Looking Back

Compiled by Ryan Schlehuber

Above: The late Stella King lay health nurse who sometimes was the Island’s only medical caregiver, stands in front of the Medical Center on Market Street, which opened in the 1950s. A new facility replaced this building in 2003 and the city may renovate it for apartment use. (Photographs courtesy of Dwight Lapine)

115 Years Ago

Saturday, September 6, 1890

Admiral John B. Clitz. U.S.N. (retired), was at the Island the fore part of the week, for the purpose of removing the remains of his father, Capt. John Clitz, who died while in command of Fort Mackinac in 1833, to Detroit for final interment.

At left: A portrait of Nurse Stella King in her younger years.

The Admiral is a brother of Gen. H.B. Clitz, who so mysteriously disappeared from Detroit two years ago and has never been heard of. Both the Admiral and Gen. H.B. Clitz are uncles of Lieut. E.B. Pratt, of the 23rd Inft., late of Fort Mackinac.

50 Years Ago

Thursday, September 8, 1955

The Labor Day rush for the final summer vacation period materialized here and at Mackinaw City last weekend as the state ferries handled a total of 26,367 motor vehicles from Friday through Monday.

Labor Day, 1955, is a red letter day for Mackinac Island. On this day, ground was broken for the new medical center to be located between the Astor House clerk’s quarters and the Flanagan home.

Dennis Brodeur, active in the Lions Club, C. of C., and other civic organizations, was master of ceremonies. Mayor Sam McIntire announced the center’s board of directors, namely, Charles Dufina, Clarence Vance, John Bloswick, Stella King, Mary Chambers, Edith Bruckner, Dennis Brodeur, James Chapman, and William Stubbs.

Stella King, R.N., spoke on the necessity of a center here and Michigan’s First Lady, Mrs. G. Mennen Williams, handed the spade to Miss King to break ground. Our health nurse was a fitting person to do the honors.

35 Years Ago

Thursday, September 10, 1970

Despite a torrential downpour early Monday morning, a record-breaking 16,500 persons walked across the Mackinac Bridge. Numbered among the thousands were Governor Milliken, his Democratic opponent, Sander Levin, and a host of other political figures, including Attorney General Frank Kelley and Congressman Phil Ruppe, bearing out the 1970 Bridge Walk promotional slogan, “The Greats are at the Straits on Labor Day Weekend.”

The G. Mennen Williams have closed their summer home on the West Bluff, returning to their Grosse Pointe home.

The maritime history of the Straits of Mackinac, rich in lore and intriguing in fact, will provide the nucleus for the Mackinac Island State Park Commission’s latest, and possibly most exciting and ambitious project.

The project is the construction of a historical interpretation and visitor center complex in the Michilimackinac State Park in Mackinaw City. The complex will consist of an Orientation Center, an open-air museum, and an adjacent interpretive museum housed in the Mackinac Point Lighthouse. The facilities are scheduled to be in operation in 1972.

Heading the project is Assistant State Park Director Dr. David Armour, who feels that the new museum complex will be a real advantage to northern Michigan tourism and will benefit everyone in the region. It will help consolidate the twin fort restoration area comprised of Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City and Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island.

10 Years Ago

September 2 to September 8, 1995

Overall enrollment for Mackinac Island Public School will increase by 11 students this fall, with 97 students expected to enter the classrooms Tuesday. Superintendent Gary Urman attributes much of the rise in enrollment to an increased number of entering kindergarten students.

The newest addition to the Mackinac Island social scene, the Engler triplets, have spent the summer swimming, lounging on the front porch, and enjoying the Island’s sweets and candies. “They are very much enjoying being on Mackinac Island,” said their proud mother, First Lady Michelle Engler, married to Governor John Engler. Margaret, Hannah, and Madeleine Engler were born November 13, 1994, at the University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor.