- [Tom] On this warm and wooly episode of UTR, we're in Frankenmuth for a historic trolley, bonafide bedding, a museum full of Michigan memories, and a church that's older than your grandma's secret strudel recipe.

Get ready to explore the cool people, places, and things that make Frankenmuth so fantastisch, ya.

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- We've been around the world, but there's one place we keep coming back to, and the more we explore, the more we realize it's the place to be.

I'm Tom Daldin.

- And I'm Jim Edelman.

- And this is "Under The Radar Michigan."

- "Under The Radar Michigan."

(upbeat music) - You know, Frankenmuth is like a warm apple strudel, it's sweet, classic, and layered with tons of history and community spirit.

You know, that sounds pretty good.

I just might have to get me one of those.

Here, traditions are alive in every cobblestone, and the welcoming atmosphere makes each visit both comforting and unforgettable.

Oh, and don't forget tasty.

Mm chicken dinners.

Frankenmuth was settled way back in 1845 by 15 German Lutheran missionaries.

Today, Frankenmuth, which means courage of the Franconian, has grown into one of Michigan's most iconic small towns where heritage isn't just preserved, it's proudly practiced.

Yep, this storybook village blends old world charm with Midwest heart.

It draws nearly three million visitors every year with a unique mix of Bavarian style, chicken dinners, pleasing pilsner's, choice cheeses, and heartfelt history.

But where might it be?

Well, let's take a look.

Frankenmuth is nestled right between Flint and Saginaw on the banks of the Cass River.

It's a must-stop for Michigan adventure seekers, and as you'll soon see, trolley-riding history hounds.

Now our adventure starts right here on the Golden Ticket Trolley, Frankenmuth's chariot of knowledge.

Like the way I said that?

Yep, this terrific tour isn't just a ride, it's a gateway to discovering the true spirit of this town.

The Golden Ticket Trolley takes you on a 45 minute guided ride through Frankenmuth with a healthy helping of history, charm, and fun facts that you'll be sure to wanna share at dinner.

I met up with Vicky Livingston, owner, driver, and official Frankenphile for a spin around town and some stories that you won't find on any map.

What little voice in your head, and I'm assuming there's only one voice, told you to do this, to do what you do?

- I don't know.

You know, I used to work in healthcare and when we moved here 13 years ago, I had an hour and a half drive to work every day.

So I had three hours a day to think about things, right, and during the pandemic and when everything was shut down, I didn't have, there wasn't really anything to do so I started exploring other parts of Frankenmuth that aren't as well known, and it became really interesting to me.

And so the more I looked into it, the more I thought, wow, there's a lot of stuff here that a lot of people don't know about.

And the more I learned about it, the more I wanted to share it with the public.

- Yeah, and speaking of not knowing things, it's kind of an unwritten rule at our house, my wife and I, whenever we travel, we always take a tour of whatever city we're going to or whatever region because you learn so much and that's how you find out the places to shop, the places to go, the things to see.

And I also tell people that even if you've been to a city a hundred times and you feel like you've run out of things to see and do- - Yeah.

- Take a tour, because then you find out something new every time.

- Exactly.

- Well, speaking of where to go, I mean, this tour takes about, what, 45 minutes?

- Yes.

- But you actually customize the tours, correct?

Don't you do different kinds?

- For the most, well, yes, I do the 45 minute tour, the Hidden Gems and History tour of Frankenmuth but I also, during the holidays, do a Christmas Light tour, which I don't talk as much during that, that's more of, we listen to fun music.

I do tell some fun facts about all of the Christmas Lights that are in Frankenmuth and, you know, corny jokes and trivia, things like that.

So that's more of a just a sit back and let's look at all the beauty here.

But, and we also do, I do rentals, so I do a lot of weddings.

- If people wanna find you, where can they find the trolley?

- So I am located in the parking lot of River Place shops.

So if you pull in the main entrance and you just follow the sidewalk, you'll see the trolley parked right in the back.

