US Ends .com
  • Home
  • Store
    • US highway book
    • US highway map
    • Florida US highway map
  • Endpoints
    • US 1 - US 9 >
      • 1 >
        • 201
        • 301
        • 401 [i]
        • 401 [ii]
        • 401
        • 501
        • 601
        • 701
      • 2w >
        • 102
      • 2e >
        • 202
        • 302
      • 3
      • 4 >
        • 104
      • 5
      • 6 >
        • 106
        • 206
      • 7
      • 8
      • 9 >
        • 109*
        • 209
        • 309
    • US 10 - US 19 >
      • 10 >
        • 110
        • 210
        • 310
        • 410
      • 11 >
        • 111
        • 211
        • 311
        • 411 [i]
        • 411 [ii]
        • 411
        • 511*
        • 611
        • 711*
      • 12 >
        • 112
        • 212
        • 312
      • 13 >
        • 113
        • 213
      • 14
      • 15
      • 16 >
        • 116
        • 216
      • 17 >
        • 17-1
        • 117 [i]
        • 117
        • 217
      • 18 >
        • 118
        • 218
      • 19 >
        • 119
        • 219
        • 319
    • US 20 - US 29 >
      • 20e >
        • 120
        • 220
        • 320
        • 420
      • 20w
      • 21 >
        • 121 [i]
        • 121
        • 221
        • 321
        • 421
        • 521
      • 22 >
        • 122 [i]
        • 122 [ii]
        • 222
        • 322
        • 422e
        • 422w
        • 522
        • 622*
      • 23 >
        • 123 [i]
        • 123
        • 223
      • 24 >
        • 124
        • 224
      • 25
      • 26 >
        • 126
      • 27 >
        • 127
        • 227
      • 28
      • 29 >
        • 129
    • US 30 - US 39 >
      • 30 >
        • 130
        • 230
        • 330
        • 430
        • 530
        • 630*
        • 730
        • 830
      • 31 >
        • 131
        • 231
        • 331 [i]
        • 331
        • 431
      • 32
      • 33
      • 34
      • 35
      • 36 >
        • 136
      • 38 >
        • 138
    • US 40 - US 49 >
      • 40 >
        • 140
        • 240
        • 340
      • 41 >
        • 141
        • 241 [i]
        • 241 [ii]
        • 341
        • 441 >
          • 441n
          • 441s
        • 541
        • 641
      • 42
      • 43
      • 44
      • 45
      • 46
      • 48 [i]
      • 48 [ii]
      • 48
      • 49
    • US 50 - US 59 >
      • 50 >
        • 150
        • 250
        • 350
        • 450
        • 550
        • 650
      • 51 - 55 >
        • 51 >
          • 151
        • 52 >
          • 152
        • 53
        • 54 >
          • 154
        • 55
      • 56 >
        • 156
      • 57
      • 58 >
        • 158
        • 258
      • 59 >
        • 159
        • 259
    • US 60 - US 69 >
      • 60 >
        • 160
        • 260
        • 360
        • 460
      • 61 - 65 >
        • 61 >
          • 161
        • 62
        • 63 >
          • 163 [i]
        • 64 >
          • 164 [i]
          • 164 [ii]
          • 264
        • 65 >
          • 165
      • 66 >
        • 166
        • 266
        • 366 [i]
        • 366 [ii]
        • 466 [i]*
        • 466 [ii]
        • 566
        • 666
      • 67 >
        • 167
      • 68 >
        • 168
      • 69 >
        • 169
    • US 70 - US 79 >
      • 70 >
        • 170
        • 270 [i]*
        • 270
        • 370
        • 470
      • 71 >
        • 171
        • 271
        • 371 [i]
        • 371 [ii]
        • 371
      • 72 - 76 >
        • 72
        • 73
        • 74
        • 75 >
          • 175
          • 275
        • 76 >
          • 176
          • 276
      • 77 >
        • 177
        • 277
        • 377
      • 78 >
        • 178
        • 278
        • 378
      • 79
    • US 80 - US 89 >
      • 80 - 84 >
        • 80 >
          • 180 [i]
          • 180
          • 280
          • 380
        • 81 >
          • 181
          • 281
        • 82
        • 83 >
          • 183
          • 283
          • 383
        • 84
      • 85 - 89 >
        • 85 >
          • 185
          • 285 [i]
          • 285
          • 385 [i]
          • 385
          • 485
        • 87 >
          • 187
          • 287n
          • 287s
        • 89n
        • 89s >
          • 189 [i]
          • 189
    • US 90 - US 99 >
      • 90 - 94 >
        • 90 >
