90 YEARS AGO

The St. Ignace Enterprise

Thursday, May 8, 1919

The Ford Motor Co. was the only war-contract corporation of any note in the United States that did not call upon the Government to advance money to help it make money on contracts, and at one time it had $36,000,000 tied up in war work before it received one cent in return. Too, Mr. Ford turned back to the government every dollar of his share of the profits, and the Ford Motor Co. is the only corporation in Michigan which is not protesting about the amount of its war taxes and damning the Wilson administration.

Lightweight champion Jimmy Brady [formerly of St. Ignace] has another one to his credit, defeating Johnny Lewis of Toledo in a [boxing] bout in Detroit last Friday night. It was Brady's bout from start to finish.

The tug General, which lay for more than eight years on the bottom of the St. Marys river, since the early morning of November 30, 1910, when it was rammed and sunk in 56 feet of water by the steamer Athabasca, has been partially raised by Thomas Durocher, marine contractor, and is being moved shoreward to Lime Island.

A Lansing dispatch says that state troops will be scattered through the summer resorts to preserve order and watch for liquor violations. The Island is mentioned as one of the resorts on the list for troops.

A very enjoyable dancing party was given Friday evening by the M.I.H.S. boys at the Astor House.

A handsome booklet last week found its way to The Enterprise. It is issued by the Michigan Tourist and Resort Association and is entitled simply "Michigan." The descriptive matter covering the state's most prominent resorts is well written and the book is illustrated by numerous picturesque scenes.

The red flag must come down in Michigan. Governor Sleeper has signed the Jensen bill, which imposes a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, or $1,000, or both, for displaying the crimson banner in any assembly, parade, or demonstration. The law will affect principally Detroit, where socialists, anarchists, and other organizations use the red flag as their emblem.

A few, just a mere arm-full, of women turned out to the meeting Tuesday afternoon that called for the resurrection of the Civic League. Did they go home and pout and say, "Nix on the League?" If you think they did, you don't know St. Ignace womanhood, for when one of them gets really started on doing a thing, she's going to the last ditch on the highway before she lets up.

Branson Roebuck has arrived from Fort Wayne, Ind., to get the Roebuck farm in shape for the season. Mr. Roebuck informs us that about 8 acres will be devoted to head lettuce and that nearly a quarter of a million plants is the estimated yield for the coming summer. St. Ignace head lettuce is equal to any grown anywhere and is eagerly sought for, the supply never equaling the demand.

A packed house greeted "The Birth of a Nation" at the Grand Tuesday night and there was also a good attendance at the matinee in the afternoon. The popular Mary Pickford is the attraction for Saturday and Sunday.

"I am of the opinion that the residents of St. Ignace and of the county as a whole fail to appreciate just what they have in the way of agricultural and grazing lands and for general manufacturing purposes." - J.A. Doelle of Marquette, secretary manager of the Upper Peninsula Development Bureau, who was in town Tuesday seeking ideas and talking to the businessman, the farmer, the grazer, and businessmen in general.

The Lindrup is picking up timber in various localities in the Snows and taking it to the mill.

At the meeting of Clark township board, held on April 28, Fred Izzard was elected to fill the vacancy in the office of township clerk, caused by the resignation of Leonard Peterson.

There is some speculation as to work for men in the Snows this season. The shortage of lumber is a very great handicap as building and repairing forms a considerable source of income for many of the men during the summer.

50 YEARS AGO

The Republican-News

& St. Ignace Enterprise

Thursday, May 7, 1959

The number of vehicles crossing the Mackinac Straits Bridge dropped sharply last month, compared to April a year ago. The fewer number of cars and trucks cut bridge revenue by more than $30,000 in April 1959, compared to April 1958.

Principal spring project of the St. Ignace Lions Club will be the construction of a boat loading ramp at the foot of Hazelton St., according to a meeting held Monday evening.

One of four men charged with stealing livestock and a St. Ignace man on probation charged with breaking and entering have drawn prison sentences as the result of the April session of circuit court in Mackinac County.

The sunken hull of the Carl D. Bradley was reported found in Lake Michigan for the second time Friday night.

Flames believed to have started from sparks from a fireplace in a 24-foot-long living room destroyed the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Piskorz at Evergreen Shores on Tuesday evening.

Ore and timber - these have made the Upper Peninsula's past and are counted on to make its future. And if the seers see clearly, upper Michigan is in for a beautiful span of years.

