Manchester Memories Project: Mrs. Villarreal’s second-grade class
by Melissa Yekulis In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Manchester Mirror, the children of Luther C. Klager Elementary School were invited to write for the paper: Describe a place in Manchester that is special to you. Each week this summer, one of the classes who chose to participate will be featured in the […]
Manchester Memories Project: Ms. Koval’s kindergarten class
by Melissa Yekulis In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Manchester Mirror, the children of Luther C. Klager Elementary School were invited to write for the paper: Describe a place in Manchester that is special to you. Each week this summer, one of the classes who chose to participate will be featured in the […]
Manchester Memories Project: Ms. Sherrick’s Young 5s class
by Melissa Yekulis In honor of the tenth anniversary of the Manchester Mirror, the children of Luther C. Klager Elementary School were invited to write for the paper: Describe a place in Manchester that is special to you. Each week this summer, one of the classes who chose to participate will be featured in the […]
Prehistoric musk ox skull found in Manchester 100+ years ago
by Sara Swanson In the summer of 1915, workmen digging a drain on a farm field that is today located in the Manchester City limits (just northeast of today’s high school) discovered a fossilized skull of a prehistoric musk ox about four feet down. The skull, only the second to be discovered in Michigan, went […]
Bridgewater, a historic hamlet
by Sara Swanson What do you know about Bridgewater, not the township but the hamlet? If you are like many Manchester-area residents, you may know it as the spot on Austin where you have to slow down to 35mph on your way to Saline, or your knowledge may extend to the Bridgewater Bank being a […]
Watkins Lake State Park home to a rediscovered piece of the Great Depression
by Sara Swanson You probably know that Manchester Township along with neighboring Norvell Township is home to Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve, Michigan’s 103rd state park as well as the first state park in Michigan to be jointly managed with a county recreation agency. What you might not know is that the park […]
Two Manchester Civil War participants earned the Medal of Honor
by Marsha Chartrand Two years ago in the Mirror, https://wp.me/p3ZFr0-iQR, we told the story of Manchester’s own living hero Chuck Steele and his 70+ years of commitment to his country and community. But he recently learned that he’s just one among several Manchester men who have been honored in a variety of different ways for […]
The Phoenix that rose from the ashes and flew again
by Colleen A. Schoenfeld Ever heard a familiar, yet strangely different plane sound, and looked to the sky in curiosity and wondered if you stepped into a time warp as you watch what appears to be a WWII bomber flying overhead? Don’t worry, you’re still in the present and likely your glasses still work. Manchester […]
The history and future of Iron Creek Church
by Sybil Kolon for Manchester Area Historical Society The Iron Creek Community Church, founded as a Free Will Baptist Church in 1855, was dissolved earlier this year. Unbeknownst to many, the congregation had been shrinking for years. There are some sad aspects of this story, but it also presents an opportunity to preserve a modest, […]
Another find at the Sutton/Kolongowski farmhouse
by Sara Swanson We reported on the finds from the Sutton/Kolongowski farmhouse deconstruction project that happened last fall. Sybil Kolon let us know that within the last month there is another find to add to the list! On invitation, a metal detectorist, Chris Trudell, investigated the area. The most interesting find was a crotal bell […]






