| BIHS Awarded Grant The Charlevoix County Community Foundation grant committee has completed its review of grant applications. They considered our request, and decided to approve it. There is a limitation, though. Because they also approved other Island requests, and because their "Island Heritage Enrichment" fund was limited, they scaled back everyone's request. We have been awarded $2,200 (of our $3,800 request.)
The problem was that the wide-board siding (put on the log structure sometime after the Mormon Exodus) did not keep the weather out. The edges of the boards have rotted, and there is some degree of rot in the bottom log, the only one we can check. This rot might be minimal, or it might require extensive work. In our grant request, we said that we would handle this through our construction fund.
The basic project is to remove the wide boards, denail them, and store them in the Heritage Park barn loft. Then we'll seal the logs, add tyvek and furring strips, and install new wide-board siding.
We received two bids from local contractors for just under $4,000 each, and are awaiting a third based on a "time and materials" approach. Since we don't know what we'll find when we remove the existing wide-board siding, this might be a better way for us to control the project and make any changes or redirections that become necessary through examination of the exposed logs.
If we do have to replace any of the logs (the bottom tier is the primary candidate), local log cabin builder Karl Heller has offered his expertise and help.
Heritage Park Currently our logging display is at the Marine Museum. It probably shouldn't be; it was put there just to help fill the building. Now it can be replaced with more appropriate exhibits. For example, the planned Captains' and Seamans' exhibit would fill the Marine Museum by itself. We could move the logging exhibit to the Heritage Park, where some of the old BILC's railroad's roadbed turned up during 1998's brush removal project. (The other night we were wondering how to procure an old narrow-gauge locomotive for this; there was a time when one could be had for free.)
But this is a complicated and expensive project. It involves creating some attractive, curving paths along which unusual exhibits can be placed, each under its own roof and glassed-in for its protection. Perhaps 12 such roofs, all comparable in design but varying in size, and with signs and (motion sensitive?) lights. They would contain such items as agricultural equipment, the first generator, old cars, sleds --anything too large or in other ways inappropriate for the other Museums. Two more roofs could be simply roofs, no glass, for picnic lunches.
No one has done even a preliminary design for this array or estimated what it would cost. Perhaps it would run $100,000. One could make a case that we should do this first to free up the currently cluttered Barn for use in storing things from the kitchen addition when the new addition is built. An unstaffed, appealing group of labelled and illuminated exhibits would be a good companion piece for the Library.
Volume 5 Manuscripts continue to arrive for Volume V of The Journal of Beaver Island History. With a wide variety of well-researched, interesting subjects, this book could be one of the best.
Judging from recent communications with writers, the book will open with two articles on the Mormon period, Vickie Speek's on the Five Wives and Jerry Gordon's on Warren Post, one of Strang's elders. Douglas Larche may finish his analysis of why Strang succeeded; if not, it will make Volume VI.
We have received a manuscript on Elizabeth Whitney Williams from New York storyteller Kate Dudding, and are expecting one on Mrs. Redding from Mary Francis Fenton. In addition, Ann Filmyr is working on an article on the life of Keewaydinoquay. Featuring some of the women to have played a role in our history is a refreshing departure from the male-oriented subjects of the past.
As one might expect, there will be articles on our nautical history as well. Henry Hill has submitted an excellent article on the tragic end of the Vernon. We have Robert Grunst's article on Julius Allers, and Dan VanderHeede has shown us a first draft of his article on the fishing wars of the late 19th century.
There will be a few articles on special topics, such as Paul Connors' tale of the ice walkers who carried the mail. Don Monteith may finish his story of the Beaver Island Lumber Company's railroad as well.
Natural history will be represented with two articles, Jacque LaFreniere's on the loons and Doug Peterson's on the attempt to learn about the cormorants. We may get two articles on Native American lore. We hope to conclude with Jim Norgard's analysis of Beaver Island's Celtic connection.
