Growing up in Ossineke, Michigan-it was very common to have 'Indian' names for common places. After all, Ossineke is an Ojibwa word meaning, 'place of the image stone.' On the Devil's river, legend says there was a stone that the native's used as a marker to find their way home off of the water. I have heard that the word has more modern meanings, but I like the old, home town legend. At our elementary school, one of our ball fields was called 'Pukweegee' which means 'playground of little people.' The sign marking the field said as much and used a little Indian native boy in the pic. Probably not the most politically correct thing, but it was meant as an honor and not a slam. The field on the other side was called 'Shingwak' which means 'playground in the pines.'
We had a roadside attraction called Hayden's Acres and upon entering, you would be greeted by a carved, life size, proud young brave on a horse in full head feathers. Walking through the woods, various stations depicted all sorts of native life. Supposedly, these carvings and displays were indicative of how life was lived, originally, on the Devil's River, in Ossineke.
My Grampa Cliff used to threaten us kids by saying he was going to give us back to the Indians. "Some old squaw will strap you on her back and that'll fix ya!" Not the most P.C. either-that Gramps of mine! And recently I learned that my (step) Great Grandma was a full blooded Indian. My Grampa was raised by her, so maybe he knew what the deal was!
At any rate, I hope I haven't offended where I meant to convey pride. I love my town's history and the fact that I, too, am an Indian-even if it's by proxy!
Have a wonderful fall week, my friends. XO
2 comments:
Thank you so much for this blog on our home town Jodi! I had forgot about the heartfelt history our little town was built on.
You are so welcome, Sweets. Ossineke will always have a piece of my heart!
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