VANISHING AMERICAN HISTORY

Just a few pictures from our area. A few weekends ago we went on a photo taking excursion around the "neighborhood." This is Rawson's (King's Mill) near Leonidas, Michigan. Once a working mill it is now a county park and popular spot for weddings and senior pictures. It's located just a few miles from my house.

The second picture is me standing near the bridge in Mendon, my old hometown. This bridge on the quiet west side of town was one of three bridges that crossed the St. Joseph River into the sleepy little town of Mendon. The bridge closed several years ago and you can see the grass growing where the cars once crossed.  This is a nostalgic place for me since it's just a few blocks from my Grandma's house and the house my parents built when I was a senior. The "west end" of town is traditionally our family's area, though during most of my childhood we lived in a house on the east end. My father and mother were both born in houses near here--next door to each other--during the Great Depression and both of them spent a lot of time swimming and fishing in this river. I think my Dad was once suspended over the edge of this bridge by a local bully, but thankfully, not dropped in the water! Though boys often did jump from the bridge on hot summer days to swim the cool river. Many times I floated under both bridges on fishing excursions with my mom in her little boat. Right behind me to my left (not visible) is a historic marker where a Catholic priest is remembered for bringing an expedition downriver in the 1800's. The historic Marantette house and farm is on the opposite bank and the whole area was a flourishing trading post during Michigan's early settlement.

The last picture is just west of where I am standing in full view of the other bridge. This is the railroad bridge, also a nostalgic place for me. I used to walk the tracks with my Dad and we often hunted asparagus on the south ridge near the tracks at this time of year. This bridge is no longer in use either. I hope they never remove it. It is just such a part of my childhood and lots of Sunday afternoon memories of walks and family time. If you walk from this bridge 5 miles south, on a pretty straight line that runs across the prairie through cornfields and across country roads, something my Dad and brother did on occasion, you enter the little forgotten town of Wasepi, where my husband grew up and we spent the first 10 years of our marriage. Wasepi was a thriving railroad crossroads in the late 1800's early 1900's. Hotels, warehouses, and a huge depot were located there with several passenger trains plus freight trains leaving there each day. Now it is a little burg of 15-20 houses, some Amish, a small church and no railroad tracks anymore. Many people in our county don't even know where it is. In the early 80's, I believe, the railroad was torn out and the land offered to adjoining landowners. My husband remembers going to sleep many a night to the steady clickety, clack of trains just outside his bedroom window.

I was recently asked to locate some pictures of the heyday of Wasepi through my job at the library history room. I guess I got nostalgic and thought a historical post would be appropriate. Though none of these are actually the town of Wasepi, this railroad is a direct connection. I hope you enjoyed it! Blessings, LORI

TIP-TOE THROUGH THE TULIPS

Rhiannon and I took our annual excursion to Holland, Michigan, a bit early this year. We traveled up to one of our favorite Michigan sites last Friday because with the early spring, the tulips are at peak right now, several weeks prior to the annual tulip festival! This windmill "De Zwaan" (the swan) is old and much, much larger than it looks. It's currently under construction so we couldn't tour it. I have toured it twice before and the huge wooden beams and incredible engineering in this masterpiece are truly awesome. It is a working windmill that grinds flour and last I knew, the miller who works the windmill is a lady that had been trained in the Netherlands! This attraction is not far from Lake Michigan and catches some of the breezes from the lake.

Aren't these flowers gorgeous? I love this picture taken at Windmill Island, my personal favorite spot in Holland. I think I will eventually try to paint this picture. As a little girl I was always fascinated with windmills and even made up imaginary stories of how I was going to go to Holland and live in a windmill! I did eventually see one from the airplane when we landed in Amsterdam on our way to Africa in 2004. Since then I've learned of a several-greats-grandfather born in Rotterdam in the early 1700's. It all means more to me now!

More of the gardens at Windmill Island.


Another, smaller windmill at Windmill Island.



When we entered the area the gatekeeper said there were over 120,000 blooms!
This is just a fraction of the blooms to be enjoyed at Windmill Island. This city is such a treat! This field I am standing in is only one of many floral extravaganzas in town. The city park is planted with beds of tulips, the medians in many streets in the residential areas are blooming with tulips amongst fruit trees. Other major gardens in the area offer bulbs for sale as well as wooden shoes, costumes from the different provinces of the Netherlands, fudge, delftware, and Dutch baked goods. Each year we order more tulips for our gardens. With so many varieties available it's difficult to choose. We usually purchase five new ones each year.

Just recently I heard that Holland, Michigan was named among the top "happiest" towns in the country. It's easy to see why! How could you keep from being in a good mood with all this beauty surrounding you? Blessings, LORI