Alpena, Michigan

We have had a Great week in Alpena. The usual Michigan “rain”, but still managed to see a lot of things. As luck would have it, we got here in time for the Brown Trout Festival, and it’s Art on the Bay show. Alpena is home to the world’s largest cement plant, established in 1908.

Alpena is located on Thunder Bay of Lake Huron. Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary preserves a national treasure of nearly 200 historic shipwrecks in and around the bay, and northern Lake Huron. You can explore the history and archaeology of these wrecks at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, the Sanctuary’s 20,000 square foot headquarters. With exhibits on Great Lakes maritime history and shipwrecks, NOAA’s Science on a Sphere exhibit, a sanctuary store, state of the art education spaces, high-definition theater, and archaeological conservation lab, the free Center is a great place to visit. The Thunder Bay area currently has known, and located, about 70 shipwrecks, many of which are able to be visited by scuba divers. There are an estimated 90 other shipwrecks whose resting spots are still unknown in the area.

Of course, along with friends Ted & Shirley, we had to try out one of the lifeboats in the Center.

Just north of Alpena are the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse, built in 1840, and used until 1871. It was replaced by the New Presque Isle Lighthouse, built in 1870. The New Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse tower accessible by the public on the Great Lakes, at 113 feet, one foot taller than the Big Point Betsie Lighthouse.

All in all, a great week. We enjoyed seeing Ted & Shirley, and thank them for their hospitality. If you wish, you might ask Shirley how the Set-back games went. (Smile) Now on to Alden, on Torch Lake for the Cousin’s Reunion!

Gaylord, Michigan

Upon leaving Hart, we stopped for a few nights at Long Lake, parked in the yard of Rudy & Sandy Keszey, and visited some of our OLD friends at the lake. What fun!

Then on to Gaylord and Beaver Creek Resort. Gee, just up the road we found 1958 fellow graduate Judy (Kennicott) Chavey.



And as luck would have it, we were in time for the 44th annual Gaylord Alpenfest, a week full of “Pure Michigan Fun”. Gaylord sure does it up right! With over 80 events happening, there is something for everyone. We spent nearly all day Wed. there.

The day started with the Walking Parade, followed by the Die Groeste Kaffe Pause, (The World’s Largest Coffee Break”), where the coffee is brewed in a Huge black kettle.






Judy’s husband Ron had been der Beurgermeister in 1998, seen here with his official Coat of Honor.


At noon, while eating some “Original (secret recipe) Pontresina Soup, we were entertained by the “Young Americans”, oh what energy! Other activities included the men’s knee contest (I didn’t win anything ), the Goldfish eating contest, and kid’s games & contests.





A delicious Chicken BBQ was then followed by a concert by the Lettermen! I heard one local say it was the biggest crowd they had ever seen in downtown Gaylord. WHAT A SHOW, and sure brought back memories. That is our new friend Vetta, posing with the Lettermen during the show.











We are now in Alpena, more later.

Standish, 50th reunion, & Family at Hart

What a great 2 ½ weeks we have had! We started out in Standish, at Saginaw Bay Resort, where cousin Fern & Clarence joined us for a week. Between playing cards, bike riding, eating, and just catching up, we had a good time. Sister Janet & Bill came up one day for dinner.
We then went to Chesaning in order to attend our 50th Class Reunion, held in Owosso. Thursday night, we had classmates Kay & Bea (and Bea’s husband Charlie) over for dinner. Friday night was the reunion in Owosso, where we had nearly 100 classmates, spouses, & former teachers in attendance. The picture is of Laura, Kay & Bea, good friends in high school. We also managed to have breakfast with Howard & Bonnie Ruff Fri, Sat & Sun, along with Jim, Gail, and other old friends.
While in Chesaning, we visited the Chesaning Museum, which had a special display of the area’s 1 room school houses. They did a nice job with it. For those not in Hart, this picture includes someone that you know. Go ahead, study the picture, and then let us know which one it is, and who it is – NO cheating!

Rich, Deb, Sara & Cami all flew into Flint on Sat. Rich & Laura went to the Buick Open on Sunday, while I packed up and headed for Hart. Oh what a week!

Monday am & Wed, Bart, Joe, Rich, & I played golf. We also had campfires, played games, and ATE. Tuesday night, we all headed downtown for the fireworks, had ice cream while waiting for them to start. Hopefully the video of the finale will work.

Wed afternoon, we headed for the beach. The kids played in the water, we played horseshoes on the beach, and Bart landed a BIG fish after a real struggle, by hand! (Ask him about it). We also had fish to eat from Bortell’s, some of each they have for sale! That night was a birthday cake for Rich & Joe, took both of them to blow out the candles.

Friday, it was to Sparta, to Julie & Steve’s for a family get-together. It was good to see all the Van Sickle side of the family, and the setting was just great. The kids had fun playing in the pool, we had a birthday cake for Neal (and all the other July birthday people).

