Inçerlik, Turkey to Washburn, Wisconsin
via Northern Michigan (USA)

     Yup, that’s me in the picture right and above. The place is the United State Air Force Base at Inçerlik, Turkey, 1973/74 when I was 22-23 years old and taller than people smaller than me (of course) at 6 feet, 1 inch, (2m), weighing in at 145 lbs, (65.5 kilos), and sporting a pair of 26x34 (66x86cm) jeans around my 28 inch (73cm) waistline. I did not exactly appear as all that fearsome figure of a warrior, grant you. (Note: Demensions other than height have since gained much higher figures.)
     Incerlik, spelled with a “ç” instead of a “c” without a tail is pronounced In'-Chir-Lick; accent is on the first syllable. An Incer is a fig. Incerlik probably means a place figs grow in plenty, or maybe fig orchard. Ask a Turk to see how close my translation is.
     In the novels: Fr. Jacob Gibwanasi Namishkid (Hawk Dancer) sent his first year simple professed Friars for a year’s study at Tur A’Din (Mountain of Faith). The Friars landed and departed from the Adana airport in Turkey not far from Incerlik. The fictional chronologist, Sgt. T. Douglas was stationed at Incerlik and met Brothers Joseph Mandaamin and Cuautlotazin on a visit to Antioch, Turkey in the early 1970s.
     The next picture is of a small man made island off shore of Washburn, Wisconsin. It had been part of a loading dock for ore ships servicing the Great Lakes. (Date: July 29, 2004)
     Left and down one photo (3rd photo) is the Church containing the Tomb of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Caguanagua, Quebec near Montreal.

Churches That Influenced the Novels

     The old Methodist Church of Bad River is pictured with the sub title of this section. My Grand and Great Grandfathers ministered there in the 1950’s, perhaps as early as the later 1940s. That church has since burned down and is replaced by a cedar log structure. The original photo dates to around 1953/55. I would have been a preschooler.
     In order: St. Francis of Red Cliff Ojibwe Reservation north of Bayfield, Wisconsin, St. Mary’s of Bad River, WI and the old Catholic Mission in Cedar River, Michigan. Those three pictures were taken in 2004. The real life Cedar River occupies the same space as my fictional Village of Birch Clump, though the two communities are vastly different in lay out, population and structures. There is no Catholic church in Birch Clump. The real Churches bear each other along highway M-35 is a Community Church that was run down in the 60s but is nicely restored and updated today and the once used Catholic mission which now appears to be neglected and in serious disrepair.







The remaining pictures are from "Cross In The Woods," Indian River in the northern section of Michigan's lower peninsula. It is home of the world's larges crucifix and is given mention in both novels.

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Cedar River, Michigan / Marinette, Wisconsin

     The remaining pictures are of Cedar River, the area I used to center my novels, and of Stevens Island nestled between Marinette, WI and Menominee, Michigan. I don’t have the name of the sculpture for the “Boys Swimming” stationed over the Menominee River, but as soon as I find out, I’ll list it here. Photos were taken in the summer of 2009.

The Cedar River Bridge, Highway M-35. The new marina extends about a quarter mile into the bay. It was all water in the major time period of the novles. Garage sign annouces the annual Cedar River Labor Day Bridge Walk. (I'm not so sure its annual anymore).

Above right and both pictures below are of the statue on Stevens Island