Hessel School House Spring Newsletter

ChalkTalk

In Celebration of Hessel School’s Alumni and their beloved Teachers…

...this issue is dedicated to the 20 years Hessel School was open from the fall of 1937 to early 1958… a distinctive period in the history of this area that provides much food for thought regarding yesteryear’s approaches to primary and elementary schooling in contrast to today’s, as well as an awareness of the many opportunities in the past that children, with nature surrounding them, had at hand to stretch their imaginations to the fullest; this in comparison to the present, so markedly influenced by our ever-changing, high-tech world.

Added to the uniqueness of Hessel School is the fact that many descendants of the original families have remained here or returned. Four alumni and a descendant serve on the current 10-member Board of Directors, and an alumnus on the Advisory Board. Thus, traditions and values, as well as the Board’s mission, have been retained. The Avery Learning Center’s wealth of programs is designed to stimulate imagination and creativity for all ages, and the Storybook Trail winds through the woods where the students once played, inviting today’s children to share similar experiences.

Appropriately, the Board is hosting the dedication of the Hessel School Students Memorial Garden on Saturday, July 29th, in concert with the Annual Hessel School

Alumni Picnic. An honored guest will be award-winning, internationally respected sculptor, Andy Sacksteder, who created the statues of mid-1940s students Buddy Wabiginese, Loretta Mongene, and Ray Hansen, now permanently installed on the rocks of the garden’s water feature, appearing at play as they may have in their era. The development of the feature, under the supervision of board member Dan Reelitz, was accomplished by Steve and James Hicks of Green Thumb Garden Center and alumnus Johnny Hessel, with the assistance of Jim Huffman, son of alumnus Jim (J.O.) Huffman.

All this was made possible through an exceptionally generous contribution by the late Dave Heiss and his wife, Sandy, longtime summer residents from Grand Haven. When they made their gift in 2021, Dave asked that they not receive any special recognition. A prominent Michigan landscaper, he loved the historic character and pristine world of the Les Cheneaux Islands, and thus was intrigued by the restoration of the Hessel Schoolhouse, and the Board’s landscaping plans to respect the natural setting.

Most sadly, the aftereffects of the

pandemic delayed construction of the water feature until last October, so Dave was never able to see the creation of it and its surrounding native plant/ pollinator garden. He passed away July 20th, but Sandy’s and his beautiful gift to the Hessel School House will endure, providing special meaning of the school’s historic uniqueness for many generations to come. (see pack page for more details)

Spring 2023

7, Issue 1

…from the Hessel School House, home of The Avery Arts & Nature Learning Center

Volume

Bronze plaque in recognition of the late Dave Heiss’s enduring contribution. LtoR: Andy Sacksteder, Jim Huffman, and John Hessel, preparing to lift “Buddy” to his rock. LtoR: 1st grader Ray Hansen, 5th grader Buddy Wabiginese, 4th grader Loretta Mongene

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Ray Hansen “shadowing” his statue when visiting last summer.

A Collection ofMEMORIES of HESSEL SCHOOL

In conjunction with John Causley’s poignant recollections of his days at Hessel School and Holy Childhood Boarding School in Harbor Springs, following is an assortment of memories of former students Laura Windsor Campbell, Carol Rye Duncan, Bud Mathews, Charlie Nye, Ray Roberts, the late Muriel MacDonald Roeske (1933-2013), and Susie Nye Rutledge.

Our Teachers…

that we’ve never heard before … usually one chapter a day, right after our Pledge of Allegiance. She taught us to play her guitar, to sew, to crochet.”

Muriel, 1938-44: “My favorite teacher ever was Miss Nellie Lindberg from Hessel. She was a young woman of about mid-20s, very pretty, with long blonde hair tied up in a knot on the back of her head. She loved all children and all of us knew it. She was strict and had a way of disciplining a wayward child that he or she never forgot… but never slapped, spanked, or embarrassed any child. It seemed she never tired of teaching us new things. Not only school things, but 4-H things, music things… she’d bring guitars, mouth organs, etc., to school and teach us to play them at noon hour. She also read story books to us

Ray, 1938-42: “I can tell you I enjoyed going to school and always looked forward to it. I also really liked my teacher, Miss Hammond. She must have done a pretty good job because when I moved to the Sault, I had no trouble with the curriculum in the bigger town. The teachers at the Hessel School had effective methods; I developed good reading habits and penmanship.”

Charlie, 1943-49: “Mr. Mitchell was a no-nonsense teacher, and if we had a bad attitude and neglected homework we would get swatted as a reminder. Ron and Don Huffman, Mike McLeod, Roger Gill, and others were reminded often. Corporal punishment was in play back then. He was easy on the girls, though.”

Bud, 1948-52: “Mr. Mitchell was my 3rd grade teacher. He seemed so big and strong. To keep the classroom quiet, he would just reach back and grab a chalk eraser and fire it. I mean all fast ball. Punk Carr was sitting behind me in the last row. He said something to me. I turned around to talk to him. A chalk eraser just missed me and hit Punk in the cheek. When the dust cleared, Punk sure looked sober.

