Remembering Dottie Lanham

From staff reports

Burdickville historian Tom Van Zoeren reports that Dottie Lanham passed away on December 30 — five days after her 90th birthday. She was born on Christmas Day in 1924.

Van Zoeren penned the book Dottie Lanham of Burdickville: Images, Recollections, and Observations of a Northern Michigan Woman and Her Community. Listen to an audio clip from Van Zoeren’s interview with Lanham here.

As he recounts in the book, Dorothy (Dottie) Ashmore (Lanham) was a fourth–generation citizen of Burdickville, the community on the east end of Big Glen Lake. She grew up in Burdickville, married a man from Burdickville, and lived the rest of her life in and around Burdickville. She raised two children there, ran a business there, and worked to care for and preserve Burdickville’s Old Settlers Picnic Ground. Needless to say, Dottie knew Burdickville.

During recent years Dottie spent many hours preserving the history of Burdickville and surrounding areas. During 2005—2008 she made her collection of family photographs available for copying, and spent many hours providing related information. Dottie Lanham of Burdickville presents some of those photographs, accompanied by notes drawn mainly from her oral history interviews. It is supplemented by materials from some of Dottie’s Northern Michigan neighbors.

Van Zoeren’s book is a delightful collection of photographs and oral history about the original families and businesses. (Get your own copy at Laker Shakes or at his house on Bow Road.)

Read our story from August 2014 on the Characters of Burdickville, including Lanham and Van Zoeren.

And read our 2012 story on Lanham’s role behind the Fourth of July Flag Raising ceremony in Burdickville’s Old Settlers Park.