SDHS Newsletter

Artist's Cottage Open House
Sunday, May 3^rd from 2 - 4 PM
730 N. Maple St., Saugatuck
Hosted by John & Debby Topliff
$20 per person

Young flowering hydrangea tree at the Topliff's front door greets visitors approaching along a walkway around the garage/studio in background

What nicer way to melt into spring than enjoying the first Sunday afternoon in May exploring the home and grounds of Debby and John Topliff, at the next event in our sixth year of "Dine Around The Village Table" home-tour dinner or cocktail party fundraisers.

Located at 730 North Maple Street, the Topliff property is an array of visual treats as well as a bit of an intellectual excursion. Set in five acres on a steep wooded bluff overlooking Goshorn Creek and Peterson Nature Preserve, the original 1970s house has been completely reworked into a contemporary home that "feels like a glass box", bringing the outdoors inside.

This rambling main house, the Topliff's family home since 2002, features a lovely courtyard entrance and is beautifully appointed with family antiques and collections of art. Not to be missed are a number of the owner’s paintings -- large and colorful biblical narratives -- in the outlying studio connected to the garage.

Along a short pathway beyond the house, the property includes a charming 1940s cabin of vertical log exterior and pine plank interior. The structure, which the Topliffs saved from demolition in 2007, was one of several factory-built "kit" houses constructed alongside nearby Goshorn Lake just after WWII. It was methodically dismantled, packed up and moved to the Topliff property, keeping its general layout and adding interesting bits of cottage furniture and antiques. Reassembled here, it very nicely whispers “cottage,” including a sleeping loft and an outdoor shower.

Beyond the cabin, Debby created a meditation labyrinth based on an ancient 7-fold pattern. After the labyrinth the path leads through the woods to a large raised-bed garden. Behind the house a set of stairs leads down into the ravine where a corduroy path winds over the wetlands to the shallow creek. (Bring your mucky boots if you want to explore further.)

Debby is an artist, writer and teacher with a passion for finding creative ways to express her faith. She recently published And the World Became Color. Exploring the Bible with Paper, Pen, and Paint (2015). Along with her biblical teaching, she offers classes on essential oils and a dance form of tai chi. John, who has a Doctor of Ministry degree, is newly retired from his career in publishing. In 2012-2013 the couple spent a “gap” year in St. Andrews, Scotland where Debby studied at the University and John worked via Skype and enjoyed the famous links. They make their cabin available for personal and small-group days away and lead-guided retreats.

The date is May 3, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.; wine and cheese will be served. With all food and beverages donated, this event's guest charge of $20 per person will fully support the Historical Society's volunteer-based programs and activities, including exhibitions at its Pump House Museum in Saugatuck, Old School House History Center and "Back-In-Time Garden Pathway" in Douglas.

For reservations, phone 269.857.5751 or e-mail info@sdhistoricalsociety.org

Welcome from Jack Sheridan and Chris Yoder, leaders of the Society Family History Group.

Please visit us to see what we are all about and most importantly, share "lessons learned" about the many tools available for family history research.

Using DNA as an aid in family history research has come into wide use and no doubt it is the wave of the future. Last month in this column I began a brief and hopefully, understandable, explanation of this complex subject [Please reread last month’s column].

I am participating in the Ancestry.com autosomal DNA program. I have submitted my DNA - a tube of spit and $99 - to Ancestry. My DNA is compared to all other samples received, both past and present. As Ancestry identifies potentially matching samples they notify the submitters. Most submitters are part of an Ancestry.com tree created by them or a family member.

For example, below is a page received by myself and the owner of the cccook21 tree showing match details. Robinson Chilcote and Amy Heathcote are my fifth great grandparents and lived in the mid 1700s near Baltimore, Maryland. Robinson Chilcote died in the Revolutionary War.

The left hand column ends with yours truly. The right hand column ends with cccook21 - a cousin that I can then contact by email. The revelation of our actual identities is left to us as desired.

Click on the image for a higher resolution copy

This page is nice but most of the matches require that I dig in and go through the other tree to find a connection if there is one. About 5-10% of the reported potential matches yield a connection. The value of this exercise is that it often enables me to add data to my knowledge base and that can lead to tree additions. Also I can easily make email contact with my many distant - and no so distant - newly discovered cousins.

Ancestry.com now has a growing data base derived from analyzing about a half million submittals and their program results are evolving as their data base grows and DNA research progresses.

Stay tuned - more next month.

Got questions on how to get going? Questions on DNA? That is what we are for! Call or email us and remember, the SDHS family history group’s regular meeting schedule is the first and third Thursday of every month at the OSH.

[Note the schedule for next month varies from the usual.]

Upcoming meetings are:
Thursday, March 19
Thursday, April 16
Thursday, April 30

Remember, your family history does not have to have any connection to the Saugatuck-Douglas area !!!

Still not sure how to get going? Let us provide a helpful jump start by recording what you know about your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents and send it along for a review by Chris Yoder or myself. The snail mail address is SDHS Family History, Box 617, Douglas, Michigan 49406, or email a copy to either cyoder@tds.net or jack.sheridan@gmail.com.

We will soon be back to you with readily found data and with suggestions on the next steps to take. Further help is readily available from the Family History group. Again, the only requirement is membership in the SDHS.