          • 190
          • 290
        • 91 >
          • 191 >
            • 191n
            • 191s
          • 491
        • 92 >
          • 192
        • 93
        • 94
      • 95 -98 >
        • 95 >
          • 195
          • 295
          • 395
        • 96 [i]
        • 96
        • 97 >
          • 197
        • 98
      • 99 >
        • 199
        • 299
        • 399
    • Anomalies >
      • 101
      • 163
      • 400
      • 412
      • 425
  • Places
    • A-L >
      • A >
        • Aberdeen
        • Albuquerque
        • Amarillo
        • Apalachicola
        • Astoria
        • Atlantic
      • B >
        • Baltimore
        • Baton Rouge
        • Bay Area
        • Bishop
        • Boone
        • Brady
        • Bristol
        • Brownsville
        • Brunswick
      • C >
        • Charleston
        • Chattanooga
        • Chicago
        • Cincinnati
        • Cleveland
        • Cody
        • Corpus
        • Cortez
        • Council Bluffs
        • Covington
        • Crescent
        • Cumberland Gap
      • D-E >
        • Dallas
        • Des Moines
        • Detroit
        • Dothan
        • Douglas
        • El Paso
        • Erie
        • Eugene
      • F >
        • Farmington
        • Flagstaff
        • Florence
        • Fox Valley
        • Franklin
      • G >
        • Gallup
        • Georgetown
        • Grand Junction
        • Grand Portage
        • Grayling
        • Great Falls
        • Greeley
      • H-I >
        • Hardeeville
        • Harrisburg
        • Holbrook
        • Idaho Falls
        • Int'l Falls
      • J-K >
        • Jacksonville
        • Joplin
        • Junction
        • Kansas City
        • Keokuk
        • Key West
        • Kingman
      • L >
        • Laredo
        • Lewiston
        • Long Beach
        • Los Angeles
        • Louisville
        • Lubbock
    • M-R >
      • M >
        • Mackinaw
        • Madison
        • Maryhill
        • Maysville
        • Miami
        • Midway
        • Miles City
        • Milford
        • Milwaukee
        • Minneapolis
        • Mobile 31
        • Mobile 31-43-45
        • Montgomery
        • Monticello
        • Mount Vernon
      • N-O >
        • Nags Head
        • Naples
        • Natchez
        • New Castle
        • New Orleans
        • Niagara
        • Norlina
        • Ocean City
        • Oklahoma City
      • P >
        • Pee Dee
        • Pembina
        • Pensacola
        • Petersburg
        • Philadelphia
        • Piegan
        • Pineville
        • Port Arthur
        • Portsmouth
      • Q-R >
        • Quad Cities
        • Rapid City
        • Raton
        • Reading
        • Richmond
        • Rockingham
        • Rouses Point
    • S-Z >
      • S >
        • San Antonio
        • San Antonio NM
        • San Diego
        • Santa Fe
        • Savannah
        • Sioux
        • Springer
        • Springfield
        • St. Ignace
        • St. John
        • St. Paul
        • St. Pete
      • T-U-V >
        • Tallahassee
        • Tampa
        • Toledo
        • Trinidad
        • Tuba City
        • Ucolo
        • VA Beach
      • W >
        • Walterboro
        • Waverly
        • West Memphis
        • Wilmington
        • Wilson
        • Wrightsville
      • Y >
        • Yellowstone E
        • Yellowstone N
        • Yellowstone NE
        • Yellowstone S
        • Yellowstone W
  • Highways
    • Map of all endpoints
    • Sources
    • History
    • 1926 almost-routes
    • Intra-state routes
    • Numbering
    • Colors
    • Gaps
    • Blog
  • Bonus
    • Colorado >
      • Lowest point
      • Antipodes
      • Toponymy >
        • Roots
      • Colloquialisms
      • Populations
      • Denvers
    • Washington Meridian
    • Watersheds >
      • Headwaters Hill
      • Three Waters Mtn.
      • Parting of the Waters
    • Geo-centers >
      • 48 states
      • 50 states
      • North America
    • State corners >
      • AZ-CO-NM-UT
      • CO-UT-WY
      • CO-NE-WY
      • CO northeast
      • CO-KS-NE
      • CO-KS-OK
      • CO-NM-OK
      • NM-OK-TX
      • NM southeast
      • TX northwest
  • Connect
    • Author/history
    • Rationale
    • Contact
    • Contributors
    • Submissions