The Strang Video The BIHS has voted to sponsor the creation of a 1-hour video on James Jesse Strang. John Leben has assembled a talented group of consultants for this project, including Roger VanNord, author of the best book on Strang, Assassination of a Michigan King
This could be an important video for several reasons. For one, because of recent activities in Washington, we are interested to know more about how a man, particularly a man so much in the public eye, can claim to believe something so strongly while secretly acting contrary to his belief. We wonder about the nature and varieties of "mental compartmentalization." Many people are turning to the story of Strang to examine the question of what it means to believe and whether or not belief can ever be total and absolute.
A related question involves the erosion of ideals accompanying the accumulation of power. How universal this is, and to what extent might Strang's tragic decline have been inevitable?
This will cast light on the inner dynamics of some of our contemporary activities. Or, what we learn about our psychological makeup from examining these contemporary activities will allow us to see deeper into the forces acting on and the motives of James Strang. There seems to be an interesting resonance between Strang and some of the figures of today, so much that we are tempted to classify him as having a modern sensibility, although perhaps his story is really a classic tale.
We plan to feature the making of this video on our website, beaverisland.net/ history. We want to make this production as interactive as possible by inviting public comments at every step along the way. This program will also enable the several other scholars currently researching this topic to keep abreast of our progress and contribute their own developing insights.
A Tribute to the Chichesters
--Antje Price
Volunteers are the working heart of any community, as demonstrated so well by the contributions of Clarence "Bud" and Dorothy Chichester over two decades as summer residents of Beaver Island.
Besides helping with the BIFD Auxiliary store and other community activities, Dorothy served as BIHS Membership Secretary for most of the 1980s, while both she and Bud regularly "sat" the Marine Museum, and for the last 15 years took on the job of opening the Protar Home on several occasions, including around the 4th, Homecoming, and Museum Week. In addition to showing the interior of the house, talking fully informed about Protar, and taking care of sales on the porch, they swept, straightened and aired the premises, tended the hop vines, and reported any problems. I went along and helped, primarily with the talking, whenever I was on the Island, sharing the task equally with Dorothy after Bud's death in 1996. Dorothy and Bud did all of this so quietly and matter-of-factly that only those of us priviledged to work with them could really know and appreciate how much they contributed.
Therefor when we learned during 1999's Museum Week that Dorothy had decided to give up her summer sojourns on Beaver Island and would be leaving for good after co-hosting the Protar Home for the last time that Saturday, we hastily arranged to recognize her at the evening session on July 22, much to her surprise, with a special tribute "for her many years of helpful volunteer service, in gratitude and affection" by the BIHS. We will miss them greatly!
Let's talk about the new Addition
Even though the current Kitchen Addition is by no means fully utilized, structural problems, a crowded office, and our desire to display a more multifaceted idea of Beaver Island's past have led us to start planning for an expanded replacement to this hundred-year-old room.
The question is, how do we go about it?
We feel that many of the current areas are cramped, such as the Native American room; the Mormon room; and the music history area. In addition, the "Then & Now" section should be expanded to include more of the Island than just St. James, and the Protar area could benefit from some additional space.
The agriculture display might be moved to the Heritage Park; the logging exhibit should also go there. .The upstairs of the Print Shop is simply unorganized. This exhibit of aspects of ordinary life might have enough space --it's hard to say. The idea here is to capture some sample room displays from bygone eras to demonstrate the nature of ordinary life. We will probably divide this into three distinct areas.
Another aspect of our history centers around the Irish migration, which is currently reflected by the Helen Collar portraits. We could add pertinent genealogical information (family tree charts), if we had the space. Also, there are some areas that we have never addressed, such as natural history; religious history; political history; Beaver Island's women; business history; contemporary history; and other areas, as yet unknown or undefined.
To design the floor plan for the new addition, we have to know what we hope to display in each area and how much space it will take. We have to be sure that our list of topics is complete, and we also have to provide for areas in which the themes of exhibits and the exhibits themselves can be changed.
One way in which to proceed might be to form a committee consisting of a few generalists and some people with specific information on and concern for these various particular areas of interest. The generalists might include our consultant, Laurie Dickens. Specifics might include Frank Ettawageshik, Jerry Gordon, Vickie Speek, Laurie Sommers, Phil Gregg, Antje Price, Joyce Bartels, Seamus Metress, members of the CMU staff, and others.
