Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear busies adaptive use plans

By Marc Boissoneau
Sun contributor

Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB) was founded in 1998 in an attempt to halt the demolition of several buildings owned by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Some 15 years later, the organization continues a partnership with the National Park Service in which its volunteers maintain and restore those buildings.

This year, PHSB’s adaptive-use committee has worked to find creative uses for several structures, chief among them the Katie Shepard Hotel, on North Manitou Island. “We have hopes to open it for rustic accommodations, much like it was in ‘the day,’ with no electricity or plumbing,” explains PHSB director Susan Pocklington. “Folks will still be camping, just not sleeping on the ground or in open air.”

PHSB will work on the building for nine days this summer, Aug. 16-25, making this their fifth summer on the island. Volunteers will finish restoration of the exterior and continue restoring the inside and clearing the area of obstructive plants.

In a sign of the organization’s popularity, PHSB expects to actually turn volunteers away, as they will likely receive more applicants than they have space for.

However, Katie is not their only project.

“The adaptive-use committee is researching other, currently existing models of adaptive use in the National Park Service in preparation for developing business plans to submit to the National Lakeshore,” Pocklington says. “We plan to see which structures and uses have a good fit, are compatible with the Park, and are economically viable.”

Several other projects are already underway. The Charles and Hattie Olsen farmhouse, west of Port Oneida Road on M-22, has been undergoing restoration at both the Park Service’s and PHSB’s hands since 2004. This year, PHSB hopes to have the interior of the house painted, and for several smaller projects, such as a hole in the floor and outdoor clothes posts, to be completed. Additionally, they will contract with a timber framer to repair the silo’s chute.

Another building to which PHSB plans to devote some attention is the Kraitz log cabin on County Road 669, which was built around 1856, making it the Park’s oldest structure on the mainland. The phase of the restoration project planned for this year involves removing the two additions to the building, enabling PHSB to restore the cabin to its original state.

But even with all that, the organization continues to look for opportunities to maintain and restore the Park’s assets. “Structures for accommodations on the mainland could range from rustic to a bed and breakfast to a hostel or group rental,” Pocklington says.

“While we have some ideas about which structures might be best, the final recommendation will come as a result of studying the data we’re collecting, and reviewing the assets in those areas.

“The goal for mainland accommodations is to provide people with an opportunity to stay in the Park, and for PHSB to have an income-producing venture, which is critical to financing the preservation and cyclic maintenance of the Park’s cultural resources.”

With work on another building, the Monte Carlo Cottage, also on North Manitou and believed to have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, already planned for next year, it doesn’t seem that PHSB will break off their projects anytime soon.

Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear hosts Path to Page with Anne-Marie Oomen

Explore your creative muse in Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear’s annual “Path to Page” workshop. Spend the day on Friday, July 26, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. hiking around the farms, woods and fields of the lovely Port Oneida historic area with Anne-Marie Oomen, a local poet, playwright and creative writing instructor at Interlochen Center for the Arts. With the beautiful surroundings of the farms as your inspiration, along with instruction and learning the history from Oomen, you will have the opportunity to sit, reflect, write and share some creative prose. This event is for writers at any level, but especially for those interested in creating history-inspired pieces. The hike is approximately three miles. Participants and instructors share snippets of their writing as the day progresses. Meet at the Charles and Hattie Olsen Farm located on M-22, four miles north of Glen Arbor.

Registration is required. The workshop costs $70 and includes a picnic lunch. Participants should register at Phsb.org, and bring a hardcover notebook, their favorite writing utensil, broad-brimmed hats, sunglasses, sunblock, water bottle and raingear if necessary. PHSB is a nonprofit partner group of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore committed to preserving and interpreting the historic structures and landscapes within the Park.

Aug. 3 Port Oneida Run supports Park’s historic areas

Run for the Farms! The fourth annual Sleeping Bear Dunes Port Oneida Run — a 5K Trail Run/Walk in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will take place on Saturday, Aug. 3, at the historic Charles Olsen farmstead in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District.

The natural trail offers an inspiring alternative to paved courses, meandering through beautiful meadows, forests, and the pastoral landscape of farmsteads from the late 1800s with bluff views over Lake Michigan. “We started the race four years ago to raise funds to support our work in preserving the beautiful historic landscape in the National Park,” said Susan Pocklington, director of Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, a partner of the Park since 1998. “You really can’t beat the location.” The event supports the numerous projects the nonprofit organization tackles to preserve and interpret the 366 historic structures at Sleeping Bear, including volunteer and contracted preservation projects, exhibits, adaptive-reuse of historic properties, programs, historic tours and co-sponsorship of the Port Oneida Fair which they helped found in partnership with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Kids 12 and under can participate in the quarter-mile Kids Schoolhouse Dash for $5 on race day at 8:30 a.m. Participants in the Dash will receive a ribbon, with prizes for first, second, and third-place winners. “It’s a fun, family event though we definitely have some very serious runners,” added Pocklington. The course on the Bayview Hiking Trail begins and ends at the Charles Olsen Farm, the office of Preserve, located four miles north of Glen Arbor on M-22 just west of Port Oneida road. Packet pick-up is 7:30-8:45 am at the farm’s red barn. Pre-registration online or mail in by 5 p.m. Aug. 1 is $25, and $30 after that and day-off the race. The first 100 registrants receive a free race t-shirt.

Prizes will be given to the overall male and female winners as well as three deep in nine age categories. A post-race celebration includes food and awards along with some nifty prize drawings donated by local businesses. For registration and details, visit Phsb.org, or contact (231) 334-6103.