Every summer I think back to our summer trips up to Caseville. My grandparents had a mobile home up there. As we made the two hour drive up there, my brother and I always looked for the familiar landmarks along the way. Romeo had an old country store with penny candy. Almont had the Almont Saddlery. Imlay City had an A&W, as did Marlette. Marlette was the halfway point. As we continued north, we’d pass Cass City. The next stop was Owendale, which had a small market where we’d stop and get Faygo pop. We then would look for the grain towers in Pigeon. Once we passed them, we were in the home stretch.
When we arrived at my grandparent’s place, we’d pull into the driveway, which was all gravel. Trips were usually on the weekends and never long enough. This picture was taken in the kitchen.
My dad is at the stove, my brother is in the middle and I am on the right. Looking at this picture, I can smell the bacon and sausage, which were breakfast staples up north. If my grandparents were there with us, my dad would share the cooking with my grandpa. We always looked forward to those big breakfasts!
It’s amazing how I can picture the things that are not in the picture. Directly to my left in the picture was the fridge. Behind me was dining room table. There was an air conditioner in the middle window. In the top right of the photo, you can see what is sort of like a hutch. There were two cupboards at the bottom and a “counter” on top of those. Above those were two shelves where they had a ceramic mallard duck, a candy dish, and a few of my grandma’s Erma Bombeck books. There was a mirror at the back of the shelves.
The raised counter that is behind the sink was where we usually ate. There were barstools there and the kids ate there while the adults were at the table. The living room was in front of the barstools. That was where we’d watch the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon every year. I can remember there was always a big, loud lady on there that sang songs. She was probably someone famous, but for the life of me, I cannot think of who it could be.
The bedrooms, bathroom, and laundry area were down the hall. We almost always slept in my aunt’s bedroom. She is four years older than me, so she was probably 13 or so. She had Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books in her room and plenty of cat posters on her wall. If I remember correctly, she had a deck of Uno cards and I played it for the first time up north. Coincidentally, today is her birthday. Happy Birthday, Jodi.
I am sure that I have written about Caseville in other blogs. I probably have posted pictures, too, but not this one. This was one of those surprise finds on a hard drive. It is a reminder of some amazing family trips with family members who have since passed away. Those were some wonderful times. My pipe dream is to one day be in a position to get a place up there.
According to the date stamp on today’s picture, it is from the summer of 1981. We spent many summers going up north to Caseville. They were usually weekend trips. Off the top of my head, I can only recall two family vacations. One of them was to King’s Island and Sea World (probably when I was in kindergarten or first grade). The other was to Mackinac Island.
As I recall, we had a hotel in Mackinaw City. It is located at the tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. I’m sure there were places that we visited there, but I don’t remember much of that. I do remember the day we went to Mackinac Island. As you can see, you had to take a boat over to the Island from the city.
There are no cars allowed on the island. There are plenty of horse drawn carriages and bicycles. There are also plenty of shops where you can find the famous Mackinac Fudge.
The highlight of this trip was actually visiting Fort Mackinac. This fort is located on the island. Fort Michilimackinac is actually in Mackinaw City.
Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City is seen from a guard tower on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. The fort was built by French soldiers in 1715 and was taken over by the British 1761 after the French and Indian War.
My dad took a lot of pictures from our trip, but some of them are lost. I remember he took this really awesome shot of a cannon being shot. You could see the flame coming out of the wick area and the muzzle in front. It was such a cool picture. I wish I still had it.
One of my favorite photos of my mom, my brother and me was taken at one of the forts.
With all of the trouble that my brother and I cause for my parents, my mom had to pose for the above photo! I remember her saying, “I gotta get me a set of these for at home!”
There were quite a bit of things around the fort where prisoners were held. The above photo is us in the foot stocks. There is another picture somewhere of my brother and I with our heads and hands in the stocks. This was so cool to see.
The look on my mom’s face is priceless. She is all smiles! I imagine if she did have these at home, she’d be smiling bigger! I think it is hilarious to see the two personalities of my brother and me. My brother not only has his feet in the stocks, he had his hands in there, too. No fight, he just submits to the punishment. I, on the other hand, and pulling at my feet in hopes of breaking out and getting free!
I love that the sign says that the stocks were for “petty offenses!” I am just guessing that the “offenses” my brother and I caused were more along the lines of misdemeanors or felonies! LOL
It is photos like this that make me miss my mom more than usual. I know if she was still around she’d be taking her grandkids on trips like this.
I had a few days off over this past weekend and I got some much needed family time. The time started on a sad note, as Thursday morning, my wife’s family gathered at the National Cemetery where there was a small service for her grandma. They chose her grandfather’s birthday to go and have her ashes placed inside the wall with him. After the service, her dad said a prayer and everyone left.
Her grandparents are buried at the same cemetery as my mother, and my daughter asked to go see grandma. Last time we were there, she placed a heart shaped rock on the headstone. It was not there this time and she said, “Grandma must have liked it so much that she took it.” Who am I to argue with my daughter?
