Michigan boasts a fine array of museums. It seems there's something for everybody:
- The Henry Ford in Dearborn
- The Gerald R Ford Museum in Grand Rapids
- The Sloan Museum in Flint
- The Great Lakes Children's Museum in Traverse City
And how about "The Pickle Barrel House Museum" in Grand Marais?
Pat Munger, president of the Grand Marais Historical Society, said the museum was originally built for William Donahey, a cartoonist and author of children’s books from 1914 to 1972.
His cartoons were about people who were about two inches tall and lived in the woods around Grand Marais.
For a promotional campaign for Monarch Food’s Pickles, Donahey drew a tiny family that lived in a pickle. The pickles were put in little pickle barrels.
One of the owners of Monarch Foods, named Mr. Murdock, was friends with Donahey and built him a pickle barrel house as a surprise to Donahey’s wife.
That house now serves as a museum.
*Listen to the full interview with Pat Munger on Stateside at 3:00 pm. Audio for this story will be added by 4:30 pm.
