Les Cheneaux
By Helen Shoberg 484-2626 mink1@cedarville.net

This photograph of Barefoot Dave was published in the 1939 issue of Les Cheneaux Breezes.

It has been another busy week in the Les Cheneaux Islands, with the 30th anniversary for the Boat Show and the 32nd for the Festival of Arts. These two events, now coordinated, have passed for another year, along with all of the parties and activities connected with them. The weather was perfect for the show, once again, and lots of people seemed to be having a good time.

Boat show spectators appreciated the addition of several new benches at the Hessel Marina, built by Jacob Strait who is working on obtaining his Eagle Scout rank.

It has been interesting this week to be able to look through a 1939 issue of Les Cheneaux Breezes that was loaned to me by the son of Doris and Ed Larson. Some of the interesting articles were the ferryboat schedules from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, along with cottages and boat livery advertisements. It was amazing to compare the prices of cottage and boat rentals and the old hotel ads, to the prices that are asked today. The Hunt Furniture Company of Sault Ste. Marie advertised a breakfast set, consisting of a table and four chairs made of tubular steel, for $49. Vacation cabins were renting for $15 and $20 a week. Of course, one realizes that everything is relative, and one could not begin to survive today on that kind of income. Local phone numbers had just three digits. When Con and I were dating, I recall Shobergs number as being "Cedarville, 304."

This lanky hollyhock topped 11 feet, as measured by Katie Eberts (left), an employee of Pickle Point in Hessel, where the plant is growing. The hollyhock, its 10-foot neighbor to the right, and several surrounding the building were grown from seeds cultivated by Judy Hamel of Cedarville.

In that issue, there was also an obituary of sorts and a photograph of the legendary "Barefoot Dave" standing in front of his old shanty. This story gives another little window into his life, and it is repeated below as it was written by Guy Hamel so long ago.

The following was taken from the 1939 Breezes:

"David Sugden was born in Chatham, Ontario, in 1859. He died when his cabin burned to the ground on Friday, the 12th of last January. He was 80 years old.

"Fifty-five years ago, he left home, a small town near Alpena, Michigan, telling his sister he was going away and for them to look out for his mother and father. He had always said he wanted to live alone. His folks never heard from him after that. He came here from DeTour about 53 years ago, and worked in camps as a lumberjack and often took on a job as a camp cook. One winter in the woods, he worked all through the heavy snow period in his stocking feet and was ever after called 'Barefoot Dave.' He lived up to this title by going shoeless each summer until recent years. Seven years ago, he moved from Duck Bay on Marquette Island to the cabin near Flowers Creek, two miles east of Cedarville. He had an engaging manner of spinning yarns concerning his early days here, in which he dwelt upon his fishing, hunting, and trapping experiences, as well as the hard life of the lumberjack. He had his personal nicknames for many Les Cheneaux residents, young and old alike. Summer tourists as well as the young people of Cedarville spent many an hour visiting him at his cabin. A romantic fixture of Les Cheneaux has passed on. It is believed that he had fallen asleep while smoking in bed, awakened with the shack in flames, and managed to make the door before collapsing. He was found ten feet from the cabin ruins. His famous whiskers were sheared from his face by the flames. Officers investigated the circumstances and declared the death as an accident."

If anyone wishes to look through some of the old issues of some of these annual magazine issues of so long ago, I believe the Historical Museum has a complete set that can be seen.

Scott and Lisa Strait won the $100 August 7 Lions Club raffle.

Margaret Dingman of Islands Inn reports the Cressy family's 25th annual reunion in July again brought more than 100 family members to the Les Cheneaux area, many of whom stayed at her Cedarville motel. At least four generations of the Cressy family have come to the area over the years, and most are from the Detroit area, with some hailing from as far away as New Hampshire, Georgia. They are relatives of Bob Alexander, who runs Bumpa's Bar in Cedarville, where some of the reunion activities are held.

John Israel of Canton, grandson of Thornton and Laura Cressy, reports his grandparents established a camp on Wilderness Bay on Marquette Island. John's mother, Lois Israel, was one of six children born to Thornton and Laura Cressy. Her brothers and sisters are Ruth Clapper, Fredice Alexander, Georgia Cesulka, Marilyn Bledsoe, and Joseph Cressy.

The family continues to make an annual visit to the camp while they are here the week after July Fourth. During the week they have a variety of activities, including a big family baseball tournament at the Hessel Airport and a boat trip to Government Island.

John Israel's daughters, Marci Tuzinsky, Mandi McKnight, and Jeni Crossman all wrote a book on the family reunions called "Cedarville," and it includes pictures of the family's visits to the area.