Award-Winning Michigan Authors M. Christine Byron & Thomas Wilson Release Vintage Views Along Scenic M-22 including Sleeping Bear Dunes

Since the early 1900s, tourism organizations and destinations have been promoting the scenic 116-mile, three-county M-22 highway for its year-round natural resources, quaint coastal towns and unparalleled vistas. The latest title from award-winning Michigan authors M. Christine Byron and Thomas Wilson, published by Vintage Views Press, is an impressive collection of the advertisements, brochures, postcards, maps and travel memorabilia used to market this treasured trail—many items of which are from the couple’s extensive personal collection.

The 248 page, hardcover coffee table book, Vintage Views Along Scenic M-22 including Sleeping Bear Dunes, will be publicly released on Wednesday, June 17. A presentation will begin at 7pm at the Grand Rapids Public Library main downtown branch. A Northern Michigan Book Launch is planned on Sunday, June 21 (1-3pm) at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor.

Vintage Views Along Scenic M-22 including Sleeping Bear Dunes follows a trail of vacationers and travelers along one of Michigan’s most scenic roads as it winds through northern Manistee County, along the western side of Benzie County and outlines the Leelanau Peninsula.

Vintage postcards, photographs, maps and advertisements illustrate a time when M-22 first beckoned motorists to come north to the land of beautiful beaches and sand dunes, lakes and rivers, forests and woodlands, farms and orchards. Featured are quaint towns and villages, old hotels and resorts, and attractions along the road.

Through the pages of Vintage Views Along Scenic M22, you’ll stop at lighthouses and lifesaving stations, take a trip in a dunesmobile, fish for Mackinaw trout and shop for souvenirs. You’ll also visit state parks and learn how Sleeping Bear Dunes became a National Lakeshore in the 1970s.

Christine and Tom share a love of Michigan and a fascination with its history, especially the development and growth of Michigan tourism. Their collection of antique postcards and tourist and travel ephemera has inspired a total of five books: Vintage Views Along Scenic M-22 including Sleeping Bear Dunes (2015); Vintage Views Along the West Michigan Pike (2011); Vintage Views of the Mackinac Straits Region (2007); Vintage Views of the Charlevoix – Petoskey Region (2005); and Vintage Views of Leelanau County (2002).

Three of these titles have won Michigan Notable Book awards from the Library of Michigan; the West Michigan Pike also won a 2012 State History Award from the Historical Society of Michigan.

Christine and Tom are active in many heritage and travel related causes and initiatives, including consulting and contributing artifacts for exhibits with the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing; contributing to the History Detectives program at the Grand Rapids Public Library; and this summer’s historical recognition of Pulitzer Prize winning author Carl Sandburg, who vacationed in the southwest Michigan community of Harbert, in an area known as Harbor Country.

Tom also operates Vintage Views Prints, which specializes in Michigan and Great Lakes travel prints adapted from travel guides, maps and brochures, dating from the 1800s to the 1960s.

Christine retired from her position as the Local Historical Collections librarian for the Grand Rapids Public Library in 2012; Tom is retired from Sears Roebuck and Company and serves on the board of the Grand Rapids Historical Commission. Christine and Tom are members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society, Historical Society of Michigan, Leelanau Historical Society, West Michigan Postcard Club and Society for Commercial Archaeology.

The couple lives in a 1912 Arts & Crafts bungalow in East Grand Rapids and they love spending as much time as possible touring Michigan’s scenic roads or vacationing at their cottage on Glen Lake on the Leelanau Peninsula. They are regular contributors to Michigan BLUE Magazine, penning a column called “Vintage Views” which highlights historic travel destinations around the Great Lakes State.


Vintage Views Along Scenic M-22 including Sleeping Bear Dunes
ISBN: 978-0-9962173-0-9 Michigan History ($40).


UPCOMING EVENTS
Vintage Views Along Scenic M-22 including Sleeping Bear Dunes

Wednesday, June 17 (7pm)
Book Launch – Grand Rapids Public Library (Main Downtown Branch)

Sunday, June 21 (1-3pm)
Northern Michigan Book Launch – Cottage Book Shop, Glen Arbor

Thursday, July 2 (1-4pm)
Leelanau Books, Leland

Thursday, July 16 (TBA)
Northport Historical Society

Saturday, July 18 (11am-1pm)
Leelanau Historical Museum, Leland

Thursday, July 30 (TBA)
Lansing Historical Society @ East Lansing Public Library

Friday, July 24 (2-4pm)
Happy Owl Bookshop, Manistee

Saturday, July 25 (1-3)
Black River Books, South Haven

Friday, July 31 (4-6pm)
Horizon Books, Traverse City

Sunday, August 2 (TBA)
Old Settlers Picnic Area, Burdickville

Saturday, August 8 (10am-4pm)
Port Oneida Days, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (Leelanau Peninsula)

