Summer 1998

Cultural Programs on Tour in 'Great Outdoors'

Beginning July 1 and through Aug. 15, "Michigan's Great Outdoors Culture Tour" programs will bring to life the essence of northwoods culture and heritage on warm summer evenings around campfires, at historic sites and along Great Lakes shorelines in northern Lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The 85-stop tour -- sponsored by the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) -- will take cultural programs to some 18 state and national parks, more than a dozen national forest recreation areas and 16 sites in northern communities.

The Michigan Humanities Council has received notice of the following exhibits scheduled at cultural institutions in Michigan for the dates shown. We encourage you to contact specific institutions to confirm these dates and exhibit hours. (SITES exhibits are part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. NEH designation refers to exhibits supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. ** denotes Council-funded projects.)

Continuing Exhibits:

"Furniture City," Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids (NEH)

"Made in America: The History of the American Industrial System," Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn (NEH)

"Hitsville USA and The Motown Sound: The Music and the Story," Motown Historical Museum, Detroit (NEH)

"Michigan in the Twentieth Century," Michigan Historical Museum, Lansing

"Anishinabek: People of This Place." Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids (NEH)**

"On the Trail of History," Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo

"Collecting A-Z: 'A' Is for Autos," Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids

"Saved By The Light: Michigan's Magnificent Lighthouses," Michigan Maritime Museum, South Haven

" Science the Matters Here," Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo

"The Ancient Near East and Egypt," Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

"The Story of the People Who Built and Used Boats on the Great Lakes," Michigan Maritime Museum, South Haven

"Reading the Farm," Leelanau Historical Museum, Leland

Through June 28: "Produce for Victory: Posters on the American Home Front 1941-45" Exhibition and Activities, Port Huron Museum, Port Huron (SITES)**

Through July 24: "Flappers, Fashion and Freedom" The 1920s," Kresge Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Through July 26: "Midland Then & Now," Midland Center for the Arts, Midland

July 31-Aug. 8: "FairTime! America's Fairs Educating Communities," Ingham County Fair, Mason**

Aug. 2-8: "FairTime! Our Livestock Heritage - Serving a Nation," Monroe County Fair, Monroe**

Aug. 3-8:

"FairTime! America's Fairs Educating Communities," East Michigan Fair, Imlay City**

Through Aug. 16: "The Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci," Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City

Aug. 17-22: "FairTime! America's Fairs Educating Communities," Northern District Fair, Cadillac**

Aug. 17-23: "FairTime! Our Livestock Heritage - Serving a Nation," Genesee County Fair, Mt. Morris**

Aug. 18-23: "FairTime! Our Livestock Heritage - Serving a Nation," Upper Peninsula State Fair, Escanaba**

Aug. 23-Oct. 18: "The Invisible Made Visible: Angels from the Vatican," Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit

Through Aug. 30: "Michigan Veterans of Five Wars," Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids

Through Aug. 31: "African Arts: Objects of Power, Knowledge and Mediation," Museum of Art, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Through Sept. 12: "Storytelling Through the Mail: Tall Tale Postcards," Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac

Through Sept. 26: "Barns Across Michigan," Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, Rochester Hills

Through Oct. 4: "Arab Americans in Greater Detroit: A Community Between Two Worlds," Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit**

Through Oct. 18: "To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions," MSU Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Opening in November: "Arab Americans in Greater Detroit: A Community Between Two Worlds," MSU Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing**

Through Nov. 15: "Nda Maamawigaami: Together We Dance" Contemporary Great Lakes Pow Wow Regalia, Nokomis Learning Center, Okemos

Through Dec. 4: "Reconstructing Personal Style in Late Antique Egypt," Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

The Michigan Humanities Council has received notice of the following humanities and Touring Arts activities scheduled at educational and cultural institutions in Michigan for the dates shown. Readers are encouraged to contact sponsors to confirm dates, times and locations. (** denotes Michigan Humanities Council-funded projects; ++ denotes Touring Arts program funded by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs)

June 25-27: "Medical Ethics for the 21st Century" workshop, Kellogg Conference Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing

July 1: Great Outdoors Culture (GOC) Tour: Michael Deren as "Schooner Captain," 7 p.m., Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Ontonagon**/++

July 2: Touring Arts Program: The Raisin Pickers Band, 7:30 p.m., Manchester++

July 3: Touring Arts Program: Chautauqua Express. 10:45 and 11:25 a.m., Adat Shalom School, Farmington Hills++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lois Beardslee - "Native American Stories/Art," 7 p.m., Lake Michigan National Forest Campground, Manistee**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Michael Deren as "Lumberjack," 7 p.m., Watersmeet National Forest Visitor Center, Watersmeet**/++

July 4: Touring Arts Program: New Reformation Dixieland Band, 8 p.m., Riverfront Park, Lansing++

July 5: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lois Beardslee - "Native American Stories/Art," 7 p.m.,North Higgins Lake State Park, Roscommon**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Michael Deren as "Schooner Captain," 7 p.m., Les Cheneaux Maritime Museum, Cedarville**/++

July 6: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Kitty Donohoe - "Lighthouses and Legends," 7 p.m.,Black River Harbor National Forest Recreation Area, Bessemer**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Michael Deren as "Lumberjack," 7 p.m., Onaway State Park, Onaway**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lois Beardslee - "Native American Stories/Art," 7 p.m., Monocle Lake National Forest Campground, Brimley**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sandra Hansen - "Civil War Women," 7 p.m., Evart Park, Evart**/++

July 7: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Kitty Donohoe - "Bunyan and Banjoes," 7 p.m., Van Riper State Park, Champion**/++

