SDHS Newsletter

Notes From Your President

Greetings and who can believe it is almost November?? The leaves are golden and they remind us that Halloween cannot be far away. This reminds me that the November general membership meeting is one of our most exciting venues for a program --- the "Strange-But-True and Other Cemetery Tales" created by Kit Lane.

The ghosts from Taylor Cemetery will be walking in our midst and telling us of their lives. Meet first hand James "Jimmie" Haile. He and his first wife Martha came to the area around 1837. They had an impressive home on the lakeshore which is standing today.

There is Henry Hudson Hutchins who was the first settler in Ganges Township. He is descended from Henry Hudson who explored and gave his name to Hudson Bay!

Another is Robert Wolbrink from Ganges who was a member of the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society. Come join in the fun as we celebrate the lives of 27 "ghosts"!

Not to be forgotten is the October 28^th annual chili supper in honor of our many volunteers! This event will be held at the Old School House beginning at 6 p.m. Our volunteers will enjoy chili and all of the trimmings along with liquid refreshments! We hope that many if not all of you can join us for this Thank You for your many hours of volunteering your time and efforts. Without the help you have provided over the past year our projects would not have been possible. You are the core of the success that the History Center and Pump House Museum have enjoyed as well as the garden, the walking tours, and all of the other numerous activities.

I wish you a colorful and happy fall season and hope to see you at the up-coming activities!
submitted by Marsha Kontio

YOU ARE INVITED

TO THE
SOCIETY VOLUNTEERS
"THANK YOU"
CHILI SUPPER
ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28

The SDHS Board members will again be hosting a chili supper to show their appreciation to all the SDHS members who have volunteered their time and efforts during the year for the Society's many programs and projects.

The event is on Sunday, October 28^th at the Old School House beginning at 6 p.m. (following the Daffodil Trail bulb planting party). Look for an "e-blast" with more details coming soon.

If you will be attending, please RSVP by REPLYING to this email. If you are unable to attend, please accept the Board's thanks for your support of your Society this year.

Society's Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, November 14 at 7 pm
at the Old School House History Center

Strange-But-True and other Cemetery Tales

Join Kit, Marsha, and Chris on a photo and story tour through the nearby (and ancient) Taylor and Plummerville Cemeteries.

Refreshments to die for. At the History Center, November 14, 7:00 pm.

You won't want to miss this one!

You Can Be an Old School House
Daffodil Trail "Bulb Booster"!

For a donation of only $25 you can become an Old School House "Bulb Booster".

One thousand daffodils bulbs will be planted throughout the "Back-in-Time Garden". SDHS members, as well as the entire community, will be invited to support and participate in the bulb planting party on Sunday, October 28 at 5:00pm. (The planting party is just prior to the Society's annual Volunteer Thank You Chili Supper.)

The Old School House History Center Garden Committee plans to make the bulb planting an annual event, using different varieties of daffodils, to completely fill our garden with spring color and create a "Daffodil Trail".

Funds raised will be used for the purchase of the bulbs, planting supplies and general garden upkeep. Your donation can be made to remember or honor a friend or relative and is fully tax deductible.

There are three ways to become a Bulb Booster:
l Send your check to SDHS, PO Box 617, Douglas, MI 49406. Please be sure to indicate if your donation is being made to remember or honor a friend or relative.
l If you would like to pay by credit card (Visa or MasterCard), just REPLY to this email and we'll give you a call to get your credit card information.
l Access the Historical Society's website and click on the DONATE button on the website's home page upper left corner to pay by credit card or PayPal. Please indicate "Bulb Booster" in the "Add Instructions" section.

Donors will be recognized in the SDHS November Newsletter, at the Chili Supper and in an ad in a local newspaper.

Thank you for supporting the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society's Back-in-Time Garden.

Volunteering

The way to enrich your Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society experience is to participate!

People think that volunteering is for the benefit of others. That is just a byproduct of the personal fulfillment that you will receive for getting involved.

Volunteer opportunities abound. Some of the areas were we need help are:
l Hosts - at the Pump House Museum from May through October and at the Old School House History Center year round, Boathouse and Back in Time Garden
l Gardening - at the OSHHC and the Back-in-Time Garden
l Marketing logistics - distribution of rack cards, posters, Historical Chronicle newspaper and tent cards to local businesses. Envelope stuffing and other mailing activities, and folding of table tents 2x a year.
l Social functions - set-up, serving food and beverages, clean-up for Annual picnic, Member receptions, holiday party, monthly meetings and other such events.
l Member and community tours - walking tours, dune hikes, biking tours.
l Membership - recruiting and nurturing
l Historical functions - archiving, data management, support to art collection management and resource management
l Parade marchers

Please contact Ed Kelly at kel179@aol.com (until a volunteer coordinator comes forward) to express interest. The volunteer coordinator will work with the various chair persons to match volunteers with opportunities. We encourage your participation.

