Julia Dickinson leaves a legacy for Leelanau County residents on paper.

The former co-owner of the Leelanau Enterprise died Feb. 6 at the age of 98.

“She was the ‘first lady’ of the written word in Leelanau County,” said political columnist George Weeks of Glen Arbor. He first became acquainted with Dickinson while working as a summer intern for the Enterprise. It was after she and husband, Fred, had sold the county weekly they had operated between 1943 and 1949. But she continued to write her weekly column, “Leelanau Lookout.”

“What a legacy she leaves for future writers, who can draw on her works,” he said.

Dickinson’s efforts were not limited to the county newspaper. In 1951, she published the Story of Leelanau, and in 1993, with support of the Empire Area Heritage Group, The Boizard Letters: Letters from a Pioneer Homestead. The book was based on post-Civil War Era correspondence between a Glen Arbor settler who went to the service, and his family on the homefront. She and friend Jo Bolton had discovered the letters in a Glen Arbor home that had been scheduled for demolition.

“The Boizard Letters are a precious thing. Too bad it didn’t get broader attention. (The letters) were a marvelous discovery,” said Weeks, who at the time was on the board of the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University. “I encouraged the museum to add it to their collection.”

It wasn’t the first time Dickinson and Bolton collaborated. The two friends dug into Empire’s history, unearthing items near the shoreline, which chronicled early life there. The findings, still displayed for all to see, led to the creation of the Empire Area Heritage Museum.

Dickinson was also instrumental in the creation of the Glen Lake Community Library.

“She was a neat lady,” said Judy Egeler, whose father Dino Ziebell, owned the Enterprise in the 1950s and ‘60s. “Julia knew history …she knew the county and was still very sharp and interested in what was going on.”