Greenwood Cemetery

A writer’s world is never easy to navigate, especially during writer’s block. When this occurs, I turn to my research in Native American studies. When I was working as an archivist, I was introduced to a website called, Greenwood Cemetery. This is a local cemetery that has amazing newspaper archives of my area starting from 1875 to the current news. Today, I would like to talk about this great resource and how I use it for inspiration to write and defeat writer’s block.

Home is Where the Heart is.

Greenwood Cemetery is in Petoskey Michigan. History lays six feet under and is usually lost. However, this is not the case here. This organization had completed a huge project that was recognized by the Historical Society of Michigan and the local Chambers of commerce. With this project, the old newspapers were gathered into one place and scanned so one could read them. Not only can you read them, but they have taken the time to dissect key words in the document. My home’s history is carefully preserved in digital medium.

As a researcher, I have had the opportunity to serve my community. Some families have lost a lot of their family history. Many in the community members do not care about their history but I am a firm believer that one must know what events and opinions have constructed current life. Over Covid’s shutdown, I had the opportunity to focus on learning this digital tool provided by other researchers.

In the picture above shows the website. The tabs are where I will turn one’s attention to. The first few tabs are for those who have had a death or one who is planning for the event. The most used tabs I consult is the research tab, veterans, videos, and the more tabs. I frequent the Research tab the most because most of my reading is not in books but in the old newspapers. In this writing, I will discuss the research tab to discuss how I use this resource.

Greenwood Cemetery: Research Tab

In the Research tab, one will find four new tabs to use. Obituaries and Burial’s tab, one would find the obituaries of those in the community. Even though the list has been listed alphabetical order, one can search by name. The computer generates names of those who have passed and is easy to conduct the research needed.

Obituaries/Burials

When I begin to research a person, I love starting here. The saddest time in one’s life allows the family to write important memories and facts that are very helpful. When conducting family research, I can glean birthdays, and important information to develop my research. The obituary gives names of those in the family and their occupation. One person I was researching had a bonus section noted by an asterisk. If I wasn’t observant, I would have missed the little asterisk. My curiosity paid off when I clicked on the additional link and found her military record. Pictures began appearing and the person came to life in my mind’s eyes. Yes, I get attached to those whom I research.

Newspapers

History in books is not the same as the history in the newspapers. Local news can be very biased and shapes the “view” the community has on an issue. National news is reported but the early papers were very localized. Communication in 1875 is far different than the newspapers of today. Our local newspapers began in 1875. The Emmet County Democrat began its print. If one dares, one can look at the first article listed on the website. Even though the scanning was well implemented, the paper and ink aged to the point where one has trouble reading the content. I struggle often to read these early papers, for often, words are blurred, and the damage is unreadable. To me, learning what history I can out of them is worth the struggle to read the old and faded words.

Not only history can be found in those pages. I have read a lot of books that Authors submitted to the paper for publication. Old books were printed chapter by chapter in the columns. I have not investigated to see if any of the stories were printed in the books, but I find it interesting how publishing a story back then is not the same today. stories are preserved in black and white. Then the community events such as baby showers and engagement parties. We can find food prices and crops grown. There was no HEPPA rules and many of today’s violations are reported. I find the information found on the pages jolt writing topics and fuels my writing.

Photo Archives

As with any newspaper, there became a point when photos entered into print. The Greenwood Cemetery site also has many photos to view. Like the newspaper section, one can do a name search for photos. I did that for family members, and I have found many pictures not found in our family photo albums. As I browsed the pictures, I was amazed at the wonderful, archived photos available for the community. I love just looking through the pictures and knowing some were added into the newspaper.

I had the wonderful opportunity to bring in the collection that was special. The Petoskey New-Review was owned by William Schaller. His daughter married a Native American man in her later years and I was lucky to preserve her story as well. While I was sorting and arranging the pictures in her collection, I became confused at the professional pictures taken. With the names in the collection was recorded, I went to her obituary do put the pieces of information together. Once I researched everyone's name, I was able to discovered the significance of the collection. Family pictures and information showed the involvement the newspaper had in the Native community. It was a wonderful opportunity.

Area history

This section is one of great value for quick study. As one can see from the picture above, others have used this resource to conduct their own research and make it useable. Due to the nature of the newspaper, key words can take one to various topics, but Checking the Area History tab allows for a quick search on a disease, lumbering and so many topics. This project is so impressive and valuable to me and other researchers in this area. Imagine 148 years of history at a click and a quick study.

In Conclusion

Resources are abounded but one must investigate various forms for inspiration to write. Home is where my heart is, and I found Greenwood Cemetery website a great resource to learn about Petoskey Michigan and its dealing with my culture. One thing is clear, my grandfather, Joseph Foster Otto was friends with the newspaper people. If one were to go to the photo section and typed in Otto, one would see my grandfather’s and Grandmother’s picture like the pictures below. I would also like to invite you to investigate some of the historical events in the History section. Afterall, the Korean War hit every part of the nation. I wonder what the similarities are we share as a greater society. At this time, I am addicted to this resource and have plenty of writing prompts pulled from my research.