Tag: postcard

This image shows a typical roadside rest area, where travelers can stop and view the scenery or eat a meal at the tables provided. This park overlooks the newly constructed Mackinaw Bridge, just visible at the right edge of the image in the distance.

The description states:
291 V
Roadside parkway with Straits Bridge in distance. St. Ignace, Michigan.
—St. Ignace is on the Upper Peninsula side of the Straits.
This card is dated 1958, one year after the bridge was completed.

This image shows the modest harbor and pier of the small town of Silver City, located at the western end of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The description states:
HARBOR AT SILVER CITY, MICHIGAN
The mouth of the Big Iron River emptying into Lake Superior serves as boat dockage for scores of small craft. Trolling for Lake Trout is popular here.
This image likely dates from the 1950s.

This is an image of the bulk freight hauling ship named the Cason J. Callaway, a one-time President of United States Steel.

The description states:
THE CASON J. CALLAWAY
Downbound from the Soo Locks, the Callaway, 674 feet long, was launched on March 22, 1952. Named in honor of the President of United States Steel Corp., the ship has a cargo capacity of 19,720 long tons. It was built at the River Rouge Yards of the Great Lakes Engineering Works.
–This was one of several similar ships constructed for freight transport on the Great Lakes.
This image likely dates from the 1950s.

This is another example of a Michigan car ferry, in this case the Emerald Isle, which operated between Charlevoix and St. James.

The description states:
The New Motor Ship
EMERALD ISLE
Passenger and Car Ferry, with daily cruises between Charlevoix and St. James, Michigan. Located on Historic Beaver Island, known as America’s Emerald Isle, St. James lies at the Northeastern tip of the Island, 32 miles north of Charlevoix. At one time Beaver Island was ruled by King Strang, the only Monarch ever crowned in the United States.
—“King” James Strang was a Mormon church leader who established a community on Beaver Island in the 1850s, ending in his murder.
Since the ferry is noted as being new, this indicates the picture dates from the 1950s.

This image shows the boarding ramp of the car ferry named the City of Munising. It operated across the Straits of Mackinac after being renamed from Pere Marquette 20 where it operated between Ludington, Michigan and ports in Wisconsin.

The description states:
THE CITY OF MUNISING
Michigan State Ferry preparing to dock air Mackinaw City, Michigan. S 65
–The cars indicate that this image is likely from the 1950s.

This image shows a few of the cars transported across the Straits of Mackinac by a ship of the same name before the construction of the bridge connecting Michigan with Canada.

The description states:
ABOARD “THE STRAITS OF MACKINAC”
One of the earliest State Ferries operating between St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, still in operation..  S 68
–The ship shown here was built in 1928 and may have continued until the 1950s, when ferry service was discontinued. This image likely dates from the 1950s based on the car models visible.

This image shows a small ceremony for the dead as performed by Ojibway Indians in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The more common Westernized form of the tribal name is Chippewa.

The description states:
BURIAL HOUSE — FEAST OF THE DEAD
A memorial custom of the original Ojibway People, re-enacted annually by Chief White Wolf and family. Totem Village, 11 miles west of St. Ignace, Michigan.
 
— As noted here, Chief White Wolf was a woodcarver named Ralph McCarry of European descent who invited the local Ojibway people to contribute to the re-enactments. The Totem Village was established in the 1950s still exists as a museum after his untimely death at 56 in 1962.
This card likely dates from the 1950s.

This image shows visitors viewing the span of the Cut River Bridge in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, using a viewing area constructed along with the bridge, as seen by the tunnel under the bridge abutment.

The description states:
No. 92  THE CUT RIVER BRIDGE
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
The Cut River Bridge on U. S. No. 2 was completed in 1946 and has since become a popular tourist attraction. The bridge has an overall length of 641 ft and a span of 551 ft. The Cut River is 147 feet below.
–Construction was begun in 1941, but was halted during World War 2 because of steel demands, so it took 5 years before being completed.
This card is dated 1951.

This image shows a historic covered bridge construction over the Flat River at the village of Fallasburg. The Fallasburg Bridge is now a part of the Fallasburg Historical District.

The description states:
COVERED BRIDGES NEAR LOWELL, MICHIGAN
This well preserved bridge is still in use near Fallasburg Park. The sign above the entrance reads,  “$5.00 fine for riding or driving on this bridge faster than a walk” (not enforced).
–The bridge was originally constructed in 1871, and has had extensive maintenance about every 40 years, so it is still usable by automobile traffic today. It is one of three such covered bridges in Michigan still open to traffic.
This card likely dates from the 1950s.

This image shows a portion of a popular scenic rural highway in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan.

The description states:
645  BROCKWAY MOUNTAIN DRIVE
in the “Copper Country” of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
This drive is both beautiful and spectacular. Unfolded before your eyes are vast expanses of timberland dotted with jewel-like lakes. Each curve, each bend in the road is more beautiful than the last.
–While the car in the distance serves to give a sense of scale to the image, it is not clear why the photographer posed the woman standing on the stone railing.
This card is dated 1954.