Reflections :: Saugatuck, Michigan

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Reflections

Reflections, photo by chatursunil.

We get about 100 people a day who are searching for backgrounds for their computer. To them I say: this photo makes a great background!

Saugatuck (pop. 1065 in 2000) is the sister city to Douglas. This Saugatuck/Douglas history page says that unlike most Midwest frontier towns, neither town suffered the devastating fires nor the modernizing railroad. As a result, the villages provide a rare chance to see pre- and post-Civil Ware Greek Revival and Italianate architecture alongside later structures in the Arts & Crafts and Colonial Revival manner.

Like Douglas and many communities along Michigan’s western shore, Saugatuck was timbered out after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Still…

…Saugatuck and Douglas thrived, turning to shipping and fruit growing as a source of income in the latter part of the 1800s. Peaches from the area were called “Michigan Gold” and were shipped by large steamships to the Chicago market. Hundreds of ships of various types were built in Saugatuck shipyards and the town was a haven for ship captains.

A resort, tourist, and “cottage” culture emerged in the 1880s and took a propitious turn in 1910 when a group of Chicago artists established the Summer School of Paintings on Ox-Bow Lagoon, and when a huge dance hall, called the Big Pavilion, was built on the waterfront. The resulting influx of well-known artists and big name Chicago architects resulted in a wave of building in the Arts & Crafts and Colonial Revival manner. The seed planted at Ox-Bow has continued to flourish over the years, with the area is now known as the Art Coast of Michigan. Today, Ox-Bow continues to be affiliated with the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Saugatuck/Douglas Visitors Bureau has a huge pile of information and photos and links, including a link to a pretty informative video tour of Saugatuck/Douglas. There’s also the Saugatuck/Douglas Area Business Association with more events, news & listings. Wikipedia’s entry on Saugatuck says that attractions today include art galleries, the harbor, marinas, scenery, unusual stores, the view from atop Mount Baldhead, tourist attractions, the famous Oval Beach on Lake Michigan, Saugatuck Dunes State Park and Allegan State Game Area.

Cool new feature alert!

Here’s the Google Map for Saugatuck in our newly created Absolute Michigan map of Michigan. I’ll try and loop back and add maps for the other entries in our Michigan shoreline tour.

Postcard History of Sister Lakes, Michigan

Posted on by farlane

Speedboat ‘King Tut’ on Indian Lake

Speedboat ‘King Tut’ on Indian Lake The photographer taking a picture of the speedboat King Tut in 1929 had no idea of its significance. Earl Wiest Jr. and Ralph Tice, owners of Tice’s Beach at the north end of Indian Lake, were intense rivals. Who had the faster boat was an example. Tice won this round by building King Tut, the fastest boat on the lake, and racing it in front of Wiest’s Resort.

Happyland Resort on Magician Lake (Dowagiac)

The introduction to Sister Lakes by R.L. Rasmussen, a new book in Arcadia Publishing’s Postcard History Series, says that technically the two lakes that are called the Sister Lakes are Round Lake and Crooked Lake. In 1877 a post office for Sister Lakes was established in the area between the two lakes.

The book covers these two lakes and also the other nine lakes within a six-mile radius: Magician Lake, Indian Lake, Dewey Lake, Round Lake with 194 acres; Big and Little Crooked Lakes, Cable Lake and the four smaller lakes of Keeler, Pipestone, Priest, and Brush.

Happyland Resort on Magician Lake (above right, click for larger view) These young vacationers are from a 1923 postcard. This resort was originally started by Frederic E. Howe. He and his wife had a theatrical troupe that would spend their summers there writing plays and taking them out on the road. These actors would then be available to groups attempting to raise money for special causes.

You can learn more about Sister Lakes at the Sister Lakes, Michigan web site (nice map of the Sister Lakes area too) and also view the area on Google Maps.

The photos and captions reprinted with permission from Sister Lakes by R.L. Rasmussen. The book is available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.

View other excerpts from Arcadia Publishing’s Michigan books at Michigan in Pictures!

Northern Lake, Northern Lights

Posted on by farlane

Northern Lights by Harry Thomas

Northern Lights, photo by Harry Thomas

My friend Harry sent me this photo of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) over North Lake Leelanau. He says that at about 2am on a very windy Tuesday night, the neighbor’s sailboat came off the mooring. He got up to check his boat and got a light show! And yes, that is a shooting star in the top right … how amazing!

I thought I had the comprehensive Northern Lights post already on Michigan in Pictures. Turns out not. I’m not sure that this is, but if you add links to more Michigan Northern Lights photos in the comments and I include a link to the Michigan in Pictures northern lights tag, we’ll have a good start!

No post about the Northern Lights is complete without a link to the Michigan Tech based Aurora Page, which has been a source for Information, links and images about the “Northern Lights” on-line since the Web began. The site’s creator, Michael Dolan, took some great photos of the Northern Lights over Lake Superior (click the images when you get there for best quality images) and this site is simply the best Aurora Borealis resource on the internet.

Also in the U.P., Ann and John Mahan have an Aurora Borealis gallery that has a lot of Upper Peninsula photos (as well as others from the Great Lakes region). They have some cool books too! You can get some more Lake Superior aurora shots from Shawn & Brian Malone.

Heading back to Leelanau County, photographer Ken Scott has some Northern Lights in his online gallery (more in his books as well!). While we’re in Leelanau, I guess I can add a link to my Northern Lights gallery on Leelanau.com (I have a few are wallpaper-sized on Flickr and there’s some Northern Lights backgrounds on this page). In the interests of completeness, I better include a link to Wikipedia’s Aurora entry.

