How it began
A small cottage retreat
Everett Hunsberger was from Traverse City and Elva Moore was from Port Huron. They started dating during Prohibition, but that didn’t stop them! They married in 1927. Everett had a good job at the Detroit Edison plant in St. Clair and Elva was a homemaker. Their daughter, also named Elva but known to all as Bunny, was born in 1933.
Everett and Elva lived in Richmond most of their married lives. During the Great Depression, they were known as generous to itinerant men, and their home was marked by a ‘hobo sign’ as a place where a man on the road might get a meal.
The Cottage
The family Tradition begins
Everett and Elva purchased the lot on Lake Huron in 1941, and it was a beloved family cottage for them. Bunny was the first of several generations to grow up from childhood on the beach and create many summer memories, such as crushing stones to power to mix with water and make her own paint. (Bunny would retain a love for painting her whole life, such as painting furniture, lamps, and… rugs. Don’t ask.) As for the adults, it was about having a good time and playing euchre.
After college, Bunny married Macomb Country sheriff’s deputy Lloyd Rivard and they started a family of their own – another generation to grow up on the beach!
The original cottage was much smaller than the house today. There was just one story with two bedrooms, and no bathtub or shower. In “front” of the house (i.e. the lake side), there was about 50 feet of grass before you walked down to the beach.
That changed in early 1973, when a historic storm on Lake Huron washed away huge chunks of shoreline, both on the Michigan and Canada sides. That’s why Hunsberger House has such a unique proximity to the shoreline: the lake carved away the front yard!
From cottage to Hunsberger House
We want to share it with you
In the mid 1980s, Bunny invested in major additions and renovations to the cottage, adding an additional 20 feet of length to the house and a whole upper story, resulting in the configuration you see today. (The upstairs was originally designed as a possible rental unit, with its own kitchen and private staircase on the west side.)
Bunny’s children eventually had children of their own, and they all loved summers on the shore with Grandma Bunny and Papa Lloyd.
Bunny handed down the house to her children, who continue to enjoy the beauty, solace, and traditions of the cottage. We’re up to five generations of family memories on the beach! And now, we want to share this precious place with more family and friends! In 2023, the family gave the house a major “glow-up” so everyone can enjoy their visits even more.
Welcome to Hunsberger House!
