June 30, 2009

Ragene Henry, a born and bred "Yooper," started writing when she realized that the history books in the school where she taught had little to say about the Upper Peninsula. Wanting to share a love of local history with her students, she wrote a children's book, then another and another and another.

Henry will bring her perspective on history to the Michigan Iron Industry Museum at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, with the presentation "The Barefoot Boys of Fayette and Other Stories of U.P. History" - kicking off the museum's six-part weekday  program series. An award-winning educator and author, Henry will show how she used her research about key events in the U.P.'s history to write compelling historical fiction for young readers.

"I love taking the facts and turning them into an interesting, engaging story with characters who seem just like your friends and family," Henry said. "I always told my students that history is really about interesting people living through interesting events, not dull dry facts and dates."

Henry will share the stories behind her books, including The Barefoot Boys of Fayette, which recounts the adventures of a group of boys growing up in the Upper Peninsula furnace town of Fayette during its heyday in the 1880s. Her other novels are The Time of the Shining Rocks, An Enduring Christmas and The Copper Moon.

Upcoming programs in the museum's weekly lecture series include:

July 21 - "Mackinac Treasures: The Museum Collections of Mackinac State Historic Parks" with Steven Brisson, Mackinac State Historic Parks

July 28 - "Defending our Borders: The USCG and the Sault Locks" with Capt. Mark Huebschman, United States Coast Guard

Aug. 4 - "Vanishing Horizons: Abandoned Mining Sites in the U.P." with Christine Flavin, Northern Michigan University

Aug. 11 - "Michigan's Upper Peninsula Vowel System Project" with Wil A. Rankinen, Indiana University

Aug. 18 - "Native Americans and the Discovery of Iron Ore in Marquette County" with John Anderton, Northern Michigan University

The museum is located at 73 Forge Road, in Negaunee Township. All programs in this six-part series begin at 2 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are encouraged and will go to support museum education programs.

The Michigan Iron Industry Museum is one of 11 nationally accredited museums administered by the Michigan Historical Center, a public, non-profit facility of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries. It overlooks the site of the Carp River Forge, a pioneer industrial site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The recently expanded museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about the summer program series or upcoming events, call (906) 475-7857 or visit online at www.michigan.gov/ironindustrymuseum.