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.

Take A Ride Through History Along the West Michigan Pike

Vintage Views Along the West Michigan Pike: From Sand Trails to US-31by M. Christine Byron & Tom Wilson

The West Michigan Pike, now US-31, is a 400-mile meandering ribbon of road, hugging the coast of Lake Michigan from Michigan City, Indiana to Mackinaw City, Michigan and passing through many small beach towns along the way. Its 1913 slogan, “Lakeshore All the Way” sums up the main feature of this gem of a travel route. The road is sometimes called Michigan’s Route 66.

In their new book, Vintage Views Along the West Michigan Pike: From Sand Trails to US-31, seasoned authors M. Christine Byron & Thomas R. Wilson tell the story of this road’s early beginning as serpentine sand trails and rutted dirt pathways and its transformation to US-31 used by today’s traveler.

“Actually, road improvement was first sought by bicyclists, a craze that swept the country in the 1880s,” explains co-author and Grand Rapids librarian, Christine Byron. “It was the Michigan Wheelmen, an association of bicyclists, who campaigned the legislature to allow each county to adopt a county road system. That really got the ball rolling for road improvement.”

The West Michigan Pike Association was formed in 1913 by boosters from lakeshore communities who knew that a good road would promote tourism, farming, and commercial pursuits along the lakeshore.

The book starts out with a recommendation from Ernest Hemingway in a 1919 letter to his Chicago pals Jenks and Barney, preparing them for their trip to Horton Bay, (near the location of the Hemmingway family’s summer retreat at Walloon Lake), to take the West Michigan Pike, “a pretty good road” and that the trip could be made in three days. Our research road sleuths, Christine and Tom, retraced the original Pike using vintage maps and allow readers to time-travel back to the small towns and villages through their collection of photos and postcards.

This is the fourth book in the Vintage View series. Previous books are: the award winning, Vintage Views of Leelanau County and Vintage Views of the Charlevoix-Petoskey Region and also Vintage Views of the Mackinac Straits Region.

The book is available through independent booksellers, chain bookstores and online.

www.ArbutusPress.com

Vintage Views Facebook

Spring Arrives Along Lake Michigan Shoreline

In West Michigan, the truest sign of spring is the blossoming of tulips in Holland – just in time for the annual Tulip Time Festival, May 7-14. In addition to the 4.4 million tulips, the area is home to acres of fragrant apple, cherry and peach orchards. Vineyards stretch out along the rolling hillsides and colorful wildflowers dot sugar-sand beaches along the Lake Michigan coastline. You can even find the flavors of spring – and summer – in the form of locally crafted wine and beer. You are invited to celebrate the arrival of spring and all its natural wonders at these seven shoreline attractions:

Crane’s Pie Pantry
Blossoms are blooming throughout the orchards at Crane’s Pie Pantry (6054 124th Avenue (M89), Fennville). Stop out this month and pick up a map which identifies the trees, and walk the orchards which are full of fragrance this time of year. Be sure to bring your camera to capture the beauty of your visit (then consider entering the photos in the “Picture Yourself in Allegan County Photo Contest”). The walking tour is free but you must check in first at the Pie Pantry. Sorry, no pets. www.cranespiepantry.com |269-561-2297

Fenn Valley
Join Chef Christine Ferris for a Girls Afternoon out, May 14, as she demonstrates “Cutting the Cheese.” Everything you need to know about selecting, storing and cooking with cheese will be covered. Following the demonstration, participants will enjoy a brunch paired with assorted wines – including the new 2010 releases. Cost is $30 per person. Reservations are required. Winemaker cellar tours are offered at 3pm every Saturday (excluding 6/25) – providing a chance for you to taste from the barrels and tanks as you learn what makes Fenn Valley wines unique. Cost is $8 per person and includes a logo wine glass and $5 coupon. Reservations encouraged. Also, save the date for the Fenn Valley Wine Fest, June 25 (1-5pm), with great wines, tasty ethnic foods, a barrel aging demonstration and music by Natches Trace. Cost is $8 for adults. No reservations required. www.fennvalley.com | 269-561-2396

