Life, interupted

All of the sudden, things happened.

I went to a yard sale. Two, actually. And because I did that, I am now working in the medical profession again. The first yard sale happened to be someone who worked at the clinic I now work in. The second yard sale was the head MA, a Baker College classmate. A new doctor was coming to the Mansitee office, and I would be his MA.

So, I am working lots, learning lots, and doing lots. I am glad to be doing what I went to college for, and amazed at how much is coming back to me for the clinical aspects.

We are going to be moving soon, too. Back to the house I grew up in. There are some complications but that is just how life is. Whether or not it is easy, we will be moved out of our old cabin and into the old house by the end of October.

I lost a friend. His heart had been broken for years, but now it is fixed forever. I know I will see him again, but it is hard.

But all this change is costing me writing time.

Please hang in there, I will be posting stories again soon! I promise!

Brilliant Ideas For Benzie

It should be clear that I love my home. It has always been an enchanting place with all the lakes and rivers and dunes and woods. It is home!

An old postcard of Vintage Beulah, Michigan

What makes me sad is the many empty storefronts and the changes to community. The changes were brought about by the big stores up in Traverse City staring with Tempo and Giantway going all the way up to Walmart, Meijers, and all the drug stores and other sundry businesses. Before these changes, we had well loved, unique business run by our friends and neighbors. The Village Shoppe and the Village Squire, Dort's Shoe Box, Classens, to name just a few. There are some good businesses in the are still, like Hulls in Frankfort, the Cherry Hut in Beulah (who just remodeled or rebuilt their outlet store up on the hill in Benzonia! It looks very nice!)

But I miss the bustling downtown!

I have some ideas. Please, someone take these ideas and make them so! I don't see any reason why, if the right person or group is involved, we could not be very successful with business and resources like this in Benzie County.

1. Have you been to the Wex or the Kaliseum? Benzie needs a facility like this. We have kids who bowl and play hockey in Benzie, why should they have to leave the county to participate in these sports? If you are questioning a bowling alley in a sports facility, I don't see why. We need one here! This facility would also be opened for events like a motorcycle show, community indoor yard sales and crafts shows, job fairs, you name it!

Just outside Honor, there sits vacent property that was a car dealership. Lots of space, room for parking, and a great location near the drive in Theater. Picture this! It would be awesome! Call it the Benzie Dome, Crystal Arena, or what ever, but get it done!

Another possible site is where the old auction barns are, but I really would hate to see them torn down. 

2. A booming trend in local business is the microbrewery restaurant. How about a soda pop brewery with real root beer, birch beer, sasperilla? How about having family soda pop tasting parties? Why wouldn't that be a good idea? A perfect location would be Kinney's Garage in Beulah: Big windows and solid building! A classic car motif and a vibrant energy would wake the town right up.

3. While driving through Elberta, I noticed that the old library is for sale. Some years ago, I was at a yard sale at the old LaRue house. The lady there told us she had a medical museum and proceded to give us a tour. So interesting! She has even some things that were at Dr Covey's of Honor. It is a shame that more people do not know of her remarkable collection. Why not sponser the old library into a medical museum and showcase this collection? Paul Oliver history could be highlighted as well, This way, the historic bell tower could be kept safe as well as a part of Elberta's proud history. Keep the stories alive. 

3.  Finally, my pet project. 

Comic Cons and similar events are a growing trend. Who doesn't like to dress up and play make believe? My daughter participates in our Cherry Capital Con up in Traverse City and has gone to Youmacon and  Chicago Comic Con. Participants have some really elaborate costumes and are ordering from online sites. There is a market waiting for this kind of business! I am picturing a guild of seamstresses and tailors, a group of talented people who enjoy creating. One lady who inspired my idea makes and sells beautiful cloaks and has done historic dresses.  So, a group owned business, both online and brick and mortar store. Key components I picture follow: Annual fashion shows. Involvement of local students from high schools and even middle school in creating costumes from scrap and junk, sponsored by local businesses. A contest with potential to reach quite far! Parades. Family friendly environment, please. Some costumes are pretty risque and are not the market I see here. A community costume party and contest not on Hallowe'en would be awesome fun. I even have a name for it: Costume Mage.

