08/16/2007

Special to the Record-Eagle
Throughout the 1890s and into the twentieth century, baseball captured the imagination of the young athletes of Elk Rapids. Besvin Anderson, third from left was an excellent athlete. He was an Alma College graduate and taught and coached at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

A Journey through time

Elk Rapids is revealed in photo history book

BY JOLYNN PAIGE
Special to the Record-Eagle

Special to the Record-Eagle
A new Elk Rapids history book covers the years 1850-1950 with more than 800 pictures.

ELK RAPIDS — The village of Elk Rapids has a rich history that dates back to the mid-19th century — and even further when one considers that Native Americans lived in the area for hundreds of years before that.

Author Glenn Ruggles' new book, "Elk Rapids: The First Hundred Years,” helps reveal to contemporary readers the time period when whites first settled in the Elk Rapids area.

The 335-page book, written with assistance from researcher-archivist Glenn Neumann, is a photo history that covers the years 1850-1950. Over 800 pictures, collected from local museums and rare family collections, tell their own story with the help of oral histories, historical text and maps.

The invention of the camera made it possible for photographers — both professional and amateur — to document their lives in a way not possible before in human history. Ruggles dedicated his book to these citizen-photographers.

"Always on the scene, they seemed to be everywhere and always got that 'shot,'” he wrote. "Their photos give us a visual sense of the time, the eras and the special moments, and are a permanent record of the history of our town.”

Ruggles

A 1948 graduate of Elk Rapids Rural Agricultural High School, Ruggles holds a masters degree in history from the University of Detroit. He retired in 1994 from a career teaching high school history in Oakland County, where he currently resides with his wife, Margee.

Besides collecting intriguing photos from the time period, one of his most effective techniques is collecting oral histories. It involves much more than setting up a microphone in front of the subject, he said.

"I take a lot of time in my interviews, and really get to know the people I'm interviewing,” he said. "I think every person's story is important, and it is my goal to honor their story to the greatest extent possible.”

He said people often have never been asked to tell their story or to show their family archives.

"They often feel, 'Why me? I'm no one special.' But really, it's common, everyday citizens, with their cameras and their family archives, that tell the real story of any given place,” he said.

The author said he chose Elk Rapids for his book because it was his boyhood town, but also because he was surprised to find a lack of other books documenting the area.

"There is so much rich history from this area, I just couldn't stop myself from wanting to put it all together in a book,” he said.

Ruggles has authored four previous books on Elk Rapids and the Chain of Lakes: "Something From Nothing” (1976), "An Island on Main Street” (1985), "Voices from River Street” (1993) and "Voices on the Water” (1998). He has co-produced, with Bob Humitz, the award-winning 16mm film on Elk Rapids, "The River's The Same” (1976).

"Elk Rapids: The First Hundred Years” is available at the Village Market in Elk Rapids and Rapid City as well as in many other shops on River Street in Elk Rapids. It's also available at Butch's Marina in Clam River, Horizon Books and Borders Books and Music in Traverse City and Nifty Things in Alden.

Ruggles will talk about the book at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Alden's Helena Township Library and at 7 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Elk Rapids Old Town Hall.