Siepker’s book remembers historic cottages

By Joanne Bender
Sun Contributor
Barbara Siepker, owner of Glen Arbor’s rustic and relaxing Cottage Book Shop on Lake Street, has transformed herself from a psychiatric social worker to a best-selling author.
Her book, Historic Cottages of Glen Lake, (Leelanau Press, 2008), is earning accolades and acclaim for the previously unwritten local resort era history and also from other Midwest cottage owners who have similar fond memories of their cottages.
Siepker’s aura reflects the mood of her cottage chronicles…both are quietly unassuming, soft in tone, humble in demeanor and pleasant to observe. Her stories read like comfort food alongside the book’s classic and classy photographs by Traverse City architectural photographer Dietrich Floeter. They want everyone “to appreciate the simple beauty of these cottages.”
Photo by Dietrich Floeter

Historic Cottages artfully presents the images of 50 cottage interiors and exteriors and showcases Floeter’s talent. These duotones look as though they were taken many years ago and add just the right touch to Siepker’s delightful narratives. Siepker and Floeter carefully removed contemporary objects such as televisions, computers and phones prior to the photo shoots, adding validity to the timely tone. Cottage owners lent photographs to illustrate family summer activities as well. The tales and pictures bring the cottages alive before the readers’ eyes.
A history buff, Siepker appreciates all the cottage owners who graciously welcomed her into their homes the past five years and told her stories of their families, some of whom have been vacationing on the Glen Lakes for five generations. She wanted to share their stories in an easily accessible and readable form. “By recording these stories,” Siepker says, “history is preserved and adds depth and understanding to our rich history of summer resort life during the first half of the last century. “It was a grand era with wonderful leisure time activities as families spent the summer relaxing and recreating in this pristine natural area.”
Photo by Cynthia Dougal
Siepker has grown attached to these 50 original structures that were fortunate enough to survive, often as guest houses, when owners built new homes on the property. Others were lost when torn down to provide room for new homes. One new cottage was included in the book as a tribute to the Gordon family that tore down the historic cottage they had loved and rebuilt it to replicate the original. This allowed traditions and memories to live on, along with a lifestyle addition of a master bedroom suite.
Barbara Siepker and her husband, Frank, with their two children, Brita and Frank, Jr., moved to Glen Lake in 1990 from the Chicago area and settled on the former Meurer Estate, built in the 1920s. She purchased The Cottage Book Shop from Mollie Weeks in 1995 and made it her passion.
During her nearly two decades in the area, Siepker has heard and recorded quite a few poignant stories. In some cases, cottage owners have learned new tales about their own cottages and those across the lake in the process. Several readers reported laughing and being brought to tears as well.
Current Lott cottage owner Bev Fetzer intends to reinstate the gracious tradition of placing a vase of gladiolas on top of the grand piano after she read in Historic Cottages that the original owner always had one placed on the piano.
Siepker’s journey from which the idea for Historic Cottages of Glen Lake was born to the book’s completion was one of serendipity. Even though she had only seen a couple of their interiors, she loved old cottages and wanted to capture their images before they disappeared. Siepker was hoping for a topnotch professional photographer when Floeter walked into the bookstore. It turned out that he enjoyed using a large format camera, which looks a little like an accordion with a black cloth draped over the photographer’s head. This is the type of camera used during the days when these summer cottages flourished.
The book’s idea was born in 2005 with the showing at the Leelanau Historical Society in nearby Leland of the first 15 cottages photographed. The Edmund F. Ball Fellowship provided the initial financial support.
Albeit time-consuming, Siepker admits that putting the book together was a “labor of love” on everyone’s part. Siepker also knew she had to locate a competent editor, and newly transplanted Glen Arbor resident Linda Young happily stepped forward. Lou Heiser, a talented Glen Arbor architect and artist, who artfully supplied the drawings and provided expert design consultation, sketched five of the cottages. The list of those assisting with the book project is long and Siepker thanks them in the final chapter.
Siepker speaks fondly of her Glen Arbor experiences and cherishes the sense of place in Leelanau County. As she researched the lives of these early cottage dwellers, their sense of commitment and love of community grew apparent, along with their mutual respect and friendships with early Glen Arbor families such as farmers, merchants and builders who befriended the new arrivals, provided them services and made their lives more enjoyable.
Without Siepker’s love for research, though, the book never would have been compiled, and she attributes that to explain how a former social worker enjoyed the interviews and turned herself into a successful author. She knows there are more cottages and stories out there and she would love to continue recording them.

Historic Cottages of Glen Lake is available at The Cottage Book Shop for $50 (and worth every penny). Siepker and Floeter will sign copies there on July 2. You can visit the Traverse Heritage Center on Sixth Street in Traverse City until Sept. 27, where Floeter’s photographs and local cottage memorabilia are the core of the “Memories of the Lake Cottage” exhibit.