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August 2, 2007 / Front Page

Bridge 50th Celebration Tops All Expectations

By Karen Gould

With cheers, tears, and exclamations of awe, the Mackinac Bridge was celebrated by thousands over the weekend for connecting Michigan's peninsulas for 50 years. More...

Mackinac County Relay for Life Raises $33,000

Memories of those who have perished, and inspiring stories of those who have survived cancer, were shared at the 11th annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life fundraiser at the LaSalle High School track in St. More...

Hospital To Be Smoke Free

By Ryan Schlehuber

Patients and staff will soon breathe a little easier at clinics in St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, and Naubinway as Mackinac Straits Hospital and Health Center plans to implement a tobacco-free policy Saturday, September 1. More...

Clydesdales Are Big Hit During Week-long Tour in Straits of Mackinac

By Amy Polk

The presence of the worldfamous Budweiser Clydesdales team drew surprisingly large crowds in St. Ignace and Cedarville last week, from the arrival of the horses in St. Ignace Monday, July 23, through their final day in the area Sunday, July 29. More...

Log Books Viewed at Bagley Book Signing

Twenty years ago, Jim Litzner (second from right) a Michigan Department of Transportation employee, discovered some of the original State Ferry log books while cleaning the attic of the MDOT garage on State Street in St. Ignace. More...

News

1957 Miss Michigan Shares Journal Highlights From Mackinac Bridge Opening Events

By Karen Gould

Valerie Strong Agresta rode in the first car that crossed the Mackinac Bridge when it opened to vehicle traffic November 1, 1957. She was Miss Michigan. "What better place to be?" she asked rhetorically of the event that took place 50 years ago. More...

Mackinac Bridge Museum To Reopen in Mackinaw City

For more than three years, from May 7, 1954, to November 1, 1957, ironworker J.C. Stilwell was one of 11,000 men employed to build the Mighty Mac. "I could talk all day about the bridge," said Mr. Stilwell. "It was kind of the love of my life. More...

Ironworker Recalls Days on Bridge

By Karen Gould

"No job intimidated me after that," said Mackinac Bridge ironworker Basil Miller, 73, a member of Local 25, who visited the site of his former job to attend a dedication ceremony for a new bridge token Thursday, July 26, at St. Ignace. More...

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Sports

St. Ignace Youth Soccer Season Kicks Off

Chris "Iffer" Marshall coaches his team during a youth soccer game at LaSalle High School Thursday, July 26. It was the second day of city youth soccer in St. Ignace. More...

Cedarville Jr. Trojan Football Starts August 6

Cedarville Junior Trojans football conditioning will start Monday, August 6, at the Cedarville track on State Avenue, at 6 p.m. More...

Cedarville Athletic Booster Club Will Host Fish Dinner and Silent Auction

Cedarville Boosters To Host Fish Dinner, Silent Auction Cedarville Trojans Athletic Boosters Club will host a whitefish sandwich dinner and silent auction fundraiser at Mertaugh's Storage Shed in Hessel from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, August 10. More...

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Columns

Michigan Politics

Michigan High Court Cripples and Ridicules State Environment Act

By George Weeks

Environmental champion Joan Wolfe was not crying wolf when she warned that the legal showdown over Nestle's Ice Mountain bottling operation in Mecosta County put the landmark 1970 Michigan Environmental Protection Act in jeopardy. More...

Autos Across Mackinac: Ferry Traffic Decreases With Start of WWII

PART 30: WWII Problems Come Home to the Straits

By Les Bagley

This year the St. Ignace News is serializing Les Bagley's unpublished manuscript on the history of Michigan State Ferries, the only link between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas before the Mackinac Bridge was completed 50 More...

Mackinac Island

By Jeannette Doud 847-3301

The magnificent Budweiser Clydesdales, sponsored by Griffin Beverage of St. Ignace, visited Mackinac Island Tuesday, July 24. More...

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Air Stunt Is Investigated

Planes Fly Under Mackinac Bridge

Two red, single-engine pontoon planes were spotted flying under the Mackinac Bridge around 3 p.m. Monday, July 30. It is the third such incident this summer. St. More...

'A League of Their Own' Player Returns to EUP

Softball Games on the Farm Led to Fame for Stevenson

The little-known history of women's softball in the Eastern Upper Peninsula is featured in Rosemary Stevenson's book, "Don't Die on Third." The book is the story of Ms. More...

'Hay Days' Begins at Pickford

The old time string and folk music of Pickford's settlers will showcased at this year's Hay Days starting Wednesday, August 1, in Pickford. More...

Finding Underwater Treasure Will Be Goal of Aug. 12 Dive

The Straits of Mackinac Underwater Preserve and the Chamber of Commerce are hosting an underwater treasure hunt Sunday, August 12, at 9:30 a.m. at the American Legion Park in St. Ignace. More...

Bridge Birthday Cake Tastes Good as It Looks

By Karen Gould

Renowned custom cake chefs Kevin Pavlina and James Aslanian of Pavlina Cakes of Fenton spent 55 hours making a 6 foot 10 inch long and 2.5 foot wide cake that replicated the Mackinac Bridge. More...

EMS Runs Increase in Portage; New Twp. Budget Adopted

By Paul Gingras

Ambulance runs doubled in Portage Township for the month of June, compared to June 2006, reported Brad Kohvakka, captain of the local emergency medical service (EMS), at the Tuesday, July 10, board of trustees meeting. More...

Obituaries

Ben Hutchins

Ben A. Hutchins of St. Ignace served in the United States Air Force following high school graduation. He served as an air policeman and patrolman, was stationed in Greenland, and finally discharged from service in 1968. More...

Mamie Antilla

Mamie G. Antilla of Roseville, formerly of Ozark, worked 35 years for the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service in Detroit. She had been living in Roseville since her retirement in 1980. Ms. More...

Gary Everson

Gary F. Everson, originally of St. Ignace, died Thursday, July 26, 2007, in El Dorado Hills, California. He is the son of Howard and Charlotte Everson of St. Ignace. A complete obituary for Mr. More...

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Opinion

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Historical Information Is Appreciated

To the Editor:

I just got my copy of The St. Ignace News and the great pictures in it of the days gone by. The two that I sent in really paid off, as I got a letter from a Karen Pierson from East Leroy. In it she asked if I was related to a Matt Furlott. More...

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