summer 2010 newsletter - north berrien historical society

8/8/2019 Summer 2010 Newsletter - North Berrien Historical Society

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Hagar Township officials recently donated to

the museum a book of Justice of the Peace Notes,

now one of the oldest manuscripts in our collection.Entries made between 1846 and 1905 document legal

disputes, marriages, and death inquisitions. This re-

cord provides a rare glimpse in to the lives and rela-

tionships of early residents of Hagar Township.

The majority of records are suits filed against

individuals for debt payment, theft, trespassing or as-

sault. Several entries during the Civil War relate to

enlisted men seeking discharge or furlough for medi-

cal reasons, including a doctor’s letter from “Brunson

Harbor,” as Benton Harbor was then known.

In a few entries the book describes the Coroner's Inquest

for unidentified bodies found on

the shores of Lake Michigan. In

one case from September 1878,

the deceased was determined to

be a victim of the Chicago-based

Schooner Meary, which capsized

on the lake ten days before the body was found.

Marriage records are especially interesting,

providing evidence of the young ages at which many

girls were married in frontier communities. One en-

try tells of the July 24, 1863 wedding of Vincent G.

Brant, age 21, of Hagar and Mary Ann McMarshall,

age 13, of Pipestone Township. The Justice of the

Peace does note in this case, unlike those of other

teenage brides, that the couple was married with the

consent of Mrs. Eliza I. Hayes, the bride’s mother.

Records shine light on early Hagar Township

NORTH BERRIEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER

Vol. II, No. 2 Hagar · Bainbridge · Coloma · Watervliet Summer 2010

300 Coloma Ave./ P.O. Box 207, Coloma, Michigan 49038 www.NorthBerrienHistory.org

A vibrant and well-preserved heritage is an

irreplaceable source of community pride and educa-

tional opportunity for the residents of North Berrien.

In 2006 area voters agreed to support the Historical

Society with a millage, allowing the museum to sub-

stantially expand its work. Professional staffing, highquality traveling exhibits, improved collections stor-

age and record-keeping, site safety and accessibility

upgrades, and much more have been possible with this

stable funding. On August 3, 2010, we ask for your

“yes” vote in favor of a renewal of our millage, and

we ask you to please encourage others to do the same.

Please Vote Yes on August 3to Renew our Millage - Here’s Why

Continued on page 7

In this entry Justice of the Peace Alexis D. Finch recorded the

marriage of James Bundy of South Haven and Louisa Harris of Hagar Township, who were wed on July 4, 1852.



North Berrien Historical SocietyBoard of Directors

Scott Young PresidentBennet Leedy 1st Vice President

Kandyce Hays 2nd Vice PresidentCindy Young SecretaryShirley Boone TreasurerRay Mays Assistant TreasurerMarc Hettig DirectorKarin Miller DirectorPauline Morris DirectorSherry Polashak DirectorTom Scheid DirectorSally Williams Director

Staff

Alexander Gates Director / CuratorTracy Gierada Director of EducationGwen Elsner Office Manager

300 Coloma Ave.

P.O. Box 207

Coloma, MI 49038

www.NorthBerrienHistory.org

[email protected]

The mission of the North Berrien HistoricalSociety is to preserve and distribute informationregarding the history of North Berrien County.

We wish to promote, encourage learning,and disseminate knowledge of the area’s

cultural and architectural legacy.

From the Director’s Desk By Alexander Gates

Another successful traveling exhibit has come

to completion with over 1,000 visitors viewing The

Life Atomic and taking part in public programs. I’d

like to offer a special thank you to our communitypartners; the Coloma-Watervliet Area Chamber of

Commerce for their assistance with the sock hop, and

the Coloma Public Library for their hosting of the

book discussion. We also greatly appreciate a $1,000

grant from Entergy Corporation, which owns the Pali-

sades Nuclear Plant, to help make our exhibit and pro-

grams possible. Thank you to the many volunteers

who made these activities a success.

