125 YEARS AGO

St. Ignace News

December 16, 1884

Charlie Wood's horse died suddenly last Sunday afternoon near the residence of Jos. Covyeau for want of hay -- $12.00 per ton -- straw scarce.

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Joe St. Pierre, a survivor of the Mexican war, is about to receive a pension; he is also doing quite a business in fish, and is enjoying life immensely.

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A gentlemen wishes us to insert this: "I say Sam, they say you don't eat anything but herrings." Probably someone will understand it.

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"Spy of Shiloh" will be presented to the public in Brown's Hall, St. Ignace, next Wednesday evening, 17th inst. It promises to be on of the best entertainments given in this city, and as the proceeds are for the benefit of the G. A. R. post of this city it should receive a very liberal support. Let all arrange to go.

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The roller skating rink at the Island was blown down by the wind last night.

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The Algomah and the steamship Maud Sammons are the only boats that disturb the angry waters of Mackinac straits now-a-days.

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Jacob Colnot, chief engineer at Martel Furnace, and W. C. Roe, locomotive engineer, left Sunday night for Detroit, and other points of interest in the state.

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Argus Campbell has sent for an emery wheel with which to sharpen skates. Skates cannot be sharpened properly without one and his will be the only one in town. Price, 15 cents per pair.

125 YEARS AGO

St. Ignace News

December 19, 1884

The bay froze over solid yesterday for the first time this winter.

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The skating rink will be lighted with Chinese lanterns to-morrow night. Be on hand when the band begins to play.

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Mrs. Magurn, residing next door to Saulson's store, died on Tuesday evening after a long illness. The funeral took place yesterday to the Catholic burying ground.

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A Christmas Tree Festival will be held in the Presbyterian church on Christmas night, to which all are invited.

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The weather. Yesterday at 7 a.m., 6 below; 11 a.m., 4 below; 5 p.m., 3 below. This morning at 7 a.m., 4 degrees below zero.

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There is a great deal of complaint from all the Lake Superior ports about the use of trap nets to catch white fish. These nets destroy millions of young white fish before they are half grown, and it is only a question of time, unless they are prohibited, ere the white fish will become extinct.

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State news: A couple of thoroughbred Mormon elders put in an appearance at Brighton recently and began teaching their hellish doctrine. Just as the righteously indignant people got everything ready to give them a coat of tar and feathers as a protection against the December cold, the Mormons skipped.

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Thompson Smith, one of the lumber kings of Michigan, died in Cheboygan on the 9th inst, of a stomach disease. He was the owner of all the property at Duncan City, immense tracks of land, a good deal of vessel property and a number of the most extensive mills in the state. His wealth is estimated at about $4,000,000.

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The road between here and Sault Ste. Marie is in excellent condition. This week the mail stage commenced waiting for the arrival of the Algomah, saving a delay of 24 hours to mail matter.

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Coasting on Maloney street and Goudreau Alley is prohibited by the city council. Boys, take heed.

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The Ocean brought down about 22 navvies who went on to St. Ignace. There was some rather sharp competition among the stage drivers for their patronage. One driver it is said, offered to take them through at .75 per head, without furnishing meals on the way. That was about as near rock bottom prices as could well be conceived. - Chippewa News

[Editor's note: A navvie is a manual laborer on railroads.]

Steps are being taken to form a society here to be known as the "City Commercial Club." Its object will be to try and induce manufacturers to go into business here and look after the advancement of the city generally.

90 YEARS AGO

The St. Ignace Enterprise

December 17, 1919

Answering to signals of distress from the steamer Berry, ore laden, Tuesday afternoon, the steamer Chief Wawatam went to her assistance. She was ice bound and unable to move. The Chief towed her to Mackinaw City where she was driven ashore Tuesday night and is said to be in bad shape.

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The tug Favorite blew several farewell blasts Saturday morning when she departed for the Detroit river to release the steamer King. Capt. Cunning and the crew expected the job would last for two or three weeks, or too late to make the return trip this winter. St. Ignace folks were in hopes that the Favorite would winter here.

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Tattooing was decidedly popular among soldiers in London during the war. Thousands had the names of the battles in which they participated indelibly written on their arms.

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Steam was gotten up Tuesday night and Capt. Goudreau was looking about for a crew for the steamer Ste. Marie, called to the Soo river to release several ice bound boats. There are said to be a fleet of seven big carriers unable to proceed on account of heavy ice.

