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our legacy
the decades
ing on the demand for concrete building materials and
switched their interests from the shingle and stave business to the concrete block making industry.
Besser Company purchased the building of the bankrupted Alpena Car Company located on Johnson Street
where approximately 1,000 Alpena Flyers were manufactured from 1910 to 1914. For over 100 years, the Besser
Company has been making the machines that make concrete blocks and evolved into a world-wide company.
Although both the timber industry and the fishing industry may not be as prominent today as they once were
in the 1800s, you may be surprised to learn that both
forestry and fishing are still thriving in Northeast Michigan. Decorative Paneling Inc. is the only manufacturer in
North America that produces a certain type of decorative
paneling and the Thunder Bay region of Lake Huron is
still a large producer of whitefish.
Thanks to the care and preservation efforts of museum
volunteers, the Besser Museum has five original 100year-old structures in the Historic Village exhibit that
serve as examples of typical buildings in northeastern
communities in the early 1900s. The Avenue of Shops exhibit also showcases businesses and professions that
helped to build and sustain our towns. Fortitude is one of
the legacy character traits that Northeast Michiganders can
be proud of.
The 1898 McKay Log Cabin always enthralls visitors at the annual Log Cabin Day celebration held the last
Saturday in June. The structure is part of the Besser Museum’s popular Historic Village Exhibit.
Photo at far left:
Taken circa early
1890s, this photo
depicts men at the
Fletcher Lumber
Camp and represents the timber
boom that built
Alpena. Photo at
immediate left:
Part of the Besser
Museum’s Avenue
of Shops, this
Cooper Shop is believed to be the
first business to
operate on the
shores of Lake
Huron. It supplied
barrels to fishermen on Thunder
Bay Island.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016 ~ Besser Museum 50th Anniversary - 9