Spring 2009 Newsletter - North Berrien Historical Society
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In 1894 during a speech at Elkhart, Indiana,
Simon Pokagon recalled meeting Abraham Lincoln.1
The Chief’s meeting with the President was part of a
long campaign by his people, the Pokagon Potawa-
tomi of Southwest Michigan, to receive the full pay-
ment due to them from decades-old treaties with the
federal government of the United States.
Pokagon first recounted an 1837 visit to the
capital made by his father Leopold
Pokagon and other leaders of the tribe.
They traveled by pony, stage, and the
newly completed rail line between Bal-
timore and Washington on the three
week journey. Simon did not state the
party’s success in their visit, but the
“Great Chief” they sought to meet with
was Martin Van Buren. President Van
Buren was known for closely follow-
ing the policies of the Jackson admini-
stration in which tens of thousands of Indians were
removed to the West. Leopold Pokagon signed the
1833 Treaty of Chicago with the promise that his peo-ple could stay in Michigan, but pressures to remove
them persisted until a Michigan Supreme Court Jus-
tice affirmed their right to stay. In 1843 annuity pay-
ments began for the Chicago treaty, but they totaled
only a fraction of what the agreement had stipulated
to the Potawatomi of Southwest Michigan.
Twenty-four years later in 1861, Simon Poka-
gon followed his father’s path to Washington to again
request the full payment that his people now desper-
ately needed. This time the journey was entirely by
rail and took less than two days. In his Elkhart ad-
dress Pokagon gave a detailed description of his
meeting with the President:
“I went to see the greatest and best chief ever
known, Abraham Lincoln. I was the
first Red Man to shake hands and visit
with him after his inauguration. He
talked to me as a father would to his
son and was glad that we had built
churches and school houses. He had a
sad look in his face but I knew that he
was a good man, I heard it in his voice,
saw it in his eyes and felt it in his hand
shaking. I told him how my father
long ago sold Chicago and the surround-
ing country to the United States for three cents per
acre and how we were poor and needed our pay. He
said he was sorry for and would help us what hecould to get our just dues.”
With the Confederacy gaining momentum and
warfare increasingly unavoidable in 1861, Lincoln
could not immediately heed Pokagon’s request. In-
deed, he had other more pressing questions of Indian
(Continued on page 3)
When Pokagon met Lincoln
NORTH BERRIEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER
Vol. I, No. 1 Hagar · Bainbridge · Coloma · Watervliet Spring 2009
300 Coloma Ave./ P.O. Box 207, Coloma, Michigan 49038 www.NorthBerrienHistory.org
Simon Pokagon (1830-1899)
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Spring has finally arrived and with it some ex-
citing changes here at the museum. You will notice
that we are unveiling a new layout for the newsletter
in this issue. The newsletter will be printed quarterlyin an eight page black and white format with more
space allotted for history articles. Thank you to Sally
Williams for her years of excellent service to the
NBHS newsletter.
Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America opens
April 3 with events scheduled throughout the month.
The museum is scheduled to be open Tuesday through
Saturday, 10am to 6pm during the exhibit for the con-
venience of our visitors.
The framed images of downtown Watervliet
that hang in the downtown Watervliet Fifth Third
Bank have been donated to the museum. Thank you to
Debra Shannon at Fifth Third for arranging this valued
donation.
North Berrien Historical SocietyBoard of Directors
Scott Young PresidentBennet Leedy 1st Vice PresidentKandyce Hayes 2nd Vice PresidentCindy Young SecretaryShirley Boone TreasurerRay Mays Assistant TreasurerKarin Miller DirectorPauline Morris DirectorSherry Polashak Director
Sally Williams Director
Staff
Alexander Gates Director / CuratorTracy Gierada Director of EducationGwen Elsner Office Manager
300 Coloma Ave., P.O. Box 207
Coloma, MI 49038
(269) 468-3330
www.NorthBerrienHistory.org
nbhsmuseum@sbcglobal.net
The mission of the North BerrienHistorical Society is to preserve anddistribute information regarding the
history of North Berrien County. Wewish to promote, encourage learning,
and disseminate knowledge of thearea’s cultural and architectural legacy.
Page 2
From the Director’s Desk By Alexander Gates
Education NewsBy Tracy Gierada
My position as the first education staff person
for the North Berrien Historical Society has started off
very well. I appreciate the kind welcome I have re-
ceived from the NBHS Board, members, and others in
the community. I am excited to be moving forward
with outreach efforts and the beginnings of developing
new educational programs at the museum.
The Lincoln exhibit comes to us with a set of
“learning kits”, and I have met with the teachers at
four schools in Coloma and Watervliet to share infor-
mation about what we have to offer. I have already
conducted programs for the third graders at Watervliet
North using these new resources, and a number of ad-
ditional school groups are scheduled to visit the ex-
hibit in April.
