Grayling Visitors Bureau

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Contact Person Dan Bonamie
Au Sable Recreation Expo
Phone Number 989-710-1194
Email danbonamie@gmail.com
Website www.ausableexpo.com

AU SABLE EXPO ANNOUNCES MICHAEL HACKNEY AS FEATURED PRESENTER

(Grayling – March 29, 2010) Dan Bonamie, Chair of the Au Sable Expo Planning Team, announced today that Michael Hackney will be the featured presenter at the Expo on Saturday and Sunday, April 24 and 25.
Bonamie stated that “The Expo Planning Team is thrilled to bring Mr. Michael Hackney, as our feature presenter, to the Expo in its second year. Michael Hackney, who describes himself as an “Eclectic Angler,” lives in central Massachusetts near the Squannacook and Nissitissit Rivers. The 2010 Expo will feature various presentations and workshops throughout the entire Expo. Our featured presenter will give a presentation on Saturday and will hold a workshop on Sunday.”
Hackney teaches individuals the basic techniques of creating and assembling reels and has a web forum to allow for continued communication and input. His workshop describes the tools, supplies, and materials needed to begin the craft of reelsmithing, various techniques, and how to put it all together. He works with workshop participants to allow them to customize the basic reel and teaches techniques so they can start to design their own fly reels. He recently authored The Reelsmith’s Primer: The Art of Hand-crafting Fly Fishing Reels, available through Whitefish Press. Expo participants can have the support resources of a book and a web forum to help them continue reelsmithing once they get started at the presentation and workshop. On Saturday, April 24, Hackney will give an overview of making fly fishing reels by hand from 2:30 – 3:10 p.m. in the Birch Room at the Ramada Inn-Grayling.
Come learn how to make your own fly reel with a few simple tools and materials. A workshop entitled “A Reelsmithing Primer’s Workshop” will be offered on Sunday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., for those interested in constructing their own reel with Michael’s personal instruction. This workshop will help you construct a fly fishing reel by guiding you through the steps of construction and assembly using simple tools. Participants will learn the basic techniques of design and construction so they can design and construct their own fly reels. Material kits are available for purchase; the workshop is limited to eight participants. Pre-registration is recommended. To register, contact Susan Thiel at Thiels1@michigan.gov or call (989)348-6371 ext 7440. For more information about Michael Hackney and reelsmithing, visit www.reelsmithing.com.
Sponsors of the AuSable Expo are the Grayling Promotional Association and the North Central Michigan Community Foundation. For more information about the upcoming Expo, contact Dan Bonamie at 989-710-1194, or check online at www.ausableexpo.com, or at http://www.upnorthlive.com/.

This new event celebrates life in the 19^th century lumber era from the cutting and moving of logs to the sawing of logs into boards in the steam-powered sawmill. Demonstrations will include horse logging (moving the logs by horse power), operation of the steam powered sawmill, period food demonstrations and cooking, 19^th century music and entertainment and a variety of hands-on activities. This event includes a special Friday “School Day” schedule for school groups to come out and experience the activities. Friday schedule is 9am-3pm, Saturday and Sunday are 10am-4pm.

Hartwick Pines Base Ball Club “Swampers”
The Hartwick Pines Base Ball Club’s Swampers, our vintage baseball team playing and interpreting baseball from the year 1860 is looking for interested ballplayers and other volunteers for the 2010 season. We will be playing a full season this year with teams from through out the state including Midland County, Northville, Ludington and Petoskey. The season schedule will be from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend and we will be playing 7 games. The only requirement to play is to be in reasonably good health and enjoy baseball.
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Rob Burg, the club manager, at (989) 348-2537 or email at burgr@michigan.gov. The Hartwick Pines Swampers have a new website at
www.michigan.gov/swampersbaseball that has the schedule, team roster
and rules posted on it. There is also a Swampers Facebook group page at

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=125230260526.

Away games are scheduled for May 30, July 10 and August 22.

Michael Deren’s “Past in Person program: 1941 CCC Enrollee”. Hartwick Pines State Park, 7pm

Michael Deren’s Past in Person program, “Daylight in the Swamp: The Michigan Shantyboy”, Hartwick Pines State Park

Contacts: Rob Burg 989-348-2537 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014

History of the Civilian Conservation Corps to be Presented at Hartwick
Pines Logging Museum March 7

“The Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Grayling
Area” will be the topic of a presentation at 2 p.m. Sunday, March
7, at the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum in Grayling. Department of
Natural Resources and Environment historian Rob Burg will present the
program that highlights the work the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
did in Grayling, Gaylord, Houghton Lake, Kalkaska, Mio and Roscommon.

The CCC planted more than 400 million trees in Michigan, fought
thousands of forest fires across the country and developed some of
America’s most beloved national parks. In the Grayling and surrounding
areas alone, the CCC operated the Higgins Lake Nursery, built the
Logging Museum at Hartwick Pines, the Conservation Training School (now
the Ralph A. McMullan Center) at Higgins Lake, the Reedsburg Dam near
Houghton Lake, operated the Grayling Fish Hatchery, and made
improvements at the Grayling Winter Sports Park (Hanson Hills).

This hour-long program will highlight these and other accomplishments
of the “CCC Boys” during the Great Depression, when the CCC not only
put men to work, but also helped to heal the state from the results of
the lumber practices and wildfires of an earlier period. Michigan-and
the entire United States-benefited from the work that “Roosevelt’s
Tree Army” performed from 1933-1942.

Hartwick Pines Logging Museum is part of the Michigan Historical Museum
system. The Logging Museum is located at 4216 Ranger Rd. in Grayling.
Admission to the event is free; however a motor vehicle permit is
required for entry into the park. For more information about the museum,
visit www.michigan.gov/loggingmuseum.

Refreshments will be served. If you have any questions about this
program or any other events at Hartwick Pines, please contact Rob Burg
at (989) 348-2537 or by email at burgr@michigan.gov.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the
conservation, protection, management and accessible use and enjoyment of
the state’s environment, natural resources and related economic
interests for current and future generations.

Hartwick Pines State Park’s Michigan Forest Visitor Center and the Logging Museum Present Maple Syrup Day on March 26, 2011, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Plan to spend the day at Hartwick Pines State Park to enjoy learning about North America’s oldest agricultural product, maple sugar! Visitors to the park will be able to:

• walk into the sugarbush to help tap a maple tree,
• observe the boil-down process which converts maple sap to maple syrup,
• learn about the history of maple sugar making in North America,
• view videos titled “Maple Sugar Farmer,” “Maple Sugaring” and “The Maple Sugaring Story,”
• ask an expert about how to start making maple syrup and tap trees in your own backyard.
• taste maple sap and the finished maple syrup, and
• purchase genuine maple sugar candy and syrup.

Children can participate in tapping a maple tree and will learn how to build their own mokuk. A mokuk is a birch bark container in which native peoples transported maple sugar. Making a paper mokuk replica provides a history lesson and discussion about how European settlers learned of the Native Americans’ sugaring culture.

Tree tapping demonstrations will take place at 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 in the Sugar Bush and some visitors will be able to help us tap the maple trees.

Visitors will be able to taste maple syrup and sap, smell the aroma around an outside evaporator pan and welcome spring at this educational and fun event. Maple recipes will be available for those wishing to savor the sweetness of the day.

The Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of Hartwick Pines State Park cosponsor this special event.

There is no fee for this event, but you must have a state park sticker for entry.
CONTACT: Rob Burg or Craig Kasmer
TELEPHONE: (989) 348-2537