All That's Left Standing

Port Hope Chimney

Date Visited:  August 3, 2019

Stop:  #30

As we left St. Mary’s Church and headed east on Kinde Road, I was really excited about our next stop.  We were going to Port Hope to see a chimney!!! A chimney, you say? What is so exciting about a chimney?  And why, of all things, would a chimney get an historical marker? Of course, I jest about the level of my excitement, but the questions are good questions.  And, surprisingly, this was not our first visit to the Port Hope Chimney. I “Hope” to be able to answer the questions above, and also fill you in on why we have been here before, in the paragraphs to follow.

Port Hope is a village with a population of 251 people (as of 2017) on the shores of Lake Huron, approximately 14.5 miles due east of Kinde, Michigan.  In its heyday, it was the center of the lumbering industry in the Thumb region of Michigan. However, two catastrophic fires over a 10-year period ended that distinction, and Port Hope had to turn to other industries in order to survive.

Before all that drama unfolded, the first parcel of land in this region was purchased by William Stafford and Reuben Dimond in 1851.  Stafford purchased an additional 40 acres with William Southard a few years later – parcels of land that had been set aside by the government as pensions for the veterans of the War of 1812.  Southard journeyed to this area by schooner, but with a storm fast approaching, he was let off the ship some distance from shore and had to battle the elements and a stiff wind while rowing to land.  It is said that during this challenge, he vowed that if he made it safely to shore, he would name the area Port Hope.

Fortunately, Mr. Southard made it to shore, and by 1858, William Stafford and other settlers had established a thriving lumbering community complete with a dock for shipping and mills for processing the lumber.  The chimney for one of these mills, the one still standing and was the target of our visit, was built by John Geltz. The first fire to hit the area happened in 1871. As devastating as that fire was, the lumbering industry and Port Hope were able to rebound and thrive for another decade.  However, the great fire of 1881 was catastrophic as every tree succumbed to the inferno. The chimney is the only reminder of the industry that once dominated this region of Michigan and serves now as a monument to the pioneers that developed the area.

Obviously, Port Hope did not die with the fire of 1881.  The pioneers turned to farming as their main industry, and William Stafford responded by building a flour mill, a grain elevator, and a new dock.  In 1887, Port Hope was incorporated, and the first railroad reached here in 1903. Today, it is a quaint little town that includes Stafford County Park (used for recreation and camping), a marina, and 11 historic sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

We spent quite a bit of time here since it felt so great being out in the sun.  We took lots of pictures of the area, with both Sarah and I vying to get the money shot – the most artistic image of the chimney.  I gave her the win as her pic (below right-hand corner) was my favorite of the 21 pics we took.

Oh, I mentioned we had been here once before.  As it turns out, we had stopped here years ago when we were on one of our original quests – to visit every lighthouse in the state of Michigan.  As we were making the loop around the thumb, the sight of this tall structure standing all alone along the shoreline intrigued us because from a distance, it looks like a lighthouse, but our map did not show that a lighthouse was in this area.  So, naturally, we had to stop and check it out. Thus, our first visit.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

The Middle of No Where

St. Mary of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Church

Date Visited:  August 3, 2019

Stop:  #29

Kathy, Sarah, and I had been mulling over the possibility of another quest when the opportunity presented itself.  We were going to spend a weekend in Caseville and the weather was supposed to be perfect. It seemed like the perfect time to set out on our next adventure.  I put together a plan that would basically take us on a loop of the eastern half of the Thumb, from Kinde, Michigan, to the eastern shoreline, down to Lexington, and then across to Marlette and back to Caseville.  If everything went to plan, we would hit 17 historical markers and 5 wineries. This was an extremely aggressive endeavor, and realistically, probably not possible, but we set out early in the morning under cloudless skies feeling like anything seemed possible.

Our first stop was a church – St. Mary of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Church.  We headed east on M-25 to Port Crescent Road, making our way to M-53. From there we headed south to Stoddard, where we headed east again until we got to Hellems Road.  We traveled south again for 3 miles until we got to Moeller Road, made a left and drove 0.43 miles to the marker. It was not difficult to find the church. As we made our way east and south through the Thumb, the landscape seemed to be as flat as the eye could see with nothing but farmlands in any direction.  Then, out of nowhere, there was this massive structure, with several smaller buildings clustered about, dominating the landscape.

St. Mary's Church is located 3 miles northeast of Kinde, Michigan in what is called Dwight Township.  Dwight Township is a civil township of Huron County comprising an area of 35.74 square miles and a population of 715 (as of 2017).  This area was heavily settled by Polish refugees who immigrated here in the 1840’s from Prussia. Many of the refugees were of Catholic faith and worshiped at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Port Austin.  In 1903, in an effort to hang onto their Polish customs and traditions, these immigrants created their own parish and built St. Mary’s Church, named after the Queen of Poland. The original church was constructed of wood and was built by the parishioners on land purchased by Frank and Rose Koroleski.  

