125 YEARS AGO

The News and Free Press

May 1, 1885

The City of Alpena (formerly the City of Cleveland,) which has been the first to make this port every spring for the past three seasons, accomplished the same feat this year, arriving about 9 o'clock this morning. A large number of persons were at the dock to greet her. She looked very gay with all her colors flying. She brought a huge amount of freight, but only one passenger for this port. After discharging her load and taking on what freight there was here for below, she started back. This virtually means a revival of business for our city, and we can all stand a boom after such a long, dull winter.

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The City of Mackinac will leave Detroit tomorrow for here.

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The maple sugar for the Congregational social this evening was received from Portland this week. It is newly made and is of as fine a quality as we ever tasted. Don't fail to take in this treat. Admission 15 cents; children, 10 cents.

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The water that flooded the streets in the vicinity of the furnace last week is rapidly disappearing.

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At the meeting of Chemical Fire Co., last evening, the following names were accepted for membership, Honorary - Patrick Chambers, C. G. Cavanagh, P. W. Hombach and Wm. Ogle. Active - M. McCann and R. G. Elliot. They will have another meeting next Thursday evening, when the question of amending certain by-laws will be discussed.

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The roof of the Globe Hotel is being repaired, and a cornice is to be put on the Goudreau Alley side.

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There has been no prisoners in the county jail for a number of weeks, but an occasional lodger shows up.

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The question of ditching Mary and other streets will be discussed at the council meeting next Monday night.

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Harbor Springs wants a foundry and a machine shop. So does St. Ignace, and a better location for such a business could not be found.

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F. Pond has commenced making bread, pies, cakes, etc. for the people of Mackinac Island and will no doubt do a good business this season.

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Jailer Hamel drove pipes in the ground to a depth of 19 feet at the courthouse, and secured an abundant supply of sparkling water of the best quality.

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All American vessels caught fishing in Canadian waters, within the three-mile limit, or putting into the harbor for bait and supplies, after July 1, will be seized and sold as prizes. The Dominion fleet will comprise fast schooners and steamers armed with two or three guns, and be commissioned as British cruisers.

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Judge C. R. Brown commenced suit on Wednesday of this week, in the Circuit Court, in favor of Sophia Truscott and Janet Polson, against the City of St. Ignace, for the amount awarded for land taken in the opening of Maloney street.

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C G. Cavanagh, of the St. Ignace News, has secured the defunct Free Press and consolidated the two papers under the heading of the News and Free Press. It was a case of survival of the fittest, and we are glad to note Bro. Cavanagh's good fortune in being the survivor. - Harbor Springs Independent.

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The St. Ignace News and Free Press is the title by which the St. Ignace News will hereafter be known. The paper with the new name will probably serve the people of Mackinac County even better than heretofore, and that is saying they will be exceedingly well served. - Detroit Free Press

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The democrats in St. Ignace have a good paper in the News and Free Press. - Howard City Record

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Ignatius Reagon, the popular third ward grocer, has leased a building and piece of land at Beaver Island, where he will open a branch store. A stock will be sent up by the first boat for there.

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The opening of the furnace here will depend entirely on how the iron market ranges. Unless there is a considerable increase in the present rates, operations will not be resumed.

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The men working on drives along the Detroit, Mackinaw & Marquette Railroad have just received an accession to their demand for $2 a day. The were receiving $1.25 and $1.50 a day and walked out yesterday. Last year they received $2.50 a day.

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A new base ball club sprang up in the city this week, under the title of “The Bankers.” They have been noising around that they could get away with any nine in St. Ignace; so M. H. O'Brien, of the old “Red Stockings,” will give them an opportunity to have the conceit knocked out of them tomorrow afternoon, if he can get enough of the old club together.

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The following report on the projected improvement of Mackinac harbor has been submitted by Col. Poe, engineer in charge of the district:

“If a harbor is to be constructed it should be located at Mackinac harbor or vicinity, rather than at Mackinac Island harbor, and my preference would be for the bay just west of old Mackinac point.

“That a harbor of refuge in this locality would be a great convenience there can be no doubt but to be efficient nearly or quite two miles of breakwater would be necessary, the cost of which would not be much, if any, less than $1,500,000. The effect of this would be to afford shipping a safe harbor without going out of the way from four to seven miles, and notwithstanding the convenience of such a harbor, I cannot bring myself to the conclusion that the object is sufficient to justify the expenditure of so large a sum. It must be borne in mind that it would be under somewhat extraordinary conditions that the harbor would be used.

