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What's happening at the Bottle House Museum (4/28/08)
The town of Kaleva was founded first in the 1880's as two railroads intersected here in the middle of Manistee County. The white pine was cut down and transported to cities whose population demanded the lumber for housing. As that era ended an entrepreneur named Jaako Saari came up with the idea of naming the town after the Finnish epic poem, the Kalevala. The streets were platted and named after characters from that poem and with other common Finnish words. A printing company moved into Kaleva and published the Siitolainen, or Immigrant, a newspaper which was sent to east and west parts of America as well as to Finland. People anxious to own land and live in an area where people spoke the language came to Kaleva after purchasing land in Manistee. When they arrived the description in the newspaper didn't quite ring true but they most of them stayed and made lives here. From that proud heritage came the group of people who formed the Kaleva Historical Society. In 1983 a unique home built out of glass bottles became available at the death of the last members of the John Makinen family. He had built the home using leftovers from his pop bottling factory. It was designed with artistic placement of the many different colored bottles and already was a tourist draw. Somehow the committee was able to purchase the property and the Kaleva Historical Society had its new and permanent home. Every item was faithfully inventoried, preserved and displayed and over the years visitors from all over the world came to appreciate the history of the area through the artifacts. In recent years came opportunities for the Historical Society to expand as a Service Learning class from the local high school began to work in Kaleva. Their mission, to preserve the Finnish heritage of the town, fit very well with the objectives of the founding members. Over five years the students renovated the train depot, moved an historic log cabin, opened an art gallery, placed artworks related to Finnish culture throughout the town, researched and wrote poems about the first settlers, opened a welcome center, worked with the historical society to document historic sites of the town, and made the town more tourist friendly with benches, gardens and a walkway along the old railroad grade. As this project developed there was a need for funding in addition to what the school district provided. A committee called Project Kaleva was formed to support the students' work and to solicit grants and other financial resources to continue the work. Project Kaleva was approved as an ad hoc committee of the Historical Society, as provided in the bylaws. This cooperative effort proved very successful as the work was completed in time for the town's centennial celebration. Thus collaboration between school, community and supporters of Kaleva became part of history. The Depot Railroad Museum, Log Cabin Outdoor Theater, Kaleva Heritage Days, the Finnish Line Walk/Run, Juhunnus or mid-summer day celebration, are all supported in part by the Historical Society and Project Kaleva. Many people from within the area and from surrounding communities enjoy participating in these activities. Valentine cookie sales, bake sales during Kaleva Heritage Days, and collecting dues and donations are annual efforts to support the Historical Society. In these ways the community is involved as people are asked to help with the fundraising. The directors of the Historical Society meet at least four times a year to plan events and arrange for projects to be completed and receive reports detailing events and activities. The Bottle House is open weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day and other times by appointment. Besides the many visitors who come during open hours, tours are often arranged by the local elementary school and groups from the area such as Boy Scouts and retirees. The museum is open to groups needing a meeting place and for other special occasions, such as the annual Christmas Open House. |