Touring Arts Program: Rick Eddy's Rockin' Oldies Band, 7 p.m., Fine Arts Theatre, Swartz Creek++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lois Beardslee - "Native American Stories/Art," 7 p.m., Miners Castle, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Michael Deren as "Schooner Captain," 7 p.m., Harrisville State Park, Harrisville**/++

July 8: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sandra Hansen - "Civil War Women," 7 p.m., Historical Museum, Drummond Island**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Kitty Donohoe - "Lighthouses and Legends," 7 p.m., Point Iroquois Lighthouse, Brimley**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lois Beardslee - "Native American Stories/Art," 7 p.m., Indian Lake State Park, Manistique**/++

Touring Arts Program: Sheila Landis Trio, 7 p.m., William P. Faust Library, Westland++

July 9: Touring Arts Program: Lake Effect, 7 p.m., Bayside Live/Dock 2, St. Ignace++

July 10: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Kitty Donohoe - "Bunyan and Banjoes," 7 p.m., Lumbermen's Monument National Forest Site, Oscoda**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sandra Hansen - "Civil War Women," 7 p.m., Fayette State Park, Garden**/++

Touring Arts Program: Harpbeat, 11:30 a.m., Madison Heights Library, Madison Heights++

July 11: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Kitty Donohoe - "Lighthouses and Legends," 7 p.m., Lake Michigan National Forest Campground, Manistee**/++

Touring Arts Program: Spoon Man, William Faust Library, Westland++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sandra Hansen - "Kate's Pants," 7 p.m., IXL Historical Museum, Hermansville**/++

July 13: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Terry Wooten - "Michigan Poetry: Back to the Roots," 7 p.m., Onaway State Park, Onaway**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sandra Hansen - "Brides's Cake," 7 p.m., Bay Cliff Health Camp, Big Bay**/++

July 14: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Neil Woodward - "Michigan Through the Eyes of Song," 7 p.m., Wilson State Park, Harrison**/++

July 15: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Neil Woodward - "Michigan Though the Eyes of Song," 7 p.m., Brevoort Lake National Forest Campground, Brevort**/++

Touring Arts Program: Chautauqua Express, 7:30 p.m., Fannie Pell Park, Plainwell++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Terry Wooten - "Michigan Poetry: Back to the Roots," 7 p.m., Historical Jail, Big Rapids**/++

Touring Arts Program: Jonathan Stars, 7:30 p.m., Harbor Pavilion, Harrisville++

July 17: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Wanda Degan - "Michigan in Song/Of Woods & Water," 7 p.m., Monocle Lake National Forest Campground, Brimley**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Neil Woodward - "Michigan Through the Eyes of Song," 7 p.m., Twin Lakes State Park, Toivola**/++

July 18: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Neil Woodward - "Michigan Through the Eyes of Song," 7 p.m., Lake Ottawa National Forest Campground, Iron River**/++

Touring Arts Program: Yo-Master Zeemo, 11:15 a.m. and 2 p.m., Rotary Pavilion, Cadillac++

July 19: Touring Arts Program: Marc Thomas Musical Programs, Greenmead, Livonia++

Touring Arts Program: Tom Shepardson Band, 7:30 p.m., Der Schau Platz Band Shell, Memorial Park, Frankenmuth++

July 20: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Project Lakewell - "Fur Trade in the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Bay Furnace National Forest Historic Site, Munising**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Neil Woodward - "Michigan Through the Eyes of Song," 7 p.m., Aloha State Park, Cheboygan**/++

July 21: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Wanda Degan - "Michigan in Song/Of Woods & Water," 7 p.m., McLain State Park, Hancock**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Project Lakewell - "Fur Trade in the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Lake Gogebic State Park, Marenisco**/++

July 22: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: The Collecting Consort - "Michigan's Heritage," 7 p.m., Lumbermen's Monument National Forest Site, Oscoda**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Project Lakewell - "Fur Trade in the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Hoeft State Park, Rogers City**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Wanda Degan - "Michigan in Song/Of Woods & Water," 7 p.m., Bay Cliff Health Camp, Big Bay**/++

July 23: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sheila Dailey Carroll - "Land of the Sky-Blue Waters/Bag of Stories," 7 p.m., Quincy Mine Hoist Historic Site, Hancock**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Wanda Degan - "Michigan in Song/Of Woods & Water," 7 p.m., Little Bay de Noc National Forest Campground, Rapid River**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Project Lakewell - "Fur Trade in the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., North Higgins Lake State Park, Roscommon**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: The Collecting Consort - "Michigan's Heritage," 7 p.m., Burt Lake State Park, Indian River**/++

July 24: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sarah and Wil Reding - "Rambling Naturalists/Early Midwest Arrivals," 7 p.m., Benton Lake National Forest Campground, Brohman**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Project Lakewell - "Fur Trade in the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Lake Michigan National Forest Campground, Manistee**/++

Touring Arts Program: New Reformation Dixieland Band, 8 p.m., Nub's Nob, Harbor Springs++

July 25: Detroit's 297th Birthday Party, Detroit

Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers' Lake Superior Conference, Munising

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Wanda Degan - "Michigan in Song/Of Woods & Water," 7 p.m., Riverside Park, Scottville**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sarah and Wil Reding "Rambling Naturalists/Early Midwest Arrivals," 7 p.m., Burt Lake State Park, Indian River**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sheila Dailey Carroll - "Land of the Sky-Blue Waters/Bag of Stories," 7 p.m., Watersmeet National Forest Visitor Center, Watersmeet**/++

