May 2022 - Lost In Michigan

The Log Schoolhouse

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

I see a lot of old schoolhouses on my travels around the Great Lakes State but I have not seen many that are made from logs. The Becking School stands with a collection of historic log buildings in Bad Axe’s Pioneer Log Village. The Becking School was built in 1895 and the first teacher was Fred Linton who was paid $20.00 per month. It was moved to the log village in the 1980s along with the other buildings from around Huron County.

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The Fallen Soldiers of Mackinac Island

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

The Post Cemetery is one of only four National Cemeteries with the honor of permanently flying the American flag at half mast. The cemetery is the final resting place for Fort Mackinac soldiers, their families, and local officials. The small cemetery on Mackinac Island is surrounded by a white picket fence with a wooden archway, and had a canon from Fort Sumter South Carolina on display. Of the approximately 108 burials in Fort Mackinac Post Cemetery, 69 are unknown,. The origin of the cemetery is lost to poor record keeping in the early 1800’s but local lore from the nineteenth century suggests that both American and British War of 1812 soldiers are buried here. Many early burials were marked with simple wooden crosses that have long since decayed and disappeared. As a result many of the burials are unknown.

Among the burials is German-born Civil war veteran Ignatius Goldhofer who came to Fort Mackinac in 1896 with a variety of ailments and old wounds. When he died three years later his wife and four children buried him in the Post Cemetery.

Civilian Interments include Edward Biddle who served the community as sheriff, village president and surveyor in the mid nineteenth century. In the 1880’s Lieutenant Calvin Cowles and his wife Mary buried their infant children Josiah and Isabel next to each other in the shaded northeast corner of the cemetery.

P.S. The others Cemeteries that fly the flag at half mast are: the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (the Punchbowl) in Honolulu, Hawaii, Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, and National Cemetery at Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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The Ghost Town of Winona

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns, upper peninsula .

The town of Winona sits at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula near the Twin Lakes. There are a few houses there but for the most part it is a ghost town. During its heyday in the 1920s, Winona had restaurants, a brewery, sports teams, churches, boarding houses, a train depot, a saloon, stores, boardwalks, a school, and a barber shop. The town of Winona sprung up around the mines that were started in 1864. The mine closed in 1923 and soon after the town began to dwindle and eventually almost everyone moved away. I saw this old building being consumed by the forest. I am not sure what it was, but its rather large, so maybe a store or boarding house.

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VFW National Home

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

Between Jackson and Lansing near the town of Eaton Rapids is the VFW National Home. Designated as a Michigan historical landmark the home has been taking care of veteran’s families for nearly a century.

In 1923 the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) initiated a plan to build a national home for the families of deceased and disabled American veterans. The following year a Jackson, Michigan, cattleman made his Ingham County ranch available for the site of the home. A complex of buildings was erected on the property. Since the facility provided homes for families outside of Michigan, it received support from veterans groups across the country, who donated money for the construction of “cottage” residences. The VFW sought to keep families intact, furnish a homelife similar to that enjoyed by other American families, and teach self-sufficiency and independence. This remains the only privately funded home for veterans’ children and grandchildren in the United States that is national in scope.

When the Veterans of Foreign Wars announced that it would build a national home for the widows and orphan children of veterans, support poured in from across the country. Initial funding was created following the 1922 Yankees-Giants World Series. Umpires halted the tied second game due to darkness. A controversy resulted, which inspired the baseball commissioner to donate the series’ first game’s proceeds to the nation’s war veterans, and the VFW received twenty thousand dollars. Between 1925 and 1930 residential “cottages” were constructed with funds from state veterans organizations. Each house was designed as an individual home. These houses created a neighborhood environment for their residents. The National Home honors the contributions and sacrifices of America’s veterans.

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Mission Point Lighthouse

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses .

After a ship hit the rocks off Mission Point and sank in the 1860’s construction on the Mission Point Lighthouse began. It was not completed until the 1870’s because of the Civil War. The white-sided little lighthouse guided ships around the Grand Traverse Bay until 1938 when an illuminated buoy was placed offshore. The light shining from the lighthouse was no longer needed. After the lighthouse was deactivated visitors continued to visit the area including the lighthouse. The tip of the point became a park operated by Peninsula Township and you can visit the lighthouse and walk along the shoreline. Its a beautiful drive out the lighthouse from Traverse City through the cherry orchards and wineries. If you go, don’t forget to stop to the Mission Point General Store not far away on the east side of the point. If you are visiting in the evening be sure to stay for the sunset over the bay and the Leelanau Peninsula. Of all the lighthouses I have visited in Michigan, I think this one is a favorite because of the natural beauty surrounding the lighthouse. Plan on spending some time walking around and enjoying your visit.

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A Grand Coal Tipple

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Train Depots .

