By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC – Postcard collector R.L. "Rick" Rasmussen turned to rival Floyd Jerdon of Dowagiac for vintage images of Sister Lakes for the first pictorial book ever published about the 11 lakes.
The result is "Sister Lakes," available July 2 ($19.99, Arcadia Publishing. Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, online bookstores or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888) 313-2665).
Rasmussen, 64, retired back to Paw Paw Lake after 35 years as a Chicago area social worker. His family history of more than 100 years at Paw Paw Lake was the impetus for three books about Big and Little Paw Paw Lakes and Deer Forest.
At Great Lakes Antique Mall in Coloma, Rasmussen sells the largest known collection of non-fiction imprint historical books about Cass, Berrien and Van Buren counties in southwest Michigan.
"For many readers of this book," Rasmussen says, "it will be like a family vacation album revisited. It may bring back fond memories for many locals as well as Chicagoans and others who have vacationed here in the past."
He always comes home to southwest Michigan after world travels that have taken him to more than 60 countries.
Rasmussen has a bachelor of arts degree from Hanover College in Indiana and a master's degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
For more than 125 years, generations of vacationers have made the annual journey to the Sister Lakes region.
Their experiences and photographs represent a cultural snapshot of a summer spent at this cluster of lakes.
The postcards, selected from a collection of more than 1,000, capture the life and times of 80 years at this favorite Michigan destination, encompassing the largest, three-island Magician and Indian, Dewey, Round, Big Crooked, Little Crooked and Cable, and four smaller lakes, Keeler, Pipestone, Priest and Brush.
Postcards were the primary means of communication in the early 20th century. These mementos now preserve glimpses of the past through vintage images and intimate messages.
"Sister Lakes" is part of Arcadia's "Postcard History Series."
Jerdon and his son, Tom, own Jerdon Real Estate, which specializes in lake property.
In format, "Sister Lakes" is similar to the Dowagiac book The Museum at Southwestern Michigan College published.
Sections highlight Native Americans, resorts, businesses and surrounding communities, including Dowagiac, Decatur, Watervliet and Hartford.