July 26: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sarah and Wil Reding - "Rambling Naturalists/Early Midwest Arrivals," 7 p.m., Camp 7 National Forest Campground, Manistique**/++

Touring Arts Program: Joan Gillett, 7:30 p.m., Fontana Festival of Music and Art, Kalamazoo++

July 27: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sheila Dailey Carroll - "Land of the Sky-Blue Waters/Bag of Stories," 7 p.m., Little Bay de Noc National Forest Campground, Rapid River**/++

July 28: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sarah and Wil Reding - "Rambling Naturalists/Early Midwest Arrivals," 7 p.m., Van Riper State Park, Champion**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: The Collecting Consort - "Michigan's Heritage," 7 p.m., Daniell Park, Laurium**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sheila Dailey Carroll - "Land of the Sky-Blue Waters/Bag of Stories," 7 p.m., Brimley State Park, Brimley**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Corinne Stavish - "Fables of the Forest," 7 p.m., Lumbermen's Monument National Forest Area, Oscoda**/++

July 29: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: The Collecting Consort - "Michigan's Heritage," 7 p.m., Lake Ottawa National Forest Campground, Iron River**/++

Touring Arts Program: Benny Cruz Y La Buena Vida, 7 p.m., Thorn Park, Brownstown++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sheila Dailey Carroll - "Land of the Sky-Blue Waters/Bag of Stories," 7 p.m., Burt Lake State Park, Indian River**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Corinne Stavish - "Fables of the Forest," 7 p.m., Brevoort Lake National Forest Campground, Brevort**/++

July 30: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Corinne Stavish - "Fables of the Forest," 7 p.m., Indian Lake State Park, Manistique**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Sarah and Wil Reding - "Rambling Naturalists/Early Midwest Arrivals," 7 p.m., Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Ontonagon**/++

July 31: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Corinne Stavish - "Fables of the Forest," 7 p.m., Tahquamenon Logging Museum, Newberry**/++

Aug. 1: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Patty Clark - "Stories of the Michigan Triangle," 7 p.m., Bay Furnace National Forest Recreation Area, Munising**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Corinne Stavish - "Fables of the Forest," 7 p.m., North Higgins Lake State Park, Roscommon**/++

Touring Arts Program: Western Jazz Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Fontana Festival of Music and Art, Kalamazoo++

Aug. 2: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Tom and Chris Kastle - "Our Changing Great Lakes Maritime Heritage," 7 p.m., Leelanau State Park, Northport**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Patty Clark - "Stories and Songs for the Environment," 7 p.m., Camp 7 National Forest Campground, Manistique**/++

Aug. 3: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Tom and Chris Kastle - "Our Changing Great Lakes Maritime Heritage," 7 p.m., Hoeft State Park, Rogers City**/++

Aug. 4: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Patty Clark - "Stories and Songs for the Environment," 7 p.m., Lake Gogebic State Park, Marenisco**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Terry Wooten - "Michigan Poetry: Back to the Roots," 7 p.m., Sand Point, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising**/++

Aug. 5: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Tom and Chris Kastle - "Our Changing Great Lakes Maritime Heritage," 7 p.m., Bay Furnace National Forest Recreation Area, Munising**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Dodworth Saxhorn Band - "19th Century Community Band," 7 p.m., Cowboy Lake Park, Kingsford**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Terry Wooten - "Michigan Poetry: Back to the Roots," 7 p.m., Quincy Mine Hoist Historic Site, Hancock**/++

Aug. 6: Grant Writing Workshop, 10 a.m., Ontario Room, Michigan Library and Historical Center, Lansing

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Tom and Chris Kastle - "Our Changing Great Lakes Maritime Heritage," 7 p.m., Van Riper State Park, Champion**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Patty Clark - "Stories and Songs for the Environment," 7 p.m., Nesbit Organizational Camp, Kenton**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Terry Wooten - "Michigan Poetry: Back to the Roots," 7 p.m., IXL Historical Museum, Hermansville**/++

Aug. 6-9: Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association's Anniversary Celebration/Songfest, Mackinaw City

Aug. 7: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Dodworth Saxhorn Band - "19th Century Community Band," 7 p.m., Calumet Theatre, Calumet**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Tom and Chris Kastle - "Our Changing Great Lakes Maritime Heritage," 7 p.m., Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Ontonagon**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Larry Massie - "Adventures in Michigan's Past," 7 p.m., Benton Lake National Forest Campground, Brohman**/++

Aug. 7-16: 1998 Michigan Festival and Festival of Michigan Folklife, Michigan State University and East Lansing**

Aug. 8: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Patty Clark - "Stories of the Michigan Triangle," 7 p.m., Historical Museum, Drummond Island**/++

Aug. 9: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lee Murdock - "Folk Songs of the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Harrisville State Park, Harrisville**/++

Aug. 10: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lee Murdock - "Folk Songs of the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Point Iroquois Lighthouse, Brimley**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Larry Massie - "Adventures in Michigan's Past," 7 p.m., McLain State Park, Hancock**/++

Aug. 11: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lee Murdock - "Folk Songs of the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Bayshore Park, Munising**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Larry Massie - "Adventures in Michigan's Past," 7 p.m., Clear Lake Organizational Camp, Shingleton**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: The Collecting Consort - "Michigan's Heritage," 7 p.m., Leelanau State Park, Northport**/++

Aug. 12: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Mme. Cadillac Dancers - "Michigan's French Colonial History," 7 p.m., Aloha State Park, Cheboygan**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lee Murdock - "Folk Songs of the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Daniell Park, Laurium**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Larry Massie - "Adventures in Michigan's Past," 7 p.m., Tahquamenon Logging Museum, Newberry**/++