Miss Nellie Lindberg Ray Roberts

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Mr. Mitchell, 1950

(CONTINUED) MEMORIES OF HESSEL SCHOOL

Susie. 1952-58: “One of most favorite teachers was Miss Grace Windsor. In my early experiences with her, we undertook the learning of fractions. She brought a chocolate Hershey Bar that broke into 12 sections for each student. We then counted out how many sections comprised of a quarter of the total, half of the total, etc. When math class was finished, we each got to eat our whole candy bar! No wonder math was everyone’s favorite class!

sit down and have Kool Aid and popcorn, then clean up. Each week it would be different students so everyone would have a turn. We worked hard and earned enough to purchase a dictionary for each student! I still have mine and have used it all the time since sixth grade! The inscription inside has my name: Susie Nye, Sixth Grade, Miss Windsor’s Room, bought by selling popcorn.

“What a wonderful person and teacher, who cared enough for her students to give every Thursday night and the use of her kitchen to help us obtain the much-needed dictionary!”

“The fourth and fifth grades, I had Miss Windsor. I noticed something right away about Miss Windsor. She was wearing a black belt about two inches wide. It felt like about three inches wide. She wore it all the time and when she used it, she had a draw as fast as Wild Bill Hickok’s. She gave me an education from the top to the bottom, and, of course, if Mother or Dad knew I got a spanking at school I got another one as they never questioned Miss Windsor. But you know the next day Miss Windsor forgot all about that. Her goal was to educate, and she was one of the best teachers I ever had. She kept order in the classroom. She also grabbed your ear and put you anywhere she wanted to. Punk ended up in the library all semester.”

“I had Miss Windsor again in the fifth grade and this was the year they shut down the Hessel School House. We had to go to Cedarville School along with the sixth grade which had been bussed to Hessel as construction was taking place on the new section of the Cedarville School. We fifth graders were given the choice of joining the Cedarville fifth grade or staying with Miss Windsor and the sixth grade. We ALL agreed we would stay with Miss Windsor!

“In sixth grade Miss Windsor decided we all needed our own individual dictionaries. She came up with a wonderful way for each of us to earn money to make the purchase. Approximately five of us would go to her house on Thursday evening where we would make popcorn and bag it up in individual portions to sell Friday noon at school for 5 cents per bag for students K thru 12 and to all teachers.

“After making the popcorn we would

Laura, 1953-57: “My Aunt Grace Windsor was a smart, dedicated addition to the Hessel School. Her students still talk about her to this day. She was a big believer in the basic three Rs. If a slow student needed help, Aunt Grace would drive to their house to tutor them. She was a stern taskmaster, and a hard thump on the head by the thimble on her finger sure got your attention when needed. Aunt Grace was also a naturalist, protecting flowers and birds and wildlife. This did not extend to squirrels, however; there was a $.25 bounty on those critters. I wish I could remember more, but the school closed just before I would have had her as my teacher.”

Continued on next page...

Miss Grace Windsor Andrew “Bud” Mathews Susie Nye (Rutledge)

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Laura Windsor (Campbell)

Recess…

Ray, 1938-42: “Recess wasn’t structured, it was just free time. I have good memories of playing hide-and-goseek in the woods. I also had a slingshot but couldn’t bring it to school. We had lots of freedom; nothing was organized, and of course that meant sometimes there was trouble. Once when I was in kindergarten, the neighbor’s outhouse was tipped over by boys during lunchtime. All the boys were called to the teacher’s desk, and there was a paddle sitting on top of it. Luckily the kindergarteners got dismissed, since we were too little to have been involved.”

somewhat of a daredevil. The crossbar for the swings was probably 10 to 12 feet off the ground. Knoy would tight-rope walk across the bar, turn and walk back again, balancing himself with his arms. None of us would dare try it. Billy was a monkey.

“Along with the playground set came a merry-go-round. We would load it up with passengers and then three or four boys would push it round and round and round as fast as we could, and then it would coast a long time.

around in a ring singing, “Skip to my Lou my Darlin’”. A lone boy in the center then sings, “Lost my partner, what’ll I do? I’ll get another just like you.” Then from the circle he grabs the hand of his chosen one and they skip together singing a couple of the verses, then the girl he chose skips around and chooses another boy, and the game goes on.

Charlie, 1943-49: “Recess was about 15 minutes, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. We had a swing set with four swings. At one end was a set of monkey bars, and the other end was a slide. You climbed the ladder and slid down the slide. We boys soon learned that if you took a handful of sand up the ladder and tossed it down the slide you then could go much faster. Now Billy Knoy was

“We did have fun playing “scrub and one”. Entering the play yard, someone would yell “scrub” and he became the pitcher. Two was the catcher. Three was first base, and so on. You could bat once, then you must score as the next hitter put the ball in play, or you went to the end of the numbers line.

“Many days at recess or lunch hour, it was much too cold to go outside for some exercise and play. So, our faithful teachers devised some fun games for us to play in the gym. One was Skip to My Lou. A circle was formed, and participants skipped

“Another was London Bridge is Falling Down. Two of us would join hands and lift our arms to form an arch for others to begin walking through, and sing, “London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.” As the last word of the song was sung, we’d drop our arms to capture whoever was walking under. The last one captured got to create an arch with his or her chosen partner, and so on.”

