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Category Archives: Cemetery

A Memorial to Michigan’s K9 Heroes

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

Michigan war dog memorial

March 13th, is K9 Veteran’s Day. It was on March 13, 1942, that the Army began training for its new War Dog Program, also known as the “K-9 Corps,” It was the first time that dogs were officially a part of the U.S. Armed Forces. Thank you to all the working dogs and their handlers for their service and dedication.

At the corner of Milford Rd and 11 Mile Near South Lyon is the Michigan War Dog Memorial.  The site was set up by the Elkow family in 1936 and known as “Happy Hunting Grounds Pet Cemetery.” In  1946 when the news of how many lives were saved by War Dogs during WWII  local residents raised money to install a monument to show their respect to the heroic K-9’s. Present At dedication of the 16-ton granite monument was a doberman pinscher named Sargent Sparks, a Marine Corps  scout and messenger dog that carried messages and medical supplies at  Guadalcanal and Okinawa. A year after the dedication, someone poisoned Sgt. Sparks near his Rochester home.  His master requested that he be buried wrapped only in a blanket, like so many of his buddies at the beaches. he was laid to rest at the base of the monument.

Probably the most famous dog buried at the cemetery is “Blizzard,” one of Admiral Byrd’s lead sled dogs.  He was at the Chicago Worlds Fair and was sold to people who lived in Windsor. When Blizzard died in 1937 at 12 years of age, he was buried at the cemetery.  Along with Blizzard, is a parrot that was on Admiral Dewey’s flagship that was owned by the city of Detroit when he died at 86 years. (Parrots can live to be 150 years old)

war dog admiral byrd blizzard

The Final Resting Place for Admiral Byrd’s sled dog “Blizzard”

If a military working dog is killed in action or at home base, there is a memorial and burial with honors; however, if the Veterinary Corps retires a military working dog, and it is adopted out and dies the Michigan War Dog Memorial and Cemetery is a place for a heroic K-9 to be laid to rest at no cost to the handler/owner. There have been several dogs who served from all wars since 1936 that have been laid to rest along with police K-9s and other loyal working dogs.

you can find out more about the Memorial and Cemetery at their website HERE

 

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The Cemetery Gate

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

This castle-like gate is at the entrance to Elm Lawn Cemetery in Bay City. It was built in the 1890s at a time when cemeteries were built to be more of a park like setting and people would come a relax while spending time visiting deceased relatives and loved ones. Several of Bay City’s early prominent residents are laid to rest at Elm Lawn including several lumber barons and a few U.S. Congressmen.

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Mt Avon Cemetery

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

A few blocks from downtown Rochester is the historic Mount Avon Cemetery. A historical marker gives a little info and reads:

In 1826, Mount Avon became the first officially platted cemetery in Oakland County. The “Old Ground” or “Historic Acre” contains head-stones dating from 1817, the year the earliest settlers arrived in the area. Members of the Graham family, Rochester’s founders, are buried in Mount Avon, including James Graham (1818-1839), thought to be the first white child born in the county. In 1911 a statue of “Billy Yank” was erected in memory of Oakland County’s Civil War veterans.

While I was there taking photos I realized I was not alone.

A mother dear and her offspring were quietly eating among the headstones. Some of the old cemeteries were meant to be a parklike setting and it seems as if the deer find enjoyment in this historic graveyard.

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The Spirit Houses

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, upper peninsula .

Northwest of Brimley along the Lake Superior shoreline is Bay Mills. The area is home to the Bay Mills Indian tribe. Along the road is an old Indian Cemetery and according to the sign in the back it was established in 1841. The graves are covered with wooden spirit houses. The wooden houses are built to protect the body as the soul passes to the spirit world. Many times relatives would leave food and tools for the deceased loved one to use as they travel to the spirit world.

The cemetery is not open to the public but it is next to the road. I took this pic from the fence. Sometimes I will see spirit houses in other cemeteries, especially in northern Michigan. Next time you are out exploring the mitten state and you see an old cemetery with wooden houses now you will know what they are if you didn’t already.

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Bell Cemetery

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, Ghost towns .

The old Bell Cemetery is in the Besser Natural Area north of Alpena. The old cemetery is the eternal home of some of the residents of the ghost town of Bell. I am not sure what year the last burial took place but I am thinking it was a while ago. The sign above the entrance reads that the cemetery was restored in 1989 by the Presque Isle Lions.

