Coyote Creek RV Park Stephenson, MI

Coyote Creek RV Park Stephenson, MI

We planned the stop in Stephenson, Michigan to visit the area where Mark's parents grew up. The farm that his Mom grew up on was purchased by his cousin, so it has been kept in the family.  We met his cousin, Jim, and his cousin's son, Max, on the farm.  We walked around on the farm and had several meals with Jim and Max. It was so nice to visit with family and share stories. Karma had a big time running around chasing Max. Jim is a great source of family history. He shared many stories with us. 

We had to get a picture of Mark with Jim and Max on the property.

Max was entertaining Karma. Karma was loving every second of it.

A silo that we used as a landmark when we were going out to the farm. Mark actually remembered this silo from his childhood. It is funny the things we remember.

This is the farm currently.  Jim had the old structures removed and built this home on the property.  The original structures were a hazard and were falling down. My grandparents raised 6 children on this property.  Grampa was a farmer.  He had dairy cattle and raised crops on the property.  If the family ate it, it came off the property.  The only thing remaining on the farm from when I visited as a child is the well.  It is not the bucket dip style well that my Mom had as a child. This one was drilled after she left. It was a wonderful place to visit. I have many fond memories of the farm and my family. This will always be a special place for me. 

We walked all through the Stephenson cemetery and found the graves of many of Mark's ancestors.

We went to Marinette, Wisconsin to see what we could find there. We located a cheese shop, Jack's Cheese.  The proprietor of the business was full of information regarding the history of cheese in the area.  Her family ran this cheese shop but at one time owned one of the largest cheese manufacturers in the Wisconsin/Michigan area.  She treated us to some 15 year old Sharp Cheddar cheese.  It was good but at $150/pound, we had to pass on buying a block of this one.

This statue is dedicated to military personnel from Marinette County that were killed in action.

Karma went swimming in the Menominee River.  He thinks he is a Labrador.

Statue of children diving into the Menominee river that were frozen in time.  This statue is nearly 100 years old.

Logging was a major commercial operation early in the history of the area  This is an original logging sleigh loaded down with logs that would have been brought out of the woods in the winter. The logging museum was closed the day we visited.

Lisa and Karma were with a tribute to the local Fisherman.  At one time, commercial fishing was a major income source for the area.

Menekaunee is a tribute to the Native  Americans that settled the area. Many of the Native American names remain in use for many of the towns and are incorporated into life here.

This is a view of the Menominee river as it enters Lake Michigan.

Lisa and Karma found a photo op with a local fish. We get tickled at all the statues we have seen. 

Menominee North Point Lighthouse no longer offers tours.

This is the Sand Point Light House on the coast in Escanaba, Michigan. The tower is topped with a cast iron lantern room which housed a "fourth order Fresnel lens". The one and a half story building also has living quarters for the lightkeeper's family. We were able to tour the living quarters which were furnished to reflect the era in which it was built and the lighthouse tower.

John Terry was appointed the first lighthouse keeper of the new lighthouse in December 1867. He became very ill and died in April 1868, a month before the lighthouse was ready to be manned. With the lighthouse nearly completed but with no lightkeeper ready to report to duty, John Terry's wife, Mary, was appointed lightkeeper. She subsequently became one of the first female lightkeepers on the Great Lakes. She died in a fire in the lighthouse under very suspicious circumstances. Murder and foul play were suspected but never proven.

The Fresnel lens was used in the Lighthouse until directed by the Coast Guard that it must be stored in a climate controlled location.

This was the replacement of the lighthouse and the lighthouse keeper.

The one room schoolhouse my Mom taught at in Banat in the 1940's is still standing. Ironically, this was the first time I had ever seen it. Jim was the one who shared where it was with us. 

The improved two room schoolhouse that my Mom taught at in Gardner is now someone's home.

After about a 20 mile bike ride, we stopped for lunch at the Stephenson Family Restaurant.  Daggett is a town of maybe 100 people and is the roughly the same size now as it was in the 1930-40's. There was a tribute on the wall to a sailor from WW2. We were shocked to learn that a Medal of Honor winner was from Daggett.  The restaurant is still owned and operated by his descendants.

Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg

DATE OF BIRTH: May 31, 1920

PLACE OF BIRTH: Daggett, Michigan

HOME OF RECORD: Daggett, Michigan

Owen Hammerberg was the only Navy Diver to earn the Medal of Honor during World War II. His was the only award for heroism at Pearl Harbor beyond the fifteen Medals of Honor awarded for heroism during the initial attack on December 7, 1941.

Medal of Honor

AWARDED FOR ACTIONS
DURING World War II

Service: Navy

Division: Naval Base, Pearl Harbor

GENERAL ORDERS:

CITATION:

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Boatswain's Mate Second Class Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg, United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Diver engaged in rescue operations at West Loch, Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, 17 February 1945. Aware of the danger when two fellow divers were hopelessly trapped in a cave-in of steel wreckage while tunneling with jet nozzles under an LST sunk in 40 feet of water and 20 feet of mud, Boatswain's Mate Second Class Hammerberg unhesitatingly went overboard in a valiant attempt to effect their rescue despite the certain hazard of additional cave-ins and the risk of fouling his lifeline on jagged pieces of steel imbedded in the shifting mud. Washing a passage through the original excavation, he reached the first of the trapped men, freed him from the wreckage and, working desperately in pitch-black darkness, finally effected his release from fouled lines, thereby enabling him to reach the surface. Wearied but undaunted after several hours of arduous labor, Hammerberg resolved to continue his struggle to wash through the oozing submarine, subterranean mud in a determined effort to save the second diver. Venturing still farther under the buried hulk, he held tenaciously to his purpose, reaching a place immediately above the other man just as another cave-in occurred and a heavy piece of steel pinned him crosswise over his shipmate in a position which protected the man beneath from further injury while placing the full brunt of terrific pressure on himself. Although he succumbed in agony 18 hours after he had gone to the aid of his fellow divers, Boatswain's Mate Second Class Hammerberg, by his cool judgment, unfaltering professional skill and consistent disregard of all personal danger in the face of tremendous odds, had contributed effectively to the saving of his two comrades. His heroic spirit of self-sacrifice throughout enhanced and sustained the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

As a child, we visited family up here often but I had never heard this story until this visit.

We saw this surprising sight as we left the area.  This was on the corner of a farmer's property. We wondered if they had ancestors that came through Ellis Island since there were many immigrants that settled up here.