How would such a committee operate? Obviously, its members have schedules of their own and are scattered far and wide, so that anything more than an annual meeting (perhaps the afternoon of the Annual Meeting) would be too difficult to attend. But through the exchange of information, the needed results might be achieved. The Director could be the hub of this network, sharing general information in a monthly mini-newsletter as well as asking and answering questions of each of them individually. Eighteen months of this interchange should be enough to generate a reasonable estimate of the space needed for the New Addition, so that a definitive recommendation could be made to the members at the 2001 Annual Meeting.
The first feedback to the provisional floor plan from the last issue was a well-taken complaint: "You seem to have abandoned the idea of having the various rooms and display areas arranged in a chronological sequence." This is a very good point, for the overall organization as well as the organization of individual exhibits.
Here's the problem. If we begin with Native American history, which should be expanded, then the Mormon Era would be pushed out of the original Print Shop and into the new addition. While some members feel that we have always overstressed the significance of the Mormon Period and would like to see it shunted into a secondary position, it hardly seems fair to deny them display space in their own building.
Another comment we received was that perhaps we should organize the entire museum by periods instead of by subjects. In this mode a particular area might contain much material about the 1930s, for example, mixing together agricultural, religious, economic, and political artifacts, placards, and other interpretive information. The advantage would be to give the visitor to the Museum a better sense of how things have changed.
Still another note offered the idea that the bathroom/ stairway should be in the middle of the new addition instead of against a wall, in order to create a circular walk (with this at the hub) of individual display areas. This kind of layout would be like a 3 x 3 grid, with the center as the bathroom and eight individual areas arranged as walk-throughs, like a railroad flat.
Doing this would require expanding the width from 28' to perhaps 36' by going farther south, creating an 8 to 10' offset where the addition meets the Print Shop. The addition's ridge must stay below the Print Shop's ridge, and the pitch has to remain the same (6/12), so the north and south office walls would drop (from ~6' at 28' wide to ~4'.) This is not a problem because one of the needs for the new office is for storage, but it brings us back to the initial question: how much space do we really need?
A Protar Celebration
This March 3rd will mark the 75th anniversary of the death of Feodor Protar, Beaver Island's "Heaven-sent Friend." There has been a lot of talk about how to honor the memory of this man. It was pointed out that it could be too cold to hold an outdoor memorial service at the Tomb, and with the weather being unpredictable, it might be difficult to get there. After much discussion, it has been decided that an ecumenical moment at the Catholic Church would be the best approach, with readers from both the Episcopal and the Non-denominational Churches, some words byBIHS President Alvin LaFreniere, and a rendition of a new ballad about Protar written by Barry Pischner.
Although he would not have wanted a fuss made over him, we feel dutybound to honor this truly great man. If you have the chance, you might want to attend.
Pictures from Hugh VanOrden
In response to our request, we recently received copies of 31 photographs taken in the early 1950s by Hugh VanOrden. His note said, "My brother and I built onto the east side of the Power House in 1950. We made the foundation for 2 Caterpillar V-8 engines. We stopped when the generator was in her bed. We bought our lumber from Gus Mielke's saw mill. Two local men hauled the gravel with horses from the north end of the Island. Gus told me he stayed with his daughter in Muskegon one winter and got so lonely he would walk out to the beach and squint over the ice, hoping he'd see a reflection of his home."
Bill Paladino's Fresnel Fragments
One evening at dinner at the Old Rectory, Bill Paladino showed off some Fresnel lens fragments he had found in a field on the Rectory property. Al Gademsky in Cincinnati was contacted by diners; he in turn contacted Paladino, who mailed him the fragments. Mr. Gademsky sent back a lengthy analysis, in which he reasoned that the fragments were in fact from a Fresnel lens, but of too small an order to be from a lighthouse. The inside radius was 130mm. The smallest lighthouse lens, a 6th order, measured 150mm, and both of Beaver Island's Fresnel lenses were 4th order, measuring 250mm. In addition, Mr. Gademsky pointed out that the lighthouse lenses have a slightly greenish tint, whereas these fragments are clear. Plus, the fragments are cast in one piece, whereas lighthouse lenses were constructed with individual prisms that were supported, in metal frames, in tiers.
Mr. Gademsky sent up some color illustrations to support his deductions.
Another Book from Candace Clifford
Candace Clifford, whose first book, Women Who Kept the Lights, has sold 20,000 copies since appearing in 1993 and been a favorite of Museum Store shoppers, has released a second title, Nineteenth Century Lights: Images of American Lighthouses. Look for it at the Print Shop.
Father Aubert
Many people know something about Bishop Baraga, who first journeyed to Beaver Island in 1832 to preach to and convert the Indians living in a village on the north shore. Many have seen the stately cross erected near that site, either from land or the water. But how many Islanders have even heard of Father Aubert?
Some say history repeats itself, and this may be an instance, for 100 years after Bishop Baraga came here from Harbor Springs in a long canoe, the Franciscan missionary Father Aubert found his calling in northwest lower Michigan and began the exhausting, self-imposed task of serving the Native Americans. His circuit included Middle Village (north of Harbor Springs), Peshawbetown, Burt Lake, and High Island, which he reached by taking the ferry to Beaver, where he was picked up by one of the High Island Indian fishermen in his flock. He tried to make this trip at least once a month. Like Baraga, he learned to speak the native tongue, and was truly loved by his parishioners.
This small, enthusiastic man in brown robes, with a humorous twinkle in his eye, spent a decade as the spiritual adviser, doctor, lawyer, and banker to his Native American communities, offering alternative Christian explanations to their still-cherished ancient superstitions. At that time, the Indians still used their own traditional medicines, and blamed evil spirits when they failed to work.
This dedicated man received no pay, but had to rely on donations for his sustenance. The Indians he served helped him with food and lodging, but money was in short supply. For the year of 1933 he received a total of $103.41.
The movement to canonize Baraga is gaining steam, and rightly so. Perhaps when it has achieved its objective, more attention will be given to this comparable, little-known figure who was part of our heritage only 60 years ago.
Volunteers Needed Have you ever considered "sitting" one of the two museums during the summer? If you haven't, perhaps this should be the year in which you give it a try. It's surprising how enjoyable it can be to act as the spokesman for the Island we all love, answering questions to the best of one's ability or providing other helpful information about the nature of life here. Another bonus is that about once a week someone comes in who either is related to an old Island family or knows someone who used to live here from whom they have picked up an interesting story. Some of these tales are well worth writing down, with the person's name and address so that more details can be gleaned from a follow-up query.
One of the comments frequently made concerns distant relatives of the visitor. In such a case, the Director is happy to check the computerized files, provided by Jim Sunkes and updated constantly from this kind of encounter. Every so often a person will discover relatives he did not know existed.
Generally our visitors come from all over. A number are from downstate Michigan, and from Illinois and the adjacent states of Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. But each month brings us numerous guests from California, Utah, Florida, New York, Canada, Ireland, and elsewhere. These people are well-mannered, interesting, and grateful, and frequently a Volunteer feels a pang of disappointment upon realizing that the 3-hour shift is over and it's time to go home.
All together, there are 26 3-hour shifts; two a day except on Sunday, which has a single slot. There are bathrooms in each Museum, and small refrigerators stocked with soft drinks. There is ample reading material for the occasional slack moments. The initial glitches have been eliminated from the cash registers, and operating them successfully is no longer a challenge.
Besides the 26 assigned slots, we hope to have another 15-20 on-call substitutes, because things come up that can't be predicted. If you could spare one day, even if for only a week or two, please let us know. This can be a very rewarding experience.
A Note on Membership
The Charlevoix Historical Society has a policy which we might want to adopt. If a member does not pay his dues, they assume it's an oversight and keep him on their roll for up to two years before declaring him to be a non-member. "It is our policy that if, after two fiscal years, a membership has not been renewed, we will assume that the membership is meant to lapse, and all mailings will cease," they said. "But we have also discovered that this is often unintentional, and upon notification, a membership is re-established with all good graces. All those with two-year lapses will be notified under separate cover and asked if they wish to continue." |
