JUNE 2021
Celebrating 150 Years
A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO
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Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
Sesquicentennial Schedule of Events JUNE
available. The party runs from 4-9 p.m.
June 11 - Lions’ Community Dinner & Settlers and Shorelines Celebration
July 17 - Channel Dedication & OneFifty Regatta
Kick-off the 2021 Sesquicentennial celebrations as the Onekama Lions’ Club hosts a fun-filled dinner with historical presentations on “Settlers and Shorelines,” starting 5:30 p.m. at Onekama Village Park.
June 16 - Resorts & Camps We Have Known and Loved: Then and Now Historic presentation, 10:30 a.m.
Celebrate the dedication of newly completed renovations of Portage Lake Channel. Starting at 2 p.m., there will also be a sailboat race on Portage Lake.
July 21 - Walking Tour of Historical Homes on the Point July 30 - Portage Lake Yacht Club Open House & History Presentation
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June 18 - History & Evolution of the Ecosystem of North Point Park
The Portage Lake Yacht Club invites the public to visit the yacht club to learn about its history on Portage Lake starting at noon on July 30.
Stroll through North Point Park learning its unique history from 1- 2:30 p.m.
July 31 - Onekama OneFifty Sunfish Invitational
JULY
The Portage Lake Yacht Club invites sunfish sailors to a race on Portage Lake from 3-5 p.m.
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July 31 - Walking Tour of Portage Point Resort
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AUGUST
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July 4 - Art Snake July 8 - Onekama Block Party “Then & Now” A family-friendly event along Main Street with activities, entertainment and great business promotions. “Then & Now” displays historical artifacts and information in various locations. A self-guided Onekama historical walking tour pamphlet will be launched and
Aug. 5 - Kids Story, Craft & Playtime at Onekama Branch Library - Manistee Library Aug. 6-8 - Onekama Days
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Guided Adventure in Glen Park, Aug. 6 Onekama Farmers Market, Aug. 6, 1-5 p.m. Onekama Parks & Rec Scavenger Hunt, Aug.6-7 Demo Derbies, Aug. 6-7 in the evening Lions 5k Run & 1 Mile Walk, Aug. 7 Lions Car Show, Aug. 7, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Arts & Craft Show, Aug. 7 Slow Pitch Softball Game, Aug. 7 PLA Craft Beer Tasting, Aug. 7, 4-7 p.m. PLA Pig Roast Dinner & Silent Auction, Aug. 7, 5-8 p.m. The Big Comeback, Onekama High School Alumni Reunion, Aug. 7 at the Manistee County
Fairgrounds •
Fireworks, Aug. 7
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Prince & Princess of Onekama contest, Aug. 8
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PLA Kids Fun Fish, Aug. 8
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Onekama Days Parade, Aug. 8
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Scottvilles Clown Band, Aug. 8, following the parade
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Michael Trixx, Magic Show & Concert, Time TBD
Aug. 17-21 – Manistee County Fair Aug. 18 - Lumberjack Show at Manistee County Fair SEPTEMBER Sept. 12 - 150 Portage Lake Paddle Parade OCTOBER Oct. 7 - Onekama Gala at Portage Point Resort All events are subject to change. Upto-date information can be found at the ONEKAMA OneFifty page on the Onekama.info website.
Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
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Onekama village plans sesquicentennial bash Scott Fraley Staff Writer The village of Onekama is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the opening of the channel from Portage Lake to Lake Michigan, the creation of Onekama’s first post office and the first Manistee County Fair. Local homesteaders took matters into their own hands when they tired of their conflict with the Porter Lumber Milling Company, whose dam at Portage Creek flooded their farmland. They illegally dug a small trench – by hand – from Lake Michigan to Portage Lake to lower the lake to its original depth. On the night of May 14, 1871 when the trench was completed, the water rushed out taking with it woods and sand. It also created a channel 500 feet wide and 12 feet deep. “The channel brought great opportunity for the homesteaders and the mill and remains to this day an integral part of of the Onekama community,” according to the Onekama OneFifty website. A week before, the postmaster general appointed a postmaster to an office at the newly named village of Onekama. Hence, 2021 is the sesquicentennial anniversary of these two events. Residents of the two-lake town aim to prove their community is still going strong. To mark the occasion, organizers plan a months-long sesquicentennial celebration that kicks-off June 11 with the Lion’s Community Dinner and Settlers & Shoreliners Celebration. The banquet begins at 5:30 p.m. and will
feature a presentation on local history, titled “Settlers and Shorelines.” Other activities planned for “Onekama OneFifty” celebrations include boat races and other recreational water activities, historic tours and programs, arts and cultural events and a gala dinner, culminating in a formal dedication of the Portage Lake channel to Lake Michigan. This summer also marks the return of the Onekama Block Party in July and Onekama Days events tentatively scheduled for the first weekend of August. The village of Onekama is one of northern Michigan’s best kept secrets. With easy access to Lake Michigan and Portage Lake, many know the two-lake town as a premier recreational retreat along Michigan’s renowned third coast. Onekama is the first town travelers come across heading north on scenic M-22 and is a welcome destination for outdoor recreation near the Huron-Manistee National Forest. “I think there are a lot of sides to it that short time visitors don’t see, and I think we’re trying to celebrate the other facets of Onekama,” said Rosalind Jaffe, Onekama OneFifty Facilitator. “I think a lot of us come to Onekama as tourists or short-term visitors and you see all the fishing, you see the ice cream shop and all the typical tourist things. Then as you spend time there and learn what else is going on, (with) the history of the area and the people who have been involved, I think it just makes you fall in love with Onekama even deeper.”