Friday, August 21 (7pm)
Empire Area Heritage Group, Empire Town Hall

Thursday, Sept. 10 (4pm)
Benzie Area Historical Society @ The Mills Community House, Benzonia

**To book a program in your community, please contact Dianna Stampfler, publicist, at Dianna@PromoteMichigan.com.

The Homestead Announces Administrative Reorganization; James Kuras Named VP

The Homestead is pleased to announce the appointment of James Kuras to the position of Vice President with responsibility for food and beverage, outdoor recreation, and health and wellness offerings. Kuras, who has been working at the resort since he was fourteen, holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, where he is currently pursuing an executive MBA.

His promotion is a part of a reorganization of the resort’s management structure that is designed to place ever-increasing emphasis on service quality and guest satisfaction. “As any parent would be my wife and I are pleased to see our son advance. His youthful energy and relentless focus on service will nicely complement the decades of experience our other officers have” said the President of the resort, Bob Kuras.

“James has proven himself in nearly fifteen years of work in different parts of our business,” said Jamie Jewell, Vice President of Sales, “everyone here is delighted that he will carry forward the values that have driven our business – family and nature – long into the future.

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, an area voted by viewers of ABC’s Good Morning America as the “Most Beautiful Place in America”. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. “Like” The Homestead on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi and follow on Twitter at @TheHomesteadMI.

Michigan’s M-22 Color Tour Route Explores One of America’s Great Scenic Drives

(NORTHWEST MICHIGAN) – The changing of the leaves to brilliant shades of gold, amber and garnet is an invitation to head north and explore the magnificent fall season among the rolling hills and coastal villages of Northwest Michigan

The premier route, which follows M-22 through Manistee, Benzie and Leelanau Counties, has been rated one of the top five greatest driving tours in America by Rand McNally. Officially designated as a State of Michigan Scenic Route, this spectacular scenic byway is now featured online at www.M22ColorTour.com.

“We’re a four season destination, but there’s no question that autumn is a personal favorite of many locals and visitors alike,” said Judy Ball, Executive Director of Manistee County Convention & Visitors Bureau “There’s just something special about the changing of the seasons in Northwest Michigan and we hope people will visit us to experience it for themselves.”

Traveling through quaint harbor towns, such as Manistee, Frankfort, Beulah and Glen Arbor, the M-22 Fall Color Tour route skirts the Lake Michigan shoreline and the bluffs, dunes and beaches of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Along the way, visitors are introduced to unique galleries, vintage antiques, world-class restaurants, award-winning wineries and historic orchards and farms.

Visitors are welcomed by the sound of rustling leaves and the crispness of the autumn air, where Michigan’s most colorful season awaits with open arms. Recreational opportunities, such as championship golf, biking, paddling, fishing and even soaring the skies above the trees, are available to visitors looking to experience the fall color season from a different perspective.

Visitors can also expect to find value-filled packages and special seasonal lodging rates, as well as a cornucopia of fall festivals and harvest celebrations that the whole family will enjoy. What’s more, the M-22 Color Tour is a one tank trip for many in the Midwest, making it an affordable day-trip or weekend get-away for those wishing to escape to escape to this quite Northwest Michigan refuge.

“Visitors will find interesting shops, galleries, wineries, exquisite dining, superb recreational activities and comfortable accommodations along the way,” says Jamie Jewell, Representative of the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau. “It’s a wonderful way to enjoy fall color in northern Michigan.”

The M-22 Color Tour is a collaborative effort of the Benzie County Visitors Bureau, the Manistee County Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau, who banded together earlier this summer to pool resources and marketing dollars to promote the fall color route that traverses through their counties. In addition to the website – www.M22ColorTour.com, the group printed 10,000 rack cards which are being distributed in their respective offices, at businesses throughout the area and at State of Michigan Welcome Centers.

“Being able to cooperate with other small bureaus like ours gives us a greater opportunity to reach new travelers,” stated Mary Carroll, Executive Director of the Benzie County Visitors Bureau.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Mary Carroll - Benzie County Visitors Bureau
800.882.5801 / director@benzie.org

Judy Ball - Manistee County Convention & Visitors Bureau
877.626.4783 / Email: judybmanistee@sbcglobal.net

Jamie Jewell - Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau
888.334.8499 / Jamie@TheHomesteadResort.com