Wooten’s book is a collection of stories based on the life of artist Betty Beeby.  Beeby has illustrated more than 30 books and served as a Time Life magazine artist.  She is also known for her paintings and murals in Michigan and all over the United States.

The book features 49 poems about Beeby’s youth, professional life, marriage and motherhood and Wooten will feature some of that prose in the presentation.  Wooten is known as Michigan’s poet bard and is the creator of the local Stone Circle storytelling/poetry/music performance.

Wooten and Beeby’s collaboration grew out of the Elders Project, an endeavor pairing community elders with students from Cherryland Middle School.

The presentation is free to the public (donations accepted) and the book will be available for sale that evening.

The Grand Traverse Heritage Center is located at 322 Sixth Street in Traverse City.

For more information, call 995-0313.

Two winning posters were selected and those are serving as the official posters of the 2009 Festival of Trains.  They will be displayed at businesses throughout the region.

The winner in the 5 -7 age category is 7 year old Matt Mudget of Traverse City.  Matt attends Willow Hill Elementary and his hobbies include building wood models with his grandpa, playing with cars, trains & trucks, riding his bike and drawing pictures.  The winner in the 8-12 age category is 9 year old Andrew Morse of Traverse City.  Andrew attends Central Elementary School in Traverse City.   

 Matt and Andrew will receive a family pass to the Festival of Trains, a framed copy of their poster and recognition at the “Holiday at Heritage” event.

The entries were judged on creativity and how well the poster illustrated the Festival of Trains. 

8,265 people enjoyed the model trains throughout the holiday season!  This annual event raises money for the Grand Traverse Heritage Center and is put on by the Northern Michigan Railroad Club.

Special needs students and area school children also attended the festival the week of December 14^th.

Sponsors included The Concrete Service, Currie’s Furniture, ABC 29&8, TV 7-4, Oliver Specialties, Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Swingshift and the Stars.The Festival of Trains is the major fundraiser for the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and presenting the history of Traverse City and the Grand Traverse region.

A special thank you to donors who made this possible:  Ted Shaw at Brown Lumber Co., Maxbauer Ace Hardware and Shawn O’Brien for Ace paint, Del Jones and Pete Zoutendyk for labor, United Way, Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home and the NorthStars for painting volunteers and Ray Kendra at CWS Architects for interior design advice.

For more information about the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, call 231-995-0313.

We have for-profit and non-profit rates for our rooms…The Community Room (which holds up to 200 people), The Classroom (50 people) and The Boardroom (12-16 people). Chairs, tables and restrooms are available as well as a full size kitchen.

Call 231-995-0313 for information, rates and availability!

For more information about the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, call 231-995-0313.

Puckett was the Production/Promotions/Community Affairs Manager at WGTU ABC 29&8 Television for 13 years before coming to the Heritage Center. In addition, Puckett was the station’s news and weather anchor.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Michigan and resides in Traverse City.

For more information about the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, call 231-995-0313.

For more information about the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, call 231-995-0313.