The Alexandria Code

Mikel B. Classen has been writing and photographing northern Michigan in newspapers and magazines for forty years, creating feature articles about the life and culture of Michigan's north country. A journalist, historian, photographer and author with a fascination of the world around him, he enjoys researching and writing about lost stories from the past. He is founder of the U.P. Reader and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. In 2020, Mikel won the Historical Society of Michigan's, George Follo Award for Upper Peninsula History. Classen makes his home in the oldest city in Michigan, historic Sault Ste. Marie. He is also a collector of out-of-print history books, and historical photographs and prints of Upper Michigan. At Northern Michigan University, he studied English, history, journalism and photography. His books, Au Sable Point Lighthouse, Beacon on Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast; was published in 2014 and Teddy Roosevelt and the Marquette Libel Trial; was published in 2015 by the History Press. He's written a book of fiction called Lake Superior Tales, which won the 2020 U.P. Notable Book Award. Points North is a non- fiction travel book published in 2019 which has received the Historical Society of Michigan's, "Outstanding Michigan History Publication," along with a 2021 U.P. Notable Book Award. Since then, he has released, True Tales, the Forgotten History of Michigan's Upper Peninsula; and Faces, Places, & Days Gone By, a Pictorial History of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Mikel is co-author of the Yooper Ale Trails along with Jon C. Stott all published by Modern History Press. To learn more about Mikel B. Classen and to see more of his work, go to his website at www.mikelbclassen.com.