Touring Arts Program: Josh and Ron's Family Adventure, 7 p.m., Civic Center Park, Brownstown++

Aug. 14: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Mme. Cadillac Dancers - "Michigan's French Colonial History," 7 p.m., Brimley State Park, Brimley**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Larry Massie - "Adventures in Michigan's Past," 7 p.m., Lumbermen's Monument National Forest Site, Oscoda**/++

Aug. 15: Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Lee Murdock - "Folk Songs of the Great Lakes Region," 7 p.m., Black River Harbor National Forest Recreation Area, Bessemer**/++

Great Outdoors Culture Tour: Mme. Cadillac Dancers - "Michigan's French Colonial History," 7 p.m., Les Cheneaux Maritime Museum, Cedarville**/++

Aug. 16: Touring Arts Program: Geri's Jamboree, 7 p.m., Civic Center Park, Livonia++

Aug. 19: Touring Arts Program: Two Hawk Singers, 7:30 p.m., Frederick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids++

Aug. 20: Touring Arts Program: Mulligan Stew, 7 p.m., Bayside Live/Dock 2, St. Ignace++

Sept. 1: Michigan Humanities Council "Collaborative Projects in Communities" Grant Deadline

Sept. 18-20: Historical Society of Michigan Annual Meeting/State History Conference, Midland

Sept. 22-25: Michigan Museums Association Conference, Crystal Mountain Resort, Thompsonville

Sept. 24: Social Studies Educators Fair, 7-9 p.m., Macomb Intermediate School District, Clinton Township

Oct. 2: "Inside and Out: Arts Across the Curriculum" Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Education Conference, Lansing Center, Lansing

Oct. 2-3: Great Lakes History Conference, Grand Rapids

Oct. 10: Showcase of Live Touring Humanities & Arts Programs, Lansing Center, Lansing

An on-line listing of arts and humanities events and programs is available on the Humanities and Arts Calendar, a cooperative service of the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs in cooperation with Michigan State University's H-Net, an international on-line network of scholars. The calendar is found at http://mihumanities.h-net.msu.edu/mhawww.html and includes a template where users may directly enter their events into the database by following the "submit" instructions on the calendar's opening page.

MICHIGAN HUMANITIES COUNCIL

Catherine Anderson, Birmingham
William Anderson, Ludington
Sheila R. Cannatti (Chair), Battle Creek
Gloria J. Coles (Secretary-Treasurer), Flint
C. Kurt Dewhurst, East Lansing
Maureen Eke, East Lansing
Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis, Portage
Milton E. Ford, Jenison
June Bos Hamersma, Grand Rapids
Douglas L. Haneline, Big Rapids
Robert L. Houbeck, Jr., Flint
Jacob E. Nyenhuis, Holland
Karin Orr, Ada
Rhonda L. Runco, Dearborn
Antony Sullivan, Ann Arbor
Lisa Rae Pelio, Whittaker, Flint
Stephen R. Williams (Vice Chair), Marysville
Marilyn L. Williamson, West Bloomfield (Chair Federation of State Humanities Councils)

MICHIGAN HUMANITIES COUNCIL STAFF

CENTRAL OFFICE, LANSING
Ronald Means, Executive Director
LuAnn Kern, Assistant Director
Carloe J. Hoyt, Fiscal Officer
Suzanne Kyes, Program Officer
Anne DeMarco, Administrative Assistant

NORTHERN OFFICE, ESCANABA
Nancy L. Mathews, Public Affairs Officer

Eighteen of Michigan's most talented artists, storytellers, musicians and historical interpreters will tour individually in northern Michigan to introduce travelers and local residents, young and old, to the colorful legends, lore and lifestyles of the state's woods-and-water environment in "come-as-you-are" casual settings. Programs are offered free of charge on scheduled dates at 7 p.m. local time.

Music, stories, arts and historical characters will carry audiences on adventures with Great Lakes schooner captains, voyageurs and fur traders .... explore the lives and customs of hardy settlers, legendary miners and lumberjacks and Native American peoples .... showcase the creative talents of the state's performing artists while celebrating Michigan's scenic beauty.

The full schedule of "Michigan's Great Outdoors Culture Tour" sites and dates is available in a brochure available from the Council's offices (Central: 800/837-4532 or Northern: 906/789-9471), at Michigan Welcome Centers in the northern half of the state and at tour host offices as well as on-line on the Michigan Culture Link web site -- http://miculturelink.h-net.msu.edu

The program is supported in part with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and an ACCESS grant from MCACA. Additional support for the tour comes from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Parks and Recreation Division, the Hiawatha Interpretive Association, the Ottawa Interpretive Association, the Eastern National Forest Interpretive Association, the U.S. Park Service and the Huron-Manistee National Forests.

For more information, contact Public Affairs Officer Nancy Mathews at the Council's Northern Office, 906/789-9471.

Grants to Education, Oral History, Folklife Projects

Three "Collaborative Projects in Communities" grant applicants were approved for funding by the Council at its May 29 grant review session.

Beginning in July, the Sojourner Truth Institute of Battle Creek and collaborating organizations in that community will use Council funding to develop a comprehensive education program about the activist's life and work for equality. The project will institute an expanded historical and biographical information database and dissemination tools that include school curriculum units, an Internet connection and public programs. The Sojourner Truth Art and Education Project will be undertaken in conjunction with existing community activities which celebrate Sojourner Truth's significance to her adopted home community and her national role in the struggle for equality.

