Welcome from another Michigander.
Patience goes far in research...
Write down a list of leads and continue to add to it.
Keep them separate and peck away at one at a time.
It's kind of disappointing to find one was mostly smoke and facts don't fit. But saves you going down a rabbit hole in the field , vs at home.
History. And people. Accurate accounts. Or as accurate as you can get. Then dig into actuality , logic, reality.
It's o.k. to end up scratching your head after being convinced you had something nailed down.
That can be due to the site itself when first visited. That's alright. Add notes to your account/individual list of that lead.
Then get going on the next lead.
Putting a lead aside sometimes is part of having options of other leads. And saves frustration sometimes. Revisit if new information comes to light. Or site conditions or ownership or use change.
Local recounting of times and events can be found in a library's historic or biography areas. Small communities can have a publication that just didn't get well traveled.
From a groups work. Or an individuals.
Take a look sometime. ...
Historical societies have members with lots of knowledge of the past. No , they don't exist to hand us leads. But some members lived history. As have all seniors.
A couple seniors in your area know sites no longer recognized for the activities on them.
Took me two guesses to find a former gas station site going past the other day. It's just a fallow area with a hint of concrete today. (I saw it being tore down years ago.)
Did it have a coin operated pop machine outdoors for decades? A pay phone? Attendants with change "machines" on thier belts?
Despite the many bottle caps , did coins get dropped and not recovered.
Mi. offers snow 3-5 months average here and there. Some days even known drops get/got ignored if it's bitter. A silver dime dropped in deep fluffy snow?
Michigan
