• Bridge Michigan is checking things off our summer bucket list and telling the stories behind each item
  • As part of the series, a reporter hiked to the top of Mount Arvon and found a mysterious gravestone
  • The marker was for a person named Virginia Cleveland who died in 2022 but not much else is publicly known about her

As part of the Michigan Dreaming Ultimate Bucket List series, Bridge Michigan reporters have been checking things off a list of 10 under-the-radar activities voted on by readers, and telling stories along the way.

When Outdoors Life Reporter Laura Herberg hiked to the top of Mount Arvon, Michigan’s tallest mountain, back in May, she found something that she wasn’t expecting. 

There was a gravestone that read: “Virginia Cleveland: April 17, 1952 to September 9, 2022. Loving Mother.”

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Who was this woman and why was she buried at the top of Michigan’s highest natural point? 

Herberg thought a simple Google search would lead to answers, but it didn’t. 

Click on the audio player below to hear what Herberg learned instead.

The episode was produced by Bridge Michigan in partnership with Interlochen Public Radio. It contains music by Joystock – https://www.joystock.org.

The summer bucket list series

This story is a part of Bridge’s own Michigan Dreaming Bucket List series. We put together 10 Michigan gems to add to your summer bucket list with input from readers like you. Now our staff is ticking them off, one story at a time. Follow along here!

Here’s what we’ve done so far:

#10 — Ride the Silver Lake Dunes

#8 — Chill with sled dogs at MI Dog

#5 — Visit the monks at the Jampot bakery

#6 — ‘Climb’ to the top of Mount Arvon

#1 — Sleep in a lighthouse

Thank you to our Bridge Michigan Outdoors sponsors

Porter Family Foundation

Bridge Michigan Outdoors is made possible by generous financial support from our sponsors. Please visit the About page for more information and to subscribe to Bridge Michigan Outdoors. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact Emma Carr.

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