We are offering a variety of programs to com-
plement the Lincoln exhibit, including a book discus-
sion, Youth Story Hours in Coloma and Watervliet,
and a Spring Break program for all ages. I hope you
will take advantage of these special opportunities!
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Page 3
affairs to demand his attention, especially the alliance
of Confederate forces with Choctaw, Chickasaw, and
Cherokees in the South, and a violent rebellion of Da-
kotah Sioux in Minnesota. David A. Nichols 1978book Lincoln and the Indians highlights the ways that
Native American relations significantly shaped the
policy and direction of the Union effort in the Civil
War. Lincoln came to see during his presidency that
the federal “Indian System” was a brutally corrupt
bureaucracy, and vocally advocated for its reform.2
His compassion for the Potawatomi’s exploitation
was probably genuine, but his role in increasing their
annuity payments was likely minimal.
Simon Pokagon went on to say in his Elkhart
address: “Three years later I again visited the Great
Chief [Lincoln]; he excused the delay in our payment
on account of the war. He seemed bowed down with
care. At this time Grant was thundering before Rich-
mond for its final overthrow, while Sherman was
making his grand march to the sea.”
In 1866, persistent lobbying of Congressmen
and other officials in Washington finally paid off for
the Pokagon Potawatomi. With the help of the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs they were awarded back
payments for land their forebears had surrendered
over sixty years before.
The funds were released under the conditionthat the Band consent that it was the final payment the
U.S. government would be required to make. Al-
though the terms of the agreement were protested, the
offer of $169.50 each in gold and silver coins was im-
possible to reject.3 Disputes over treaty rights were
not over, but in the wake of the Civil War this victory
was at least part of what Pokagon had sought from
Lincoln to help the Pokagon Potawatomi of South-
west Michigan.
By Tracy Gierada1 Published in the South Bend Tribune, October 10, 1894. Cecilia Bain
Buechner, The Pokagons (Facsimile of 1933 print by the Indiana His-
torical Society), Hardscrabble Books: Berrien Springs, MI, 1976, 60-61.2 David A. Nicholas, Lincoln and the Indians: Civil War Policy and
Politics, University of Missouri Press: Columbia, MO, 1978.3 James A. Clifton, The Pokagons: 1683-1983, Catholic Potawatomi of
the St. Joseph River Valley, University Press of America: Landham,
MD, 1984, 86-90.
(Continued from page 1)
When Pokagon met Lincoln
Mark your Calendars!
April 3 - May 1See page 5 for the full Calendar of Events around our featured exhibit
Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America.
Thursday, May 7, 7pm Volunteer Recognition Night at the North Berrien Historical Museum
Tuesday, May 19, 7pm
Ken Pott, Director, The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, St. Joseph, MI. Kenwill speak on his current exhibit, “Working Waterfronts: Planning and Preservingthe Maritime Traditions of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor.” His talk will examinethe commercial history of Lake Michigan and the St. Joseph River and its impact onthe North Berrien region.
Saturday, June 13 Port-a-Pit Chicken Fundraiser at the North Berrien Historical Museum
Coloma - Watervliet 100th Football Game
August 28, 2009 will mark the 100th game between the Coloma and Watervliet Football teams.A committee headed by Mark Hettig is planning events to honor the occasion. Former playersfrom both teams can submit their memories of the game at http://www.pantherstadium.net/100/ .The memories will be collected in a booklet to be added to the museum’s archive and the infor-mation gathered will be used in an upcoming museum exhibit.
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April 3 – May 1, 2009 Special extended April hours
Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm
Please call ahead to reserve a group tour
269-468-3330
To celebrate the Lincoln Bicentennial (1809-2009) the North Berrien HistoricalMuseum is hosting Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America, a traveling exhibitionfrom the Abraham Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL.
Page 4
A world-class traveling exhibit featuring re-production artifacts from the Abraham Lincoln Presi-dential Library and Museum will be on display at theNorth Berrien Historical Museum from April 3 - May1, 2009. The public may view the exhibit or schedulea group tour free of charge.
The exhibit covers Lincoln’s childhood, hisself-education, his careers as a surveyor and lawyer,his family life, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, the1860 Presidential election, the Civil War, the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation, his as-sassination, and other importantperiods and events in his life.The reproduction artifacts on dis-play, all modeled from originalsin the Presidential Library andMuseum, include: Lincoln’s fa-vorite books; his son Tad’s toycannon; the nameplate from hisSpringfield home; his stovepipehat, which he used like a briefcaseto hold important papers; a Presi-dential campaign banner; an axethat Lincoln used to chop wood;the bloody gloves found in Lin-coln’s pocket the night of his as-sassination; and many otherunique and interesting items.