  • Home
  • Store
    • US highway book
    • US highway map
    • Florida US highway map
  • Endpoints
    • US 1 - US 9 >
      • 1 >
        • 201
        • 301
        • 401 [i]
        • 401 [ii]
        • 401
        • 501
        • 601
        • 701
      • 2w >
        • 102
      • 2e >
        • 202
        • 302
      • 3
      • 4 >
        • 104
      • 5
      • 6 >
        • 106
        • 206
      • 7
      • 8
      • 9 >
        • 109*
        • 209
        • 309
    • US 10 - US 19 >
      • 10 >
        • 110
        • 210
        • 310
        • 410
      • 11 >
        • 111
        • 211
        • 311
        • 411 [i]
        • 411 [ii]
        • 411
        • 511*
        • 611
        • 711*
      • 12 >
        • 112
        • 212
        • 312
      • 13 >
        • 113
        • 213
      • 14
      • 15
      • 16 >
        • 116
        • 216
      • 17 >
        • 17-1
        • 117 [i]
        • 117
        • 217
      • 18 >
        • 118
        • 218
      • 19 >
        • 119
        • 219
        • 319
    • US 20 - US 29 >
      • 20e >
        • 120
        • 220
        • 320
        • 420
      • 20w
      • 21 >
        • 121 [i]
        • 121
        • 221
        • 321
        • 421
        • 521
      • 22 >
        • 122 [i]
        • 122 [ii]
        • 222
        • 322
        • 422e
        • 422w
        • 522
        • 622*
      • 23 >
        • 123 [i]
        • 123
        • 223
      • 24 >
        • 124
        • 224
      • 25
      • 26 >
        • 126
      • 27 >
        • 127
        • 227
      • 28
      • 29 >
        • 129
    • US 30 - US 39 >
      • 30 >
        • 130
        • 230
        • 330
        • 430
        • 530
        • 630*
        • 730
        • 830
      • 31 >
        • 131
        • 231
        • 331 [i]
        • 331
        • 431
      • 32
      • 33
      • 34
      • 35
      • 36 >
        • 136
      • 38 >
        • 138
    • US 40 - US 49 >
      • 40 >
        • 140
        • 240
        • 340
      • 41 >
        • 141
        • 241 [i]
        • 241 [ii]
        • 341
        • 441 >
          • 441n
          • 441s
        • 541
        • 641
      • 42
      • 43
      • 44
      • 45
      • 46
      • 48 [i]
      • 48 [ii]
      • 48
      • 49
    • US 50 - US 59 >
      • 50 >
        • 150
        • 250
        • 350
        • 450
        • 550
        • 650
      • 51 - 55 >
        • 51 >
          • 151
        • 52 >
          • 152
        • 53
        • 54 >
          • 154
        • 55
      • 56 >
        • 156
      • 57
      • 58 >
        • 158
        • 258
      • 59 >
        • 159
        • 259
    • US 60 - US 69 >
      • 60 >
        • 160
        • 260
        • 360
        • 460
      • 61 - 65 >
        • 61 >
          • 161
        • 62
        • 63 >
          • 163 [i]
        • 64 >
          • 164 [i]
          • 164 [ii]
          • 264
        • 65 >
          • 165
      • 66 >
        • 166
        • 266
        • 366 [i]
        • 366 [ii]
        • 466 [i]*
        • 466 [ii]
        • 566
        • 666
      • 67 >
        • 167
      • 68 >
        • 168
      • 69 >
        • 169
    • US 70 - US 79 >
      • 70 >
        • 170
        • 270 [i]*
        • 270
        • 370
        • 470
      • 71 >
        • 171
        • 271
        • 371 [i]
        • 371 [ii]
        • 371
      • 72 - 76 >
        • 72
        • 73
        • 74
        • 75 >
          • 175
          • 275
        • 76 >
          • 176
          • 276
      • 77 >
        • 177
        • 277
        • 377
      • 78 >
        • 178
        • 278
        • 378
      • 79
    • US 80 - US 89 >
      • 80 - 84 >
        • 80 >
          • 180 [i]
          • 180
          • 280
          • 380
        • 81 >
          • 181
          • 281
        • 82
        • 83 >
          • 183
          • 283
          • 383
        • 84
      • 85 - 89 >
        • 85 >
          • 185
          • 285 [i]
          • 285
          • 385 [i]
          • 385
          • 485
        • 87 >
          • 187
          • 287n
          • 287s
        • 89n
        • 89s >
          • 189 [i]
          • 189
    • US 90 - US 99 >
      • 90 - 94 >
        • 90 >
