A swirl of history greeted visitors to the Lighthouse State Park Sunday afternoon during the site's annual Log Cabin Days.
Hosted by the Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society, the event drew at least 1,000 to the tip of the Old Mission Peninsula, where people who immersed themselves in the life, crafts, games and health care of generations ago. The local celebration is held annually in conjunction with the Log Cabin Society of Michigan's 20th Log Cabin Day, which features 90 log cabins around the state. The event raised an estimated $1,000 for the Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society.
Two dozen traditional crafts people and re-enactors were on had to showcase their passion, including weavers, wood workers, chair caners spinners and carvers. Civil War nurse portrayer Deb Downey fixed 'wounds' and described basic medical equipment of the era while poet Jim Ribby recited verses nearby.
The Women's History Society brought along a display of famous women from the region while Don and Helen Pratt led children in the art of traditional games, such as cup and ball, and the game of graces. Attendees could also pay a fee to tour the Old Mission Lighthouse and ascend the light tower.
Chris Boals has been doing traditional rug hooking for 21 years and gives demonstrations around the region during the summer. She uses material harvested from used clothing stores to make the thin fabric strips, dying some by hand as needed. The Elk Rapids resident worked Sunday on a complex pattern woven into Scottish burlap, working color by color to complete the large rug's design.
"You just keep going and it's like, 'Oh, that turned out neat,'" she said. "You're controlled by what you want to do: if you want to draw a circle, go ahead, a square, go ahead."
"You're just limited to what's in your head for what you want to do," Boals added of the design process where she draws patterns on the fabric using black marker.
In addition to the exhibitors, the centerpiece of the afternoon was the Hessler Log Cabin. Joseph and Mary Hessler built the one-room dwelling in 1856 on what is now the Underwood Farms development near the base of the peninsula. Members of the Historical Society saved the cabin from demolition in the 1990s and moved it to the park. There, they lovingly and painstakingly restored it — using tools of the 1800s where possible — before opening it to the public.
"A number of people here have worked on it," noted Ted Bagley, a volunteer historical interpreter serving a shift in the cabin. "Including a builder who is strong enough to hand-hew some of the beams that had deteriorated and had to be replaced."
None of the original furnishings survived from the Hessler days so Old Mission Peninsula society and community members donated everything inside. The cabin has a range of antique furnishings, cookware, china, linens and accessories that bring it to life for visitors.
"People lived simply but comfortably," said Lucile Bagley, another volunteer historical interpreter.
History buff Ivy Baillie, 9, of Lake Ann enjoyed her afternoon learning about all things early American. Dressed in a traditional costume worn by girls of that era, she absorbed all she could about the lives of the area's first European settlers.
"I really like the log cabin, I've never seen one before," she said.