Marie was inquisitive but would never pry. She had a great sense of humor but would never make fun of anyone. She shared her house and her food with those who were in need. but she seldom asked for favors for herself. Unpleasant expenences were no stranger to Marie: however, she seldom talked about them.
The house she lived in was at the split of the roads that lead to the Coast Guard Station, the Lighthouse, Lake Florence and the campground in the Bay. Through a large picture window Marie could observe the comings and goings of everyone.
Needless to say. it was always a pleasure to visit with Marie and many of us did. Not only was she friendly. offered coffee and goodies, but she gladly shared the latest news and the beautiful view of the Bay.
Marie's goodness and generosity were not confined to her Island surroundings but extended into her daily life on the mainland as well. A pleasant, fair and loving person has departed. I will miss her.
Johanna de Kok. February 2002
Marie Smith
Several years ago, when my close association with South Manitou was just beginning, among my first Island friends was Marie Smith. My island experiences, and I am sure those of others, were enriched by knowing her. Marie was everyone's friend and hospitality was among her foremost gifts.
In those days she spent the summers in a tidy, aqua-painted cabin with an excellent view of South Manitou’s bay. (This view had not always been so great, but I will leave that story to others.) She also had access to Glen Furst’s black and white Bronco that she used to transport her many guests across the island.
I had my own roof and island transportation during my first summer on South Manitou, but I too can be numbered among Marie's overnight guests. During the following winter, I assisted my father with a high school science club field trip to Epcot Center at Disney World. We stayed in Zephyrhills because two of the students on the trip had a grandmother living there. The rest of the group stayed with the grandmother and I got to stay with Marie. One evening, Marie invited friends to her house to see my slides of the Manitou islands. We assembled in her carport and used her neighbor's white cinder brick wall as the screen. Somehow she had overlooked inviting her neighbor, so he was quite surprised when he looked out his window to see several of us staring back at his house.
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I was also Marie's guest on South Manitou the next summer. I spent most of that time at the University of Michnian Biological Station, yet I found ways to incorporate additional fieldwork for my island flora study. On a weekend in July. I arranged to stay and have meals with Marie. During that trip, she and I hosted a party where we delighted other islanders with the ice cream that I had packed from the Station instead of food.
Marie was among the charter members of the South Manitou Memorial Society. She loved the island and its history. She (with her husband Mike and Fred and Bea Burdick) was one to whom Gerald Crowner dedicated The South Manitou Story. In its preface he wrote, "All four of these fine people did much for South Manitou, by providing excellent quarters for all who wished to vacation on the Island and enjoy its beauty. They will be long remembered by those who were privileged to vacation there." Based on this legacy, perhaps a future island historian will devote a short chapter on Marie.
Brian T. Hazlett
Past President, SMMS
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Edith 'Marie' Smith Memorial Announcement
dated: 2/7/2002
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.rn. Saturday at the Church of God in Mio for Zephyrhills, Fla. and Fairview, Mich. resident Edith "Marie" (Galbraith) Smith, who died Feb. 7. She was 89. Mrs. Smith was a retired school teacher who lived and worked for most of her life in Mio while spending summers on South Manitou Island where she hosted family, friends and visitors. She served as secretary of the local chapter of the Michigan Retired School Teachers Association, and was a member of the South Manitou Memorial Society, Alliance Church of Zephyrhills, and lifelong member of the Mio Church of God. She also volunteered at the AuSable Valley Nursing Home and AuSable Valley Apartments, and enjoyed playing cards. Surviving are a daughter, Margaret (Charles) Hodge of Empire, daughter-in-law Helen (Rod) Leaf of Mio; eight grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Allen "Mike" Smith in 1977; and her son, James Smith in 1964. Memorials may be made to the South Manitou Memorial Society, Community Caring-Assisted Living Fund, or to the charity of ones choice. Internment will be April 29 at Kittle Cemetery, Mio.
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Grant peace, dear Lord,
as homeward bound,
our dear one now departs.
Leave memories,
of happy days,
As balms upon our hearts.
And as each day,
begins anew,
May we your belssings see.
And know our dear,
departed one,
Will always with you be.
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News from Our President
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
The Memorial Society is still looking for someone to take over the duties of Newsletter Editor. Kathy has been putting the Newsletter together for many years, and it is time for someone else to "take the reins". The Newsletter is published only three times a year. There is no limit to the size of each publication. Many people contribute articles and stories to the Newsletter. The Editor puts everything together, prints, and mails! You will receive much assistance - so PLEASE VOLUNTEER! Kathy wants to phase out of this position by the July meeting. If you have questions concerning this position, direct them to Kathy Bietau at 11196 W. Clear Lk. Cir. Branch, MI 49402 or (231) 898-22S6. If you would be
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interested in taking on this very important position - Please contact me at 6551 E. Dorado Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85715 or (520) 721-1697. Thank you!
