Historic Glen Arbor Cemetery hosts fifth annual Memorial Ceremony

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See 67 newly placed headstones placed on formerly unknown and unmarked graves at the historic Glen Arbor Cemetery on Friday, May 24. Previously, 13 marked graves were the only ones known to be there. Then, one year ago, Glen Arbor Township employed ground-penetrating radar (GPR), revealing 75 unmarked graves and a “potter’s field” which holds additional remains. The 10 am ceremony will feature a eulogy of Civil War veteran Edmund Trumbull, poetry by Anne-Marie Oomen, taps by Norm Wheeler, and the Glen Lake eighth graders will claim the names of those buried at the cemetery whom they each have studied.

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Recognizing National Historic Preservation Month in Leelanau

May is National Historic Preservation Month, a time set aside to highlight the important work of organizations working to preserve historic places like Port Oneida. Locally, in Leelanau County, there are 25 nationally recognized historic places and 18 additional state recognized historic sites, with several organizations which operate to support their preservation. Mae Stier writes that she and her husband Tim Egeler—a descendent of the Egelers and Kelderhouses, who were early settlers to Leelanau—spent the summer leading up to their wedding learning the names of family members. “When we committed to creating our future together, we did so by standing under a giant old oak tree that looked out at the Manitou Islands, on a farmstead that members of his family had once cared for.”

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Seinfeld movie “Unfrosted” loosely based on longtime Glen Arbor resident, Pop-Tart man Bill Post

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Unfrosted, the comedic farce directed by Jerry Seinfeld which launched on Netflix Friday, has a Glen Arbor connection—sort of. The film, which stars Seinfeld as well as Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grand and Amy Schumer, is (very) loosely based on the true story of how the Pop-Tart toaster pastries were created in 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan. The real founder of Pop-Tarts was Bill Post, who lived for 20 years in Glen Arbor. Post passed away in February. His kids, who were his guinea pigs for the first Pop-Tarts, attended the movie’s premier this week in Hollywood. Dan Post talked to the Sun about his experiences.

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A double date leads to a Galla-Popa double wedding

Wedding couples of the late 1930s and early 1940s in rural northern Michigan braved hurdles that most modern couples have never faced. These brides and grooms survived the devastating economic and social challenges of The Great Depression only to witness the eve of a second world war. Unimaginable, yet these persevering couples endured and thrived. Rebecca Carlson narrates the Galla-Popa double wedding of July 1941, as part of her ongoing series on Leelanau farming families.

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Leelanau Historical Society holds Researching Digital Newspapers workshop at Glen Lake Community Library

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The Leelanau Historical Society will offer a “Researching Digital Newspapers” workshop on Thursday, April 4, at 1 pm at the Glen Lake Community Library in Empire for the public to learn about Central Michigan University’s Digital Michigan Newspaper Portal. The portal is a free website for researching Michigan’s historic newspapers. Click here to register for the workshop.

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A Skeba legacy of backbreaking hard work, vocation and livelihood

Patient, selfless, nurturers. The American farmer intrinsically understands these three words 365 days a year without complaint, without dedicated health benefits, and without guaranteed vacations, writes Rebecca Carlson in this feature on the Skeba family, part of her ongoing series on Leelanau farming families and their impacts on the County. The Skeba family farm began in 1877 which translates to 147 years of continuous, single-family management with lots of backbreaking, hard work, but ultimately resulting in a rewarding vocation and livelihood.

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WCMU to broadcast new documentary on Leelanau County Poor Farm

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WCMU Public Television will air Saving the Barn: The Leelanau County Poor Farm, a locally produced documentary on the history, preservation, and future of the Leelanau County Poor Farm/County Infirmary. The film is a multi-year project of the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society (LCHPS) and videographer, Joe Vandermeulen. WCMU Public Television has scheduled three broadcast times in March for Saving the Barn: The Leelanau County Farm: Sunday, March 17, at 6:30 pm; Thursday, March 21 at 5 am; and Saturday, March 23 at 10:30 am. The film will be subtitled. Click here to view a 30-second preview.

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Sleeping Bear Inn takes reservations for August 2024, and beyond

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The historic Sleeping Bear Inn, the oldest hotel in the National Park System, is now taking reservations for August and beyond. Click on the story to read more and to reserve a room. Originally built between 1865-1867, the inn located in Glen Haven across the street from the cannery building served as a frontier hotel for business travelers and local workers. It continued in operation throughout the next century, evolving into a tourist hotel. It has been closed since the mid-1970s. The nonprofit Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR) signed a lease in 2022 to renovate the Sleeping Bear Inn and operate it as a bed and breakfast. “This year marks two years of active renovation at Sleeping Bear Inn for our BEAR team, and with the finish line in our sights, we are elated to start thinking about the hospitality aspect of our work,” said executive director Maggie Kato.

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Op-ed: The Palestinian side of the story

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“In Michigan’s primary election tomorrow, Democratic-leaning voters can either vote for President Biden or they can vote ‘Uncommitted’—with the goal of urging his administration to change course on the unfolding genocide that is occurring in Gaza with the ongoing complicity of the U.S. government toward Israel’s military,” writes Leelanau County resident and co-founder of MidEast:JustPeace Gina Aranki in this op-ed for the Glen Arbor Sun. Based on her personal experiences and trips to the Middle East, Aranki, a first-generation American of Palestinian parents, offers “The Palestinian side of the story.” Tomorrow’s vote has no bearing on how one votes in the November general election.

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Old Art Building’s Blue Lantern Tea series counters information malaise

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“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” Those are the prescient, portending words of Gertrude Stein, the American 20th century expatriate, novelist, art pioneer, and culturalist extraordinaire. Her words are still deeply salient—a century later. Divisiveness is easy currency—globally, nationally, locally. We have become, regrettably, media saturated and disconnected. The Leelanau Community Cultural Center at the Old Art Building (“OAB”) in Leland, most fortuitously, has provided a counterpoint — an antidote of sorts — to this malaise: the Blue Lantern Tea Room program — a reimagination of the historic, communal salon experience.

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