Lucille and the fossils

Brenda Martin | Jul 06, 2016

Long time summer resident of Big Clear Lake of Arden, Lucille Harper, will turn 102 years old on July 9th. Although her home is Perry, Michigan she and her husband, Gordon summered in Canada for over 60 years. Lucille has slowed down considerably and lets someone else cut her grass, trim her hedges and paint the house. She spent much of the winter at her son's house in Indiana. Lucille returned home in February to deal with an exciting discovery.

In the photo, Lucille is at a museum of Michigan State University by a display of ancient elk bones more than 5000 years old. It is a strange story. The antlers and skull were discovered in 1984 in a peat bog on the Harper farm. When researchers from the museum came to excavate the site, the remains were gone. More than 30 years later someone anonymously sent them to Michigan State. The Harper family agreed to donate the remains.

Lucille is delighted that the fossils have mysteriously been returned. She says “Howdy!” to all her Canadian friends.