Onekama will hold its annual Oenkama Days this summer, including fireworks on Aug. 7. The village celebrates will celebrate the sesquicentennial of of the river channel and its post office, essentially the beginning of the village from June through October. (Courtesy photo)
The fountain at Onekama’s Village Park has a rich history. It was once one of a pair that was placed in front of the Manistee County Courthouse in 1887. Following a fire it was relocated to the park in 1950. It was refurbished in 2019. (File photo)
Work on the Portage Lake channel continued in spring 2019; it began in spring 2018. Now, in 2021, Onekama is marking the sesquicentennial of the channel and the first post office in the village. (File photo)
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Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
Artwork will bring ‘The Cut’ to life K en Grabowski For the News A dvocate The celebration this summer to commemorate the 150th anniversary cutting of the Portage Lake channel into Lake Michigan and the founding of the Village of Onekama will also be captured in art. Members of the committee organizing the event that will be celebrated over the course of the summer have contacted two artists for creating keepsake works special for the event. Rug hooker Alaina Trout is making a special rug with a scene depicting “the cut” for the channel and artist David Westerfield will do the same with a painting. Al Taylor, who is a member of the 150th anniversary committee, said both artists are very talented and will feature artwork that depicts “the cut.” Taylor said he hopes the public will get the opportunity to view their works and then bid on them to help raise funds for costs of the 150th events and future projects in Onekama. “It’s a challenge to hold something like this with the COVID pandemic,” said Taylor. “We hope to show the pieces at MacBeth & Company (located at 8011 First St. in Onekama) and some other location in Onekama. Then we are going to have an online auction to raise funds.” Taylor said the public is very aware of the quality of work of both artists. Trout has exhibited her work in various venues around the community and Westerfield’s paintings have been sold from MacBeth & Company for several years. “Alaina has done several rugs for different fundraisers in the community,” said Taylor. “We have seen her sketches and progress of this
rug so far, but her husband had emergency surgery and that has limited the progress she has been able make with it.” The 1870s is rich in Onekama’s history and Taylor said it is good to get it known through this artwork and the events they will be holding in the upcoming months. It’s a chance for the public to learn about “the cut” and the impact it had on Onekama. Trout has been one of the organizers of the rug hooking school that has been held in Manistee and Onekama for many years prior to the pandemic. People interested in learning more about the art of rug hooking would come from all over the Midwest to take part in the school. The Onekama artist explained what she is trying to convey with her artwork. She said her rug will focus on the night that the settlers actually did the last work to open the channel into Lake Michigan. “I am trying to do a rug that depicts the settlers as they dug out that channel,” said Trout. “I got about two-thirds of it done. It shows how the settlers were out there that particular night, and when they actually opened up the rest of the channel they had to run for their lives.” Trout said the rush of the water from Portage Lake took trees several miles into Lake Michigan. “They said that Portage Lake was 11 feet higher than Lake Michigan at that time,” said Trout. “The ones who dug it out never expected it to wash out like that.” The rug she is making is 3 feet by 3.5 feet; she said besides being a piece of art it doubles as a storyteller. Westerfield said he was approached by Taylor to create something with the same
Artist David Westerfield is working on a painting depicting ‘the cut’, part of Onekama’s history. (Courtesy photo)
Artist David Westerfield specializes in Plein Air painting, which is done in the open air with his portable easel. He will create a piece for Onekama’s 150th anniversary. (Courtesy photo)
type of concept. “I have some of my paintings in MacBeth and know Al from some other events and have donated some of my paintings for some fundraisers for the Onekama Watershed,” said Westerfield. “I know the area well and having been going up to Portage Lake since I was a kid when attending the bible camp.” He has studios in Allendale at his home and also up at his cottage in Maple City that he works out of throughout the year. “I work out of both places, but to commemorate ‘the cut’ they asked me to do some artwork that shows that taking place 150 years ago,” said Westerfield in April. “So working with some historic photos I am going to as-
semble a scene and make it into a painting. I am looking forward to doing it and have some reference material for the painting.” Westerfield said he has been impressed with what the committee is doing to mark this occasion, especially since they are putting it together during a pandemic. “I hope all the things they are doing come together by the summer,” he said during an interview in April. The artist is still creating drawings of what he plans to paint and plans on creating something 18-inches by 24-inches. He said one of his specialties is doing Plein Air painting, which is done in the open air with his portable easel, but looks forward to this challenge as well.
Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
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Onekama’s camps Rosalind Jaffe Special to the News A dvocate Onekama began as a logging and agricultural area. Early on in the area’s history, visionaries saw the potential for family and youth camps. Here’s three of the historic camps and resorts. In 1895, Red Park was platted in Onekama Township by Manistee landscape architect C.G. Davis. Resorters journeyed north from Manistee on Dunewood Drive or the Dune Road, now known as Lakeshore Drive. The original resort consisted of a small store operated by Mr. and Mrs. James Sandenberg, the only permanent residents who also acted as caretakers of the small summer cottages. The 35-acre resort eventually featured a pavilion, a bandstand, fountains, bridges and a building for a hotel, restaurant and store. Dances were held each Wednesday and Saturday evening in the summer. Red Park became the summer mecca of affluent Manistee families. Noble Hill was headmaster of the Todd Seminary for Boys in Woodstock, Illinois and owned a Red Park cottage. In 1912 he brought some of the boys to Red Park for a summer continuation of his boarding school. In 1914, Hill purchased the Red Park dance pavilion and hired Swedish-born Charles A. Ander-
son of Manistee, to turn it into the Clubhouse for what became Camp Tosebo in 1919, adjacent to Red Park. “Tosebo” was named in honor of the Todd Seminary for Boys using the first two letters of the school name. It was one of the first summer camps in America. Actor and director Orson Welles stayed at the camp in 1932. Camp Tosebo closed around 1978 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The current owners continue to preserve the rich historical tradition of this camp by maintaining its original buildings and conserving the natural beauty of its surroundings. Camp Tosebo is available for overnight stays and events rentals. Two Bible camps, each with their share of history, flank Portage Lake. In 1910, a large barn on the Farr farm was moved down by the lakefront on Portage Point Drive to be transformed into a hotel. By 1913, Camp Onekama, a boys’ camp, was established there. By 1924 the camp became St. Mary’s Summer School and Camp, later called Camp Carrington. In 1937, the Church of the Brethren, purchased the property and changed the name of the camp to “Little Eden”. The family camping tradition continued when the camp sold in 1944 to a Mennonite Church
Outing on Portage Lake in Onekama in 1909. (Courtesy image)
group, the Little Eden Camp Grounds Association, Inc., of Archbold, Ohio. In 1912, Camp Delight opened at Portage Lake on Eagle Point. A recreation hall was built at the camp, which was touted in 1920 in The Manistee-Portage Region as “a group of near-to-nature houses in sylvan surroundings on the shore of Portage Lake.” This camp was named Portage Lake Covenant Bible Camp
in 1947, and was later placed under the operation of the Great Lakes Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is now known as the Portage Lake Bible Camp. Both of these the camps have created lasting relationships with families and youths throughout the Midwest and host special events.
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Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
Local author catches the spirit of early Onekama in new novel K en Grabowski For the News A dvocate Many authors possess the skills and ability to write a good novel, but not all of them have that special quality of being able to take it to the next level of being a true storyteller. Onekama author John Wemlinger most definitely falls in that latter category of being a storyteller as his works draw the reader in and keeps them engaged from the first to the very last page of his novels. It is a trait that shows in abundance in the five novels in which he has published. It is also one of the main reasons organizers of the Village of Onekama 150th anniversary celebration sought him out to write a book weaving fact and fiction together from that time period. The book is just one part of a several monthlong celebration of events to commemorate the cutting of the Portage Lake Channel and the founding of the Village of Onekama in 1871. Wemlinger said he was first approached with the idea of writing the book a few years ago by Michelle Ervin, who is on the 150th Anniversary Committee. “Two years ago I was at a book signing downtown for one of my books, and Michelle who is on the Onekama Parks and Recreation Committee approached me about considering writing something to commemorate it,” said Wemlinger. “I was busy writing another book right then and didn’t really have the time.” The Onekama author retired from a 27-year career in the United States Army and held several jobs in retirement before deciding to become an author with his wife Diane’s encouragement. He list of novels include “Operation Light Switch,” “Win-
Onekama author John Wemlinger wrote “The Cut,” a historical fiction novel, based on events that took place in Onekama in 1871. (Courtesy art)
ter Bloom,” “Before the Snow Flies” and “The Widow and the Warrior.” All of those earlier works are tied to characters associated with the military in some capacity. Wemlinger said a year passed and he ran into Ervin again at an antique store in Onekma where she again asked if he would write something. “I had finished the book from when she first asked and was toying with the idea for my next book, but was struggling with the storyline,” said Wemlinger. “When she asked again I did a
little research and found out that in Onekama the struggle in 1870 between the farmers and lumberman was a very real feud.” The concept made Wemlinger realize there was probably a good storyline there and one in which he could weave fact and fiction around a love affair tale. However, what differed from his previous literary works was this novel would be set in 1870-71 unlike his previous works that were in a more contemporary setting. That meant acquiring some
