Near the small town of Quinnesec is a roadside park on US-2. The Fumee Creek flows through the middle of it and has a beautiful waterfall. They may not be the largest waterfall in the Upper Peninsula but it is a nice place to take a break from a long journey across the U.P. along US-2.
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The Michigan Veterans’ Facility (formerly the Michigan Soldiers’ Home) was authorized by Act 152 of the Public Acts of 1885, which provided for the establishment of a home for disabled Michigan veterans. This act resulted from the efforts of Civil War veterans who were members of the Grand Army of the Republic. The buildings served Civil War veterans until 1938, when the last resident veteran of that conflict died.
In April 1886 the board of managers of the Michigan Veterans’ Facility set aside five acres for a cemetery. The Grand Rapids posts of the Grand Army of the Republic dedicated the cemetery on Memorial Day, May 31, 1886. The original cemetery was designed in the form of a Maltese cross with 262 grave sites in each of its four sections. In 1894 a granite statue of a Civil War soldier was placed in the center of the cross. By the time of its centennial in 1986, the cemetery had recorded over 4,000 burials of veterans and their dependents.
Only residents of the Veteran’s Home can be buried at the cemetery. It is one of five VA cemeteries in Michigan.
Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta (Battle Creek)
Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly
Lakeside Cemetery Soldiers’ Lot in Port Huron
Fort Mackinac Post Cemetery on Mackinac Island
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When I am out and about roaming around Michigan and I see a large old cemetery sometimes I take a trip through it because they usually have a large veterans section. I like to stop and get pics to post on Memorial Day to honor the fallen heroes. In Elmwood Cemetery I came across the Fireman’s Memorial.
In 1855 the Detroit City Council created 8 new fire companies to protect the citizens and property in the city. To help members of the new department the Detroit Firemen’s Fund was organized March 16, 1866. The Fund assisted the widows and orphans, disabled firefighters and to purchase and maintain burial plots. Dues were $4 per year. Members off duty
by reason of sickness or injury received $5 to $10 each week. The association also defrayed the funeral expenses of deceased firemen, not to exceed $100. Shortly after incorporation, the Fund purchased its first burial plots in Elmwood Cemetery. Just 4 months after the Fund was organized, Pipeman John Miller E-3 was killed at a fire, leaving behind a wife and child. The Fund purchased large sections of burial plots in both Mt. Elliott (Catholic) and Elmwood (non-sectarian) Cemeteries in Detroit. The first Firemen’s Monument was erected in Elmwood Cemetery and dedicated July 4, 1876.
It takes a special kind of person to run into a burning building. Thank you to all the firefighters out there who answer the call for help.
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This old grain elevator sits in Port Hope near Lake Huron in the Thumb. I grew up in the city and know very little about grain elevators but they are fascinating to me. They look like some sort of Rube Goldberg device with all the tubes, conveyors and chutes sticking out of them. It seems like almost every town in Michigan has one or at least had one.
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I visit many old cemeteries in my travels around Michigan learning about the state’s past. I usually see little American flags flying at some of the markers reminding me of the people who risked their lives defending our freedoms. The cemetery behind the church in Indianville near Burt Lake has several simple wooden crosses and the flags are reminders that Veterans can come from anywhere. From big cities to small remote villages in northern Michigan.
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This concrete block, with a metal eye in the top, sits along the Upper Manistee River. I think it was used by lumberjacks to pull logs from the river for the sawmill. It was part of the town of Deward northwest of Grayling. You can still find several concrete foundations and machinery supports. They are slowly being overtaken by the trees and vegetation. If you are looking for an adventure this spot in the state forest is a fun place to explore. You can read more about it on my post HERE
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I am happy to announce that the latest volume of Lost In Michigan is now available on Amazon HERE
Like my other books it has stories from all around the Great Lakes State. From the southern border to the tip of the Keweenaw and places in between. I am sure you will enjoy reading it if you liked my other books.
Thank you all so much for purchasing my books and supporting what I do. I don’t get any outside funding, and my book sales help me with expenses to continue writing posts. Many people have told me they enjoy traveling to the places in my books and experiencing them in person. Volume 6 is out just in time for your summer travels and I hope you have fun exploring Michigan as much as I do.
P.S. I am working on distributing books to my local retailers. It will take me a few weeks to get books and ship them out to the stores that sell my books.
This stone monument stands next to the old fire station in downtown Ithaca. A historical monument gives some history of the man it memorializes.
Henry R. Pattengill began his career as the superintendent of St. Louis schools, and later of Ithaca schools. His experiences in rural Michigan education led him to advocate for its improvement during his tenure as Michigan Superintendent of public instruction. In 1924 his formal pupils and admirers donated 510 stones from around the world to construct this monument next to the Ithaca fire station as a memorial to their beloved teacher, colleague, and friend.
Henry R. Pattengill (1852 – 1918) was Michigan’s Superintendent of public instruction from 1893 to 1897. As a textbook author, an orator and editor of Moderator-Topics, a journal for educators, he shaped Michigan’s education system. He championed the creation of rural district libraries, free textbooks, and teacher certification. Running as a Progressive, he lost his bid for governor in 1914.
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Living in Saginaw I travel I-75 frequently. Near Birch Run is a sign in honor of John Wayne “Dusty” Marcum. I have seen it for many years but wondered about him.
After graduating from Flushing High School in 1991 John Wayne “Dusty” Marcum joined the Navy. and became part of the Navy SEAL’s Naval Special Development Warfare Group known, otherwise known as SEAL Team 6 and took part in 12 overseas missions. He reached the rank of senior chief petty officer and earned several medals and ribbons including two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars with Valor, and a Purple Heart for his service
On September 11, 2008 Marcum was wounded in Afghanistan in a battle with heavily armed militants and died the following day. A section of I-75 near his hometown of Flushing is named in his honor. From now on, whenever I see that sign, I will remember the sacrifice he and so many others, including their families, have made for my freedom.
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I love the look of this former church in Ovid with its decorative woodwork and its unique one of a kind steeple. It is also amazing that they moved this church to its current location from a different part of town. It is surprising the facts you can learn from historical markers like the one that stands next to this church and reads:
On February 13, 1871, twenty-two persons began Ovid’s First Congregational Church. The next year this structure was erected. George Fox served as master carpenter. Its first minister was the Reverend William Mulder. Originally located at High and Park Street, the church was pulled here by oxen in 1899 and turned to face Main Street. It was enlarged for a growing congregation, which came to be “one of the most powerful social forces in the county.”In 1943, Ovid’s Congregational and Methodist societies merged, using both their buildings until 1972. In 1979, the church became a private residence. This Ovid landmark, whose octagonal belfry tower holds a melodious 1876 bell, is listed on the Historic American Buildings Survey and the National Register of Historic Places.
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