It is time to see beyond the limitations of being a tourist destination, or the smallest county in Michigan. It is time to think big, stretch, and get going. So, here are some ideas. Have at her! 

Cycle-Moore: Moore than you might expect!

Up north, between Honor and Traverse City, Michigan, on the corner of US 31 and Gonder Road, there is an orange and black brick building. This is Cycle-Moore shop and campground. In the winter the campgrounds are decorated with lights and figures for families to enjoy. Have you ever stopped in? Well, you should!

Cycle-Moore was founded in 1975 by Steven and Shirley Moore. Their website gives a good glimpse into the heart and soul of this couple and their family. Long-time bikers, both of them, with one heck of a good story to tell.

If you love motorcycles at all, you must stop in to see the museum. I plan on interviewing Steve and Shirley in the near future, but here's a taste of what you will see there. I look around every time I go there and still find something new to see!

Pedal cars, kid sized bicycles that look like Harleys, old,new, there is tons of things to see!

Award winning bikes of all makes and vintages

Don't forget to look up!

Lots of memerobelia on the walls... 

Great idea for  a mailbox!

Currently on display in the front of the shop, this old cushman based scooter was the work of a couple of boys. They got in some trouble, so their dad hung the bike up from the barn rafters where it hung for years. The bird's nest actually had an egg in it when they first got this bike in the shop.

If you are looking for bikes to buy, need some advice, or repairs on your bike, this is a great spot to go. If you are patriotic, this is a great place to be. If you just like looking at old bikes, well, you get the idea! Give it a visit soon, ok?

Ward E Maginity aka Trader Horn, One Eyed Jack

Dad died with his truck and trailer loaded and in line at the Copemish Flea Market Auction line, Sunday morning, in his sleep. He was only sixty-six years old.

We would have lost him thirteen years sooner had he not had the open heart surgery over in Milwaulke, Wisconsin. It was a miracle. From a man who couldn't even get up out of his chair without a series of heart attacks to a man who could ride his bike around the triangle (Hoadley, Wallaker, M 115) just a few short weeks after surgery.

On the left:Virgil, Marguerite, Ralph, Ward, Jean. On the right, Ward, his mother Effie, and Jean.

When Dad was little, his parents had troubles. I have not heard much nice things about my grandfather, Willard Maginity. But one of the worse things I had heard about him, in my childhood, was how he didn't help save Dad’s eye by paying for treatment.

Dad’s glass eye was not much of a handicap to him, though. You couldn’t even tell which one it was unless you really paid attention. (It was the right eye. I had to look it up. I truly could not remember.)

               Dad was in the CCC’s up in Kalkaska, Michigan, and he always held that time of his life in high esteem. The CCC’s was established to help returning World War 1 soldiers and young listless men to find work. Hard work, work that you can see the results with, does wonders for a person’s spirit. The style of life was similar to the military. In fact, old military uniforms were used for the workers. They fought fires, planted tress, and raised a ruckus in the local towns. Dad was golden gloves boxer at his camp.

The merchant marine booklet. The photograph is from CCC camp

               I found the booklet for when Dad entered the Merchant Marines. There are no stamps or any indication that he completed any voyages. A reason for that could have been the start of World War II.

 How did Dad get into the army? Well, it was like this: They were processing the men as quickly as they could. This combined with a little slight of hand allowed him to get in. When Dad got to the eye exam, they told him cover your eye and read this chart. So, he covered his right eye with his right hand. They then told him to cover his other eye and read the chart. He covered his right eye with his left hand. And he got in.

He was found out later on. I like the story about the bar fight with a sargent where Dad took a punch to eye, the right one of course, and the glass eye got broken. This was a myth. Apparently, a wrong  turn to the right did him in when he ran into a post and broke his eye. He must have been found out just shortly before he was to ship out to Germany-I found a post card to his mother that talked about going over. (I don't know where it is now or else it would be included here.)

On his draft card, I discovered that he had listed having an artificial right eye and a scar on his wrist. How did they miss that? If the information would have been on computers they may have caught it before he got in. As it was, they got a pretty good cook and a hard working nurse out of the bargin.

