Two exhibits on display at Northern Michigan University

MARQUETTE — The Beaumier Heritage Center began featuring two new exhibits in their gallery in Gries Hall on June 15th.

The exhibits on display are ‘The Making of Anatomy of a Murder’ and ‘Wooden Boats Afloat’.

Although they are two very different exhibits, they are both important to the history of the Upper Peninsula.

“One is the exhibit celebrating ‘Anatomy of a Murder,’ the book was written by John Voelker and was made into a film in 1959. It’s celebrating the 60th anniversary of the film coming out. The other exhibit is called ‘Wooden Boats Afloat’ and it’s about wooden boat building in the Upper Peninsula. It was created by the Bonifas Art Center and we have it on loan from them” said the Heritage Center Director, Daniel Truckey.

The ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ exhibit was originally created in 2009 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film. It features twelve individual panels mounted in six banner stands. On the panels there are dozens of rare images from the making of the film, a time-line for the book, film and Voelker’s life and also links to oral history interviews with some of the participants.

In honor of the 60th anniversary of ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ the film will be played on July 1st at 1 p.m. at the Marquette County Courthouse, which is one of the places that were featured in the film.

The ‘Wooden Boats Afloat’ is a Michigan Humanities Council project that documents for the first time the wooden boat-building heritage of the Upper Peninsula. The exhibit looks at the role of wooden boats in the U.P.’s economic, social, and cultural settings.

Contributions include input from boat enthusiasts and experts from restoration boatyards, Huron Mountain Club, Westshore Fishing Museum, commercial fishermen, and rowing clubs.

The exhibits are free and open to the public and will be on display until September.