And I have a little ticket booth.

- Well, what are some of the reactions you get from people?

Because obviously you love what you do.

What do people, you must love sharing what you love about town with people.

- Yeah, you know, people will say, I've had people that will have friends or family visiting them that actually live here and they want their friends and family to learn more about Frankenmuth, and so they'll bring 'em on the tour.

And then when they get off the tour and say, "I have lived here my whole life and you taught me things that I really never, I never knew."

And so that's how I know I'm, when I have a local tell me that they learn something, then that is, that's- - Yeah.

- very gratifying.

- I was gonna say, what's the most rewarding thing you do, and that's probably one of them, the fact that you're enlightening people, telling them things that it's right in their, hence the name of our show "Under the Radar," we tell people about things that are in their backyard, they had no idea were there.

- [Vicky] Yeah, exactly.

- [Tom] And you do the tour year round?

- No, I do shut down.

So Christmas is my busiest season because I do the 45 minute tour, and then I do Christmas Light tours at night, so that's my busy season.

So after Christmas is over, I do close down for the majority of the winter and then reopen in the spring.

Just, yeah, just because.

- [Tom] I meant to ask you, how did you get the name Lucy for your trolley?

- Okay, so, well, first of all, I have two children and when we purchased the trolley, we got her from Door County, Wisconsin, and I call that Lucy's previous life.

Back in Door County, her name was Katie.

And the reason I chose Lucy is because it's the name of my grandmother.

She passed away four years before I was born, and so I never had a chance to meet her, and it just felt like the perfect fit for the vehicle, also, the fact that I have two children, it got me out of that sticky situation of which one to name it after so (Tom laughing) (Vicky indistinct) - Now there's a smart mom.

(Tom and Vicky laughing) From the city's 9/11 memorial to the house that looks like a gingerbread cottage, This is a ride you simply need to take.

So next time you're in Frankenmuth, check out the Golden Ticket Trolley.

It's like a really fun, interactive rolling encyclopedia, only with a bell.

(bell ringing) Bonus.

(bright music) The Frankenmuth Woolen Mill is like the town's favorite sweater crafted with care.

It's a bit of old world magic mixed with just the right amount of comfort.

It's been keeping little Bavaria and beyond warm since 1894.

What started as a humble little mill serving local farmers has become a national and a natural source of bedding, comforters, mattress pads and pillow covers, all made with 100% American wool.

I caught up with Abby Curtis to learn how this cozy tradition came to be.

I can't tell you how excited I've been to come here today, just because walking in here is like walking into a museum that's still making great things.

I mean it's, this is incredible.

How old is this machine?

- This machine is from the 1870s and it was installed here in the mill in the 1930s.

So this was bought used.

(Tom and Abby laughing) - Yeah, right, yeah.

But the fact that you're still using it today, and that these wheels and gears have been turning for over a century is just amazing to me.

- I know it's a, this is still a production machine.

We make all of our pillows on it, we make comforters, mattress toppers.

- Oh, when I think of all the lives this place has touched over the, I mean, how many years now?

- We've been in business since 1894.

So two world wars, two pandemics, and a lot of stuff in between.

- Well, why is your wool so soft?

'Cause a lot of times when you think of wool sweaters and stuff, they're really scratchy and itchy but this feels so different, why is that?

- Well, we don't use any chemicals in the processing, so it doesn't strip the wool of all of its natural lana laine, and so it still stays springy and soft.

Most people that feel like wool is too itchy and stuff, they're allergic to something that's happened in the processing.

- Gotcha.

Okay.

- So we process organically.

- What does it mean to you personally to carry on, 'cause this place is a tradition, a legacy, it's a landmark place, it's part of history, it's part of who we are, and who this town is, what does that mean to you?

- Well, I think it's, it's really special to be able to sort of carry that legacy forward and then to be able to build on it, but not lose sight of where you came from or who you are.

So we've done some construction projects trying to bring ourselves into the new century, and that's, we built around this room.

