September 2019 - Page 2 of 2 - Lost In Michigan

Lost In Michigan Calendars NOW IN STOCK

Posted on September 15, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in calendars .

Lost In Michigan 2020 wall calendars are now IN STOCK. Thank you so much to everyone who got one last year. Your support helps me with expenses to do this website. I sold out of calendars last year at the beginning of December so if you really want one, be sure to order them soon.

They are ON SALE right now and are my lowest price of the year for those of you that order early. They are only available on my website and you can order them HERE with FREE SHIPPING

P.S. I am still working on Volume 3 in my book series. I hope to have them available by the end of October. It’s taking a little longer than I hoped since I have been busy with my ” real job ” ( yes I do have a real job that I work )

Thank you all for your support your kindness and encouragement really mean a lot to me.

Win One For Da Gipper Eh

Posted on September 13, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in people, upper peninsula .

You probably heard the phrase ” win one for the Gipper ” at a football game or from the Knute Rockney movie where a young Ronald Reagan played George Gip. What most people don’t know, is the Gipper was a Yooper.

George Gipp was born in 1895 and raised in Laurium on the Keweenaw Peninsula. He entered Notre Dame intending to play baseball for the Fighting Irish. While on campus, he was recruited by Knute Rockne for the football team, despite having no experience in organized football. During his Notre Dame career, Gipp led the Irish in rushing and passing each of his last three seasons (1918, 1919, and 1920). His career mark of 2,341 rushing yards lasted over fifty years. Gipp is still Notre Dame’s all-time leader in average yards per rush for a season

Gipp died at age 25 of a strep throat infection and pneumonia on Dec 14, 1920, two weeks after being elected Notre Dame’s first All-American by Walter Camp.It was on his hospital bed that he is said to have delivered the “win just one for the Gipper” line and said to Rockne;

“I’ve got to go, Rock. It’s all right. I’m not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, ask them to go in there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Gipper. I don’t know where I’ll be then, Rock. But I’ll know about it, and I’ll be happy.“

After his death, A memorial was erected in Larium honoring the football hero and Yooper.

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Michigan’s Haunted Hospital

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places .

Many claim this old hospital built in 1927 is haunted. It sits abandoned on a hill where the Prairie River and the Rocky River meet in the southwest Michigan town of Three Rivers. The hospital closed in 1987 after a newer one replaced it. Many people say the old hospital is haunted, and I can only imagine over the years it has seen its share of heartbreak and tragedy. I suppose it has also seen joy and happiness with several babies being born and lives saved.

I have no idea what the inside looks like since it is boarded up, and signs warn against trespassing. It is in an idyllic setting on a hill overlooking the river and next to a city park. I assume because of its location it has survived the wrecking ball for so long with the hopes of reutilizing it like the Traverse City State Hospital. The structure sits empty with plans on renovating it into apartments. If spirits do reside in the old hospital they do have a nice view of the river.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

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The Twin Towers

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in upper peninsula .

Last year on this date I was heading home from a long trip around the U.P. As I was crossing the big green bridge, the Stars And Strips were proudly flying on one of the twin towers of the bridge. At the moment I saw the flag I rememberd that it was 9-11. I was not alive for the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, or when President Kennedy was assassinated, but I remember the morning of September 11th vividly. I will never forget that day, and I am thankful for the women and men who diligently protect the United States Of America.

The Revelation Inside the Old Mill

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Grain Elevators .

North of Glen Arbor in the Leelanau Penisula is an old grist mill that sits along the Crystal River. It looks like many other hundred-year-old mills used for grinding grain, but this one has a unique story to tell. Long after it stopped grinding grain into flour during the 1970s it was turned into a world-class recording studio. You would have never guessed it from driving past this old forgotten structure. I just assumed it was and always has been a mill, but besides grinding flour it was cranking ou the tunes.

It was going to be turned into an arts and crafts center, but the plans fell through and architect Fred Ball ended up with the building. He decided to turn it into a recording studio calling it the Glen Arbor Roller Mills Recording Studio. He spared no expense purchasing state of the art 16 track quadraphonic soundboard and the latest equipment. Acclaimed audio engineer Bill Porter, who was instrumental in shaping the “Nashville Sound” and worked with Elvis along with other big named artist learned about the project. Porter helped with getting the studio set up and had engineer George Augspurger who worked on Los Angeles’s Village Recorder Studios help with the new studio in Glen Arbor.

I could find a lot of information about the equipment in the studio, but what I could not find is a list or any artists that recorded in the historic old mill. I imagine being secluded in northern Michigan in the 1970s it was difficult for artists to travel to it and had a relatively short life as a recording studio. A small sign is posted on the mill’s porch for a nearby resort called the Homestead, so I assume they own the historic building and have plans for the future, but I am thinking it will probably not be a recording studio.

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Welcome Home Old Friend

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses, Ships and Boats .

Every night during the shipping season the S.S. Badger sails into Ludington Harbor and the north breakwater light welcomes it home. When the Badger is gone it is as if the lighthouse stands in the harbor waiting like a mother for her child to come home from school.

The Badger is the last steam-powered passenger ship to sail on the great lakes. Built in 1952 it was named after the University of Wisconson’s mascot the Badgers. Its sister ship was named after the MSU Spartans, you can see my post about it HERE

Lost In Michigan wall calendars are now IN STOCK and ON SALE. I sold out of them by December last year so now is a good time to get one. you can order them from my website HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

Detroit’s Mostly Forgotten Fort Wayne

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Detroit, Historic Places .

Most people are unaware of the old historic Civil War-era fort next to the Detroit River near downtown Detroit. When I tell people about Fort Wayne they think of Indiana, but it is the name of the fort in Detroit. It was built in the 1840s and used by the army all the way up to the 1970s. Civil War soldiers mustered at the fort and learn how to fight. Truck parts made in detroit was shipped trough the fort during WWII. During the Korean War and Vietnam War Thousands of enlistees and draftees were sworn in at the fort. It is open for tours on the weekend during the summer for a $5 donation.

I have a lot more photos and stories to share about the old fort, It would be too much for me to do in one post so I will share them over the next few months.

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Central Methodist Church

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches .

This United Central Methodist Church is in downtown Muskegon and has a historical marker in front of it that reads:

The first Protestant society in Muskegon began as a mission station served by itinerant preachers. In 1843 the Reverend M. Warring held Muskegon’s first service in Martha Ryerson’s boardinghouse. Deacon Abner Bennett, a black lay preacher, and his wife, Mary, a former servant of President James K. Polk, formed the White Lake Sunday School. Bennett frequently preached in Muskegon. This church was formally organized on November 20, 1856.

In 1859, Muskegon Methodists built their first church at Clay and Jefferson streets. Congregationalists met in the church, which also served as the county court. In 1887 a larger church was built on the same site. The present Neo-Gothic-style church, built in 1928-1930, was designed by denominational architect, Thoralf M. Sundt of Philadelphia. This Indiana limestone church seats 1,000 people and the tower rises 100 feet.

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