Ordinary storms do not greatly endanger shipping in the Straits of Mackinac. Appreciating fully the great magnitude of the commerce through the Straits of Mackinac, I come with reluctance to the conclusion that such a harbor is not worthy of improvement by the general government. For a harbor for local purposes the preferable location would be in the near vicinity of the railroad piers at Mackinac harbor. But this locality is naturally protected only from the north, west and south. To protect it from winds coming from the northeast and southeast artificial protection would have to be supplied. To do this efficiently would involve the construction of nearly as great length of breakwater as in the case of a harbor of refuge, the cost would be very great, and it is my opinion that the inconvenience to local interests is not sufficiently great to justify the expenditure.”

125 YEARS AGO

The News and Free Press

May 5, 1885

There is said to have been discovered a kind of tobacco which if smoked or chewed, will make a man forget he owes a dollar in the world. It appears to be a very popular variety.

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Headquarters, Grand Army of the Republic, Commander in Chief's office, Toledo, Ohio, April 30, 1885, General Orders No. 15:

In accordance with rules and regulations, May 30th will be observed as Memorial Day. As defined by resolution of the Eighteenth Annual Encampment it will be kept sacred to the memory of our heroic dead. Let no idle merry-making mar its consecrated hours.

Twenty years have passed since our last grand review. The death roll of years has added tens of thousands to the half million graves we left behind. The daily tolling bell, the freshly knotted crepe, the muffled drum, the slow and solemn procession, tell how fast our comrades join the silent ranks above.

One by one a gallant leader languishes upon his couch in pain, and over myriad of homes the death angle hovers darkly. Hallowed be the day that brings much solemn thoughts as these.

Our comrades sleep well. No tear can disturb their profound slumber; no perfume of flowers make their rest more sweet. But wherever Memorial Day is observed there rises a higher ideal of American valor, a holier care for the men that saved the Union.

Let posts of the Grand Army everywhere assemble. Enlist all loyal hearts in an observance of the day. Let the women and children be invited. Let all who reverence the flag unit in the ministration of loyalty and affection. The custom of inviting the clergy to hold memorial services on the Sunday preceding Memorial Day is again commended, and comrades should feel it a privilege and duty to attend.

Where there are no graves to gather around, as on the frontier, memorial services may still be held. Where there are no flowers to wreathe, there still remains that perfect flower of Freedom - the Red, White and Blue. Above each patriot's grave may its benedictions fall.

The flowers of love are immortal. Be it ours to cherish them in our hearts and let their fragrance fill our lives.

By order: John H. Kountz, Commander in Chief

[Editor's Note: The Grand Army of the Republic was an organization of Union veterans of the Civil War.]

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The steamer Van Raalte, commanded by Capt. E. A. Bouchard, called here Sunday evening and left Monday morning for Harbor Springs. She will run the season between harbor Springs, Beaver Island, and Manistique.

80 YEARS AGO

The St. Ignace Enterprise

May 1, 1930

In the Rivers and Harbors bill, passed the House Friday night is a item calling for a preliminary examination and survey of East Moran Bay at St. Ignace for the purpose of determining the needs for a breakwater at this port.

Action taken by the Lions Club when a committee consisting of Prentiss M. Brown, J. E. Quinn, and O. C. Boynton, Sr., was instructed to draft petitions for a breakwater at St. Ignace to be forwarded to Representative Bonn and [Senator] Vandenberg, is responsible for this action.

Captain Louis Goudreau of the Arnold line of steamers, who attended the meeting of the Lake Carriers Association early in December, 1928, brought the matter of the breakwater to the attention of the association and was assured that the body would get back of the proposition and urge its passage by congress once that it had been properly presented.

Captain Goudreau reported to the Lions Club at its meeting held January 22, 1929, and enthusiastically predicted the success of the proposition...

The bill is now in the senate and Senator Vandenberg can confidently be relied upon to keep these local items intact.

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Francis McLeod will leave Monday for Mackinaw City where he will take charge of the A& P store, a deserved promotion after six years service with the company here. “Nig” will not only be missed by his many friends here but especially with the baseball boys and the fans, as he has been one of the most popular players on the local team since his graduation from high school, holding down third base.

