Industry

The Leland Boat Yard with the steamer Big John used to bend the ribs beside a boat in progress. Courtesy Leelanau Historical Museum When Johnny was a little boy, growing up in Sweden, he had no idea where life was going to take him. Johnny was born in 1876. Times were hard in Sweden at that time, there was not enough land to feed the growing population and a mass migration to the United States followed. Many Scandinavians came to this area where there was a promise of “open land.” In fact, there were four John Johnson’s living right around… Read More »

Omena was not the only little town in the county to have failed businesses. On our Facebook page last February 19th we told about Bidleman’s Gas Station which was only in business from 1935-1939. We also talked about Queenie Smiths Brothel which was only in business for a year, 1949-1950. And don’t forget the little church that couldn’t make it, Omena Congregational Church which struggled off and on from 1886 to 1931 which I posted about on August 10, of this year. But there was a nearby business that failed not once but three times, leaving its waste products in… Read More »