historical perspective on what Manistee County was like at that time from another source. “The bottom line is the characters and storyline came together for my book ‘The Cut,’ as this was my first crack at writing historical fiction,” said Wemlinger. “Manistee County Historical Museum with (executive director) Mark Fedder is just a little jewel in the way it helped me. “If you want to do some research on that particular period of time, there is all sorts of resources there that give you an idea of what it was like in Manistee County from the summer of 1870 to the end of 1871.” Fedder said they often have people come in looking for information on a certain time period. He said Onekama was similar to many rural communities at that time. “Onekama was a very rudimentary place at that time with hard working people trying to make their lives better,” said Fedder. “It was similar to Manistee at that time, but with a lot less people. There were several mills there at that time, but there was a lot of farmland as well.” The book centers on the dispute between the farmers and the lumberman around Portage Creek and thenlake and the water levels. The lumberman wanted higher levels to benefit their business so they would dam up Portage Creek and the farmers wanted lower ones so it wouldn’t flood their farmland. Frustrated with the high water, the farmers take the issue to court in 1870 before Judge J.G. Ramsdell, who ruled for the farmers. He issued a writ of injunction against dams, but it was never issued to the sawmill owner because he lived
Continued on Page 7
Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
Continued from Page 6 in Chicago. The farmers take the matter into their own hands and begin the 500 yard “cut” to open Portage Lake to Lake Michigan. Working nights on heavily forested property they owned by the current opening, the farmers complete the task in two weeks. However, when the water rushes out it cuts a wider path and takes down many trees driving them into Lake Michigan. Where some of the fictional aspects of the story come in is one of the farm leaders named Alvin Price, who lost his left
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arm in the Battle of Gettysburg, returns to the family farm in Onekama with a freed slave named Jeb Washington. His plans were to teach Washington his former trade as a blacksmith. In June of 1870, Alvin literally bumps into Lydia Cochran in Manistee one day. She is the daughter of a railroad engineer (railroad designer), and a Romeo and Juliet type romance develops after her father opposes the relationship. Eventually the farmers win out in the battle, but Lydia’s father still will not accept Alvin. That is when the Great Fire of 1871 breaks out, and Alvin and Jeb go to Manistee to save the
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family. Wemlinger said that leads the book into an ending that will surprise everyone. “I think the ending is going to catch everyone by surprise,” he said. The eBook and paperback version of “The Cut” can be on Amazon. Copies will also be available at Anchor Design, McBeth’s, the Portage Point Inn, The Happy Owl Bookstore and in Frankfort at The Book Store. “There will be a lot of different celebrations in Onekama over the summer for the 150th anniversary and I will be at 99% of those with copies of the book to personalize those for the readers,” said Wemlinger.
John Wemlinger (Courtesy photo)
The Onekama OneFifty Committee wishes to give special thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their help in research and providing information for some of the articles in this publication: Dick Verplank, Becky Kline, Tom Gerhardt, Mark Fedder and the Manistee County Historical Museum
Congratulations Onekama on the Channel’s 150th Anniversary!
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Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
At the edge of the channel: History of the Portage Lake Yacht Club A ndrea Bochat Special to the News A dvocate
Western Michigan to race in a Portage Lake Yacht Club regatta.
Tucked into the end of Portage Point Drive before you turn up the hill to the Turnaround, find the Portage Lake Yacht Club, a club with a storied history reflecting both the spirit of racing on the lake and the “can do” ethos of the era in which it was conceived. With its channel to Lake Michigan and its reliable winds, sailboat racing on Onekama’s Portage Lake has been a constant since the 1890s. In fact, the first yacht club on the lake was called the Onekama Sailing Club, which saw sailors and their “Mosquito Fleet” making the trek from Manistee to race on Portage Lake. The club gathered and raced and feasted on the south end of the lake from 1896 until sometime around 1917. Whether it was the Spanish Flu, World War I or both that led to the suspending of that first sailing club is not known, but Portage Lake would not be without its racers for long. In the 1920s, the Portage Point Yacht Club, considered a precursor to PLYC came into being. This loosely organized group of kids was a vibrant fixture off the steamer pier at the Portage Point Inn. They were the children of the resort community who loved racing, be it sailboats or hydroplanes.
Portage Point Yacht Club around 1910. (Courtesy photo)
In the mid 1960s, as Snipes became harder to come by and expensive, the fleet gradually transformed to Sunfish, but the zest for sailing at the club has never waned. One of the races held every year at the club dates back to the Onekama Sailing Club, the lake’s first yacht club. Back at the turn of the century, Gustav Pabst, son of Friedrich Pabst, the man who made Pabst Blue Ribbon beer famous, would cross Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to attend the races of the sailing club and their “Mosquito Fleet”.
