Day 79 & 80: Hanging out in Manistee

October 06, 2023

Day 79: October 5: Up and "at em" with the sunrise; Sandra and I took an early morning walk along the River Walk, clocking just about 6 miles. The weather is shifting, become increasingly cooler, but we are still in our shorts, not wanting to give in to the inevitable.

Throughout the rest of the day everyone puttered about. David and Sandra rode bikes to grocery and hardware stores, located about 2 miles away from the marina. John repaired a hawsehole (also known as a cat hole) that had been torn out during our stay on Mackinac Island, as well as a few other small projects. I walked into town. My mission was to visit the Alpine Chocolat Haus as our fudge supply was already gone!

Two additional Looper boats pulled in, having made the trip from Frankfurt. The first boat is owned by Angie and Paul, both Canadians. I did not catch the name of their boat and they don't have a boat card; They will be here waiting out weather for the next few days just like the rest of us so I imagine I'll find out the name of the boat before long.

No sooner did they pull in when Paul said Angie needed to get to a hospital. A taxi was called and I walked up to the street with her to wait for its arrival. Evidently she gets sea sick; she was lying down during their trip from Frankfurt to Manistee. Paul stood up and his chair fell backwards, hitting her on the head and opening up a pretty good gash. Being a nurse, she was able to clean and bandage the cut but felt stitches were needed, along with a check for a concussion. A few hours later she returned, stitched and feeling better.

Soon after, Michelle and Scott on Dog On It showed up. We helped them tie up as well. Once everyone was settled we met for docktails later in the afternoon.

Sandra, David, John and I took an evening stroll along the River Walk to the pier at the end of the river to watch the sunset over the lake.

Day 80: October 6: Game of Thrones fans can understand what I mean when I say "Winter is Coming". The weather is rapidly changing just like it does in New England. One minute we are in shorts and T-shirts, the next bundled up. As they say, if you don't like the weather just wait a minute and it will change.

The Manistee County Visitors Bureau provides an Historic Walking Tour map of downtown and the historic neighborhoods of Manistee. Sandra and I spent about 3 hours exploring many of the old houses and buildings, most having been constructed in the late 1800's. Not only did we learn about the history of the town, we also found out the city was a victim of a fire the month of October, 1871. The fire resulted in a total loss of property of $1,000,000. The cause was never determined.

The word Manistee is an Ojibwe term meaning "spirit of the woods". In 1842, the John Stronach family constructed sawmills on Manistee Lake and Manistee River. By 1849 more settlers arrived and the city continued to grow until the fire of 1871 halted progress, destroying 1/2 of the city. Many of the buildings were rebuilt with brick. Over time, the city has continued to evolve; lumbering, agriculture and the area's natural beauty contribute to a flourishing community.

Here are a couple of pictures of the historic downtown area. I love the Victorian era buildings with their lovely detail and the dark, rich and deep shades of maroon, burgundy, dark green and blues of the period.

One of the most ornate buildings is the red pressed brick, granite and terracotta-trimmed Ramsdell Building. Local lawyer and philanthropist, T.J. Ramsdell began construction of the building in 1890. The building once housed a bank and law offices and is now home to T.J. Pub and the Ramsdell Inn. It is spectacular!

One of our stops along the route was in a store that carried shoes, hats, gloves and purses; all pretty high quality and of course high priced. I was looking for a head wrap or hat because it has been so cold. One of the clerks started talking to us. We were quite surprised when she told us to help ourselves to wine and chocolate! In a shoe store?

Another clerk then directed our attention to an 8 ft 11 in tall replica of Robert Wadlow. Trivia buffs might recognize the name; Wadlow has been featured in almost every edition of the Guiness Book of World Records since 1955. The clerk invited us to peruse a scrap book that was on a shelf near the statue along with one of the real Wadlow's size 37 shoe. Robert died in Manistee, Michigan at the age of 22 as a result of septic that had developed on his right ankle caused by a brace that had been fitted poorly just a week earlier.

We were enjoying the story and looking at the scrapbook so much that we needed a second glass of wine!

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A day in historic Manistee must include a night at the movies. The Vogue Theatre was built in 1938, in Art Deco Style which was very popular at the time. The Vogue was part of a large Midwestern chain owned by Butterfield Theaters. In 2010 the Vogue property was purchased by the Manistee Downtown Development Authority and was subsequently sold at a nominal price to the newly formed non-profit Historic Vogue Theatre of Manistee. Fundraising and restoration began in 2011 and the two-screen renovated Vogue reopened in 2013. It is considered one of the most state-of-the-art theaters in all of Michigan. It is really beautiful, clean and well maintained and is run by volunteers.

We attended the 4:30 showing of The Haunting of Venice for $24.00 per couple; this included the movie, a giant box of popcorn and two drinks. We then headed to the local Elks Club for a Friday night fish fry! It's fun walking downtown in the evening. I love the lamp-posts!