The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University has brought back two of its most popular exhibitions for the months of July and August, “Remnants: Ghost Towns of the Upper Peninsula” and “The Polar Bears: U.P. Soldiers in the Northern Russian Expeditionary Force 1918-1919” are on display in the center's gallery in Gries Hall from noon to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday through Aug. 30. Admission is free.
In his book, Ghost Towns of Michigan, Larry Wakefield wrote, “They range from lonesome sites where almost nothing is left to mark their former existence, to others where only a few crumbling houses and buildings remain. And there are others too, where a few people still live, out of love, habit or necessity (and may resent someone calling their village a ghost town).” The Beaumier Center's exhibit features 15 communities fitting Wakefield's description, one from each county in the Upper Peninsula.
These towns were settled around mines, mills, quarries and along railroads. When these operations were prosperous, so were the towns. With the depletion of natural resources often came the exodus of these operations and the decline of the boom towns. Many ghost towns have similar stories and faced the same difficulties. Yet every town and its tale is different, from the first mining operation in Michigan to Henry Ford's model town. Some towns are still home to residents. Others are nothing more than ramshackle buildings, some preserved for prosperity, others forgotten. Some of these towns have been reclaimed by nature or completely destroyed for safety's sake.
The exhibit tells the stories of ghost towns across the U.P. through historic and contemporary photographs, a history of each site, and drone video presentations featuring each of the communities. The exhibit showcases towns of renown and obscurity, including Fayette, Pequaming, Victoria, Johnswood, and others.
The "Polar Bears" exhibit will feature U.P. soldiers who served in the Northern Russia Expeditionary Force during WWI from 1918-1919. This little known and poorly understood part of WWI impacted several dozen soldiers from the U.P. In 1918, as a response to a cease fire between Germany and Russia, there was an alliance of British, French, Canadian and U.S. troops who were sent to Northern Russia and Siberia to fight against the newly formed Bolshevik government troops. Nearly 100 men from the U.P. served in the “Polar Bears” (the nickname for these units). Some were highly decorated and some who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
A recurring theme in this exhibition will be on social and ethnic identity. Many soldiers from the Upper Peninsula were immigrants or first-generation Americans from Canada and Europe. The conflict had a significant impact on the soldiers' growing identities as Americans and also for their families. The exhibition will feature dozens of photographs, maps and ephemera related to The Polar Bears.