Sailing on Portage Lake, 1910. (Courtesy photo)
During the Great Depression, Century Boat Company in Manistee started building Snipes, a 15.5-foot racing dingy, and local sailors found a boat they loved to race. With the start of World War II, many of young men who enjoyed racing on Portage Lake went off to fight in Europe or the Pacific. It was toward the end of the war in September 1944 that a group of Portage Point regulars, including Mr. Bailey, Anita Vaughan, Maude Harrison and Mrs. Walter Hardy
decided those young men needed a place where they could sail and enjoy themselves. Purchasing three lots at the end of Portage Point Drive for $900 and through the sale of shares in the club, they built the first clubhouse. As planned, those boys returned from the war and sailed on Portage Lake, and married their sweethearts, who also raced on the lake, and the club thrived. There were times when up to 75 Snipes would come to Portage Lake from all over
The Pabst Cup, the large silver cup made for the fastest sailor in Onekama in 1907 is still trophy for the Pabst Cup Race held every year at PLYC, making it one of Michigan’s oldest sailing competitions. In addition to the Pabst Cup, the club holds several cup races every year, with racers who age from 12 to 80 competing. Each summer, the Portage Lake Yacht Club at the edge of the channel to Lake Michigan, carries on an enduring devotion to sailing on Portage Lake and reflects the sprit and zeal of those who sailed before them.
Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
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The Blue Slipper: From saloon to zoo to tavern Rosalind Jaffe Special to the News A dvocate The Blue Slipper Tavern has long reigned at the southwest corner of First and Main streets in Onekama. Carolyn and Park Gilmore, current owners of the Blue Slipper Tavern, are unearthing the lively and sometimes scandalous history of the Blue Slipper building. Located at 8058 Main St., they believe the building goes back to the mid-1870s and has been a bar through the decades. “Some people talk of a brewery being on the property. I don’t think the building was a brewery, but Manistee Brewery Bottling Plant was on the property, straddling the stream that still runs through the property,” said Park Gilmore. One source says the name Blue Slipper Tavern was inspired from the shape of Onekama’s Portage Lake. An infamous incident occurred in the 1890s, at what was then called Hansen’s Saloon. A murder took place in the bar according to local newspapers. There are slight variations in their accounts. On Sept. 24, 1890, a large crowd of drinkers were enjoying themselves at the saloon after leaving the county fair. Various disputes and fights broke out and saloonkeeper Hans Hansen called the police. When Deputy Sheriffs Zosel and Meister arrived they tried to quiet the disturbance. A local carpenter named Seth Aiken with a tough reputation was one of the troublemakers and was going to be taken into custody. Aiken
drew his revolver and aimed at Sheriff Zosel. The bullet missed the sheriff and hit Charles Brown, an Onekama farmer with no involvement in the fights. The bullet went through his chest and Brown quickly died. Aikens then tried to shoot the deputy sheriff again but was quickly subdued, arrested and locked in the Manistee hoosegow. The bullet hole can still be seen in the Blue Slipper’s hardwood bar. Hans Hansen owned the saloon in its earlier years. Carolyn Gilmore explained, “Hansen’s Saloon was the front of the building. His wife, Dena Hansen operated a restaurant in the back where she cooked for the community and guests. The couple lived upstairs.” At that time, a beer cost a nickel. An artesian well emptied into a horse trough in front of the Blue Slipper. Park added, “It would have been the stopover for horse traffic going north from Manistee to Arcadia.” In the past, bar owners lived upstairs in the large apartment above the bar. During Prohibition, the internal staircase from the main floor to the apartment would have been shut off, as residences were not allowed to have direct access between a bar and living quarters. “We have been told there was a brothel upstairs in the 1930s,” said Park Gilmore. Frank Thomas owned the Blue Slipper from the 1940s into the 1970s. At that time, a wide range of local residents enjoyed the bar as a community hangout. In the 1970s, the establishment earned the nickname of
The Blue Slipper Tavern, at the corner of of First and Main streets in Onekama, has long been a staple in the community. (Courtesy photo)
The Blue Slipper Tavern is currently owned by Carolyn and Park Gilmore. (Courtesy photo)
Entering Onekama with the Blue Slipper Tavern on the left. (Courtesy photo)
the “Blue Shoe Zoo”. “It could be a rough place at times. The grassy area along Main Street was fenced in and customers broke beer bottles against the brick walls. Several people told me of motorcycles being ridden through the building,”
explained Park. The local band, Red Apple Road, played there every weekend to the enjoyment of the younger clientele. After shutting down for a time, the Blue Slipper Bistro was a popular restaurant in the early 2000s.