Tragically, the original wood frame church burned to the ground on May 29, 1932, which was also the day that the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi.  Fr. Henry Podsiad directed the building of the new church, which was dedicated on May 28, 1933. It was built in the Polish Romanesque style and was constructed of brick and cobblestone.  The church is known for the interior beauty of its murals on the ceilings, as well as other outstanding decor of the church. On December 8th, 1982 the parish of St. Mary of Czestochowa and the parish of St. Edward the Confessor merged into one parish.  On July 1, 2013 the parish of St. Michael of Port Austin joined St. Mary of Czestochowa and St. Edward the Confessor and merged into one parish known as the Annunciation of the Lord Parish.

We tried to go inside the church and see the beautiful murals, but unfortunately the front doors were locked.  We wandered about the grounds for a bit taking pictures and soaking in the sunshine, and Sarah even explored the cemetery which is located to the east of the church.  The historical marker describes much of the early history of the church (as outlined above), but the unique feature about this sign is that the backside is all written in Polish.  Just beyond the marker, surrounded by a cove of trees and shrubs, is a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. It was such a beautiful and serene place smack dab in the middle of nowhere.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Michigan by the Bottle – Auburn Hills

Date Visited:  July 31, 2019

Stop:  #28

It was a Wednesday night, and lately, that has meant one thing – go to Michigan by the Bottle, drink wine, and eat pizza.  This has easily become Kathy and my favorite place to hang out and drink wine. We were introduced to MBTB several months ago by our very good friends, Randy and Christie.  Since then, we have probably visited here, on average, once or twice per month. Our day of choice is Wednesday night because that is pizza night. MBTB does not serve any food, other than a wide assortment of appetizers, so they joined forces with Larco Bros. Pizza (just across the street and a few storefronts west of MBTB) and while drinking wine, you can order anything off of Larco’s menu and have it delivered to your table at MBTB on Wednesday nights.  Our meal of choice has always been pizza, and this day was no different. We (Randy, Christie, Kathy, and I) had 4 additional people join us today – our daughter Sarah, good friends Eric and Susan, and their daughter, Margaret – so we needed to push two tables together to get all eight of us sitting together.

Michigan by the Bottle is an awesome place.  It is the perfect place to relax and unwind after a hard day at the office.  The staff is absolutely the best, and greet you by name every time you walk in the door.  I feel like I’m walking into the Cheers bar in Boston where everyone knows your name – JOHN!!!!  Well, not quite like that, but you do feel like family when you walk in and they bring you your wine selection list with your name already on it.  Ashley was one of the first servers to wait on us and she is now the Store Manager. Pete was the previous Store Manager and is now the Director of Wine Education.  Kelly or Nathan typically wait on us now. All of them are wonderful hosts; talking, joking, and making sure we are all taken care of.

MBTB was founded in 2012 by Shannon and Cortney Casey, certified sommeliers, who love Michigan wines.  They started as an on-line entity in 2009, but soon opened their first Tasting Room in Shelby Township (December 2012).  A couple years later, they opened their second Tasting Room in Royal Oak. The newest addition to the MBTB family opened its doors on July 9, 2016.  Originally planned to be located in the area of Great Lakes Crossing, Auburn Hills opened its arms when the original deal fell through. The Tasting Room is right smack in the middle of downtown Auburn Hills, on the south side of Auburn Road.

The premise behind Michigan by the Bottle is simple – they only serve and sell Michigan wines.  They have partnered with 20 Michigan wineries, who, according to the MBTB website, “…are family-run operations – some of which have existed for generations – that use their own estate-grown fruit and/or locally sourced fruit to produce high-quality wines.”  The partner wineries for the Auburn Hills site are:

• Blue Water Winery (Carsonville)
• Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery (Traverse City)
• Burgdorf’s Winery (Haslett)
• Chateau Aeronautique Winery (Jackson)
• Chateau Chantal (Traverse City)
• Cody Kresta Vineyard & Winery (Mattawan)
• Hawthorne Vineyards (Traverse City)
• Laurentide Winery (Lake Leelanau)
• Left Foot Charley (Traverse City)
• Mackinaw Trail Winery (Petoskey)
• Shady Lane Cellars (Suttons Bay)
• Wyncroft/Marland (Pullman)

Needless to say, many of the wines featured at MBTB-Auburn Hills come from these wineries.  And you will never be short of choices – on any given day, you will typically have upwards of 40 wines to choose from across all spectrums of wine types.  You can choose from 3 different Flights – the Full Flight, the Mini Flight, and The Tour – or you can order Big Pours by the glass. They have a wide array of appetizers to choose from as well, although the two biggest Flights come with some appetizers.  Kathy and I typically go big – we usually get The Tour, which includes five 2-oz wine pours, one dessert wine pour, Flite Bites (cheeses and chocolates), and crackers, cashews, or snack mix. This day was no different. In fact, I believe everyone at our table got their own Tour, so we had 48 glasses of wine on our table!  Plus, four pizzas. Needless to say, there was no room on the table, but boy, did we have a great time. Lots of fellowship and laughs to go around.