A busy summer is planned for 2010, with

events both at the museum and out in the community.The Tri-City Heritage Tour will highlight historic sites

throughout the entire region. Several new temporary

exhibits will be on display at the museum including

the contents of the 1980 Coloma Cub Scout Pack 664

time capsule, and paintings of local scenes by Evelyn

Carter Krieger. In addition to an informal “heirloom

show and tell” program, the museum will also host

experts such as Dr. Michael Nassaney from WMU.

For kids and families, Summer Time Travelers will

again offer free educational activities throughout thesummer. Again I thank our volunteers for all of their

assistance – especially at the Glad-Peach Festival

Cone Barn, our largest annual fundraiser.

Since you welcomed me to the community

three years ago I have had to the pleasure of watching

the organization grow. Just in the last two years over

50 new members have joined and hundreds more are

staying in touch with our Newsletter and online pres-

ence. Nearly 5,000 people are served by the museum

each year, most completely free of charge. Remem-ber; vote YES on Tuesday, August 3, 2010 as we

seek the renewal of our millage in the four townships

and two cities of North Berrien. The historical society

performs many crucial duties that preserve and pro-

mote our cultural heritage, but we could not operate

without the support of the entire community. Please

help us secure millage funding for another four years

as we work to further enhance your historical museum

in to one of the best in Southwest Michigan.

Curator’s Blog:

NorthBerrienHistory.blogspot.com

Twitter: Twitter.com/NBerrienHistory

Connect with NBHS Online!

Become a fan on Facebook



Tuesday, June 15,

7pm

Heirloom Show & Tell. Bring along a special photograph, antique, or other historickeepsake and share its story with others. Free.

Saturday - Sunday,

June 26 - 27 Free. See pages 4-5 for details.

Friday, July 9, 12-1pmLunch with the Curator. Bring a brown bag lunch and join us to view and discusAsparagus! Stalking the American Life (2008, 53min). This documentary filmcovers the challenges facing the asparagus industry in Oceana County, MI. Free.

Tuesday, July 20,

7pm

Archaeological Evidence of 18th

c. Daily Life at Fort St. Joseph, presentation byMichael Nassaney, Ph.D., Prof. of Anthropology, Western Michigan University/ Principal Investigator, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project. Learn about recentartifact discoveries and what they reveal about daily life at the Fort. Free.

Saturday, July 24,

10 - 11:30am

Hagar History Day. Discover surprising and fascinating storiesfrom the past in Hagar Township. Meet in Riverside for a slideshow, then drive to Lake Shore Cemetery for a tour. Free.

Tuesday, July 27,

7pm

Tour of Mary’s City of David. Take an exclusive guided tour of this BentonHarbor historic site. Advance tickets are $10 for NBHS Members and $15 for non-members, or $15 at the door for all. Read more on page 7!

Tuesday, August 3

Election Day. Pleasevote yes to renew the millage for the North Berrien Historical

Society in Hagar, Bainbridge, Coloma, and Watervliet Townships, and in the citiesof Coloma and Watervliet.

Tuesday, August 17,

7pm

Preserving the Old Rugged Cross Church, presentation by Barb Cook,Board of Directors, Old Rugged Cross Foundation. A world-famoushymn debuted at this 1862 barn and church in Pokagon— learn about thebuilding and the years of ongoing work to save and restore it. Free.

Mark your Calendars!

Saturday, August 7, 2:30 and 3:30pm

Coloma Glad-Peach Festival. Head to the Loma

Theater to view one of our local his-

tory videos on Coloma, Watervliet, or

Paw Paw Lake. Grab some hot dogs

and ice cream from our Cone Barn

while you are downtown!

Meet us Downtown!Saturday, July 3, 2pm

Watervliet 4th of July Celebration. Join usat Watervliet City Hall to view our originalvideo A Visual History of Watervliet .

