Engadine Correspondent Freeman Gains Writing Inspiration From Father
By Ryan Schlehuber

This is one in a series of articles to introduce readers to correspondents covering their communities for The St. Ignace News.

Julie Freeman's father told her to listen more and talk less. With 11 years experience as the Engadine correspondent for The St. Ignace News, she has been able to complement her father's wise advice with the ability to pass on community news to her readers.

"He always told me to listen to people. It was very important to him," she said about her father, William Rushford, who worked at Inland Limestone Company west of Gould City. He loved conversation, said Mrs. Freeman, and respected those who shared their stories and knowledge with him.

"He said you can learn more by listening more to someone," she said about her father, who died in 1980 when she was a senior at Engadine Consolidated Schools.

Her mother still lives in the home Mr. Rushford built in Engadine, where Mrs. Freeman has lived all her life.

"I don't think I could ever leave here," she admitted about her hometown, which includes about 300 year-around residents.

Julie Freeman has been the Engadine correspondent for The St. Ignace News for 11 years. She is pictured with her dog, Lilly.

Family is a top priority for Mrs. Freeman. She and Bob, her husband of 27 years, have three children, Travis, Meggan, and Tyler, and three grandchildren, the youngest born in December. Mr. Freeman works for the Louisiana Pacific lumber product mill in Newberry.

The Freeman family has two cats, three dogs, and one pot-bellied pig named "Porky."

Mrs. Freeman's family life today reminds her of her youth, as family camping and dinners are frequent and the house is always busy with people, just as it was back then. She is the youngest of eight children of William and Edna Rushford, and, she points out, the most spoiled.

"I loved every minute of it," she said.

Her father, she said, influenced her to be a respectable and sociable member of society.

"The quality of listening that he has taught me, it reflects on my children today," said Mrs. Freeman. "I always remember what he taught me when I go to places and talk with people."

Engadine's Mill Pond Park is perhaps the community's most popular scenic spot. It includes a wooden bridge that is connected to a small island, and a fountain dedicated to the late Herb Smith of Engadine, whose vision it was to begin the scenic pond project in 1978. Plans are to build a second bridge to the island.

Remembering the past is a hobby for Mrs. Freeman, who created a Web site, www.mymidwestweb. com, last year, which is dedicated to Engadine history and the latest community news. One feature of the Web site Mrs. Freeman is most proud of is "Memories Come Alive," a story of Nellie Halcin, who taught at several schools in the area in the 1930s, and her reunion with many of her former students in Engadine in 1999.

The event was held at Engadine's Freeman-Hastings House Museum, where a collection of local historical items are on display.

As the museum shows, Engadine has an interesting past.

The town was first called Kennedy, named after Kennedy Siding company in Enggoden, Switzerland, where Samuel Peterson was a station manager. When he moved to the area, he became a bookkeeper for the Engadine Lumber Company and the area's first depot station agent.

Local folklore says Mr. Peterson painted the word "Engadine" on the depot station to attract immigrants to the community. The town and its post office was renamed "Engadine" in 1893, similar to Switzerland's "Enggoden."

Lumbering was Engadine's main economy at one time. It was the home of the Pittsburgh company Cooperage Mill, a barrel-making industry, which was destroyed by fire in 1926.

Dairy farming would later feed the local economy, owing to the vast pastures created by the logging industry.

The community, one mile north of US-2, on Highway 117, lies along the "Soo Line," a railroad that runs from Sault Ste. Marie to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Many Michigan residents may be familiar with the small town owing, in part, to Detroit television weatherman Sonny Elliott's coined phrase "Enga-ringa-dinga-dine," which he would often say during his forecast.

Today, Engadine is home to many retired residents. Each July, the community celebrates Heritage Days, which includes quilt shows, barbecues, picnics, and kids games.

"Basically, it's your old-fashioned get-together-after-churchthing," explained Mrs. Freeman.

Mill Pond Park is the community's biggest scenic attraction, she said. It was built almost 10 years ago and was the vision of the late Herb Smith, which the fountain in the pond is dedicated to.

Covering community events like Heritage Day and gathering weekly social news from Engadine for The St. Ignace News allows Mrs. Freeman to continue to be an active community member, as much of her time is dedicated to her family, her job at the West Mackinac Dental Clinic, and keeping her Web site updated.

"It's a rewarding journey to be able to write for the community," she said. "I feel it's my way of giving service. It's also a great way to learn more about your own community. There are always fascinating discoveries, even in a small community like Engadine."

News can be submitted to Mrs. Freeman at (906) 477-6959 or engadinenews@sbcglobal.net.