R.I.P. Harry Allingham (Updated Again)

Now here's a nice surprise in a follow up to my two earlier posts on the amazing life of Briton, Harry Allingham, who died two weeks ago at age 113:

It turns out that Mr. Allingham had visited the U.S. many times in his life, and at least four of those times he spent right here in the Leelanau peninsula of Michigan within a few miles of our northern compound!

The story is that his daughter married a U.S. airman at the end of WWII. A B-17 pilot to be precise. So she came to Grand Rapids with her husband in 1946. They started a family there, and one of their children (Harry's grandson) ended up living in Empire. That's where Harry would visit, and sail and fish Lake Michigan as recently as 1997. (Heck, he was only 101!)

So Henry was in the area those few times, and it is told, thoroughly enjoyed the water while he explored the entire peninsula. You might still see his family motoring in local waters in their 36-foot Hinkly picnic boat, named the Henry A.!

Well, there you go: a bit of history where the oldest man in the world spent some of those many, many days of his life right here "up north". It probably added to his longevity! It sure didn't hurt, did it?