Carol, 1947-53: “We girls played jacks and hopscotch, A Tisket A Tasket, and Red Rover. We would have make-believe houses among the clumps of cedar trees (as I walk in Hessel today, I see those

(CONTINUED) MEMORIES OF HESSEL SCHOOL

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Carol Rye (Duncan) Nancy Mathews (Lamoreaux)

(CONTINUED) MEMORIES OF HESSEL SCHOOL

same trees still standing). Our brooms were cedar boughs, and our make-believe food was comprised of milkweed pods split open to be our fish, wild cucumbers, cedar buds, and anything we could find to pretend with. On Fridays, we’d bring our dolls to school to share with each other.”

Bud, 1948-52: “At recess and lunch hour we played scrub and one, and sometimes Hunter and Deer. The hunters threw milkweed pods, and in the wintertime snowballs. We played Steal the Bacon, Kick the Can, Tag, and then Fox and Geese in the wintertime. The girls were really good at playing jacks. I never remember a basketball inflated. It was always soft.”

Editor’s note: Carol Rye Duncan’s delightful storybook/cookbook about growing up in Hessel while living in her parents’ Hessel Grocery is beautifully heartwarming. It is sold in the HSH Gift Shop, and shipping is available. Thanks to Carol, all proceeds go to HSH. Call 906.484.1333 or email office@ hesselschoolhouse.net.

HESSEL SCHOOL Teachers

Mrs. Dorothy Shaw Edgerly

Miss Kay Mary Fenlon

Mrs. Gonzales

Miss Hammond

Mrs. Nellie Hessel

Miss Mary Keaughoy

Mrs. Sigrid Knerva

Miss Nellie Lindberg

Mrs. Olive Mertaugh

Mr. Earl Mitchell

Miss Mary Newton

Mrs. Delia Welcher

Miss Grace Windsor

Mrs. Dorothy Shaw Edgerly Mrs. Sigrid Knerva & Miss Grace Windsor Mrs. Gonzales

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Alumnus John Causley represents, in so many special ways, the extraordinary heritage of this community. He is a highly respected elder of the Chippewa Tribe, and he and his family continue to sustain the pride of and respect for the Native American traditions that contribute significantly to the unique character of the Eastern Upper Peninsula, particularly the Les Cheneaux area.

John attended Hessel School through 3rd grade, entering 4th grade at Holy Childhood School in Harbor Springs the following fall of 1957. He entered Cedarville High School in the fall of 1961, graduating in 1965. Serving on the founding board of trustees of the Hessel School House from 2016 through 2020, he was given the honor of ringing the schoolhouse bell in celebration of the first annual Hessel School Alumni Reunion in August 2016.

We have Caroline Crecelius to thank for encouraging John to share his touching memories of his life-affecting experiences as a child. While her fiancé was attending the Boat School in 2018, she was our Hessel School House administrator, and worked closely with John in developing programs and events that would benefit both the Tribe and the Avery Learning Center. This prompted her to record her in-depth interview with John over a two-week period.

As a special note for those who remember Caroline and her academic background in Indigenous Studies at the University of Alaska, she is currently Repatriation Coordinator and Tribal Consultant for the state of Missouri.

John Causley’sMEMORIES of HESSEL SCHOOL

(1952-1956)

…and Holy Childhood School in Harbor Springs (1956-1961)

Caroline: Where would you like to begin?

I’m gonna to start right from the beginning, when I went to Hessel School here and I was with the family, until I went to boarding school at Holy Childhood School in Harbor Springs in 1956. And about some activities with my uncles and my aunts, who were full-bloods, Native American. I’ll give you their names, but the thing is they’re not the names we called them then. They were Indian names in a way, and I want to make sure I get their spellings right.

My grandmother, her name was Monie Osogwin Causley. Her Indian name was “Yellow Feather”. I don’t know if that derives from the Osogwin name or the Monie name. She was a full-blooded Chippewa and Ottawa Indian, and a medicine woman in this area for lots of years. According to our history, it wasn’t uncommon that there were women who worked with medicine and were healers and so forth. My early life is with her… the most influential person in my life is her and my Uncle Mike Osogwin and my Uncle John Osogwin.

We all lived in the same community, and they called Uncle John “Chief”, and Uncle Mike’s wife was called Cotine, which was her nickname. She was a blind Native American woman; she had cataracts real bad. But that didn’t do anything to hinder what her activities were. She would go out and feed her chickens, walk the grounds. She knew every step on the land. She was small… real timid and quiet. Never said much. And she lived to be almost 87 years old.

Uncle Mike and Aunt Cotine lived on the hill…. actually, below the hill. No matter what time of day it was, we’d go up there and see Uncle Mike because he was our storyteller. When we’d go up there, she’d get out food. For some reason, it didn’t matter who was there, who was coming, what time of day it was, night or day, she would always get out food for everyone. And we’d go up there because we knew we were gonna be able to eat. We weren’t starving, that wasn’t the issue, but the issue is - she would always have maple syrup candy with her. That was a real treat for us, but we had to sit there with Uncle Mike and listen to his stories. But it didn’t bother us. Uncle Mike had an amazing way of telling his stories because during his stories, again at any time of day, he’d fall asleep. We’d sit there and be polite and eat. And he was actually sleeping because you could hear him snoring. I don’t think it was any more than 5 or 10 minutes, and then he’d wake up, and it was just amazing how he seemed to know where he left off with the story because he continued it with the same words where he left off.

