• Sunday-What'sUP October 6 - 10:02 am

Last week we promised more about Fort Wilkins, when it was abandoned less than two years after it had been built in 1844. It wasn't totally abandoned - you'll hear the rest of the story in Part II.

A bit of technical difficulty this weekend... On a visit to Southeast Michigan, our vehicle's alternator chose a bad time to quit, and our access to publish today's Pasty Cam was delayed. But here we are, still the 5th of October, and another Shoebox Memory is on its way to your house.

Thanks to all the offers of help I find in my Inbox this evening. Amazing how many friends we've met in this part of the state, who have a connection with the Upper Peninsula that is kept warm via the Pasty Cam.

Fort Wilkins is one of many landmarks in the U.P. that celebrate the history of the region. We'll have more next week about the Fort in the 20th century, after it became a State Park.

Have a good week :o)

That's cutting it pretty darn close, Charlie! Check back later in the afternoon takes on a whole new meaning.

Charlie: Did you mean "Alternator" chose to quit?

Originally misspelled in the post above, now corrected, thanks for the fix... wish fixing the alternator was as easy.

Ye-a-a!!! Congrats Charlie! At that late time you can call that " thing" any name youi want. I would like a running report of your episode when you have recovered. I bet it would make a interesting story!
Good morning all!

CHARLIE IS A MAN OF HIS WORD :O)) LETS HEAR FOR CHARLIE.

Hip Hip Hooray for Charlie!

It is amazing how little the Fort was actually used as a Fort. Looking forward to Part 3 next week.

I enjoyed the new video. Thank you, Charlie. I, also, will be looking forward to part 3.

Wish I could have stayed up to congratulate you for getting the pasty.com rolling, but I had a long day moving my son. Congrats anyway.

Very interesting Cameo....I did not know that. Thanx!

I love watching the Pasty Cameo's and say, "I have been there." I have been there several times. (Fort Wilkins) Great place to visit. Does anybody know how Lake Fannie Hoe got its name? (maybe we should ask charlie) I really do not know if I can post what I was told by a tour guide.

Mary says: Since Charlie is still on the road to home, I'll answer this one...
This explanation is taken from the Lake Fanny Hooe Resort website:

Where did the name Fanny Hooe come from?

Legend has it Fanny Hooe was the sister-in-law of a young officer assigned to Ft. Wilkins. She arrived at the Fort with the Captain William Alburtis family in 1846. Stories of her disappearance vary, either insisting she was picking berries outside the Fort and was either lost in the nearby forest, killed and eaten by a bear who resented her intrusion on his berry patch, or she was abducted by an Indian in retaliation for white man's intrusion on former tribal lands. More information can be found in the book "The Fanny Hooe Story. . . the passing of a legend" published by the Fort Wilkins Natural History Association.

SUPER cameo, Charlie, many thanks!

Mary's version of how Lake Fannie Hooe got its name is NOT what a tour guide told us.

What did the tour guide tell you? I once heard that the most accepted explanation is that she fell in the lake and drowned. We'll never really know, but I'm curious as to what the guide said.

TO MAIJA IN COMMERCE TOWNSHIP (Maija)
I really do not know if I can post what the tour guide told us.

This reminds me that I recorded an interview with Frank Beatty a
few years ago. Charlie, I believe you knew Frank. He became
the state's youngest park ranger when took assumed those
duties upon the death of his father (the parks first ranger).

Frank died this past winter - in February, I believe. When he sat
for the interview he gave me permission to publish the recording
and copies of old photographs he had from the days when he
and his family lived at the fort as caretakers.

One day, perhaps, I'll get some time to put something together
to share.