Don Morris, President
South Manitou Memorial Society
News from Our Treasurer
Statement of Current Assets
Glenn Furst Memorial Fund $10,000.00
Jack Phillips Memorial Fund $ 1,783.72
Huntington Certificate of Deposit $15,035.65
Huntington Money Market $ 8,155.10
Huntington Checking Account $ 1,697.78
Total Assets $36,672.25
Submitted by Joe Orbeck, Treasurer
Those Whom We Will Miss ...
Anton DeKok
We are very sad to inform you that Anton de Kok passed away on December 31, 2001 at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Anton and Johanna had been living in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, after moving from their home in Leland, Michigan. A Memorial Service was held on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2002, at Mayflower Congregational Church, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was a beautiftil service, blessed with heartfelt "renierxibrances" of Anton's life by his family and best friends, and an emotional solo bagpiper's performance of "amazing grace". Anton will be missed by many island friends.
News from the National Park
The U.S. Life-Saving Service Stations within the national lakeshore will be celebrating an anniversary. The North Manitou Island station is 125 years old and the South Manitou and Sleeping Bear Point Stations will be 100 years old in 2002. The park is celebrating these mile9tones by hosting special events in the park and area to celebrate. Eastern National is also developing commemorative items for the sales area to remember this anniversary.
Events will include the Old Towne Playhouse showing of a play about South Manitou Island called Barta's Path. This play will run in Traverse City from mid-February until mid-March. The park will include a U.S. Life-Saving entry in the National Cherry Festival Parade in July. Special events will occur at the Sleeping Bear Point station throughout the fall, and the Leelanau Historical Society will host a special tour of the North and South Manitou stations in September. The list of events will be printed in the 2002 Park Newspaper.
The maintenance crews were able to complete a large amount of deferred maintenance projects on the historic structures located on the islands. The George Johann Hutzler pig barn has a new fire retardant cedar roof the August Beck Ice House has been reroofed and stabilized. The granary, sheds, and privy at the George Conrad Hutzler farm have also been reroofed and stabilized, and the farm yard surrounding and including the structures has been mowed and volunteer shrubs removed to reopen the cultural landscape.
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Structures on North Manitou Island that have been stabilized and preserved include the Newhall, Monte Carlo, and Wing Cottages, Katie Shepherd Hotel, Bourniques House, Sawmill and sheds within the village. The windows in the village fruit barn were also rebuilt and reinstalled into the barn. Additional projects are funded for North Manitou Island and include more work on the Sawmill, Bourniques and Cottage Row houses. The U.S. Life-Saving Service structures will be spruced up for their anniversary celebrations.
The Lighthouse windows have been repaired and rebuilt over the winter. They will be reinstalled in the tower in the spring so that tours can continue. The dwelling and fog whistle building windows will be reinstalled over the summer months. This work will provide much needed light to the interior of these structures, which will be the first step in reopening these structures to the public.
Park staff and volunteers will be moving the round flammable storage building and accompanying shelving back to the lighthouse complex. Last fall volunteers and the park excavated the brick foundation and pad. The brick and pad will be repaired this summer and the building moved and reinstalled before fall. The park is still awaiting word on the larger funding package that would include the entire lighthouse complex.
Interpretation has created a traveling trunk to interpret Lighthouses. The trunk was created thanks to Mary Messerschmidt who donated the funds in remembrance of her husband Fred. Fred and Mary volunteered together on South Manitou Island for many years helping with the lighthouse tours. The trunk is an educational tool that is placed at the bottom of the tower during the summer for interpretation to those waiting to climb the tower. The trunk is removed in the fall and provided to schools as an educational tool. The trunk is filled with photos, fresnel lens replicas, prisms, and models of lighthouses and lighthouse keeper figures. The first box has been so popular that another will be created to expand the program and purchase more lighthouse educational objects.
The natural resource office is conducting wildland bird studies for both offices and doing invasive garlic mustard removal on the islands. More information will be provided in the next newsletter.
Submitted by Kim Mann, National Park Service, Sleeping Bear Dunes. SMMS Liaison.
