October 2017 - Lost In Michigan

The Strange Disappearance of Sister Janina

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Murders .

Traveling thru the center of the Leelanau peninsula I came across the small town of Isadore and the beautiful brick church at the top of the Hill. The current Holy Rosary church replaced the old wooden church that held many secrets of which it never told anyone.

In the summer of 1906 Sister Janina came to the Parish to help two other nuns in the school. A year later in the summer of 1907 Sister Janina disappeared. The community gathered together to search for the missing nun but they could not find her. Some residents claimed to hear singing from a nearby swamp at night but were too scared to go and investigate. For years the mystery of her disappearance was investigated. Some believed the parish priest had a love affair with her but was out of town the night she disappeared and his alibi confirmed his innocence in her disappearance. The rectory’s housekeeper confessed to the murder under duress but was later pardoned by the governor.

Sister Janina’s body was discovered 11 years later in a shallow grave in the basement of the church. Her body was obviously moved there since it would have been found in the initial search. What happened to Sister Janina and how her body ended up in the basement of the old church is a secret the building would not tell. Her death remains a mystery and whoever knows about it kept their secret. Her body was finally laid to rest in the Cemetary next to the school where she taught so many years ago.

Sister Janina’s story has been published in a few books. A Broadway play was inspired by the tragedy and made into a movie in 1972 The Runner Stumbles starring Dick Van Dyke.

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The Chapel In The Woods

Posted on October 22, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Michigan State Parks .

Nestled among the trees in Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling is this little chapel made of logs. It’s a short hike thru the old growth forests to get to the little church but it’s a beautiful walk and worth the trip to visit this quiet place in the woods. If you have followed my website for any length of time you may have noticed I have posted several photos of churches over the years. Michigan has some spectacular historic churches with steeples that reach into the sky. Although this little chapel may not be a massive structure in the heart of a large Michigan city I think it’s one of my favorite churches I have visited.

Inside the church is a sign on the altar with Nature’s Prayer written on it and reads:

Our Heavenly Father, Creator of all that is nature,
We humbly come to you in the midst of nature’s splendor,
To thank you that as Americans we are free
To worship as we please, work as we please,
And move about as we please to enjoy all that is nature:
Its mountains, its hills, its valleys, its lakes,
Its streams, and the living things that dwell therein;
We pray unto You that someday the world may be at peace
And all men be free to enjoy nature’s abundance.
We ask you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
That we be guided to protect this priceless heritage
Which we, in America, are privileged to enjoy. Amen.

I thought I would let you know I am doing a calendar giveaway on facebook, if you want a chance to win a calendar you can enter the contest on my facebook page HERE.

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The Old Farmhouse and the Crazy Stuff I Find

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms, Houses .

I found this old farmhouse between Gaylord and Alba and I had to stop and get a pic ( from the road, I don’t trespass) Like many old houses I find, I look on google maps to see what’s around the area, sometimes I find a name of long lost town that has been forgotten to time.

When I looked on google maps where the old house stands, and I flipped it to satellite view, I found the letters USA along with a cross and a star and some strips. There are a lot of Christmas tree farms in the area and one of the farmers must have planted their trees in these shapes that can be seen from the air, or at least from the satellites passing overhead. I am not sure who created the patriotic landscape of trees, but thank you for the little moment of joy as I discovered it on the Internet.

Lost In Michigan Books and Calendars are on SALE this weekend. they help me with expenses to do this website I hope you will check them out HERE.

This is an older post. If you want to read some of my newer posts click HERE

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2017 Fall Color Report

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, Barns and Farms .

Pic of an old barn in the middle of the Leelanau Peninsula October 16, 2017

Yesterday, October 16, 2017, I went on a whirlwind tour of the northern Lower Peninsula. I went thru Grayling and Gaylord and the trees were about 50 percent changed in Gaylord. Then I traveled west near Torch Lake and from there the trees were still rather green. I went over to Traverse City and I was going to go up to the Mission Point Lighthouse but when I looked across the bay the trees in the point were mostly green so I continued on into the Leelanau Peninsula. I was surprised that in the middle of October the trees looked more like the middle of September. M22 along the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore the trees have hardly changed.

If you are planning a trip this weekend (Oct 21 and 22) up north and want to go “leaf peeping” I would plan on heading to the Straits Of Mackinac area and I am thinking the leaves will be peaking around the Grand Traverse area around the weekend of Oct 28 and 29.

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The Great White Castle of the North

Posted on October 15, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Historic Places, upper peninsula .