My mom and my dad taught us to respect our elders no matter what or who they were… Uncle Chief, Uncle Mike…

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“Uncle Chief “John Osogwin 1955 (w/ Catherine Seiberling Stewart, Marquette Island)

(CONTINUED) MEMORIES OF HESSEL SCHOOL

and I had other uncles…Uncle Willie and my dad’s brothers and my mother’s sisters, and so forth. And they were called “elders,” because they deserved the recognition of being called “elders.” They were known in the community for doing things to help our community, and what we had to be doing to survive. There was a lot of people in this community that respected the Native Americans. The Mertaugh family… my family worked for the Mertaugh family for lots of years. My dad painted. And he did workboats for Mr. Mertaugh, and he’s well noted for that. Cabin cruisers and stuff like that… these older wooden boats that Mr. Mertaugh built and remodeled and refurnished… my dad helped him do that. And we had several other family members that worked for the Mertaugh family, so it was the beginning of their friendship, and it carried on. You know, Jim Mertaugh lives next door to me now and he’d tell me stories of what his dad, Gene Mertaugh, did. My dad was best friends with Gene and his brother, Martin.

But...those were the earlier days of my life and when I went to school here. Like playing with Johnny Hessel and David (“Goose”) Windsor on the rocks here… it was never played as Indians and Cowboys. We just had fun… and I remember walking home, with my ma waiting at the end of the driveway for me.

I told you about the shirt... the one that hung way down past my waist. I was so upset I had to wear that shirt. And it just so happened we took pictures that day. We had to take pictures, so my mom made sure at least I had a clean shirt on even though it hung down to my ankles. You know, I think she did that on purpose… so I would stand out anyways.

We never could understand that Ma had an issue taking care of us. I don’t know if it was because Dad wouldn’t send much money home or wouldn’t send anything home, but Ma had to survive that way.

Above: E.J. “Gene” Mertaugh.

Below: Martin Mertaugh.

Mrs. Gonzales’s elementary grades 1956-57. John top right.

The lady that I had here for a teacher, I remember her because she was so gentle. And her voice was so gentle. And everybody loved her that was in our class. She was not of American descent, she was, to me, either Mexican or of that culture, and she would sit and talk to us, and she had a very kind voice. And she always had something for the class, enough for everyone, like an apple or fruit or things like that. (editor’s note: her name was Mrs. Gonzales)

I was here for two years, but I only had her for one and then I was moved over to Miss Windsor’s class in the big room. And then I was moved to Harbor Springs. And I don’t know if that was part of the plan…. I just don’t know… but it was something anyway. I was so far away.

My dad worked down below a lot, in Lansing… that’s where he was driving trucks. So, it was just Ma and I and my sister Linda.

My days at Holy Childhood School in Harbor Springs, Michigan, from ‘56 to ’61.

And again, there were issues in our family, and not only ours but others… drinking and stuff like that. So that was part of some of the problems we were having. But I think my dad made the decision that we should be going to Harbor Springs.

And again, we don’t understand why… just too young to understand. But I remember we had to go across on a big ferry boat there in St. Ignace. We would sit there for almost three hours, and then we’d get on the boat, and it’d take probably an hour and a half (sic) to get across.

Mackinaw City Ferry

Continued on next page... 7

Once we got on the other side, in Mackinaw City, we didn’t realize what direction we were going or what we were doing. I-75 wasn’t there at the time, it was just a road, so we didn’t know that we had turned off and gone toward Petoskey… that’s the way we had to go to get to Harbor Springs.

But anyways, the whole trip seemed to be a day and night type of thing. That’s why Linda and I figured we were taken so far from home, and it really disturbed her and I about the distance because we were worried about how we were going to find our way home if we had to. Or how we were going to get back home if we had the chance to do that.

Anyways, when we got to Harbor Springs itself, it seemed like all the kids were coming there at the same time. It was a beautiful summer day. And we got to go down to the beach in front of the school, across the road. It was a park actually, owned by the city. And they let us go swimming. We thought it was fantastic. And that’s where we stayed that day until all the children had come in that were going to stay at the school.

And I remember Father Ewald (sp?), that was his name. He was the priest that was in charge at the time. You never saw much of him, only at masses, but everybody knew that he was the boss. Or the person that was a disciplinarian in the church… over the sisters and brothers that were there, and so forth. We never had many conversations with him; he was a priest, and we knew for sure he was a drinker. We were altar boys. I was an altar boy for years. You could always smell it on him, and he smoked cigarettes. One right after another. And we weren’t introduced to something like that… that was new to us. The drinking wasn’t though, we had it in our family, we never drank but we’d seen it. Different kinds of alcohol and stuff like that. But he always drank the wine that was in the sacristy when he got dressed and stuff. He would gulp down about 3 or 4 drinks before he’d ask us to go out and light the candles. We’d do that and we’d come back in and then he was ready to do the mass. So that was really weird.