Root Beer Barrel Staves

The following volunteers spent countless hours the last several months sanding, repairing, varnishing and moving the 125 Root Beer Barrel staves in preparation for the barrel's revival. They all deserve a big "way to go" and thank you for their efforts. They are listed here in no particular order:

Bob Sapita, Glenn Spoerl, Dean Batchelor, Steve Hutchins, John Peters, Sharon Kelly, Chris Yoder, Dan Rastal, Julie Abel, Jacqueline Carey, Dick Lyons, Vic Bella, Judy Hillman, Sally Winthers, Erik Kirchert, Tom Slater, Denny Bouchie and husband and children and Al Lyon. Al was the lead man on this part of the project.

The finished staves are now resting quietly in a barn graciously provided by Charles Carlson. Stay tuned for the next exciting announcement! submitted by Vic Bella

Volunteer Opportunity

A volunteer opportunity is available for someone who enjoys entering information into a computer, is interested in local history and likes working in a quiet secluded space. If this describes you, then contact Mary Voss about information regarding volunteering one half day or more a week in the archives department of the Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society.

Contact Mary at rjmvoss@gmail.com or stop in at the Archives office on Monday afternoons. Please use the basement stairway and knock on the door if it is locked.
submitted by Mary Voss

Welcome from Jack Sheridan leader of the Society Family History Group. The Group meeting schedule is the first and third Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is October 18^th at 3:30 in the Old School House. Please join us this fall to see what we are all about and most importantly, share "lessons learned" about the many tools available for family research.

Each month in this column I talk about a family history discovery. Such a discovery is called a EUREKA! moment. One type of EUREKA! is the moment we realize we have become eager to learn more about our family history. Our family history becomes in our mind, like a good book. We cannot wait to turn the next page, read the next chapter, ponder outcomes.

Who were these people? This fascination usually comes after successes like discovering the maiden name of a great grandmother, an 1880s family photo, a flood of info from a distant relative, etc. For many it comes with the mastery of how to create a family tree on their PC. The pieces of a giant puzzle begin to come together.

Have you always wanted to learn more about your family history, but have not known where and how to begin? Here is a suggestion. Our SDHS Family History group wants to help you. A starting point is to record what you know about your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents and send it along for a review by our volunteers.

If you are reading this newsletter on-line, you can print off these blank family history data forms. Click on one for your mother and another for your father.

Next fill out what you know and snail-mail the forms to SDHS Family History, Box 617, Douglas, Michigan 49406, or scan and email a copy to either cyoder@tds.net or jack.sheridan@gmail.com. Give us time for an initial assessment. We will soon be back to you with whatever can be readily found and with suggestions on the next steps to take to learn more. Future further help is always available from the Family History group. Your family history does not have to have any connection to the Saugatuck-Douglas area.

If you aren't on the internet, call Chris Yoder [269 857-4327] or Jack Sheridan [269 857-1744] and we'll get a work sheet to you.

In April 2012 the 1940 United States census data was released. Ancestry.com has now completed indexing the entire census. They are offering free access to the census. Just click HERE.

If you prefer, you may easily browse the local 1940 census results. We have placed a copy of the census for Douglas (11 pages), Saugatuck (16 pages) and Saugatuck Twp (19 pages) on the SDHS web site. Take a look by clicking HERE.

Questions/comments/advice: Contact me at: jack.sheridan@gmail.com or (269) 857-7144.

What You Missed!

At the Society's October Monthly Meeting, we celebrated Heritage Night 2012. One of the Heritage Preservation Awards in the Restoration category was announced for the Mill Worker House, pre-1864, shown above. The home is located at 10 Wall Street in Douglas and is owned by Floyd Fleming. The contractor was Mark Newhof and architect was Josephine Berault.

Click HERE for the complete graphic presentation including all of the awards. The presentation was given by Jim Schmiechen and Jeff Wilcox.

THEN AND NOW

This beautiful structure on the NW corner of Mary and St. Joseph Street in Saugatuck was once home to one of our most prominent local couples. Look for their story in our next newsletter.

ASHTON circa 1925
Click on the picture for a higher resolution copy.

ASHTON today
Click on the picture for a higher resolution copy.