My Mom: Miss Missaukee at Mackinac
Michigan's two peninsulas are separated by the 5-mile-wide Straits
of Mackinac*, which is the body of water
that connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. In the 19th century there
were passenger ferries to transport people between the Upper and
Lower Peninsulas, and in the 1920's, 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. If you're interested, mackinacbridge.org
has lots more information, history, facts, and figures...
...but the focus of this site is the Mackinac Bridge Dedication
Festival, which took place the following summer. 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 the pages that follow, you can see
photos, view newspaper clippings, and read about the dedication
festivities from Faye's perspective. I've also scanned several
interesting examples of things that have changed since then, such as
telephone numbers, mailing codes, and postage stamps. Click
here...
*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.
Page created 03 May 2002; last updated 09 May
2002.
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