BIG BAY, MICHIGAN - DAY 1 - A must see in Big Bay, Michigan
is the infamous Lumberjack Tavern, scene of a 1952 murder immortalized in the
movie Anatomy of a Murder. Trip Advisor rates the tavern #2 of 8 things
to do in Big Bay. (Yes, supposedly there
are 8 things to do in Big Bay.) Since we
had to break up an otherwise long cruise on Lake Superior to Houghton, we
docked Lazy W in the harbor of refuge
at Big Bay. After securing the boat we took off on foot to see for ourselves
what all the hype was about.
The directions given us by the
harbor hosts were somewhat vague but we persevered and trekked along the rural
road until we came upon this small rustic bar.
We were obviously at the right place since a huge reproduction of a
movie poster dominated the front of the building. The body outline on the floor
was another ‘dead giveaway’ that we had arrived!
We strode to the bar and
attempted to engage the young bartender in a conversation. When asked what he could tell us about its
history, he replied, “I’m too young to know.”
Well, duh, we could see that, but hello, you do work here!! Another bar patron filled us in on the story
and eventually the bartender produced a scrapbook with newspaper clippings, along
with gruesome murder scene and morgue photos.
Shortly after midnight July 31st,
1952, Coleman Peterson strode into the Lumberjack Tavern and fired six shots
into Mike Chenowith, the tavern’s owner and bartender. Peterson’s wife Charlotte had come home
earlier that evening claiming that Chenowith had raped and beaten her. Peterson was charged with first degree murder
and was defended by attorney John Voelker.
The trial took six days and the jury returned a verdict of not guilty by
reason of temporary insanity.
Had Voelker not then written the
best-selling book Anatomy of a Murder, this
crime probably would not have risen past the annals of local Big Bay
history. But then along came film
director Otto Preminger. The film Anatomy of a Murder was released in 1959
starring Jimmy Stewart, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, George C. Scott, Eve Arden and
Orson Bean. (The film received several
Academy Award nominations but won none.) It was shot in various locations
including Big Bay, Ishpeming and Marquette.
Imagine the excitement in these small towns during the filming!
We stopped at the nearby Thunder
Bay Inn for more happy hour beverages.
Once known as the Ford Hotel, it served as a vacation retreat for Henry
Ford and Ford Motor Company executives in the 1940’s. (Wooden panels for early Ford station wagons
– the Woodie – were produced here.) In
1986 it was renamed Thunder Bay Inn, the fictional name of the hotel in Anatomy of a Murder. Many movie scenes were shot here and the
friendly inn keeper has quite a scrapbook of memorabilia from the filming of
the movie. I guess we can say that we
had found 2 things to do in Big Bay!
I
gave the interior of the boat a good cleaning and the Captain busied himself
with boat chores in the engine room while periodically helping me adjust
fenders and dock lines. The winds were
cold and gusty and Lazy W was doing
her crazy dance routine at the dock. We
could see waves crashing over the top of the sea wall. It was a day to hunker down and keep
warm. And all this while Hampton Roads was
enduring another heat advisory. Well, we
did come north to escape that!
BIG BAY, MICHIGAN – DAY 2. Our relatively short cruise from Marquette to
Big Bay on Friday was the smoothest yet.
Perfect temperatures and calm water.
Saturday morning’s forecast was not quite as promising but still
comfortably doable. We arose at 6AM and
headed out of Big Bay for a 50-mile run to Houghton on the Keweenau
Waterway. Winds were favorably light and
Lake Superior looked benign. Looks can
be deceiving though! After being beaten
up for six miles we turned tail and headed back to Big Bay. We tied Lazy
W to the dock wall, assessed the mess down below in the salon, put
everything back in its proper place and settled in for another day in Big Bay.
Before long Mary Lou and Rod on Sea Gal arrived after a rough 6-hour
cruise from Houghton. We met them in
Marquette and they had phoned us on their way west to Houghton a few days ago
to let us know that there was enough water in Big Bay for boats our size. They are now headed east back to Marquette. But not today!
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| Sea Gal and Lazy W at dusk in Big Bay Harbor |
BIG BAY, MICHIGAN – DAY 3. Uh-oh!
Small craft advisory in effect from 11AM thru midnight. Waves 5 to 7 feet. Lazy W is
not going anywhere today. What to do,
what to do…
While the
Admiral takes pictures of pretty things we see along the way, the Captain takes
pictures of toilet paper in the restrooms and contemplates the ramifications of
toilet paper theft in Big Bay!?!?! Guess
three days stranded in Big Bay will do that to a guy.
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| Toilet paper security at Big Bay Harbor |
Happy hour on Sea Gal with Rod and Mary Lou and Bob
and Pam (the harbor hosts) topped off a rather uneventful but bumpy day at the
dock. By the time happy hour ended the
sun finally made an appearance, the wind calmed down a bit and we were cautiously
optimistic that tomorrow would be a good travel day.
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