Mexican Voices, Michigan Lives: An Oral History of Mexican-American Communities in Michigan will use grant funds to document the stories and experiences of Mexican-American populations in central Michigan in taped oral history interviews. The sponsor, Michigan State University Libraries, will work with the Cristo Rey Community Center of Lansing and MSU's Julian Samora Research Institute to develop the interview project and will make the resulting materials available to the public through its Cesar E. Chavez Collection.

"Traditions from Michigan's Thumb" and "Fire-Fighting Traditions" will be the subjects of "Michigan Stories" told as part of the 1998 Festival of Michigan Folklife Aug. 8-9 and 15-16 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, which also received grant support. An annual narrative stage at the festival educates weekend audiences about the traditional cultures of everyday life of their Michigan neighbors. The sponsoring organization is the Michigan State University Museum.

Applications for "Collaborative Projects in Communities" grants of up to $12,000 are accepted at Sept. 1 and April 15 deadlines. Deadlines for Mini Grant awards of up to $3,000 are Jan. 15 and June 15. For more information, contact the Lansing Office at 800/837-4532.

Grant-Writing Workshop Aug. 6 in Lansing

Learn how your community, educational or cultural nonprofit organization can apply for Michigan Humanities Council funding for a public humanities project -- attend this summer's Grant-Writing Workshop on Thursday, Aug. 6, in Lansing.

The workshop will begin at 10 a.m. in the Michigan Library and Historical Center's Ontario Room, running to approximately 12:30 p.m. Workshop materials will be provided.

The workshop program covers application materials and the kinds of information needed to complete the grant application as well as tips from Council staff on developing the budget section and carrying out and promoting the project. An overview of the Council's funding opportunities and resources available for community programming is also provided. Successful community projects from both rural and urban areas will be highlighted.

Reserve a place at the workshop by calling the Lansing Office at 800/837-4532 by Aug. 3. The workshop is free and open to the public.

Thanks to the Help of Our Friends...

Since its founding in 1974, the work of the Michigan Humanities Council has benefitted from the support of Friends of the Humanities in Michigan. That support has included behind-the-scenes contributions of time and talents by many whose commitment to the humanities has been evident in their service as members of the Council, in liaison roles with various educational and cultural institutions and involvement in special initiatives and projects, participation as advisors and resource persons, attendance at Council programs and, of course, financial contributions.

Regardless of the nature of the gift, each has assisted the Council in fulfilling its mission of service to the people of Michigan through fostering intellectual and cultural life in communities throughout the state.

Our thanks to all Friends of the Humanities and especially to these Friends who made monetary contributions in 1997 and 1998 that have extended the reach of Council programs throughout the state:

Our thanks to all Friends of the Humanities and especially to these Friends who made monetary contributions in 1997 and 1998 that have extended the reach of Council programs throughout the state:

Catherine Anderson, Birmingham
Dr. and Mrs. William M. Anderson, Ludington
John Barnard, Bloomfield Hills
Elinor Benedict, Rapid River
Dr. Dominic and Sheila Cannatti, Battle Creek
Citizens Bank, East Lansing
Helena T. Coleman, Pontiac
Rose and Bill Collamer, Midland
John C. Curry, Lansing
Jean T. Curtis, Baltimore, MD
Julia Darlow and John Corbett O'Meara, Detroit
Michael W.R. Davis, Royal Oak
Delta College English Division Faculty, University Center - in memory of Gerald Hall
Joyce and Michael Deren, Ann Arbor
Margaret Dugan, Redford
John W. and Joan H. Eadie, Okemos
Frank Ettawageshik, Harbor Springs
Mal Evans, Madison Heights
Richard Charles Ford, Muskegon
Robert and Caryl Ferguson, Ludington
Norma Goldman, Bloomfield Hills
Goodrich Quality Theaters, Inc., Kentwood
Doug and Ellen Haneline, Big Rapids
Christian Hansen, Marquette
Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn
Martin Herman, Detroit
Elizabeth A. Homer, Lansing
Carole J. Hoyt, Lansing
Murray Jackson, Detroit - in memory of Bernard J. Firestone
Mildred Jeffrey, Detroit - in memory of Rudy and Roseanne Simons
Pauline F. Kiltinen, Marquette
Suzanne M. Kyes, DeWitt
Donald Lammers, Okemos
Marsha MacDowell and Kurt Dewhurst, East Lansing
Larry and Priscilla Massie, Allegan
Nancy L. Mathews, Escanaba
Karin McClow-Orr, Grand Rapids
Dr. and Mrs. James A. McConnell, Livonia
Ronald and Jane Means, Bath
Jane Hale Morgan, Detroit
Harold Gene Moss, Washington, PA
Milton E. Muelder, East Lansing
James H. Neubacher, West Bloomfield
Jacob E. and Leona M. Nyenhuis, Holland
Gordon Olson, Grand Rapids
Sarah Ormond and Scott Roberts, Ferndale
Bernard Ortiz de Montellano, Pleasant Ridge
Cynthia E. Patton, Detroit
Richard H. and Mary B. Price, Ann Arbor
Lars O. Rosaen, Plymouth
John Revitte, East Lansing
Rhonda Runco, Dearborn
Antony T. Sullivan, Ann Arbor
Dr. and Mrs. Hung-Chao Tai, Farmington Hills
Larry Teal, Milford
Timemakers Cleaning, East Lansing
Lawrence R. VanTil and J. Kay Felt, Grosse Pointe Shores
Louis Washauer, Chicago, IL
Judith Webb, Bloomfield Hills
Stephen R. and Jennifer Reed Williams, Marysville
Marilyn L. Williamson, West Bloomfield
Saul Wineman, Farmington Hills
John L. and Sandra E. Wright, Dearborn

For more information on making your 1998 gift or on becoming a Friend of the Humanities in Michigan, contact the Lansing Office at 800/837-4532.

