Monthly Archives: December 2021

A Mystery at Wilderness State Park

Posted on by Posted in Forgotten Places, State Parks .

Waugoshance Point sits out at the far western end of Wilderness State Park at the tip of the mitten. The mysterious metal framework sits on the point. I have seen where some people refer to it as a glider frame. After looking at it I am not convinced that is what it is. I did not have a magnet with me but I am sure it is made out of thin wall steel tubing. It is about 5 feet tall, 10 feet long and about 3 feet wide. The tubing at the back has been cut off so it may have been a lot longer at one time.  The fact that it is steel makes me think that it was not used for anything aeronautical since it would be rather heavy. It does look like it may have been used by the military since it seems rather complicated in design. Some people have said it looks like an old dune buggy frame but that does not look right to me either.

During WWII the military did a lot of drone testing in northern Lake Michigan and used the old Waugoshance Lighthouse for a target. I am thinking that this may be some sort of launching framework for a drone but I am still not sure about that. I looked all over it for a serial number or some sort of markings but I could not find anything. I have been trying to get out to see this thing for several years but with the water levels of Lake Michigan being high it was surrounded by water. I finally made it out to Waugoshance Point this fall. If you know what this thing is or was please post a comment below.

For more about the Waugoshance Lighthouse and the drone program, I hope you will take a look at my book Light From The Birdcage HERE

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The Albion Station

Posted on by Posted in Train Depots .

The brick train depot in Albion has been welcoming visitors since 1882. It served the town for decades greeting passenger trains until 1972. It was eventually restored and is still used today by Amtrack and as a bus depot.

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Negaunee’s City Hall

Posted on by Posted in Iconic Buildings, upper peninsula .

The town of Negaunee is near Ishpeming on 28/41. I enjoy exploring downtown Negaunee and admiring the old architecture. I especially like the historic city hall building with the clock tower.

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The U.S.S. Saginaw Bay and Pearl Harbor

Posted on by Posted in Ships and Boats .

As we remember the most infamous day in history, when the Japanese woke the sleeping giant, I think this is a good day to remember the U.S.S. Saginaw Bay CVE-82.

Her first mission in 1944 was to transport pilots and planes to Pearl Harbor, and bring back damaged planes to the mainland. She provided support to the fleet en route to Iwo Jima, and air support for the landing of the troops on the Island. The ship also participated in the Pre-invasion strikes against Okinawa, and provided air cover for the invasion of ground troops.

She was an escort carrier that was built in 1943 at the Kaiser Shipbuilding Co in Vancouver Washington. After building Liberty Ships with great efficiency the company convinced the Navy they could build aircraft carriers and they built 50 ships in two years, with many of the ships named after bays in the United States. The USS Saginaw Bay was the 27th Casablanca class carrier to be built, the crews to refer to the ships as “ Jeep Carriers” because of their relatively small size and mass-production, and the Kaiser Co. who built the ship, also built jeeps.

The carrier was decommissioned in June of 1946 and entered the Navy’s Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Because the Casablanca class aircraft carriers had small engines, and were relatively slow ships, they were not desirable for service, and in 1959 the USS Saginaw Bay was sold for scrap. None of the “Jeep Carriers” survive today. 5 were sunk in the war and the rest were scrapped.

Thank You to all the men and women who proudly serve in our military then and now.

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Lexington House

Posted on by Posted in Houses .

I saw this old house in the town of Lexington along Lake Huron. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any history or info about the home. It is a beautiful queen ann style house. Maybe it’s just me but I think the most underrated place in Michigan is the stretch along Lake Huron north of Port Huron. There are some really nice towns along the shoreline including Port Sanilac, Harbor Beach, Port Hope and of course Lexington.

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Center Eaton Church

Posted on by Posted in Churches .

The historic Eaton Center Church stands southeast of Charlotte. The historical marker next to it gives some fascinating history. It reads:

On November 30, 1878, the local Methodist class purchased land for a church from Benjamin and Catherine Spotts for twenty-five dollars. Church men cut and hewed the logs for the building. The Reverend B. E. Paddock dedicated the church on November 10, 1881. Luren D. Dickinson, governor of Michigan from 1939 to 1940, taught Sunday school here both before and during his tenure as governor. From 1918 to 1955 the church sponsored Lulu Tubbs, a missionary in Southern Rhodesia, which became Zimbabwe.

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The Big Fish in Indian River

Posted on by Posted in small towns .

The town of Indian River sits at the southern end of Burt Lake. At the south end of town, it is hard to miss this giant metal sturgeon sculpture. The 32 foot long fish was sculpted by Tom Moran of Moran Iron Works, with help from the students of Onaway’s Industrial Arts Institute.

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The Christmas Tree Ship

Posted on by Posted in Ships and Boats, upper peninsula .

Along the Lake Michigan shoreline is a historical marker near the town of Thompson. It marks the spot where the “Christmas Tree Ship” sailed from with a load of pine trees for Chicago. One of the last shipping schooners to sail the Great Lakes was the Rouse Simmons. The three-masted schooner was built in 1868 to carry lumber. At the end of the sailing season, Captain Herman Schuenemann loaded the ship with Christmas trees from the Thompson forests and delivered them to the port of Chicago. Captain Schuenemann was known there as Captain Santa and the Rouse Simmons had a pine tree tied to the top of the mast.

The Rouse Simmons left Thopmson for Chicago on November 22, 1912. The ship sank in a late November snowstorm near Two Rivers Wisconsin. The captain and crew were never seen again. Captain Schuenemann’s wife and daughters delivered trees to Chicago each Christmas until around 1934. Over the years several books have been written about the “Christmas Tree Ship” 

 

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Parady Park

Posted on by Posted in Parks, people .

Parady Park sits in downtown Nashville Michigan located somewhat between Lansing and Kalamazoo. The park is named in honor of Emory Parady. He was born in New York in 1844 and was one of twenty-seven men from the 16th New York Cavalry Regiment who rode with the two detectives tracking John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. On April 26, the patrol found Booth hiding at a Virginia farm. Two days later a fire was started to force Booth from the barn. Dring the fire one of the men had shot Booth in the neck. He was pulled from the barn and died a few hours later.  In 1866, Parady received a $1,365.84 reward for his role in Booth’s capture. In 1880 Emory Parady and his family moved to Nashville. He eventually moved to Oregon where he died in 1924

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Covington

Posted on by Posted in General Store, upper peninsula .

There is not a whole lot in the small Upper Peninsula town of Covington. Some houses, a post office, a beautiful church, and an old general store can be found in the town located near the junction of M-28 and 141. John Lyons was the first postmaster in 1895 and he named the town for Covington Kentucky where he came from.

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