Davison Township's swimming lake started with one man's fundraising

On a hot afternoon at the edge of Davison Township, kids cannonball off a dock into an 18-acre lake. Behind them, a splash pad hisses over a stretch of sand beach. None of it would be here without a man named Bob Callis. He spent his energy raising the money to buy the land. He got his name on the lake when he was gone.

Lake Callis Recreation Complex sits at 1152 North Gale Road. It is about 40 acres of swimming, beach, and ballfields. The township assembled it the slow way. There was no one big grant. Instead it came from the Board of Trustees, a downtown development fund, and a crowd of volunteers. That patched-together origin is why locals talk about it the way you’d talk about a barn raising. A lot of hands made it.

The centerpiece is the swimming lake with its wide beach and changing rooms. For the smaller crowd there’s a hundred-by-hundred-foot “Dash ‘n’ Splash” pad. A tidy run of amenities rings the water. There are six lighted sand volleyball courts rated for real tournament play. There’s a grand pavilion with a stage, and a tiki hut with its own little beach. Add a fishing area, an observation dock over the wetland, and paddleboards to rent. A short trail loops out through the marsh for anyone who wants a quieter minute.

It runs seasonally, roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day. It also charges a gate fee. That keeps it a township amenity rather than a regional draw. That’s part of the appeal. On a July evening it fills with Davison families. Many have been coming since they were the ones doing the cannonballs. And it’s all on a lake that a neighbor talked the town into buying.