Tea on the trail of the trial: Seney of the Crime in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Souvenirs from our trail of the trial in the Upper Peninsula 

A murder trial, a movie and Michigan's upper peninsula made for a road trip trail filled with fascinating facts, food, and fun.

Last summer, my husband, Chris, came upon a rough itinerary of the "Anatomy of a Murder" movie sites and tossed that over to my brother, Ed, and sister-in-law, Sandy - aka, our road trip partners - as a possible trek for the four of us. Reception was immediate and well-received. By October, 2021, we were packed up in Ed's Ford 150 and heading on our journey over the Mackinac Bridge.

"Anatomy of a Murder" is a movie based on the 1952 book by author and attorney, John Voelker. Voelker, was the defense attorney in a murder trial that took place in parts of the Upper Peninsula and the basis of his novel. His book was so successful, it caught the eye of Hollywood, specifically, producer and director, Otto Preminger.  His cast included Jimmy Stewart as the defense attorney, Ben Gazzara as the defendant and Lee Remick as the defendant's wife.

Thunder Bay Inn (Big Bay Inn in the movie) has a variety of rooms and a restuarant.

Preminger made the decision to film on location and sites included: the home of the defense attorney in Ispheming, the hotel owned by the victim, Thunder Bay Inn (Big Bay Inn), Lumberjack Tavern (where the actual murder took place), Mt. Shasta in Michigamme, and the courthouse in Marquette. On our road trip, we hit all these locations - and some side trips that had nothing to do with the movie, but included amazing scenery and delicious pie.

Photo at the Inn, Voelker & Stewart

Thunder Bay Inn

Our first stop and stay was the Thunder Bay Inn which, as of last Fall, had taken on new ownership. Still in a transition period, while also dealing with CDC guidelines, this Inn is being restored with passion by its current owners. Not only was this inn part of the "Anatomy of a Murder" story, but in its early days was the "home away from home" for Ford executives visiting a nearby plant. 

Our road trip crew outside the Lumberjack Tavern.

The charm of the Thunder Bay Inn is that because it is not a chain, the rooms are not standard issue.  We had a nice sized room, with a comfortable bathroom, but twin beds.  Ed and Sandy had a very large room, with a double and twin bed, but a rather small bathroom. A number of rooms along the second floor hallway are dormitory style and share communal restroom facilities.  Again, not the cookie-cutter offering by any means.

In addition to the hotel, there's a delightful restaurant at the front and, in the back, a large gathering room, which, post-quarantine, would make a wonderful event space. There's also a lot of "Anatomy of a Murder" memorabilia and photos scattered around.

Tourists can view outline on floor

Note of pride on Lumberjack wall

It's a short walk from the Inn to the Lumberjack Tavern, a small, very "up-north" rustic bar, with knotty-pine paneling and, for tourists, an outline, in the stylized form taken from the movie's logo, of the murder victim's body, on the hard wood floor.  We had a drink and some tasty snacks as the barkeeper pulled out a large photo album full of  pictures not only from the movie, but of the real defendant, his wife and the victim. 

The film's site for Stewart's home

In Ispheming, Ed's truck reenacts film's opening

From Big Bay, we traveled to Ishepeming to see the actual house used as Jimmy Stewart's home. Although it's a bit shabby in appearance, it wasn't all that glamorous even in 1959. After a drive through the town of  Ishepeming and filming our own reenactment of the beginning of the movie, we went to Mt. Shasta, a log-cabin bar/restuarant on US-41.  The movie used this as the setting for a crowded-bar scene where Duke Ellington played piano alongside Jimmy Stewart while Lee Remick's character partied by the pinball machine.

Mt. Shasta in Michigamme where film's crowded bar scene - including Duke Ellington - was filmed

For two of the parties on this road trip, Mt. Shasta was a staple in our annual trip from our home in Birmingham to my Dad's hometown, just south of the Keweenaw Peninsula. As we passed it, my parents would talk about the locals' tales of when Hollywood came to the UP.  In all those years, we never stopped  or went inside (with four kids in a station wagon, unnecessary breaks along the ten hour trip, were not highly encouraged).

Finally, inside Mt. Shasta!

Great whitefish cakes with Mt. Shasta mug.

On this trip, however, we did stop and go in and what a delightful surprise! Like Thunder Bay Inn, it was under relatively new ownership and "Anatomy of  a Murder" posters line the wall. But the renovated interior décor is downright adorable - buffalo-check tablecloths are spread on dining tables where guests have views of the stone fireplace, Lake Superior and, in one corner, a TV monitor that runs the movie throughout the day. The food was equally impressive. (I had the whitefish cakes and they were delicious!).

Marquette Court House - and, yes, court scenes filmed here.

Final stop on our A of a M tour was the courthouse in Marquette where, as you would guess by now, the courthouse scenes were filmed. Because of quarantine restrictions, tours were not open when we were there, but we walked around the grounds and the downtown area. As a consolation prize, we picked up a few pies at the nearby Iron Bay restaurant and, among a jury of our peers, we found the bakery's pastries guilty of scrumptiousness. 

