Photo Gathering Reminds Islanders of Old Mackinac
By Ryan Schlehuber

Larry Parel brought an enlarged photograph of the 1957-58 Mackinac Island High School Spartans baseball team to the community photograph viewing Tuesday, February 2. Pictured in the photograph are Mr. Parel, in front, with (from left) Manager Jerry Lancaster, Oscar Bodwin, Butchie Andress, and Jerry Green.

Memories of Mackinac Island and how it used to be were shared during a community gathering Wednesday, February 2, when Island residents, young and old, viewed old photographs of the old days.

The idea for gathering residents to share old photographs was the inspiration of Dr. Bill Chambers of Mackinac Island Carriage Tours and Mayor Margaret Doud, two history buffs who love to share the lore and images of their youth. About 50 people attended, entertained by hundreds of photographs displayed on three long tables, a slide show of Jeff Shaffer’s photographs, a 25-minute historic video shared by Nancy May, and soup and sandwiches prepared by Sue Chambers.

Did you ever hear the story of Tony Echels and his bear out at Stonecliffe in the 1940s? Do you remember the fire at the old Doud’s Mercantile in 1943, or the scrap drive lineup of brass cannons from Fort Mackinac, slated to be melted for shell casings during World War II? Do you remember when the Island didn’t have a single roar of a snowmobile engine during the winters? Or perhaps you remember having snowball fights during recess at the Thomas Ferry school, housed in the old Indian Dormitory.

These and other stories filled the room that evening.

Residents who came armed with their collections of photographs included Mayor Doud, Dr. Chambers, Esther Wightman, Leanne Brodeur, Nancy May, Rob Jerstrom, Ed and Nancy Pfeiffelman, Larry Parel, Laurel and Reggie Gough, Armand “Smi” Horn, Kay Hoppenrath, and Candy Smith.

Mr. Jerstrom offered to make reprint negatives of any photograph a person wanted for $5 for the roll of film.

Mrs. Wightman had a collection of photos of her late husband, Clarence, who drove a tour buggy and one photo was with him giving tourists a ride in a topless carriage. She also had a photograph of Benjamin McGulpin, whose house is now a museum at the corner Fort Street and Market Street. It is the oldest existing building on the Island.

Mayor Doud said the old Thomas Ferry school class photos brought back a lot of memories for her. The school, which held classes for kindergarten to 10th grade, closed in the 1950s. The new public school below Grand Hotel now educates students through the 12th grade.

Mayor Doud also enjoyed the photos of the Windermere Hotel when it was a summer cottage, owned by the Anthony family.

Candy Smith had many old photographs of her family on both sides, the Smiths and the Horns. One photo was of her grandfather, Edward Horn, in a Coast Guard uniform, holding a baby in his arms, Archie Horn, with the baby’s mother, Violet, in the background. Mr. Horn was second-in-command at the United States Coast Guard station across from Marquette Park. The station is now a visitor’s center for Mackinac State Historic Parks and the Coast Guard station has moved to St. Ignace.

Jeff Shaffer’s slide show of photographs included many ice cutting scenes, when blocks were cut from the frozen lake for use through the summer. Other photographs included U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, and John F. Kennedy on trips to the Island, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and his wife, Happy, signing autographs, and “before the tourists” photos of the quiet downtown streets in the summer.

Nancy May’s video was reproduced from eight-millimeter film that her aunt, Margie Lang, took in the 1940s and 1950s. The film was converted and edited onto VHS by John Pfeiffelman. Much of the film included the crew and cast from “This Time for Keeps,” filmed on Mackinac Island in 1948 and starring Esther Williams and Jimmy Durante.

“I really enjoyed the video,” said Ms. Wightman. “There were a lot of scenes from the winter time, and boats, and horses. That’s what Mackinac is all about.”

She said she also remembers when snowmobiles were not allowed on the Island and how peaceful the streets were during the winter.

Ms. May was most impressed with how few tourists were on the Island back then, especially during scenes of the Lilac Day Parade.

“It was amazing to see the parade with hardly anyone there,” she said. “Today you can’t get through downtown because there are so many people. It shows you just how popular it has gotten.”

Her favorite was Sue Chambers’ photograph of a dray driver going across the ice. The angle of the photo peered over the shoulder of the driver, looking down at the horses with nothing but ice ahead.

“It was a stunning picture, and the composition was great,” she said. “There were a lot of pictures where I see people I knew, and their photograph was as I see them now. Mr. Wellington, my teacher, the photo I saw of him, that’s how I always remember him. And Milton Bazinaw, I hadn’t seen him in 40 years, but that photograph of him is the way I remember him.”

Ed Pfeiffelman, Nancy May’s brother, who along with Smi Horn helped explain some of the scenes during the slide show, really enjoyed the event. A photo belonging to Margaret and Jeannette Doud showed the snow-covered remnants of the old Doud Mercantile that burned down in January 1943. It used to be at the head of the Arnold Dock.

“We were living (in the Mission area) at the time of the fire,” he said. “I was about six or seven then. I remember looking out at the sky, and it was all red. I remember my father, Herbie, coming in the house and telling us that there’s a possibility that the whole downtown was going to go. It was quite a fire.”

He also liked the 1950s photograph of four old men sitting on the bench near the Carriage Tours ticket booth. The four men were Tony Corrigan, George Lapine, Walter Pfeiffelmann, Ed Pfeiffelman’s grandfather, and Bernie Williams.

Of his sister’s video, Ed Pfeiffelman said, “I remember Aunt Marge filming then. Other than the Navy ships that were on the video, I remember the whole thing.”

The community may hold another photo gathering before this summer, said Mayor Doud.

“It was a great time,” she said. “I’m looking forward to doing it again.”