Dutch Village
Spring rings back a new bunch of animals at Nelis’ Dutch Village. The petting area has featured goats, rabbits, baby chicks and a llama named “Mr. T.” for the past few years, but 2011 brings mini animals to Dutch Village! “Taking a Goat for a Walk” has been one o the most popular attractions for the past two years, and should be again this year. This year’s new animal assortment includes mini pigs (under 12 inches tall), a mini cow, a mini mama horse and her baby and eight mini goats. All the miniature animals are brought in from a special hobby farm in Illinois called the Ahrens Hobby Farm. www.dutchvillage.com | 616-396-1475

New Holland Brewing
Tis the Saison! Or “season” as it translates, tne Holland Brewing Co.’s spring/summer brew, Golden Cap Saison, is currently available at the pub and on retailer shelves throughout the state. A modern interpretation of a traditional farmhouse ale, Golden cap is a soft, pale beer that embodies the flavors and aromas of summer fields. This brew was just awarded a Silver medal at the World Expo of Beer competition in Frankenmuth. In time for Cinco de may, it’s the el Mole Ocho: Mole’ inspired Ale – the spiciest addition to New Holland’s High Gravity family. This beer encompasses the brewer’s exploration into the flavors of mole – the legendary sauce of Central Mexico. El Mole Ocho features malty aroma and a rich, cocoa-laden body, laced with an invigorating tinge of dried chilies and coffee. It’s available in 22-ounce bottles or on tap at the pub. Of course, Tulip Time Festival wouldn’t be complete without New Holland’s Red Tulip Ale and Black Tulip Ale. Red Tulip Ale is brewed in homage to the festival, evoking spring’s renewing spirit. It’s available exclusively at the pub this year. While at the pub, be sure to ask your server or bartender about the selection of Library Beers, including vintage 2005 and 2006 Black Tulip. www.newhollandbrew.com | 616-335-6422

Star of Saugatuck Boat Cruises
Explore the Kalamazoo River aboard an authentic sternwheel paddleboat, and view the arrival of spring along the riverbank. Bring your binoculars and camera to observe the birds, water fowl and other animals in their natural environment. The shoreline is peppered with color as the spring wildflowers make their appearance for the season. Trips will be offered at 1pm and 3pm on May 18 and 19. Then, coming up Thursday, May 26 take part in the “Marga-Relay-Ville” Relay for Life fundraiser from 7-9pm. Cost is $30 per person or 2 for $50. The evening will include games, snacks and a cash bar. Then, on Friday, June 24, make reservations for the extended cruise from 7-10pm with live music, a picnic lunch and cash bar. Seating is limited and reservations are required. www.saugatuckboatcruises.com | 269-857-4261

Saugatuck Dune Rides
Explore the Lake Michigan shore sand dunes like never before, with Saugatuck Dune Rides – in celebration of their 30th anniversary! Feel the wind in your hair as you travel out near the site of the former town of Singapore – dubbed Michigan’s Pompeii, as it is buried under the sands. Along the foredunes (the first ridge behind the beach) you’ll see beautiful clusters of yellow harry puccoon, the common milkweed, beach pea, sand cress, smooth rose, bearberry, wild grape, sand cherry and Pitcher’s Thistle (a Federally-threatened wildflower) growing proudly. Migratory birds, such as the Prairie Warbler (Michigan endangered), Eastern Kingbird, Brown Thrasher, Field Sparrow and the Northern Harrier (a migratory raptor listed on the Michigan special concern list), are often seen. Be sure to bring your camera to capture the beauty of the dunes and all its natural residents! www.saugatuckduneride.com | 269-857-2253

