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The Cyprus was carrying iron ore on only its second voyage and sank under strange conditions on October 11, 1907. Only one of the crew of 23 survived. The 420 foot long ship was discovered 460 beneath Superior's waves by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.
The discoverers are hopeful that further investigation of the wreck will give the clues needed to find out why this ship sank in seas that were not particularly rough especially for ships that size.
Anyone familiar with the Academy Award nominated film, Anatomy of a Murder, knows that it was filmed in the U.P. The movie is based on a true story that was turned into a novel written by former Michigan Supreme Court justice, John Voelker. Courtroom scenes for the movie were filmed in the Marquette courthouse and the other scenes in the movie were shot on location around the Marquette area of the U.P.
The movie starred Jimmy Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell, Eve Arden, and a young looking George C. Scott. Anyway, the postal service is honoring Jimmy Stewart with a stamp and some of the locals who were extras in the film gathered at the Marquette courthouse for a stamp dedication ceremony last Friday.
Joan Hanson was one of the extras in the film and wrote of her experiences in a book titled, "Anatomy of "Anatomy" The Making of a Movie." Numerous photographs of the filming sites, notes from the actors, and her personal accounts of her view of the actors and the filming process in Michigan's U.P. are quite charming and interesting. I read her book while staying at the Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast.
Incidentally, Big Bay is the setting for where the actual murder took place. Scenes for the movie were filmed at the Thunder Bay Inn (once owned by Henry Ford) which is still open as well as the scene of the actual murder, the Lumberjack Tavern.
Here is a clip of the film's premiere in Detroit at the United Artists theater -
As I am writing this the thermometer is saying that it is 88 degrees down here in White Pigeon. According to Weather.com it is currently 81 degrees in beautiful Marquette up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Normally, Marquette's average high in July is around 77 degrees.
The Marquette Mining Journal has an interesting article about some folks who lived through a worse heat wave in the summer of 1936. You can read it here.
Back in the summer of 1936 Marquette saw temps in the triple digits during one scorcher of a week that hit the entire United States. According to the Mining Journal -
From July 7 to 13, 1936, the high reached between 101 and 104 four times in Marquette, according to Kevin Crupi, meteorologist and climatologist at the weather service office in Negaunee Township. Places from Ironwood to Iron Mountain set all-time temperature records, while Newberry had it even worse, with six straight 100-degree days.
71 years later, residents that experienced that heat wave of historic proportions still talk about it. There's some interesting quotes for us young whippersnappers to read and think about. Remember, 1936 was during the depression and the luxury of air conditioning (or even fans) was pretty much nonexistent.
Here is my favorite quote from the article -
The heat of a summer so long ago makes [Sarah] Bottrell [a chipper 102 year old] question the whole idea of global warming.
“How do you explain how hot it was in 1936, if it’s only getting hotter now?†she asks.
Also of note, even though the heat was unbearable most residents do not recall a lot of folks taking a dip in the icy waters of Lake Superior to cool off.
I'll stick to drinking ice cold lemonade and eating ice cream. I don't think a doctor could describe a better treatment for the heat than that ;).
I love this old 8mm film of someone crossing the Mackinac Bridge in 1958. Not much has changed since then. About halfway across the bridge you even get to see Michigan's unofficial state flower - the orange traffic barrel. It's an authentic steel drum painted orange - not one of those plastic ones you see nowadays.
The only thing missing is the audio from AM 530 or 1610 that tells you a brief history of the bridge and gives the current bridge conditions. I always listen to that each time I cross the bridge and I don't think it has changed since I can remember.
Be sure to check out my Mackinac Bridge page for more information on the remaining 50th Anniversary celebrations and the annual Labor Day Bridge Walk.
If the video player doesn't appear, watch it here.
Following the July 4th surrender of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Union troops under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman captured Jackson, the state capital. Six regiments of Michigan troops and one Michigan battery were part of Sherman's army.
Michigan.gov has a great photo gallery of the Mackinac Bridge celebrating it's 50 years of service. You can view them here. I must admit that the photos would be much better if they did not have a large and ugly watermark slashed across each photo.
The photos are broken down into three galleries - Scenic, Events (like the bridge's dedication ceremony), and Construction.
The Traverse City Record Eagle has a slew of articles about the Mackinac Bridge in honor of the 50th anniversary of the bridge's completion. The big celebration for the Mackinac Bridge will take place July 27 & 28 in both St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.
Read Big Mac at 50 for links to other articles at the Traverse City Record Eagle.
P.S. Don't forget to check out the Mackinac Bridge page at Squidoo.
© 2007 USPS