100 years of Lake Michigan at South Haven Pier Lighthouse

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Late October on Lake Michigan

Late October on Lake Michigan, photo by micstolz.

Michael notes that even 100 years of Lake Michigan waves can’t put out the South Haven Light. He has several more in his South Haven Oct 26 2008 set (slideshow) – all uploaded “background big”. You might also want to check out the South Haven Light slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.

Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light relates the history (with photos) of the South Haven Pier Lighthouse. He writes that a Fifth Order Fresnel lens from Parisian glass makers Barbier and Fenestre was installed in the lantern in 1902:

While the light was new, the old wooden beacon had withstood thirty years of Lake Michigan’s worst, and as a result of increasing deterioration, Eleventh District engineer James G. Warren laid-out plans to replace the venerable structure with a new cylindrical metal tower.

Contracts for the metalwork and required materials were awarded and delivered to the lighthouse depot in St. Joseph. On October 6, 1903, the tender Hyacinth delivered the prefabricated steel tower and a work crew on the pier, and erection of the new structure continued through the remainder of the month. The thirty-five foot structure was given a gleaming coat of white paint, and the district lampist carefully removed the Fifth-order lens from the old beacon and installed it in the new octagonal lantern. Captain Donahue proudly climbed the spiral stairs within the new tower to exhibit the South Haven light from atop the new tower for the first time on the evening of November 13.

Light and tower remain an active aid to navigation maintained by the Coast Guard and while you’re in South Haven, be sure to visit the Michigan Maritime Museum.

Michigan is Wine Country

Posted on by farlane

Wine Country, photo by smiles7

Last night I had dinner with a writer from England who is exploring vineyards in Leelanau by bicycle for a story. He was asking me some questions about how Michigan ranks nationally in grape & wine production. I didn’t have all the answers, but fortunately there’s the great Michigan Wines web site from the Michigan Grape & Wine Council.

From their fast facts page, I learned that Michigan has about 1,800 acres of wine vineyards, making Michigan the eighth largest in wine grape producer in the nation (if our juice grapes are factored in, we’re 4th largest). We’ve increased our vineyard area over 60% in the last 10 years. Michigan is 13th in wine production with 56 commercial wineries that produce over 425,000 cases of wine annually. The state’s wineries are also popular tourist destinations, attracting more than 800,000 visitors annually.

Most of Michigan’s quality wine grapes grow within 25 miles of Lake Michigan. Here, the “lake effect” protects the vines with snow in winter, retards bud break in spring helping avoid frost damage, and extends the growing season by up to four weeks.

Michigan has four federally approved viticultural areas (AVAs). In the northwest part of the state, near Traverse City, lie the Leelanau Peninsula and the Old Mission Peninsula. This area has a growing season averaging 145 days and an average heat accumulation of 2,350 growing degree days; 51% of Michigan’s wine grapes grow here. In the southwest part of the state lie the Lake Michigan Shore and Fennville appellations, where 45% of Michigan’s wine grapes are grown. This area has a growing season averaging 160 days and an average heat accumulation of 2,750 growing degree days.

You’ll also want to check out their history page for the very interesting story of Michigan’s winemaking history. Here’s the vineyard slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool and you can get lots more features and links for Michigan wines from Absolute Michigan.

Holding the sun

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Holding the sun

Holding the sun, photo by krowla.

…for just a little bit longer.

Photos from the 2008 Rothbury Music Festival

Posted on by farlane

Hey Snoop, Michigan Loves You, photo by Ann Teliczan

Ann was one of the lucky … 35,000 or 40,000 or so … who got to attend what will apparently be the 1st annual Rothbury Music Festival last weekend. She has a bunch more great HDR photos from Rothbury.

For more photos (which obviously come with a “these are pictures from a large & wild music festival” warning), check out Rothbury photos from Flickr (slideshow), the Freep’s Rothbury photo galleries, a large Rothbury gallery (with aerial photos) from mLive. mLive got pretty into the festival and by “pretty” I mean “surprisingly a lot” and they have all kinds of photo and other features like the t-shirts of Rothbury that you can find from their Rothbury wrapup.

Update! David McGowan over at humanfiles.com has a very cool Rothbury 08 gallery with 40 of his favorite shots and a second gallery with tons more!

Update, Part 2 Revolutionary Views Photography has some stunning Rothbury panoramas (and excellent photos too!)

Higgins boats discharge their cargo … on the beaches of Saint Joseph

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The Higgins boats discharge their cargo. (IMG_1314)

The Higgins boats discharge their cargo. (IMG_1314), photo by bill.d.

From the Things I Wish I Had Known About in Advance files comes this fantastic set of photos of last weekend’s D-Day re-enactment in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph (slideshow). Bill uploaded them all nice and big so be sure to cruise through that slideshow link. Or even better, download PicLens, click the set link and enjoy. (trust me on the PicLens thing – coolest web software I’ve seen in quite some time).

