Ironworkers Walk of Fame Proposed at Mackinaw City
Would Feature Commemorative Bricks
By Paul Gingras

A privately-funded Mackinaw City promenade to celebrate the contributions of ironworkers was enthusiastically embraced by the village council Thursday, January 17, and sent to the planning commission.

Marilyn McFarland unveiled her plans for the landscaped public sidewalks as a way to recognize ironworkers throughout the country and boost tourism in Mackinaw City. The beautification project, tentatively called the Ironworkers Walk of Fame, will be funded through the sale of commemorative brick pavers, inscribed with the name, union number, and projects of the individual ironworkers who buy them.

Ms. McFarland, the former director of the Mackinaw Area Visitors Bureau, has resigned from her job there effective Friday, January 18, the day after her presentation to Council. She now plans to work with the village to install her bricks on the sidewalks along both sides of North Huron Avenue. Ms. McFarland asked the village to consider renaming the road the Ironworkers Walk of Fame, or The Walk of Iron.

When finished, she said, "it will be one of the most beautiful corridors in Mackinaw City."

Village President Ronald Wallin asked Ms. McFarland to present the idea to the planning commission at its Thursday, January 24, meeting.

The project, expected to exceed $1 million, will be paid for entirely by the sale of the bricks, she said, adding that there are approximately three million ironworkers in North America.

She has created a company to sell the bricks, contacted a manufacturer that can make bricks with weather-resistant inscriptions, and asked the council for exclusive rights to sell them. If the project is approved, she has a Web site ready to go online. It will be used as a vehicle by which ironworkers can buy bricks.

Ms. McFarland declined to reveal the name of her new company or the cost of a brick. She told Council that her goal is to sell one million bricks in 18 months, and added that she has investors lined up.

Former Mackinac Bridge ironworker J.C. Stilwell attended the meeting and said he has received encouragement from other ironworkers about the Walk of Fame. From Canada to California, he said, "People are very excited about it."

Village Manager Jeff Lawson said the bricks, and revenue generated by selling them, could be considered a donation to the village and used to fund the promenade on North Huron Avenue. In addition to the bricks, it would include trees and new street lamps, all paid for through the sale of the bricks, Ms. McFarland said.

Ms. McFarland also proposes an ironworkers hall of fame somewhere along the street, to be made mostly of steel and glass and designed to fit in with existing village architecture and overlooking the Straits of Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge. This, too, she said, would be funded through the brick sales.

Ms. McFarland said she expects ironworkers throughout the country to travel to Mackinaw City, bring their families to see the bricks they purchase, and visit the hall of fame. Each ironworker who arrives will receive a mini-brick similar to the one he sponsors, she proposed.

In addition to celebrating ironworkers, the project will generate tourism from outside Michigan, she said.

Mr. Wallin noted that Mr. Stilwell began the International Ironworkers Festival, which has celebrated ironworkers in Mackinaw City for years.

When he proposed the festival, Mr. Stilwell said, some people had concerns that it could draw a harddrinking crowd, but the concerns proved to be unfounded.

"I said, Well, there are a few of them that drink once in awhile, but there are a lot of family people there, too. And they spend money. I think we proved [that] right," Mr. Stilwell said.

The board also discussed parking issues related to the project and voted to study the concept of a partnership between the village and Ms. McFarland for the Ironworkers Walk of Fame. It referred the matter to legal counsel.

"The idea sounds wonderful," said Planning Commission Chairman Robert Most, although he cautioned that the walkway not be continued into the residential area.

Planners have sought to make sure that residential areas do not get busier with commercial traffic than they already are, he said.

North Huron Avenue is a divided boulevard extending along the waterfront from Shepler's ferry dock to Colonial Michilimackinac.