top of page
The first ten years of burials
Self-guided tour booklets are available at the office for our 2023 history tour One may think researching the deaths of 76 people who once lived in your town would be melancholy. And at times, it was. However, what drove me past that feeling was the idea that these people deserve to be remembered. Petoskey Stones Speak has covered the big names of our town. They’ve talked about war heroes and bankers and businessmen, the doctors and real estate tycoons. These people deserve t
Renee Tanner
Sep 15, 20233 min read
WWII from a Child's Perspective
I ' ve been privileged for the last year or so to visit with an elite group of citizens. Assigned the task of wr i ting about what life was like on the home front during World War II, I began reading old news clippings and chatting with folks who could recall the war . And the more I d i d so, the more I began to feel a sense of urgency in capturing these folks ' stories before they're no longer around to tell them. I 'm afraid I've been like the child who lets his grandparen
Kristi Graham
May 9, 20237 min read
Research tips for those looking to make someone's story come to life
Before I was hired to work here at Greenwood Cemetery, I would walk the grounds. No matter the season, there is just something so peaceful and serene in the air here. As is often the case when one's soul is quiet and reflecting, the harrowing details of life settle, and the important ones rise. This happened one day as I was walking and reading names on monuments. I came across one that had the names of four children — all died on the same day: Nov. 14, 1970. I was born and r
Renee Tanner
Feb 20, 20234 min read
Petoskey’s Virginia Wilbur: Sault Ste. Marie WWII memories
As a teenager in 1941, Virginia Wilbur recalls changes brought on by the second world war Life as a teenager in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, in the early 1940s was anything but usual. Virginia “Ginny” (Splan) Wilbur, 95, grew up near the Sault Locks with her family. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, the locks became an important navigational and strategic military location. Residents of “The Sault” saw many changes to their community after the United States enter
Tamara Stevens
Nov 18, 20227 min read
Hubert Hayes, DDS: 'I went where I was sent and I did what I was told'
Petoskey WWII veteran never had to leave the U.S. By Tamara Stevens Hubert Hayes, 95, a retired dentist in Petoskey, is extremely modest about his service to his country during World War II. “I never left the U.S.,” he said, laughing. “I went where they told me to go and I did what they asked me to do and it worked out.” Where the military sent him was Biloxi, Mississippi, to Keesler Air Force Base. That was the first Hayes knew he was in the Air Force, he said. He didn’t req
Tamara Stevens
May 19, 20228 min read
Winfield Joseph Sluyter: 'I saw the war flying, looking backwards'
Petoskey man took part in the Battle of Midway in 1942 Anyone who has seen a movie about the Battle of Midway during WWII has a fairly good understanding of what Winfield Josiah Sluyter’s experience was like. “Win,” as he is called, served as an aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Navy during WWII in the Pacific Ocean aboard an aircraft carrier. He was assigned to a Casablanca-class escort carrier named “U.S.S. Savo Island,” a CVE 78. Win Sluyter pictured in his living room, 2019.
Tamara Stevens
Apr 14, 20227 min read
Larry St. Clair: 'I was there'
Emmet County man recalls his WWII mission on the island of Iwo Jima Lawrence “Larry” St. Clair may be legally blind at 98 years old, but there is nothing wrong with his hearing. Having a strong sense of hearing at an early age is one of the factors that determined Larry’s direction in the military, and ultimately led to him serving in World War II on the island of Iwo Jima. “I was in the Army, but they assigned me to the Air Force communications because my hearing was so good
Tamara Stevens
Mar 19, 202213 min read
Serving up honors
Cemetery staff, outgoing chamber president among honorees at annual breakfast event By William T. Perkins, Petoskey News-Review Published December 11, 2019 PETOSKEY - The Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce recognized an array of contributions to the local business community — and the community in general—on Tuesday, during the annual Breakfast for Champions. About 500 people attended the awards breakfast, which took place at Odawa Casino. Greenwood Cemetery and its staff r
Greenwood Cemetery
Mar 7, 20222 min read
Petoskey cemetery among history society 2018 award winners
By Jennifer Chambers , The Detroit News Published 10:19 p.m. ET Sept. 15, 2018 | Updated 8:37 p.m. ET Sept. 16, 2018 The State History Awards are presented by the Historical Society of Michigan. The forgotten era of women’s bicycle racing, a history tour through a Petoskey graveyard and other unique projects are among 18 winners of the 2018 State History Award from the Historical Society of Michigan. Announced on Sept. 10, the awards will be presented during the group's annua
Greenwood Cemetery
Mar 7, 20222 min read
Before you decide to scatter someone somewhere, think about this
In this day and age some would ask the question, why use a cemetery? With the rising cremation rate and the warm feeling one gets from...
Karl Crawford
Feb 11, 20222 min read
How to get to know someone who died years before you were born
The following is a note regarding one of Greenwood Cemetery's annual history books. In 2021, the theme was "The Suffragists of Greenwood.' Before Karl Crawford asked if I would be interested in this project, I will regretfully admit, I didn’t know anything, nor really hold sufficient appreciation, for woman suffrage. The lonely bit of information I had came from the “Sister Suffragette” song in Disney’s “Mary Poppins.” As it turned out, I had a lot to learn. Absorbing oneself
Renee Tanner
Feb 9, 20223 min read
A cemetery offers a 'forever' place
We believe a cemetery is the best place, the only place, that a loved one will be remembered and honored for the rest of time. Why would a nation set aside so much valuable property, just to inter the human dead? What value is there in returning, again and again, to visit the graves of those who have gone on before us? Renée Tanner says regarding Emma Lamb Barnes Baker: “I couldn’t help feel a bit sad to find she had no children of her own. But then I thought, ‘I am here, 92
Karl Crawford
Feb 9, 20223 min read
Blog Posts
bottom of page