But getting back to what we did at the park. That was one day only. We were never put back out there again, even in the summer. We asked to go to the park and they said, “Oh no, that’s only a one-time thing. You’re here now and you’re inside the building, you do everything right inside the building.” And we did.

MEMORIES OF HESSEL SCHOOL

And there always seemed to be a time when everybody seemed to know when their parents were going. We knew our Ma was leaving, because she had somebody bring her down there cause she didn’t have a vehicle. One of the kids was crying and the sister said, “There will be no crying. This is where you’re gonna go now. And we’re gonna take care of you until your mom and dad can take care of you.”

That’s what their words were to us. There was a sister there; her name was Sister Winifred, and she was really quite a nice sister. Very nice. She seemed to be more sympathetic to what issues we were having and problems we were going through. So she kind of went and talked to us about those things. I remember her for that, and that I’d come to depend on her when I had some issues at school and stuff. And she taught school; English actually.

Father Lawless was a priest in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and his parish was on Sugar Island. And he did a lot of the talking and communicating with the Indians, not only on Sugar Island, but down in our area, down here (Hessel) and so forth, because this was the heavily populated area with Natives at the time. I remember him coming to get us and taking us to Harbor Springs. But he was a real nice priest; no issues. He wouldn’t say much; he’d put us in the car. We asked Ma where we were going, she said, “Well, you’re going to school.” Once we knew we were going to school we wanted to know where it was. That was Harbor Springs, so…

Caroline: Now is he the one who took you on the ferry?

Yep, he took us all the way down because he had an association with the Holy Childhood School. But there was another priest that was involved also, his name was Father Perdun. Now, he looked like Santa Claus, a beard and mustache. I remember him taking us down a couple times to Harbor Springs; he’d come down here to Hessel and get us. But at the time, we had more than just us two, Linda and I; there were other families, other kids that were going down. I remember playing in the backseat of the car. He had a station wagon, and I think we had about nine kids in there. Father Perdun would have sausage and crackers for us. That would be our lunch you know, once we got on the boat and things like that. He had a laugh that was pretty distinct; he had a sense of humor. You could hear him anywhere and you’d know it was him laughing.

Caroline: So then did you come back in the summertime?

You know, I only remember coming back one time in the summertime. And that wasn’t because they picked us up, mom and dad… it was because there was somebody from Hessel or Cedarville that was gonna pick up their children, so we got a ride back with them.

And Ma knew we were coming back cause she was ready for us. And then she was pregnant; she had eight children. So, we had a big family, 6 boys and 2 girls. Ma always seemed to be having children, you know? But they still had the issue of drinking and so forth so...but they never got into drugs or anything. Back in those days I don’t think drugs were an issue as much as alcohol was. It was a problem.

Those were good times for us when we come back home, because those were the times we were in Hessel, and we got to do what we wanted to do. We just enjoyed it more than anything else. And just being around our family: Grandma, Uncle Mike and Cotine,

When we got back to Harbor Springs, we got our hair cut. Because our hair was quite long, and again it was part of our culture, having long hair. We were too young to put it in braids because we weren’t considered an elder then. Whereas elders, a lot of them put their hair in braids and things like that, the men did. And being Chippewa and Ottawa, you know that’s part of our tradition. But the sisters said we had to get haircuts and then we had to get washed down. So, they put us in tubs and said “you gotta scrub yourself clean”, you know those kinds of things. We had to do that the second day we were there.

We never associated with the girls; the boys and the girls had separate dorms, and so forth. The only time I ever saw my sister was when we went to meals, but we didn’t get to sit together because the boys were on one side and the girls were on another side. And once in a while we’d have a movie, very seldom…. and we’d get to see them and say hi to them. But that was only while the movie was going.

And again, their goal was to take the Indian out of the Native American, and to teach us to be non-Indian. Which was... well, they accomplished what they had to. The words that I brought with me were the words that I learned from my grandmother, a lot of them were the names of animals. Waboos, which is rabbit… Giikoo, which is

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(CONTINUED)

fish. We used those words quite a bit before we left home because we used to snare rabbits and stuff like that.

I remember one time Sister General… that was her name, Sister General, and she taught math. A real staunch, short lady. I mean her whole body was huge, but she was small, and she was a meanie. But anyways, I remember one day she was putting these rabbits up. It was getting close to Easter, and she asked me to stand up. So, I stood up and she said, “Can you tell me how many rabbits are there.” And I said, “Waboos?”

Oh my god, she came behind me and she just nailed me with that stick she had, right across the back. She said, “What did you say?” And I said, “Waboos.” And she hit me again, and she said, “Don’t you swear at me.” I said, “I am not swearing at you, Sister, I’m saying what it is in my language.” “Just as bad,” she said, “I don’t want to hear that.”

And she said, “Anybody else in this room have any names, different names? This is a rabbit, and that’s what it’s supposed to be is a rabbit. Don’t use that language in my classroom.” It was almost like swearing to her, our language. And we learned early, we didn’t say nothing in Indian.

And then we kind of put it out of our minds. We knew all the words, Miigwech [thank you], and those things you know, but we never used them. But the biggest problem is, you know, where could we use them anyway? We couldn’t talk in Indian to the other kids that were there because they would do the same thing. So that’s how we lost our whole way of looking our cultural ways with our long hair. We lost the ability to carry some of our sacred items on us; like when we first went Grandma constantly gave us a little medicine bag. And she’d tell us not to open it. She said, “The only time you open that is when you really need it.”

