Spring 2025
Stephen Stier President stephenstier@gmail.com
Laurel Jeris Secretary jerislaurel@gmail.com
Julie Dowd Treasurer dowdjulie@gmail.com
Scott Bradley scottbradley651@gmail.com
Jane McSherry Cline empirebluesky@gmail.com
Chase Heise cheiseheise@gmail.com
Andy White andrewwhite77@gmail.com
Joe VanderMeulen joevandermeulen@outlook.com
Barbara Siepker Emeritus siepker@aol.com
During the winter months of 2024/2025 we took a deep dive into our guiding principles, values, and goals to reorient our mission. Our updated mission acknowledges that the Poor Farm Barn rehabilitation no longer claims many of our financial and human resources:
The Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society promotes the recognition, preservation, and adaptive re-use of historic structures that illustrate the County’s history and culture.
LCHPS will continue to assist in identifying and providing consultation to public and private owners and stakeholders of historic structures in the County.
We are collaborating with the County Parks and Recreation Commission through the Barn Use Committee to determine the specific uses of the barn and any related activities. The intention is to integrate the Poor Farm Barn and site into the County Park system.
We reaffirm our commitment to the eventual public use of the Leelanau County Poor Farm Barn and site within the Myles Kimmerly Park. We are working with an architect and the County Building Safety Department to secure a building permit for a bathroom and other updates required for public assembly in the barn. With the permit in place, we will begin fundraising in earnest for those improvements.
LCHPS will host demonstrations, public education, and entertainment programs. The barn will serve the public, benefiting county residents and visitors while honoring its historical legacy. We will promote inclusion of heritage agriculture, education, and entertainment into the Parks and Recreation mission to inform, educate, and assist county residents. As articulated by the Leelanau County Parks and Recreation Commission, their mission is to: Provide cost-effective recreational opportunities for the residents of and visitors to Leelanau County.
Best regards, Steve Stier | President, LCHPS
Adopted, January 2025
Mission
The Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society promotes the recognition, preservation, and adaptive re-use of historic structures that illustrate the County’s history and culture.
LCHPS is committed to the preservation and eventual public use of our demonstration project, the Leelanau County Poor Farm Barn. We will continue to assist in identifying and providing consultation to owners and stakeholders of privately and publicly owned historic structures in the County.
The Leelanau County Poor Farm Barn is preserved, restored, adapted, and being used by the public in a way that honors the property’s past use and legacy.
We envision a community actively preserving, rehabilitating, and adapting historic structures in a way that maintains a sense of place and informs and inspires an understanding of Leelanau County’s past.
We are guided by values of community, education, history, placemaking, and legacy preservation.
LCHPS formed in July of 2017 as a 501© (3) non-profit to save the Poor Farm Barn from destruction. After considerable negotiations with the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners we signed a 25-year lease on the barn and surrounding two acres. Our responsibilities were to rehabilitate and maintain structures found on the premises and collaborate with the Parks and Recreation Commission to fully incorporate the barn and site into the Leelanau County Park system.
Our LCHPS vision has always included having people inside the barn for educational and entertainment activities.
By 2022 structural rehabilitation was complete, and we had the barn painted. We also had two original distinguishing features of the barn, the cupola and lean to roof reproduced and installed.
Our LCHPS vision has always included having people inside the barn for educational and entertainment activities. By mid-2023 we learned that the Building Safety Department required full bathrooms to allow public assembly in the barn. Since that time, we have been working with a local architect to design the required affordable bathrooms that meet the requirements.
Our lease stipulates that a “joint committee” (now called the Barn Use Committee) made up of members of our board and park commissioners will determine “the specific usage of the barn and any related activities.” This committee has been meeting for over two years; however, the Park Commission members believe they should not have any part in “programming.” Although the members of the Barn Use Committee are not of one mind over this issue, we are optimistic about resolving it soon.
A more formalized system of composting has begun at the Leelanau County Poor Farm. On May 29, 2024, thirty-two participants attended this workshop spearheaded by Kama Ross, County Commissioner for District 5, Kate Thornhill of Leo Creek Preserve in Suttons Bay, and Jane Eccelstone, volunteer for Row•by•Row (formerly Buckets of Rain) and the Poor Farm Perennials Garden.
Steve Stier, President of the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society (LCHPS) our host for the day, built our 3 bins for composting. Participants then viewed the process from the outset, beginning with building the pile in the first bin. The big advantage of this system is that it involves rotation of the decomposing materials through the bins to hasten the breakdown and, once it is going, yields a nearly ever-ready pile of finished compost. There are sev-
eral excellent websites that provide detailed instructions on how to build and maintain a 3-bin system. Click on link to view the handout from Leo Creek Preserve.
Immediately following the 3-Bin Demonstration, Jane Ecclestone had the participants turn their attention to the Row-by-Row vegetable and flower gardens where she talked more about the specifics of composting there and using the finished compost to fertilize the plants.
The morning ended with a short trip over to Krull’s Composting. 857 W. Burdickville Rd., Maple City, MI 49664. Barry Krull explained much more about the types of compost he sells and various uses for it. There’s more to it than most of us realized. It was a very worthwhile and informative morning.
Caring for people in need is the cornerstone of the Poor Farm concept. The vegetable and flower gardens at the Poor Barn site are the continuing legacy of the caring foundation of the poor farm. LCHPS is extremely fortunate to have inspirational leadership at the site.
Chris Skellenger is the leader of Row•by•Row, the non-profit merry band of gardeners who plant, tend, and harvest several thousand pounds of vegetables each year. Taylor Moore from Food Rescue of Northwest Michigan distributes this produce to individuals in need.
Jane Ecclestone, a Row•by•Row volunteer, along with Jane Cline, and Julie Avery keep the flower garden looking great all season. In addition, Jane Ecclestone tends our 3-bin composting site. She also took a leadership role initiating the Three Sisters Native American Planting Tradition at the Poor Farm site and continues to tend the plants throughout their growth.
Many, many thanks to a terrific group of volunteers!
Row-by-Row harvests and distributes several thousand pounds of food each year.
For millennia, corn, beans, and squash—the Three Sisters— have been planted in a shared space. Corn comes up first, then the beans which use the corn stalks for support. As the bean vines climb, the squash spreads as a living mulch to keep weeds down and the soil cool and moist. The three plants work together physically and microbiologically.
Plant after the last frost when nighttime temperatures are at least 55°F in a location with at least six hours of full sun each day.
• Create a large mound of soil that’s 3–4’ wide and about 1’ tall, with a flat top about 10” in diameter.
• Space mounds 4’ apart.
• Plant 4–6 kernels of corn 1” deep in the flat part of the mound, spacing them 6–12” apart in a 2’ circle.
• When the corn is 6–12“ tall, plant pole beans and squash around it.
• Space the beans 3” from the corn and the squash along the outer edge of the corn and beans.
• Use cut branches or bamboo poles as supplemental support for the bean vines.
• Throughout the growing season remove weeds, water weekly, and side dress with organic fertilizer.
The Three Sisters have been studied by scholars in anthropology, history, agriculture, and food studies. Diohe’ko or the Three Sisters had been cultivated for at least five hundred years prior to conquest by the Seneca, an Iroquoian tribe from New York State.
To the Iroquois people the Three Sisters were the physical and spiritual sustainers of life, given to the people when they miraculously sprouted from the body of Sky Woman’s daughter, granting the gift of agriculture to the Iroquois nations.
This planting technique spread from Mesoamerica northward becoming widespread throughout North America. Indigenous farmers saved the best seeds for the following season, resulting in a wide variety of cultivars perfectly suited for the environments in which they were grown. Much of this diversity was sadly lost as indigenous nations were forced out of their ancestral lands by early European settlers and mainstream agricultural practices took hold.
Many thanks to the Grand Traverse Band of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for sharing the Three Sisters Native Planting Tradition with us.