          • 190
          • 290
        • 91 >
          • 191 >
            • 191n
            • 191s
          • 491
        • 92 >
          • 192
        • 93
        • 94
      • 95 -98 >
        • 95 >
          • 195
          • 295
          • 395
        • 96 [i]
        • 96
        • 97 >
          • 197
        • 98
      • 99 >
        • 199
        • 299
        • 399
    • Anomalies >
      • 101
      • 163
      • 400
      • 412
      • 425
  • Places
    • A-L >
      • A >
        • Aberdeen
        • Albuquerque
        • Amarillo
        • Apalachicola
        • Astoria
        • Atlantic
      • B >
        • Baltimore
        • Baton Rouge
        • Bay Area
        • Bishop
        • Boone
        • Brady
        • Bristol
        • Brownsville
        • Brunswick
      • C >
        • Charleston
        • Chattanooga
        • Chicago
        • Cincinnati
        • Cleveland
        • Cody
        • Corpus
        • Cortez
        • Council Bluffs
        • Covington
        • Crescent
        • Cumberland Gap
      • D-E >
        • Dallas
        • Des Moines
        • Detroit
        • Dothan
        • Douglas
        • El Paso
        • Erie
        • Eugene
      • F >
        • Farmington
        • Flagstaff
        • Florence
        • Fox Valley
        • Franklin
      • G >
        • Gallup
        • Georgetown
        • Grand Junction
        • Grand Portage
        • Grayling
        • Great Falls
        • Greeley
      • H-I >
        • Hardeeville
        • Harrisburg
        • Holbrook
        • Idaho Falls
        • Int'l Falls
      • J-K >
        • Jacksonville
        • Joplin
        • Junction
        • Kansas City
        • Keokuk
        • Key West
        • Kingman
      • L >
        • Laredo
        • Lewiston
        • Long Beach
        • Los Angeles
        • Louisville
        • Lubbock
    • M-R >
      • M >
        • Mackinaw
        • Madison
        • Maryhill
        • Maysville
        • Miami
        • Midway
        • Miles City
        • Milford
        • Milwaukee
        • Minneapolis
        • Mobile 31
        • Mobile 31-43-45
        • Montgomery
        • Monticello
        • Mount Vernon
      • N-O >
        • Nags Head
        • Naples
        • Natchez
        • New Castle
        • New Orleans
        • Niagara
        • Norlina
        • Ocean City
        • Oklahoma City
      • P >
        • Pee Dee
        • Pembina
        • Pensacola
        • Petersburg
        • Philadelphia
        • Piegan
        • Pineville
        • Port Arthur
        • Portsmouth
      • Q-R >
        • Quad Cities
        • Rapid City
        • Raton
        • Reading
        • Richmond
        • Rockingham
        • Rouses Point
    • S-Z >
      • S >
        • San Antonio
        • San Antonio NM
        • San Diego
        • Santa Fe
        • Savannah
        • Sioux
        • Springer
        • Springfield
        • St. Ignace
        • St. John
        • St. Paul
        • St. Pete
      • T-U-V >
        • Tallahassee
        • Tampa
        • Toledo
        • Trinidad
        • Tuba City
        • Ucolo
        • VA Beach
      • W >
        • Walterboro
        • Waverly
        • West Memphis
        • Wilmington
        • Wilson
        • Wrightsville
      • Y >
        • Yellowstone E
        • Yellowstone N
        • Yellowstone NE
        • Yellowstone S
        • Yellowstone W
  • Highways
    • Map of all endpoints
    • Sources
    • History
    • 1926 almost-routes
    • Intra-state routes
    • Numbering
    • Colors
    • Gaps
    • Blog
  • Bonus
    • Colorado >
      • Lowest point
      • Antipodes
      • Toponymy >
        • Roots
      • Colloquialisms
      • Populations
      • Denvers
    • Washington Meridian
    • Watersheds >
      • Headwaters Hill
      • Three Waters Mtn.
      • Parting of the Waters
    • Geo-centers >
      • 48 states
      • 50 states
      • North America
    • State corners >
      • AZ-CO-NM-UT
      • CO-UT-WY
      • CO-NE-WY
      • CO northeast
      • CO-KS-NE
      • CO-KS-OK
      • CO-NM-OK
      • NM-OK-TX
      • NM southeast
      • TX northwest
  • Connect
    • Author/history
    • Rationale
    • Contact
    • Contributors
    • Submissions