Memorials and gifts in honor of special persons or dates are welcome and may be designated on donor forms, with appropriate acknowledgement sent to those remembered. Employees of matching gift companies are encouraged to indicate that their employer participates in match philanthropy. The Council has begun an Endowment Fund for donors who wish to designate gifts for longer term support of the work of the Michigan Humanities Council.

ED Ronald Means Retiring July 15

Executive Director Ronald Means, the Michigan Humanities Council's longest serving staff member, will retire July 15 after 25 years of steady and influential leadership. He was present at the non-profit organization's birth in 1973 as part of an effort by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to establish state councils to conduct public programs throughout the country.

In recognizing Ron Means as the founding director of Michigan's affiliate of the NEH, the Council and its Chair, Sheila Cannatti, noted that he is one of only a handful of original directors of state humanities councils still serving in the country.

He has overseen nearly 100 meetings of the Council -- whose cumulative membership over those 25 years numbers several hundred academic and public representatives -- and the review of thousands of grant applications and initiation of many successful Council programs.

During his tenure, the Council established and supported three regional humanities councils in the state and provided early leadership for humanities education in elementary and secondary schools. In addition to encouraging a successful Council-conducted "Making of Michigan" project in conjunction with the state's Sesquicentennial observance in 1987, he launched its popular Chautauqua initiative and the Rockefeller Foundation-funded ROADS (Renaissance Outreach Alliance for the Detroit-area Schools) project.

He gathered representatives from a wide range of cultural organizations to found the Michigan Alliance for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage in the late 1980s, which marked a renewed Council emphasis on statewide networking and collaboration. That emphasis has carried on today into a successful partnership with the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), which has led toward development of an electronic "virtual center" by the two councils, a united program of live touring arts and humanities presentations and other collaborative projects to benefit public understanding of and access to the arts and humanities throughout Michigan.

Prior to his work for the Council, Dr. Means was a member of the faculty at Michigan State University where he taught in the Department of Humanities and served in its Continuing Education Service. He previously taught English, history and government at a Toledo, OH, high school.

His undergraduate education at Cornell University culminated in a B.A. degree in English. He attended the Harvard Divinity School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, receiving a master of education degree in English. He completed work on a Ph.D. in French diplomatic history at Michigan State University while in his Council position.

He was recognized in 1991 by the NEH as a founding director of the Michigan council.

The Council and its staff encourage his many friends, collaborators and partners throughout Michigan to join them in congratulating him for 25 years of distinguished service to the people and educational and cultural institutions of Michigan.

Council Executive Role 'Unique...Rewarding'

Editor's Note: Members of the Michigan Humanities Council, its alumni, staff and friends gathered May 28 in East Lansing to recognize Ronald D. Means, the council's founding director, for his years of service to the humanities in Michigan and congratulate him as he prepares to retire July 15. These are his reflections on his career as the Council's first and only director in a quarter of a century.

I will be leaving the Michigan Humanities Council in July after 25 years as its Executive Director. Naturally, I am sad to depart but am looking forward to the freedom, flexibility and promising challenges of retirement.

When I started as the Council's first employee in fall, 1973, State Humanities Councils were a new idea. The Councils were started as an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which was seeking to fulfill its Congressional mandate to support not only scholarship but to engage the citizens of the United States in the humanities -- an expectation Congress regarded as of great importance to a free, democratic society.

At first, the state council concept seemed strange. Such entities had never existed before. How would they be organized? What would they do? How would they achieve the high purpose expressed in the Federal legislation? How could they best respond to the guidelines NEH imposed at that time on the experiment? That is -- how would the councils use the humanities to illuminate public policy issues within statewide themes?

In spite of formidable challenges, the idea caught on. In Michigan, the universities led the way. I think especially of Provost John Cantlon and Richard Sullivan, the dean of the College of Arts and Letters, at Michigan State University; of Allen Smith, vice president for Academic Affairs, and Frank H. T. Rhodes, dean of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, at the University of Michigan; of Leonard Roellig, associate provost at Wayne State University, and William Boyd, Central Michigan University's president. They saw the possibilities and collaborated with each other to get the new enterprise off the ground.

The Michigan Humanities Council could not have succeeded without support from the academic world. By their nature, public humanities programs depend on the participation of humanities scholars. Furthermore, the Council would not have succeeded without strong support outside academia. As it turned out, the public reception of the new Michigan Humanities Council (then the Michigan Council for the Humanities) was very positive. In the planning phase for the Council's program, public meetings were held in a variety of locations to introduce the new organization and gather feedback. These meeting were attended by community leaders, virtually all of whom thought that the experiment was worth the try, that to seek to increase public appreciation and understanding of history, literature, philosophy and other humanities disciplines would benefit individuals and communities.

From these early demonstrations of academic and public support emerged the 25-year effort to build responsive programs and to implant the Michigan Humanities Council in the cultural life of the state. The purpose underlying this effort has never changed. The Council has always sought to bring the resources of the humanities together with the public, to involve the public in high-quality experiences in the humanities.

Over the past 25 years, this Executive Director has had a part in the achievements of the Council. But his role could easily be exaggerated. Accomplishments have been collaborative. The success of the Council has been a collegial enterprise. It has depended on a supportive and forward-looking board and an able and committed staff. Beyond this inner circle of activity, success has depended on the project directors and scholars who have dedicated creativity, time and energy to the thousands of projects and presentations for which the Council has had a catalytic and/or a funding role. These people have been on the front lines, the scholars who often are given little credit by their institutions for serving the public, and the project directors, who more often than not have cheerfully taken on demanding tasks over and above their regular duties.

