Felt Mansion shares history on Eloquence Day

The fifth-graders from Douglas Elementary School looked over the historic collection of Comptometers at the Felt Mansion in Laketown Township on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

“Do you know what these are?” asked the adult guide.

“They’re typewriters,” one student said.

“No, it does math,” said the guide.

“Yeah. A typewriter,” another student said.

The guide described the device — the first machine that could do all four math functions – invented in the 1880s by Dorr Felt, the mansion’s builder and namesake.

“They didn’t even have calculators back then,” the guide said much to the amazement of the students.

About 60 students toured the mansion, 6597 138^th Ave., as part of the 15^th annual Eloquence Day, a way to teach students manners and etiquette over lunch. The Saugatuck Public Schools students wear semi-formal attire such as jackets, ties and dresses.

More than 40 parents volunteered to cook and serve the meals for the students.

This year’s theme was “Night at the Museum,” based on the 2006 film and sequels. A tyrannosaurus rex, hand-crafted from foam and cardboard, greeted the students. Other items such as the Mona Lisa, Egyptian artifacts and tiny Roman legionnaires based on the films, decorated the mansion that was built starting in 1925. The building was finished in 1928. Felt’s wife Agnes died that year. Dorr died 2 years later.

“Eloquence Day serves as a rite of passage for students that will soon leave the elementary school and become teenagers,” said Casey Lokker, event organizer and Douglas Elementary staff member. “Lessons continue to support etiquette and manners, which will be expected of the young adults they are to become. We’ve grown in our mission to include lessons on expanding the palate and maintaining friendly conversation at the table without the use of electronics.”

Lokker said the event helps the students become one — a group of students that will move together through their secondary education adventures.

Outside the mansion, Lokker addressed the students waiting in the sun in their finery.

“Everyone excited for Eloquence Day?” Lokker asked.

“Yes, I can’t wait to have lunch,” said one student.

“It’s too bad you can’t have lunch like this every day!”

After Dorr Felt’s death, the property went on to serve as a minor seminary for the Augustinian order (attended by Pope Leo XIV), a state prison, and a Michigan State Police post before the property was purchased by Laketown Township.

Today, following years of restoration by the Friends of the Felt Estate, the mansion is a top cultural, educational, and event destination, welcoming thousands of visitors annually.