             
When Dad got discharged from the army, he received training and worked for Harry Dreznek Ford Dealership in Beulah.

This was the beginning of Dad becoming a salesman. He next worked at Walter L Heath's in Benzonia and for the Beulah Boat Shot under two owners. After his heart got so bad, he was unable to work and made his money buying and selling. He was learning how to be an auctioneer.

Dad met and married my Mom, Ruth Johnson in 1950. She probably hated this photo. They had good and bad years and four kids.

Dad also drove race cars. 

Sure do miss him.

Plow Day

Driving Drafts is an organization that has its eye and heart set on keeping working horses in the view of everyone. This past Sunday, there was an event-for free!-on the outskirts of Benzonia at the Zenker farm.

There is nothing like working with these huge animals. They are beautiful, often gentle giants. Single horses or teams of two, three, and even six horses pull plows and disc drags over the field. Rides on a small cart or a big ole wagon were available to anyone who wanted to hop aboard. 

  

This group has a driving school available each year. How would you like to hold the reigns to horses like these? 

This event was right on the corner of US 31 and County Line Road at the edge of Benzie County. With the field right beside the highway, People on the road were stopping for front row seats to this event. This was the only event I have seen where people only had their cell phones out to take photos, not to text or talk!

This fellow didn't have his mules at the event, but it is clear he is fond of them!

A couple of  extra surprises were there for me. One was seeing an old friend, the other was the owner of the farm. We are cousins!

There was food available, and pony rides. It made for a great family outing all around. There was also information on the breeds of drafts horses: Present at this event were Clydesdales, Percherons, Shires, Belgiums, Spotted Drafts, Halflingers, and a pair with this color that I can't recall the breed name. Beauties, all of them!

This event was located in Grawn for many years, but sadly, the owner of the farm they used to plow at recently passed away. The horse folk will be holding a beautiful and suitable tribute to their fallen comrade, with a horse-drawn funeral. 

 This group has event dates posted on their website, which is linked in the first words of the first paragraph. Watch for them at the Northwest Michigan Fair.

The Story of Beulah

The Story of Beulah

It is amazing how many amazing things have happened...accidently. I don't agree that Beulah is a mundane name: It is a name for a place of beauty.

There is much more to the story than this, and it is well worth looking into. Crystal Lake was Cap lake, Beulah was Crystal City. A place like Terps's would be a cool addition to our present tourism. Or at least, a lake cruiser with glass bottom.

Learning our history is fun!

Bob Martin

The Martin family has been long-time friends with the Maginity family. Bob Martin and my dad, Ward Maginity, made VW dune buggies and ran them all over the Sleeping Bear dunes when it was just a state park.  Those were some fun days!

The photo with the dog on the board is Bob working on a truck with his dog Buddy acting as the jack.
The dog would sit on the board until Bob told him to move.

Bob’s dad was called William but his name was Raleigh. He was a tiny fellow. Bob was skinny but made of steel. I poured coffee for him and the rest of the coffee guys at the Brookside for many years. Man of few words, Bob Martin was.

Bob was born in 1924 to Raleigh and his first wife, Ethyl
Hency Martin. He lived on US 31 with his parents for the first few years of his life until they divorced. Until the age of five, he lived with his mother behind the sheriff’s department in Beulah and then moved back to South Benzonia until he was fifteen.

At the age of fifteen, Bob and a friend when hoboing around
the United States on freight trains. I wish he had kept a journal of those days! Jumping trains to where ever they ended up, scratching up work where ever they landed. What an adventure! But he was arrested for stealing bread in Illinois, so he came back up north, back home.

My family sometimes talks of having wheels in our butts.
There is restlessness, a need to be on the road, on the go. Bob had this need.

When he got home he got a truck driving job with Parker Motor Frieght, but six months later he and his father Raliegh went down to Florida. They stayed down there for six months.

The bridge in this photo may or may not be the bridge in the story.

