Mike Sonnenberg, Author at Lost In Michigan

The Secret Michigan Location Revealed

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Giveaways .

Time to reveal the answer to the clues of the secret location and announce the winner of the book giveaway from my post HERE

Above the hand and below the brown river is a place where smoke once rose. It is where the boys worked in the land of the great Indian chief. They guarded the enemy along the road that goes on forever.

Most people figured out Above the hand is in reference to the Upper Peninsula.

The Brown River is the Tahquamenon River the color of the water is a brown rootbeer color because of the tannins from the cedar swamps

Where the smoke once rose is for an old stone chimney

Where the boys worked is for the CCC camps during the depression.

The land of the Indian Chief is for Hiawatha National Forest.

They guarded the enemy because it was a POW camp in WWII

The road that goes on forever is for M-28 because if you have ever driven that road it seems like it goes on forever.

The answer to the riddle is Camp Raco, If you want to know more about it you can read my post HERE

If you want a book I am selling them on my website again. I was using amazon but they have slowed down shipping on books so I am selling the books that I have in stock for my presentations that were canceled. If you want to order one you can do it HERE I ship them media mail from Saginaw so if you live in Michigan you should receive them in a few days. For a list of local retailers that sell my books you can click HERE I hope you will support them and other local businesses when things change for the better.

I had about 15 people post the correct answer in the comments and chosen at random is Carl Cole, Please email me at mike@huronphoto.com with your shipping info and I will send out your book.

If you like this contest let me know in the comments and I will do more.

Be sure not to miss my next secret riddle and sign up for email notifications.

World Famous Eau Claire Michigan

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in small towns .

So I am hanging out at home flipping through the five hundred channels of nothing on TV. I get to ESPN2 and they were showing the World Championships of Cherry Pit Spitting. Living in Michigan I have spit a few cherry pits in my lifetime so I had to check it out. I figured it would be someplace like Traverse City but it was in the small southwestern town of Eau Claire.

Normally I would be scratching my head and looking up on google where Eau Claire is located, but I remembered taking a pic of this old building in downtown Eau Clair. I guess when sports are on hold, ESPN has to show something and I will say it was much better than the world championships of sign spinning and the hamburger eating competition. I can only imagine what they are gonna show next weekend.

If you are wondering the world record distance for cherry pit spitting is at 110 feet 4 inches.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

Michigan and the Loneliest Place In The World

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses .

Hidden a few feet under the surface of the water in Lake Superior is Stannard Rock. It is about 24 miles offshore and somewhere between the Keweenaw Peninsula and Marquette. After the hulls of several ships were cut open by this submerged “can opener” a lighthouse was built in 1883 to warn ships of the dangers that lurked below.

In the lighthouse house service, it is known as a Stag Station since many remote lighthouse was manned by men who were not married. Because of its remote location, it was given the moniker of “The loneliest place on earth.”

The interesting thing about the human species is we can endure a lot of hardships, but it helps when we face challenges together. We have always been social creatures relying on one another for support and compassion and being isolated from one another one of the most difficult things we can do. I guess that is why solitary confinement is punishment for prisoners that don’t behave. Telling people to stay isolated from one another seems like a form of punishment but at least we have the internet and communications with each other. I could not imagine being stationed in a northern Michigan lighthouse without any form of communication and not knowing what is going on in the world until the supply ship comes once a month. That must have been a great day when they finally installed radios in the remote lighthouses.

Life would not be the same for me if I could not share my stories with you so thank you for taking the time to read them. It gives me great joy knowing people enjoy reading them.

P.S. I have not been to Stannard Rock Lighthouse on my quest to see all the lighthouses in Michigan. I hope to someday but for now, this is a pic from Wikipedia.

If you like this story I am sure you will love my Lost In Michigan books. They help me with expenses and are available on my website HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

Lost in Idlewild

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

Surrounded by tall pine trees, and tucked away among the remaining houses in the resort community of Idlewild, I saw this big old two-story building. I am not sure if it was a hotel, school or some sort of community center but it was intriguing. Near the town of Baldwin in the Manistee National Forest, Idlewild was a vacation resort town for African Americans that started in the early 1900s. Because of segregation laws, black people were limited to where they could own property and Idlewild became a popular community for prominent African Americans in the midwest. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 60s minorities were allowed to live and vacation wherever they please and the population of Idlewild began to decline over the decades. It is not a ghost town since there are still several people who live in, or have vacation homes in the area, but many houses have been demolished.

