Larry Rubin (right) keeps pace with Governor George Romney (waving) during a bridge walk September 5, 1966. Some of the governor's staff follow the men. (Mackinac Bridge Authority photograph) The fog was so thick on the Mackinac Bridge, visibility was less than an arm's length during the first bridge walk June 25, 1958.

"Miserable weather," recalls Larry Rubin, first executive secretary to the Mackinac Bridge Authority. He made the five-mile crossing with Michigan's governor at the time, G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams.

The June 1958 walk was inspired by the International Walkers Association, he said, which wanted to include a footrace with the bridge opening celebration. The celebration was seven months after the Mackinac Bridge opened to traffic in November 1957. Planners thought the June weather would be better for the celebration, and summer travelers would be able to attend.

About 60 people participated in the 1958 walkers' race, followed by a group of about 150 pleasure walkers, including Mr. Rubin and Governor Williams. The Governor came from Mackinac Island to start the foot race. Mr. Rubin borrowed a track starter pistol from LaSalle High School to signal the beginning.

"Heel and toe, working their elbows back and forth," said Mr. Rubin, "like the cam on a steam engine, off they went."

Governor Williams and Mr. Rubin followed at a leisurely pace.

"We started on our pleasant, enjoyable walk across the bridge, except for one thing," he said. "It was a foggy day and you couldn't see your hand in front of you. Had it not been for the fog, we would have enjoyed the scenery."

Sometime during that foggy walk, Mr. Rubin had the idea of making the event annual, and moving it to the Labor Day weekend, he surmised, would extend the tourist season. He already knew from reviewing car ferry records that traveling families stopped visiting the Upper Peninsula around the second week of August, apparently staying home to make preparations for the coming school year. An annual Labor Day bridge walk event, he hoped, would bolster bridge toll revenue into the fall.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority later embraced his suggestion and the second bridge walk, (the first Labor Day walk) was held in 1959. About 250 participants left from Mackinaw City heading north. At that time, plans called for the starting point to rotate between St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.

Ending the walk in St. Ignace proved to be impractical, he said, as restroom facilities were not closely available and even with cooperation from the community to drive walkers into town, it just didn't work out. The Mackinaw City downtown proved more convenient for walkers.

The Authority, he said, encouraged merchants to offer prizes to walkers, who obtained a numbered certificate after walking the bridge. The number on the certificate might correspond to a number posted in a shop window, winning a prize.

In the earlier years of the walk, a salute was offered to those who lost their lives in protecting the country, recalled Mr. Rubin, and a wreath was thrown over the side of the bridge.

One year, he said, a group tried to stage a protest on the bridge and parked a car to block lanes of traffic. Bridge walkers, he said, saw the problem, picked up the car, and moved it.

"Generally speaking," he said, "there were no serious events, strikes, or protests connected with the bridge walk."

Mr. Rubin, 95, lives in St. Ignace with his wife, Elma. Through the years, he has participated in most of the walks. Now confined to a wheelchair, he plans to be pushed across the bridge this year by his son, David.

He also will be signing copies of his bridge books at the end of the walk, which he has done for the last 20 years. Proceeds from the sale of his book, "Mighty Mac, The Official Picture History of the Mackinac Bridge," support St. Ignace Kiwanis Club projects.