Ned Fenlon of Long Beach, California, turned 106 years old Wednesday, October 7. A longtime city attorney on Mackinac Island, he called Island Mayor Margaret Doud on his birthday to send his regards.

Known to many in the Straits area, Mr. Fenlon was born in 1903 in St. Ignace, and grew up in Hessel. He began his law career in the 1920s and represented the former Emmet-Mackinac counties district of the Michigan Legislature from 1933 to 1939. Mr. Fenlon is credited with many accomplishments, including introducing legislation for building the Mackinac, Blue Water, and International bridges and establishing Michigan State Police posts. He began working toward developing a bridge across the Straits of Mackinac nearly 30 years before the bridge was actually built. Mr. Fenlon also served as the 33rd Judicial Circuit Judge for Mackinac, Cheboygan, Emmet, and Charlevoix counties for 24 years.

Also a longtime resident of Petoskey, he has family members in the Straits area.