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Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
Wrecks and burning boats of Portage Lake Rosalind Jaffe Special to the News A dvocate
commemorative plaque. Another wreck is in the water north of Portage Portage Lake and OnekaLake Yacht Club. The tugma saw their fair share boat “Shields” had spent of boat wrecks in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 1904 tending the dredge The Lewis Wallace tugand dump scows dredging boat burned just north of Portage Lake. the north pier in SeptemAccording to the Manber 1893. The wooden tug istee Daily Advocate of was on its way south to May 31, 1904, “the crew of Manistee and stopped in Portage Lake for the night. the tug Shields on PorJust inside the channel, tage Lake were awakened slabs used for fuel and from their slumber by a piled on the deck caught dense smoke which filled fire. This unfortunate tug the cabin, almost chokhad previously caught ing them. ... The tug was fire in 1879 but had been The Music featured live music performances on board to entertain passengers. rebuilt and renamed. on fire; and there was no However, in 1899 it caught fire and ended up off Portage Point Drive. Another ill-fated vessel hope of saving her, for the (Courtesy photo) was the excursion steamfire had crept pretty well er “Music” that shuttled through her cabin and uppassengers to and from per works. Thirty minutes Onekama and Manistee in after the men had been 1899. It was considered a able to reach the dock in “dismal failure” even before it burst into flames. their night clothes, the The boat was brought to tug was settling, and soon Portage Lake for the resort went to the bottom at the run. The Music featured dock. live music performanc“Captain Upham … es on board to entertain was in command of the passengers: a pianist on regular runs and an ortug, but was not aboard chestra during moonlight of her at the time she excursions. The steamer Illinois leaves Portage Point Inn in 1912 (Courtesy photo) burned, having taken up According to a Manistee quarters at the life-saving Daily News article on Oct two watchmen, who were vessel, it is stated that the station. Bad luck seems 2, 1899, “Bad weather and “startled at the sight of burning boat presented to have followed Captain counter attractions made a grand spectacle as she flames bursting from the Upham during the past the venture a losing one.” floated slowly upon the deck in the vicinity of the six or seven months, for The Music was the third Lake under the captaincy boiler room. A moment vessel to enter this resort later, the entire boat was a of the demon flame.” it was hardly more than business, as the “John mass of flames. The villagThe ship floated near the that when his (previous D. Dewar” and the little ers feared that the boiler shore, and ended up off command) the ‘Steamsteamer “Joe” were already would burst and could Portage Point Drive. The er Joe’ was caught in a in business. By late sumnot be prevailed upon flames also consumed storm near Holland and mer, the Music had been to render assistance in the dock and warehouse transferred to Sturgeon quenching the flames. The belonging to the Onekama pounded to pieces on the Bay. ropes attaching her to the Lumber Company where beach.” dock were soon burned On Sept. 30, 1899 the the Onekama Village Park Special thanks to Mark in two, and the vessel Music was carrying cargo is today. Displayed at the Fedder and the Manistee floated a short distance from Sturgeon Bay. They turnaround of the drive County Historical Museto the westward and there of the Onekama Village stopped in Onekama for um for information used burned to the water’s supper. The captain and Park is the propeller of crew left the ship, leaving edge. Although not a large the Music, and a in this article.
Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
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History of Portage Point Inn Jeff Sternberger Special to the News A dvocate It is May 7, 1871 when the farmers completed digging the channel connecting Portage Lake to Lake Michigan. The new channel eventually drew the attention of developers who understood how special this location would be for a hotel and resort situation on the protected waters of Portage Lake with easy access to Lake Michigan. In 1902 construction was started on the Portage Point Inn by the Portage Point Assembly. The inn officially opened in June 1903. The hotel and dining room were completed in 1915. Prior to the addition of the main hotel in 1915, guests could rent a furnished tent or if they were wealthy, claim a room in the original hotel, the area above the lobby. By 1914, the Portage Point Inn was served by the steamships of the Northern Michigan Transportation Company, providing direct service from Chicago and Milwaukee. The ships could park right in front of the hotel. It was common for the mother and children to spend several weeks at the inn and the husbands to return for the weekends by ship after working the week in Chicago. The developers used the hotel as a way to attract guests to the area and then sell them lots surrounding the resort. Much of the Portage Point peninsula has been settled by people who originally found the area after staying at the resort. Chicagoans wanted to escape the heat, humidity and smog of Chicago and come to the cool breezes, clear lakes and healing artesian waters of north-
west Michigan. Portage Point Inn was one of the first in the area to have a generator for electricity. In fact, the inn sold electricity to some of the first cottages in the area. Every evening at 10 p.m. the generator was shut off and it was lights out. In the first 30 years of the century, there were many lakeside resorts that the steamships would visit along the shoreline, dropping off guests. Portage Point Inn is one of the few that still exist because most of them burnt down. The steamships stopped being the mode of transportation in the mid 1930s when the roads and cars were improved enough to make it faster and more affordable. The Dollhouses were added to the inn complex during the first four decades of the 20th century. From 1935 to 1958 the resort was owned and operated by J. J. Smith. He had no family and lived on the property so the inn was truly his life. Guests who were physically able were expected to participate in the weekly activities such as softball, volleyball and shuffleboard. If they refused to participate, J.J. felt they were not suited to the Portage Point Inn and would not be invited back. Generations of families have made the yearly pilgrimage to spend their summer vacation at Portage Point Inn. The inn still has guests visiting who began their yearly visits in the early 1940s and now bring their grandchildren and great-grandchildren to continue the tradition. Let’s hope this special place is around for another 100 years.
