Gateways to Grand Traverse Past

In some places history lurks just under the surface. An old factory whispers a story about its workers a hundred years ago. An ancient oak with its trunk curiously bent suggests times before white settlement. A gas station from the nineteen twenties reminds us of the first automobiles. A beacon atop a hotel signals to present-day boats upon the Bay as well as to early airplanes searching for a place to land. An artesian well still flows, one hundred and forty years after it was first drilled.

Gateways to Grand Traverse Past identifies these magical places and tells the stories connected with them. Watch out! After reading this book the very ground you walk becomes living history. You will need to tread carefully as you pass from the present to the past and back again.

“...delightful...well written and nicely designed to encourage further reading into the history of this wonderful area in Michigan.” —Francis X. Blouin, Professor of History, University of Michigan

“...thoroughly interesting, easy-to-read and thought-provoking, often revealing the local underbelly and social attitudes of our area’s past.” —Loraine Anderson, Traverse City Record-Eagle writer and columnist

“When you are done [reading]—and the writing is engaging and graceful—you have seen the past and understood the future with new eyes.” —Doug Stanton, author of "In Harm’s Way" and "Horse Soldiers"