The thing that I found interesting is that the crosses and headstones are cast out of concrete. It is not surprising that concrete was used because the area is one of the largest producers of cement. I wonder if the crosses and headstones were cast and placed during the 1989 restoration. It took me a while to find this unique cemetery but If you want to find it the cemetery is located almost directly west of the parking lot down a two-track trail. If you want to know more about the ghost town of Bell check out my post HERE.

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Brundage Wilderness Cemetery

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

Brundage Wilderness Cemetery is located between Interlochen and Honor in ( you guessed it ) the wilderness. It sits along Brundage Creek and from what I could see the oldest tombstone is for Emeline Brundage who died in 1874. Many of her relatives are also buried in the old part of the cemetery so I assume that is where the cemetery and creek get their name from.  It is a rather secluded cemetery but there are some recent burials. I always thought it was a little strange that I find these old cemeteries interesting but I have learned a lot of you out there in internet land like these old cemeteries also. If you are ever near the base of the Leelanau Peninsula be sure to visit this wilderness cemetery off N. Carmean Road.

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Cemetery Chapel

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, Cemetery .

This beautiful stone chapel sits near the entrance to Saginaw’s Forest Lawn Cemetery. It was constructed in 1900 from Bay Port stone. It was built at a time when people would picnic at the cemetery to remember their loved ones. Cemeteries were a landscaped and park-like place to spend a day and the Forrest Lawn cemetery is a beautiful graveyard with impressive family monuments and headstones.

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Michigan’s Haunted Mouth Cemetery

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, Haunted Places .

Near the mouth of the White River not far from Montague is an old cemetery. The cemetery’s name comes from the fact that it is near the mouth of the river. The oldest known burial in the cemetery dates back to 1851, but there are unmarked graves that date back even further. It’s said that an Indian village existed at the mouth of the river a long time ago. An attack by an enemy tribe killed off most of the villagers and some of their remains lay buried in the old cemetery.

People have claimed to hear footsteps following them around the cemetery and when they turn around to see who it would be there is nobody there. Others say that strange mists and screams come from the surrounding woods. It is an old cemetery and one of the most famous residents is William Robinson. the former White River lighthouse keeper who is said to haunt the old lighthouse not far from the cemetery.  you can read my post about it HERE 

There is also an urban legend about a young man who sat in a chair that existed in the old cemetery. It was exactly one year after he sat in the chair that he died in a car accident.  It was said that many people came to the cemetery to sit in the infamous chair but it has been removed.

When I visited nothing strange happened. It was a little overgrown, but a beautiful old cemetery. I did notice a rather unique looking headstone in the back with face masks of the husband and wife to mark their final resting place.

If you visit, please be respectful so that it will remain open to visitors.

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A Campsite with a Grave

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, people .

Michigan has thousands of campsites all across the state for people to enjoy the great outdoors. Campsite number 4 at the Ossineke State Forest Campground, south of Alpena, is unique. It is a beautiful campsite overlooking Lake Huron. Next to it is a stone marker for the gravesite of A.J. Michalowski.  A sign next to it reads:

Born 3-16-1839 Died 11-6-1865

Buried here in 1865, where his body washed ashore, he worked at the old Oliver sawmill. He lived in Ossineke. Drowned while attempting a trip to Alpena across thunder bay in a small sailing craft. 

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The Ghost Town of Onominese

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, Ghost towns .

Rows of white wooden crosses stand in a simple cemetery near Lake Michigan. The people laid to rest under them is all that remains of Onominese. A small Indian village named after the Indian Chief Onominese. ( also spelled Onominee) The town was about five miles north of Leland, in the Leelanau Peninsula on Lake Michigan. The people that lived there mostly traveled to the town by canoe as there were no roads that led to the village.

Reverend Smith traveled through crude forest trails almost every Sunday from Northport to conduct church services. A small schoolhouse was built after the Civil War ended in 1865. Besides bringing religion and education to the native Americans the white man brought an epidemic of smallpox and diphtheria that killed off most of the small village’s population. It is the white crosses of those that died which stand in the field near Lake Michigan to tell the story of the small Indian village that once was.

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