Windmill Island
The focal point of this beautiful oasis on the edge of downtown is the 249 year old working Dutch windmill "De Zwaan" (meaning graceful bird). The windmill, which reaches 125 feet from the ground to the top of the blades, towers over 36 acres of manicured gardens, dikes, canals and picnic areas. Spring has exploded on Windmill Island, as more than 150,000 tulips have come into bloom. In the summer, annual plants and flowers decorate the grounds in a sea of color. A visit this premier destination includes old-time Klompen dance performed by girls dressed in folk costumes and wooden shoes; an antique Dutch carousel, featuring hand-carved and painted wooden horses; and the miniature Netherlands Village made by the early settlers. While you’re here, listen to the antique Amsterdam street organ and learn how it works, sample world-famous fudge made with real Dutch cocoa and stop by the souvenir shop for some mementos of your visit, including stone-ground flour from the windmill. www.cityofholland.com/windmillislandgardens | 616-355-1030

Holland & Saugatuck Lakeshore Attractions Group
www.HollandAttractions.com
www.facebook.com/HollandSaugatuckLakeshoreAttractions

West Michigan’s Signature Tour of Kitchens offers an Inside Look at 32 Professionally-Designed Rooms – Saturday, October 23

Tour Presented by National Kitchen & Bath Association – West Michigan and Michigan HOME and Lifestyle Magazine to Benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure – Grand Rapids

Step inside 32 of the area’s best professionally-designed kitchens during the West Michigan Signature Tour of Kitchens – Saturday, October 23. Presented by the West Michigan Chapter of the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) and Michigan HOME and Lifestyle Magazine, the tour showcases the talents of more than a dozen NKBA designers and studios, and benefits the Susan G. Komen for the Cure – Grand Rapids.

“We are excited to be offering this unique ability to view kitchen designs from a variety of local professionals throughout West Michigan,” says John Valente, NKBA-West Michigan President. “We planned this event with the consumer in mind. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to view the final kitchen design in a home setting. This format may give you a different perspective on what is available from your local NKBA member showrooms.”

Tours run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and are spread out throughout West Michigan, with the majority of homes located in Kent County, the lakeshore from Grand Haven to Saugatuck/Douglas, Allegan County (Fennville and Allegan) and the greater Kalamazoo area.

“We are honored to be involved in the West Michigan Signature Tour of Kitchens,” says Dennis Stadel, President & CEO, Stadel Media Inc. and publisher of Michigan HOME and Lifestyle Magazine. “Showcasing the finest designed custom kitchens fits perfectly with the style and mission of our magazine and our readers. Each of the homes on the tour is featured in the fall issue of the magazine, available at retail outlets statewide, complete with descriptions and photos.”

The kitchens on display are the best of the best in West Michigan designed by:

GREATER GRAND RAPIDS AREA
• Tru Kitchens
• DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen
• Lifestyle Kitchen Studio
• Starlite Kitchens and Bath
• Williams Kitchen & Bath
• Kitchen Design Studio Inc.
• Plainfield Lumber
• Hearthstone Design Studio
• HWC-HomeWorks Corp

HUDSONVILLE AREA
• Interior Solutions by Leif

GREATER KALAMAZOO AREA
• Kalamazoo Custom Kitchens
• Scholten Kitchen & Bath

LAKESHORE
• Interior Solutions by Leif
• Benchmark Wood Studio
• Kitchen West

FENNVILLE AREA
• Starlite Kitchens & Bath
• Sara Busby Design

Tickets for the West Michigan Signature Tour of Kitchens are $10 in advance at NKBA member retail outlets (see list above) or $15 at any of the 32 homes on the day of the tour.

To help celebrate the tour, organizers have partnered with the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and Cygnus 27 for a kick-off party. The SIMPLY PINK PARTY will be held on Thursday, October 21 from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. General admission is $10 (VIP admission is $25 and includes a welcome bag with a variety of goodies, including a ticket to the home tour and a raffle ticket for a variety of items to be given away during the party). Guests are invited to dress “simply pink” for this night on the town.

