Thumb Archives - Page 9 of 10

Seeking Refuge in Harbor Beach

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses, Thumb .

Ships sailing along Lake Huron between Port Huron and the tip of the Thumb in the early 1800s had few places to seek refuge from the gales of November. Or any storm that whips up for that matter. A small harbor helped in Harbor Beach, but It was decided in the mid-1800s to build a break wall to create a safe haven for ships from the fury of Mother Nature. In 1885 a lighthouse was built replacing a light on a wooden frame. It guides ships to the opening in the break wall welcoming them to safety. It about a mile of shore but you can get a good view of it from a pier at the end of Trescott Street in Harbor Springs. I took this pic with a long telephoto lens. On Saturdays, in the summer you can take a boat to the lighthouse for a guided tour. here is their website for more info https://harborbeachlighthouse.org/

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The Air Force Base in the Thumb

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Thumb .

During the Cold War, the vital task of watching the skies for enemy airplanes was done by the Air Force. At the start of the Korean War, the Air Force built 28 radar installations around the country to watch the skies over North America. The 754th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron were initially activated on 27 November 1950 at a temporary site at Oscoda AFB. After construction was completed on a new base a few miles south of Port Austin it was assigned to the new base in July 1951 and joined the military’s permanent radar network. The station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron’s role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit’s radar scopes. Over the years the radar units were updated until the mid-1980s when the main bearing failed on the current radar dish. The duties of watching the sky went to the FAA long-range radar site at Canton near Detroit. The radar was eventually fixed and the base was used until 1988. It was determined that the FAA site in Canton would serve the needs of the country and the base in Port Austin officially closed. The base was sold into private ownership and the former Air Force buildings are now used as a bible camp and an RV park among other things. The road leading into the old complex is privately owned and closed to the public. I took a pic of the old radar stands from the road.

Thank you to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in the military. It’s because of your commitment and sacrifices that give me the freedom to roam this beautiful state and country.

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The Pigeon Barn

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms, Thumb .

I have seen pics of the pigeon barn on the internet, but I never knew where it was located. Logic would dictate that it would be near Pigeon, but I saw it as I was leaving Port Austin. I figured I better stop and get a pic of it before the pigeon flies away. I love seeing murals on sides of barns, how about you?

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The Blind Pig in Forester

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Thumb .

In the late 1800s, the town of Forester was a booming lumber town. Located on Lake Huron, ships would tie up at the docks that stretched out into the lake and load their holds full of timber. The town had three hotels and one of them was built by George Tanner in 1871. The significance of the year 1871 is that is the year of the Great Fire. I am wondering if he built it knowing many people were homeless. Known as the Tanner House, it still stands today on the corner of M-25 and Forester Road. After the timber was cut down the town slowly declined. The sawmills and most of the residents moved away. In the 1930’s it has been said that the old hotel was used as a “blind pig” during prohibition. I imagine there were some crazy nights at the old hotel with illegal booze flowing, and I can only wonder what was going on upstairs.

Shortly after the hotel was built it’s residents bore witness to one of the Thumb’s most tragic and legendary events. In the spring of 1876, a young Mini Quay was distraught after learning of her lover’s ship sinking in the great lakes. She walked past the Tanner House waived to the people outside then walked to the end of the dock and jumped into the icy waters and drowned. ( you can read more of her story in my Lost In Michigan book Vol 2)

It’s privately owned today, and the owners have done a nice job of renovating it. Next time you are traveling down M-25 and you see a big old house in Forester now you will know a little bit of its history.

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The Old House In The Thumb

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses, Thumb .

I saw this old house or school house or whatever it used to be out in the middle of nowhere. It was on a dirt road far from any town but the closest would be Port Hope miles away. I grew up in the big city and whenever I need anything it’s just a few minutes to the store. It would take some getting used to living out in a rural area where the nearest store is miles away by car. I can’t imagine the people who lived in or near this old house. They must have not traveled far from home most of their lives. I imagine it must have been a hard self-reliant life farming in a remote place.

P.S even though a place looks abandoned it is probably owned by someone and on private property. I don’t trespass and take my pics from the road.

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A Barn Find of the Century

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Thumb, Train Depots .

An old train depot stands quietly in a park near the town of Kingston. I stopped to take a photo and that is when I read the sign telling its amazing story. The citizens were proud of their little depot, and were excited when it was completed in 1893. It put the little town on the map now that the train could stop and drop off supplies. Passengers could ride the train to the big city of Caro and beyond. Over time as cars and trucks replaced the need for trains, the little depot was dismantled and stored in a barn near Cass City. A century after it was built, it was discovered sitting in pieces in the barn in 1993. Citizens raised money and had the little depot reconstructed on this site in the park.

