Looking Back

Compiled by Ryan Schehuber

A 1920s postcard of Marquette Park shows a temporary wooden stage, possibly erected for a speaker or performance. The land was originally used for soldier gardens and was opened as a park in 1905. An eight-foot wide cement sidewalk was installed in 1908 and later removed, and the bronze statue of Father Marquette was erected in 1909. (Postcard courtesy of Bob Cole)

90 Years Ago

Thursday, August 12, 1915

Joe Leggett came over from Mackinac Island Tuesday in command of his flagship, the Lawrence , one of the tidiest little crafts on the lakes. Joe had not been feeling well all summer (weather’s been so blamed nasty, probably the cause) and he made up his mind to sell his boat and retire. But with the return of the sunshine he again changed his mind, “killed” his ads, and is going to continue to brave the billows of the great lakes for awhile longer. It is pleasing for the Enterprise to be able to state that Joe is feeling a whole lot better –– so much that he sneaks away and enjoys a cigar now and then when his wife ain’t looking.

The Misses Alice and Margaret Ward, King Avenue, Detroit, and Mrs. James Toomey and family, also of Detroit, are enjoying the beauties of Mackinac Island and the comforts of Chateau Beaumont, the new house overlooking the harbor, erected since last season by Dr. James Bogan.

50 Years Ago

Thursday, August 11, 1955

Members of the special committee appointed by Gov. G. Mennen Williams will meet in St. Ignace at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon to “explore the areas in which the committee might be helpful in obtaining employment for state ferry crewmen following discontinuance of use of the ferries operating between the lower and upper peninsulas.”

The committee was appointed by Gov. Williams last month following a meeting of representatives of state ferry employees and the state civil service commission which resulted in averting a strike at the Straits of Mackinac.

Gov. Williams said he believed that wage disputes and differences between the employees and civil service commission could be traced largely to the worry about unemployment of ferry workers after the Straits bridge is built.

Alan Sawyer, former mayor of Mackinac Island, member of the Mackinac County Board of Education and Island landscape architect, was appointed to membership on the Mackinac Island State Park Commission.

Gov. G. Mennen Williams on Tuesday announced the appointment for a six-year term. Sawyer succeeds William Doyle, many years a strong figure on the park commission and in Michigan politics.

The Daisy Day committee is planning its annual Daisy Day for Thursday, August 24. Money derived from this affair helps defray expenses of the lay health nurse and the school lunch program.

35 Years Ago

Thursday, August 13, 1970

Visiting the James McGreevy Sr. family and Mrs. Agnes Shine were their brother James Harris, of Glasgow, Scotland, Mr. and Mrs. Traynor of Scotland, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Traynor and children of Toronto, Canada, and Mr. and Mrs. John Bur of Cheboygan. James Harris left Saturday to visit the Joseph Harris of Boston before returning to his home in Scotland. He enjoyed the weather here so much.

Capt. Jim Smith and other local sailors report that the fog of last Saturday morning was the worst in their memory. Until the fog burned off around 11 a.m., Capt. Smith reported area ships had to keep a fog watch on the bow.