Pickle Barrel House
Encyclopedia
Grand Marais, Michigan
Grand Marais is an unincorporated community in Burt Township, Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located on Lake Superior at and is the eastern gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore via H-58....
on Michigan's Upper Peninsula on the southern shore of Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
. It is near the intersection of state highway M-77
M-77 (Michigan highway)
M-77 is a state trunkline highway in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. It runs from US Highway 2 near Blaney Park in the south to Grand Marais in the north. The highway borders the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. The northern half has been designated as a Scenic Spur of the Lake...
and county road H-58
H-58 (Michigan county highway)
County Designated Highway H-58 is a road that runs east–west in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. H-58 is routed through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Along H-58, there are the towns of Melstrand, Van Meer, and Myren. The length is .The western terminus is at M-28 in downtown Munising,...
of this gateway town to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 miles along the shore and covers...
. The main part is a 16-foot (4.88 m) tall barrel and has two stories. The main floor is for the living area and the upstairs is a bedroom. A smaller barrel serves as the kitchen and the two barrels are connected by a pantry. There is an outdoor garden and also a seating area with a garden path between these two.
Early
William DonaheyWilliam Donahey
William Donahey was a U.S. cartoonist and creator of The Teenie Weenies, a comic strip about two-inch tall people living under a rose bush....
was an author, illustrator, and cartoonist. He created the Teenie Weenies cartoon feature which was a widely syndicated comic that debuted in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
in 1914. The comic feature continued until his death in 1970. It featured tiny people who lived in a world of life-sized objects. To these tiny people the real world objects were gargantuan.
Donahey did several advertisements for Reid-Murdock & Company for the Monarch Foods line.
Teenie Weenies were on many of the labels of Monarch food products including coffee, peanut butter, popcorn, sausage, bacon, and all kinds of vegetables, including pickles
Pickles
Pickles may refer to:* A pickled cucumber, the food most commonly referred to as a pickle in the U.S. and Canada* A pickled onion, the food most commonly referred to as a pickle in the UK* Other vegetables that have been pickled...
. One advertisement featured a small pickle keg that was used as a house by some of his Teenie Weenies children characters.
One day in 1926 as a surprise for Donahey's wife Mary Dickerson Donahey, herself an author, along with Reid-Murdock he had a duplicate large version of the keg house built that they could actually use. Reid-Murdock ordered the Pickle Barrel House to be built by the Pioneer Cooperage Company of Chicago. This special cottage would then be for the Donaheys to use as a summer cabin in the woods at Grand Sable Lake to inspire their writings. The barrel house was a large-scale version of the miniature oak casks that held the Monarch-brand pickles. The Donaheys received much attention for their "barrel house on the lake" since nobody ever saw anything like this before. However, after 10 years it became a burden because of all the curiosity seekers and onlookers wanting to see how they lived. Ultimately they moved it from its original lake location.
Later
The Pickle Barrel house was moved to downtown Grand Marais in 1936 from the woods at nearby Grand Sable Lake when new tenants took possession. Through the years it was an ice-cream stand, an information kioskKiosk
Kiosk is a small, separated garden pavilion open on some or all sides. Kiosks were common in Persia, India, Pakistan, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward...
booth, and a souvenir gift shop. These various tenants over the many years did not maintain the cottage as it should have been taken care of and the barrel house fell into disrepair. In 2003 the Grand Marais Historical Society acquired the property. They undertook the project of restoring the structure to its original condition. On July 3, 2005, after much work and with a budget of $125,000 in expenses the renovated Pickle Barrel House was opened to the public. The barrel house now shows how the Donaheys lived there in their summer cottage in the woods by the lake in the 1920s and 30s.
The barrel house museum has old pictures of the Donaheys in their one-of-a-kind pickle barrel cottage. Some of these old photos of the 1920s even show the "curiosity visitors" at their cottage in the woods. In the museum also are several books and other materials on William Donahey and his children's Teenie Weenies. One room alone showcases William Donahey and his artwork of creations of the Teenie Weenies. In this room is a seven inch barrel on display showing a promotion for Monarch sweet pickles. The barrel house pretty much recreates its appearance and "atmosphere" when the Donaheys lived there. Out of town tourists that visit the unique and unusual house can now get the feel for what everyday life in a barrel would be like.
Historical marker
There is a Michigan Historical Marker at the Pickle Barrel House location that reads:-
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- Pickle Barrel House
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- The Teenie Weenies
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The barrel home has been accepted on the Michigan Register of Historic Places and is a Michigan Historic Home.