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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2013 5:48:50 GMT
It seems like the easier to get to site would be better, since bird watching is a more sedentary activity. Hikers who like to birdwatch probably don't really need a tower when they are up on the ridge.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 4, 2013 17:42:00 GMT
The other thing about the "easier" site is that it is adjacent to the stone foundation ruins of the "original" farmhouse, which I hadn't realized existed until our last visit to the farm.
Both sites also have backward views over the restored prairies.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2013 18:04:22 GMT
Anyway, if the family wins the lottery, two bird watching towers are better than one.
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michelle bowen
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Post by michelle bowen on Mar 16, 2014 21:16:31 GMT
Children of MARY HAYWOOD and DANIEL JAVOR are: i. KIMBERLY ANN14 JAVOR, b. 18 Apr 1970. ii. KRISTINA LYNN JAVOR, b. 17 Feb 1975.
Does this happen to be you, Kimberly? I was adopted 47 years ago and just found out that I am from the Otis family from Michigan. My grandmother's name is Natalie Maxine Otis. notes I found: Notes for ROBERT H. OTIS: Donated his farm to the Michigan Audubon Society. Located in Barry County, the 120 acre Robert and Mildred Otis Sanctuary has a little of everything. Rolling fields, mature forest, expansive marshland, a trout stream, kettle hole marshes, and several springs best describe the Robert and Mildred Otis Sanctuary. Pileated Woodpeckers, Henslow Sparrows, Barred Owls, Long-eared Owls and even River Otters have been sighted in the sanctuary.
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michelle bowen
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Post by michelle bowen on Mar 16, 2014 21:28:54 GMT
Children of MARY HAYWOOD and DANIEL JAVOR are: i. KIMBERLY ANN14 JAVOR, b. 18 Apr 1970. ii. KRISTINA LYNN JAVOR, b. 17 Feb 1975.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 21, 2014 17:09:43 GMT
Children of MARY HAYWOOD and DANIEL JAVOR are: i. KIMBERLY ANN14 JAVOR, b. 18 Apr 1970. ii. KRISTINA LYNN JAVOR, b. 17 Feb 1975. Does this happen to be you, Kimberly? I was adopted 47 years ago and just found out that I am from the Otis family from Michigan. My grandmother's name is Natalie Maxine Otis. No, sorry. I am not "Kimberly" and I have not heard of Natalie Maxine Otis, though it's likely we are cousins. Good luck with your search, Michelle.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 1, 2015 12:54:48 GMT
A few changes recently. Michigan Audubon has a new website, and I'm guessing that many of my links in the early part of this thread are broken. They haven't yet reloaded the detailed info about the Otis Sanctuary and it may be awhile, staff shortages, you know. Also, I'm having problems with my ImageShack account, so my photo links may disappear too. Argh. That's the bad news. The good news is that we are again in discussions with Michigan Audubon about improvements that might be made in Dad's memory. There are many options, but the viewing tower on the ridge has fallen out of favor. An alternate viewing tower at the top of the concrete silo next to the barn is one possibility. A solarium on the end of the barn overlooking the marsh is another. Both are quite expensive. Meanwhile, the old log hunting cabin is in need of repairs and updating, which can be done for about half the money, and should be done before it falls into disrepair. If we, the family, were to do this, there might even be some money left over for hiring an intern to restore the website content and work on the interpretive displays that have also fallen by the wayside. I think Dad would like that... imageshack.com/a/img594/6694/1001512y.jpg
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Post by nycgirl on Jun 2, 2015 17:20:16 GMT
It's nice to hear you and your family are taking such good care of the sanctuary in honor of your dad.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 5, 2017 14:28:00 GMT
Time for an update. Many changes at the Otis Sanctuary, many of them good. The manager, who was so helpful in getting the sanctuary going, has left to take on a new career in recreation guiding in "da UP" (Michigan's Upper Peninsula, between Wisconsin and Lake Superior). And though most of Michigan Audubon's staff has turned over since my last post, the new staff are good people, and we are again in talks about how a family gift can be put to best use.
Mom died in December 2015, and a gift spelled out in my parents will was made to the sanctuary. Last summer I reinitiated contact re: the interrupted progress toward making a donation toward improvements our parents would have supported. My sister and I went to Michigan this past October to meet the new staff and present our ideas and hear theirs. (We also brought Mom's ashes to join with Dad's in the marsh.)
