Tag Archives: Manistique

Julius Larson – Pioneer Woodsman & Merchant

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The City Meat Market was opened in 1899. It stood on Oak Street next to the Barnes Hotel. In the above photo, posters can be seen in the widows advertising coming attractions at the opera house.

The City Meat Market was opened in 1899. It stood on Oak Street next to the Barnes Hotel. In the above photo, posters can be seen in the windows advertising coming attractions at the opera house.

           Julius Larson was born in Vastergotland, Sweden on June 20, 1868. He immigrated to the United States in 1888 and arrived in Manistique on April 3, 1888 at age 19. He was employed with Frank N. Cookson’s crew, working in the woods. In 1893 he traveled back to his native Sweden for a visit. Returning to Manistique in 1894, he continued his employment with Frank Cookson in the woods.

            Larson left Cookson’s employment in 1899 and opened the City Meat Market in partnership with Albert Gustafson. The first customers at the store were Margaret Curley, Mrs. A. S. Putnam and Mrs. Virgil Hixson. Paddy Hunt was hired as the first delivery boy. Read More...

Pioneer Merchant – John A. Falk

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The John A. Falk Hardware Store was located in the former Weston Lumber Co. General Store building on the north side of Deer Street between Weston and New Delta Ave.

The John A. Falk Hardware Store was located in the former Weston Lumber Co. General Store building on the north side of Deer Street between Weston and New Delta Ave.

             John A. Falk was born on a farm in Dalsland, Sweden, on February 6, 1864; the son of Andrew Johnson Falk and Maja Lisa Eriksdotter. John grew up in a family of ten children and attended school in his home village of Grinstad.  A family crisis occurred when John was 15 years old which changed his life forever. His father encountered severe financial reverses including the loss of the family farm. John and his siblings, who were old enough to work, were forced to fend for themselves. Read More...

Manistique’s Civil War Cannon

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The Civil War Cannon on the Court House Lawn - 1915 Image

The Civil War Cannon on the Court House Lawn – 1915 Image

             In 1896, the United States Navy Department donated a Civil War era cannon to Manistique’s George F. Fuller Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. The cannon had seen service on the James River in Virginia during the years 1861-65. After it arrived in Manistique, the cannon was placed on the Courthouse grounds where it soon became an honored emblem of national pride. The cannon played an important role in the life of the community. It was paraded through the streets of the city on Decoration Day and on the Fourth of July.  Its thunderous boom could be heard on National holidays and on extraordinary occasions, such as at the death of President McKinley in 1901, when the Presidential Salute was given. It took two men to fire the cannon, and the duty fell to Civil War Veterans, Henry Brassel and John Gayar. Read More...

Link To Our Pioneer Past

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Hook and Ladder LC Enhanced (640x441)

    

     Manistique’s rare 1914 Dodge Brother’s fire truck and the 1880s hook-and-ladder truck provide us with a present-day link to our pioneer past. The hook-and-ladder truck responded to almost all of Manistique’s historic fires, including the great fire of 1893.  It was rushed to the scene of these early blazes by a team of galloping horses.  Finally, in 1929, Manistique’s fire department became fully motorized when the Dodge Chemical Truck was converted to a ladder truck. Manistique city employees began the work of conversion in September of 1929 under the supervision of Manistique’s Fire Chief, Charles Underwood. Read More...