But, like I said, once we got to Harbor Springs, we had to get our hair cut, and we had to get scrubbed down, and then we got to see what bed we’d have in the dormitory and what our responsibilities were. Making our own beds, doing our own laundry, things like that.

There was only one day a week we took a bath, because they were limited on tubs and stuff like that. And you’re talking 400-600 kids that were at the school at that time, girls and boys.

The one thing I don’t ever remember is doctors… we had no doctors, no doctor appointments, and for dentistry there was

nothing. When we did get sick, I know we were put into a separate room. We called it “the dark room” because we were left there, and the only time we’d see anybody is when they brought our meals in to us. Which is once a day. But the sicknesses that we had were the sicknesses that kids had: the measles, the mumps, and things like that. We had to go to that room. I mean it was lonely, we had no communication with anybody, it was upstairs. Maybe that was the reason we didn’t get sick very often [John laughs] because of that.

But there was a problem of Native American kids there that were abused. And also, there was the field out there… but actually it was a graveyard. There were a lot of small crosses, all little crosses, not big crosses but little crosses. And we remember playing in those, in that part of the yard. Not all of it was gravesites but the part that we played in. There was also a lot of these corncobs because they had chickens, and there were a lot of feathers on the ground. So, we’d take the feathers and stick them in the corncobs, and we’d throw them in the air, and it was like a plane going around. That’s what we used for entertainment. But...a lot of crosses I remember. And, like I said, we played there for quite a lot.

When I left there, in ‘58 or ‘59, I never returned to Harbor Springs… until 2017. A buddy of mine [Cal] took me back. The first things I noticed was that the gravesites weren’t even there. No crosses or anything were there where we used to play in the field right there. They were gone.

The only thing on the gravesite was a big headstone of an archbishop that was buried there. I never knew his name. And

I tried to go into the church because, like I said, I was an altar boy. The church was re-vamped or remodeled, and I had started going down toward the front, and Cal said, “Let’s go talk to the priest.”

In modern days now the sisters weren’t dressed up in their blacks and whites and their headpieces and things like that. That’s the first thing I noticed. A lady came out and she had a dress on, older lady, and she didn’t have anything on her head except her hair was short. And she called herself a sister, though I don’t remember her name.

I said to her, “Oh my gosh, I was here back in the 50’s.” And she looked at me kind of funny and she said, “Oh yeah, we’re a lot different than that now.” And she said, “As you can see things have changed.” And I said, “Yeah, they sure have. What happened to the gravesites?” She said, “What gravesites?” I said, “When I used to be here back in the early 50’s we used to play in the gravesites.” She said, “No, there were never gravesites here.” “Oh yeah,” I said, “There was. There were a bunch of little crosses there.” “Oh,” she said, “Well that was before my time.” “Oh,” I said, “Yeah, I went to look there and the only gravesite I saw was the one for the archbishop.” And she said, “Oh. As far as I know, since I’ve been here, that was the only burial or gravesite there.”

So I said, “Well, can I talk to the priest?” And she said, “Well, what do you want to talk to him about?” And I said, “Well, I don’t know. I wanted to see if he remembers the days we were here.” And she said, “Well, those days are gone.” And she wouldn’t talk to me about it. And the priest wouldn’t come and see us.

- Baamaapii, John

(CONTINUED) MEMORIES OF HESSEL SCHOOL 9

Boarders at Holy Childhood School

And It’s All Because Of You...

DONATIONS

(since May 2022)

INDIVIDUAL

Maureen Adgar #

Peter & Susan Allen

Dr. John & Barbara Collins

Louise Andersen (ALF)

Nancy & Stephen Andersen

George and Gail Andrews

Mark & Lisa Ashley

Nancy Ayres** #

Kathleen & Mark Barry

Wendy Bentley

Susan MacKenzie & David Betts

Lisa & Greg Bohn

Linda & Charles Borgsdorf

Angeline Boulley*

Sue & Jason Bowlby #

Prentiss M. Brown, Jr.

Carol & Sandy Bryson

Nancy & George Byers

Laura Fernelius & Cece Cain #

Laura Windsor Campbell

Margaret & Bill Campbell

Kim & Brian Cary

Judith Cason

Valerie & Evans Cayce

Louis Chappell

Terry & Barbara Chappell

Beth & Robert Christians

John & Barbara Collins

E. Selden Collins

Tom & Marilyn Collins

Bruce & Tammy Cruickshank

Larry Daniels

Jeff & Kathy Day*

Missy DeWick

Tim DeWick #

Sue & Ken Drenth

Sylvia Dupre

Sarah & Bob Dunn #

Jane & Dave Dunn

Yvette & Gardner Dunn

Karen & James Dunn

Janet Dunning

Sylvia Dupre

Teri & George Empey

Beth Falor

Kayne Ferrier

Linda Henderson & Dan Fields

Audrey Fisher

Anne & Kieran Fleming

Ethel Fox

Stuart & Mary Galbraith

Joseph Goldfarb

Anne & Robert Gottlieb

Cynthia & Edward Green

Dr. Clint & Barb Groover

Dr. C. Keith & Rev. Mary Groty

Sheridan & Bob Haack

Marha & James Haines

Shauna Scott & J. Parker Hall III

Susan & John Hallums

Judy Hamel

Richard & Kimberly Hanna

Tom Harrison #

Yvonne & Daggett Harvey, Jr.

