NEWS RELEASE
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY
************************* Service set to remember River of History Museum founder
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - (December 21) - The woman who made reality out of the community's idea of having a museum to tell the twin-Saults story is gone.
However, the museum she nurtured will continue, thanks to her efforts, and a memorial service is planned in her name.
The community is invited to a memorial service for Susan Schacher, Ph.D., at 1 p.m. January 12, at St. Mary's Pro Cathedral in Sault Ste. Marie.
A reception will be held after the memorial service at the Sault Tribe's Niigaanagiizhik Ceremonial Building, 11 Ice Circle Dr., across from the Pow-Wow grounds near Big Bear Ice Arena.
Memorials may be left in Schacher's name to the River of History Museum, in care of the Sault Foundation for Culture and History.
A plaque citing her dedication and work to making the museum a reality will be displayed in the future.
Schacher, former director of the Sault's River of History Museum and assistant professor at Lake Superior State University, died November 13 in Marquette at the age of 48.
She was the driving force behind the establishment and growth of the River of History Museum, located in the former Tendercare Nursing Homes headquarters building (previously the Federal Building) on East Portage Avenue.
She was hired by LSSU and the Sault Foundation of Culture and History in September 1990, serving as an assistant professor with the College of Arts and Letters and Social Sciences and the School of Education until last June.
Schacher dedicated herself to working with the museum, speaking to many community and service groups to promote the facility, and held summer "history camps" for area children, hoping to pique their interest in the history of the St. Mary's River valley and the area.
She was especially proud of the strong accent on Native American history and culture displayed at the museum.
Family members said that her work with the museum was her favorite accomplishment.
Schacher also directed archaeological digs at the site of the museum, and at other Eastern Upper Peninsula sites, including Lime Island, always involving LSSU students and others in all such projects.
In recent years, she served as LSSU liaison with the contingent of Japanese students that visited campus each summer.
She planned and directed the visit, set up housing, meals, and extracurricular activities and built strong relationships with both the visiting Japanese instructors and their students.
Schacher also performed duties for the city of Sault Ste. Marie, and was working on restoration of the Maple Ridge Cemetery on Ashmun Hill, signage for various buildings of historical significance and archival work on the history of the Sault at the time of her death.
Schacher earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at Michigan State University.
For her doctoral thesis, she excavated and studied the remains of a Huron village near St. Ignace.
She was featured as "Personality of the Week" in the Sault Evening News in March 1991, when she said: "My work in this area developed my love for the Eastern U.P. and its people, as well as its unique history."
In the same interview, she advised young people to explore every opportunity available in their education and career: "Anything's possible, and you should go after whatever goal you set for yourself."
Schacher was a fun-loving, adventurous person who thoroughly enjoyed any project that had her attention at the moment.
She enjoyed spending time with her husband, Matthew Gendzwill, and daughter, Svetlana, a freshman at LSSU, at their home west of Brimley on Lake Superior.
Even Schacher's house held historical significance, being on the site of a former commercial fishery site and part of the house formerly serving as a cannery.
She enjoyed reading and was an animal lover.
Most of all, though, Schacher thoroughly enjoyed conducting tours of the River of History Museum, especially with younger students, trying to stimulate their understanding of the history of their home area.
She always was willing to come in from home to conduct such tours, and spent much of her time writing grants and trying to raise funds to support the museum.
Schacher was born May 19, 1959 in Columbus, Ohio to Thomas and Linda (Cole) Schacher.
Her father preceded her in death in October of this year.
She is survived by Matt and Svetlana, her mother, Linda of Ortonville, Michigan, a brother, Thomas (Kathy) Schacher of Otsego, a niece, Bethany, and a nephew, Nathan.
PHOTO CAPTION - River of History Director Susan Schacher guides a delegation from Tanzania through the nuances of ice fishing and snowshoeing during a tour this past May.
Photo by John Shibley.
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