Dear Friends and Followers of LCHPS, I’m excited to share my experience and reflect on the importance of preserving Leelanau’s history. My involvement with historic preservation began several years ago when I had the privilege of managing the restoration of the Leelanau Conservancy’s DeYoung Farmstead. This historic Leelanau farm includes an 1860’s farmhouse, two large barns, and numerous outbuildings. Finding a contractor with the ability and desire to restore these structures was challenging, and with the stone foundation of one of the barns in immediate peril, an offer from Board President Steve Stier to teach me how to repoint the stone foundation myself was a welcome offer. Under Steve’s guidance, I learned the intricate process of restoring an historic barn foundation using historically accurate materials and methods. This work, along with my deep appreciation for our region’s historic structures, left me with a desire to become more involved with preservation in Leelanau.
Joining the board of LCHPS has given me the opportunity to work alongside other dedicated individuals who share a passion for preserving Leelanau’s historic landmarks. Our collective efforts, including the successful preservation of the Poor Farm Barn, ensure that the structures, stories, and traditions of our county live on for future generations.
As we look ahead, LCHPS is eager to expand its impact—and we need your help. We are currently seeking new board members and volunteers to join our cause. Whether you’re passionate about hands-on restoration work, educational outreach, or simply supporting the mission of preservation, there are many ways for you to get involved. Your skills, time, and enthusiasm can make a lasting difference in ensuring that we preserve Leelanau’s rich history for years to come.
If you are interested in becoming part of this meaningful work, please visit our website at LCHP.org/GetInvolved/ Opportunities for more information. We look forward to having you join us in our important work.
Sincerely,
Chase Heise | Board Member, LCHPS
We are excited to welcome new board members to LCHPS. First, we are proud to introduce Chase Heise, who has been serving on the board since March of 2024. Chase joined us after volunteering in many ways, we couldn’t be more pleased. New to our board, but not to our circle of longstanding supporters, is Scott Bradley. We are delighted to have him as we are Joe VanderMeulen, our intrepid videographer of the documentary, ‘Saving the Barn: The Leelanau County Poor Farm.” Julie Dowd will be joining us as our Treasurer, a key leadership position for any non-profit organization. Short bio statements are posted on our website.
Chase Heise, Scott Bradley, Joe VanderMeulen , Julie Dowd, Link to Bios
Nan Helm (1877–1968), from Burdickville, led a long and interesting life. Independent and strong-minded, she worked first as a music teacher, and after that pursued a business career as a stenographer, first in Chicago and then in Washington State. Returning to Leelanau County, she built a small house not far from the Leelanau County Poor Farm. Living close by, she came to know those who lived and worked there well. A 1945 article Nan wrote for the Leelanau Enterprise provides us with a description that we would not otherwise have of life at a place which provided a caring home for those in need for so many years.
— Andrew White
by Nan Helm
The above is not the name of an institution, although it is operated most efficiently as one by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Coleman. It is something more, it’s a home. Just a pleasant oasis for the aged and the infirm to rest as they walk down the Sunset Trail.
A happy and contented life for the aged has always been one of the world’s problems. Sometimes, houses become too crowded with the younger generation overflowing its banks, so a home must be found for the older and aged ones. Without any intent to be unkind, many children have had to look for a suitable place where their parents and other relatives could be cared for and made content. In the Leelanau County Infirmary, they find such a place.
Beautifully located in the place we call “Pleasant Valley,” every room is delightfully light and has a pleasant outlook on the green fields, beautiful trees and softly rolling hills. Cows graze in the Infirmary pastures, chickens go about their business of laying eggs for the Infirmary table and fine vegetables grow in the gardens.
When the Colemans took over 11 years ago, the sexes were segregated—no visiting was allowed, and thick screens were placed between these aged people. The Colemans soon did away with this segregation—the screens came down and the talking over old times and the old days, and visiting was encouraged. This one act alone will prove to you the wisdom these people exercise in running the affairs of the county infirmary.