My husband and I talk a lot, we probably would've been a lot less expensive to tear it down and just start over again.

But like, this feels good in here, like you were just bouncing to the beat of the line shaft and- - [Tom] I couldn't work in here 'cause the rhythmic sound is so nice, I just go right this way.

- But it feels good, it feels good on your feet, it just, it feels good to work here.

And that's why these guys are still here, you know?

- [Tom] I mean, can you tour this?

Can you come back and actually see the machines?

- Yeah.

We have a couple of ways to tour.

Our guided tours are a minimum of 10 people and we have to set them up in advance because we're a working piece of history.

So we need to be sure that we can stop and start and all that good stuff.

In the store we also have like iPads where you can do an interactive tour, you can tour through the building, and then there's videos and stuff that you can view from the store in an interactive type setting.

- So you don't just supply for Frankenmuth anymore with woolen products, you guys are US, all across the country, - Correct?

Yeah, we have an internet business and that internet business might eclipse our retail business this year.

So we are shipping, betting, wool betting all over the United States every day.

- We're all getting used to sitting home in our PJs and just, I'll take some of that and some of that.

- Right.

- But, I do encourage people to come here, and first of all, Frankenmuth is a magical town, but, and actually come to see the process and see the mill, and meet you guys.

And it's just, I really enjoy meeting the people and the artists who create what I have.

All the art in my home, I've met the artists, I've heard their story, and the fact that now I can go to bed at night and put my little head in my pillow and go, I met the people who made this pillow, it's just, it's just, it makes life more interesting.

It gives- - Yeah.

- Just to have stories.

- Well, you can't really go very many places and find something that's made from start to finish by local people that, I mean every, everything, every comforter that you purchase from us has the signed thing of who made it.

- Do the sheep sign it too?

- Little hoove print.

(Tom and Abby laughing) - That'd be awesome.

- It would.

- We're not there yet, we'll put that on our things-to-do list.

- With wool that wicks, breathes, and cradles you like a sheepish hug, this place proves that tradition never goes out of style, especially when it's machine washable.

So if you've had enough of synthetic fibers, find your way to the Frankenmuth Woolen Mill, it's a plush blast from the past that's quickly becoming the future.

(bright music) Now if you guys come to the Frankenmuth Historical Association, you just might bump into a few stories that you didn't know you needed to know.

Don't you know?

Yep, around every corner there's a flash of the unexpected.

It's history with a dash of Bavarian flair.

From the town's German roots to its World War II history and brewing heritage, the 10 galleries here paint an amazing picture of Frankenmuth's journey.

My copious curiosity led me straight to Dr.

Nathan Seeley, the museum's resident history enthusiast, wrangler of 35,000 artifacts, an unofficial keeper of Frankenmuth secrets.

When we started doing the show, I used to think that museums were stuffy places.

And then we started going to museum after museum, and they really are enlightening and they're fun and you learn so much, and it's funny, you feel more connected to the area you're in if you do the museum first.

- No doubt, yeah, I think our history, and museums in general, they help give us a of place and where we come from, and you know, discovering your roots is really important to finding out who you are just as in an individual.

And then when you talk about a community's history, we're really fortunate to have this museum here to celebrate and preserve our community's history.

- And Frankenmuth is such a wonderfully historic place, I mean, the mural alone behind us where, who did this?

- This was a local artist, Stephen Hargash, and it took him about eight months to do this in total, a couple months on the drawing board, another six months in here in the museum.

Funny story, he was in here kind of doing the fine details when the museum hours were open, and visitors would kind of come around this corner and they'd see him and he'd kind of scare him a little bit, 'cause he was a mannequin almost.

And they kind of thought.

So yes, this mural is really wonderful, it kind of tells the entirety of Frankenmuth's history and there's a lot of detail that goes into it.

- But yeah, 10 different galleries, and you've got everything from, you've got some of the letters from the settlers who came back here originally?