The traveling learning sta-tion exhibit is being displayed in40 public libraries and historicalsocieties around the nation fromSeptember 2008 through Septem-ber 2010. It was one of just two“We, the People” programs forthe Lincoln Bicentennial funded
by the National Endowment for the Humanities. TheNorth Berrien Historical Museum is honored to be theonly venue in the state of Michigan to be selected tohost the exhibition.
Abraham Lincoln, the son of a subsistencefarmer, came of age during a dramatic transformationin America’s economic life. Like many of his con-temporaries, he embraced a new emphasis on per-sonal initiative, risk-taking, and ambition. He wasonly 22 when he left his family home to find his ownway. After enduring a series of personal failures in
business, he became a prosperousattorney, devoted husband andfather, successful politician, andfinally, the 16th President of theUnited States. While Lincolnbenefited from close associationwith a number of powerfulfriends, his own talents and ambi-tions combined with hard work and a dedication to self-improvement to produce a uniqueAmerican specimen - the self-made man.
In conjunction with theexhibit, the North Berrien Histori-cal Museum has received four“learning kits” covering Abrahamand Mary Lincoln, Civil War sol-diers, and Slavery, which are nowa permanent addition to our educa-tional program offerings. Formore information about the Abra-
ham Lincoln: Self-Made in Amer
ica traveling exhibition, visitwww.PresidentLincoln.org.
Part of a kiosk from the traveling exhibition
Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America
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EXHIBITION PARTNERS
Popcorn
provided
!
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Lincoln Book Discussion
Wed., March 25, 6pm, Coloma Public Library
Moderated by Dr. Chris Paine of LakeMichigan College, we will discuss Lincoln
by Pulitzer Prize winning author DavidHerbert Donald.
Opening Reception
Friday, April 3, 5:30-7:30pm
Sponsored by the Coloma-Watervliet Area Chamberof Commerce. Opening Remarks by State SenatorRon Jelinek at 5:30.
Lecture: “Lincoln and Michigan”
Senator Tom George, MD
Tuesday, April 21, 7pm
Senator George will speak on Lincoln and his connec-tions to Michigan. Representing the 20th District(Kalamazoo), Senator George is a past president of the Historical Society of Michigan and has writtenand produced television documentaries about Lincolnand Colonel Joseph Westnedge.
Lecture: “Lincoln: A Full Measure of Greatness”
Dr. William Anderson
Thurs., April 23, 7pm
Dr. Anderson is the retired director of the Michigan
Department of History, Arts and Libraries and chairof the Michigan Lincoln Bicentennial Committee. Dr.Anderson is the author/editor of seven books includ-ing They Died for to Make Men Free: History of the
19th
Michigan Infantry; We are Sherman’s Men: The
Civil War Letters of Henry Orendorff; and The De-
troit Tigers: A Pictorial Celebration of the Greatest
Players and Moments in the Tigers’ History.
Drawing every week for a free annual membership tothe Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Mu-
seum. All events are free and open to the public.All programs take place at the North BerrienHistorical Museum unless otherwise noted.
Documentary Showings
April 4, 12-2pmThe History Channel: Lincoln
April 11, 12-6pmPBS: Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided
April 18, 12-2pmA&E Bio.: Abraham Lincoln: Preserving the Union
April 25, 12-6pmPBS: Africans in America: Journey through Slavery
Lincoln Story Hour (Ages 5-8)
Hosted by Coloma’s own Lincoln (Richard Viet)Tues., April 14, 6pm, Coloma Public Library &
Wed., April 15, 6pm, Watervliet District Library
Spring Break with Lincoln
Wednesday, April 8, 1-3pm
Join Lincoln and other historic reenactors to learnabout the Civil War era through activities and
demonstrations. All ages welcome.
Coloring Contest (ends March 27) Visit any Coloma Branch Chemical Bank, EdgewaterBank, 5/3 Bank or Berrien Teachers Credit Union topick up a coloring sheet. Winners will be displayed atthe North Berrien Historical Museum Lincoln exhibit.
Page 5
WATERVLIETDISTRICTLIBRARY
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Page 6
Public Programs and Events off to a great start in 2009Even as we gear up for Lincoln in April, the
North Berrien Historical Society has been busy hold-
ing programs and events to promote local history. In
January, we met at the Bainbridge Township Hall to
hear NBHS Director Alexander Gates speak on the
township’s namesake, Captain William Bainbridge
and his role in the American war with the North Afri-
can Barbary States in the late 1790s and early 1800s.
Several events brought new faces to the mu-
seum in February, which gave them the chance to tour
our current exhibit Hats, Caps & Bonnets: A History
of Headwear for the first time. This included the Co-
loma Lioness Club, who held their Feb-
ruary meeting here and heard a presenta-tion from new NBHS Education Coordi-
nator Tracy Gierada. Director Alex
Gates provided a tour of the exhibit to
the visiting Lioness members.