Now that the ice is broken with the new staff, we seem to be back on track. It was heartening to hear that, of the 21 sanctuaries owned and managed by MAS, the Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary is considered one of their top 5 priorities.
At this time I am waiting for their report of projects to choose from, with numbers, so we daughters can decide which projects to gift.
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Post by mossie on Apr 5, 2017 18:32:11 GMT
Good to hear, hope it all goes well
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Post by Kimby on Mar 2, 2019 18:17:13 GMT
Well, another year, another (non)progress report. Despite good intentions, and a $45,000 gift from the 3 daughters LAST year for repairs/improvements to the cabin, the understaffed Michigan Audubon still hasn’t moved to do the work. A cousin who’s a contractor was ready to do the work at a discounted rate, till MA consulted with their lawyers and decided a whole truckload of additional - and onerous - paperwork was required. This screwed up the timing for a whole building season, so nothing was done in 2018. Needless to say, we didn’t send a donation this year. There were some health issues and more staff changes, but we are getting frustrated.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, a new startup science museum has created an exhibit honoring my parents’ long career in scientific glassblowing, and I was able to see it in Autumn of 2017. We have sent some donations their way, to offset the cost of displaying and storing their collection related to my parents, and other Wisconsin scientists.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 3, 2019 5:02:06 GMT
"Minor" cultural sites aften get screwed in funding and in ridiculous paperwork, no matter what the state or country. There is just no powerful figure to push things along.
It's nice to help the museum -- that another sort of place that almost always has more ideas than money.
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Post by ostkind on Sept 14, 2020 1:17:53 GMT
New to this site. My interest relates to the Otis Sanctuary. Doing some research as there doesn’t seem to be anything at the site pulling together the family history. Just spent 2 nights at the cabin, much time spent trying to identify the various goldenrods. Read your fathers Memories of Glass Creek (copy in the cabin), but had problems following family relationships. So I’m trying to pull it together to add to the binder in the cabin. Yes, not sure how much longer cabin will be standing. Glad to see you’re still online! ilona kalamazoo
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Post by Kimby on Sept 14, 2020 1:54:06 GMT
Ilona, are we cousins?
There is extensive genealogical work done on the Otis family. Michigan Audubon is planning to add some of it back to their website, I believe.
But things happen very slowly....
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Post by ostkind on Sept 16, 2020 3:43:20 GMT
Having a bit of problem using this site. By accident I replied using guest instead of signing in and that post is gone! I’m not a cousin, just an Audubon volunteer who feels the histories of Otis and Warner Sanctuaries should be better preserved. Also I’ve done a lot of genealogy work and written a book on the early history of Redford Township, Mi (on ebay). I like the research process. At any rate have you ever subscribed to newspapers.com? Looking up obits on Norman Erway I discovered quite a few articles. Sending you pic of you and your sister. Hope it works. You might already have these collected.
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Post by Kimby on Sept 16, 2020 4:54:13 GMT
Thanks, Ilona. I do have a crumbling copy of this article (it’s about 6O years old), but my Any Port friends may find it interesting. Thanks.
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Post by ostkind on Nov 12, 2020 0:49:20 GMT
Kim - I did some exploring and found the foundations of the Havens house and farm buildings, on Barry State Game Area property. Do you know when the Havens moved out of the house? In one of your posts you mention while walking to find a good spot for an observation tower you found a good spot near some ruins. Do you remember where that was? I enjoy wandering Audubon sanctuaries with my dog, specifically the 2 near my house - Harris and Mott. And I get curious about the history of the land and look up info on past owners. I’ve started a blog on the sanctuaries just to gather the info I’ve found. Hope as weather changes and I’m indoors I’m apply myself to posting more entries!
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Post by Kimby on May 7, 2023 21:30:11 GMT
I realize I’ve been remiss in not updating this old thread in awhile. The log cabin was restored and preserved using the grant made by me and my sisters in memory of our parents. It should be around for a good long while now. There have been MORE staff turnovers, but the new people still claim that the Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary is one of their top priorities in the almost 2 dozen properties they manage. Meanwhile, my youngest sister died tragically and unexpectedly 3 years ago from head injuries suffered in a stairway fall, and my remaining sister and I made a contribution in her memory to fund a Little Free Library at the Otis Farm. (She was a librarian, so it seemed appropriate.). The LFL stands in a native plant garden with several benches. I’ll try to post photos when I find them. (The garden had not been planted yet when the Audubon staffer took these photos for us.)
