This begins the wrap-up of a series adapted from the book, “A Port Oneida Collection,” Volume 1 of the two-part set, “Oral History, Photographs, and Maps from the Sleeping Bear Region,” produced by Tom Van Zoeren in partnership with Sleeping Bear Forever (formerly Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear). Here we consider various aspects of the project, as discussed in the introduction to the book:
I was stationed to work as a park ranger at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore from 1984 — 2005. During that time I was lucky to have the chance to get to know most of the people then still living around Port Oneida. I started taping some of their recollections and copying their old photos in 1991, when Laura Basch happily filled 14 hours of tape. Since that time many others have shared information, stories, photos, documents, and whatever else might serve to give the rest of us some idea of how their community worked.
I don’t know that Port Oneida was so exceptional that it needs to be thoroughly documented — though it was an interesting community, and remains a charming place. Its Historic District nomination tells us, “Port Oneida Rural Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places... as a rural landscape reflecting the settlement patterns of northern European immigrants in the Upper Great Lakes region. The district derives its significance from its ability to convey the land use patterns resulting from subsistence agriculture . . .” It is said to be the most complete, intact historic agricultural landscape in public ownership in the United States.
