Correspondent Doud, 87, Continues To Chronicle Lives of Island's People
By Ryan Schlehuber

This is one in a series of articles to introduce readers to columnists covering their communities within The St. Ignace News readership area.

Find your way into Jeannette Doud's heart, or even her weekly column in The St. Ignace News and Mackinac Island Town Crier, and she will never forget you.

At age 87, her eyesight is poor, but she keeps track of the news for her weekly report with a pencil and a legal pad, just as she has since she began writing for the Town Crier June 13, 1981.

She has lived on Mackinac Island all her life, and to visitors who question how she can live on an island all winter, she says, "I love the people here. It's my home."

A conversation with Mrs. Doud always includes an entertaining peek into the Island's past. Give her a name and she can relate an old story about a person or a business as though it were yesterday.

"I remember, as a kid, me and my friends would always enjoy going to the Davis store to buy penny candies," Mrs. Doud related recently. "Mr. Davis had a hardware store upstairs and groceries and dry goods on the main floor. It was a wonderful, beautiful place."

Jeannette Doud, who has lived on Mackinac Island her entire life, has been the Island correspondent for The St. Ignace News and Mackinac Island Town Crier since 1981.

The J.W. Davis store was owned by Ray Davis. It is now a gift shop called The Big Store.

Reminiscing about her youth, Mrs. Doud recalls one story involving a slot machine.

"I'll never forget that one," she said.

"Mr. (Archibald) Pond was the first one to get one on the Island. He had it at his place, Pond's Stand, where the Gate House [restaurant] is now. We'd take our nickel or 10¢ of allowance and go with my uncle, James Chambers, after he fed his horses. He'd take me and my friends there and let us play.

"My aunt, though, she was a schoolteacher," she continued. "Oh, did she chase us out and down the road when she caught us in there!"

In the center of the old water highway before roads were built, Mackinac Island became a settlement during the American Revolution, when the British moved Fort Mackinac over from the mainland, and was the Michilimackinac and Mackinac County seat until 1882, when the court and administrative offices were moved to St. Ignace.

Jeannette Doud (right) stands with her daughter, Mackinac Island Mayor Margaret Doud, and her dog, Bushy, in front of the Dog House, a small hot dog stand they operate during the summer. They also operate their hotel, the Windermere, across the street from the stand at Windermere Point.

It has been a famous resort since the late 1800s, and old hotels include the Island House, Grand Hotel, and even her Windermere Hotel, which she operates with her daughter, Margaret Doud, the Island's mayor for the past 32 years.

Mackinac Island, which has banned motorized vehicles since 1895, has about 500 year-around residents, and many cottagers and business operators find their way into her columns during the summers.

Her reports chronicle lives of local residents, the return of frequent visitors and cottagers and business owners, the passing of ships in the Straits of Mackinac, and vivid descriptions of the seasons in Mackinac.

The general merchandise store J.W. Davis & Sons on Main Street was one of Jeannette Doud's favorite places to visit and buy candy when she was a child. The main floor offered dry goods and groceries, while the second floor was a hardware store. The brick building is now occupied by the Big Store, owned by Richard Tracer. (Photograph courtesy of Tom Pfeiffelmann)

"I never get tired of hearing from people of how much they love to read the Town Crier," she said.

One businessman even asked her to write his obituary, complimenting her on how much he enjoys reading them.

"I told him I don't even know who is going to write mine!" she laughed.

"The great people, the gatherings, the Christmas Bazaar, there are so many things I love about the Island, I couldn't name them all," she said. "I love to keep up with the boats that go by and always enjoy hearing them salute me when they go through the channel."

Instantly, she begins listing the many people she knows working on freighters. She often writes about them.

She is the daughter and the second of three children of Ella Rose and Gunn Chambers. Her father operated a curio shop at Arch Rock, Fort Holmes, and on Main Street, and he was an auditor for Illinois Central Railroad in Chicago while Mrs. Chambers operated Windermere Imports shop.

She married Robert Doud in 1939, and when he ran for mayor, she was only 19 and was too young to vote for him.

After 26 years of gathering news of people of Mackinac Island, Mrs. Doud continues to enjoy writing with the help of a new video magnifying screen that allows her to see print better, and the assistance of her daughter, who types her written notes into a computer.

Mrs. Doud enjoys needlepoint, working at her hot dog stand, called the Dog House, and spending the day with her dog, Bushy, a gift from former state Senator Walt North of St. Ignace.

Mrs. Doud was honored by the state of Michigan for her writing in the Mackinac Island Town Crier and The St. Ignace News, one of only 12 Michigan citizens to be presented with the state's Volunteer Leadership Award in May 2005.

She remains humble about her popularity, always focusing on her readers and community, instead.

"Don't write too much about me," she told this reporter before announcing, "Now, I must go because Margaret has to drive me on the snowmobile to get my hair done before the kids' Christmas play at the school."