Catch us on the AirwavesTune to hear us get the word out

about the Tri-City Heritage Tour onthese popular radio shows!

Monday, June 21, 9:30-10:30amWGTO - FM 101 / AM 910

Talk of the Town with Bobbie Jo Hartline

Thursday, June 24, 9-9:30amWSJM - FM 94.9 / AM 1400

In the Spotlight Live with Brenda Layne



Architecture and local history will be the focus

of the first ever Tri-City Heritage Tour on June 26-27,

2010. More than 20 historic properties in Hagar,

Bainbridge, Coloma, Watervliet, and Hartford will be

open free to the public and interpreted by volunteers

throughout the weekend. The official Tour Guide

with maps and site information will be published as a

four-page insert in the Tri-City Record on June 17.

Free Tour Guides will also be available at the North

Berrien Historical Museum, the Van Buren County

Historical Museum, and the Tri-City Record Office.

The Tri-City Heritage Tour is designed to cre-

ate access, awareness, and excitement about local

heritage. With help from the official Tour Guide, the

tour is self-directed and participants may visit as

many or as few sites as they wish. This is a wonder-

ful opportunity for families and friends to spend time

together exploring the community and discovering

how much of our rich local heritage is still preserved

in our historic buildings, landscapes, and museums.

The official Tri-City Heritage Tour website at

www.TriCityHeritageTour.wordpress.com featuresinteractive maps, photos, and descriptions of all 2010

Heritage Sites. In addition, visitors may post ques-

tions or comments on any page by simply entering a

name and valid e-mail address. The website will be

maintained after the tour as a resource on local his-

toric properties and a place for community discussion

about history and historic preservation.

The selection of 2010 Heritage Sites was over-

seen by an Advisory Team including NBHS staff,

Board Member Marc Hettig, Annette Maze from the

North Shore Dairy, Pam Hutchins-Dorstewitz from

the Van Buren County Historical Museum, and Rick

Rasmussen. Sites were given priority that could pro-

vide volunteers and represent diverse architectural

styles. Some tour highlights include the Davidson

Chapel in Coloma, the earliest funeral home in the

region, and the Coloma Interurban Station, where his-

toric materials will be on display. Pioneer Cemetery

Official Tour Guide will appear in June 17 Tri-City Record

Left to Right: Coloma United Church of Christ, Millburg Red & White Feed Store, Van Buren County Historical Museum in Hart-ford Township, St. Paul’s UCC Cemetery in Bainbridge Township, Curtis Community Center/ Curtis School in Hagar Township

Left to Right: Mantle in Hartford Library/ Olds-Merriman House, Duffield’s Cottages on Little Paw Paw Lake, Bainbridge Town-

ship Hall/ Bainbridge Center School, Interior of Coloma Interurban Station, Watervliet City Hall/ Fire Station

Continued on next page



For the second year in a row, Time Travelers

kids programs will be offered in June, July and August

2010 at the North Berrien Historical Museum. Sum-

mer Time Travelers are free, interactive educational

programs with two main goals: Learning and Fun!Designed for ages 6-12 and families, Time

Travelers is meant to inspire an interest in history and

in historical museums. All Time Travelers programs

feature real museum artifacts, hands-on activities and

demonstrations, a craft to take home, and a fun and

welcoming atmosphere.

Each day brings to life a

unique and exciting

theme, where we will ex-

plore first-hand how the

past differed from our

lives today.

Time Travelers programs are free, but advance

registration is required. To register a child for one or

more programs, please call the museum at (269) 468-

3330 or e-mail [email protected].

June 16 - Gold Rush: Experience the gold strikein Coloma, California and learn about pioneer lifein the mid 1800s.

June 30 - Flight: See cool flight experiments andlearn about early airplanes and airports in South-west Michigan.

July 14 - Resorts: Pretend to ride trains andsteamships to the famous Paw Paw Lake resorts

and dance halls. July 28 - Machines: From laundry to newspapers,

learn how machines big and small have made lifeeasier for people in history.

