'Old St. Ignace' Interview Project Shares Memories of Life in Town Over the Years
By Ellen Paquin

Dr. Don McKinnon and Mary Lou McKinnon stand next to an old hitching post in front of her McCann Street home, with a vintage photograph donated to their history project. The house next door was once a meat store, she said, from which meat was loaded directly onto nearby railroad cars.

Recognizing the treasure trove of memories about "old St. Ignace" that must lie within the minds of older people who grew up here, Dr. Don McKinnon and and his daughter, Mary Lou McKinnon, decided this summer to conduct personal interviews with some of the town's longtime residents. The oral history team met with a dozen people in July and August, many of them 90 or more years old, recording their memories of the town and asking for copies of their treasured old photographs, maps, and documents.

Their varied stories offer a glimpse into changes in the town's landscape and culture over many decades, portrayed through the voices of a Great Lakes fisherman, a nurse who visited people's homes before there was a hospital, a longtime city employee who stood up for reforms in city government, a retired school administrator, and others.

The McKinnons plan to compile a booklet from their collection of these personal profiles, and donate the information to the Michilimackinac Historical Society. They encourage others interested in St. Ignace history to begin similar projects to record the town's oral histories.

"With every person we've interviewed, there have been surprises," Ms. McKinnon said Wednesday, September 20. "I think some of these people should write a book themselves! This project has really given me an education about how rich St. Ignace is. It has been here for centuries. We're living on soil that has been lived on by other civilizations."

Ms. McKinnon said she will spend the winter transcribing the recorded interviews and reading books about local history, and will conduct more interviews in the spring. A retired dental hygienist and instructor with Colorado Northwestern Community College, Ms. McKinnon will soon return to her winter home in Kanab, Utah.

She said her St. Ignace home on McCann Street was built many years ago, and the house next door, at 152 McCann, was once a meat packing store. The railroad tracks ran right beside the house, she said, and railroad cars were loaded directly from the meat store. She pointed out that an early Catholic Church once stood where the Shell gas station stands now, and she has read there was a graveyard behind the church, probably in the presentday McCann Street neighborhood.

"I think knowing more about this area can improve the quality of our own lives," Ms. McKinnon said. "We're all living these parallel lives. There is a lot of richness around here. We're lucky; it's such a beautiful place."

Among the older people who grew up here, Ms. McKinnon said a picture emerges of a different St. Ignace, at a time when it wasn't customary for people to travel to nearby towns as often.

"There used to be several department stores downtown, and two theaters," she said. "It's a different place now than it was years ago. People used to stay in town more. The market has changed."

She said older residents remember when new home construction was concentrated in n e i g h b o r h o o d s inside the city, while today many people choose home sites convenient to town, but not inside the city limits. People mentioned a First Ward Pavilion used for dancing and basketball games, she said, and remembered a time when people from Gros Cap would walk into town to attend events at the pavilion.

Dr. McKinnon recalled Moore's roadhouse, located where the casino is now, which was patronized by soldiers stationed at Sault Ste. Marie during World War II.

Others shared memories of the lumbering and fishing industries in the area, and maps.

"There has not been a good map of Indian trails around here," Dr. McKinnon said, but one person interviewed provided such a map for the project. "I think they should be marked out again. People would like to walk them," he said of the trails.

Another man told them his parents, Swedish immigrants who settled at Hessel, were provided food by the local Native Americans to survive their first winter there. Another showed them prehistoric stone implements found on his St. Ignace property.

Dr. McKinnon and Ms. McKinnon began their project by sending letters to people they were interested in talking with.

"We chose people who grew up here and would have memories of the area," Ms. McKinnon said, "and conducted our interviews informally, over coffee. They're not necessarily in-depth interviews. You just can't tell everything." A photograph was taken of each willing subject.

Most people they contacted were willing to help with the project, and Dr. McKinnon attributes that to the fact that all information collected will be donated to the Michilimackinac Historical Society.

"Most people are very accepting of that idea," he said.

Once produced, the compilation can be added to, and will be of interest to present and future generations of the community, Ms. McKinnon said. She invites anyone interested in starting a similar project to call her at (435) 689- 1606 if they need advice on how to begin. She said she would also encourage people to attend the upcoming class about recording life stories at the St. Ignace Public Library, and consider membership in the Michilimackinac Historical Society.

"Every person has a story," she said. "We want to talk to everybody."

Editor's Note: A Write to Share class will be offered at St. Ignace Public Library every Tuesday in October and November, at 3:30 p.m. There is a $5 registration fee. Registration may be made at the library or by calling 643-8318.

For more information about membership in the Michilimackinac Historical Society, call Keith Massaway at 643-6981 or Jennifer McGraw at 643-9613. Membership dues are $25 per year.