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Monthly Archives: May 2021

Michigan Is Home To The Smallest Military Cemetery

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

Most people can envision the rows and rows of headstones of brave veterans laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Michigan is also home to a few large national cemeteries like the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly or Fort Custer National Cemetery near Battle Creek. On a hill overlooking Camp Grayling is a small cemetery containing two American soldiers. The Stars and Stripes wave at the top of a hill in Hansen Hills Recreation Area. It is there among the trees you will find a fence with a sign U.S. GOVERNMENT MILITARY CEMETERY.

Laid to rest are Private First Class John A. Conroy and Private George A. Laine. Conroy serving in the National Guard at Camp Grayling when he died of pneumonia in August 1927. Laine drowned in nearby Frog Lake on July 14, 1939. It is lost to history as to why the men were buried where they are but they would not have been eligible to be buried in a National Cemetery since both soldiers were on duty with the State Militia, as opposed to the active Army. The little cemetery is maintained by Camp Grayling and if you take the path for the disc golf course you will come across this little graveyard for two men who deserve to be remembered.

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Michigan’s Beautiful Woolsey Memorial Airport And the Tragedy that Created It

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

woolsey airport northport michigan

Traveling up to the Grand Traverse Lighthouse at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula near Northport I passed by the beautiful little Clinton F Woolsey memorial airport. It’s hard to miss the fascinating stone building with a black and yellow roof next to the road.

clinton f woolsey portraitClinton F. Woolsey was born in 1894 in Northport and grew up on his family farm, He took great interest in anything mechanical and after finishing school in Northport he studied engineering at Valparaiso University in Indiana. After college, He enlisted in the military eventually becoming a test pilot. While in the military he trained pilots and one of his students was Charles a Lindbergh ( think you know who he is) Interestingly Clinton was working on a plane he nicknamed the “Woolsey Bomber” and planing to be the first to fly non stop over the Atlantic ocean, but was called into duty for the Pan-American Goodwill Flight of 1926- 1927.

woolsey c

Capt Clinton F Wolsey (left) and co-pilot Leut. J. W. Benton with their amphibious planed the “Detroit” which crashed Feb 26th 1927

He oversaw the construction and testing of the five Loening OA-1 amphibian observation planes to be used on the tour. Tragically he was killed on the tour when his plane collided with another plane in the clouds on February 26th 1927 in Buenos Aries. After the collision co-plot John W. Benton climbed out onto the wing without a parachute to try to lower the damaged landing gear. Captain Woolsey could have probably parachuted to safety but chose to pilot the plane with Benton on the wing. Without being able to lower the landing gear the plane crashed and both men were killed. “I have never witnessed a more courageous sacrifice,” said Capt. Ira Eaker, who witnessed the crash from his plane.

In 1934, during the Great Depression, Capt. Woolsey’s 85-year-old father Byron Woolsey wanted to ensure that Clinton would always be remembered. He donated 80 acres of his land to Leelanau Township on the condition it be used as an airport in honor of his son. The township added another 120 acres. A Works Progress Administration crew converted the farm, as part of a “New Deal” public works project, into a long grassy runway and expanded Woolsey’s creamery/milk transfer station into a terminal. The Northport Woman’s Club donated a bronze plaque honoring Capt. Woolsey, which was placed on a large boulder near the terminal.

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Great Lakes National Cemetery

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

great lakes national cemetery holly michigan

There are times when words elude me and it’s difficult to express my thanks and appreciation for the people who so valiantly served in protecting our freedom. I guess in this instance I will let my photo speak for itself.

The Great Lakes National Cemetery is a few miles north of Holly and borders Fagan Lake on a portion of land granted from the Federal Government to Terrance Fagan in 1836. In the 20th century, the property was purchased by Bryson Dexter Horton, a Spanish-American War veteran-turned-industrialist who invented the “Square D” switch which dramatically improved electrical safety. Mr. Horton constructed a small house on the property in 1927, and reportedly entertained prominent people such as Henry and Edsel Ford, who both hunted and fished on the property. In 2005, the Great Lakes National Cemetery was established and the first burial took place on October 17 of that year. it’s a few minutes off I75, and if you are near it, I recommend stopping for a visit, it’s an awe-inspiring sight to see.

