A collection of souvenirs from the resorts at Macatawa, Waukazoo and Ottawa Beach.

Transcription

1 Permanent Gallery Lake Effect Object/Image Labels Edited and Updated Summer 2014 LAKE EFFECT Holland s location has always affected its development and quality of life. Efforts to build a channel to Lake Michigan to gain access to navigable waters, fundamental to a solid economy, began as early as the 1850s. Once a deep channel had been opened, trade flourished, industries expanded and Holland became a destination for vacationers drawn by its beaches and resorts. Angel s Flight, a cog railway, carried visitors up the sand dune on the south side of Black Lake to a glass observation pavilion. It began operation in the summer of This plaque commemorates the winners of the Kenneth H. Campbell 22 square meter race, a local sailing competition. Mr. Campbell and his father, Gordon R. Campbell, established the custom-built yacht business in 1937 after visiting Holland s Tulip Time festival Gift of Mildred Campbell A collection of souvenirs from the resorts at Macatawa, Waukazoo and Ottawa Beach a, 217, 218 Gift of the Estate of Lois Sinke a,b, 8, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 Gift of Frances Lee Cottage fire at Macatawa Park, first of four similar fires in the 1920s. LAKEWOOD FARM George Getz, a Chicago coal merchant, built a farm and a zoo two miles north of the channel. Admission was free. Many thousands of tourists came, from near and far, to see the 200 species of animals at Lakewood Farm in the 1920s and early 1930s. Ring-Tailed Lemur Gift of George Getz 1

2 Leland Monkey Gift of George Getz MACATAWA PARK In 1882 the Macatawa Park Association was founded for the purpose of developing a resort on Lake Michigan at the mouth of Black Lake. Cottages were built and a hotel opened. In 1895 the new Hotel Macatawa was completed with 60 well-appointed guest rooms. Thousands of visitors came by rail, ferry, and steamer. The hotel was razed in THE HOTEL OTTAWA Built in 1886, moved to the Black Lake waterfront in 1896 and enlarged in 1901 to hold 1,000 guests, The Hotel Ottawa was at the center of the Ottawa Beach Resort area north of the channel. The Pere Marquette Railroad provided service from Grand Rapids beginning in 1890; steamships arrived daily from Chicago. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1923, but the area s popularity continued with the opening of Holland State Park in Holland Cycle Club, Amateur Class A, Half-Mile Championship cup for Ottawa and Allegan Counties won by Frank Pifer on July 4, 1898, and September 5, Gift of Leonard De Vries Holland Cycle Club, Amateur Class A, Mile Championship cup for Ottawa and Allegan Counties won by Frank Pifer on September 30, 1897, July 4, 1898 and September 5, Mr. Pifer is pictured second from the right on his cycle Gift of Leonard De Vries Sterling silver trophy for the Lake Michigan Yachting Association s seventh annual regatta. The competition was held on Lake Macatawa on August 7-9, Gift of Frances Lee Outdoor sports, such as badminton, were a favorite pastime at area resorts. X677, X678 Holland Historical Trust Collection 2

3 Wrought iron fish spear with wood handle. The line, knotted to a shanty beam, enabled the spear to be thrown and retrieved while ice fishing. This spear was used to catch northern pike and muskellunge in Black Lake during the 1920s Gift of Fred Bertsch, Jr. JENISON PARK Originally a residential resort, Jenison Park was transformed by the interurban into an amusement park in A figure-eight roller coaster, a giant swing, slot machines, and other concessions made the park a popular attraction until the 1920s. A variety of problems, climaxed by the interurban s demise, led to its closing. Standing on the shore of Lake Michigan at the Macatawa resort, one would look east between the rows of cottages lining the walk to the Hotel Macatawa. Camping near the lakes has been a popular vacation activity since the 1870s. Mosquitoes were a camping nuisance in the days before screened tents as this scene at Waukazoo testifies. WAUKAZOO INN Promoted as the gem of Michigan resorts, Waukazoo Inn was built in 1901 by Judge John C. Everett of Chicago and John C. Post of Holland on a 600 acre peninsula purchased from Hope College. For decades the inn was the center of activities for visitors to the forested Waukazoo area on the north side of Lake Macatawa. It was torn down in Holland Shoe Company picnic at Jenison Park, July 24, 1919 ICE SKATES This pair of strap-on, turn of the century ice skates is representative of those worn by local residents during winter skating on Black Lake a,b Gift of Louis Vander Gronden FISHING POLE AND TACKLE BOX Fishing is a favorite pastime of many who live and vacation along the lakes ,5 Gift of Tony Smith 3

