Taste of - MLive.com
Transcription
Taste of - MLive.com
Local A3 metro Editor: TOM PERRIN 768-4943 [email protected] Taste of history Brad Flory [email protected] — 768-4925 Opinion columnist IRISH HILLS Treasures up for bid at auction in March Forty years after opening a western-styled roadside attraction in the Irish Hills, Fred Bahlau noticed a change. Kids stopped caring about cowboys. “I saw it coming three or four years ago,” said Bahlau, 85. “The new generation, they don’t know what the hell a cowboy is.” That change — plus the bad economy and the decline of the Irish Hills as a roadside fun destination — spells the end of the line for Stagecoach Stop USA. Stagecoach Stop, the attraction Bahlau and his family opened 43 years ago off U.S. 12, is going out of business but one amazing finale is still ahead. The reproduction Old West town will supply four days of auctions attracting interest all over the country. It will be like no auction seen before in the greater Jackson area. Visitors to Stagecoach Stop know the place is stuffed with a stunning quantity and variety of antiques, collectibles and old curiosities. Nearly everything will be sold to the highest bidder by Bahlau and his son, Rick, the co-owner. The first auction will be Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at the Stagecoach Stop. Thousands of items will be sold, including farm equipment, furniture, tools, vehicles, toys, arrowheads, lamps, store items, swords and, well, too much for me to list. The priciest treasures, like leaded-glass lamps from Stagecoach Stop and the nearby Golden Nugget restaurant, will sell in an ultra-high-end auction March 28 and 29 near Saline. Stagecoach Stop’s most famous display — a private railroad car used by President Dwight D. Eisenhower — is up for sale but not at auction. Bahlau discovered and purchased some of the vast collection himself, but most was delivered over decades by “pickers.” “A picker is a guy who doesn’t work and doesn’t want to work,” Bahlau explained. Pickers traveled the countryside to acquire old stuff from homes, farms and stores. They sold it by the truckload to Stagecoach Stop, usually for a few hundred dollars, Bahlau said. “Every week or month, somebody would be hauling something in,” he said. As he walks through stacks prepared for auction, Bahlau remembers the great deal he swung on old medicine bottles. He recalls his own labor putting tools in display mounts. He points out obsolete devices, like the potato sorter, unknown to people today. Realizing it is time to sell the accumulation of four decades does not make it easy. “For me, it’s all memories,” Bahlau said. “God, there’s a lot here.” — Brad Flory’s column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Read his blog at blog.mlive.com/ bradosphere Sunday, october 19, 2008 JACKSON CITIZEN PATRIOT Rain fell throughout the evening, but did not dampen the atmosphere inside the one-room cabin. Dinner takes guests back to the 1830s Photographs and article by Patrick Wellever [email protected] — 768-4933 The rain fell steadily on Wednesday, and by evening a dense fog had settled over the grounds of the Ella Sharp Museum of Art and History. But the windows of the museum’s historic single-room log house — once home to early Jackson resident Eli Stilson — were filled with the warm orange glow of candlelight. Inside, eight guests enjoyed a feast fit for an earlier time. The four-course meal featured traditional dishes from the 1830s, some of which were prepared in cast-iron Dutch ovens, over an open fire a few yards from the house. The event, a first for the museum, was hosted by director Chris Gordy and his wife, Susan. Susan Gordy has nearly 20 years of experience preparing period foods, and on Wednesday she was in the kitchen by 10 a.m. “It’s a long day, but it’s fun,” she said. The rain made it tough to keep the outdoor cooking fire going, but by the time guests started arriving at 6:30 p.m., the main course was simmering away — right on schedule. Museum employee Terri Reynolds helped with the food preparation. “We don’t normally use the buildings this way,” Reynolds said, “and it’s fun to breathe a little bit of life into them.” Susan Gordy said the event is unique, because while guests to other historic sites may be able to witness demonstrations of food preparation, they rarely get to taste the results. “That’s one way you can really make history personal,” she said. Wednesday’s dinner was a bit of an experiment, Chris Gordy said, but the museum could potentially host several similar events each year, serving seasonal foods. Eight guests crowded into the historic log house on the grounds of the Ella Sharp Museum of Art and History on Wednesday to experience the tastes of an earlier time. Left: Susan Gordy serves a squash soup to her guests in the log house that once belonged to early Jackson resident Eli Stilson. Above: The evening’s fare was prepared over an open fire several yards from the cabin. now you know Red silhouette at museum is part of outdoor exhibit Dear Pat: I’m curious about the red silhouette in the front yard of the Ella Sharp Museum. Who does it depict? Why is it red? And what are the black tubes that pierce it at three different locations? A Summit Township reader Dear Reader: The metal sculpture is Brighton artist John Sauve’s depiction of a modern-day St. Sebastian, who some say was the first martyr, said Ken Thompson, organizer of the exhibit for the museum. The red denotes blood and was probably chosen because of the visual impact, he said. The tubes are arrows. The sculpture, which sports a fedora, could be said to portray that businessmen are the slaves of the corporate world. Pat Rombyer Columnist “It’s somewhat autobiographical,” Thompson said. The sculpture is one of 10 that make up the “Art of the Walk: Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit” that will remain on the museum grounds until the end of April. for fire and rescue calls? A Jackson reader Dear Reader: According to Lt. Steve Rand of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, most out-county police calls are dispatched on the sheriff’s frequency, VHF 154.950. Fire calls are dispatched on VHF 154.130. The Jackson Police Department uses UHF 460.1500, Rand said. Most dispatches for the Michigan State Police are done on the sheriff’s frequency as well. Dear Pat: What process does the Citizen Patriot use to determine which candidate it will endorse? Who does the deciding? A Summit Township reader Dear Reader: EndorseDear Pat: What radio ments are determined by frequency is used by Jackson the Citizen Patriot’s threeCounty’s Central Dispatch person editorial board: Publisher Sandy Petykiewicz, Editor Eileen Lehnert and Editorial Writer Brian Wheeler. They research each person or proposal and usually invite candidates in for a personal interview. Candidates often are invited in at the same time so they can address the same issues with the board. This year, the newspaper will offer endorsements in about two dozen races, including the presidential, state and township offices and state and local proposals. she is working for KRTK-TV, and Emily Voss took her talents to California. Uchida’s last day at WILX was Sept. 5. Voss left in early August. Editor’s note: To the unnamed reader who asked why the Citizen Patriot didn’t publish the state Attorney General’s ruling exonerating former Jackson County Road Robert Zenz of misconduct: The story ran Oct. 2. — Now You Know appears every Sunday. Send questions to Pat Rombyer c/o Jackson Dear Pat: Whatever hap- Citizen Patriot, 214 S. Jackson, pened to Adela Uchida and Jackson, MI 49201. Fax 787Emily Voss on WILX-TV? A 9711 or e-mail nowyouknow@ Jackson reader citpat.com. Questions should Dear Reader: They be of interest to a wide range moved on to larger television of people; they may concern news markets. Adela Uchida local government, schools or moved to Houston, where simply matters of curiosity.