On Saturday, February 7, over a
dozen visitors came to participate in the
Victorian Valentines event and enjoy
refreshments like mini-cupcakes, cook-
ies, and candy hearts. After viewing the
museum’s display of Victorian andtwentieth century valentines, our guests created their
own. We also enjoyed a game of “Love Bingo”
which used symbols and translations of the word
“love”, including American sign language, Italian,
Spanish, German, Dutch, Turkish, Japanese, and Rus-
sian.
To help us celebrate Presidents Day, we were
pleased to welcome Steve Arseneau, Director of the
Museum at Southwestern Michigan College, on Feb-
ruary 17 for a talk on Presidential Memorabilia.Steve’s diverse and delightful collection of campaign
materials and collectables spans more than one hun-
dred and fifty years.
The Three New Things Reception on Febru-
ary 27 was enjoyable for all. Tracy Gierada shared
her ideas for developing new educational programs,
and Alex Gates walked us through the new website at
NorthBerrienHistory.org. One of the highlights of the
new website is a Curator’s Blog, where Alex will post
regular updates about his work with the museum’s
collections. A new exhibit of Recent Acqusitions wa
also unveiled, featuring a mix of artifacts including a
dress worn in the 1920s by Elise (Kietzer) Danneffel
of Watervliet and a “confidential” insur-
ance map of the Watervliet Paper Millcomplex from 1956.
Our March meeting brought Dr.
Joe Brandão from Western Michigan
University to the museum to speak to us
about early Native American life in
Michigan before 1783. Dr. Brandão
provided an excellent narrative of this
topic and illustrated his lecture with im-
ages and maps in a PowerPoint presenta-
tion. This St. Patrick’s Day Meetingwas well attended, and all helped wish a happy birth-
day to Alex Gates and enjoyed a lovely cake provided
by NBHS members Clifford and Ruth Tallman.
George and Martha Washington
(George and Maggie Richter) at
our February 17 meeting
Check out the new features of www.NorthBerrienHistory.org.
Construction is still underway on some parts of the new website.
Left: Ed’s Café Dishes in the
Recent Acquisitions Exhibit.
Ed’s Café was the longest
running business on Paw PawLake, serving its famous
chicken from 1926-1983.
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Page 7
New Members
Debbie Friday - Coloma, MI
Dr. David Moss & Family - Coloma, MI
Robert & Elaine Gierada - Saline, MI
Donations Russell & Elaine Carlson
In Memory of Phyllis Sprague
Mary Adams Barbara Nichols
In addition to our regular stock
of local history books and images, the
Gift Shop at the North Berrien Histori-cal Museum is now offering a great se-
lection of merchandise to complement
the exhibit Abraham Lincoln: Self–
Made in America. Expand your knowledge of the
16th President by picking up one of our scholarly
books, quotations books, or “Great Speeches” books.
We also have Lincoln magnets and paperweights, Lin-
coln china ornaments, 6-inch
white busts of Lincoln, and no-
tated Civil War photo cards.For kids (or adults) you can
also purchase Lincoln coloring
books and activity books, and
presidential paper dolls. Be
sure to check out these new
items and support the historical
society by making a purchase at
our Gift Shop this spring.
Museum Gift Shop expands in
honor of the Lincoln exhibit
The North Berrien Historical Society is seek-ing information for upcoming articles and exhibits.We are looking for sto-ries, remembrances, orphotographs of Interstates94 and 196 to help mark the 50th anniversary of the Eisenhower Interstate
Highway System, whichwas signed into law in1956. Do you rememberthe first time you droveon the new highway?How did it change howyou got around South-west Michigan? Did it affect afamily business that once operated on US-12?Tell us your story! Contact us at nbhsmuseum@sbcglobal.net or (269) 468-3330.
1959 - 2009
Share your memories
Individual ($15)
I would like to
volunteer at NBHS
Additional tax-deductible contribution: $________
Name
Address
City, State, ZIP
Phone
New Member
Returning Member
Total Amount Enclosed: $________
Send your completed form along with your check to:
North Berrien Historical SocietyP.O. Box 207, Coloma, MI 49038
Family ($50)
Student ($8)
Senior ($10)
North Berrien Historical SocietyMembership Form
Thank you for your support!
Please check desired annual membership level.
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Hagar · Bainbridge · Coloma · Watervliet www.NorthBerrienHistory.or
P.O. Box 207, Coloma, MI 49038
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Watervliet, MI
Permit No. 29
—–—————
Newsletter - Spring 2009
FREE EXHIBIT
April 3 - May 1, 2009Tues. - Sat. 10am - 6pm
North Berrien Historical Museum,
300 Coloma Ave, Coloma, MI
For more information visit
www.NorthBerrienHistory.orgor call (269) 468-3330
Celebrate the Lincoln
Bicentennial with the officialtraveling exhibit from the
Abraham LincolnPresidential Library.
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