People of Omena

This is Nancy Jo’s painting on the barn door done in 1952. Has anyone seen her other work? What becomes of a painter’s studio once the painter leaves it? Once upon a time Horace Wheeler, the owner of Sunset Lodge, had a daughter who loved to paint. Her name was Nancy Jo Wheeler. Horace built her a studio behind the Lodge, actually behind the barn, and she used it for many years. One of the things she painted was a primitive of barnyard animals on the barn door of the barn. I’ve not seen her other work. After she left… Read More »

President Taft came to Michigan in 1910 to preside at the unveiling of Custer’s statue in Monroe, assisted by Custer’s widow Libbie. Courtesy of Don Harrison, Up north Memories The 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn was more famously known as “Custers Last Stand”. Many men were killed in that battle including the officers whose pictures are below. General George A. Custer had ties to Omena’s yellow house, the Anderson House, through his wife Libbie Bacon Custer. Her family bought property here as early as 1852. Libby’s father, Judge Daniel S. Bacon, was a state senator and land speculator. Judge… Read More »

This interesting couple has ties to Omena that go back to the days of Rev Peter Doughtery. Although General George Armstrong Custer’s presence is fleeting at best and somewhat “ghostlike”, his wife, Elizabeth Clift Bacon Custer definitely was a presence here. Her father, the wealthy and influential Judge Daniel Bacon who purchased land in this area in 1852 and in 1858. He purchased the land in Omena where the yellow Anderson house stands as well as where Villa Marquette and the Presbyterian church are. It is believed that it was to Omena that Elizabeth brought Custer to recover from an… Read More »

Roch Tabernshaski farming his land. Photo taken by Oscar Shugart In the late 1800’s. Courtesy of Leelanau Historical Society It’s true! Omena once had a resident hermit. His name was Roch Tabernshaski and he lived somewhere between Suttons Bay and Omena in a “tiny house in the ground” near the railroad tracks with his “family”, a cow named Czarina, and bull named Czar, and an occasional calf. Roch wasn’t your usual hermit however. He spoke 7 languages and was an expert in eastern European History. He attended church regularly and had a “perfect baritone voice”. So why was he here? … Read More »

Jack Stephenson, Teddy Larraber, and Cl. Clark prepare to launch their motorboat. (Courtesy Omena Historical Society) They just go together. Always have, always will. While most of the early cottagers come to Omena for rest and relaxation, the boys needed challenges and boats provided that. Everyone had rowboats and canoes, but the lucky ones had motorboats. They leaked, and the engines were unreliable, and you had to pull on the starter cord for a half hour or so to get them started. They would get you to where you wanted to go all right, and then break in the rough… Read More »

Logging the Tatch farm, which must have been what Samuel’s land looked like as it was being logged. Logging is dangerous work! Photo credit Omena Historical Society Poor Samuel Doe met with an untimely end here in Omena. Arriving in Omena in 1875 with his wife Laura (Sparrow) Doe. He opened a small store a little east of where Lavender Lane is now. Soon after that he bought land on what is now Tatch Road, next to his old friend and previous sailing companion Rufus Tatch. In 1880, just five years after arriving in Omena, Samuel was clearing his land… Read More »

Versey sits in the midst of some of his summer friends. Standing on the left is Charlie “Doc” Carmichael, with Vin Moore standing on the right. Seated to Versey’s left are Fritz Vogt, Waldo Abbot, Ted Wohnegemuth, and Stan Moore. The others are unknown. – Courtesy of Omena Historical Society Versey Legg was a cheerful, rotund man who seemed to know and be known by everybody in Omena. According to Vin Moore, standing on the right in the photo above, Versey loved to play the piano while Vin’s father sang on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the summer. They did… Read More »

In the 1920s, the women’s suffrage movement was picking up momentum after almost 100 years of struggle. Activists for women’s suffrage campaigned in ways that were considered “unladylike,” such as marching in parades and giving street corner speeches. When Hazel Taylor was an old woman, she remembered vividly one occasion from her early years when she and her new husband Edward, dressed for a festive evening, were riding to an event and he suddenly stopped the car and leaped out to catch a small snake on the road, which he promptly shoved into a pocket of his white jacket. “Was… Read More »

This is John and Bills house with the sawmill on the left where they made their fish boxes and cherry lugs. Beyond the house is a garage, ice house, and dock shed. The Eclipse is alongside the dock, ready to make another run out into Grand Traverse Bay. Every so often while the two of us were building our cottage in the 1970’s from an old barn, an old man would come up the hill and sit on a stump or a pile of wood and quietly watch. After a few years, when we were putting on the barn wood… Read More »

On warm summer afternoons long ago, an old organ would be wheeled from the Lay cottage on Ingalls Bay to the end of the long cement walk and Mrs. Lay would play the organ. People from all along the beach would paddle their canoes up and gather on the Lay’s beach and enjoy singing or just listening to the organ. I kind of wish someone would do that now. Credit Bill Graf, Omena A Place In Time