Uncategorized Archives - Page 10 of 17

Michigan’s Top Attractions

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

USA Today bestowed upon me the title of “Michigan Expert.” I am not sure about that but it was an honor to be asked and help them pick the nominations for their list of Michigan’s top attractions. If you want to see the list and vote for your favorite for the USA Today Top 10, you can click on the link HERE

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite, they are all iconic places in Michigan, but I have to show some love to the Thumb and go with Port Crescent State Park in Port Austin.

Lost In Michigan T-Shirts are on SALE this week, they help me with expenses to do this website, I hope you will take a look at them HERE.

If you like what I post it would really mean a lot to me if you will subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts,

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Michigan’s Land Locked Lighthouse Guiding Travelers on their Journey

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

Centuries ago sailors relied on the lighthouses along the shoreline to guide their ships safely around Michigan. Nowadays there are not many Michiganders traveling the Great Lakes, but here is one lighthouse that is in the center of the lower mitten that guides motorists heading along the freeway. One of my favorite places to stop for a rest is the welcome center in Clare where U.S. 10 and 27 intersect. I usually need to use the restroom after drinking a 24oz of Faygo Redpop, and when I am done taking care of business, I can check out the brochures and tourist info they have for travelers. I can also get an old school paper map ( compliments of the state of Michigan) which I love to have instead of looking at my GPS. I wonder if the kids can even read a map, that technology is getting to be as ancient as the phone book.

Out behind the welcome center is a lighthouse tower. It may not be an old historic lighthouse that has saved many sailors lives, but it is still a beautiful tower watching the cars and trucks traveling past. There was a tower like this on in Monroe, but it was moved to St Ignace and is now an official aid to navigation. ( you can see my post about it HERE) Maybe someday this one will be called into active duty also but for now, I can stop by a visit it when I am traversing the middle of the L.P.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon 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 Michigan T-Shirts are on SALE this Week

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

I hope you won’t mind me doing a shameless plug for my T-shirts. I am working on my book, ( which I hope to have available in May) and although it’s not that expensive to publish a book, I do have some expenses to pay for. Lost In Michigan and Pure Michigander T-shirts and Hoodies are on SALE this week. Including the new Sapphire Blue Pure Michigander T-Shirt. As always shipping is FREE,

CLICK HERE to order T-shirts and Hoodies.

Semper Paratus, In Honor of Veteran’s Day

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

Thank You to all the men and women who have served, and continue to serve in the United State military. Thank You does not seem like a big enough pair of words to express by gratitude for the sacrifices you make in protecting our freedom. I also struggle with what photo to post on Veterans day, and feel that I can never post a photo that shows my appreciation. Here is a photos of the USCGC MACKINAW (WLBB-30) stationed in Cheboygan as a reminder of dedication to duty at home and abroad.

P.S. if your wondering, the Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus (always ready)

I hope you will sign up for Email Updates so You Won’t Miss Any New Posts

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

Make sure you don’t miss any new posts from Lost In Michigan. I only share older posts on Facebook and social media. Many people tell me they enjoy seeing my daily emails and look forward to receiving them.

If you’re coming over from Facebook, I hope you will sign up for email updates. I won’t send you a bunch of junk emails, it just an automated email that lets you know I just posted something new. and I don’t like to post more than once a day.

If you have already subscribed to updates thank you very much, you have no idea how much it means to me.

It would mean a lot to me if you Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

Ice Cream and a Michigan Sunset, Does it get any Better?

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

Drosts Ice Cream shop and Candy Store in Indian River

There is no better way to finish of a hot summer day than with some Ice Cream, especially if your in Michigan watching a spectacular sunset. When I am up north with the family, we always get ice cream, and I like to stop at a local ice cream shops. It seems like almost every small town in northern Michigan has one, especially if it’s a “tourist”town.

Zanner’s Ice Cream Shop in Au Gres

My favorite flavor is Mooney’s sesquicentennial Michigan Apple Pie. It’s vanilla ice cream with apple sauce swirled into it, with pieces of cinnamon pie crusts. Sadly Mooney’s only made it for a few years during Michigan’s sesquicentennial in the late 80’s, If I only had a time machine.

On a personal note: What’s been happening with me at Lost In Michigan. I have been doing this website for a few years now, and it takes up a lot of time, taking pics and researching history. I love doing it, but I still need to pay the bills and support my family. That’s why this past week I was selling t-shirts. Thank you for putting up with me while I had them on sale. I am getting back to taking pics and writing stories, and will probably do shirt sales once a month. I really don’t want to have to sell anything, and just do what I love to do, but hopefully once a month won’t be too annoying for you and me. I still have a few shirts left, and they are on sale until Tuesday if you want one, I hope you will check out my shirts HERE.