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Post by kerouac2 on May 8, 2023 6:07:16 GMT
The restoration of the log cabin looks excellent.
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Post by whatagain on May 8, 2023 11:35:32 GMT
What a story ! Quite nice to resd, thks for this Kimby.
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Post by lugg on May 8, 2023 18:32:27 GMT
What a lovely and fitting memorial for your sister Kimby
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Post by Kimby on Aug 12, 2023 20:13:55 GMT
So I just got back from an intense three-day trip to Michigan, the land of my Dad's origins. All of the photos were taken on my phone, so it may take a bit for me to upload them.
It was wonderful to be back, though it felt like there were many ghosts. I was able to arrange a meeting with a couple of Audubon staff members who showed me the improvements, including a set of 10 interpretive signs newly completed and awaiting installation.
Meanwhile, the barn has been occupied by bats and while it is protected from weather, it isn't protected from bat guano. They hope to work with a bat biologist to try to relocate the colony and seal up the gaps. Good luck with that! It IS a barn, after all!
On my way back to the airport in Grand Rapids, I spent some time in the town cemetery where my great grandparents and grandparents are buried. Very peaceful.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 13, 2023 3:18:36 GMT
Some photos:
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Post by Kimby on Aug 25, 2023 19:30:23 GMT
Some of the ghosts, courtesy of Shutterfly. Images from 12 years ago, but very much in my mind as I visited these same spots last month.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 26, 2023 2:26:18 GMT
Kimby, I imagine that was a pretty bittersweet visit and that there were some tears along the way. Beautiful pictures.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 26, 2023 20:11:50 GMT
Some more photos from that bittersweet visit. The canoe launch at the end of the boardwalk is pretty overgrown, and the pretty flower is an invasive garden escapee called purple loosestrife. (Same bench that Mom was sitting on in the shutterfly photo collage.) The onion crates were moved out of the barn, but are still there. Closeup of onion crate. It appears the F Otis for my great grandfather may have been modified to B Otis for his youngest son who inherited the farm. And donated it on his death to Michigan Audubon Society. The field stone fireplace is still standing. And the fireplace is actually still functional. (Though no one has stayed here in awhile.) Note the center photo above the mantle. Dad with Uncle Bob in front of the chimney. More ghosts. A Leopold bench, named for Aldo Leopold, the famous midwestern naturalist. There once were a half-dozen of these benches. This is the only usable one left. The two Audubon staffers who met me at the sanctuary. Those wrapped items on the floor are interpretive signs waiting to be installed. A “kettle hole” bog, a glacial feature. Huge chunks of ice were left buried in mud at the toe of a glacier. When the ice melted, a pond was left behind. Had a short visit with my great grandparents at the Rutland Township Cemetery on the way to the airport.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 29, 2023 14:45:23 GMT
More images from the recent solo nostalgia trip: The old canoe Uncle Bob willed to my Dad, and Dad gave back to the sanctuary, still serves as a light fixture in the old barn. The space between the ceiling boards and the new metal roof is where the bats hang out. The fallow pastures Uncle Bob planted to brome have now been restored with prairie grasses and flowers. And berries! Lots of blackberries to pluck and eat as you walk the trails.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 29, 2023 14:55:31 GMT
This trip down memory lane continues to be amazing.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 29, 2023 14:59:35 GMT
More images from my hike: The trail network Uncle Bob created is still being maintained. The trail map. The one shown in orange is a new trail that serves as a firebreak, separating the prairie from the woodland. The benches are returning to nature, sadly. I tried to plant a bug in a cousin’s ear to think about making some benches for the farm. He’s an excellent carpenter and lives pretty close to the sanctuary.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 29, 2023 15:08:06 GMT
Some of the new interpretive signs. Mom and Dad would be so pleased. I made another donation on my way out, two actually. One in memory of my cousin, Mike, who died last year. He’s the one who put the beautiful new floor in the barn. The other was for more interpretive projects. (AND, I renewed my membership in Michigan Audubon, since apparently donations don’t keep you on the mailing list.)
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