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Issac Paquin lost the index finger of his right hand Saturday while at work at the camps of his brother Archie in St. Ignace township. In cutting timber for ax handles, he struck the finger instead of the wood. Mrs. Paquin, who was a Red Cross nurse during the war, attended the wounded hand. Mr. and Mrs. Paquin have returned home and will not go back to camp until after the holidays.

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It was the rule rather than the exception for the Saints on arising from their beds Monday morning to first heat a kettle of water and apply it (the water) to their frozen pipes. This method while proving effective in many instances was an utter failure in others and the next move was to call for the plumber.

It was a mighty cold Sunday night and a cold northwest wind prevailed. The official dock thermometer registered 10 below zero, and as there was but little snow the ground was frozen in many cases down to the service pipes, bringing joy to the plumber and woe to the householder.

The bay is entirely frozen over, the earliest for several years, and is one glare of ice. A few have taken advantage of the excellent skating it affords, but the weather has been too cold and the wind too strong to make outdoor sports a pleasure.

Monday afternoon freight was cancelled on account of the heavy storms and snow fall between Newberry and Munising Junction, where two trains were stalled.

Yesterday morning the bulb went down to 18 below, some thermometers registering 23 below zero.

It is the coldest weather experienced in this section of the peninsula for several years.

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Never in the history of the upper peninsula has the railroad service been so unstable as during the past month. Not even during the deer season when everyone looked for rotten service was it so poor as at present. No one looks for a train being on time anymore. Sunday the train from the south was four hours behind its schedule, and Monday four and onehalf hours late. The north train comes in at any old time, usually an hour and a half to three hours late. If this condition prevails now, what will it be during the holiday rush? . . .

No one appears to know wherein lies the fault, but the prevailing opinion is that those who are responsible are desirous of making the railroad so unpopular that the question of government ownership will not again be heard for a series of years.

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The Christmas vacation of two weeks starts with the closing of the schools Friday, opening again January 5. Appropriate programs will be held in the various schools of the city and there will be a tree at the high school. Prof. McCauley will spend his vacation at Calumet; Miss Eloise Johnson will hang up her stocking at her home in Mount Pleasant, and Miss Ruth Bellows will join in the family cheer at Frankfort.

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Onni Siren suffered serious injuries Tuesday afternoon at the round house. The plank on which he was working at the top of a coal pile gave way and he fell for a distance of nearly 30 feet, his back striking the handle of a coal bucket. It was first thought his back was broken, but Dr. Darby, who attended him, said this was not the case and unless he was badly injured internally would recover.

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The log input this year will be bigger than ever in the history of the hardwood industry in the upper peninsula. When the pine timber was being harvested in the peninsula there were bigger harvests reported by long odds, but never in the history of the hard wood industry has such a promised harvest of timber been made, says the Diamond Drill [of Crystal Falls].

The greatest reason for this big crop is the high prices that logs command in market. Veneer logs command almost any price asked within reason where a logger wishes to select out the veneer stock. However, most jobbers are selling on the woods run basis and on that plan the prices are above what they are expected to be.

Maple timber is selling as high as $26 per thousand feet; Birch is commanding a price of $40 per M. Elm and Basswood range from $35 to $45 per thousand.

The weather so far has been ideal for logging, especially where ice roads have to be built. On most of the long hauls, ice roads are constructed these days as the hauling season is not any too long at its best.

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Beware the Canadian currency and coin. There is now a 12 percent discount on Canadian money and it may be more before this is printed. Cashier Powers of the First National bank says the discount rate has changed so frequently that it is hard to keep track of it and that the bank is out a considerable sum on this account.

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E. J. Chatelle has been appointed city treasurer to fill the vacancy caused by resignation of Miss Blanche Murray. He will be in his office Mondays and Saturdays for the collection of taxes.

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Clayton H. Gill, who was raised in Mackinac county and resided here until a couple of years ago, is now a patient in the U. S. general hospital in Denver, Col., where he has been for a year receiving treatment for wounds received while serving overseas. In a letter to The Enterprise he says that as he knows many of the service boys from Mackinac he believes the following original poem might be of some interest to them.

The day that we enlisted Our health was extra fine; We started on that long, long road That ends beside the Rhine.

They put us to an awful test, We gave the best we had; The hardships that we underwent Would drive a sane man mad.

For two long years we struggled To gain the victor's goal; The many different things we fought Would try a brave man's soul.