Standing near Little Bay De Noc in Escanaba is a place known as The Great White Castle. No, I am not talking about fast food place where you get the little hamburgers, I am referring to the magnificent House Of Ludington hotel. It easy to find some historical information about it since there is a Michigan Historic Marker next to it that reads:

In 1864, E. Gaynor built the Gaynor House hotel, which he renamed the Ludington House in 1871 after lumberman Nelson Ludington. In the late 1800s proprietor John Christie enlarged the hotel and renamed the establishment the New Ludington Hotel. An advertisement in the 1893 Michigan Gazetteer and Business Directory read, “New Ludington Hotel – The Largest and Only hotel in the city having Baths, Steam Heat and Electric Call Bells – $2.00 per day.” The hotel exemplifies Queen Anne resort architecture, popular in the 1880s and 1890s.

An old postcard of the hotel, year unknown but looking at the cars I would say sometime in the 60’s

As with any large old structure, there are rumors of ghosts the reside in the historic building. they say they are friendly and like to play with the elevator controls and some people have claimed to see them in the hallways. I don’t know about spirits roaming around but I can imagine over the years many travelers, tourists, and business professionals staying at the hotel enjoying ” Pure Michigan”. They don’t make hotels like it anymore most new hotels are rather bland and boring, sure you get a nice room and a place to sleep but it would be nice to stay somewhere the accommodations are part of the adventure and not a break from the journey.

I saw that the owners of the hotel retired and recently sold it to a developer who is planning on converting it into housing for seniors. Although I will not be able to get the chance to spend a night in the old hotel at least the new owners seem to be committed to saving its historic features.

Lost In Michigan Books and Calendars are on SALE this weekend. they help me with expenses to do this website I hope you will check them out HERE.

If you like what I post it would really mean a lot to me if you will subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts,

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The Water Tower at the Asylum

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Water Tower .

Standing in the center of the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital is an ornate brick water tower that looks like it’s out of a fairy tale as if Rapunzel is going to let out her long golden hair out one of the windows. The hospital is no fairy tale of a place and was one of the largest hospitals of its kind when it opened as the Michigan Asylum For The Insane in 1859. To supply water to the hospital a water tower was constructed in 1895. To complement the feel of the hospital architect B. F. Stratton from Detroit was commissioned to design the water tower. The hospital changed names in 1911 to the Kalamazoo State Hospital and in 1978 it changed again to the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital.

Like with any large psychiatric facility there are stories that go along with it to make you wonder if it is haunted. A doctor was stabbed to death by a patient in 1904 and a nurse was strangled to death when a patent lured her into the basement in 1954. I am not sure if there are any spirits still residing in the hospital, but I am sure that old water tower has bore witness to many things good and bad as it stands tall looking over Kalamazoo and the old hospital.

Lost In Michigan Books and Calendars are on SALE this weekend. they help me with expenses to do this website I hope you will check them out HERE.

If you like what I post it would really mean a lot to me if you will subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts,

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The Most Haunted Place in Alpena

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places .

John A. Lau immigrated from Germany to Alpena where he and his wife Agnes opened a saloon in the late 1800’s. Lumberjacks and sailors would stop by the saloon in the “Old Town” district of Alpena, I imagine back then it was the “New Town” part of Alpena. For years the couple ran the saloon, then in 1913, Agnes died. There is no record of how she died, but rumors have said she died in childbirth some said she had Tuberculosis and there is a myth that she died in a boating accident near Saginaw. Regardless of how she died, it is believed her spirit still resides in the old historic saloon. A woman’s ghost wearing a Victorian style dress has been seen climbing the stairs. Workers in the bar said she has been known to tip over trays and playing pranks in the cellar by moving objects around or dropping things on the floor. If you’re in Alpena, and you want a place to get a drink stop by the historic John A. Lau Saloon and you may see a spirit while your drinking you’re spirits.

You can read about other interesting places in my Lost In Michigan books available HERE.

This is an older post, if you want to read some of my newer posts click HERE

If you like what I post it would really mean a lot to me if you will subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts,

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Lost In Michigan Books are now ON SALE

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

It’s finally here, I have been working on my book for almost a year and now you can get a copy for yourself. There are detailed addresses for every location and fascinating and informative stories that you will enjoy reading. This is the perfect book to keep in your car when you’re out exploring the Mitten State.

You can order a paperback or ebook from Amazon HERE or you can order from my website HERE

Thank you to everyone for your support, you’re kindness really means a lot to me.

Mike