Shipwrecks

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 »

Charles Kehl was a young man just 27 years old who had just gotten married the previous fall, a newly-wed. There was a baby on the way. He had everything to live for. But he was a sailor. “Forest fires had been breaking out all over the Grand Traverse region that unusually warm, dry spring of 1891. The air was filled with wood smoke, flying cinders, and burning leaves that fell for many hours.” writes Larry Wakefield. “At night, the sky was red with flames in every direction. In Traverse City fire came over the hill behind the asylum and… Read More »