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Shrine of the Pines (Raymond W. Overholzer House)
Desirous of paying tribute in his own special way to the beauty and grandeur of Michigan's white pine forests, Overholzer (1892–1952) built an unusual house and its furniture of pine. On the wooded banks of the Pere Marquette River he had Louis Merrill of Merrill Brothers Loggers construct a large L-shaped cabin of pine logs hauled from the forests around Bitely and Baldwin. Overholzer spent the rest of his life painstakingly handcrafting over two hundred pieces of furniture, furnishings, and utensils from pine wood and stumps, fully exploiting the claylike carvability of the sensuous natural forms. All were hand rubbed with resin and pitch to a high-luster finish. The building was Overholzer's home but is now a museum featuring his handiwork.
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