Just a Simple Conversation

It started as a conversation. “You know, Grandma (my dad’s mother), was born in Petoskey.” my mom said. My parents were up for the weekend and we were driving in Petoskey to show them my son’s apartment. “I think maybe I knew that.” I replied. “Yes. They owned a bakery. I have a picture of it.” She continued. I told her that my friend, Jane, is Co-Executive Director of The Little Traverse HIstorical Museum and that she (my mom) should send it to me and I’d pass it along to Jane for her collection. I didn’t think anymore about it until a letter arrived in the mail with a two sided page with really old pictures of my relatives photocopied on both sides. The pictures were simply labeled with names, but no mention of a bakery, or Petoskey. Two of the pictures had a variety of people, including my great-grandmother on the porch of a house that looked like it was out in a grassy field. I chuckled a bit to myself and wondered what, in the heck, I was going to do with these photos. There was nothing that resembled what I would imagine to be a bakery and certainly no evidence that the picture was taken in Petoskey. A couple of weeks later, I was working with Jane and told her the story of my grandma and the photos. As I described it to her, she said

“What was your grandmother’s name?” As I told her the name, she began tapping on her computer. “Did she die in 1999?” she asked. “I think so, but I’ll have to go look at the obituary to be sure.”

The very next day, which was a Saturday, I heard from Jane. She texted me a picture of an excerpt from the 1914 Petoskey City Guide. It read:

HENRY BROS (Glenn and Percy), Fancy and Staple Groceries, Flour, Fruits and Smoked Meats, 627 Grove, Tel 265.

I can’t even describe how exciting this was. Percy Henry was my great grandfather and Glenn was his brother! One moment I was a transplant to this area. A down-state girl, living in Petoskey by chance. Now, suddenly, I had roots here. I had to go to 627 Grove. I had to stand in the spot where my grandmother was born. Unfortunately, 627 Grove doesn’t exist anymore. After about 1919, the house/store no longer appears in any insurance maps. I asked Tom if he would go with me. So we plugged it into the map app on my phone and we wove our way through downtown Petoskey until we found the little corner lot, now fenced in with tall shrubs, and I stood there, and felt it. My roots. The Petoskey area went from a place where I live to a place I can truly call home. And it all started with a conversation.