SPONSORED BY AMERICAN GRANITE & TILE, GERRIT’S APPLIANCE, INFUSION BY ETNA, MICHIGAN CUT STONE & TILE AND VIRGINIA TILE.

www.KitchenTour.org
www.facebook.com/SignatureKitchenTourWM

West Michigan Pike Dedication Ceremony Set for April 30 in New Buffalo

For nearly 100 years, the West Michigan Pike has served auto tourists along the Lake Michigan shoreline from the state line in Berrien County, nearly 450 miles north to Mackinaw City. To commemorate this historic route, an official state historical marker will be dedicated at 11:00 a.m., Lions Park in New Buffalo.

“The West Michigan Pike historical marker is one of five erected as part of our project to learn the history and identify historic sites along this historic roadway,” stated State Historic Preservation Officer Brian Conway, who will be at the dedication ceremony.

“In 1911 a group of civic leaders took it upon themselves to create a regional initiative that would turn Southwest Michigan’s economy around after lumbering left the area. They adopted the idea of creating a resort industry and built the area’s first highway, the West Michigan Pike, to bring auto tourists from Chicago and other Midwestern cities to Michigan’s beach towns. Their efforts used the best of what the region has to offer—its beautiful scenery, delicious fruit, and rural lifestyle—to bring together a wide range of people from different ethnic and social backgrounds creating a rich diversity of experience. It is still a good model to follow as we look forward to reinventing the region’s economy for the twenty-first century. “

The New Buffalo marker gives an overview of the West Michigan Pike’s history and will read:

At the turn of the twentieth century, deep ruts and sand made West Michgian roads nearly impassable. In 1911, the West Michigan Lakeshore Highway Association was founded to promote the construction of the first improved highway along Lake Michigan in order to bring auto tourists from Chicago to Michigan to support the new resort industry that grew up when logging ended in the region. Completed in 1922, the West Michigan Pike extended from the Indiana state line to Mackinaw City. It was designated one of the first state trunk lines (M-11) in 1917, as part of the Dixie Highway in 1923, and incorporated into the nations’ first federal highway system as US-31 in 1926. Straightened and realigned over the years, it is also known as the Red Arrow and the Blue Star Memorial Highways.
In 2006, the Michigan Historical Center began collaborating with Michigan BeachtownsTM in an effort to boost tourism along Michigan’s western shoreline. What resulted was the West Michigan Roadmap Project – funded in part by a federal Preserve America grant – established to identify tourism-related sites along the West Michigan shoreline from New Buffalo to Ludington.

The historic West Michigan Pike serves as the focal point for the project and is the foundation for an official “Michigan Heritage Route” that is being developed by the MBA and the Michigan Department of Transportation. If approved, the West Michigan Pike will become the longest of the state’s 15 historic routes. The project is endorsed by the Berrien County Board of Commissioners and more than 50 local governments and counties between the two cities.

Funded by the Michigan Historical Marker Fund and Michigan BeachtownsTM, the marker in New Buffalo is the latest to be erected in Southwest Michigan as part of the West Michigan Roadmap project. Two other markers will be erected this summer, one for Scenic Drive and Muskegon State Park and the other for Jewish Summer Resorts in South Haven. Two were erected last year, at Winsor McKay in Spring Lake and the other at John Gurney Park in Hart.

Michigan BeachtownsTM is a partnership of nine visitor bureaus from Harbor Country to Ludington. The group works together on various promotional and marketing initiatives including those offered through Travel Michigan’s Pure Michigan branding campaign. The Harbor Country Convention & Visitors Bureau was established in 1990 as the Harbor Country Lodging Association in accordance with the state of Michigan’s Community Convention or Tourism Marketing Act 59 of 1984.

The mission of the organization is “to promote its members and the assessment district as a major destination for tourism and conventions in southwest Michigan.” The assessment district encompasses the Townships of New Buffalo, Three Oaks, and Chikaming, the city of New Buffalo, the Village of Three Oaks and the Village of Michiana, Michigan.

HARBOR COUNTRY CVB:
http://www.visitharborcountry.org

WEST MICHIGAN PIKE:
http://www.beachtowns.org/west_michigan_pike.cfm