Neil Marshall Visits Ridges
Teacher, Coach, Mentor, Colleague, Friend, Brother.
It sounds like I led a pack of people across the road and through the woods, but in reality it was an army of one borrowing some skis and falling in behind to experience first hand what Ridges has to offer. Neil Marshall who I have known for more than 30 years drove down from Ludington to breathe some fresh air, raise the heart rate, and hear some stories of the land.
As I readied the cabin at dawn, condensation rose off the spring fed pond and raced north to freeze in fractals off low hanging branches and cedar foliage.
At 9:00 AM inside the cabin a desktop thermometer read 18 degrees Fahrenheit. I lit a fire and knew it would be a long warm up, a good 40 degrees more before it would feel chilly.
We could not possibly imagine a better ski day than December 8, 2025. Well over a foot of snow settled like cream underski after a sub-zero night. By 1:00 PM we hit the perfect cross-country ski window of low 20s, blue sky, and rosy cheeks. We clicked in and glided to the climb rising to the northwest.
We moved together enjoying the day, me and the man who I first knew as my biology teacher, who once handed out artifacts to reveal when I turned the desiccated object over and over in my bare hand that I held petrified animal scat. Me and the man who asked me to join Quiz Bowl. Later when we worked together at Hart High School he was my mentor and colleague who convinced me to coach that very team upon his retirement. And in all those days of school, careers, conversations, cribbage and countless laughs he became my friend. I trust Neil's character, his intellect and his opinion so I could think of no one better to run through a tour of my burgeoning business - Ridges. I love this man like a brother and feel so blessed that in retirement we still find time to take part in each other's lives.
Thank you Mr. Marshall for today, ten-thousand yesterdays and for many more tomorrows. As always, your compassionate spirit spurs me on...