August 11 - Fruit: Discover the work and playthat has always made the “Fruit Belt” a specialplace to live!

Time Travelers offers historical summer fun for kids and families

July 2009 Time Travelers

All sessions are on Wednesdays

from 10am to Noon at the

North Berrien Historical Museum.

Left to Right: Davidson Chapel, Barnyard at North Shore Dairy Centennial Farm in Coloma Township, Millburg Christian Church,

North Berrien Historical Museum, Michigan Historical Marker at Van Buren County Historical Museum.

in Hartford and St. Paul’s Cemetery in BainbridgeTownship will feature detailed maps for self-touring.

The North Berrien Historical Museum and the Van

Buren County Historical Museum will both offer spe-

cial family-friendly activities. Two former rural

schools will be opened, now the homes of the Curtis

Community Center in Hagar Township and the Bain-

bridge Township Hall, which is complete with its

school bell. Duffield’s Cottages on Little Paw Paw

Lake and the Paw Paw Lake Yacht Club are examples

of the resort heritage of the area, while our agricultural

traditions come alive at sites like the North Shore

Dairy Centennial Farm, the SW Michigan Basket,Crate & Veneer Machinery Museum in Riverside, and

the Red & White Feed Mill & Store in Millburg.

The inaugural Tri-City Heritage Tour will seek

feedback from visitors at tour sites and online with the

hopes of making the Tour an annual event to celebrate

the history of the Tri-City region. The Tri-City Heri-

tage Tour is sponsored in part by a grant from the Ber-

rien Community Foundation and is coordinated by the

North Berrien Historical Society and the Van Buren

County Historical Society.

Continued from page 4



The spring of 2010 featured intriguing topicsin local history and culture at the North Berrien His-torical Museum. We are excited to continue pursuingnew topics, helping to connect local stories and arti-facts to larger issues in regional and national history.

On March 16 we welcomed the Winemakers

of North Berrien— Joe Herman of Karma VistaVineyards and Tony Peterson of Contessa Wine Cel-lars. Each described their beginnings and currentwork as pioneer winemakers in Coloma, contributingto a recent statewide boom in the wine industry.

The traveling exhibit The Life Atomic: Grow-

ing Up in the Shadow of the A-Bomb was kicked off with a festive, food-filled Opening Reception. Thefollowing week many families attended 1950s Spring

Break, a free activity day at the museum. Visitors

tried out ‘50s games, toys, and hula hoops, learnedabout the Cold War arms race from Dr. Seuss’ Butter

Battle Book, played an inflation guessing game andmore! Families also enjoyed music and dance at thefree Community Sock Hop, sponsored by the Co-loma–Watervliet Area Chamber of Commerce in con-junction with The Life Atomic exhibit. Bill Shalk from the Cook Nuclear Plant spokeon April 20 about the history of nuclear power in thisregion including photos of the Cook Plant under con-

struction in the 1960s. On May 4 we hosted a lectureby Dr. Erika Doss from Notre Dame. Dr. Doss con-nected nuclear anxiety in the 1950s to other tensionsover race and gender roles in American culture, draw-ing examples from art and popular culture to support

her argument. At the Co-

loma Library on May 13, ourMartian Chronicles Book

Discussion saw lively con-versation about the AtomicAge. The 4th, 7th and 10thgrades from Coloma Schoolsalso visited the exhibit fortour programs. Older stu-dents experienced small dis-cussion groups in our hands-

on replica fallout shelter, viewed Civil Defense films,

and practiced team problem-solving. The 4th gradetours focused as usual on local history, but the stu-dents enjoyed viewingDuck and Cover , a CivilDefense film made forschool children in 1951.

In late April themuseum made the localnews for hosting a gather-ing of Coloma CubScouts and families as

they opened a 30 year old time capsule. Some of itscontents will be displayed in a temporary exhibit atthe museum this summer.

