September 2023 - Lost In Michigan

Michigan’s First Pro Football Game

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

A few miles west of Ovid along M-21 is a brick marker that stands next to a party store. I am sure many motorists have zoomed on past this brick monument a sculpture of a football and shoe on top of it. to . It marks a significant event in the state’s history and the location of the first professional football game in Michigan

The marker reads, “In the field south of this site on July 4th, 1895 the Michigan Rushers, a local team, played the first professional football game in Michigan, and possibly in the U.S.” The marker was erected after a 100th anniversary game was played in 1995.

It was not the first pro game. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the first professional game was played by the football team defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club on November 12, 1892.

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The Home with the Double Doors

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

This massive white brick house with tan trim stands in Saginaw Washington Avenue in The Grove neighborhood near city hall. A small red sign with the words “The Home” stands in front of it, and It is curious that it has two entryways. The house was built by Timothy B. Corning in 1872 at a cost of $25,000. Born in Wilmington Vt. he moved to Detroit when he was 19 years old. When salt operations started in the Saginaw Valley he and his wife Ann moved to East Saginaw, which is now part of the City of Saginaw. T.B. Corning was one of the founders of the First National Bank of Saginaw and owned steamers and barges transporting goods out of Saginaw.

The house was built as two separate residences for himself and his wife on one side, and his son Gurdon and his wife Ida on the other. T.B died in 1874 leaving his estate to his Wife and son, eventually they passed, and Ida inherited the house and lived in it until her death in 1917, In her will it was to be used as a home for elderly women, and it became ”The Home for the Aged”. Recently it was sold and is now a privately owned residence. I am not sure when the first duplex house was constructed in the United States but this one is historic and spectacular looking.

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The Cheboygan Crib Light

Posted on September 18, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses .

The Cheboygan Crib Light stands proudly at the mouth of the Cheboygan River, looking over the Straights of Mackinac, remembering the time it once stood out there in the open waters, guiding ships and sailors safely thru the straights.

The Light was originally built in Lake Huron in 1884 on a “crib”, (an artificial-island landfill) more than 2,000 feet from the Cheboygan shore. The Crib Light is called a “light” rather than a “lighthouse” because it did not contain a structure in which a keeper lived. The keeper lived in Cheboygan and he would take a boat daily to the crib, in all weather conditions, to maintain the kerosene-fired light. This was hazardous duty especially docking to the crib in heavy waves during a storm.

In 1903, the existing wooden structure was torn down to a depth of 12 inches (300 mm) into the water and a new sturdier concrete steel structure was erected. In 1906, the rebuilt light was severely damaged when a schooner hit it. In 1911 an automated fog bell was installed, sounding a characteristic single stroke every ten seconds.

The Cheboygan Crib Light before it was moved to it current location at the mouth of the Cheboygan River

In 1920, the Lighthouse Service oversaw the automation of the Crib Light. In the Crib Light’s new incarnation, kerosene was no longer necessary; instead, a traveling crew periodically delivered tanks of the flammable gas acetylene. A reliable pilot light burned day and night. When the sunset, the resulting drop in temperature would open a precision valve and release a flow of acetylene against the pilot light, causing the light to shine. When last Lighthouse keeper left in 1929, the old light quickly degraded.

In the second half of the 20th century, the invention of radar and other electronic aids to navigation began to render many Great Lakes navigational light towers redundant. The Crib Light was considered by the Coast Guard to be “surplus” property. In 1984, the Crib Light tower was removed from its crib and placed on its current base located on the Gordon Turner Park pier head.

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2024 Lost In Michigan Wall Calendars Now Avialable

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in calendars .

It’s that time of year again. Time to start thinking about next year and publish my Lost In Michigan wall calendar. The are available on Zazzle HERE.

Thank you all so much to all of you that have purchased a calendar throughout the years. Your kindness and support really means a lot to me. I know Zazzle is not ideal but it was the best option that I could. They handle all the printing and shipping and it allows me to continue working on new posts.

Hanging out in Sparr

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in small towns .

When I was a teenager, the place to hang out was the Mall. Now that I am older I don’t go to the mall that often since the type of stores in the mall “ain’t my cup of tea” as they say, and the arcade is gone also. I did find the Sparr Mall northeast of Gaylord, in the town of Sparr, and that’s more my style of where I like to shop.

The town of Sparr was named after Philip Sparr who settled in the area in 1873. The town eventually got a station on the Gaylord & Alpena Railroad, but it’s gone now, although the mall is still in business.

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The Twin Towers

Posted on September 11, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

On this date a few years ago, 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 remembered 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 Courthouse in Paw Paw

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in courthouses .

The magnificent looking Van Buren County Courthouse stands in the city of Paw Paw. Construction began in 1901 and took a year and a half to complete. It replaced an earlier courthouse that is now the Paw Paw City Hall. The town of Paw Paw got its name from the Paw Paw river that flows nearby. It was named by the Native Americans for the paw paw fruit that grew along the banks of the river.

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The Ghost Town of Watson

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns, upper peninsula .

I found very little information on the town of Watson, even though the general store, a house, and a couple of buildings still remain standing in the long forgotten community. Watson is nestled in the south-east corner of Marquette County on road 426. Walter Romig’s Michigan Place Names say that it was a “mail distributing point” in the Watson Store Company prior to 1918. I wonder if that is the store that is still standing with the iconic IGA Super Market sign. There are a handful of people still living in the area and the Watson Bible Chapel is nearby. A set of railroad tracks run next to the road, but with the grass and trees growing up between the rails the train has not traveled down them in a long time. I am assuming after the train no longer stopped in Watson the people in the little town slowly moved away. It is a reminder of days gone by, and I hope it continues to stand for many years.

If you love exploring the Upper Peninsula, I hope you will take a look at my new book Lost In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula available on Amazon HERE

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