Author Archives: Mike Sonnenberg

The Butterfly Lighthouse

Posted on by Posted in Lighthouses, Nature .

If you are in the Upper Peninsula in the early fall you may get to witness one of natures wonders. The Monarch Butterfly migrates 1,900-miles south to their wintering grounds in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. Usually, around September thousands of Monarchs gather around the remains of the old Peninsula Lighthouse at the tip or the Stonington Peninsula.

It is one of only a very few places in North America where monarchs can be viewed migrating in great numbers while they wait for favorable weather conditions. Since tagging began in the mid-1990s, monarchs tagged at Peninsula Point have been found in El Rosario, Mexico, almost 2,000 miles from the Stonington Peninsula. Monarchs use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel long distances. Some fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home.

Have you been able to see the butterfly migration? please post a comment, I missed it by a few days when I visited the old lighthouse. If you want to know more about the lighthouse you see my post about it HERE

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Welcome Home Old Friend

Posted on by Posted in Lighthouses, Ships and Boats .

Every night during the shipping season the S.S. Badger sails into Ludington Harbor and the north breakwater light welcomes it home. When the Badger is gone it is as if the lighthouse stands in the harbor waiting like a mother for her child to come home from school.

The Badger is the last steam-powered passenger ship to sail on the great lakes. Built in 1952 it was named after the University of Wisconson’s mascot the Badgers. Its sister ship was named after the MSU Spartans, you can see my post about it HERE

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Detroit’s Mostly Forgotten Fort Wayne

Posted on by Posted in Detroit, Historic Places .

Most people are unaware of the old historic Civil War-era fort next to the Detroit River near downtown Detroit. When I tell people about Fort Wayne they think of Indiana, but it is the name of the fort in Detroit. It was built in the 1840s and used by the army all the way up to the 1970s. Civil War soldiers mustered at the fort and learn how to fight. Truck parts made in detroit was shipped trough the fort during WWII. During the Korean War and Vietnam War Thousands of enlistees and draftees were sworn in at the fort. It is open for tours on the weekend during the summer for a $5 donation.

I have a lot more photos and stories to share about the old fort, It would be too much for me to do in one post so I will share them over the next few months.

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Central Methodist Church

Posted on by Posted in Churches .

This United Central Methodist Church is in downtown Muskegon and has a historical marker in front of it that reads:

The first Protestant society in Muskegon began as a mission station served by itinerant preachers. In 1843 the Reverend M. Warring held Muskegon’s first service in Martha Ryerson’s boardinghouse. Deacon Abner Bennett, a black lay preacher, and his wife, Mary, a former servant of President James K. Polk, formed the White Lake Sunday School. Bennett frequently preached in Muskegon. This church was formally organized on November 20, 1856.

In 1859, Muskegon Methodists built their first church at Clay and Jefferson streets. Congregationalists met in the church, which also served as the county court. In 1887 a larger church was built on the same site. The present Neo-Gothic-style church, built in 1928-1930, was designed by denominational architect, Thoralf M. Sundt of Philadelphia. This Indiana limestone church seats 1,000 people and the tower rises 100 feet.

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The Little Blue Schoolhouse

Posted on by Posted in Schools .

I saw this old blue building east of Gaylord on M-32. From what I found doing a little research, is that it was once a school and a township hall. Now it stands along the road and watches traffic pass by. I thought it was interesting that it was painted blue, or at least it was at one time. Most of the schools I see are white or red.

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The Springport Inn

Posted on by Posted in Houses .

Traveling along the sunrise side of the state I came across the beautiful old victorian home on U.S. 23 south of Harrisville. Now the Springport Inn, it was the home of  Civil war captain Joseph Van Buskirk.  Joseph served as a Captain with the 2 Michigan Infantry Company-F. He enlisted on April 23, 1861 in Flint, Michigan at age 25. After the war, he moved to Harrisville and Built this magnificent home for his family in 1877.  Van Buskirk was a prominent local businessman in the area until his death in 1905 and was laid to rest in the Springport Cemetery.

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Deerfield General Store

Posted on by Posted in General Store, upper peninsula .

On my way to visit the Peninsula Lighthouse HERE near Little Bay De Noc in the Upper Peninusula, I passed this old general store. The sign above the door reads Deerfield and that it was built in 1902. I am not sure if Deerfield was the name of the proprietor since the village of Deerfield is located southwest of Dundee. I was not able to find any history about it but I thought it was a nice looking old building. The sun was shining on it so I thought I would stop and take a photo of it and share it with you.

P.S. I see a lot of old building and houses in the U.P. if walls could talk I wonder what stories they would share.

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The Stone Home

Posted on by Posted in Houses .

I have seen some houses and buildings around the Mitten State that have been constructed using local field stones and rocks. This one is unique because the stones were shaped to be square and rectangle blocks. It was difficult for laborers to hand chisel these rocks into shape but it is a beautiful work of masonry.

The house is located in the town of Hart near US-31 east of Silver Lake. It was constructed in the late 1800s for a local physician and druggist Harvey Jenner Chadwick. It later became the home of L.P. Munger, a physician and fruit-grower. It eventually became the offices of the Health Department for Oceana County and in the 1980s it became part of the Oceana County Historical Society.

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The Church On The Lake

Posted on by Posted in Churches .

This beautiful brick and stone church overlooks Lake St. Clair in Gross Point Shores. By the 1790s, French priests were ministering to farmers living along the lake. In 1825, Father Francis Badin dedicated a log church to St. Paul near the Lake in present-day Grosse Pointe Shores. In 1850 a frame chapel was erected on the current site. Built in the 1890s, during Father John Eisen’s pastorate, the present French Gothic-inspired church was designed by Detroit architect Harry J. Rill. The first mass held in the church was Father Eisen’s funeral in 1899.

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The Town That Moved

Posted on by Posted in small towns .

The town of Thompsonville does not consist of a lot of houses or buildings these days. It was originally by the Betsie River when it was founded by Sumner S. Thompson who operated the Thompson Lumber Company. After the railroad bypassed the town the buildings and houses were moved next to the tracks. I am guessing if they had not done it, that it would not show up on the map today.

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