http://ipraudio.interlochen.org/CarlysPlayground.mp3
A year ago this month, the Traverse City community was shocked and saddened by the murder of Carly Lewis. The local high school student was just shy of her 17th birthday.
Hundreds attended a community vigil on the waterfront. A week later, nearly a thousand attended her funeral.
Now her father has built a new community disc golf course in her honor. Building the course and playing the game have helped the grieving father heal.
Keeping Busy
Todd Lewis says he tries to stay positive and he leans on family, but anger comes in waves.
"To be quite honest, a lot of it's kind of a blur," he says of the year since his daughter first went missing.
"It really doesn't seem like it's been a year. I think about her every day, my only daughter. I'll never love like that again," he says.
Lewis hasn't always wanted to think this year, so he keeps his mind and hands busy. That's where his favorite sport come into play.
"This is good therapy right here," he says as he plays a round of disc golf at "Carly's Playground," the re-built disc golf course at Mt. Holiday Ski Resort.
The Course
Lewis hired a champion in the sport to help him design the course this year and he prides himself on its 18 holes, its beauty and its options. There are both beginner and advanced layouts. Like all disc gold courses, it's free and open to the public.
There are also marks of Carly all over the course. It has custom designed baskets in "Carly neon pink," and at every tee there's a different picture of Carly.
Carly
The photograph at Hole 16 shows Carly holding her dog, Yoda.
"He's been very comforting too," Lewis says of Yoda, as he's about to tee off. "He's got Carly's personality also.
"He's happy and ready to go all the time, looking for a new adventure."
Lewis describes his little girl as popular, brilliant and kind. She also tested her parents and called her father out if ever she thought he was being hypocritical. He says she also knew how to influence her dad.
"Carly was a master at getting her own way," he laughs. "I had a hard time denying her much."
"Live Your Life"
Todd Lewis has been playing with the same friends for years. Their ages range from 21 to 52 years. And, though there's not usually a lot of deep talk on the course, 25-year-old Matt Powers says they try to stand by and to help Todd to stay positive.
"And whenever you're out here, too, it's always like a big memorial to her. So it's always like she's out here with us, too, playing. It's always fun coming out, hanging out, seeing the signs, playing with Todd and everybody. We always have a good time up here," Powers says.
"It's been a year now that Carly's been gone and I know that it would sadden her to see us hurting. And so, on the other side of that coin, this would make her happy," Lewis says.
Grand Opening
Just as the Lewis family invited the whole community into the earliest days of their grief, Todd Lewis is throwing a party to celebrate her life, and to help him to continue to heal.
"Part of my faith is that I will see her again and so she's there now and I want to make her happy," he says. "And a big party with pets and young people and carnival and a disc golf tournament and music and dancing - and we're going to have a good time."
A fundraiser and Grand Opening celebration for Carly's Playground is this weekend at Mt. Holiday Ski Resort. Tickets are nine dollars.