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Heavy rains and rapidly melting snow in the woods has caused the Tahquamenon river to go on a rampage, the water in the river having reached a higher stage than for several seasons. The Sage marsh is one big lake and covers the rails of the South Shore railway at Sage several inches deep. The Newberry Lumber & Chemical company is having trouble in keeping the water from reaching its electric pumps located on the banks of the Tahquamenon. Near Germfask the water of a branch of the Manistique river overflowed its banks and covered M-97 road, the water being high enough to reach their ignition systems and putting them out of commission. Much damage is being done the road beds and road crews will have a busy time effecting repairs when the waters recede.

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The Hotel Northern, closed since last fall, was reopened for the season yesterday. Manager Welsh returned a month ago from spending the winter in the west and at once began the renovating of the hotel, which is spick and span from the basement to the top floor. Manager Welsh predicts that the season will be one of the best this city has ever experienced.

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The Department of Conservation, the State Highway Department and the United States Geological Survey will begin work about May 10 for the second season of aerial mapping of Michigan.

The ground control surveys will be carried on in Mackinac, Schoolcraft and Delta counties and as soon as weather permits aerial photographing of these counties will begin. . . . Accurate base maps will be made from the photographs and ground control surveys. . .

The photographs are taken from army air corps planes flying at an average altitude of from 10,000 to 11,000 feet. Each picture shows clearly all elevations, lakes, streams, roads, woods, clearing, building, railroads, etc.

The photographs and the base maps made from the photographs and ground control surveys are expected to prove especially valuable in the work of the Forest Fire and Forestry Divisions of the Conservation Department, the game refuge work, and the Land Economic Survey and to the Highway Department in laying out new roads.

The tops of the fire towers operated by the Forest ire Division of the Department, in several counties are being painted white this spring to facilitate identification of points from the air.

The U. S. Geological Survey . . . has ordered fifty concrete benchmark posts from the Luce County Road Commission. The Geological Survey places the benchmark posts in strategic places and when the aerial pictures are taken, the posts act as markers for different areas. By this means the aerial survey can get pictures down to scale.

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All Mackinac County schools are making preparations for their second annual field day to be held at the fair grounds at Allenville Friday, May 9, 1930.

Every school in the county will be closed on that date and a holiday declared by the several boards of education.

The enthusiastic reception of the county's first field day last year, which was sponsored by Commissioner C. E. Langdon, and the large attendance and the numerous entries participating in the various events ensures an even larger attendance this year. . .

There will be no admission.

Prizes given to the winners of the various events.

10:00 a. m. to 12:00 o'clock noon - Events for grade pupils.

1:30 p. m. - Events for high schools.

There will also be over a score of events for individual competitions.

Baseball games for both boys and girls teams.

Baseball game between school teachers and school officers.

Horseshoe games for members of boards of education.

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The replanking of the hull of the Arnold Line steamer Perry, which has been going on for several weeks at the Laway dock, will be completed the middle of this week, when she will be towed to Mackinac Island to be fitted out and put into commission at the earliest possible moment. The Steamer Islander of the same line will be docked for repairs before going into commission this summer. - Cheboygan Tribune.

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Mrs. M. B. Gertz, census taker for St. Ignace, overlooked one item in her instructions, thereby causing her a whole lot of extra work. The instructions said black ink must be used in making lists. Mrs. Gertz used a purple ink, and is now copying her report in black. Too bad, as otherwise her lists were among the very best in the district.

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The ice blockade at Whitefish was broken Sunday allowing the upbound fleet of steamers to force a passage and continue in their way to Duluth. The steamer Assibiboia led the fleet through the barrier.

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The train was pulling out of the platform. The old gentleman was just settling down comfortably. Suddenly the door burst open and a young man tumbled into the carriage and seated himself, panting and puffing, opposite the old gentleman.

The latter looked on with obvious disapproval.

“You must be very unfit, young man,” he said, after a while. “Why, when I was young I never panted and got out of breath like that after a run.”

“Perhaps not,” returned the other, regaining his breath a little. “But I missed this train at the last station.”

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Newberry is to have a new motion picture house at a cost of $40,000, the contract for which has already been let to the J. P. foster Construction Company of Milwaukee.

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Three million whitefish spawn have been planted in Lake Michigan off Epoufette by the Michigan State Patrol boat No. 1.

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Henry Ford will make the endeavor to make Dearborn, the town where his big auto works are located, as dry as Sahara. He has stated that any one of his thousands of employees found drinking either at home, in a blind pig or elsewhere will be discharged. Bootleggers who are endeavoring to get a foothold in Dearborn are said to be despaired of their efforts.

