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Our Staff |   |
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Professional Staff John C. Mitchell, Director, mitchell@leelanauhistory.org I first came to Leelanau County in 1967, travelling up north with a high school friend to help remodel an old East Leland school house. After several months of working outside, watching the fruit trees ripen, and swimming in North Lake Leelanau, I knew my days as a suburban Detroiter were near their end. In between long summers in Leelanau, I received a degree from the University of Michigan, then bought my first home near south Glen Lake, in Burdickville. My old cabin sat on two acres, had a two story fieldstone fireplace, wood floors, and an upstairs bedroom window flanked by tall white pines. Never mind the pump well and outhouse, the price was $9,900, with $1500 down, $100 a month payment. I had $1700 in the bank, so with a two month safety net, I began my life in earnest in Leelanau County. In the ensuing 30 years, I have owned and operated Leelanau Architectural Antiques in downtown Suttons Bay (1978-1998), where I restored and recycled Victorian and Mission house parts. Many of the area's best dressed homes wear one of my antique doors, windows, or fireplace mantles. In 1987, I wrote Michigan An Illustrated History for Children, with Leelanau friend Tom Woodruff, which continues as the flagship of our four book Great Lakes history series (visit www.greatlakeshistory.com). During the past 15 years, I have spent over 300 days in schools as a contract Writer-in-Residence, teaching writing, history, and book making programs. I met my wife of 20 years, Ann Marie, in Leelanau County. My oldest son, Matt, attended Suttons Bay Elementary, Northport Middle School, and Interlochen Art Academy, graduated from Northport High, and is currently a sophomore at UofM. My youngest son, Drew, is an eighth grader at Northport. For six years, I was a volunteer board member and past president of the Leelanau Historical Society. Laura J. Quackenbush, Curator, quackenbush@leelanauhistory.org A Michigan native, Laura came to the Society in 1985 as its first professional staff person and began guiding the Museum from a seasonal, volunteer museum to a year-round institution offering a full range of activities. Since that time, Laura has produced sixteen major exhibitions, developed and administered the collections, created school education programs, and established the Local History Study Center. Laura received a B.S. in History and Political Science from Northern Michigan University and a Master's of Liberal Arts degree with a museum emphasis from the University of Oklahoma. Laura's commitment to public history and the museum profession includes her activities as a board member on the Michigan Museums Association and the Maritime Heritage Alliance, where she also serves as Program Coordinator, Mate, and Crew Trainer on the Madeline, a reconstructed nineteenth-century Great Lakes schooner. Kristi L. Thomas, Administrator, thomas@leelanauhistory.org Kristi was born and raised in Fremont, California, and earned a B.S. degree at San Jose State University in 1988. In 1994, she and her husband, Harry, moved to his family's home on Lake Leelanau where they continue to live with their two daughters, Emma and Rebecca, and a dog and two cats. Kristi volunteers at the Leelanau Children's Center and the Leland Public School. She enjoys gardening, birdwatching, camping, needlepoint and crochet projects, playing cards, and fiddling with her computer. | |||
