Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts History

What do you remember most about the store and your parents growing up? I began my tenure at Shorter’s Indian Craft Shop at the early age of five. Each spring at first snowmelt my father and I would travel along the Tunnel of Trees lakeshore north of Harbor Springs to purchase items crafted...
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The second branch of Shorter’s Gifts opened in Indian River in 1960 in a log cabin building. This was a seasonal shop that operated from May to December and was run by many of my family members, including my dad. The Indian River store closed after the 1983 season. The Shorter’s franchis...
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In 1950, the shop acquired more space in the building and more than doubled in size. Two years later the Petoskey Evening News reported that “Shorter’s Indian Craft Shop, here seven years, is one of the few summer businesses that operate solely in this city. Carl Shorter, who spends his win...
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This is the story about Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts and, believe it or not, it all starts with a grandpa. My grandpa’s grandpa in fact. I'm Jennifer Shorter and this is the story and legacy of Grandpa Shorter. Homer Shorter moved to Northern Michigan in 1860, just a few years after white settler...
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