This is such an amazing place, and I really feel like my words do not do it justice, so I would recommend visiting their website at http://mbtbtasting.com/index.html# to learn more about them.  Better yet, I would recommend visiting any of their three sites.  Shannon and Cortney are wonderful hosts, and they throw great parties.  They hold amazing events at each of their 3 sites, and we have made sure to attend some of them.  We have done a vertical tasting event, two wine and food pairings events (with Chateau Aeronautique Winery and Laurentide Winery wines featured and the respective owners present to tell us all about their wines and amazing food prepared by Wooden Whisk Creations), and Kathy did a painting and wine event.  We have never been disappointed by any of our visits to MBTB, and our evening there on this day was no exception. Many thanks to Cortney, Shannon, and Staff members for always providing a memorable experience whenever we visit!!

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

A One-of-a-Kind Building

Rollin Sprague Building

Date Visited:  July 21, 2019

Stop:  #27

It was approaching late afternoon and we knew that we only had a few minutes left to continue our quest before David would have to return to Grand Rapids. A visit to our intended winery that day didn’t make sense at this point since a) we didn’t have the time to relax and really enjoy the visit, and b) David would not be able to imbibe in any wine since he would have to drive nearly two and a half hours back to GR. So, our decision was relatively easy at that point – time enough to visit one last historical marker, postponing our winery visit to another day. After taking our requisite number of photos of the Rochester Opera House, we headed south on Main Street by foot.

We walked a block to East 3rd Street, and there, on the northeast corner of East 3rd and Main was our next destination – the Rollin Sprague Building. The historical marker itself is located on East 3rd and sits atop a post under the outdoor stairway leading to the second floor, surrounded by shrubs and flowers. The building itself is very unique in appearance. In fact, it is the only commercial building of its kind in the state of Michigan.

The building was constructed in 1849 and done in a construction common in the region of New York state from which Rollin Sprague was raised. The building was constructed out of coursed cobblestone by Thomas Anscomb, a stonemason of English birth living at the time in Troy Township. Because of its cobblestone construction, the building is also known as the Old Stone Store.

So, who was Rollin Sprague and why did he commission this building? Guess what? I have the answer for you!!! Rollin was born in Ontario County, New York, in 1806. He and his family moved to Oakland County, Michigan, in 1821. By 1831, Rollin had become a well-known local physician. In that same year, he, in partnership with his father-in-law, opened a drugstore in a building that was originally the first schoolhouse in Rochester. Rollin ran his business in this building until 1849 when he commissioned the construction of the Old Stone Store. The original façade of the Old Stone Store is believed to have been of early Greek Revival style and probably was constructed of the same coursed cobblestone that dominates the south and east walls of the current building. The façade was replaced in 1899 in a Victorian style. In the early 1960’s, the façade was again changed, this time to a Colonial Revival style. Finally, the façade was returned to its original 1899 appearance in 1995-96 (the year 1899 is prominently displayed in the center gable peak of the façade). There is a single storefront on the first floor, and 5 tall double-hung windows on the second floor (this past Halloween, the current owners celebrated the upcoming final episode of Star Wars with a life-sized Darth Vader in the center window and a stormtrooper in each of the two windows on each side of Darth Vader!!!).

Rollin passed away in 1872 and his wife continued to run his business until 1875. She sold the building in 1875 and the new owners turned it into a general store and ran their business there until 1904, which by that time was being run as a dry goods store and drugstore. Between 1904 and 1930, the building housed the Rochester Era newspaper, a grocery store, a restaurant, a used-auto dealership, and a dairy. In 1930, the building changed owners again and it became a bakery. The building still houses that same bakery – the Home Bakery.

Having had our fill of history for the day (7 stops!!), and no wine, we called it a day and headed home. Wine will have to wait for another day.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

Rochester, and an Opera House that never hosted an opera...

Rochester Opera House

Date Visited:  July 21, 2019

Stop:  #26

We didn’t have to go far to get to our next historical marker – it was right across the street from our last stop!! But before I get into the details of our next stop, it’s time for a brief history of Rochester. After all, this is the third stop within the borders of Rochester and I have not even provided that history yet!!!