Friday afternoon, we loaded up the car, the kids, and the dog and made the two hour drive to my father-in-law’s place up north. I had been there once with him, but it was only a few hours. This time, we were all going to spend a couple days there. We were all looking forward to it.
The Michigan scenery on the drive up was so nice. I love those farm houses on the side of the road, the horses and cows in the fields, and the beauty of tall green trees. I love when you have to go from 55 mph down to 30 mph because you are driving through a small town. It takes me back to those drives up to Caseville with my parents when I was a kid.
We arrived at the cabin around 7pm on Friday night and we just relaxed for a while. It is just the way a cabin should be, cozy and peaceful.
We were all up early Saturday and the view from out the front window was exactly what I needed to see as I stood with a cup of hot coffee.
My mother-in-law made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. They were delicious! After breakfast, my father-in-law and I went to work. He has about 18 acres of property. He doesn’t mow it all, but there is quite a bit to mow. I hopped on the zero turn and he grabbed the weed whacker and we went to work on the yard.
I never saw the family leave while we were out, but after we finished I went inside to get some water and my phone rang. It was my wife. She said, “I need you and dad to bring the truck up to the merchandise outlet to get something.” I said ok and told my father-in-law. His response was, “What did they buy that won’t fit in your car?!” Well, I found out soon enough – and my son couldn’t be happier.
He got a Mustang long before I ever did! These things are like $200-$250 online and she got it (brand new) for $30! Yeah, what a deal!! There was a sale going on and there was also a 50% off sticker on it, so by the time the thing was rung up – $30! He was so mad that it had to charge before he could drive it. (The thing has a working radio in it!!!) Ella wanted to ride, too, so we went to the barn and got them one of the cars that were there.
We had hot dogs for lunch and then the fun began. My father-in-law brought out the four wheeler! To say that the kids were excited was an understatement.
I had never rode on one, so my father-in-law gave me a quick lesson in where the gas and brakes were, he placed Andrew in front of me and I was off on the trails and into the property with him.
Naturally, I went a lot slower than I would have liked, because I didn’t want him to fall off. He was so content to just sit there and ride. I’d ask if he was ok and he’d say he was and ask for more.
When I came back, Ella was raring to go. I really thought that she would be the one who was too scared to ride on it, but I was wrong. She hopped up and off we went. As we drove down the trail to the open area on the property she yelled, “Whoo-hoo! This is amazing!!” This filled my heart more than I can explain. Once we got to where the trail opened into the large open area, I drove her around and made little jumps on hills and such. She kept yelling, “Faster, daddy! Faster!!” She was a true daredevil.
As we were out in the field, we heard another four wheeler. Papa had pulled out the other one and had Andrew in front of him. Then it became a game. The two of us “chasing” each other, “racing” each other, and laughing the entire time! “Daddy, they are chasing us! Don’t let them catch us!” What a hoot!!
Daisy, our dog, was chasing us as we rode around, too. It was so hot and I can’t believe that she kept running after us. As soon as we’d pull away from the house, she’d be right on our tail. Running and chasing and occasionally barking at us. It was ridiculous.
As it got closer to dinner, Sam and I ordered pizzas from a place in town. It was expensive, but worth every cent. It was so cheesy and you could tell it was hand tossed and made fresh. They had these bread sticks, which were more like rolls, that had garlic and cheese on them. Oh, man! They were sinfully good.
It was a day full of fun. So much fun that we called it a night early. The kids were out like a light almost immediately. There was a huge car show in town that night, but there was absolutely no energy to go see it.
We woke up Sunday, Father’s Day, and coffee was already made. My mother-in-law made up some eggs and sausage. I was drinking my coffee on the porch and could smell the sausage from outside. This took me back to those days at my grandma’s place in Caseville. We’d be outside and we could smell the bacon or sausage from outside.
After breakfast, my father-in-law and I went out and finished up the weed whacking we didn’t get to on Saturday. After that we had to take apart some bunk beds that he was bringing home when we left. He had a rototiller that I needed to borrow and we loaded that up on the trailer, too.
While we were doing that, my wife was packing up and loading the car. My mother-in-law wasn’t going to let us leave hungry, so she made up some turkey burgers and we all had another meal together. When they were in town the day before, they had picked up a chocolate cake for the “dads” for Father’s Day. Before we could even slice it, Ella was eating sprinkles off the top of it!
We had promised the kids another ride on the four wheelers before we left, and they couldn’t wait! Each kid got a few turns riding with me and Papa. Before I put it away, I just had to go and take it for a spin by myself – so I could see just how fast it would go. Man, this one I was on really clipped! I can see how easy it would be to get hurt on one of them. It was extra fun for me to just let loose and be a kid again for a few minutes.
Just before we left, it began to sprinkle. There was a storm on the way and we wanted to head out before it hit. The kids kept asking all the way home when we would be heading up to the cabin again. After the fun we had there, I would imagine the answer is “Soon. Very soon.”
Next trip, however, I will be sure to wear sunscreen!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 