Volunteer Opportunities at Sleeping Bear Dunes Summer 2002
Volunteers are being sought for a Traditional Leelanau County Fair being held at Port Oneida on August 16-17. The fair will host traditional arts demonstrations. Port Oneida will also be the location of another Barn Workshop sponsored by the National Park, June 22 and 23. Interested volunteers should contact Kim Mann at Sleeping Bear Dunes N.L. (231) 326-5134, for further information.
Summer 2002 SMMS Volunteer Projects
Last fall the SMMS painted the exterior of the Schoolhouse, and it looks beautiful! This summer we will be painting the interior of the Schoolhouse. The Park Service has replaced the ceiling and patched areas where the drywall has broken and cracked. They will also sand surfaces in preparation for painting. We hope to secure a donor for the paint, as we did for the exterior. During the same time period, we will also finish the fence at the main Cemetery, and clear brush, if necessary. We are looking for about 8 people who would like to volunteer for a 3-day trip to South Manitou Island. Depending on the dates we choose, there may be an island house available for our stay. The following are possible dates:
May 17-18-19; June 14-15-16; July 28-29-30(following the Annual Meeting); Sept. 20-21-22.
Please respond with your interest and the dates you can volunteer. You may list in order of your preference if you are available for more than one weekend. If you have a large enough group who would like to suggest alternative dates, we will try and work with your group. Please respond to Kathy Bietau at 11196 W. Clear Lk. Cir. Branch, MI 49402.
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phone evenings: (231) 898-2286. Or email: bietau@carrinter.net.
We also need to begin developing ideas for the South Manitou Memorial Society display room in the Island Visitor Center. The Park Service has offered us space in the Visitor Center to display items of interest related to the history of South Manitou. This could be items currently in private ownership that may be put "on loan" for a period of time at the Visitor Center. Perhaps a couple people would like to work on this during the same weekend?
SMMS Brochure and Website
By the spring of 2002, the South Manitou Memorial Society brochure will be available at areas in and around the Empire/Leland area. We have located a beautiful photograph of the lighthouse for the front cover, which has been loaned to us, free-of-charge, by Terry Phipps, a Traverse City photographer. The brochure details the history of our organization, our goals and accomplishments, provides color photographs, and encourages others to join!
We will be "on-line", very soon, with the South Manitou Memorial Society Internet website. The website will highlight the goals and purpose of our organization, and detail the projects we have been involved with on South Manitou Island. At a later date we will be able to post photographs of projects we have been involved with and related stories, etc. We are looking for someone who would be interested in maintaining the website. This would involve answering email questions, and inquiries regarding the Society, and directing them to the appropriate Board Member for further information. The "webmaster" would, of course, need to have a computer with Internet access. If you are interested in this position, please contact our President, Don Morris at 6551 E. Dorado Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85715 or (520) 721-1697.
A Call to Volunteer!
South Manitou Picnic Organizer
The South Manitou Memorial Society is looking for a volunteer to take over the job of Annual Picnic Organizer. As you all know, Zella Morris has been the organizer for our Annual Picnic for a number of years - and we thank her for the fine job she has been doing - but she wishes to "pass the torch" on to someone else. Duties include: Getting to the Empire Town Hall at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to set up tables, prepare the kitchen, make coffee and lemonade, and most importantly, clean up and leave the Town Hall as we found it. It would be nice to have someone from the Empire area, as they would be able to arrive early, but any volunteer is appreciated! Zella is prepared to do this job this year, but it would be nice for someone to work with her this year to "learn the ropes". If you are interested, please contact Don Morris at 6551 E. Dorado Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85715 or (520) 721-1697.
I Remember When ...
This "Historical Perspective" was written in June of 1972 by Betty Jean Tobin, daughter of John K. Tobin. Betty was born in 1924. She was one of seven children. Her brothers were: Harold, Edwin, and George. Her sisters were Edna, Mae and Dorothy.
Betty's father, John Tobin was working at the Coast Guard and lighthouse station on the island for 35 years. He cut many cords of wood and made maple syrup. He farmed in his spare time. Charlotte Ann, John's Wife, was a Hutzler. She was called Lottie. She ran the post office and the grocery store.
Harold was a Coast Guard and Edwin and George had their own fish tug and nets - and they fished. Edna Married Cecil Scoffield who was with the Lighthouse and moved to Wisconsin. Mae married a Coast Guard Frank Caron and settled in Petoskey, Michigan. Dorothy married Frank Razo, Coast Guard, and moved to California. Betty Jean married a Coast Guard, Leslie Hopkin in California.