At last the day of victory came, Our foe had met their match; Our wounded and our sick came home Each transport brought a batch.

It seems a crying shame to think Of all the young lives lost To satisfy a few crowned heads, Who reckon not the cost.

The "gas" and "T. B." made some sick, While "shell shock" got some more, The dreadful "flu" attacked the boys And killed them by the score.

'Tis now another war is on, A fight for life and health; The thing we need most just now Should come from hoarded wealth.

In '17 the public called; We answered without fuss, And now we need the public's aid As once it needed us.

Now, when a soldier gets discharged And goes to live in town, Why is it when he asks for work His plea meets with a frown?

While we were living in the mud The profiteers held way, So now I think it’s up to them To vote us six month’s pay.

From Mackinac Island: The weather for the past week has been unusually cold, the zero mark being reached on a number of occasions. It is not often that such extreme cold weather comes to the Island in December, and indeed the oldest inhabitants are united in saying that this is the coldest December within their memories. Considerable ice has formed along the shore lines, and it is quite evident that our hotels and meat dealers will not be compelled to harvest their ice from floating pieces as they did last winter.

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S. B. Poole died at Ann Arbor last Saturday, December 14, at the age of 64 years. He was buried at Ann Arbor. The deceased was one of the Island's most prominent residents and for many years had conducted the Iroquois Hotel. He was a member of the state Park Commission for a number of years.

50 YEARS AGO

The Republican-News

and St. Ignace Enterprise

December 17, 1959

City Attorney Prentiss M. Brown, Jr., was named to the board of directors in District 1 of the newly-formed State Chamber of Commerce. The district consists of the upper peninsula and is one of eight in Michigan.

The new C. of C. mobilized last week when hundreds of business, industry and professional leaders met in Lansing's Civic Center.

Attending the state-wide conference from St. Ignace were Bob Davis, president, and Hugh Horner, secretary manager, of the Mackinac County Chamber of Commerce.

Prime objective of the new C. of C. is "to improve Michigan's business climate and restore in the minds of people everywhere the favorable image that the state so highly merits."

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Edison Sault Electric Co., franchise operator of the Mackinac Island city sewage system and the Chippewa Hotel Co., have been ordered to appear at the Jan. 21 meeting of the State Water Resources commission to answer charges of polluting the water around Mackinac Island.

The commission acted after alleged complaints about water pollution had been filed and will investigate the charges, hearing testimony from both sides. The commission believes the installation of sewage collection and treatment facilities on the Island would halt the pollution, if such exists.

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Members of the Lake Michigan US-2 Scenic Highway association meeting at Gould City in the Newton township hall were given an outline of the 1960 program drawn up by the board of directors and presented by Clyde Nelson, president of the association. A new, larger and more colorful folder is planned for next year as well as the lighting of two billboards and possibly highway signs below the Straits.

"The 1960 folder will have a larger map and along with the points of interest listed, we are listing the business places at their respective locations," explained Nelson. "This will be done for members only for a nominal fee. Advertising will be on one portion of the folder, along with new pictures of the area. We feel that the 1960 folder will be handier for the tourist with ferry schedules, attractions, points of interest, etc., all being on one piece. At least 50,000 of the new folders will be ordered."

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A television film producing studio, claimed to be the equal of any similar commercial studio in the county, is being constructed at the Moral Re- Armament headquarters at Mackinac Island.

The three-story concrete and steel building is being constructed by a corps of MRA members themselves doing volunteer labor. The project, which was started a few weeks ago, has reached the stage where the basement is well toward completion.

The new studio is boasting one central studio which is 80x120 feet in area. In addition there will be rehearsal rooms, technical laboratories and all facilities necessary to film for television purposes most any story adapted for these uses.

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From Mackinac Island: The Island volunteer fire department, under the supervision of Fire Chief Raymond Horn, will play host to the children of the Island on Sunday December 20, at the annual Christmas party in community hall. A dinner, movies and games will provide entertainment for the children.

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Hunters killed approximately 108,000 deer in Michigan during the Nov. 15-30 regular and special firearm seasons to record their best harvest since 1952, a preliminary report of the conservation department indicates.

A record 15,828 deer were brought sough across the Straits, reports from the Mackinac Bridge reveal. This figure is almost 2,500 above the previous high set in 1958.

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From Les Cheneaux: As the Christmas season approaches, many who were away are returning to their friends and families. The Great Lakes steamers have a claim on many of our men and among those returning are Bob Mertaugh, Eddie Hamel and Earl Chandler.