Thank you for reading my articles, and all your comments, and sharing with your friends, your support really means a lot to me

Fuzzy’s in Saginaw

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New Lost In Michigan Tank Tops and Women’s T-Shirts On Sale

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

I had a lot of women, I assume they were all women, but you never know, (not that there’s anything wrong with that) ask me for women’s fitted t-shirts and tank tops. I screened printed some up with the Lost In Michigan logo, and they are on Sale this week along with all my other T-shirts. I hope you will look at them, they help me with expenses to do this website. I really really appreciate all of you that got one, and helped me out, and if you didn’t get one I still am thankful that you read my posts and sharing them with your friends.

if you want to check out my shirts CLICK HERE

The City of Howell and it’s Beautiful Historic Courthouse

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in courthouses, Michigan Historical Markers, Uncategorized .

On 24 March 1836, the legislature passed an act organizing Livingston County and Howell was slated to become the County seat. This claim was vigorously opposed by a group from Brighton until the county buildings were actually erected 12 years later. The town was originally called Livingston Center because it was in the center of the county. The area was platted by Flavius Crane and and Edward Brooks, and they named it for Thomas Howell, a friend of Mr. Brooks, and the son of Judge Howell in Canandaigua N.Y.

Albert E. French designed the courthouse a two-and-a-half story brick and stone building. This edifice, completed in 1890, shows influence of Richardsonian architecture and has maintained many of its original Victorian furnishings. Peter and Maria Cowdry donated the land for the courthouse square with the provision that it revert to their heirs if no longer used for a courthouse. Local citizens presented the clock to the county as a gift. The people of Livingston County voted in 1976 to restore their courthouse which is an area landmark.

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The Castle on Woodward in Detroit

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Iconic Buildings, Uncategorized .

This beautiful french renaissance castle on Woodward Ave. was the home of railroad and ship-building baron Col. Frank J. Hecker. In 1888, Hecker hired architect Louis Kamper and began construction on the mansion at Woodward Avenue on the corner of Ferry and Woodward. The massive home is 21,000 square feet, and is an imposing example of French Châteauesque style based on the Château de Chenonceaux near Tours, France. Hecker used his home to host elaborate parties where he entertained luminaries such as presidents William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes.

The exterior of the home has large turrets at the corners, and Flemish dormers in the steep hip roof. Several bays project from the main body of the home, and wrapped around the whole is a balustraded, colonnaded loggia. A carriage house in the rear is clearly visible from Woodward. At one point this structure was converted into a concert hall capable of seating 200.

The interior has 49 rooms, including a large oak-paneled hall designed for large parties, an oval dining room done in mahogany, a lobby done in English oak, and a white and gold music room. The fireplaces were constructed of Egyptian Nubian marble and onyx and Italian Siena marble were used in the vestibules.

Hecker lived in the home until his death in 1927. For the next twenty years, the home was owned by the Hecker family, but operated as a boarding house for single college students. In 1947, the mansion was sold to Paul Smiley of the Smiley Brothers Music Company, who used it for musical instruction and practice, as well as a sales office. When Smiley died in 1990, the building was sold to Charfoos & Christensen, P.C. law firm that renovated the mansion, and it served as their law offices until 2014. In September 2014, Wayne State University purchased the house for $2.3 million for its Alumni Relations Department.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

It would mean a lot to me if you Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

The Haunted Bruce Mansion

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Houses, Uncategorized .

Near Brown City in Burnside Township is this beautiful old Second Empire mansion built in 1876 by John G. Bruce who owned the Bruce and Webster General Merchants with his brother-in-law. Burnside township was originally Allison Township, but the name was changed in 1866 to honor Ambrose E. Burnside, a union general in the Civil War. John G Bruce was the postmaster for 16 years in Burnside. Most of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1881, but the mansion and general store was spared from the flames. in 1894 Bruce lost the general store to a fire, and rebuilt it with a brick building.

He eventually sold the home to Cynthia Smith who died in the house from a fever in 1921. Cynthia’s son sold the house and it changed owners a few times. It was eventually purchased by John Walker in 1926. Rumor has it, he was driving his automobile when he hit a pedestrian. Terrified at what he had done, he took the body back to the mansion and buried it somewhere on the estate. Some say the ghost of the victim, others say guilt, caused the man to lose his fortune and he hung himself in the old tower. It is said the be haunted, I am not sure about it but it is a beautiful old house and it’s kinda spooky with the ghostly light green paint and it seems like an odd location for an old mansion. you would expect to see something like it in one of Michigan’s large cities but not in the middle of farm country.

NOTE this house is NOT abandoned and please do not trespass and be respectful of the owners. you can follow their facebook page HERE

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

It would mean a lot to me if you Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

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