Mayflower ancestor, Revolutionary War vet, great grandparents? Still wondering? Questions/comments/advice/needs - contact Jack Sheridan at jack.sheridan@gmail.com 269 857-7144 or Chris Yoder at cyoder@tds.net 269 857-4327.

This newsletter column is produced by Jack Sheridan

Don't Forget to

It's that time of year to vote for the election of new Society Board members for 2015. Please click HERE to download and print your copy of the Official Ballot. Ballots must be returned by US Mail to SDHS, Box 617, Douglas, MI 49406 and postmarked no later than April 18, 2015.

The Baldhead Panoramas – One by One - Piece by Piece - 7

Click on the picture for a higher resolution copy.
Be patient, it may take a while to download.

Last September I started a new HBC series of panoramic photographs taken from the top of Mt Baldhead. We history buffs are fortunate to have photos from this great vantage point over a long time period. The photos appearing span some fifty years, are accurately dated, and in most cases the photographer identified.

Other factors make these photos special. First, earlier photos had few mature trees to block the view. Second, the photographers used quality cameras with large glass plate negatives that were capable of capturing details. Though most of the glass plates are lost, the prints made from them, faithfully contain the details. When scanned at high resolution, the images yield marvelous results.

In December we had full photos of 1895 and 1906 without comment, last month was the the middle of 1895 and 1896. This month is the south third of 1895 and 1906.

The 1906 photographer is unknown but may have been Herman Simonson.

The numbers are keyed to my comments about points of interest.

20 - Roscoe Funk home built before 1874 - restoration completed recently
21 - Good Goods today - built ca 1880 - remodeled extensively in 1910 - B & B for many years
22 - Building history unknown - probably same structure is the one there today
23 – Kilwins today - built as the Odd Fellows Lodge in 1879 - has had many uses
24 – City Hall built 1880
25 – Drawbridge built 1870 - replaced by swing bridge 1903 - current bridge built 1936
26 - Basket factory started in the 1870s burned in 1926
27– The Butler today - grist mill built 1893- converted to a hotel - upper floors removed ca 1973
28– Big Pavilion site - next door to the north is the Lake Tavern
29 – Coral Gables annex today - built as store in 1873

This newsletter column is written by Jack Sheridan.

Michigan Hometown Stories: Saugatuck-Douglas to Premiere
at 7 PM on May 8 at SCA

WGVU Public Media/Grand Rapids will bring the one-hour documentary Michigan Hometown Stories to the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Friday, May 8 at 7 PM for its world premiere before airing on WGVU/PBS-Channel 35 in June.

Michigan Hometown Stories: Saugatuck-Douglas is being produced with a cooperative partnership with the Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society. Due to a generous matching grant from the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation last November and additional gifts received from members of the community, the project will be completed as a full one-hour program. The scripting and editing have begun in advance of the May premiere here in Saugatuck.

WGVU's head of production, Phil Lane, and Society members Jon Helmrich and Stephen Mottram are working together to write, edit, and produce the program. The special documentary will focus on the history, people, art, diversity, and strong community involvement in preservation, conservation, and love of our wonderful, rich, and beautiful community.

Over 30 people were interviewed and over 40 hours were taped all around the area from the Crow's Nest to the Old School House and in and around dozens of our businesses, lodgings, and galleries – even on the Star of Saugatuck and Dune Schooners.

Mark your calendar on May 8 at the SCA. You can view the list of donors (and still contribute to the project) at michiganhometownstories.org. There is also a teaser to watch showing some of the footage captured for use in the program.
submitted by Jon Helmrich

Welcome New Members

We would like to welcome the following new members who have joined the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society since the last newsletter.

l Mary Lou Graham, Douglas, MI
l Dan & Kelli Heneghan, Douglas, MI
l Kate McCarthy, Saugatuck, MI
l Robert Palmer, Saugatuck, MI
l Dan Ryan & Michael Riemke, Douglas, MI
l John Migas, Saugatuck, MI 49453

*John Winsor Noonan, 84*
	John Noonan, a long time member of the Society, passed away on February 24. Click HERE for more details.
Jim Schmiechen recalled that John Noonan was an amazing friend of the Museum. For many years he was the Museum co-chair in charge facilities and operations. He was a big guy, smart and successful businessman with huge hart and an almost boyish sense of humor. We were lucky to have worked with him.

*Henry Richard Van Singel, 88*
	Henry Van Singel, a long time member of the Society, passed away in on March 8. Click HERE for more details.
Ken Carls recalled that Henry was, among other things, responsible for getting the Saugatuck paint palette neon sign saved from the junk heap, restored, and placed back at the entrance to town. Also Henry was an advocate for SDHS getting and maintaining tenancy at the Pump House. One of Henry's favorite sayings, "A day away from Saugatuck is a day wasted."

Jarrett Zeman Moves On

Jarrett Zeman, our new Museum Specialist intern since last August has moved on. He will be preparing artifacts for display in Mississippi's two newest museums, the Mississippi Museum of History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

He will also be contributing to the museum's new artifact blog, A Sense of Place. He also is looking forward to consulting for local history organizations in Mississippi, using the many skills he learned in Saugatuck to help other museums reach the interpretive potential of SDHS. We all wish you much success.

Mardi Gras Pre-Parade Party Dine Around

Arthur Ashley, Pre-Parade Party Host