4 THE INTERURBAN The opening July 1,1898 of the electric railway from Holland to Macatawa stimulated resort developments by making them more accessible. With the inauguration of lines to Saugatuck in 1899 and Grand Rapids in 1901, Holland enjoyed an inexpensive means of mass transit that lasted until 1926 when the automobile s popularity brought an end to the interurban. The last windmill allowed to leave the Netherlands, De Zwaan was dedicated by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and Michigan Governor George Romney on April 10,1965. Foreign ship loading salvaged cars in the early 1980s US Army Corps of Engineers navigational map of Holland Harbor and Black Lake. In 1935 the lake was renamed Lake Macatawa (derived from maw-kaw-te-waw, the Ottawa word for black). The crew of the Life Saving Station was on duty continuously during the season which ran from early April until the formation of ice in the winter. They drilled daily for the first six to eight weeks. When the ship Argo ran aground on a sandbar north of the channel on November 24, 1905, the life saving crew was unable to reach the ship by boat. A mortar and five ounces of gunpowder were used by the life savers to fire a line to the ship from land. The line was then used to rig a breeches buoy or pulley-driven seat which rescued 23 passengers and crew, one at a time. The ship remained grounded until January 28, The Life Saving Station was opened during the summer of 1886 on the south side of the channel from Black Lake to Lake Michigan. Eight men, including Captain Charles Morton and two local men, made up the first crew. Part of a breeches buoy, this metal and wood double block from the Holland Harbor Lighthouse was used by the US Coast Guard. Breeches buoys were employed as rescue equipment on high lines between ships or from a ship to shore Gift of Donald Heerspink 4

5 The first lighthouse was opened in 1870 with an appropriation of $6,000 from the United States government. Melgert Van Regenmorter was its first keeper. The present lighthouse was built in In 1956 the lighthouse s buff exterior was painted red by the US Coast Guard, which calls for all navigational aids located on the right side of a harbor to be red in color. Fourth Order Fresnel Lens When the US Coast Guard recommended that Holland Harbor Lighthouse, Big Red, be abandoned in 1970 citizens circulated petitions to rescue it. The Holland Harbor Lighthouse Commission was then organized to preserve and restore the landmark. The light was removed in 1977 at the request of the Holland Harbor Lighthouse Commission and the Board of Trustees of the Netherlands Museum (now the Holland Museum). The Lighthouse Commission and the Museum Board were afraid that the lens would be damaged by vandals and requested its placement in the museum a,b Gift of the United States Coast Guard SHIP MODEL Model of the S.S. South American, made by Holland resident Jack Kluitenberg in Gift of Jack Kluitenberg WATER SKI Water ski presented to Charles Sligh at the National Water Ski Competition at Lake Macatawa in Gift of Charles Sligh, Jr. and Robert Sligh Michigan s Riviera Local beaches, dunes and waters have attracted pleasure seekers for a long time. With a climate and terrain ideally suited to outdoor recreation, residents and visitors have enjoyed a history of year-round pursuits. These included fishing, dune camping, 5

6 swimming, skating, hiking, boating, cycling and water, cross-country and downhill skiing. The invigorating aroma of Michigan pine forests and pure water of the largest and most beautiful inland lake within 100 miles of Chicago have lured vacationers to the area since the late 19 th century. The period of 1900 to 1920, however, was the heyday of Macatawa. City dwellers from St. Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit, and, especially Chicago relaxed and played at area resorts where, as promotion brochures like these promised, they could find health and rest from the confining life and bad atmosphere of the cities. S.S. ALABAMA MURAL This marquetry mural hung in the Grand Salon of the steamship Alabama Gift of the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company RAILING FROM S.S. ALABAMA This inlaid mahogany railing once graced the Grand Staircase of the passenger steamship Alabama a-c Gift of the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company CLOCK FROM THE HENRIETTA Slag shipyard on Black Lake built the Henrietta in 1853 for Captain Henry Mass. There are two accounts of what happened to this ship, which was used to haul freight between Holland and Chicago. The story believed to be more accurate states that the ship broke in two while docked at Port Sheldon, Michigan in The second account says that the ship was wrecked off the coast of Calumet, Illinois Gift of John Mass YOUR HOTEL AFLOAT From 1912 to 1967, the Chicago, Duluth and Georgian Bay Transit Company catered to the Great Lakes passenger excursion market. 6