In considering the history and future of the Michigan Humanities Council, it's important to be aware that success is an outcome that reaches beyond Michigan, not only in the regional, national and international content of many humanities programs but in the institutional support that the enterprise requires. The NEH has not only been the principal funding source for the Council, but it has played a valuable role in the challenging and sometimes frustrating process by which the Council has changed and grown as an organization. NEH has always expected State Councils to reflect upon their work and to plan. The end result has been a maturing relationship between the Endowment and the State Councils, a gradual evolution from a paternalistic grantor/grantee relationship to a partnership. No council stands alone. The success of each is bound up in the success of the others. The 50+ councils depend on one another for ideas and survival and on the Federation of State Humanities Councils, their collective voice.

It has been a unique lifetime opportunity for me to be present at the origins of the Michigan Humanities Council and to assist for 25 years not merely in its ongoing development but its occasional metamorphoses. This experience has been particularly rewarding in diverse, culturally rich Michigan. To you, the readers of this newsletter, many of whom I have had the pleasure of working with over the years, I ask that you continue to support the Council and the public humanities. Fostering an appreciation and understanding of the humanities not only enriches lives, but strengthens the foundations of civic life, a great need of our time. At least this once, Congress got it right when it initiated the State Humanities Councils. And, I firmly believe, the humanities councils have gotten it right again and again in their state-by-state responses to needs and interests of the American people in the humanities.

Ronald Means
June, 1998

Touring Arts' 1998 Update; Transition Ahead

In its first year of administering Michigan's Touring Arts Program, the Michigan Humanities Council has awarded some $100,000 in touring arts grants for presentations that reached more than 48 Michigan counties and provided arts and cultural programming to more than 150,000 Michigan youth and adults.

As part of its partnership with the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), the humanities council began awarding Touring Arts grants in January to nonprofit organizations throughout the state in support of live professional presentations and visual arts exhibits from the 1996-1998 Michigan Touring Arts Directory. Programs took place in classrooms, libraries, museums and on other public stages around the state, funded by grants of up to 35 percent of the total program fees and travel expenses for qualified touring arts programs.

The humanities council also continued to administer its own established Chautauqua program of live educational and cultural presenters.

Touring Programs Coordinator Jan Fedewa notes that change is coming -- the Touring Arts Program of MCACA will merge this fall with the humanities council's Chautauqua Program to become the new Arts and Humanities Touring Program. A new 1998-2000 Arts and Humanities Touring Directory will be published in August, combining the best of the two popular programs in a "one-stop" booking guide. Applicants for inclusion in the new directory were adjudicated May 7 in Lansing by 38 reviewers from throughout the state who made their recommendations to the Council. Those accepted for inclusion were notified in mid-June.

The directory will include information for nonprofit organizations interested in applying for touring grants as well as detailed descriptions of the programs qualifying for grant support. The directory and 1999 application and guidelines also will be available on-line on the councils' partnership web site, Michigan Culture Link, at http://miculturelink.h-net.msu.edu/touring/

Among changes expected under the new combined program, grant awards will be made in two categories -- amounts up to $250 for programs with fees and expenses of $725 or less and awards of up to 35 percent of the program fees and expenses for those exceeding the $725 figure.

Michigan organizations wishing to sample a lineup of programs from the 1998-2000 directory may attend a fall "Showcase" of the performing artists and humanities scholars and presenters in Lansing, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 10 at the Lansing Center. The event will give teachers, school administrators, parent/teacher groups, library staff, parks and recreation managers, club members, chamber of commerce representatives, church committee members and other interested parties the opportunity to see a sampling of the world-class talent represented in the new combined program.

For more information, contact Jan Fedewa or Anne DeMarco in the Lansing Office at 800/837-4532.

Congratulations to Barn Again! Sites

The Council is pleased to announce seven rural Michigan sites that will host the Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) beginning in May, 1999, and running through April, 2000.

Selected to host the exhibit are the Iron County Museum in Caspian, the Rawson Memorial Library in Cass City, Courthouse Square in Charlotte, the North Berrien Historical Society and Museum in Coloma, the Missaukee County District Library in Lake City, and the Kensington Metropark in Milford and Wolcott Mill Metropark in Ray Center, which will cooperate in displaying the exhibit at the two locations.

The exhibit focuses attention on the barn's significance in American agricultural and architectural history and its varied roles from warehouse to factory to cultural icon. It includes original cultural artifacts bearing the barn image or associated with barns as well as a scale model of an English barn and examples of its architectural elements.

SITES developed the traveling Barn Again! exhibit to reach rural audiences and small museums which often lack the resources and space to host full-size traveling exhibitions.

As it did for the Produce for Victory: Posters on the American Home Front, 1941-45 traveling exhibit (concluding its 1997-98 Michigan tour in Port Huron this month), the Council will provide $2,500 in mini-grant support to each of the partner organizations for community programming in conjunction with the exhibit. The Michigan Barn Preservation Network will be collaborating with the Council and the sites on local programming opportunities and resources.

The Council will also cover rental and shipping costs for the exhibit, provide staff training for the exhibit's installation and supply related publications, promotional materials and a Support Manual for each site.

The exhibit schedule will be announced later this summer. For more information, contact Assistant Director LuAnn Kern at the Council's Lansing office, 800/837-4532.