US Highways Blog

My Mom, Miss Missaukee at Mackinac

11/1/2017

3 Comments

 
(originally posted 2002; last updated 6/8/2022)
Picture
Picture
1958 postage stamp
Michigan's two peninsulas are separated by the four-mile-wide Straits of Mackinac*, which is the body of water that connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  During the 19th century passenger ferries transported people between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, and in the 1920s, the state implemented car ferries so that people could get their automobiles across the Straits.  Immediately there was great demand for this service, and soon there were reports that the lines of cars waiting to board would sometimes be backed up as much as 15 miles!  Clearly there was a need for a bridge.  This represented a monumental challenge, in terms of both engineering and expense.  But in November 1957, the new Mackinac Bridge opened to traffic.  At the time it was the costliest stretch of road in the world, and it remains one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. 
*Pronounced MACK-ih-naw.  Some locations spell it more phonetically - such as Mackinaw City - but both spellings are pronounced the same.  The word is a French corruption of an Ojibwa name for a division of their tribe, early inhabitants of the area.
The website mackinacbridge.org has lots more information, history, facts, and figures about the Bridge itself... but the focus of this page is the Mackinac Bridge Dedication Festival, which took place the following summer. 
Picture

The organizers decided that each of Michigan's 83 counties would elect a queen to represent them at the ceremony.  My mother, Faye Tacoma, was chosen as "Miss Missaukee County".  She did a great job of preserving memories and mementos of this once-in-a-lifetime event.  On this page you can see photos, view newspaper clippings, and read about the dedication festivities from Faye's perspective.  She saved all of the correspondence in her scrapbook, and interspersed throughout this page are several interesting examples of things that have changed since the 1950s:
  • Graphic design
  • Advertising slogans
  • Zone codes (precursors to modern-day ZIP codes)
  • Telephone exchanges (the first two digits of a seven-digit phone number were displayed as letters).
Picture
Here is the article in the local newspaper (Lake City Waterfront) that caught the eye of 16-year-old Faye Tacoma in May of 1958:
Picture

That is how it all got started.  Here is what Faye said about that in her scrapbook:
Picture
She was referring to McBain High School; she actually lived in Falmouth at the time, but that town was not big enough to have its own high school. Following is how she described the contest:

Picture
Much of the text in Faye's scrapbook was excerpted from a speech she gave to the hometown crowd after the ceremonies, so a lot of her impressions and feelings were edited out.  But she once told me that most of the Missaukee contestants were from towns larger than Falmouth, and there was a sense that the girls from small towns were not expected to win.  But as it turned out, that is exactly what happened, and to Faye, that made her victory all the more sweet.  The local paper announced the winner thus:

Picture
Picture
Picture
And here is the announcement that appeared in the "big-city" newspaper (the Cadillac News, from a neighboring county):
Picture
Next is a followup news article that appeared in the local paper as the festival was drawing nearer:
Picture
Thursday morning, June 26, Faye met her escorts - Don and Norma Iverson of Lake City - at the bus station in Cadillac (school was out, and Faye was living with her older sister Carole in Grand Rapids for the summer). 