Rochester was settled in 1817 by the Graham family. They built a log cabin at what is now the southeast corner of East 2nd Street and South Main Street (approximately where the Quik Pik and Penn Station stores are located today, for those familiar with the area). The city was named after Rochester, New York, since many of the pioneers who settled here came from New York. Rochester became an industrial hub as it grew because of the two rivers that run through it – the Clinton River and the Paint Creek. Through its history, Rochester has been home to a refinery for sugar beets, a paper products company, and the Western Knitting Mills factory (see my Stop #20 blog for more details on the knitting mill). None of these industries exist in Rochester today; instead, Rochester thrives with a vibrant downtown area lined with boutique stores, restaurants, and bars. Our personal favorites include the Rochester Chop House, Red Knapp’s, Gus O’Connor’s Public House, and the Desert Oasis (and Mr. B’s, which unfortunately closed its doors in 2019). On the north end of town, we really enjoy breakfasts at Paul’s on Main Street, and lunches at Lipuma’s Coney Island.

Supporting Rochester as a growing industrial center were two railroads which no longer exist, but have been converted into recreational trails as part of Michigan’s Rails to Trails program. There also used to be a large pond on the east side of town called Chapman Mill Pond, but the pond was wiped out by a flood that took place in 1949 when a dam on the Paint Creek broke. The land has been reclaimed and the current Post Office and the Rochester Library now sit where the pond used to be. The only reminder of the pond is Water Street, which used to run along the edge of the pond and still exists today.
As this community grew, the Village of Rochester formed in April, 1869. It became the city of Rochester in 1967. Rochester is known today for many popular events, including the annual Rochester Hometown Christmas Parade (first held in 1951, it is said to be the biggest Christmas Parade in the state of Michigan), the Big Bright Light Show (started in 2006 and features every building along downtown Main Street draped in multi-colored Christmas lights throughout the each Christmas holiday season), and the annual Arts & Apples Festival held each September in Rochester’s beautiful city park.

Rochester is located on M-150 (Rochester Road beyond the city borders, and Main Street within its borders), directly north of Troy, and about 25 miles north of downtown Detroit. As of 2017, it had a population of 13,029.

With that now behind us, lets journey across the street to our next destination – The Rochester Opera House. This building is located on the southeast corner of East 4th Street and South Main Street and was built in 1890 by George Burr, a prominent businessman who settled in Rochester in 1882. At the time, the building was home to the First National Bank and Norton Pharmacy. In fact, a pharmacy has resided in this building every year since its opening, including Lytle’s Pharmacy, which occupies a space in the building today. As far as the opera house part of the building, it was located on the second floor and had its Grand Opening on November 7, 1890. This space hosted plays, movies, lectures, dances, boxing matches, reunions, etc. until 1933 but, ironically, never hosted an opera!!! The Rochester Opera House became the cultural center of the area. Robert Lytle restored the building in 1986-87, and it was listed on the State Register of Historic Places on June 21, 1990.




#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

A Brief History of Retail in Downtown Rochester

Masonic Block

Date Visited:  July 21, 2019

Stop:  #25

Our quest was now going to take us into downtown Rochester.  We were limited with the amount of time we had left before David would have to head back to Grand Rapids, so we had to be selective about what markers we would try to get to on this visit.  There is a total of eight historical markers in the downtown Rochester area, and we had already visited one of them a couple days earlier (see Western Knitting Mill, Stop #20 blog). We decided to hit a cluster of 3 markers along Main Street located just a couple of blocks from each other.  The first was the marker for the Masonic Block.

This marker is located on the south wall of the Masonic Block Building, which in turn, is located on the northeast corner of South Main Street and East Fourth Street.  The second floor of the building housed the local Masonic Lodge in its early years, thus the name of the building. It was built in 1899-1900 with funds raised by the Rochester Building Association.  The architect chosen for the building was Edward R. Prall from Pontiac, Michigan. He chose a Romanesque Revival style featuring rock-faced sandstone trimmed with limestone. Edward is also known for designing the Traverse City Opera House, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  He apparently had a knack for designing buildings of historical significance.

Shortly after completion, the building was extended in the back and housed an implement warehouse and harness shop.  This space later became the location of the Rochester Post Office, and was used for that purpose until a new Post Office was erected on the corner of Walnut and Fourth in 1937.  Through its history, the Masonic block has housed on its first floor

1. The Rochester Savings Bank from 1900 to 1925 (first chartered bank in Rochester)
2. Jennie Mowers & Company, a store that sold dry goods, shoes, and millinery (1900 to 1910)
3. A Kroger grocery store from 1925 until 1949
4. Carpenter's Men's Wear (opened 1950)
5. The Lucille Shoppe (1952 to 1973)
6. The Bright Ideas home furnishings store
7. And, a number of boutique businesses

Today, the first-floor tenants include a boutique clothing store, a yogurt shop, and a designer jeweler store.

After the Masonic lodge vacated the second floor in 1959 (the longest tenured occupant in the Masonic Block Building) it was used for professional offices and the Rochester School of Ballet, among other things. 

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine