What do a horsehide sleigh blanket, Liz Shimek’s basketball jersey, a Civil War sword and scabbard, and an entire one-room schoolhouse all have in common? All have a story to tell of their time and place in southern Leelanau’s collective past, and all form just a fraction of the collection of the Empire Area Heritage Group, now celebrating its 40th year.
On Friday, May 6 at the Glen Arbor Township Hall, the Empire Area Heritage Group will present “The Boizard Letters” at 7 p.m. A half-hour video presentation will feature recollections of Julia Dickinson and Joan Bolton, who found over 100 letters written before, during and after the Civil War between a husband in the service, and his wife who stayed behind in Glen Arbor to fare for herself and her small child.