- Yes, so I've worked in a lot of different museums and one thing I've been amazed about in Frankenmuth is just how well locals preserve this history and care for it.

We have an annual auction every year that we couldn't exist without local donations and things like that, and we have an artifact collection thanks to locals preserving that history of over 35,000 artifacts.

- Yeah.

And I love the way the museum's laid out, you'd start with the boat ride over, which was no picnic, I mean, we complain nowadays if our flight is five minutes late and my Pepsi is a little warm, but back then, I mean you lost family members, you, I mean the, just to get to America and that they had to, you had to bring your own food on the boat, for goodness sake.

Can you imagine, you get on the plane, it's just like, where's my snack?

Well, did you bring a snack?

Well, no.

Yeah, but the way it's laid out, so you actually walk through the history of the... Yeah, back then things were tough, but I just like, it's a little microcosm of how, I mean, this is, this town is the perfect example of the American dream.

Immigrants came here, they worked hard, they made their way here, they made it, they built a church, made a town, and now look what it's turned into.

It's turned into like this shining star of Michigan.

- Yeah, and I think, so, funny enough, a couple years ago we did a survey of locals, our last galleries kind of locals telling their own history through interviews.

And we also sent a survey out and we asked people to identify, if you could think of one of the most important qualities of Frankenmuth, give us to us in one word.

And so the words they picked out were faith, heritage, and gemutlichkeit.

And that word means hospitality essentially.

- Yes.

- In German, and so I think that's what Frankenmuth is all about and people think about when they come to Frankenmuth, and we are definitely a product of that, especially the locals hospitality.

- I mean, they did miss cheese, beer and chicken, but other than that- - No, we got a few of those.

We got a few of those.

- But you're right.

I mean, what are some of your favorite hidden gems here at the museum?

Because you've got 35,000 artifacts, so.

- Sure.

So we do have some, we have a piece of a plane of the Jackie, it was called in our World War II Gallery.

There's a whole story behind that, there was a company in town called Universal Engineering, and they helped to contribute to the war effort during World War II in really unique ways.

And so one of the ways they did that is locals that worked through Universal Engineering, a hundred percent of the workforce donated and they all raised $50,000.

They basically gave that money to the army to build a P51 Mustang fighter plane.

And that plane flew over in the Pacific and the pilot shot down eight enemy Japanese aircraft.

And so we have a piece of that plane on display.

- Wow.

And the museum is open?

- The museum's open seven days a week, except in the wintertime, we have a little lull of the season.

But we're open seven days a week, 10 to five, Fridays and Saturdays 10 to seven, and Sundays 12 to five.

- Awesome.

From an Oregon trail style game to letters from early settlers, the Frankenmuth Historical Association brings this town's past to life with all the stories that shape this community.

So be sure to stop by next time you're here, because when you step inside, you'll realize that these treasures are just the tip of the Bavarian iceberg.

(bright music) Well, now that we've explored a lot of Frankenmuth's fascinating history, it's time to follow the story all the way back to its spiritual roots.

(giggling) Hold on.

How was that?

(angelic echoing) Said I could have done it better.

Now you can't really understand Frankenmuth without understanding the church that started the whole thing.

And that my friends is St.

Lorenz Lutheran Church.

It's the very reason Frankenmuth exists.

It was founded by the town's original 15 German settlers and help shape the community's values, traditions, and even architecture.

I met up with Pastor Brad Hubbard and historian Chris Nuechterlein to learn more about the church's powerful past and vibrant present.

Whenever I go to a historic place for the first time, I always like to try and imagine myself being there when it was first built, when something was first, you know, what life was like back then, what it looked like back then.

But I understand if I was standing here where this church was originally built, it was across the street?

- Coming over in 1845, imagine there is nothing here.

And the people who came here didn't know where they were really going in the sense of they're coming to America, they're coming to Michigan, but this spot, they really didn't know what was it like?

'Cause there wasn't anybody here.

The closest town is Saginaw, the County seat, but it has about 45 people in it.