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Mail service to Bois Blanc, which has been suspended since last fall, will be resumed today by the mail boat General in command of Captain Howard Smith.

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From Rexton: A very interesting debate took place in the high room Monday afternoon. The questions was: Resolved, that chain stores are a good thing for a community. . . As both sides gave some very good arguments the judges were unable to decide which arguments were best.

50 YEARS AGO

The Republican-News

and St. Ignace Enterprise

April 28, 1960

Plans for a Straits area recreation facility were discussed at a meeting of the St. Ignace Board of Recreation Monday night.

Projected plans which would include a swimming pool, club house, golf locker rooms and pro shop, riding stable, skeet range, bowling alleys and other related facilities were discussed as part of a long range program to further promote the county as a tourist attraction and provide area residents with recreational facilities not now available.

The program would be carried out by local citizens through a non-profit corporation operating in the public interest. The revenues collected through use of the facilities would be used to create additional facilities, none of which would be operated in direct competition with local residents. . .

Mark Milford, chairman of the Board of Recreation, stated, “Various means of financing the initial stage of the project have been discussed. Many details of the plan need investigation. This is a community project in the true sense o the word, and everyone interested in the concept is welcome to participate in the planning stage.”

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Harvest of the spring smelt run started in earnest in this vicinity last Sunday night.

By Monday, the word had gotten around and the creeks were crowded that evening with fishermen.

“It looked like a regular city at Nunn's Creek,” reported Jack Lee, who with his brother, Jim, brought in a bucket full. “They had lights strung across the river. You couldn't get a place to park your car near the river.”

The Pine river run was faster and many netted all the silvery fish they wanted.

Many persons tried Hoban's creek and the rivers out along US-2 west despite the inclement weather of Monday night, which brought rain and icy windshields before morning.

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Representatives of a dozen leading retail establishments in St. Ignace met Tuesday night with Dr. Charles Pappas of Northern Michigan, Marquette, and his associate, Charles Miles, community consultant, to plan for launching a survey and study to improve St. Ignace as a shopping center.

Mrs. Benson A. Wiggins, Jr., member of the Chamber of Commerce and operator of The Fashion Shoppe, told the group, “I believe we will create general participation when business people and shoppers understand that this program is designed to emphasize the likes of shoppers and correct the dislikes that exist.”

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Mackinac County's board of supervisors closed its two-week April session on a note of discord concerning the equalized valuation report which was approved by the majority of the board.

A petition to the state tax commission to come into Mackinac county and revalue assessments and equalize the tax units was presented by Supervisors H. L. Dettman of St. Ignace, Anne Crisler of Portage, William Watts of Newton and Glenn Gibbons of Bois Blanc.

The petition cited Mackinac Island and Moran township as units with faulty valuations. It charged that large new construction at Mackinac island is not on the tax rolls and that the increase in market value in property along US-2 West is not reflected in Moran township's assessment rolls.

Supervisor Dettman, in a statement before the board last week, charged that the valuation of St. Ignace was increased $114,000 this year though “the city lost $135,650 worth of taxable homes to the bypass plus 90 parcels of land. There are 50 vacant homes in St. Ignace and our population will be shown by the 1960 census to be less than 2,100 persons.”

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Re-organization of the St. Ignace Boat Club was effected last Friday evening by an enthusiastic and representative group of local boat operators. . . .

First project of the club will be to work with the Lions club in providing a boat launching ramp in the bay. It is proposed to build a ramp on city property and give the ramp to the city as a community project.

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From Mackinac Island: In the Ladies Home Journal, March edition, in a story entitled Isak Dineson, there was mention made of a “timber mare.” R. M. Bailey, being interested in mares, could not find the definition of a timber mare in a dictionary or in two sets of encyclopedias. Mrs. Bailey wrote to the Ladies Home Journal and received this reply: Dear Mr. Bailey. We are happy to give you the definition of a timber mare. “A kind of wooden horse on which soldiers were forced to ride for punishment.”

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From Hessel: Spring at long last is taking over and the last of the ice has left Cedarville bay. Fishermen hauled boats into the water minutes after the main body of ice broke up and floated eastward at approximately 10:25 a. m. on April 21. Fishermen were on hand to greed the annual spring perch run and catches were reported as very good. Hessel bay is now free of ice and the perch run ins in progress. Each year large quantities of jumbo, yellow belly perch are caught in these waters in the vicinity of the Mertaugh Boat Works. An influx of sportsmen is expected this week end for perch and smelt fishing.