An afternoon in Muskegon

The other day Susie and I drove up to Muskegon for an afternoon outing. We planned to meet friends Patty and Paul for dinner later that evening in Grand Haven and thought we'd take the opportunity to take in a couple of sights we had yet to experience on the Big Lake. And since it was a lovely day we thought to visit the Muskegon Museum of Art and see the World War 2 submarine USS Silversides. If we had time Susan would help me track down a grave in the bargain.

The museum is tiny -- a scant three rooms on one floor - but what a collection of artwork! One room was dedicated to 150 photos of Native Americans by the noted photographer Edward Curtis. While we learned that his photography has been considered rather controversial, the faces he captured are nothing short of stunning.

The other featured exhibition that stunned both of us was the ultra-realistic sculpture of Marc Sijan. Eery and a bit disconcerting to be around, these life-size sculptures must be seen to be truly appreciated.

From the art museum we drove along Lakeshore Drive out past the Pere Marquette Beach to visit the USS Silversides. Launched in 1941 this boat (SS-236) saw active service during the war, sinking 30 Japanese ships.

c. 1942

Even though it was nearing closing time, there were still plenty of people touring the boat. And it was heartening to see so many young people showing serious interest in their history.

OK, so you enter the sub in the forward torpedo room. . .

pantry

control room

galley

crew's mess

crew's berthing area

engine room

We exited through the aft torpedo room.

The tour also includes the 1927 Coast Guard cutter McLane, which saw active service in the Bering sea off the coast of Alaska.

We were also given a unique opportunity to see the high-speed cross-lake ferry leaving Muskegon as it passed through the channel right next to the submarine.

Oh, and no we didn't find the grave we were looking for. On our way out of Muskegon we sopped at Oakwood Cemetery to search for the resting place of one William Zilkey. Zilkey had served in the 3rd Michigan Infantry during the civil war and died in Muskegon in February of 1920. In our search for the marker we surmised that his gravestone was long gone (notice the open space in the foreground of the photo).

From the cemetery we headed back to US 31 and turned south to Grand Haven to meet up with friends for dinner and catching up. A good day all round, I'd say.