Ernest Hemingway’s Kalkaska Connection Recognized

The iconic author's Michigan connection is cemented with a plaque detailing his exploits in the Kalkaska area.

Pure Michigan has an entire itinerary for Hemingway fans to see their idol's favorite spots in Petosky, Harbor Spings, Horton View and his cottage on Walloon Lake.  "Born on July 21, 1899, just outside of Chicago, Ernest Miller Hemingway grew up in the middle-class town of Oak Park, Illinois. Hemingway spent parts of his first 22 summers with his family in Northern Michigan." Add Kalkaska to the tour as the Michigan Hemingway Society has staked a new plaque chronicling his boyhood adventures. It reads:

It was the summer of 1916. School was out and Ernst Hemingway and a friend were on their way to the northern woods of Michigan to camp and fish. A steamer brought them to Frankfort, and from there, they hiked to Bear Creek. After having luck there, they rode trains to the Boardman River and then on to Kalkaska. From there they hiked to the Rapid River for their last fishing and then returned to Kalkaska. Hemingway remembered the Kalkaska area, and years later he created two stories set in that area, The Light of the World and The Battler.

h/t UpNorthLive