Keep your eyes on the skies, because Northern Lights often come in waves and if you DO see them, be sure to post them on the Michigan Northern Lights Log on Absolute Michigan!

Buzzy Morning … for how long?

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Buzzy Morning

Buzzy Morning, photo by CaptPiper.

This beautiful photo of a bee and poppy reminded me about honey bees and Colony Collapse Disorder.

Despite the fact that the story has faded from the news, MSU prof Zachary Huang’s cyberbee.net says that Colony Collapse Disorder is still a mystery. Be sure to check out Zach’s Bee Photos and this amazing resource for information about Michigan bees (and bees in general).

For more about Michigan bees, check out the Michigan Beekeepers Association and Michigan bee plants. You might also have a look at Wikipedia’s bee entry and their entry on Colony Collapse Disorder.

Surfing, Michigan Style

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Surfing01.jpg

Surfing01.jpg, photo by Evography.

Evography writes: Dropping in from the pier, the tricky part is not getting worked right back into the pier.

Check out his Great Lakes Surfing set (slideshow!!) for a bunch more photos, most of which are large enough for your computer background needs!

When you’re finished with that, head over to Absolute Michigan for a Michigan surfing extravaganza featuring tons of Great Lakes surfing videos (including some 1970s footage of folks surfing off this same pier!)

Which I should add is the Grand Haven Pier!

farms & shadows

Posted on by farlane

farms & shadows by dunrie

farms & shadows by dunrie

This shot of farms around Pittsfield (in southeast Michigan near Ann Arbor) is part of a great set of aerial photos of Michigan (and into the Georgian Bay of Canada) that includes views of Ann Arbor and the Big House and ranges over to the Lake Huron shore and up to my neck of the woods. The photos are all helpfully placed on a map – a great bonus!
I was struck by the contrast of this evolved landscape with its patchwork and rumples to this golf course development.

Sunset from Douglas beach

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

IMGP1498h

IMGP1498h, photo by norjam8.

The Wikipedia entry for Douglas, Michigan says Douglas (in Allegan County, pop. 1214 in 2000) and adjacent to Saugatuck, was originally known as Dudleyville and settled in 1851 as a lumber town. In 1861, residents changed the name to Douglas, maybe to honor Stephen A. Douglas or maybe because an early settler came name because he came from the Isle of Man (with a capital named Douglas). After the lumber went to rebuild Chicago, Douglas turned to fruit (especially peaches) and tourism.

Check out the Douglas Michigan history page for some cool old photos (and for Douglas business, events and city information. Here’s a Google map for Douglas to you can go there for the day or weekend. Douglas is also home to the Douglas Dutchers vintage baseball club who play a remarkably full schedule.

Norm has a ton more photos of West Michigan dunes and beaches and sunsets and sunrises.

exposure.detroit Selective Focus photography show

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

MexicanTown Safari (59)

MexicanTown Safari (59), photo by Auberon.

The above photo is part of Auberon/Merlin Elsner’s Show Pictures set (slideshow). Merlin is one of five excellent exposure.Detroit photographers who will make up the SELECTIVE FOCUS Photographic Exhibition on Friday, July 20th, 2007 from 7 PM – 10 PM at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea in Royal Oak, Michigan

exposure.detroit is a photography group (based on Flickr) with the stated mission to EXPOSE the unknown Michigan photographer to a network of artists and friends who share in the same passions for art, photography and fun. When I checked Michigan in Pictures, I realized that of the photographers in the show, Merlin was the only one who I hadn’t blogged something of.

If you can make it to the D on the 20th, do go – they’re all wonderful folks who will make you feel welcome and provide a rare treat for your eyes and soul.

Um … I thought for SURE I had blogged a photo from Tina … apparently not. I’ll have to remedy that soon!

Michigan Fireworks Extravaganza … now with added Northern Lights

Posted on by farlane

Copper Harbor Fireworks, with Northern Lights

July 4th, 2006 by aragirn

This morning I looked at fireworks photos from this year’s Independence Day fireworks displays at Sylvan Lake, Muskegon, Schoolcraft, Detroit, Traverse City, Lansing, Bay City, Jackson, Wyandotte, Lost Lake Woods, Rockford, Ann Arbor, Flint, West Branch, Kensington Park, Detroit and even my hometown of Leland. They came in classic red, white and blue,  understated yellow, even black & white. There were photos of the crowd, the fireworks barge, photos from who knows where and even one in my inbox from Saginaw. Had I had the link for the Michigan Fireworks page, I could have driven around to some of them!

In the end, I thought it best  to wait until next year to allow folks to upload their photos from July 4, 2007 (and the 3rd, or whenever your town celebrates) and look to last year.

When I did, I realized that there’s nothing that can compare to watching the July 4th fireworks celebration at Copper Harbor, Michigan and having the Northern Lights come out.

Happy 4th of July, Michigan!

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Lan July 4th parade 127e

Lan July 4th parade 127e, photo by indefinitejourney.

Fourth of July, July 4th, the Fourth or Independence Day – call it what you will, this is our day. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

I doubt Adams envisioned the star-shaped sunglasses, but bring on the pomp, the parades (the picnics!), the sports and games (best leave the guns at home), the bells, bonfires and brilliant, booming illuminations. Somewhere amidst all of that if you can, think about the acts of devotion that could be made towards making this nation and state ever more worthy of celebration and love.

I should point out that this photo is part of an awesome set of Lansing 4th of July Parade photos (slideshow!!)