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Grand Escape Inns promo

Oral History
15-minute video promoting the Grand Escape Inns. The opening explores the history of the summer resort and showcases why this area is a year-round destination with distinctive lodging available at the Grand Escape Inns of Saugatuck. Interviews with innkeepers Lynda and Joe Petty of the Park House, Loren and Marsha Kontio of the Kirby House, Terry Tatsch of Kemah Guest House, Frank and Kathy Wilson of the Bayside Inn, Denise Simcik of Twin Gables Country Inn, Barb Wishon and Nancy Parker of the Newnham SunCatcher Inn, Jerry and Nancy Horney of the Twin Oaks Inn, who talk about the history and current state of their properties. Content from a Lakewood Photo disc found in collection, transferred to mp4 format in 2025, no VHS version.
Grand Escape Inns promo picture number 1
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2024.41.337

In the 1980s a group of new innkeepers became friends rather than rivals. To extend the tourism season into the autumn, winter and spring, they joined forces to become the Grand Escape Inns. Every month they offered a themed weekend event to make the Saugatuck area a destination for lovers of gourmet food, murder mysteries, holiday celebrations, country line dancing and progressive dinners.

1930+ Tourism, lodging, hotels and B&Bs

Winthers, Sally

2024.41

Found in Collection

To view this recording, scroll down to the bottom of this entry and click the blue web link. This video was created by Saugatuck-Douglas History Center volunteers or was donated to the Center in a good faith effort to preserve local history. If you feel this content should not be available to the public — or have additional information that will add context to this interview — please contact the SDHC Archives at [email protected].

DVD version

5 in

5 in

AWS/VidArch SSD/DVD originals

888 Holland/Park House/Clover's Waffle House/H.D. Moore residenceKontio, LorenKontio, Marsha618 Water/Bayside Inn/Hungerford River HouseKemah Cottage b.1906-Hotel Saugatuck/900 Lake/Twin Gables Hotel/Singapore Country InnKirby House/Community Hospital before 1960131 Griffith/Newnham Suncatcher Inn/Newnham's RoomsTwin Oaks Inn/Three Oaks/Lynds/John Henry housePetty, LyndaWilson, FrankWilson, KathyWishon, BarbaraParker, Nancy 1944-2022Horney, JerryTatsch, TerrySimcik, Denise

https://sdhc-collections.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/videos/316-GrandEscapeLodgingPromo.mp4

08/27/2025

08/30/2025