Innovative: Plying the Straits for 65 years

The lakes that shape this region of Michigan have also defined the lives and careers of the Shepler family of Harbor Springs.

In 1945, William “Bill” Shepler started shuttling visitors and residents to the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island in a 30-foot Hacker Craft, with room for 10 passengers and the captain. It was a charter operation in those days.

“He’d do it on a phone call, no matter what time it was,” said his son, Bill, the second generation of the family–run business.

Bill’s dad had been raised in Mackinaw City, and he returned to the area with his own family after discharge from the Merchant Marines after World War II. Looking to start a ferry operation in these pre-Mackinac Bridge days, they leased property a block south of where Shepler’s is located today.

Each summer, the boats got a little bigger and in 1969, the Sheplers commissioned the building of a 60-foot vessel that carried 120 people and ran 30 mph. The kids and Bill still vividly recall when she passed under the bridge and headed to the dock.

“When the boat rounded that breakwall, at that moment that boat was the evolution of high-speed passenger service on the Great Lakes,” said Bill. “That was the start of it.”

Sheplers Appreciating those memories and the business that their grandfather and father built up isn’t lost on the third generation. Through the decades, the Shepler children have taken on various roles in the company, and today, Chris, 47, Patty, 41, and Billy, 39, are keeping the family tradition buoyant as ever.

Bill’s reputation for providing quality and consistent service to tourists has also attracted attention at the state level; through the years he’s served on tourism and recreation boards and was appointed in the mid-1990s to the state Travel Commission by then-Gov. John Engler. In 1992, the family also developed the Mackinaw Crossings complex in Mackinaw City, a mix of 54 retail, restaurant and entertainment venues inspired by Disney. A few years ago the Sheplers sold the Crossings, but the ferry business remains all Shepler through and through.

Today, the operation runs six vessels, with passenger service running from May 1 through the end of October.

The boats are a far cry from that first Hacker Craft—the largest now is 84 feet long and can transport 265 passengers to the island in 16 minutes, with captains Billy, Chris and Bill himself usually behind the helm.

And it’s right where they want to be. Despite having lived elsewhere for short periods of time through the years, the Shepler children navigated their way back to Emmet County. “I couldn’t see myself living anywhere else,” said Billy, who lived near Lake Tahoe for a number of years. “My office is behind the steering wheel. It’s pretty great.”

Chris also had spent time away from the area, sailing in the America’s Cup with Buddy Melges and navigating the globe. In 1988, he dropped anchor back in Harbor Springs.

“The reason I came back is because Harbor Springs and Emmet County as a whole have everything you could need or want,” said Chris. “There’s no better place than right here.”

Boat Ferry dock

Innovative: Plying the Straits for 65 years

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