'Port Leelanau' only a memory
A tragic airplane accident.
A 91-year-old mystery.
A sudden tugboat sinking that claimed the life of a crewman.
All of the events are connected to the Rennie Oil dock, Leelanau’s longest-serving commercial marine facility.
Steamers played valuable role
It was called the Traverse Bay Line.
And Leelanau County benefited greatly from it – until the railroad, reaching Northport in 1903 from Traverse City – put it out of business.
The three wooden steamers that comprised the Traverse Bay Line’s fleet in
Stage to Northport from T-C was all-day trip
“You’re so talented – you should be on the stage. It leaves town at seven o’clock.”
The line is an old joke, but in the late 19th century, it wasn’t.
You could catch the seven o’clock stage for Traverse City from Northport – or vice-versa.
Either way
Fishing a longtime county attraction
“The trouting season has now fairly commenced.”
The announcement appeared as a brief entry in the Leelanau Tribune’s edition of May 31, 1879, and helps to illustrate how significant, going back to the earliest days, fishing has been in the county.
Lee
Ship was lost, but 2 were rescued
She was the S.S. Idaho, and she called at Northport.
The ship was claimed by a storm in 1897 and all but two of her crew was lost.
It turned out to be the worst loss on the Great Lakes in that otherwise largely uneventful year.
But what is most e
Winter sports took hold in 1940s
It was 68 years ago, and the Enterprise reported on the concept of the success of winter sports in northern Michigan.
“Leelanau Co. Learns About Winter Sports” was the headline above the Page One story in the edition of Oct. 15, 1942, and the story ben
By end of 1920s, no more 'roar'
It’s called the “Roaring Twenties” and is one of the few decades in American history to transcend mere numerals and warrant, at least in retrospect, a nickname.
It’s too soon to say whether the first decade of the 21st Century – now concluded (or concl
Coal dock history's still being made
It’s called Heritage Harbor.
Located in Greilickville, immediately south of the beach at the Elmwood Township park (now under renovation), it is home to the replica schooner Madeline and replica sloop Welcome.
That’s why, essentially, the old dock is
After 'slow' start, autos became main transportation form
“Get out and get under.”
This was a reference to early 20th century automobiles, which, far from being trouble-free, demanded much more of a driver than do today’s.
Some of the early cars almost required the driver be a mechanic as well.
And, eve
Unlike Leland, Fayette faded
What was Leland like 130 years ago?
What if you could stroll through the village as it was then – a beehive of activity, with people and raw materials coming and going to serve the hungry iron furnace that constituted the community’s principal industry