Workshops Launch 'Native Peoples' Culture Kits

Teacher training workshops in East Lansing and Ann Arbor this summer and fall will help launch the Council's newest Culture Kits on "Native Peoples: Indians of the Great Lakes." The kits will be available for use with grades K-5 and 6-12 beginning in the 1998-99 school year.

In addition, the Frankenmuth Historical Association will introduce its "German Heritage" Culture Kits for the upcoming school year, according to family and civic life in German communities as well as German traditions and history and were developed with Council support and in consultation with the Council's staff.

The "Native Peoples" kits include a wide range of curricular materials on the history and culture of Great Lakes tribal groups covering such subjects as folklore, art, languages, literature, music, traditions, celebrations, family and tribal reservation life and cultural values.

The Council's Lansing Office is accepting reservations for one-month loans of the "Native Peoples" kits; the individual kit rental charge is $50 shipped or $35 if picked up at the office, plus a $25 security deposit. Rental fees are the same for the German kits, with reservations being taken by the Frankenmuth group at 517/652-9701 (613 S. Main St., Frankenmuth, MI 48734).

Teacher workshops on the "Native Peoples" kits will be July 23 at the Michigan State University Museum and Sept. 23 at the Museum of Natural History at the University of Michigan. Additional workshops will be scheduled during the school year at sites around the state.

During the 1997-98 school year, the Council loaned 81 of its popular culture kits on African, African-American, Middle Eastern and Hispanic cultures to schools and organizations, reaching some 10,000 students and teachers.

For more information on the kits or workshops, contact Assistant Director LuAnn Kern at the Lansing Office, 800/837-4532.

Tune In at a Computer Workstation Near You

Congratulations to Arts and Humanities reporter Tamar Charney of Michigan Radio (WUOM) in Ann Arbor who has been honored by the Associated Press with a first place award for her arts and humanities reporting, which is supported by partnership grant funds from the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The station was also recently recognized as Public Station of the Year.

Among Michigan Radio's award-winning arts and humanities programs now offered in RealAudio on the Michigan Culture Link web site, http://miculturelink.h-net.msu.edu, are these:

Carillon: Swinging on the Bells: Michigan is home to the second and third largest carillon bell towers in the U.S. If you've ever spent time in East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids or the Detroit area, you've doubtless heard carillon bells ringing out the time or playing music. Arts and Humanities reporter Tamar Charney explains how a single person can make the delicate music on 12-ton bells.

Driving Our Art: Art and the Automobile: A 19th century novel portrays a world that is so different from the one we know, in large part because of a 20th century invention that has had a profound impact on our lives and our art. Songs about it, paintings of it, films and writings wouldn't be the same without it -- Tamar Charney reports on this cultural icon and its impact.

Seven Enigmas: The arts and sciences aren't often referred to in the same breath. But a small group of artists and scientists have ended up working together to mount a performance called "Seven Enigmas." Through it, they've found what they do really isn't all that different.

The 7th Dream Goes to Washington: Headlines about children and violence are everywhere. A Flint Youth Theater group turned the news headlines about the violence children live with into a theatrical work.

Garage Sale Gallery: What seemed like a typical garage sale in Grand Rapids ended up surprising many passersby -- outside Conrad Bakker's house, nearly 150 items were displayed, ranging from a file cabinet to a violin case to books to an old typewriter. But this "sale" was actually an exhibit of very realistic looking artwork, reported by Michigan Radio's Wendy Nelson.

Other on-line broadcast offerings at the partnership web site include: "Darkness into Light: An Audio Diary" on a photo exhibit on the re-emergence of Jewish culture in Germany; "Make a Mummy," an exploration of a unique history lesson about ancient Egypt; "The Business of Perugino," a look at the community activities around exhibit in Grand Rapids on a Renaissance artist, and "Photographer Jennifer Steensma: Mary Shrines," the story of a Grand Rapids photographer whose work focuses on shrines to the Virgin Mary.

An integrated learning process bringing together history, culture, literature and traditional arts with opportunity to visit rural sources of food and fiber took place during the 1997-98 school year for students of Sigsbee Elementary School in Grand Rapids. These urdan youngsters get a close-up look at a corn field at the Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell as part of a civics lesson in how economic choices are made by producers and consumers. The center's project received Council support in 1997.

News from Our Projects:

A series of community forums in Michigan's capital city in mid-June have examined the connections between Lansing's past and plans for its future. "Community Conversations: Building Our Future on Our Past" used Council grant funds to explore questions such as "What makes a liveable neighborhood?", "How can Lansing capitalize on its automotive heritage?" and "What is the role of philanthropy in successful communities?" The programs took place in the Michigan Historical Center's special exhibit gallery.

The forums were part of community activities surrounding the Michigan Historical Museum's exhibit, "Lansing 1897," and a related project, "Lansing 1897: Back to the Future," designed to engage area residents, community and business leaders and educators in exploration of the past for direction in solving current issues. An educational software program to accompany the exhibit was also developed.

For more information about the project, contact Maria Quinlan Leiby, curator of exhibits, at the Michigan Historical Center, 517/373-3559.

* * * * *

The fifth edition of the Michigan Ethnic Heritage Directory, supported in part with Council funds, is now available from the Michigan Ethnic Heritage Studies Center in metropolitan Detroit. The directory, which shows the multicultural mix of Michigan's diverse population in more than 2,000 listings of ethnic organizations, offers users a statewide connection to these organizations and opportunities for educational exploration about their neighbors' heritage.

Copies of the new directory are available at $20 each plus $3 for shipping and handling. For more information, contact the center at 313/886-5993 or write MEHSC, PO Box 806368, St. Clair Shores MI 48080-6368. Copies of the directory are also available for loan from the Council's Resource Center.