Our third Christmas at the Bonine House last weekend was a wonderful event.

Over 1,000 people from all over the region came to see rooms beautifully and uniquely decorated by members of the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County (URSCC), visit Santa, Mrs. Claus and their elf Belinda, and view the progress made on the house over the past year.

Many families are making CBH an annual tradition that starts their holiday season.  It’s lovely for us to see happy faces on kids of all ages, and bask in the glow of knowing we’re doing something that our community appreciates and supports.

The Bonine House is historically and architecturally significant in itself; but more importantly it is the focal point for telling the story of the Underground Railroad in Cass County.  Several rooms on the top floor will be dedicated to the families and the stories involved in the Cass County UGRR, hopefully this year; while the first floor will be available for public events by 2016.

The Bonine House, the Carriage House across the street, and other UGRR sites in the area are part of a developing historic district in Cass County, a “Heritage Trail” if you will.  Together with many other sites (Old Rugged Cross Church, Pioneer Log Cabin, One Room Schoolhouse, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg, and Marcellus VFW Museums, Turtle Lodge, to name just a few) and soon our vintage Cass County Courthouse, we are in the midst of a historic renaissance that we can be proud of, and must support in any way we can.

The revival of the yearly festival in Cassopolis, the annual Christmas in Cassopolis and tree lighting, and other events showcase the reasons we are proud to call Cass County our home.

Thanks to all of you who visited the Bonine House last weekend and to all of you who are involved in everything that is happening here.

Historic preservation is important to give ourselves and our children a sense of where we come from, and who we are.  We have so much to be proud of, and URSCC is proud to be a part of it.  You can learn more about URSCC and the Bonine House at www.urscc.org.

 

Cathy LaPointe

treasurer, URSCC

Cassopolis