Those who pay their way, and many do, could live in other homes if they chose, but they choose to live with the Colemans—as two of them told us, “They are such grand people—and the kindest ever.” To take care of the aged, to deal patiently with their sensitiveness and whims, and make them happy and content is no mean task—it is not
something you learn—it is something you are born with, and Mr. and Mrs. Coleman have it to the nth degree.
The large farm on which the Infirmary is located, returns to the County each month, a certain portion of its expenditures. Over $500 was returned one month—this sum made up of sales of surplus and money from those who are paying guests. Under careful and efficient management these refunds are made possible. The guests are watched over with a care that never slackens or changes—at night there is always someone who listens for night bells and who makes the rounds to see that all is well. With labor shortage as it is, Mr. and Mrs. Coleman depend a great deal upon their young daughter of teen age, and their young son to help carry on. In winter, the rooms are always very warm and comfortable—we know, for we have called there on the coldest days to be greeted with a summer atmosphere.
There are many aged throughout the county who are hoping that they may find a room there, but space is limited, and every room is taken at the present time.
Surely an institution of this kind, run by such kindly and efficient people, as Mr. and Mrs. Coleman have proven to be, plays a most important part in the county’s life and welfare. Some day it will have an annex or addition to take care of those who now wish to go there.
It is just what we say it is—a pleasant place to rest for those who are traveling the Sunset Trail.
The Leelanau Enterprise, July 28, 1945
Reprinted here with permission from the publisher, David Thornberry, March 26, 2025
A special thank you to Barbara Siepker, one of our three founding board members, Barbara is now Board Member Emeritus. She has retired from her board membership. She is eager to take on tasks and projects as needed but has stepped away from the day-to-day responsibilities. We will miss her leadership, deep knowledge of local history, success in writing winning grant applications, attention to detail, and her sense of good humor. Thank you very much Barbara for all you have contributed to LCHPS.
Since 2017, many individuals and organizations have contributed to the development and growth of the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society. We are grateful for the assistance and cooperation of Leelanau County staff and commissioners. Volunteers, too numerous to mention, from across the region continue to share their time, skills, and resources to make things happen. We are grateful for the work of craft persons, businesses, and companies from this area and across the state. Our donors and grantors have been very generous in supporting LCHPS and our activities. People—locals and beyond—are interested, visit, and participate.
‘Saving the Barn: The Leelanau County Poor Farm’ is an engaging multi-year film project that illuminates the establishment of LCHPS to save the barn from demolition. This barn is an iconic landmark and the only remaining structure of the farm, which existed to provide care for the vulnerable. This 26-minute documentary by videographer Joe VanderMeulen, narrated by storyteller and musician Norm Wheeler, includes historical reenacting by Susan Odom and by Fantail Farms draft horses.
We are planning events at the Poor Farm Barn site, and will staff information booths at festivals and farm markets throughout the summer. Please bookmark our summer calendar at LCHP.org/news-events for updates. Don’t miss out on lots of learning and fun.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION: SUCCESS AND FUTURE POTENTIAL
LCHPS Documentary, “Saving the Barn: The Leelanau County Poor Farm”
Wednesday, May 14, 4 pm, doors open at 3:30 pm
Old Art Building, Leland
The Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society and the Leelanau Historic Society and Museum will cosponsor an event to celebrate National Preservation Month with a showing of the ‘Saving the Barn: The Leelanau County Poor Farm’ along with historic preservation specialists who will give remarks and answer questions.
Hand-Dyeing Silk: Ancient Techniques: Modern Creations
Friday, June 13, 9 am to 5 pm 1110 W. Burdickville Road, Maple City
Presented by The Green Door Folk School
Dyed fabrics fill our lives closets, and homes, but have you ever wondered how these textiles are created? Or why we have such an affinity for colorful fabrics?
Join artist and instructor Dianne Zald for a full day workshop on hand-dyeing silk, and explore the ancient roots of this craft.
Email info@greendoorfolkschool.com for more info.
$155.00/person (Space is limited)