Like I wrote earlier I am not sure what this old building was used for. I took a pic from the road and did not trespass. It has several signs warning against it. I don’t do it and I would not last long in jail. If someone knows what this place used to be, please leave a comment.

I was able to find out more about this building including a photo from the 50s. you can see more on my post HERE

If you like this story I am sure you will love my Lost In Michigan books. They help me with expenses and are available on my website HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Secret Book Giveaway

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Giveaways .

It’s been a long time since I have done a book giveaway and I needed something to take my mind off of everyday life. I have come up with what I hope is a fun way to give away a book. Inspired by Byron Preiss and his book The Secret I have devised a plan. I would have liked to hide a book somewhere for someone to find, but I figure I can do it virtually so no one has to go anywhere. If you can decipher the following sentences and tell me where in Michigan I am referring to please comment below.

I am not sure how hard or easy this will be so I am gonna pick the winner at random from all the correct responses on Monday the 23rd of March. If no one guesses the correct location I will extend the contest with some clues.

For the winner, I will send a Lost In Michigan Volume 2 book. You can learn more about my books and where to purchase them HERE

P.S. I will give you one hint and tell you it is a location I have posted about on my website.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Fire Barn

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

The old Milan Fire Barn was built in 1897 and served as a fire station until 1979. The building housed the fire department and some of the city’s fire vehicles, including a 1938 Ford Fire Truck that Henry Ford traded to the city for an earlier Ford fire truck. Over time it also housed the police department, a jail (which consisted of a single jail cell), and the city library was housed upstairs.

In 1979 the fire department moved to a new station on Wabash street and the old fire barn was abandoned. In 1983 the city donated the fire barn to the Milan Area Historical Society which restored the building in 2002 with money generated by fundraisers.

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The Sears Barn on 66

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms .

I saw this old barn near Sears on 66. I suppose I need to clarify that first sentence because some peoples first thoughts are of the store where you get your toughskin jeans and the road that you get your kicks on from Chicago to L.A. Sears is a small town near the center of the mitten on M-66 which runs north and south through the center of the state from the Indiana border to Charlevoix.

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Searching for the Canyon Waterfalls

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in upper peninsula, Waterfalls .

My son and I stopped at the Canyon Falls roadside park on US-41. We hiked a ways back into the woods and came upon the river and some small waterfalls. I took some pics and we hiked back to the jeep and headed on our way. I was doing a little research for this post and looked at the pics on Go Waterfalling and apparently I missed the best part of the falls in the lower falls. I wish I had known or saw a sign or something but oh well just one more reason to go back to the Upper Peninsula.

On a side note, I see people ask about things to see in the U.P. and others comment on all sorts of places like the T-Falls and the Big Spring and Lake of the Clouds. I think people think they can see everything in the Upper Peninsula in one trip not realizing it is about a five-hour drive and 270 miles from the T-Falls to the Porkies. Pick a region of the U.P. to explore, the challenge for me is not stopping on the eastern side to visit places so I can make it over to the western side.

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The Curious Case of the Octagon Building

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Schools .

A few yeards off the road is an old octagon shaped block building slowly being consumed by the forest in Sauble Township, in Lake County. I saw one website that had it listed as a schoolhouse, but I am not sure it was at one time. I looked at an old plat map and it did not show a school at its location. A piece of plywood covers the brickwork above the door where a school name usually would be. From the research that I did, I found out that it was not uncommon to build an octagon school. They were especially popular in the late 1800s in the New England area, and many are found in Pennsylvania. I am not exactly sure what this old building was originally used for, but it is interesting to see seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Because Amazon has pushed back shipping of books I have started selling books from my website. I have them in stock and you should have them in a few days if you live in Michigan. You can order them HERE

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Coldwater Depot

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Train Depots .

This old brick train depot in Coldwater was constructed in 1883. The last regular passenger train departed from this station in 1956. This is one of the few train stations that does have a steam train that takes passengers for rides. The Little River Railroad operates a historic steam locomotive from this station giving riders the opportunity to take a short trip on a real steam train.

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