The summer of 2006 will soon be only a memory, having gone by all too quickly. The Society went from the Challenger cement boat program in June right into mounting the Big Rock Point at the Depot, then to the Lighthouse program, next the Chicago Club photo and student art lighthouse exhibit over Venetian Festival weekend in East Park, the Venetian fireworks potluck, hosted a Central Michigan University alumni reunion and program, also hosted the Chicago Club's 125th anniversary celebration reception, sponsored the annual sunset cruise, and mounted four new exhibits at the Harsha House.

Many of these activities would not have been possible without substantial and excellent volunteer assistance. Again we will be thanking our cadre of loyal volunteers for their support at our popular annual Ice Cream Social.

When: Tuesday, September 5, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Depot

Good old-time music will be provided by the fiddles, guitars, and keyboard of the always welcome country group, The Tagalongs!

The evening is not limited to Society members and volunteers. Feel free to bring friends and relatives who might still be here after the Labor Day weekend. The Big Rock Point exhibit will be an added bonus, plus that always spectacular evening view down the length of Lake Charlevoix.

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LIGHTHOUSE RESTORATION PROJECT UPDATE

As of mid-August, the lighthouse restoration campaign is just over $15,000 toward the $20,000 needed to match a grant. This has been achieved through generous Keepers of the Light donations and sales of lighthouse-related items.

June Keepers: $300
July Keepers: $5420
At Harsha House Store:
June-July candles: 8
June-July pins: 13
June-July caps: 15
June-July t-shirts: 5

Total Harsha House sales for June and July including bumper sticker decals: $1363. Venetian tent sales (not broken down): $830. These figures plus what was donated and sold in April and May have placed us over the $15,000 mark.

The decision to paint the lighthouse red (traditional: ca. 1913-1948) or white (modern: 1968-present) will be determined by sales of red or white items. To date, red caps, pins, candles, and t-shirts are outselling their white counterparts by about three-to-one.

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RALPH HAMILTON CIRCLE RECEPTION

On the evening of Tuesday, August 8, the Society hosted its annual wine and hors d'oeuvres Ralph Hamilton Circle reception at the Harsha House. This gathering is a formal thank-you extended to our patron sponsors and members of the Circle group ($100 pledged annually) in recognition of their continued and generous support. This year's event was the largest ever held when eighty-seven sponsors, members, Society officers and directors, and invitees assembled in the museum. President Paul Nowak acknowledged and thanked our supporters, the introduced members of the Ratigan/Ranger and Halverson families who helped create and mount two of our new exhibits, one of author Bill Ratigan, the other on Norwegian immigrants Sam and Mary Halverson and their descendants.

2006-2007 Ralph Hamilton Circle Members (as of August 15)
Patron Sponsors are automatically included in this group-see front page.

Robert & Marion Brewer; John & Gene Ann Cansfield; Jennifer Harsha Carroll; Chicago Club; Avern Cohn; Joyce Duke; John & Nelda Hagaman; Hugh Harsha; Bob & Margaret Heath; Don & Kay Heise; Margaret Ladd; Jim & Karen Lewis; John & Natalie Merrill; Bob & Mary Ellen Morgridge; Melanie Morrison; Ed O'Neill & Susan Kroll; Rita Orlowski: Richard Platt; Jeff & Nancy Porter; Mason & Lynne Rosenthal; Jeff & Pat Roski; Lore Silberman; George & Mary Elizabeth Smith; Charles & Chris Unbehaun; Robert & Teri Walilko.

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HARSHA HOUSE MUSEUM FALL HOURS

After Labor Day, the Harsha House Museum will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. Steve Goslee will be there Tuesday and Wednesday, David Miles Wednesday through Saturday. These hours will be in effect until Christmas. Museum open days for the first months of 2007 have yet to be determined.

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BIG ROCK POINT NUCLEAR PLANT EXHIBIT

The history of the Big Rock Point Nuclear Plant exhibit at the Depot has been very well attended and received glowing reviews. Over seven hundred visitors have seen it in six weeks, arriving from twenty-seven states, Canada and Germany. The exhibit will be open 1-4 p.m. through Applefest, October 14. We advise our members who have not yet seen it but intend to not to wait much longer, because once it is closed in mid-October the exhibit will be dismantled and many of its most interesting components returned to Consumers Energy.

On the evening of Monday, August 28, a Consumers Energy reception will be held at the Depot for the company's executives and officials, plus other invitees from around the state, followed by dinner at Castle Farms. Tuesday, August 29, marks the official decommissioning ceremony at the plant, with about 700 expected, and the exhibit will be open until about 6 p.m.

