Jay Stielstra and Judy Banker & Friends performing for the Stockbridge Summer Market Music Series in Stockbridge, Mich. L to R: Drew Howard, Jay Stielstra, Judy Banker and David Roof. Photo courtesy of JudyBanker.com
By Gordon Berg
They say life is like a river.
Rivers are always in motion, ever changing, always yearning for what’s around the bend.
Rivers capture our imagination. They inspire and sustain us. We are baptized in them. We are said to cross over them when we pass to another life. We fish in them. We drink from them. We swim in them. We canoe them. We make memories with friends and loved ones by them. They can lull you to sleep as you dream about where life is going to take you, or help you ponder where it has already been.
Jay Stielstra is like a river. And his song “Manistee Waltz” is arguably one of America’s best river songs.
Jay grew up in Ludington, Michigan. He was into sports. Football. Basketball. He set records in high school track and field. Later, at the University of Michigan, he was even presented with an award by Olympic legend Jesse Owens. He coached high school football in Ann Arbor. He taught American History and Social Studies.
For some, a lifetime of those pursuits would have been fulfilling enough. Not Jay. His waters ran deeper.
He had a keen interest in civil rights. He took summer classes at Spelman College, a distinguished black liberal arts institution in Atlanta. In the early 1960s, he was one of the first two instructors in Ann Arbor to create guidelines for teaching black history within that school system’s American History curriculum. And he taught the first-ever high school course in Ann Arbor about black history.
But like a river, Jay kept yearning for big water. He learned to play guitar. Just songs for his kids at first. His early efforts were slow and awkward. In time, it came more naturally. He found himself in a creative flow. He performed at festivals and venues around Michigan. He even recorded four CDs of his music with some of Michigan’s finest musicians.
Still, the current carried him ever onward. He wrote a one-man musical for himself — “Old Man in Love”. He was only 55 at the time but played the part of a much older man with a lot to say. About women. About the beauty of the Great Lakes. About life’s joys and heartaches. Where he’d been and where he’s going.
His efforts didn’t go unnoticed. The Ann Arbor News awarded him Best Actor in 1993. The Washtenaw Council presented him with the prestigious Annie Award in 1995. It wasn’t until he achieved the age of his character, then 80, that he performed it for the last time.
Jay’s creative catalog is so significant that the State of Michigan presented him in 2017 with a legislative tribute at that most famous of U.S. folk music venues, The Ark, in Ann Arbor. The tribute honors his lifetime of “…countless artistic accomplishments and profound appreciation for the State of Michigan. His songs, musicals, and poems are timeless, reflecting a deep admiration for the natural wonders of our great state and will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression well into the future.”
A life of song
“Boats Come into Ludington” is a song of Jay’s about young men who hear the siren song to work aboard ships on the inland seas. “Linebacker from Muskegon” is a poem about the kind of love that can heal even the greatest of generation gaps.
“Manistee Waltz” is a musical montage of fishing memories: some made with family, others with buddies, still others made simply by being immersed in the gentle beauty of Michigan’s north woods. Throughout the song, the Manistee touches those memories with running waters that smooth the hard edges of stone, even when one of those memories is the loss of a good friend.
She flows, I know, when we’re thinking out loud And she flows when nobody's caring
The Manistee River is a constant in our lives. Even when we’re far away or our lives are too busy, we can draw comfort from knowing her waters are always moving.
So, as we celebrate summer, show the Manistee some love. And the Pine, the Betsie and the Pere Marquette. Even the Muskegon and the White.
Take a moment. Spend some time in, on, or by their waters. Like Jay, you might just make your own memories with them — some that will last a lifetime.
You can hear Jay’s recording of his “Manistee Waltz” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaRn5O1FWUY
Manistee Waltz By Jay Stielstra Lyrics reprinted by permission of the songwriter Will the whippoorwill call by the river tonight And the big trout rise for the fly Will old friends gather in the campfire light As we have in the years gone by Will we talk small as we always have done And pretend to change not a thing Will one of us there strum a guitar Pick out a song and sing The Manistee River runs through Deward And the Manistee runs through Sharon She flows, I know, when we’re thinking out loud And she flows when nobody’s caring Will she run clear as Stolichnaya From Yellow Trees to the Ranch Will the beer stay cold in the Mecum Bar When the mayflies rise to dance Will the weather be as unpredictable And the fishing as well the same Will we carry on as we’ve always done And scarcely mention his name The Manistee River runs through Deward And the Manistee runs through Sharon She flows, I know, when we’re thinking out loud And she flows when nobody’s caring Will a solitary mink hunt on her bank And the coyote sing out tonight Will bank beavers gather at their favorite holes In the warm June’s late twilight Will the Manistee River give us a nod To tell us that she really knows We’re weaker and fewer this year by one And trying to not let it show The Manistee River runs through Deward And the Manistee runs through Sharon She flows, I know, when we’re thinking out loud And she flows when nobody’s caring
