A River Runs Through It

Last week I shared with you a partial list of 39 of the veterans from Cheboygan County who were recipients of Purple Heart medals for wounds inflicted during combat operations actions during World War II. Today, I want to honor and list the last 32 names of our Purple...

The Purple Heart, the oldest American military decoration for military merit, is awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces for meritorious or valorous service in action against our enemies. The Purple Heart has a long and storied history. It traces its lineage back...

Having just celebrated Memorial Day in Cheboygan County, I wanted to focus the next few columns on a colossal list of our World War II veterans I recently received from Raymond Olson. Raymond is brother to the late Ellis Olson, our county’s famed historian (and mayor)...

Arent Schuyler DePeyster was born in New York City on June 27, 1736, to British Loyalists Pierre Guillaume DePeyster and Cornelia Schuyler. Arent was their second son. Interestingly, DePeyster was also second cousin to Aexander Hamilton. Young Arent was sent to London...

As Jillian Fellows of the Daily Tribune highlighted last week, yes, indeed, Cheboygan did have a cheese factory at one time. It was called “Just Cheese Co.” and operated by John Coverdale. In today’s column, I want to share more of this story. I thought it would be...

This story has two parts, one horrific, the second heroic. The Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians have lived in the area around Burt Lake for hundreds, and perhaps, thousands of years. Among Native Americans, the Burt Lake Band was long known as the...

In Cheboygan County, we see nature’s beauty everywhere, every day. With our rolling gentle hills, inland lakes, and rivers to the views of the Straits of Mackinac, Mackinac Island and Mackinac Bridge, and on to our majestic forests and farms, we are truly blessed to...

I wrote this history to celebrate our Irish pioneers on St. Patrick's Day. In the first half of the 19th century, the fur trade was in decline and the insatiable demand to build large cities required a lot of lumber and cheap labor. With rampant famine and disease in...

Continued from last week Her parents realized she was going no matter what they said. Deflated and worried, they hugged her and sternly urged her to take great care. Ruth found a women’s rooming house in Big Rapids. The older women who lived there treated her well....

More than a few years ago, I had the good fortune to exchange letters with a distant relative, Ruth Elizabeth McKune of Oregon. Ruth had an amazing life story. Though she’d been away from Onaway a long time, it was clear the town was still near and dear to her heart....