By Gari Voss
Author and storyteller Larry Massie received the Library of Michigan’s 2021 Michigan Author Award in January 2022. Due to some changes at the State level, the announcement did not receive its usual kudos until recently when friends and colleagues wanted Massie’s accomplishments to be celebrated on a wider scale.
HONORS RECEIVED
Many residents of Allegan County, and beyond, have enjoyed the many books Massie has published on Michigan history. As the author of more 22 best-selling books on Michigan history, Massie has been sought to lecture at universities, libraries, schools and festivals on the lower and upper peninsulas.
Born in Grand Rapids (1947), Larry arrived in Allegan in 9th grade and graduated of Allegan High School (1964). As with many young men of his era, he served in Vietnam and was a decorated combat veteran. After returning, Massie attained three college degrees from Western Michigan University (WMU) where he became an archivist until 1983 when he ventured out as a freelance historian and focused on writing and speaking about his passion – Michigan History.
The Michigan Author Award was established in 1992 by the Michigan Library Association to recognize significant Michigan authors for their lifetime achievements. The award is currently facilitated by the Library of Michigan and Michigan Center for the Book.
“Larry is the first ever author of history to be recognized for their achievements with a Michigan Author Award,” explained his wife Priscilla.
That said, in 2007, the Historical Society of Michigan had honored Massie with Michigan’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award. This made Massie a twice-recognized trailblazer.
Massie’s passion for Michigan history is demonstrated in his 22 best-selling books such as Voyages into Michigan’s Past which is truly a series of short stories on Michigan’s checkered history, Pig Boats and River Hogs, and Potawatomi Tears & Petticoat Pioneers. There are other books that focus on specific areas such as Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Holland, plus more including the history of Western Michigan University.
In addition to books, Larry frequently wrote columns centered on Michigan history for the Kalamazoo Gazette, Grand Rapids Press, and The Ann Arbor News. As a storyteller, Massie has brought to life a variety of characters – Great Lakes ship captains, adventurous voyageurs, rugged lumberjacks, and entrepreneurs in all shapes and sizes.
Massie’s wife Pricilla is also an author and historian with books that specialize on Michigan’s culinary history. Included in their coauthored tomes is the award-winning cookbook Walnut Pickles and Watermelon Cake: A Century of Michigan Cooking.
LIBRARY INVENTORY DONATED
Not only do Larry and Pricilla have a passion for writing, but they have a propensity for collecting literature focusing on Michigan history, not to mention cookbooks. Their library grew to some 45,000 volumes, which led them to make decisions on how to distribute such a revered collection.
The decisions impelled the couple to make significant donations to the two Portage high schools and the South Haven Historical Society. About half of the Massie antiquarian book collection was purchased by the Larry J. Bell Library Foundation of Kalamazoo. Later, the couple donated the other half to complete that collection.
Most recently, the Historical Society of Michigan (HSM) became the recipient of approximately 7,000 copies of books which Massie had written. As the oldest cultural organization in Michigan founded in 1828, it seemed prudent to gift a nongovernmental nonprofit that focuses on organizations, publications and awards promoting the history of Michigan.
Larry J. Wagenaar, HSM’s executive director and CEO, was reported stating, “We are incredibly grateful for Larry Massie’s generosity in sharing his work with HSM, which will help expand the reach of our Michigan history education mission. Larry has the ability to bring history alive in person and on the pages of his books, and this allows him to continue to connect with people of all ages.”
To which Massie responded, “I have enjoyed telling the story of Michigan’s past for decades. Putting some of my books in the hands of the Historical Society of Michigan will ensure that people in our state and beyond will have access to those stories for a long time to come.”
The Massie legacy continues. Both Larry and Priscilla are gracious in sharing their love of history in a variety of ways. On a person level, when researching historic stories for the Allegan County News, I will strike out on a print search only to revert to a phone call to the Massie home. On more than one occasion, I have received a verbal introduction and education on the topic at hand. This is topped off with, “You could go to the Allegan District Library and pick up my book . Look in chapter or on page _, and you should find some additional information that I may have forgotten.” Heavens, there are days I cannot remember where I placed my car keys. How can Larry remember the page of a book?
Larry Massie is one of the gems in Allegan’s crown. His passion for Michigan history is a gift to citizens of Allegan County and beyond. The lifetime achievement awards are an outward sign of an invisible spirit from which we all benefit. Thank you, Mr. Massie, for enriching our lives.