Portage Point Inn offered many activities such as shuffleboard, softball and volleyball. (Courtesy photo)
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Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
Logo contest helps mark Onekama’s special occasion Rosalind Jaffe Special to the News A dvocate 150th birthdays don’t happen every day. Onekama, Michigan was planning to celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2021 and needed a special logo to mark the occasion. The ONEKAMA OneFifty Committee needed to create a new and exciting logo to convey the history and attributes of Onekama. Committee member Michelle Ervin proposed involving students at Onekama Consolidated Schools. The students were invited to help design a logo to promote Onekama’s 150th anniversary. After discussion with school personnel, and coordination by Onekama art teacher Mrs. Woolman, most students at the school jumped to the task of creating a logo that would promote Onekama and the fun celebrations in 2021. The only instructions the students received was to create a poster to include the words “Onekama OneFifty” and to keep in mind the history which makes Onekama a special place for its residents and visitors. “The project was interesting and was a challenge to teach virtually. I think the students enjoyed it and were excited for the contest. I was thrilled with the many quality drawings,” said art teacher Dana Woolman. Because of the pandemic, area schools were open only online at that time. The students worked on their project from home. Perhaps that helped to inspire them, as the range of artwork was extraordinary. “The students used many of our local resources in their artwork: the water, the village buildings, our recreational ac-
tivities, and all the features that make life here fun” said Ervin. “Seeing their posters reminded us of the richness of life in Onekama.” The students’ entries were submitted electronically, and 68 entries were received from the elementary, middle school and high school students. It was a tough task to decide winners. All entries were posted on the 1,-Onekama Facebook page for online voting. Just over 200 votes were cast and one winner each was chosen from the elementary, the middle school and the high school. The grand prize winner was the overall top vote getter. The winner from Onekama Elementary was Dannika Berentsen. The Onekama Middle School winner was Zoe Edmondson. Karmen Warden was the Onekama High School winner and the overall grand prize winner. The artists with the winning designs were awarded a gift bag containing items from local retailers, plus the grand prize winner received gift certificates from the Southern Sin-Thesis food truck. Amber Ervin, a professional graphic designer used the grand prize-winning design as the basis of what has now become the official logo of ONEKAMA OneFifty. This enables the logo to be utilized for a variety of purposes during the 150th anniversary. The logo will be used for the celebratory events planned for this spring, summer and fall. It will also be seen on various merchandise, such as T-shirts, hats, dishtowels and glasses, and will be available in June at McBeth & Company, and Anchored Designs, two of Onekama’s retailers.
The official black and white logo for the Onekama OneFifty event, created by Amber Ervin
The grand prize winner of the logo contest was Onekama High School student Karmen Warden.
The official color log for the Onekama OneFifty event, created by Amber Ervin
Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
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The plans that didn’t happen: North Point Park Michelle Ervin Special to the News A dvocate It’s the plans that didn’t work out that make North Point Park so special. To see it today, with meandering pathways through native ecosystems and prime bird habitat, you’d never guess what almost became of Onekama’s largest park. The first map of North Point, the large peninsula that projects down from the north side of Portage Lake, was made from a survey in 1837. The map shows a much smaller peninsula, almost an island, surrounded by wetlands. When the Portage Lake channel was opened in 1871 and the water dropped, North Point dried and presented a fresh palette for creative human minds. The first bold plan was the Portage Point Addition subdivision, which includes and surrounds today’s North Point Park, called Outlot 7 on the map. This plan was visionary including almost 3,500 lots ranging from a hotel site, to boat lots measuring 25-feet by 25-feet. The plan called for construction of almost three miles of lagoons to provide water access for many of the lots. Only the golf course became a reality; there is mention of it being nearly finished in the June 27, 1916, Manistee News-Advocate. The rest of the development was slow to unfold and had unfortunate timing. By 1930, the development reverted to the State of Michigan with very few
lots sold. Wild animals and native foliage continued to thrive despite the plans for their destruction. Another visionary with big plans appeared in 1942. Andy Smith was the son of a local grocer. Andy was expected to take over the grocery, but he didn’t get along with his father. Instead, he purchased and subdivided land on North Point. He built and sold a few cottages, but Andy saw himself as bigger than North Point. He left the area to become a commercial real estate developer; his name carries on as the locals call North Point “Andy’s Point”. The neighborhood surrounding the park was taking shape as a modest cottage area. Once again, Outlot 7 was left undeveloped. The next, almost unbelievable, plan came to light in 1946. When Outlot 7 was sold to Onekama Township by the State of Michigan, the deed transferring ownership for $1 describes the land use as an airport. No airport was ever built. During this time, in absence of development, cottagers continued to enjoy Outlot 7. The abandoned golf course was overcome by wild strawberries. Cottagers who arrived early in the season would spend days filling buckets with the delicious berries. Children found the open fairways the perfect place to ride their ponies, exploring the wilds of North Point unsupervised and free, until supper time. The most recent grand vision that never hap-
Proposed plans for North Point Park in 2002. (Courtesy map)
pened was created in 2002 by Landscape Architect Warren Rauhe from ideas proposed by students at Michigan State University. Incredibly creative, the students envisioned a themed historical park. The design called for vignettes of past phases of Michigan’s history: a glacier, a colonial farmstead, a Native American camp, even wooly mammoth bones. Once again the grand plans quietly faded, but finally, Outlot 7 had
officially become a park. It seems that the land of North Point was holding out for the humblest, most appropriate plan of all: a space to stoll about enjoying nature. The park reflects that plans don’t have to be grand to be bigger than all of us. See for yourself! This human history, and the changes in the ecosystem that parallel it, will be the topic of a presentation in North Point Park at 2 p.m. on June 18.
