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February 19, 2006'Omena' stirs memoriesVillage's past, present mingleThere are places in northern Michigan where time sits lightly, seeming to leave no imprint. These are places where the lake and the woods embrace homes and stores and people and all together they become one unchanging world.Omena is such a place, where history and the modern world mingle casually on the Leelanau Peninsula. Where farms change but the character of the land lives on. Where new people move in with little impact, soon loving their village fiercely and as protectively as old-timers. In, "OMENA: A Place in Time," by Amanda J. Holmes, sponsored by the Omena Historical Society, the town and surrounding area is captured in myth and fact, memory and demographics, written and oral history, and local legend. The mix has lead to the kind of history, beautifully written and published, that any area would be proud of. Holmes, who holds a doctorate degree in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania, found herself drawn to Omena when her parents moved to the "old John (Ed) Scott farmhouse on County Road 631." Though northern Michigan had been home to a number of her ancestors, Amanda found herself living in Philadelphia. But "Omena for me is home," she writes. "When I find myself feeling crowded by the city ... I retreat into reflection and embrace the hills, woods, orchards, farms and waters of Omena. I need only think about the place and I am on one of my walks, immersed in the landscape, seeking my first glimpse of Bass Lake from atop Putnam Road, watching for smoke rising out of Irving Ranger's chimney to assure me that he is well, and noting the fire lane signs around Omena Point that I use to measure my walk's progress. I can see these things so vividly, as if I were there." Drawing on work that the historical society members had been collecting since 1994, and her own research, Holmes found problems of definition before even beginning. "One of the curious aspects of creating a history of Omena ... is knowing where, exactly, Omena is," she writes. "In ways both literal and symbolic, Omena is a place without boundaries. Because Omena is an unincorporated village, its legal boundaries are vague. While there are signs which announce the village limits as you enter and exit the village, where Omena begins and ends is more of a personal rather than a geographical distinction." Omena began as an Indian mission, founded by the Rev. Peter Dougherty in 1851. Nearby Ahgosatown, an Indian settlement now gone, grew up and remained entwined with Omena for many years. In "Omena Farm Life: Stewards of the Land," Joey Bensley writes of the farming history of the area, including the beginning of the cherry as a money crop. "Somewhere about 1915," remembered Hazel Taylor, who spent her first summer in Omena in 1916, "the idea of cherries as a money crop was beginning to catch on. It is said that it was the father of Emily Nash Smith who started it when he moved from Indiana to the Old Mission Peninsula and planted a one-man commercial orchard." Once a few men had success with small orchards, the one-man commercial cherry orchard became the provenance of all. "Everybody planted cherry trees," said Hazel, "the butcher, the storekeeper, the farmer, the banker." The name "Omena" seems lost in differing interpretations. It might have come about, according to one theory, as an Indian translation of the Rev. Dougherty's favorite expression, "Is that so?" Other versions of the story have Omena meaning "beautiful gift" or "one who helps others" "homing place for people of birds" or it could even be the Finnish word for apple. No one knows nor is anyone likely to get any closer to the truth. From Indian mission to resort town was only a matter of passing years. As early as 1897, Omena boasted two hotels, with 1,500 summer visitors. Soon Great Lakes steamers were bringing tourists from all parts of the Midwest. Resorts sprouted and the area settled into a kind of Victorian destination for those of means. The chapter, "The Mystery of Gull Island," tells the story of the only cottage to exist on Gull Island. Build by Professor Lee Ustick of Harvard in 1910, it was eventually abandoned with all the furnishings and journals intact. The cottage became a focal point for teenage residents until, in the 1960s, little was left. The story of this lonely cottage includes tales of an escaped German prisoner during World War II and other mysterious visitors. The photographs of the cottage in its heyday, and then of the lonely chimneys standing today, are chilling. From sketches of illustrious (and some not so illustrious) visitors to Omena, to summer stories of indolence and fun, "OMENA; A Place in Time" is as much a history of all of northwest Michigan as of a single town. Attempting to describe her own experience living in Omena, Holmes said, "After a terrible wind storm, when our garage was blown over, the neighbors came to help us get it back up, and did all of that work for the price of a home-made pie." It is in the slow times of country life, she adds, "... that I learned to care about the ridgeline of our barn, the long lines of the land, and how the water runs down hill ..." Holmes' love of place is evident throughout the book as she researches the village's past, talks to neighbors, listens to story after story and pieces the history together in well-documented and well-written chapters. This history captures a different time and a different place, then weaves the present story through the narrative in a concise overview of Omena today. The book was edited by Dale Blount, Professor Emeritus in Shakespeare from Central Michigan University. "OMENA: A Place in Time," is in its second printing and can be purchased at the Tamarack Gallery in Omena. (hardback, 285 pages with many photos, $45), or by contacting the Omena Historical Society, P.O. Box 75, Omena, MI, 49674. Add $3 shipping if ordering by mail. Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli, a freelance writer and author, can be reached at ebuzzelli@aol.com or care of the Record-Eagle. She will be conducting writing workshops at Higher Self in Traverse City four Thursday evenings in March; call 941-5805 to register.
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