Carol & Grant Hesser

Chrissy & Christopher Horsburgh

Carol & Lee Hubbard

Margaret & Jeff Huff

Glenn Hughes

Stephanie & David Israels

Christopher & Sarah Jones

Kris & Michael Jureski

Jim & Diane Keighley**

William Kilroy

Marty & Bruce Kirchner

John Knoy

Jim & Mary Krzeminski

Stephen Lauer

L.C.I.A. Book Club

Barbara Augenblick

Linda Borgstorf

Cynthia Chevally

Martha Evashevski

Kimberly Hanna

Martha Harding

Nancy Johanson

Sheelagh Knapp

Kristen Knox

Marilyn Kraft

Joan Krempel

Margy Long

Jane McDonald

Mary Anne Meyer

Marianne Miller

Jan Reelitz

Jane Terrill

Ernest (Bud) & Betty Lindberg

Giles & Lana Nye Litzner

Margy Long

Ann Elston & Larry Lossing

Cindy & Larry Lyons

Paul & Virginia MacDonald*

Gretchen Mahoney

Beth Malcho

Jacqueline Mallinson

Jim Martin

Deborah Mast*

Henry & Connie Mast

Olivia Maynard

Olivia B. McCullough

Diane McDonald

Meegan McMillan

Michael & Clemence Mertaugh

Paula Meyer

Bonnie Mikkelsen**

Jonathan & Marianne Miller #

Joyce Moore

Anne Morgan

Patti Ann Moskwa

Scott & Paula Myers

Maureen T. Neal

Norman Nye

Robert and Virginia Oldt

Peggy Patrick

Ken & Jennifer Pendery

Paul & Robin Pendery

Cara & Fred Perkins

Jim & Sheryl Pflueger

Josephine Pierce #

Amy Polk

Peter & Rhonda Weyer Poznak

Joseph & Deborah Pysh

James & Melissa Rainear

Marjorie J. Rauch

Dan & Jan Reelitz #

Rowena Roach

Lewis Sage

Linda & Loreon Sattler

Kay Schirtzinger

Janet Englund & Ridgway Scott

Lewis Sage & Katherine Shepard

Patricia Slotterback (ALF)

Norm & Sally Smale

Kerri Smith #

Richard B. & Bette J. Smith

Robert W. Smith

Louise Snyder

Pete & Sandi Spieles

Sally St. Onge

Dave & Linda Sudol

Terri Tavenner

Dianne & Michael Teeter

Kate & Carl TerHaar

Bill & Trish Thiel #

Linda Thompson

Betty & Walter Thompson #

Karen Tobin

John & Dana Torsky

Amy & Dan Totonchi

Duane Utech

Gerald & Lynda Vandevusse

Shelly Van Huis

Michael & Mary Ann

Van Lokeren

Brad & Joy Vincent

John Mumford Walker

Patricia Walker

Adam & Cynthia Wellman

Steve & Gina Wells

Jeff & Carol Whitehead

Donald Windsor

Robin & Ruth Wright

William & Diane Yokum

Mike & Diana Zimmerman

*gift(s) of $1,000 or more

**gift(s) of $5,000 or more # multiple gifts

(ALF) – gift to Aldo Leopold Foundation

FOUNDATIONS / FUNDS

Lenore Follansbee Broughton Fund**

The Broughton Family Fund**

Deer Valley Foundation* #

Les Cheneaux Arts Council*

BUSINESSES

Arfstrom Pharmacy (ALF)

Applecore General Store (ALF)

Central Savings Bank

DGD Group (LCCF)

Don Wilson Insurance Agency

Islands Insurance Center

Les Cheneaux Lions Club

Maple Hardwoods, Inc.*

- Children’s Halloween Carnival sponsor

The Pine Cone Gift Shop

MEMORIAM

In memory of Janis Harrison

Gloria Jeske

James Stanton

Linda Thompson

MATCHING GIFTS

Morgan Stanley (Maureen Adgar)

10

GIFTS IN KIND

Tarji Mickelson Rodriguez**grant writing

Pickle Point – storybook trail books, art materials, T-shirts

Kerri Smith – too numerous to list!

GRANTS:

May 2022 - April 2023

Les Cheneaux Community Foundation – December 2022

$3,970 – programming for children’s art classes

Michigan Arts & Culture Council (MACC)- June 2022

$13,750 - operational support for arts programs

Upper Peninsula Sustainable Forest

$1,000 – lodging for ALF

United Way of Eastern Upper Peninsula

$480 – Story Book Trail books

Thrivent (via Pasqua Warstler) –February 2023

$250 – storage shelves for art supplies

Michigan Historical Alliance –March 2023

$2,471 – copier and photo archiving

The Americana FoundationMarch 2023

$15,000 - Nature Programming

Chippewa Luce Mackinac Conservation District - April

$1,900 – “Connecting People and Nature” education series

MEMORIAL BENCH

($1,500)

Margaret & Robert Russell, Jr.: Bruce & Jeanne McCullough

OUR GREAT VOLUNTEERS!

