Friends of the Saugatuck Shanty

03/13/2024

Come on out Thursday evening for a fun, free and friendly event.

Official details: The Saugatuck-Douglas History Center (SDHC) is celebrating National Women’s History Month with a special evening event this Thursday, March 14 at the History Center in Douglas. The one-night program, Women Celebrating Women: HerStories, highlights the popular exhibition at the SDHC with a conversation between notable contemporary women from the Lakeshore community.

The event is free to attend and will run from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the History Center located at 130 Center Street in Downtown Douglas. Drinks and appetizers will be provided and attendees can view the HerStory: Women’s History in Saugatuck-Douglas and Century of Progress: 100 Years of LGBTQ History exhibitions.

At 6:00 PM a short program will focus attention on women who advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion. You won't want to miss this special conversation of women celebrating women!

08/14/2021

Not fishing but definitely history... "Creative Spark" is a free Potawatomi cultural celebration at the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center, 130 W. Center St., Douglas, MI 49406. 11am-4pm Perfect weather too!

08/08/2021

If you love commercial fishing history, check out Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Trail!
http://www.greatlakesfisheriestrail.org/default.asp

08/08/2021

Recognize this sign? When Saugatuck's Historic Demerest Shanty first opened in June, somebody dropped off this sign. It now hangs inside the Shanty. Does anyone know who dropped off this sign or where it may have hung previously?

07/27/2021

Saugatuck fisherman Harry Dekker in his early days. According to his daughter Kathryn, Harry always wore his hat at a rakish angle. When Harry passed, Kathryn made sure his memorial included an image of Harry's gill net tug, the Thora Ann.

07/20/2021

Found in the archives of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center: a single color slide of the George Sewers green shanty that stood about where the Saugatuck's Historic Demerest Shanty sits now. This photo was probably taken in the mid-1950s. Too bad the slide didn't come to light before "Bounty and Bust: Commercial Fishing in Saugatuck-Douglas, 1860-1970" went to print!

07/13/2021

Here's a blast from the past: Harry Dekker's operator's license from 1938. Thank you to Kathryn [Dekker] Hanley for sharing this document.

07/13/2021

07/11/2021

This Tuesday (7/13) at 11am the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center will present a talk about the Great Lakes Fisheries
The past, present and future of our Great Lakes will be examined through the history of its fish and the people who fish for them.

Presenter Brandon Schroeder, Extension Educator with the Michigan Sea Grant College Program and Michigan State University Extension, will discuss how the Great Lakes fisheries have significantly benefited and helped to define their coastal communities, the Great Lakes region and the nation, throughout history.

Click here to register for this free ONLINE talk:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sdhc-tuesday-talk-great-lakes-fisheries-heritage-with-brandon-schroeder-tickets-161831559551?aff=efbeventtix

07/06/2021

A drawing of Harry Dekker's Thora Ann tug at the Sewers docks in Saugatuck. Image courtesy of Kathryn (Dekker) Hanley.