Pies were not in the film

With all the riding and eating, we concluded our tour on an un-related-to-the-movie stop at Seney National Wildlife Refuge, roughly eighty miles east of Marquette. We hiked along the path and, if you ever question why you live in Michigan, an afternoon spent here will reaffirm, we have one beautiful state. And, although it wasn't the "seney of the crime", we did spot a pie-billed grebe, out of season, but definitely not a jailbird.

Seney of no crime, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, where we did spot a pie-billed grebe.

There weren’t any tea room visits on this trip, but I did purchase a Mt. Shasta mug, which I fill to the brim with hot tea and enjoy on our back deck when I want to channel the beauty of the north and reminisce about the trail of the trial in the upper peninsula. 

We highly recommend the "Anatomy of a Murder" movie and the tour. Two warm-mittened thumb's up to both!

The latest happenings at Tonia's Victorian Rose Tea Room

Tonia's Victorian Rose Tea Room now open for lunch and more!

Tonia's Victorian Rose Tea Room is open for lunch - and a whole lot more!

Like most restaurants (and everything else), Tonia's Victorian Rose faced challenges in the past year due to quarantine restrictions. They offered afternoon-tea-to-go (see BTS blog story, April, 2020, Afternoon Tea from Tonia's Victorian Rose: Curbside pick-up or delivery), limited capacity seating (see BTS blog story, November, 2020, Tonia's Victorian Rose: Great place to socialize with friends with social distancing) and, as Tonia told us this week, tea and cocoa bombs, which proved to be a deliciously popular life-line to the tea room.

Enjoying lunch in the tea room's dining room

Now, still following appropriate measures such as mask-wearing to and from one's table, Tonia's Victorian Rose Tea Room has opened up its dining rooms to almost capacity, while still maintaining six-feet boundaries from every table. They're also gearing up for hosting events and will continue outdoor seating on the grounds.

Quiche Lorraine and a pot of Earl Grey at Tonia's Victorian Rose Tea Room in Rochester

This week, along with my bueno amigo, Laura, I lunched at the downtown Rochester tea room. We enjoyed two pots of tea, along with the Victorian Rose's signature chicken pot pie and a quiche Lorraine. 

Outdoor seating will continue

In a time where most of us have faced a multitude of constant change and adaptation, it's comforting to see a return, although slowly and cautiously, to a bit of normalcy, and the bright, welcoming  and familiar ambiance of Tonia's Victorian Rose's tea room and its scrumptious signature dishes.

Tonia's Victorian Rose Tea Room is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11:00 - 4:00. For more information, see Tonia's Victorian Rose Tea Room's website.

Say 'Cheese', then ask 'Why'? : The mystery of adding cheese to coffee and tea

At BTS our preference is plain tea with cheese on the side

On certain occasions, or maybe as a full-time preference, many of us may add milk or sugar to our coffee or tea, but has cheese ever been a consideration? 

In some parts of the world, the answer is "yes". 

For tea, we sampled "Cheese Tea" from Eli Tea in Birmingham over a year ago - it's a sweet concoction of tea and liquid cheesecake mix.  Although it's more dessert than, say, a cup of Earl Grey, it's not too much of a stretch from adding milk and sugar to a serving of hot tea.

Rachel & Barb of BTS sample cheese tea at Eli's

However, we recently learned about a coffee-cheese drink that does expand greatly on traditional caffeine/dairy pairings, Kaffeost from Scandinavia.

According to an Atlas Obsurca article, Kaffeost is the drink of the Sami people of Lapland - or as they prefer to call the region, in their own language, Sápmi.  Kaffeost is coffee served up with dried cheese, or juusto, traditionally made from Reindeer milk, but now more commonly derived from goat or cow milk.  The cheese is curdled, baked and dried into thin rounds.

Finland trip, Lapland/Sampi where the family saw reindeer whose milk produces juusto for kaffeost

Traditional kaffeost is made by placing the juusto into the bottom of a wooden mug, then pouring the hot coffee on top. One can spoon out chunks of juusto or enjoy scooping out the dregs that line the mug. Kaffeost is traditionally served as a welcoming drink.

My niece at the Arctic Circle, where kaffeost was invented

Although I visited northern Finland with family back in 2001, I was never offered kaffeost and don't recall seeing it served anywhere. I did, however, see a few reindeer when we crossed the Arctic Circle, and perhaps, they provided some juusto for kaffeost in the area.

Kaffeost is not found in Fika

In search of more on kaffeost, I checked "Fika" a book I recently purchased (watch for an upcoming Tea and Tomes feature) that celebrates the Scandinavian custom of the "coffee break" (for those of you who have Swedish grandmothers who set a table for coffee, you know it's not really a "break", but more of  an "event"!). There is no mention of kaffeost and  I surmise that's because it is a drink of those who live in the arctic circle, where temperatures are extreme and call for a bit of odd creativity (think of the sport of curling).

I love tea (and coffee) and cheese, but not so much together. I'll stick to plain tea and coffee with a splash of cream, cheese to be served separately.