Dundee, and Tecumseh, Michigan

We are currently parked north of my brother's home in Sylvania, Ohio, which  places us in southern Michigan. I know, I have not written on this site in about a week. A big benefit of our lifestyle is that we have the opportunity to visit many family members and friends, which we have been doing in the past week. Our home is parked south of the town of Dundee. One of its founding fathers wanted to name the town after his home town of Scotland, hence the name of Dundee. We spent our time in Dundee at the old saw mill which was built in 1828.

 It was later used as a grist mill, and by the 1930s it was in a state of disrepair. Henry Ford rebuilt it in 1935 and used it as one of his little factories to provide parts for his car manufacturing business. The mill is now the property of the village of Dundee. The town has made it into the museum with displays showing life in the town at the turn of the 20th century. It also has exhibits relating to the Native Americans who once lived in the area in the 18th century. Two postings back I discussed Malabar farm and the policies of sustainable farming which were instituted there. The Native Americans were already following those principles in growing their crops. The museum has a display regarding the three sisters of beans,corn and squash, which the Indians like to keep in harmony while growing them together in one field. Also the Indians were the first to make snow cones and Cracker Jacks. They used maple syrup over ice and placed them in birch bark cones for snow cones. Cracker Jacks were made by pouring maple syrup over popped corn and nuts. From Dundee we drove over to the town of Tecumseh, another historic town started at the turn of the 19th century. It has done a good job in restoring its older buildings. The one pictured below was built in 1881.

 While in Tecumseh we walked the art trail, an outdoor sculpture exhibit. The sculpture pictured below is has the title of "Three Tenors". If you are interested, the artist is Ric Leichliter, the cost is $3, 600.  It looks like three roosters crowing, in case you are wondering what it is.

There is one more sculpture, which John was intrigued with. This one has a price tag of $9,000. It is called the "Yellow Whisper Bench". We sat on each end of the bench and whispered sweet nothings to each other.