Today, everyone is gone, Rich & Deb flying home, Joe & Cindy to Camp. As I type this, Laura & I are enjoying total peace & quiet, and sorry the week has ended.

The City of Hart, Michigan – Part 2, and Family

With over 10,000 acres of asparagus in the area, it only makes sense for Hart to have an Asparagus Festival, with a parade, craft sales, rodeo, etc. One of the highlights this year was the appearance of the Scottville Clown Band.

A couple of pictures including Austin & Tori dancing the Chicken Dance with the band.








In this picture, her sisters are admiring Melissa’s “Little Bean”.

Since Joe can’t just relax, we had to cut down a tree, which meant having a campfire. And that

leads to S’mores, here is Madi enjoying hers – yes that is her hair stuck to her face.

And the end included the kids singing “So Long, Farewell” from Sound of Music as they headed in to bed. A GREAT time was had by all!

The City of Hart, Michigan

Hart is the county seat of Oceana County. Located in the western portion of the county, Hart is approximately six miles from Lake Michigan. Hart was founded in 1856 by early pioneers including Nelson Grove. Hart Township was named after Wellington Hart. In 1862, a gristmill and sawmill were built by Lyman Corbin and the area was officially platted in 1864, being named after the township. It became the county seat in 1865, incorporated into a village in 1885 and a city in 1946.


The Hart Historic District came into being in 1984 when the Hart City Council voted to establish a Historic District Commission. Today, the Historic District is home to several carefully restored buildings and collections, as well as a summer Friday Night Concert series during the months of July and August.


We arrived yesterday (Cindy & Joe are out of town), and got settled into the back yard. And, of course, a strong storm came through, including a lightning hit too close! We are impressed with the house, and the outside landscaping, the pic is of a gorgeous rhododendron by the back of the house.

Sailors' Pines

Close by the north shore of Croton Pond (about 6 miles from our Park) is a reminder of our past. Here is a stand of white pine that takes you back to a time before the turn of the century, when most of Northern Michigan was covered by the wonderous pine. Mr. Sailors, a lumberman, purchased this property in 1926, cleared the few hardwoods, trimmed the lower branches, kept the forest floor clear, all with the vision of leaving something for future generations. Still in the family, the property is available for the public to view. These pines are at a point that is reminiscent of what the lumberman of the 1800's would have seen, some measure 24" in diameter, and are over 100 ft. tall. This size of stand would yield over 18,000 board foot per acre. What fun it is to walk among the trees, listen to the breeze move through the pine canopy, and enjoy the serenity of the forest!

Friends, History, & Great-Grandkids

FRIENDS




As mentioned in previous post, we met our friends for Breakfast, had a GREAT time. And of course, Shirley & Laura needed to visit Mt. Pleasant. :-) Here are a couple more pictures of them.










HISTORY

Now a short, different history lesson. Many years ago, Laura started selling Jewels by Park Lane, working for Shirley. Since our children were the same ages, we became good friends, and had many fun times together. And some not quite so good, sometime ask me about the "drunk on crutches" :-) In 1985, Ted & Shirley witnessed Sam & CJ's wedding on Dec 31, since our anniversary was the next day, we were invited to celebrate New Years Eve with them. We celebrated and stayed at the Marriot Inn. Instant friendship, and New Years Eve became a tradition. Some years it was at one of our houses, others were at different hotels. In 1987, it was the Amway Grand Plaza with Tux, and all the trimmings. Picture of Jerry & Laura, sorry guys, couldn't find the picture of the six of us. Another year, we went to Mt. Pleasant to their Hawaiian Luau, so much fun!

Then Sam & CJ moved to Arkansas, and then Ted & Shirley moved to Florida. But, we have managed to meet in Arkansas, Florida, Tunica, Miss, and of course, Michigan. Thank you guys, for being our friends, we look forward to seeing you again soon.


MORE FRIENDS

Saturday, we drove to Long Lake to visit Sandy & Rudy. We last saw them in Las Vegas 2 years ago, and lots has happened. About 3 weeks ago, Rudy had by-pass surgery, thought I had lied to him about it being an ok event, and now is well on the road to recovery. Of course, we had to compare scars! Oh, and my pillow is bigger.


GREAT-GRANDKIDS


Sunday, we drove to Hart for dinner, and a chance to see Paula, Bart, and the five kids. Austin, Tori, & Logan have grown sooo much in the 2 years, 9 months since we saw them. And Madi & Gabby are just precious. Needless to say, we had a great time with them. As Paula mentioned in her blog, we had a cake for Logan's birthday, and Dad, Grandpa, & Great-grandpa went to the playground with the kids. I will post 4 pictures, 1 of the family, 2 of the kids sliding down the big slide together and one of the biggest kid as he is falling off the slide after showing the others how "not" to do it. :-) Then back at the house, still playing, trying to keep up with all that young energy. Now I know why I had MY kids when I was young. We are looking forward to spending more time with them all in a couple of weeks.



















BTW - Did I mention that the Red Wings defeated the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference Title, and lead the Stanley Cup Finals 2 games to none????