The state stone of Michigan is the Petoskey Stone. It’s actually bits of fossilized coral – remnants of a giant reef of coral that thrived during the Devonian Period (about 400 million years ago). I’ve been searching for these rocks along the northeastern shore of Lake Michigan since I was a child.
As you can see, there are some variances within the different fossils. Pictured here are both polished and unpolished stones.
The stone is named after Chief Petoskey. This is his story.
Petoskey (or Petosegay) was born in the Michigan Territory in the early 1800’s. His parents were a French trader named Antoine Carre and an Ottawan woman. As the story goes, his father viewed his newborn son at dawn just as the sunrays peeped through the clouds and illuminated his child’s face. Antoine then named him Petosegay which is Ottawan for “rising sun”, “rays of dawn” or “sunbeams of promise.”
Petosegay thrived, married Kewaykabawikway, the daughter of an Ottawan chieftain and they had ten children. He rose to be a respected chieftain and a wealthy fur trader. Petosegay procured significant tracts of land along the Little Traverse Bay of northern Lake Michigan.
The Town of Petoskey was incorporated on part of his landholdings and was named after the chieftain. He is said to have gone along with the Anglicized adaptation of his name.
Petoskey stones were first found on the shore of his land.
Governor George Romney signed legislation designating the Petoskey as the state stone of Michigan. One of the chief’s granddaughters, Ella Jane Petoskey, was present at the signing ceremony.
It would appear the Petosegay (Sunbeams of Promise) was well-named. In the midst of a century where most Native Americans endured extreme hardship and/or annihilation, he and his family prospered. He lived up to his promise.
But then, are not all of us born full of promise, in one way or another?
What if each of us chose to believe that our lives are full of promise – from our first day to our last?
What if we believed that each day is a new start? That we can put past mistakes, failures, fractured relationships, and other pain behind us? That we can start afresh – no matter our age, no matter our physical condition, no matter our financial situation…..
Each day sunbeams of promise greet each of us.
Each day we choose how we will accept this gift.
We can sit in our pain. We can sit in our well-told stories of victimhood.
Or we can fully accept this gift of life.
Are you ready to live up to your promise?
