fabricating authentic horseshoes.)
We also have a new pondering spot on the property, which we’ve named “Heritage Hill.” Located about 70 yards from the Heritage House, this elevation is the only place at BRV, to my knowledge, where you can see the sun rise and set from the same place. To mark the spot and represent the spirit of entrepreneurship, we’ve moved a large rock to the top of this hill.
Influencing all of these changes at BRV has been a new set of eyes on the property, the result of a companywide reorganization in recent years and bringing on new talent. As new folks come on board and move into new slots, I have challenged everyone to reinterpret our aesthetics and standards. Just because we have done something a certain way in the past, doesn’t mean we are locked into it. There is more than one right answer.
Continuous innovation is alive and well at BRV, and these changes put us in a great place as we move forward!