HSAHS Summer Events

History is being made this summer as we prepare to open the Harbor Springs History Museum. While the opening date has not yet been set, we anticipate a Fall 2008 opening. In the meantime, please join us for the following special events this summer.

Harbor History Talks
A Natural Eye: Obscure Artistic Images of Virgil D. Haynes
by Cynthia Haynes
Thursday, July 10 at 6:30 p.m.
City Council Chambers - 160 Zoll Street

When we think of the images of the late photographer Virgil D. Haynes, we often picture the quintessential 1950s and 1960s images of downtown Harbor Springs. On Thursday, July 10th, however, Haynes’ daughter Cynthia will take us through several of her father’s early images from the 1930s and 1940s.

The talk will also coincide with the official release of the second set of Harbor Springs Classics limited-edition lithographs. The 2008 release includes an image of the Holy Childhood Church and School taken on an icy winter day as well as a 1947 image of State and Bay streets including Juilleret’s, Bar Harbor and Al’s at the Pier.

The lithographs are the second in a three-year series of classic Haynes images and a project of the Historical Society. Lithographs from both the first and second sets will be available for purchase and pick-up the evening of the talk.

The Harbor History Talk is open to the public and free of charge. Donations are welcomed.

Coming up: Hotels of the Past with Tom Graham, Thursday, August 14th at 6:30 pm at the City Council Chambers. Join Graham as he takes us back to a few of the hotels in Harbor Springs' history using great historic images and stories as only he can tell them.

All Aboard for Shay Days 2008 - July 18 and 19

Please join us as we celebrate the life and works of inventor Ephraim Shay. Unless otherwise noted, events will take place at the Shay Hexagon House at 396 E. Main Street.

FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2008
1 - 4 p.m. Shay House Activities with Bill Davis

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2008
8:00 a.m. Shay Right of Way Hike (begins at Shay House)
10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Big Rig Show at Ottawa Stadium
1 - 4 p.m. Shay House Activities with Bill Davis
2:00 p.m. Teddy Bear Picnic at Shay Park

Kids activities including age-appropriate scavenger hunts will be ongoing in Shay Park. All Shay Days events are free of charge and open to the public. Donations are welcomed.

Little Traverse Lighthouse Tour  
Saturday, October 4, 2008

The Harbor Springs Area Historical Society (HSAHS), in cooperation with the Harbor Point Association, will offer tours of the Little Traverse Lighthouse on Saturday, October 4, 2008. Tours will be offered every half hour beginning at 9:00 a.m. until noon and from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.  Admission to this fundraising event is a $35 per person donation to the Historical Society.

In addition to the tour, HSAHS is pleased to offer Ladies of the Lights, a special presentation given by Dianna Stampfler focusing on the women who kept the lights of the Great Lakes burning. Stampfler’s program, including a dessert and coffee gathering, will be held Friday evening, October 3, 2008 at the Harbor Springs History Museum. Package tickets for Friday’s program and Saturday’s lighthouse tour are available for $50 per person.

During the lighthouse tour, talks by Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA) members and Historical Society docents will bring to life the history of the 124-year-old lighthouse. Included in this history is the story of Elizabeth Whitney Williams, the first keeper of the Little Traverse Light and one of the first women light keepers on the Great Lakes. Travel to the lighthouse will be via a  narrated trolley ride from the Harbor Point gates. Visitors will also be able to go up into the tower to see the Fourth Order Fresnel lens shipped from Paris that once guided ships into Little Traverse Bay.

“This is a unique opportunity for the public to tour this historic lighthouse,” said Fritz Simons, Lighthouse Tour Co-Chair. “This will mark our third offering of this tour and we appreciate the generosity of the Harbor Point Association to again allow us to hold this special fundraising event.”

Tours are by reservation only. Tour reservation cards are available locally at Harbor Springs/Petoskey area businesses. You may also download our reservation form and mail it to us. For additional information on this unique tour, please call the HSAHS office at (231) 526-9771.

We at the historical society are excited to tell you about our recent partnership to exclusively represent and use for fundraising the “in-town Harbor Springs” portion of the vast Virgil D. Haynes image files, much of which still remains unseen and unpublished.

We have selected six classic and representative scenes of town which we think are “must have” vintage views of Harbor Springs—Main Street, State Street, Holy Childhood, a bluff view and aerial of the beautiful harbor.

Set #1: The Panoramic Overview - NOW AVAILABLE - View

Set #2: Winter's Peaceful Nostalgia - Available July 2008 - View

Set #3: Main Street: Night & Day - Available Summer 2009 - View

These panoramic-style, very collectible lithographs will be wonderful for your own collection or to give as gifts. Please know that your order of any or all of the three sets will assist us in establishing our partnership opportunity with the Haynes image files. In addition, each order will boost our fundraising efforts as we push onward to the Fall 2008 opening of the Harbor Springs History Museum.

Harbor Springs Classics are offered in numbered, 300-print editions with titles and a specially designed commemorative logo. The photographic-quality images are approximately 10” by 17” each on finished sheets of approximately 16” by 22”.

All three lithograph sets are currently being sold for $180 per set (two individual images) or $540 for all three sets. For the true collector, ordering all three sets will give you consistent print edition numbers and will lock in the 2007 pricing.

As a special kick-off bonus to this fundraiser, the first 100 orders will receive the Virgil D. Haynes memoir Lingering in my Heart, a $25 value. Remember, only 300 numbered sets of lithographs are being made available.

To order, you may download our detailed order form here or contact us at (231) 526-9771.

Historic Post Card Book
In All The World, No Place Like This

This beautiful hardbound, 8 1/2" x 11" Collector's Edition contains 240 pages of unique historic post card images from the Harbor Springs area including 32 pages in full color. This is book makes an excellent gift for everyone who holds Harbor Springs dear so order one today!

Download Order Form