One-man river patrol
Mike Anderson loves canoeing so much he lives at a canoe livery.
Anderson owns and operates Chippewa River Outfitters, 3763 S. Lincoln Road, out of his own home, providing customers with hundreds of canoes, kayaks and tubes.
He got the idea from his father, who thought the home's land and location would make a perfect spot for canoe rentals.
When Anderson first moved in the house many years ago, the livery's rental office and gift shop was just a chicken shack.
"The owner before me used the shack for chickens, but they all died in a flood," he said.
But Anderson isn't just an average canoe livery owner - he is also a full-time service worker for the Central Michigan University Police Department.As a service worker, he fixes parking meters, writes tickets, does traffic control and is currently helping the CMU Police impound bicycles around campus that don't meet the police's requirements.
But for Anderson, who has been a service worker since 2001 and started as a dispatcher in 1987, writing tickets is just "part of the job" and not something he enjoys.
"I enjoy the campus atmosphere and working with students," he said. "The interaction with students keeps you young."
Working two jobs keeps Anderson busy, but he says it's worth it. His son, Mike Anderson Jr., helps him manage the livery during the weekdays.
It should be no surprise that he owns his own canoe livery; Anderson has canoeing in his blood.
In the 1970s, his cousin Scott bought Tomahawk Trails Canoe Livery, 4271 S. Straits Hwy., in Indian River, after someone drowned in its river. Since then, two of his cousins have opened up canoe liveries and in 1996 he decided to as well.
Anderson Jr. said running a business with his father certainly has its perks.
"I can always talk to the boss if I need to, working with him definitely has its benefits," he said.
Anderson said as much as he loves police work and the livery he plans on retiring in five years and has talked to his wife about moving to Arizona.
"The older you get the less fun winter is," he said.
Other than canoeing, he enjoys hunting, fishing and taking his granddaughters for "nature walks" in his spare time.
"I'm always glad when the season is over, but I'm always anxious for it start also," he said.
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