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Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
Walnut Grove Farm & the Kline Family Rosalind Jaffe Special to the News A dvocate The home of one of Onekama’s oldest settlers, the Kline family, is at the corner of Eight Mile and Milarch roads. Heinrich (Henry) August Kline arrived in Milwaukee from Germany in 1855. Family member Rebecca Kline wondered, “Possibly another family member may have moved to the Portage Lake area earlier and invited Henry to log and settle in Michigan”. In 1861, Henry and wife Christiana purchased the land for what later became Walnut Grove Farm. They built a three-room wood house, a shotgun home with rooms all in a row. Along with other landowners, Henry was involved in the famous 1871 channel opening. It was a benefit to the Klines. The opening of Portage Lake caused the lake levels to drop several feet, and the Klines found themselves with additional property, excellent as farmland, that emerged from the lake bottom. After the logging petered out, the Klines made bricks. Henry’s son, William Henry Kline’s brickyard was on the backlot of the farm. He used his own bricks to build a brick house in 1907, adding on to the original wood
Walnut Grove Farm (Courtesy photo)
Workers at the Kline Brickyard. (Courtesy photo)
structure. Large piles of dirt and mud sat behind the barn along with the big kiln. The bricks were shipped as far as Chicago. The Kline bricks were an orange color and were of good quality. Besides the Kline Walnut Grove Farm, other existing local buildings made from Kline bricks include the Bear Lake Variety store, the Onekama Masonic Building (now artist Jamey Barnard’s Handstand Studio) and the Blue Slipper Tavern.
Life was still arduous. “The family got their water across the road, drawing it from the nearby creek. One winter’s day, Mary Melissa Kline needed water, and was alone in the house with her young daughter. Before she left, she tied the little girl to the rocking chair to keep her out of mischief. When she returned, she heard her daughter screaming: the girl had accidentally rocked the chair to the nearby wood stove, burning her feet, causing
permanent damage,” said Becky Kline. “William Henry, later in life, went to the livery stable downtown, and a spark flew into his eye, which blinded him in one eye. And the infection spread to his other eye, leaving him totally blind. Despite his blindness, he could still take the brick making machines apart and put them back, with only his young daughter, Rachael, nearby, reminding him where he put things down.” Abraham Lenox (Len) Kline was the son of William Henry and Mary Melissa, one of their 11 children. He worked outside the home, besides keeping up the farm and was married to Clara. The dwelling was the first in the area to transition from lanterns and candlelight to electric lights. Their generator was run by a waterwheel on the creek across the road. The rest of Onekama did not have access to public electricity until 1927. The farmhouse was renovated by John H. (Jack) and Virginia Kline, the fourth generation of Klines. The Kline Walnut Grove Farm received the Michigan Centennial Farm designation having been continuously occupied by the Kline family for over 150 years.
Onekama Sesquicentennial | June 2021
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The opening of the Portage Lake channel The settlers let the big Lake in, Or did they let the wee Lake out? When with a most explosive din; And with a most ecstatic shout The trench they dug became a Flood of Biblical immensity As trees & leaves & sand & mud Spewed out in lines of history Unwritten on the level calm of Portage Lake. She greets the Sun and stretches out her blue-bright arm to hold her brother, Michigan. - by Edward Cummins, 2000
Channel to the Portage Lake harbor of refuge in Onekama, circa 1912. (Courtesy photo)
Congrats on 150 years!!!
Trinity Lutheran Church of Onekama Serving Onekama since 1887
Congratulations on 150 Years! Onekama LiOns 231-889-4870
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