First they went to Lake City to pick up the brand-new 1958 white convertible that had been specially provided by the Oldsmobile Company for the Mackinaw Bridge dedication - complete with custom decals. 
Picture
Mom felt pretty special when she saw that; as she told me years later, "We Falmouth people did not have expensive cars!"  There was a "send-off" for Faye at the annual flower show in Lake City, and apparently she got to pick the winner in a jackpot drawing there.  From there they went up to Petoskey, where they had dinner.  Later that evening they toured Mackinaw City, and saw some friends in St. Ignace.  Then north again, to the Sou Engineering College campus in Sault Ste. Marie*.  Faye and Mrs. Iverson stayed there at Brady Hall; Miss Monroe County (Margaret Steed) and her chaperone shared the room with them (Faye said they were too excited to sleep very well that night).  Meanwhile, Mr. Iverson had to go back south to his sleeping quarters at Camp Kinross, where all the convertibles were washed, refueled, and stored in hangars for the night.

*Pronounced "soo saint muh-REE", which I believe is French for "the Falls (or Rapids) of St. Mary".
Picture

On Friday morning, June 27, there was to be a parade in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (across the St. Mary's River from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan).  At the time, there was no bridge there, and the car ferries had a capacity of 19 vehicles.  So 19 of the drivers at Kinross went up to Sault Ste. Marie, where they picked up not only their wives and county queens, but also one other queen and her chaperone (apparently not all the queens had arrived at that point).  Faye and Mrs. Iverson rode with Miss Keweenaw County and her entourage.  They had breakfast at the Windsor Hotel, where each queen was presented with a souvenir Canadian silver dollar.  This image on the cover of the folder shows a ship going through the "Soo Locks", which allow passage between lakes Superior and Huron:
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Afterwards they paraded through the city, and went back across to the U.S. side.  There they ate lunch and had formal pictures taken on the college campus in Sault Ste. Marie:
Picture
Picture
(detail)
Picture
(detail)
Faye said that was a second-hand dress that her sister Carole helped her find in the Grand Rapids newspaper.  Here she describes what happened after Sault Ste. Marie:
Picture
During these parades, the cars were lined up alphabetically by county.  The convertible tops would be down, and the queens would sit on the top part of the back seat, while the chaperone was in the front next to her husband.  At the end of each parade route, the drivers would pull over and put the tops up, so the cars could proceed at highway speed to the next venue.  Note in the description below (from the official itinerary) how "highway speed" was defined:
Picture
(Side note: Interstate 75 was extended through the area within a year or two, and since then all of these old highways have changed.  Today US 23 and US 31 both end at interchanges south of Mackinaw City, so neither one actually goes through the town anymore.  There is a Michigan highway 27 that still serves Cheboygan, but back in 1958, that was US highway 27.  US 27 was truncated at an interchange near Grayling in 1962, and in 2002 the entire designation within Michigan was completely replaced by US 127.)  After the parade through Cheboygan, the queens arrived at the Armory for dinner:
Picture
Picture
Picture
Afterwards the motorcade went back up to Sault Ste. Marie, where the drivers once again dropped off the ladies.  Faye says they arrived at midnight; she and Miss Monroe washed their wind-blown hair and finally retired for the night at 1:30 am.  This time, they slept soundly!
Picture