Last week a special meeting of the lake shore owners along the waterfront of Hodeck street gathered at the Bon-Air to discuss plans for the improvement of their properties by building a sea-wall and cleaning up the water front in cooperation with the newly formed Park and Waterways commission of Les Cheneaux.

The Sands Motel in Evergreen Shores is the name of Steve Takarski's new motel, which will be ready for opening early this spring.

Because of steady growth, Mackinaw City is planning a new $100,000 waterworks system.

John Lahaie announces that his Glass Kitchen restaurant on the old ferry lane will open for the season at noon Saturday.

A. Barry McGuire has been named secretary-manager of the Mackinac Island Chamber of Commerce, it was announced last week by Nathan Shayne, president.

Whether or not Mackinac Island is to have a new $265,000 public school will be determined at a special election called for Monday, May 11.

Seven teams have organized the Eastern Upper Peninsula Baseball league for the ensuing season to open May 24. Competing in the league this season will be Moran, Cedarville, Dafter, Bruce Twp., DeTour, Drummond Island, and Goetzville.

E.M. Tellefson of Mackinac Island has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for permission to construct a pier off Silver Birch property on the north end of Mackinac Island.

35 YEARS AGO

The Republican-News

& St. Ignace Enterprise

Thursday, May 9, 1974

Richard Revard, 55, suffered an apparent heart attack while fighting a Sunday afternoon fire which burned his Wildwood Beach Motel to the ground. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace.

Edward H. Fenlon, judge for the 33rd Judicial Circuit, will retire June 1, 1974. The 33rd Judicial Circuit includes Emmet, Charlevoix, and Mackinac counties. Judge Fenlon first entered the judiciary in 1952 and has served the 33rd Judicial Circuit since that time.

The [St. Ignace] city clerk was instructed to forward all letters concerning the Greyhound Bus Depot to the Michigan Public Service Commission in hopes that some action might be taken in regard to the depot situation here in St. Ignace.

The only "No. 1" telephone number in the state of Michigan goes out of existence May 18 when Pemble's Cash & Carry store in St. Ignace trades in "1" for a new seven-digit number. A new electronic switching system in Michigan Bell's recently completed central office building at Church and McCann will be "cut" into service at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 18, to end the era of manually operated telephones in Michigan.

Stephen C. Visnaw, 22, of Mackinac Island, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Mackinac Straits Hospital following an accident Sunday, May 5. Visnaw was fatally injured when he was struck by a car while walking on North State Street near the Driftwood Restaurant.

Pool dedication committee chairman Ronald Dahms has announced that dedication ceremonies will take place at 4 p.m. on June 1 [St. Ignace].

James Putnam, 36, escapee from Marquette Prison, was apprehended Sunday at an unoccupied home on Mackinac Trail owned by P.J. Bickness of Marquette.

Was it a jackrabbit? A kangaroo? No, it was 6'3" senior Louie Grondin, from LaSalle High School, who at the Petoskey track meet on Tuesday, April 30, broke a new "high jumping" record. He jumped 5'11-1/8." The previous record was held by Ed Lester, who held it at 5'11."

15 YEARS AGO

The St. Ignace News

Thursday, May 5, 1994

Mackinac Straits Hospital workers will get annual raises averaging 3 percent this year under two-year agreements approved April 27 by the Hospital Board.

Jeffery Buckser is expected to become a familiar face at Mackinac Straits Hospital: he is a physician's assistant hired for its rural health clinic.

On Monday, May 2, the famous Chuckwagon on main street, owned and operated by Jessie Doud, opened for the season. [Mackinac Island]

There is a new minister at the Les Cheneaux Baptist Church in Hessel. Ron Horn and his wife, Carol, have taken up the duties of this parish.

The flag was at half-mast at Chalet Mackinac last week, as it was all over America and at embassies around the world, in honor and in memory of former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, who died shortly after 9 p.m. April 22.

Sean McLafferty and Ed Lester of St. Ignace and Dan Hudson and Cale Gady of Rudyard won medals at the Chip Relays in Mt. Pleasant on Saturday, April 30.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The St. Ignace News is seeking original prints or reprints of old photographs depicting areas in the Eastern Upper Peninsula to be scanned into the archives and for the Looking Back column. Photographs to be loaned or donated to the Michilimackinac Historical Society can also be dropped off at The St. Ignace News.