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From Hessel: Santa will appear in person at the Cedarville town hall at the children's party next Saturday afternoon. The affair is sponsored by the Michigan Limestone quarry.

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An invasion of gray and black squirrels to the upper peninsula is evident in St. Ignace. Grey squirrels have been noticed in the residential areas here for the past few weeks and yesterday Mrs. Willard Lambert saw a black squirrel. This reminds us of the tremendous invasion from the lower peninsula which occurred 20 years ago or more. At that time thousands of bodies of black and grey squirrels were found along the Straits of Mackinac on the north shore indicating that the squirrels had swum the waters to reach the U.P. The animals over-ran Pte. Aux Chenes and other hardwood country as well as the residential sections of St. Ignace where there were hardwood trees. Eventually they died off having been the victims of the native red squirrels.

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The St. Ignace post office will remain open all day Saturday of this week for the convenience of the holiday mail.

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On Sunday evening the Glen Memorial Baptist church will present its annual Christmas program featuring the Christmas story in pantomime. The story will be told by the singing of the women's choir and the girls' speaking choir. The nursery, beginner and primary classes will contribute appropriate verses. A box of candy and nuts will be given to all those attending. The public is invited to attend this service at 7:30.

30 YEARS AGO

The St. Ignace News

December 20, 1979

A 6.75 percent wage increase for the St. Ignace City union employees was unanimously approved by the City Council at its Monday night, December 17 meeting.

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Youngsters at the Trout Lake school are excitedly looking forward to Christmas. There has been much discussion about what Santa will bring and how Santa will get in the house if you don't have a fireplace or if your chimney has a cover. The kindergartners agreed that a door should be left unlocked just in case the red-coated old fellow has an entry problem.

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The recent bazaar to benefit the two winter-time churches on Mackinac, the Episcopal and the Catholic, netted about $7,500. The two-day event provided entertainment for young and old, with lunches and snacks, games for the children, and lots of gay tables at which to do Christmas shopping.

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The high point of interest at the December meeting of the Engadine School Board continued to be salary negotiations.

Robert Nelson, spokesman for the Engadine Education Association (EEA), read a prepared report stating that with the loss of 14 percent purchasing power undergone by the teachers, the 4 percent increase offered by the Board still left them to face a loss of from 10 percent to 5 percent, according to which side of the argument did the computation.

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Christmas promotions in St. Ignace brought holiday spirit as the music of the holidays, the costuming of Santa and his helpers, and the decorations everywhere set the stage.

The Mackinac Island-Mackinaw City day drew more than 40 persons from the Island, and as many from the city, indicated by those who turned in receipts for refunds at St. Ignace stores.

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A one-hundred hour course to train Emergency Medical Technicians, soon to be required on all ambulance runs in Michigan, will be offered by the Straits Area Community Education in cooperation with North Central Michigan College beginning Wednesday, January 15, at LaSalle High School in St. Ignace.

The course was arranged by Fred Stearns, Straits Area Community Education director, in response to concern expressed by St. Ignace area ambulance committee about the possible loss of ambulance service because of a lack of qualified personnel.

Starting January 1, 1980 an Emergency Medical Technician must be in the patient compartment of an ambulance during all runs. According to Leonard St. Louis, manager of the ambulance corps in St. Ignace, there are no EMT's on the ambulance corps at this time.

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Youths in Mackinac County will again be provided with counseling services to help overcome developing delinquent behavior or to help cope with problems in maturing now that the Youth Services Bureau is back in operation employing a new counselor.

The Youth Services Bureau which in 1977 began free and confidential counseling to young people in Mackinac County, has been inactive the past few months because of a lack in personnel.

Recently, the services began again with the hiring of Miss Joy Marshall, who was graduated from LaSalle High School in St. Ignace in 1975.

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Cattle rustling has been going on for some time in Mackinac County although not everyone has been aware of it. There also has been some in Luce County, but Garfield and Newton Townships in West Mackinac have been hit the heaviest.

The Mackinac County Board of Commissioners has authorized a reward to be paid for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person or persons involved in any cattle theft.

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From Moran-Brevort: Supervisor Clyde Bradford and County Clerk Art Kaminsky had an appointment with Governor Milliken December 17. Hope they discussed our high taxes.

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A Christmas weeks schedule is announced by Arnold Transit Company, with the boat trips extended through Friday, December 28. The Mackinac Island boat will make two trips daily.