The official itinerary for Saturday, June 28, had the drivers waking up at 5:30 am and departing Kinross for Sault Ste. Marie at 6:00.  The queens and chaperones were to awaken at 6:00 and meet the drivers at 6:30; one can imagine how everyone must have felt after about four hours of sleep!  Breakfast was at 7:00 in the Knights of Columbus Hall, and the motorcade once again departed for St. Ignace at 8:00.  There each car was joined by a Cub Scout from Petoskey.  All the queens from Lower Peninsula counties crossed over to the Mackinaw City side, while the Upper Peninsula queens remained on the north side.  Then they joined separate military parades that took place on each peninsula.
Picture
At 11:00, Miss Michigan and her car led the Upper Peninsula queens down from St. Ignace to the Bridge's north anchor block, where they met the Lower Peninsula queens (who had been led by Mrs. Michigan) coming up from Mackinaw City.  Here are some photos of the Bridge which I believe Faye must have snapped from the back seat of her convertible:
Picture
(full photo; note the deckle edges)
Picture
(detail)
Picture
(full photo)
Picture
(detail)
After everyone was assembled on the Bridge, two trucks with spools of long green ribbon attached to their side mirrors departed from opposite sides of the Straits.  Upon reaching the anchor block, the ends of the ribbons were detached from the trucks and tied to both sides of the speaker's podium.  During the formal ceremony (which began at 11:30) these two ribbons were tied together to symbolize the joining of the two peninsulas that had been accomplished with the completion of the Mackinaw Bridge.  Later each driver got to cut off a foot-long piece of the ribbon; Mr. Iverson gave his ribbon to Faye, and it is still preserved in her scrapbook.

Several 5- or 10-minute speeches were given by various political, military, and clerical leaders, as well as by leaders of the companies who designed, built, and financed the Bridge.  After a nearly two-hour ceremony, the queens walked back to their convertibles, ate a catered box lunch, and were then free to depart the area.  The Iversons drove Faye home by way of Traverse City, where they stopped for dinner before finally arriving home around 8 pm.  It had been a wonderful experience for her.  The rainy weather had paused that weekend, and Faye said "...the Chamber of Commerce couldn't have chosen more congenial folks than Mr. and Mrs. Iverson to accompany me to the Bridge festival."


Picture
Picture

Not far off was the 4th of July.  Faye was invited to be a part of the parade in Lake City, and later at the carnival grounds she spoke to the festival-goers about the Bridge ceremony.  I believe much of the text in Faye's scrapbook (some of which is posted on these pages) was from the report that she gave on that day.

