The Glen Haven Canning Co. building sits along the Lake Michigan shoreline in the small town of Glen Haven a few miles away from Glen Arbor. The canning company building was originally used as a warehouse supplying ships and fishing vessels. In the 1920’s it was used to can cherries. I assume that is when it was painted bright red. Now it is used as a museum exhibiting old wooden boats from the region.

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This sculpture stands near the entrance to the VFW National Home For Children near Eaton Rapids.  The VFW wanted to support families of deceased and disabled American veterans. They sought to keep families intact, furnish a homelife similar to that enjoyed by other American families, and teach self-sufficiency and independence. Corey Spencer gave the VFW his cattle ranch for property to construct a home. Since the facility provided homes for families outside of Michigan, it received support from veterans groups across the country. The VFW National Home for Children has grown from an old frame farmhouse to a sprawling campus with playgrounds, park areas, and multiple buildings, including single-family homes, a community center, gymnasium, child care facility, guest lodge, and chapel. This remains the only privately funded home for veterans’ children and grandchildren in the United States that is national in scope.

One of the first residents of the home was Mrs. Pollett and her 6 children ages 2-15. Her husband,  Sgt. Edward Pollett after picking up his retirement check at Fort Wayne was struck by a streetcar in Detroit and died. His retirement benefits ceased upon his death and his widow and children were left without an income to support them. They were welcomed into the VFW Home for Children. The home continues to this day supporting veterans’ families.

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When we plug something into the electrical outlet on the wall no one thinks about where the power comes from as long as it works.  The small village of Shepherd in central Michigan built a powerhouse to provide electricity for its citizens. It was shut down decades ago a historical marker on the building tells its story.

The Shepherd Village Power House was built in 1908-09. It housed the community’s first electric plant and water pumps. The thirty-five-kilowatt dynamo, driven by a coal gas engine operated from 1909 to 1912. From 1913 to 1925 outside power was transmitted through the facility. In 1925 Consumers Power purchased the village distribution system and the Power House ceased operations. Part of the building was used as a village council hall until 1957. The Shepherd Area Historical Society began using it in 1982.

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South of Brooklyn at the junction of US-12 and M-50 is the historic Brick Walker Tavern. It was built in 1853 as a stagecoach stop and inn for travelers on their journey between Detroit and Chicago. The historic structure is now used as a wedding venue. It stands across the street from the original Walker Tavern that is now a historic site and park, but that is a post for a different day.

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