Strawberry Festival,

Friday, July 6, 2007 from 12-6 pm &
Saturday, July 7, 2007  from 12-4 pm

Old Fashioned Christmas,

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Summer 2007 Information!

Chassell Heritage Center opens for the season on July 3 and remains open through August 30.

Special hours during the Strawberry Festival:  Friday, July 6 from 12-6 and Saturday, July 7 from 12-4.  

On Saturday, July 7^th, at 2:00 pm, the Friends of Fashion will present their annual Strawberry Festival Fashion Show entitled "The Great American Picnic"  Tickets are $5.00 and are available from members and at the Einerlei in Chassell.

A special museum highlight will be an exhibit entitled  "Lumber Kings to Strawberry Kings". 

A highlight for this summer are the Special Events Thursday evenings held at 7pm on most Thursdays during July and August.
 

Friends of Fashion

The Friends of Fashion function as an educational arm of the Chassell Historical Organization, Inc. They present historical fashion shows and mount a new exhibit showcasing vintage clothing and history every two years  in the Chassell Heritage Center. The group has given stage presentations throughout the western and central Upper Peninsula as well as northern Wisconsin. They can be hired by your group or organization to present a historical vintage fashion show.

Call Nancy at (906) 523-4612 or e-mail: nancy@einerlei.com

2007 FOF News

The Friends of Fashion 2007 season is in full swing. Back by popular demand, the group presents the exhibit “The Great Cover-up” for its second season. The unusual exhibit features outerwear from Victorian times through the late 20th century.  Featured are fantastic capes, furs, velvet coats, and lots of accessories.

The group has also been busy working on the collection, designing their own mannequins, cataloging, making improvements to storage and getting paperwork in order. Some call it spring cleaning!

Friends of Fashion gave a special show in June for the Girl Scout Council.  Almost 50 girls and their leaders enjoyed the presentation entitled "Immigrant Women".  Some of the girls even volunteered to try on the more unusual garments worn by their ancestors.  They had a great time discovering how difficult it must have been to sit when wearing a bustle or a hoop under their skirts.

On July 27th, the FOF will board the Ranger III for an overnight trip to Isle Royale!  The Isle Royale Natural History Assn. is celebrating its 50th anniversary and the Friends of Fashion have been asked to give an historical fashion show at Rock Harbor.  The show will feature the lives of some of the women of Isle Royale and include snippets of the fascinating history of the island.

The Isle Royale show will be given on the mainland here at the Chassell Heritage Center on August 2nd.  The show is being given as one of the special Thursday evening programs at the Heritage Center and begins at 7pm.

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 Vintage Fashion Show 2007   "The Great American Picnic"

On Saturday afternoon, July 7^th  at 2 pm, the Friends of Fashion will present a vintage fashion show entitled “The Great American Picnic”.   The Chassell-based antique and vintage clothing preservation society creates a new production each year for presentation during the Strawberry Festival.  This year’s show, at the Chassell Heritage Center, celebrates the wonderful tradition of picnics and the fashions worn for them.  (This event is a part of the area celebration of the Smithsonian Exhibit presented by the Michigan Humanities Council at the Keweenaw Heritage Center in Calumet.) Live music for the show will be provided by Sara Perfetti.

Seating is limited and it is suggested that tickets are purchased ahead of time.  The tickets are $5.00 each and may be purchased prior to the show at the Chassell Heritage Center or the Einerlei in Chassell.  Call 906-523-4612 or email nancy@einerlei.com

New Exhibit at the Chassell Heritage Center:
 “LUMBER KINGS TO STRAWBERRY KINGS”
 

Our new exhibit entitled “Lumber Kings to Strawberry Kings” opened for the 2005 season. Chassell Historical Organization members worked diligently for almost two years on this permanent exhibit showcasing the strawberry industry, the Chassell Lions Club, and the strawberry festival, all vitally important to our community.

Visitors are able to walk through Chassell’s history moving from the lumbering industry and on through the development of strawberry farming, the founding of the Chassell Lions Club, and the development of a festival to promote the growing and sales of strawberries.

There is something for everyone in our new exhibit. Featured is a collection of historical photographs that were originally taken by Angus Ward and recently reproduced from the original glass negatives.  Other facets of the exhibit include a history of strawberry farming from the turn of the last century to the present and the story of how a group of industrious farmers determined how to successfully market their berries. Learn about what it takes to grow a strawberry, and the how the strawberry industry profoundly effected our community. Patrons are sure to recognize many familiar names and faces among the personal stories of local farm families. Find your family and friends in the delightful recollections of past strawberry festivals.

This exhibit has been made possible with the help and cooperation of many people.  Fortunately, strawberry association records had been stored by private individuals and these were made available so that we might piece together the real story of the organization’s history. In 2004, CHO members began interviewing past and present strawberry growers to learn about strawberry farming and the history of the strawberry associations. Many enjoyable hours were spent with these men and women who recounted their farming and family histories and generously shared many photographs and artifacts. Without their help and cooperation, the exhibit would not have been possible. Our heartfelt thanks go out to these wonderful people.

We are grateful to the Chassell Lions Club and the Chassell Improvement Association for generously contributing $5000 for the production of the exhibit. Their generosity has enabled the CHO to produce a professional-quality exhibit of which we may all be proud.

Special Events for Summer Thursday Evenings, 7:00 pm at the Chassell Heritage Center

Donations are greatly appreciated to help with upkeep of the Heritage Center and to support these great events.

July 12  Remembering Rita. Musical presentations.  Join Dave Bezotte, Mark Oliver, Marta Loman and Sharon Wong-Lerner as they celebrate the memory of vocalist Rita Dostaler Panian with favorite musical selections.

July  19   Paul Saaranen completed a Fulbright Administrative Exchange during the fall of 2006 in Estonia.  The US Dept. of State and the Stanton Twp. School Board sponsored the program which allowed Mr. Saaranen to visit a number of public and private schools across the country.  He will provide a power point overview of his experiences.

July 26   KNHP Fourth Thursday in History.  Take a guided tour through the history of strawberry farming in Chassell, talk with past and present farmers, and taste test delicious food dishes created with famous Chassell strawberries.  This program is part of the celebration of the Smithsonian traveling exhibit, KEY INGREDIENTS:  MICHIGAN FOODWAYS sponsored by the Michigan Humanities Council.

August 2    The Friends of Fashion present their historical fashion show entitled "Vanished Isle Royale" featuring the intrepid early women of the island.  Dressed in authentic clothing from the extensive FOF collection, models portray womens' lives from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century.

August 9  Author Steve Lehto joins us to talk about his book, Death's Door.  Published in November 2006, this award winning book is the most accurate account of the 1913 Italian Hall tragedy that struck a Michigan copper mining town during an intense labor strike.

August 16   An Evening of Country Western Music.  Enjoy some wonderful local talent, including Bill Kautto, Courtney Clisch and other talented entertainers making a surprise appearance.

August 23  A Presentation for the Birds  Back by popular demand is Chassell's own Joe Youngman.  Joe and his associates have participated for many years in ornithological research on Manitou Island.  In this year's program, Joe will focus on the numerous breeding birds of our region.  His beautiful slide photography and unique method of delivery are sure to provide an enjoyable evening.                                               

August 30   Traditional Music & Dance of French Canada.  Singing, dancing and fiddling by local performers give you a taste of some of the cultural traditions brought to our area by French-Canadian settlers.  Start "warming up" to celebrate the French-Canadian "Festival Joie de Vivre" to take place in Chassell at this time next year.

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