So when they got here that first time in 1845 in August, the first thing is where are we gonna sleep?

What are we going to eat?

There is nothing around.

And so you're right, across the street is where they built the first church and that's where they had, if you wanna pick a date, August 18th, 1845 across the street.

- And that was just a little log cabin church, or?

- They built a bunkhouse for everyone to stay at.

And then the first log cabin building was a church, but it was also the place where August Kampf, the pastor at the time, and his family would stay and that's where the school would start in the following year.

So they had a bunkhouse for the first 15 settlers to stay at.

And then of of course, that first church/school/pastor's residence, yeah, was constructed.

- Wow, and this church, I mean, you maintain your German heritage in traditions.

I mean, don't you even do a sermon in German?

- [Brad] Well, the sermon's not in German, but- - Oh.

- the liturgy is, so it's a worship service that we hold once a month, and it's led by a native speaking German person who also speaks English.

But we have German liturgy and worship and hymns, and then the sermon will be in English by one of our retired pastors, pastor Bill Hosemann.

So we hold that service once a month.

And there's also the Lord's Supper provided with that.

- I can't leave here without talking about the stained glass.

Oh my goodness.

And it tells a story, correct?

- It does.

So the first church, as you said, was across the street, this church was built in 1880.

And frankly, the first church stopped about here, right where we're talking, and behind me was the altar.

Then in 1965, they basically cut the church in half, pushed the altar all the way back to where it is today, opened up the sides, and then built what we see here.

That's when the stained glass windows came in 1965.

They were from a firm in Fort Wayne.

And they tell the story of our history, but they tell the story of mission, the great command of Christ, "Go, ye therefore, and preach the gospel to all the nations" is on one side, the Christmas story's on the other, and the story of Frankenmuth is about the lower thirds of each window.

- How do you keep up also with modern times?

I mean churches, I mean, do you do podcasts, do you do things like that?

- All of our services are streamed.

And so if they go on our website, stlorenz.org, they're able to look at our services both here in the sanctuary and also over our worship event center, and also our school chapels and some of our special events that we have and host too.

That German service, though interestingly, is broadcast, obviously through the web- - Yeah.

- But it's used by language classrooms and other folks that are interested in the German language and German heritage, along with, again, our members and folks who are out of town.

- Yeah, this town comes alive so much during Christmas.

It's one of my favorite places to be during holidays.

What do you guys do that's special?

- Well, first throughout the town, November and December is Christmas here in Frankenmuth.

So we get two months of Christmas and it culminates here on Christmas Eve.

And you can imagine worshipers here, and it's the final song, and the lights go down and there's, lights from our decorations and candles are the only thing that's glowing and we sing "Silent Night."

And of course, one of the stanzas will be in German.

- I'm starting to well up already, that sounds beautiful, beautiful.

You think I'm worth saving.

Can you save me?

- Absolutely.

There's always room.

- You're a brave man- - (indistinct) for more.

So you're most welcome here.

(Tom giggling) - St.

Lorenz Lutheran Church is where faith, culture, and community come together.

You know, like sauerkraut and bratwurst.

And inside you'll find hymns, festivals, and the welcoming spirit of the original German settlers.

It's where tradition truly thrives.

From golden trolleys and warm wool to rich history and Bavarian blessings, Frankenmuth proves that tradition isn't just preserved here, it's proudly shared.

So whether you're here for comfort, culture, or just to say you rode on a terrific trolley, just like their famous wooden bridge, Frankenmuth got you covered.

Get it?

Covered.

Oh boy.

(classical music) Well, now that we... Okay.

Well now that we've looked at a lot of Frankenmuth's, oh sorry.

You know Frankenmuth is like a warm apple strudel, it's- - two cars.

- Two cars.

It's two cars.

- Two cars.

- This time it's two cars.

Historical Association, you just might bump into a big truck.

It's loud and making noise.

Here he comes.

Woo, big truck.

I'm a big trucking man.

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More info StahlsAuto.com.

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