Picture

Picture
Eventually, all the convertibles were returned to local Oldsmobile dealers, who presumably cleaned them up for sale.  Sometime after the dedication, the dealer for Missaukee County (Sprik Chevrolet in Lake City) sent Faye the commemorative license plate that had been on her car (the "57" refers to Missaukee's position in an alphabetical list of Michigan's counties):
Picture

These were the ending paragraphs of an article that appeared the day after the dedication in "the Herald" (which looks like it was a "big city" newspaper, but I do not know where it was published):
Picture

About one year after the Bridge was dedicated, Faye Tacoma graduated from high school, and almost immediately began attending a vocational school where she learned the job of an airline reservations clerk.  She worked in Detroit for a few years before transferring to Denver, where she met Dale Sanderson Sr.  They were married in 1963, and had two children later that decade (one of whom is me).  In 1972 (about 14 years after the Bridge opened), my parents brought us to Michigan to visit Faye's family.  My father took the photo below during that trip; the vantage was from Bridge View Park in St. Ignace, looking southward towards Mighty Mac:
Picture
Faye was on the right; her parents were on the left, and I was the kid shown there (I'm guessing my little sister was sleeping in the car).  Faye lived a beautiful life which came to an end in 2014 (a few more details can be found in her obituary).  I returned to that location 50 years after the original photo, where I took this shot from the same vantage point:
Picture
3 Comments
Svend Kaae
3/6/2021 02:22:33 pm

Hello Dale Sanderson

I'm writing a little story to a Danish Classic Car magazine with the starting point in the photo of all the Olds crossing the Mackinac Bridge. I have found a lot about this but can you tell me why Oldsmobile (GM) used 113 brand new Convertibles for this event. Could it be the 50 years anniversary of GM or Oldsmobile 50 years as part of GM? I guess, but have no proves. You seams to know a lot about this issue, so maybe you know.

best regards
Svend

Reply
Dale Sanderson link
3/6/2021 06:34:25 pm

Hi Svend: Oldsmobiles were manufactured in Lansing, so it makes sense that a Michigan company would want to be a corporate sponsor of the Bridge. But I don't know why Oldsmobile was chosen specifically (as opposed to any of the other Michigan-based automobile companies).

Reply
Michael Duncan link
12/28/2023 12:30:31 am

Thank you for sharing, I know Don and Norma personally. I enjoy the story very much.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Author

    This guy.

    Categories

    All
    Alabama
    Arizona
    Boston
    California
    Colorado
    Denver
    Florida
    Geo-center
    Geography
    Historic
    Idaho
    Illinois
    Indiana
    Kansas
    Kentucky
    Maryland
    Massachusetts
    Michigan
    Midpoint
    Mileage
    Minnesota
    Missouri
    Nebraska
    New Hampshire
    New Jersey
    New Mexico
    Newport
    New York
    North Carolina
    North Dakota
    Numbering
    Oddity
    Ohio
    Oklahoma
    Oregon
    Pennsylvania
    Proposed
    Renumbering
    Signage
    South Carolina
    South Dakota
    Tennessee
    Texas
    Updates
    US 101
    US 127
    US 13
    US 136
    US 150
    US 154
    US 16
    US 160
    US 163
    US 164
    US 169
    US 177
    US 180
    US 183
    US 190
    US 191
    US 20
    US 210
    US 212
    US 218
    US 220
    US 23
    US 231
    US 24
    US 241
    US 25
    US 259
    US 26
    US 266
    US 27
    US 270
    US 271
    US 277
    US 281
    US 283
    US 285
    US 287
    US 3
    US 31
    US 311
    US 321
    US 331
    US 34
    US 36
    US 360
    US 371
    US 377
    US 383
    US 385
    US 40
    US 400
    US 411
    US 431
    US 450
    US 46
    US 48
    US 491
    US 50
    US 530
    US 55
    US 59
    US 6
    US 60
    US 61
    US 62
    US 63
    US 65
    US 66
    US 666
    US 67
    US 730
    US 74
    US 77
    US 80
    US 81
    US 83
    US 84
    US 85
    US 87
    US 89
    US 93
    US 94
    US 96
    US 99
    Utah
    Virginia
    Washington
    Watersheds
    West Virginia
    Wyoming

    Archives

    April 2025
    July 2024
    August 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    August 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016

Copyright © 1998-2025
Picture