Our May speaker, Bruce Johnson from the La-Porte County Historical Society, brought us the storyof the Infamous Belle Gunness. Gunness was dis-covered as one of the most prolific female serial kill-ers in U.S. history after her LaPorte farmhouse myste-riously burned in 1908. In an eerie story rampantwith years of tall tales, Johnson’s research has helpedto distinguish the facts from mere rumors in the case.

Spring programs explored the Atomic Age and more

Left: Students are introduced

to The Life Atomic

At 1950s Spring Break, kids and families create

artwork inspired by the styles of famous ’50s artists

Right: Dr. Seuss Story Time

at 1950s Spring Break

From April 1 - May 15, 2010, The Life Atomic exhibit featured Civil Defense films,

Cold War radio spots, Atomic Age artifacts, and a hands-on replica family fallout shelter.

Cub Scouts time capsuleceremony begins on April 28



Individual ($15)

I would like to

volunteer for NBHS

Additional tax-deductible contribution: $________

Name

Address

City, State, ZIP

Phone

New Member

Returning Member

Total Amount Enclosed: $________

Send your completed form along with your check to:

North Berrien Historical SocietyP.O. Box 207, Coloma, MI 49038

Family ($50)

Student ($8)

Senior ($10)

E-mail

North Berrien Historical SocietyMembership Form

Thank you for your support!

Please check desired annual membership level.

NBHS Exclusive Tour: Mary’sCity of David on July 27

North Berrien Historical Society members and

friends are invited for a guided walking tour of Mary’s

City of David on Tuesday, July 27 at 7pm. Tickets are

available pre-sale at the North Berrien Historical Mu-seum at a cost of $10 for members and $15 for non-

members. Tickets at the door will cost $15 per person.

Mary’s City of David was recently added to

the National Register of Historic Places as an “historic

district”. The tour will include Bethany House, which

has never before been open to the public, as well as

the greenhouses, print shop, museum, and gift shop.

Visitors can also walk down to the famous Eastman

Springs and enjoy refreshments served from the his-

toric ice cream stand on the property. Call the mu-

seum at 468-3330 for more information on the tour.

Continuing Members

Sandy Kraemer - Coloma Nancy Weir - Coloma

Douglas Geisler - Bridgman Sue Dahlquist - ColomaKevin McLemore - Coloma Dolores Totzke - ColomDebbie Friday - Coloma Cindy Yo

Deanna Heminger - ColomaScott Young - Benton Harbor

Robert & Karin Miller - St. JosephWilliam & Sue Moser - Coloma

Robert & Elaine Gierada Family - Saline, MI

Donations

Anita HirshKarin Miller

Douglas Geisler

New Members

Anita Hirsh - ColomaJerry Puckett - St. JosephTracy Gierada - St. Joseph

Please Vote Yes on August 3

With a renewal of our millage funding, the

NBHS will begin to implement a long-term strategic

plan for upgrading our exhibitions, facilities, and

grounds. We will also continue to develop our com-

munity services such as free exhibits and lectures,

public programs, school tours, and research assis-tance. In this millage campaign our members and

friends are our greatest advocates— please consider

writing a letter to the editor to help remind others

about the value of our work. If you would agree to

place a sign in your yard to support NBHS prior to

the election, please call the museum at 468-3330.

Continued from page 1

2006 2009

Museum open to public76 days per year

Museum open to public268 days per year

Open May-October Open Year-round

Volunteer operated 2.5 Full Time Employees

Approx. 1,500 visitors 4,600 visitors

Budget of under $20K Budget of $150K

978 uniquewebsite visitors

2,465 uniquewebsite visitors

How the Millage has impacted NBHS



Hagar · Bainbridge · Coloma · Watervliet www.NorthBerrienHistory.or

P.O. Box 207, Coloma, MI 49038

NONPROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Watervliet, MI

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Newsletter - Summer 2010

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summer 2010 newsletter - north berrien historical society

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