7 Holland was a favorite port of call for the three ships of the line, the S.S. North American, the S.S. South American and S.S. Alabama. Not only was Holland home to much of the crew, but Holland Harbor was the longtime wintering berth for the ships. After World War II crews opened the ships early and used them as floating hotels for Tulip Time visitors. The growth of the interstate highway system and the proliferation of the automobile in the 1950s prompted the decline of the excursion business on the Great Lakes. Though these ships no longer cruise the lakes, memories of them are still vivid for many Hollanders. In 1958, the 321 foot S.S. South American and 291 foot S.S. North American were the first passenger vessels of American registry to transit the Eisenhower locks on the Saint Lawrence River. The S.S. Alabama, Flagship of the Goodrich Line The S.S. Alabama, without question, was the finest passenger-cargo ship to be built around her marvelous record. During the eight winters that I commanded her, I had an opportunity to learn what a fine, able ship she was, not only as a sea boat, but also as an icebreaker. Captain D.J. McGarity Licensed to carry 2,000 passengers with sleeping accommodations for 300, the Alabama made her first trip in regular service from Chicago to Grand Haven and Muskegon in June Title to the Alabama was assumed by the Georgian Bay Line in Wartime conditions led to a loss of business and in 1946 she was retired to a berth in winter quarters on Lake Macatawa in Holland, Michigan. Gradually she deteriorated and during 1960 was cut down to her main deck. Her stripped down hull was used as a barge until she was scrapped in STEWARD S TABLE A variety of items from the Georgian Bay Line , 7, 8, 9 Gift of Randall Vande Water , 7, 18, 19, 30, 31, 37, 40b,d, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 Gift of Abbie Beauregard a,b, 4a,e Gift of the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company 7

8 STEERING WHEEL This ship s wheel is off the schooner Condor that was sunk in 1903 in Singapore Harbor, near present day Saugatuck Gift of William Green LIFEBOAT RUDDER When the steamship Andaste wrecked in 1929, this lifeboat rudder was among the debris that washed ashore at the Felt Estate in Laketown Township Gift of William Woodall ALPENA PAINTING This painting by William Torgerson of Chicago represents the last moments of the A.E. Goodrich Transportation Company steamer Alpena. The steamer sank north of the Holland channel on October 16, 1880 with a loss of 68 lives Gift of Mollie Wilbert SIGN BOARD The steamer Alpena was built in Marine City, Michigan in May of 1866 by A. Gallagher. Among the wreckage that washed ashore was this sign painted by Charles Keller of Milwaukee Gift of George Getz LIFE BELT Life jacket which washed ashore near the Holland channel in October, 1880 from the steamship Alpena Gift of Albert Baker 8

9 LIFE PRESERVER When the steamship Andaste shipwrecked in 1929, this life preserver was among the debris that washed ashore at the Felt Estate in Laketown Township Gift of William Woodall TICKET Dr. Arend Vander Veen of Grand Haven, Michigan, purchased this first class ticket for a trip to Chicago on the Alpena. Vander Veen, his wife and child missed the boat which sank that night near Holland Gift of Marion Dubee J. A. HOLMES PAINTING The schooner J.A. Holmes was in view of the Alpena an hour before she sank but the crew saw no distress signal. The Holmes, loaded down with lumber, struggled to stay afloat during the October, 1880 storm. Unlike the companion Alpena painting, this canvas, also by William Torgerson of Chicago, is unrestored Gift of Mollie Wilbert STOOL This stool washed ashore at Ottawa Beach after the wreck of the freighter Burlington in December of Loaded with 2,200 tons of pig iron for the Holland Furnace Company, the Burlington ran aground in the channel and broke apart during the winter ice and storms Gift of Lewis Crow INGOT Part of the cargo of the Burlington, this ingot was to be used in manufacturing by the Holland Furnace Company. 9

10 Gift of Randall Vande Water PIANO LEG The grand piano from the Alpena washed ashore north of the Holland channel and emitted weird noises as winds blew across the strings. This leg from the piano would have been bolted to the floor of the ship s salon Gift of Mrs. F.G. Campbell The Alpena (plastic sign) Lake Michigan s generally rolling waters can quickly become treacherous and cruel. Over the years, the big lake has claimed 772 ships earning her the reputation as a graveyard for ships. Angry seas claimed at least 60, and perhaps as many as 101, lives north of Holland when the steamer Alpena, bound for Chicago, sank during a violent storm in the autumn of With a cargo of apples, the Alpena sailed for Grand Haven in beautiful weather which soon turned into the worst gale that ever swept over Lake Michigan. For two days before sinking, the ship rolled from side to side trapped in a trough and drifted at the mercy of the wind and waves. The stern of the hull was found near the Holland harbor; portions of a piano, including a leg, washed ashore near Holland; debris and freight were strewn for 20 miles along the coast. Regarded as one of the most seaworthy of the A.E. Goodrich steamers, the Alpena was built by Gallagher and Co., Marine City, Michigan, and launched in May She was registered at 654 tons. 10