Bob enlisted in the US Army and was in the Army Corps of
Engineers from 1942 through 1946. He was in Germany and saw action. One of the favorite stories Tom has told me about Bob is this:

Bob’s corps was building a bridge. Bob had earned the name
of “Slow Bob” from going about his work in a steady way. As they were working on this bridge, though, a German fighter plane came over them and strafed the bridge. Bob was the first to make it to the fox hole. When his CO said to him, “Bob, I have never seen you move so fast before!” Bob answered “Well, I have never been shot at before!”

When Bob’s unit was scrounging for food in France during the
war, they came upon an abandoned farm that still had a cow on it. They were chasing the cow around trying to kill it so they could butcher it for food, and it ran into the farm house. They killed it and ended up butchering it out on the bed in the house.

Bob and another guy were on patrol and ended up behind enemy lines. They heard a German patrol coming, a two-man patrol. They hid under a truck until the Germans went past. They climbed out and killed the two men with their bayonets.

Bob came home from the war and married Beverly Oligney, the love of his life. The two of them had some adventures of their own, from raising their four children Deb, Pat, Robin, and Tom; to going rattlesnake hunting down  in Florida…with 22 caliber pistols!

DeLong Family: Just a little bit of their story

This is a family full of stories. Esther and I will certainly be talking more in the future.

Photo of cherry harvest, taken by traveling photographer

In 1880, Esther’s grandmother Della Mae and grandfather Benjamin moved into old lumber shack. This structure was only supposed to be temporary. Lumbermen built quick structures and left when the trees were all cut. Grandfather Benjamin built a house which was completed in 1935. Unfortunately, Grandmother never got to live in house. 

The lumber shack that the family lived in before the house was built.

Four children were born live in the old lumber shack. Three boys lived, Ward, Leo, and Joe; and one little girl who died. The water came from the Betsie River, which Esther's Grandmother had to carry up the hill. Benjamin DeLong was a preacher who sometimes left to go to Florida twice a year (on horseback!) for revivals and left his wife behind with the two oldest boys doing housekeeping in Lake Ann.  For a couple of cents a day, Grandma survived as a cleaning woman or washer women.

Joey was only 7 when his mother died. She didn’t live much past 40 years old.

When Ward DeLong was only 2 years old, there was an accident. Stumps were still on hill from lumbering. Ward was playing at the bottom of the hill, and someone was cutting a log at the top of the hill. The log rolled down the hill and crushed ward against a stump, crushed his head, smashed it, and because I t was still rolling it pulled his face down on one side. He was in a coma for over a month and had convulsions. His mother, Della Mae, did not sleep. She did her best to give Ward nourishment, water or broth so he wouldn't die of starvation. She called many doctors from all over the county. All the doctors told her ward wouldn't make it, his whole head was crushed and the bone structure was in pieces. She would try to manipulate the bones back into shape gently every day, which would send the child into convulsions. She somehow begged and got a doctor to come all the way down from Traverse City to see Ward. The doctor got there, looked at the child and instantly went into a fury. He had come all the way down for nothing.  He shook the child and kind of squished up Ward’s head and said “Look! You had better pray that this child dies because if he lives, he will be no better than a vegetable!!!” And he left in disgust. Grandmother spent the month praying

Ward is the only child of the family who graduated college (Benzonia Academy), and served in both WWI and WWII. He was a miracle!

Ward was playing at the bottom of this hill when the accident occured.

The property just off Forrester Road in Benzonia  was only 40 acres. The  family was poor. But the farm has stayed in the family since purchased. The house was built using dead-head lumber drawn up from the Betsie River by Esther’s father Leo DeLong. He told her that was the thing that made him happiest. He designed the contraption to pull up the logs himself, and pulled up quite a lot of old sunken logs up to use for lumber and firewood.

Leo DeLong and his contraption

The sled all loaded to go the the mill. The children are all from a nearby school house.
The house pictured behind the team is the Ehman farm.

Some of the dead head lumber Mr DeLong brought up, waiting at Rice's Saw Mill, now the Merrill's mill on Grace Road

It would be awesome to hear from anyone of Ward's family and be able to share more about his amazing life. Please feel free to contact me at LinMartin02@gmail.com. Thanks!