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We all went to grade school on the island. Some of the people I know of that lived here many many years were the Hasses, Anderson's, Beck's, Furst's, Burdick's, Johnson's, Macky's, Thompson's, Hutzler's, Warner's, Wendell's, Rosie's, Erickson's, Deerings, Barrets, Ludwigs, Robinettes, Wheelers.
Some of the teachers I had were Miss Voice, Miss Plowman, and Lola Rugseggar who married my brother Edwin Tobin. We always had Christmas programs. Had some box socials. The people had many get together's, dances, card parties, pot-luck dinners, picnics, beach parties, and played music, sang, and played games. Always got together on the Holidays.
Many ships were in distress during storms and Coast Guard and Lighthouse Men worked together aiding and sheltering the people. Fishermen would use the bay to shelter from the storms and were welcomed I the homes to eat and get warm many times. My Father and others walked across the frozen Lake Michigan many times for supplies and mail. Hunting and fishing were good here.
Betty Jean Tobin also wrote the following short historical perspective about her husband Les Hopkins and their life on the island. (Written circa 1972-73)
Leslie A. Hopkins, Seaman First Class, U.S. Coast Guard, served at U.S. Coast Guard Life Boat Station, South Manitou Island, during the year immediately prior to U.S. entry into World War II. Reporting for duty from U.S.C.G. Station, Grand Haven, Michigan.
He was one of the first U.S.C.G. Cutter seaman assigned to supplement the ranks of the Surfman who historically manned the Lifeboat Station and who were usually long term or native residents of the area around the Station. Early in 1941, all the surfman were ordered in short notice to proceed without delay to the East Coast where their special skills in landing small craft in hazardous surf were to be utilized in preparing for defense tactics should the U.S. become involved in World War II, which indeed happened and they fought from Quadacanal through V-J day landing troops in the treacherous surf they knew so well.
The lifeboat station was regularly manned by a crew of 14 dedicated men saving life and property. They continued to operate with a skeleton crew of 3 seamen temporaries and then seaman First Class Hopkin's also departed to ultimately serve on a Destroyer Escort during the war becoming a Chief Warrant Officer before his Coast Guard career ended.
While serving on South Manitou Island, he met and eventually won the hand of Betty Jean Tobin, an Island girl. The lovely daughter of John R. Tobin, Keeper of the South Manitou Light and Lottie Tobin, Post Master.
The year Les Hopkins served on South Manitou marked the beginning of a different era in the Coast Guard when men came and served for shorter periods, and the married men rented homes and soon transferred into other areas and work assignments furthering their service careers. Today, Mr Hopkins acknowledges the long difficult heroic and happy days of the surfman with whom he was privileged to serve. They, who with their families lived, built homes, and contributed to the unique awareness of their neighbors needs so prevalent on South Manitou in 1941.
Editor’s Note: Marie Smith found these stories, as she sorted through boxes of South Manitou Memories at her home in Florida during the winter of 2001. Marie has passed on many of these treasures to the SMMS, which can be published in future Newsletters. She would have enjoyed seeing this story in print, and we mourn the passing of a treasured friend and Islander. We will miss Marie in so many ways. She has attended most every Island Picnic since they began, and has rarely missed an annual meeting, always expressing her opinions in regards to Society business. South Manitou Island runs through her heart and soul!
The South Manitou Memorial Society Newsletter is copyrighted 2002/2003, Vol.13, No.1 The deadline for articles to be included in the next Newsletter is June 15, 2002. Please submit to Newsletter Editor: Kathy Bietau at: 11196 W. Clear Lake Cir. Branch, Ml 49402. OR E-mail to bietau@carrinter.net
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South Manitou Memorial Society
P.O. Box 177
Empire, MI 49630
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President: Don Morris
Vice-President: Lynn Roe
Treasurer: Joe Orbeck
Secretary: Judy Fogle
FORWARDING & RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED
The South Manitou Memorial Society
Newsletter is published three times
a year. In March, July , and
November. Ideas, suggestions,
research, stories, photographs,
illustrations, etc., are encouraged.
Send to above address.
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SOUTH MANITOU MEMORIAL SOCIETY
"NEW" MEMBER APPLICATION
NAME: _______________________________________ DATE: _______________
ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________
CITY/STATE/ZIP: _____________________________________________________
______ $10.00 ______ $25.00 ______ $50.00 ______ $100.00 _______ $OTHER
DONATION FORM:
Current Member Donation: $______________________
Current Member Donation in the Memory of: $_____________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
THE SMMS IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE
TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW.
SEND TO: SMMS P.O. BOX 177 EMPIRE, MI 49630
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Copyright 2002/2003 Vol.13, No.1
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