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The Extraordinary Old General Store

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Thumb .

Roaming the back roads of Michigan I find some interesting places, but I think the old general store in Kilmanagh has to be one of my favorites. It looks like it’s from a movie set with its wooden porch. You would think John Wayne tied up some horses in front of it. The town of Kilmanaugh or whats left of it is kind of between Sebewaing and Bay Port. It was first called Thompson’s Corners, for Francis Thompson, an Irish homesteader who arrived in 1861. The name Kilmanagh was first used to describe the nearby Shebeon Creek, which would overflow each spring. A post office named Kilmanagh operated from February 1873 until June 1904. maybe even in this old General store. It’s believed the store was built sometime in the 1870s and operated by Richard Martini. In the 1890’s he sold the store to John Rummel and Albert Woldt. In the early 1900’s Alberts son Clemens P. Woldt took over the business naming it C.P. Woldt & Co. Growing the store and even became a John Deere dealership and possibly the first John Deere dealership in Michigan. by the 1960s the old general store had fallen on hard times and closed sitting vacant for many years. The current owner is in the process of restoring the old building you can learn more about their efforts on their facebook page HERE .

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The Beer Drinking Bear of Quanicassee

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Thumb .

Standing in a field on Old State Road, near the Quanicassee River, is a monument with a bear drinking from a bottle. If the monument could talk it would have an interesting and sad story to tell. Frank Vanderbilt owned a Hotel and resort in Quanicassee and as a way to attract visitors, he had a small zoo. Sometime around 1910 he purchased a bear cub for his little zoo and named her Jennie. He left her chained up to a nearby tree stump and the visitors to his resort would feed her treats and candy.

One day someone gave her a bottle of beer and she gulped it right down like a thirsty lumberjack. It was not long after that, Frank began selling beer to tourists to give to the little bear. she would climb up to the top of the tree stump and open the beer and drink it down. Her fame grew as word spread of the bear that enjoyed the frosty beverage and people came from all around Michigan to see Jennie. I wouldn’t say life was good for Jennie, but she had her daily routine and the admiration of visitors.

Everything changed in 1920 when Prohibition became law and alcohol was illegal for Americans to own or sell, and that included Jennie. When she was no longer able to get any beer, she became agitated and angry growling at visitors and swiping her paws at Frank. They gave her bottles of pop and other beverages but she was not interested in them since she was addicted to alcohol. A group of men from Detroit was hunting in the thumb and they stopped by the old hotel in Quanicassee. They told Mr. Vanderbilt that they would take care of the distraught bear and he sold Jennie to them. It was later that he found out that they used her for their hunting clubs bear roast. Saddened by the loss of Jennie, Frank built this memorial to the bear with the money he got when he sold her.

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Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses, Thumb .

The Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse and Lifesaving Station near the tip of the Thumb aided mariners for over a century, beginning in 1847. That year the U.S. Lighthouse Service built the first lighthouse on this site to mark the turning point of Lake Huron into Saginaw Bay and to warn of the shallow waters. Catherine Shook became Michigan’s first female light keeper when she took over for her husband, Peter, after he drowned in 1849. In 1857 the lighthouse and dwelling were replaced with the present 89-foot tower and attached house. In 1908, the brick assistant keeper’s house was built. The lighthouse was fully automated in 1934. Five years later the last keeper retired, and the lifesaving station, made up of 15 buildings was decommissioned.

I posted this slideshow I made on Facebook and thought I would post it here also in case you missed it, or if you’re like my dad, and not on facebook.

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The White Rock Lighthouse, Remembering a Great City Lost in the Fire

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses, Thumb .

The town of White Rock on Lake Huron between Port Sanilac and Harbor Beach has a very interesting story to tell. The town was named after a large white boulder that stood near the shoreline of Lake Huron, and by 1776 it was the largest village in the territory. It was used as a boundary marker for the northern point of the Treaty of Detroit with the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and Potawatomi Native American nations signed on November 17th 1807. In the 1830’s, the town was a thriving port, and in 1856 a lighthouse was built to safely guide ships into port. The community, along with the lighthouse, was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1871. The great fire also occurred on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire, and while Chicago was rebuilt, White Rock never grew to be the large town it once was, and the lighthouse was never rebuilt. In 1996 the privately owned White Rock Memorial lighthouse was built.

P.S. If I ever get the chance to build my own house, I would build a lighthouse, even if it was in the middle of a subdivision miles away from any lake.

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