Finding Fun in Michigan & Beyond
Bishop Frederic Baraga was the first bishop of Marquette. For 37 years he was a missionary priest among the Indians and settlers in the Upper Great Lakes.
His presence shaped the region and he is revered for his defending Native American lands during treaty land acquisition by the U.S. Government in the 1800s.
Ora Labora known as “Christian German Agricultural and Benevolent Society of Ora et Labora” (Pray and Work), where it’s parishioners could combine work with prayer, and live according to the Methodist Church Discipline. Founded in 1862 on Michigan’s Wild Fowl Bay, the colony disappeared in 1867
Part IV of the Ora Labora starts during Christmas 1864. The Colonies funds and provisions are low and its leader Emil Baur is begging his benefactors for loans to make it through the winter. With the war in its closing days the colonist are hopeful that a risky new venture will be profitable.
The 1881 fire that swept much of Michigan’s Thumb devastated one town. However stories of miraculous events are passed down today.
