The idea was a soldier's last wish
PRESQUE ISLE CO., MI -- For many of the families that have lost a loved one in a war, they struggle answering the question, "What's next?"
One Michigan family is answering that question with the last requests from their son before he was killed in Iraq.
The idea of Blum's Landing came a year after Terry and Jan Blumberg lost their son Trevor in Iraq.
In his last visit with mom and dad, Trevor Blumberg had two requests if he never returned.
"He asked us to do two things...take care of his dog, and take care of his guys. And after a lot of meditation and trying to figure out what to do, we came up with the idea of Blum's Landing, and basically, it's a retreat for wounded military personnel and those that have problems, even active duty," said Trevor’s father Terry.
Trevor, who was nicknamed "Blum" by the guys by his side that protect our freedom, died in 2003. Taking care of his dog Scrappy was an easy task, but the question of how to fulfill his second wish took some thinking and here's the conclusion.
“The idea is they can come here for a week, it's free, we'll give them Breakfast every morning, and turn them lose on Northern Michigan," said Terry.
The Blumberg's have invested a half-a-million dollars in Blum's Landing, which will be a free vacation spot for those wounded while on duty. There's still a lot of work to do, but the resort on Orchard Lake is just the start. The plans to build two more cabins on the 12-acre parcel with wheelchair accessibility are in the future.
"Think of a private, that's lost his leg, or legs, or an arm, he might be able to get some benefits, like education, he might get some disability and stuff, but it's not enough to take his family on vacation, and they can come here and vacation," said Terry. “He was very low key, he didn't want a lot of stuff, but he would have loved this for what it represents, he would have thought this was the greatest thing in the world, but he isn't here for that."
The Blumberg's have recently made the resort a non-profit.
They say great community support has helped it to where it is today.
The first disabled veteran will stay at Blum's Landing in July.
If you’d like to donate money to the cause click on THIS LINK.