Joanne Baker, Debbie Beukema, Alan Beyer, Kristy Beyer, Nadine Cain, .Laura Campbell, Nora Cardinal, Dave Carey, Selden Collins, Missy DeWick, Tim DeWick, Matt Dost, Sue Drenth, Carol Duncan, Dave Dunn, Garrett Dunn, Jane Dunn, David Dutcher, Selma Edsinga, Anne Fisher, Jane French, Cheryl Gordon, Brenda Hamel, John Hessel, Katie Eberts Hoffmann, Carol and Lee Hubbard, Jim and Diane Keighley, Jo Kurlonko, Scott Marsh, June Maurer, Pauline Mitchell, Robin Pendery, Deborah Baker Phillips, Deb Pysh, Dan and Jan Reelitz, Tarji Mickelson Rodriguez, Susie Rutledge, Linda Sattler, Michelle Sheckler, Marty Sherlund, Joan Smith, Kerri Smith, Linda Sudol, Carl TerHaar, Keven Turk, Sharon Vance, Noel Weaver, Pat Wilson, Kara Windsor

Writers Program: Sue Harrison, Joe Haske

Aldo Leopold Festival

Committee: Sue Bakkila, Ken Drenth, Anne Fleming, Carol Hubbard, Elliot Nelson, Amy Polk, Sarah Reding, Kevin St. Onge, Bob and Sheridan Haack, Chris Cantway

2023 OPERATIONS SUPPORT

Your continued support is vital toward maintaining this exceptional historic landmark. We continually seek grants through all appropriate resources, but many foundations choose not to support operations and maintenance This is challenging because how can we maintain the programs without proper administration? Thus, we must continually reach out to you to fund the basic costs of managing the facility and developing our programs to benefit the community at large.

ONGOING ENGRAVED BRICK CAMPAIGN is

something fun but very meaningful and timeless!

The proceeds are used toward upgrading the landscaping and prospective gardens. The bricks will be featured in areas such as the north entry patio, a small picnic patio nearby, and brick walkways throughout the grounds and gardens.

The bricks are available in two sizes at $100 (4x8) and $250 (8x8). You can note on the enclosed envelope if you wish to purchase a brick or call the office at 906-484-1333 for more information.

Billy Walker - 1947 Bill (Billy) Walker with his daughter DeAnna Janssen, when he visited last June 20th for his final trip north from Kalamazoo before he passed away, August 22nd. DeAnna is pointing to the brick she gave in 2021 to honor Bill and his sister Phyliss.

11

HESSEL SCHOOL HOUSE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Susie Nye Rutledge*

President

Linda Sudol

Vice President

Diane Keighley Treasurer

Bonnie S. Mickelson Secretary

Laura Windsor Campbell*

Melissa DeWick

Carol Rye Duncan*

John Hessel*

Carol Hubbard

Dan Reelitz

STAFF

Kerri Smith Director of Administration

Kristy Beyer Director of Avery Learning Center

ADVISORY BOARD

Angeline Boulley

John Causley*

Selden Collins

Lisa Dunn

Kieran Fleming

Anne Fleming

Jane French

Clyde Hart

Joe Haske

Jean Jones

Wesley Maurer

Zach Schroeder

Carl TerHaar

Pasqua Warstler

Moira (Pat) Wilson

*former students

Mission Statement

The Hessel School House Corporation supports the Avery Arts and Nature Learning Center as the centerpiece of the Les Cheneaux Islands community for the purpose of ensuring the continued vitality and prosperity of the area and its residents.

HESSEL SCHOOL HOUSE

P.O. Box 25 Hessel, MI 49745

www.hesselschoolhouse.org

Electronic Service Requested

HESSEL SCHOOL ALUMNI REUNION & MEMORIAL GARDEN DEDICATION

As the first alumni reunion since 2019 due to the pandemic, the timing is perfect to celebrate the addition of the long-awaited Hessel School Students Memorial Garden, featuring Andy Sacksteder’s statues of three former students who represent the history and diverse cultures of the area. Also, two bronze plaques will be placed in the garden, honoring benefactors Dave and Sandy Heiss and Michael and Mary Ann Van Lokeren for their gifts that helped make this happen.

The Hessel School House Board of Directors invites you to attend the Dedication of the Hessel School Students Memorial Garden Saturday, July 29th 4:00 to 7:00

Dedication Program

Beer. Wine. Cocktails. / Buffet Supper (prepared by Les Cheneaux Culinary School)

USPS Mktg. Mail U.S. Postage Paid Petoskey, MI Permit No. 110

Note: Buddy Wabiginese and Loretta Mongene Miller have passed away, but Ray Hansen and his wife, alumna Joan Poglese Hansen (a year behind him at Hessel School), visited the schoolhouse last summer and are counting on attending the reunion and celebration, as are a number of the Mongene/Miller families. Loretta Mongene (Miller) Buddy Wabiginese Ray Hansen Ray & Joan last summer & Joan, 1950

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