The 2008 Saint Joseph and Benton Harbor WWII Reenactment Weekend took place last weekend and was sponsored by the veterans’ organization Lest We Forget of SW Michigan. It was designed to teach folks about WWII history, veterans, and the equipment utilized and featured reenactments of the battles at Normandy (D-Day) and Peleliu (Palaus archipelago in the Phillipines).

Because I can, here’s a link to an amazing reenactment of the landing at Omaha Beach.

Michigan Sunsets. Camp Rosenthal.

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Michigan Sunsets. Camp Rosenthal.

Michigan Sunsets. Camp Rosenthal., photo by vostok71.

Sergei says that he took this photo in 1995 (check it out bigger and also these other photos) when he was at Camp Rosenthal, operated by Chicago Youth Centers:

Located in Dowagiac, Michigan, Camp Rosenthal is one of only five remaining camps in the Midwest dedicated to the needs of low-income, at-risk children and offers a unique program designed to provide kids ages 8–15 with opportunities to become familiar with and appreciate the natural world and experience positive life-altering experiences…

At Camp Rosenthal, many children experience for the first time how spectacular a starry night is away from city lights, fall asleep and wake up where the only sounds come from nature, and learn to interact successfully with a diversity of new friends under the committed care and guidance of thoroughly trained youth workers.

I hope that we can work to foster similar experiences for kids in Michigan and elsewhere so nobody has to go through life without knowing what it’s like to sit on a dock and watch the day turn to night.

Lighthouse Wanna Be

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Lighthouse Wanna Be

Lighthouse Wanna Be, photo by Rudy Malmquist.

Because really, who DOESN’T want their own lighthouse?

Chromatic: Gilmore Car Museum

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Chromatic

Chromatic, photo by pairadocs.

Vince made his first visit to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners. He says that he spent so much time drooling over the pretty cars, that didn’t stop to take note of what all of them were.

It looks like that would be easy to do:

The Gilmore Car Museum began in 1963 as the hobby of Donald S. Gilmore when his wife, Genevieve, gave him an antique car for his birthday – a 1920 Pierce-Arrow “project car”. With the help of some friends, the auto was placed under a tent and a full restoration followed. The hobby soon grew into a collection of over 30 automobiles. Mr. Gilmore purchased 90 acres of farm property and had several historic barns dismantled piece by piece and moved to the site. It was Mr. Gilmore’s wife who suggested the idea of turning the collection into a museum where future generations could enjoy the restored cars for years to come…

Today, the site includes eight historic barns, a re-created 1930s service station, a small town train station, and nearly three miles of paved roads. It isn’t uncommon for guest to catch a glimpse of one of the vintage cars or the authentic London double-decker bus in motion. And if you visit on a weekend or special show, don’t be surprised if the driver asks you to hop in for a nostalgic road trip!

Today the Gilmore Car Museum houses almost 200 cars, from a 1899 Locomobile to the classic Duesenberg and Tucker ’48 and all the way up to the muscle cars of the 60s and 70s. museum is located between Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo & Battle Creek and is open daily from 9 AM – 5 PM (6 on weekends), May through October and hosts a number of great events throughout the summer and fall.

Be sure to view the above photo larger and here’s a bunch more photos from the Gilmore Car Museum on Flickr (slideshow).

Eaton County and the Charlotte Courthouse

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Court House and museum Charlotte Michigan

Court House and museum Charlotte Michigan, photo by baklein62.

The brief history on the Eaton County web site says:

Eaton County, named for President Andrew Jackson’s Secretary of War (John Eaton), sometimes referred to as a cabinet county, was organized in 1837. Due to lack of population and buildings in the designated county seat (Charlotte), government and judicial functions were performed in the village of Bellevue.

…In 1882 the Eaton County Board of Supervisors resolved “to erect a building for court and public office purposes” at no more than $50,000 cost; this was later amended to $40,000. When completed, the cost of this courthouse was nearly $80,000.

The contract for design was awarded to D.W. Gibbs & Company of Toledo, Ohio with the firm of Miles, Cramer and Horn also from Toledo doing construction. The corner stone was laid on July 4, 1883 and this building was ready for use in October 1885.

Read more about Courthouse Square and the museum including information about and photos of the exhibits.

This photo is part of Barney’s sales territory set and I think the set demonstrates that a good attitude goes a long way toward enjoying your job.

verve

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

verve

verve, photo by yodraws.

Wallpapery wonderfulness from Saugatuck Dunes State Park, part of Yolanda’s the Lakeshore set (slideshow).

More about the park (including a map) at Bracing Against The Wind at Saugatuck Dunes State Park from Michigan in Pictures.