South Manitou Memories by Grace Dickinson

The Glen Arbor Sun has a nice feature by photographer Grace Dickinson that begins:

There’s something about an island that lures the traveler from the mainland and beckons the voyager on a passing vessel. Times on South Manitou Island were spent within a mist of great natural beauty.

My sister, Terry Dickinson, and Sandy Holds were best friends during their school years at the Empire Rural Agricultural School. Terry grew up on the south shore of Little Glen Lake, and Sandy on Niagara Street in Empire. They kept in touch over the years. Nearby South Manitou Island, just eight miles off Sleeping Bear Point, is officially part of Glen Arbor Township but now under the jurisdiction of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park Service). Terry and Sandy’s connections to South Manitou Island were poignant and connected to the days when South Manitou had a resident population, some of whom were descendants of lighthouse keepers, Coast Guardsmen and farmers. Terry and Sandy recently returned to South Manitou to visit the places on the island that held their memories…

Read the rest of South Manitou Memories and also visit the Dickinson Gallery for more photos from Grace and her father Fred Dickinson.

Photo: South Manitou Island postcard by Grace Dickinson.