PETOSKEY

The Place

Petoskey is located in the northwestern portion of Michigan's lower peninsula on the Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. Petoskey was named for the Ottawa Chief, Pet-o-sega. The Francis Solanus Indian Mission from 1859 is still standing here. Though it’s beginnings were as a lumber town, small manufacturing and tourism has become the mainstay of the local economy. Petoskey was settled in 1852, was incorporated as a village in 1879, and finally as a city in 1896 [1].

For a more detailed map of Petoskey, click here.

The Story

Hemingway’s experiences in Petoskey might have inspired stories like "The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife", "Ten, Indians", and "The Indians Moved Away", which all seem to have taken place in or near Petoskey. Petoskey, named after an Indian Chief (see above), is rich with Indian history and Hemingway talks a lot about Indians in these stories. Petoskey also began as a small lumber town, and Hemingway talks about that as well in "The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife".

The Hemingway Connection

Ernest Hemingway called Petoskey and the area surrounding it “a priceless place” [2]. Hemingway frequently visited Petoskey in his youth, mainly after it turned too cold in Horton Bay to fish. There, he spent time with Marjorie Bump, a cute summer waitress who was in high school. It is not clear if Hemingway had a romantic interest for Marjorie, but there was a general consensus in the town that he could have her if he wanted to. In fact, there were some in Petoskey who thought that they were engaged. These rumors worried a man named Bill Smith, who was afraid that Ernest would hurt Marge deeply [3-88:89]. This reality was most likely the inspiration for Hemingway to write The End of Something. He even uses the names Marjorie and Bill in the story. In the story, nick goes on a romantic date with Marjorie and tells her that he no longer enjoys being with her. She leaves Nick and then Bill comes into the scene making sure that she was all right.