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Not Forgotten

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

I saw this tombstone for W.R. McCave with the Stars and Stripes flying next to it in an old cemetery west of Vanderbilt I am not sure who he was or his story but carved on his tombstone he was born in 1822 and died in 1904. He was also in the 8th Michigan Infantry. I visit several old cemeteries on my travels around Michigan and I see these old tombstones for veterans from long ago. While they may not be buried in a national cemetery with hundreds or thousands of other veterans they deserve to be remembered and honored for their service.

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McCourtie Park Bridges

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bridges .

McCourtie Park is in the town of Somerset Center in southern Michigan along US-12. The park was originally the estate of businessman  W. H. L. McCourtie. He hired Mexican artisans George Cardoso and Ralph Corona to construct seventeen bridges on his property. They sculpted them out of concrete to look like natural wood. The house is gone but the bridges remain and are now part of a public park. It is a nice place to stop and take a break and check out these beautiful little bridges.

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Wolcott Mill

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Grain Elevators .

Wolcott Mill located between Romeo and New Haven is among the oldest mills in Michigan. Built on the north branch of the Clinton River in the mid 1840s by the Arad Freeman family, early Macomb County settlers. it passed through several owners before Frederick Wolcott purchased it in 1878. The Wolcott family upgraded the business as technology changed. in 1881 the breastshot waterwheel was replaced by a turbine. The millstones were changed to more efficient metal rollers in 1890, and again improved in 1917. Waterpower was used until the mill closed, but it was supplemented by electric power in the 1920s. Declining business caused the Wolcott family to sell the mill in 1967. The Huron-Clinton Metroparks acquired the mill in 1979 for use as a historic interpretive site.

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Seven Bridges Bridge

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Nature .

This wooden bridge is one of several bridges and boardwalks in the Seven Bridges Nature Area. It is located between Kalkaska and Rapid City and a wonderful place to walk around and enjoy nature. If you are ever in the area and looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life a walk through the nature area will calm your soul.

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The Wing House

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

I love driving around Coldwater looking at all the historic homes. This magnificent house stands not far from the downtown business district. The historical marker that stands in front of it reads

This impressive Second Empire style home with a mansard roof was constructed in 1875 for Jay Chandler (1850-1884) and his young bride Frances. On this site from 1847-1871 had stood the Parrish flouring mill. Jay, the fourth son of locally prominent Albert Chandler, followed his brothers into the family hardware business. Albert founded the Coldwater Sentinel and served as the city’s first mayor. Jay Chandler sold his home to Lucius Wing in 1882.

Lucius M.Wing (1839-1921), Civil War captain, county sheriff, and prominent businessman, purchased this residence in 1882. That same year he served a term as mayor. Making notable contributions to the industrial, financial and social life of the city, he was the long time president of the local bank, a manufacturer of cigars, and the founder of the Bon Ami Social club. The house remained in the family for three generations until acquired by the Branch County Historical Society in 1974 for use as a historical museum.

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The Most Beautiful Cemetery in Michigan

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, Churches .

Middle Village cemetery

Rows of simple wooden crosses mark the Odawa Indians laid to rest in the Middle Village Cemetery next to the historic Saint Ignatius Catholic Church.  The cemetery and church are near Good Hart on M119, between Harbor Springs and Cross Village. The village is along the ” Tunnel of Trees” route that follows the shoreline of Lake Michigan. I am not sure if there is an official ranking of cemeteries, but what I do know, is it sure was a beautiful place when I visited it.

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The Stone Ship

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in upper peninsula .

When you travel along US-41 in the Keweenaw north of Calumet in the town of Kearsarge you will see a Stone ship next to the road with a mining drill mounted on the bow for a gun. The town of Kearsarge was named after a Civil War ship of the same name by a Naval Officer who served on it and moved to the Keweenaw. He worked for the Hecla Mining Company and he named the company town after the ship. Workers with the WPA (Works Progress Administration) built many of the area’s bridges, public buildings, and roads during the Great Depression. In 1934, the WPA built the stone ship that sits along the road in Kearsarge. The ship and the park it sits in are fittingly used as a Veteran’s Memorial.

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