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AN AFTERNOON IN NORWOOD FUNDRAISER

The Norwood Area Historical Society is sponsoring An Afternoon in Norwood, a fundraising event that will be fun for all, on Sunday, September 3 from 2-5 p.m.

There will be ice cream sundaes, live music, plus silent and live auctions. Tours of the village will take place, with a stop to see the progress made in the restoration of the Old Norwood School, purchased from the Norwood Methodist Church in the fall of 2004. The building now serves as the Society's headquarters for meetings while it is being renovated and restored.

Many items by local artists will be included in the auction, including a watercolor by Marion Shea-Light that coordinates with a queen-size quilt produced by the Norwood Needles quilting group. The quilt is composed of Civil War era reproduction fabrics and is being raffled off that evening ($1 per ticket, or 6 for $5). Also available at auction will be a two-day cruise aboard the St. Marys Cement Company cement freighter Challenger, seen frequently coming into the plant at South Point, and! a personally guided tour up and inside the Mackinac Bridge towers!

For more information about the auction, including phone-in bids, contact Bill Gnodtke at 547-3066. Raffle ticket information is available through Mary Kengle at 547-9475. Please come to Norwood on the 3rd to join in the fun and support the NAHS's efforts.

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SLATE BLACKBOARDS NEEDED

The Mackinaw Area Historical Society is renovating an 1890s schoolhouse and is looking for old slate blackboards. If anyone has one or more and would be willing to donate them or knows where some might be, contact the Harsha House and we will forward the information to them.

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BARNARD GRANGE NEEDS AUCTION ITEMS

The Barnard Grange will be holding a fundraising auction at the Grange Hall on the corner of Barnard and Klooster Roads on Saturday, September 30. Every year the Grange supports local organizations and services-the hospital, Grandvue, veterans, the schools, Bergmann Center, Camp Quality, the Community Christmas project, plus numerous others-and needs items or activities to auction off. If any members have anything they can contribute to this worthy endeavor, please contact Darleen Dhaseleer at 547-9544 by August 3 so it can be listed on the Grange's "sale bill" ahead of time.

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MISCELLANEOUS UPDATES

The Society welcomes new members: Jacquie Krutsch, Carol Stephan; John & Natalie Merrill (Ralph Hamilton Circle); Dave & Nancy Fowler; Chuck & Neva Rose Kehrer.

Memorials received for: John Gaskin from Steve & Anne Hansen; LaRue Gill from Virginia Emrey.

Donations for the Sunset Cruise received from: Robert & Mary Ann Beaumont; Jeannine Wallace.

July Lighthouse Keepers: Aimee Cooper, Margaret Ladd, Elizabeth Hoffmann.

Donation for the Ralph Hamilton Circle reception received from: Kay Heise; Donation from Mr. & Mrs. Robert Kirkwood received in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the purchase of the Parsons/Brewer/Dane home at 206 Belvedere Avenue.

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SUMMARIES OF JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST BOARD MEETING MINUTES

JUNE: A third quilt show was approved to summer 2007 at the Depot. A grant was received from the Charlevoix County Community Foundation to fund a docent co-ordinator for school visitations for the Big Rock Point Exhibit in September and October. We will again have the downtown display window at Murdick's Ice Cream Store through the winter and spring (with many thanks to them). The second edition re-order of the Bob Miles' Charlevoix II book is half gone. The exterior baseboard strips and entry door at the Depot have been painted. A photo of the Nash Mill at Norwood will be framed and donated to the Norwood Area Historical Society for their September fundraiser. Museum store sales for May: $609.25.

JULY: Patron sponsor request letters will be sent out in November to conform with our new fiscal year calendar. The Depot will be cleaned professionally on a regular basis, also before and after events. Grants will be sought for a storage building. Harsha House porch steps and trim will be painted. A back-up external hard drive for the photo digitization computer will be purchased. June museum store sales: $1366.10. THe Chicago Club's 125th anniversary celebration reception will be hosted by the Society at the Depot on July 29th, with Karen Lewis and David Miles as docents.

AUGUST: A grant request for the lighthouse has been submitted. An estimated 300 peopole visited the Harsha House in July. Five more Depot pillars will be replaced, beginning in October, plus other work on the building. The events calendar for 2007 was discussed. Museum store sales for July: Harsha House, $1675.20; Ventian weekend tent, $1178.50; totoal $2853.70. July Website activity: 21,023 hits, 829 home page views, 7527 total page views.

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