This giant concrete structure towers over the Lake Michigan town of Grand Haven. It is a coal tipple used to feed coal into steam locomotives. The Grand Trunk Western Railroad operated a large rail yard in Grand Haven when ferry service transported rail cars across Lake Michigan. In the 1950s diesel powered locomotives replace the old steam ones and the tipple was no longer used. In the 1970s the Grand Trunk ended freight service to Grand Haven and the rail yard was abandoned. The area has since been turned into a park and the old 1223 locomotive and a few historic rail cars stand on display in the park.

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The Ruins Along US-12

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places .

I saw these old stone ruins along US-12 in the Irish Hills area. They look like something from the Flintstones, but I think they were part of an old miniature golf course. It’s always an interesting drive down US-12. I have never driven route 66 in the American Southwest to see the abandoned places but that is what I think of when I drive down US-12. Back in it’s heyday it was a popular route for travelers. Some of the old “tourist traps” remain but many or sitting abandoned.

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The Memorial at the Bridge

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bridges, people .

When I am traveling along US-2 heading west from St. Ignace I like to stop at the Cut River Bridge for a break and stretch my legs. Between the bridge and the parking lot is a plaque in honor of Heath Michael Robinson.

The plaque reads:

Senior Chief Special Operator Heath Michael Robinson was born June 5, 1977 in Alma, Michigan. He later graduated from Petoskey High School in June 1995. In June 1993, after the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter in Mogadishu Somalia Heath was inspired to become a Navy SEAL. Immediately following high school in January 1996 he enlisted in the United States Navy.

Senior Chief Robinson reported to Naval Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Illinois on January 24,1996. On March 29, 1996 he completed Basic Training and reported to A School at Dam Neck for four months. On July 19, 1996 he entered Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL BUD/S training in Coronado, CA. He was unable to complete due to unfortunate circumstances. After a two-year tour in Okinawa, Japan he return to Coronado and entered BUD/S Class 226. After six months of the most grueling and demanding training in the military, he graduated then reported to Basic Airborne School in Ft. Benning, GA.

He was assigned to SEAL Team Three from March 6, 2000 to April 12, 2002. After completing one tour, he transferred to SEAL Team Seven from April 12, 2002 to April 2, 2004. Senior Chief Robinson began a rigorous selection and training course with Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG). Nine months after beginning the training process, Senior Chief Robinson was selected to be a NSWDG operator and reported to Tactical Developments and Evaluation Squadron (TACDEVRON) Three where he completed numerous deployments.

Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Heath Robinson was a highly decorated combat veteran with numerous awards including four Bronze Star Medals, three with ‘V’ for valor; Joint Service Commendation Medal; three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, two with ‘V’ for valor; Joint Service Achievement Medal; three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals; Combat Action Ribbon; two Presidential Unit Citations; Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation; five Navy Good Conduct Medals; Navy Fleet Marine Force Ribbon; National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; two Afghanistan Campaign Medals; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; six Sea Service Deployment Ribbons; NATO Medal; Navy Expert Rifleman Medal and Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal.

Heath was a member of Extortion 17. On August 06, 2011, thirty-one Operators were lost, the single largest loss of life to Naval Special Forces.

Senior Chief Heath Robinson is survived by his wife, a beautiful daughter (his princess), his loving parents and brothers, teammates, family and friends. He is laid to rest in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery. – Submitted by his family

“Long Live the Brotherhood”

After reading the plaque I will think of Senior Chief Robinson and the sacrifice he and his family has made every time I cross over the Cut River Bridge.

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The Lighthouse Water Tower

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Water Tower .

I was driving along the St. Clair River near Algonac when I could see what looked like a lighthouse in the distance. I was surprised to see it since I know where all of the lighthouses are located in Michigan in my efforts to visit every one of them. When I got up to the tower I could make out the words “The Colony” on the face of it and I realized it was a water tower. Thankfully a Michigan Historical Marker stands next to it to tell the story, it reads:

Built in 1925 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Works, this steel-framed water tower was the main water supplier for the “The Colony on the Ste. Claire”; – a secluded residential community established in Clay Township in the early 1920s. The Colony Tower marked the entrance to the Will St. John estate, the home of the real estate developer who founded The Colony subdivision. The 136-foot tower once housed a 60,000-gallon water tank. Constructed with curtain walls and steel plates to resemble a lighthouse, it demonstrates the early twentieth-century penchant for disguising the utilitarian functions of highly visible structures. A light shone from atop the tower, aiding boat and aircraft navigation from 1925 until 1937, when the light was extinguished due to its high operating costs.

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Seven Bridges

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bridges, Nature .

Seven Bridges Nature Area is located between Kalkaska and Rapid City. Its hiking paths and bridges meander across streams and creeks in a lush green forest. The times I have visited there are few people in this little piece of wilderness. It seems like a hidden gem that I think few people know about. If you are looking for someplace to connect with nature be sure to check out the Seven Bridges Nature Area on Valley Road.

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