SAVE OUR ISLAND Mackinac Hope
Great Great News!Our group was invited to propose the reasons for the discussion of a downtown historic district & moratorium on demolition of any historic building as called for in the historic legislation which Mackinac Island enacted in October of last year. We presented the reasons for historic preservation specifically on Mackinac Island, and on the importance of an open discussion by the community.
(see the Updates* in the links below)
We gave our presentation on May 19, 2010, listed here.
This presentation was followed by audience members present seeking out petition signatures for a moratorium on all building demolitions in the Historic Downtown, the oldest collection of wooden buildings in the state, formed during the creation of the National Park which became the United States' first State Park, Mackinac Island State Park.
the CRUCIAL VOTE ON THIS PETITION was on July 14th, and PASSED 5 to 1, but is only the start. Only with your support can it succeed...
Happy Happy Spring!
Happy Earth Day!!
HAPPY EASTER
Happy 4th of July!!!!
AND HAPPY LILAC DAY!
(click here) SAVE OUR ISLAND (click here)
Our President, Chief Don Andress, leads the 2010 Lilac Day Parade, upon the horse "Midnite"
Last Year's 2009 Lilac Day pictures, of Donald Andress, and his son, Jamie Andress, descendants of Chief Mackinac, island leader, of the original band of island leaders, in 1696, representing 9 in line descents, leading the island's Lilac Day Parade.
OVER HALF OF THE VOTING PUBLIC OF MACKINAC ISLAND HAS SIGNED THE PETITION TO HAVE A MORATORIUM ON DEMOLITION SO THAT A HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY CAN BE CONDUCTED IN THE DOWNTOWN, LEADING TO THE CREATION OF A DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT.
OVER HALF OF THE DOWNTOWN PROPERTY OWNERS HAVE SIGNED THIS PETITION, WITH APPROXIMATELY 70 PERCENT APPEARING TO BE IN FAVOR OF THIS MORATORIUM DOWNTOWN.
BUT THE CRUCIAL OPEN HEARING ON A MORATORIUM IS BEING HELD WEDNESDAY, THE 14TH OF JULY, AT 5:00pm, IN THE HISTORIC COMMUNITY HALL/ FUR TRADING BUILDING, JUST PRIOR TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND VOTE ON THE MORATORIUM at 6:00pm.
Our group has pledged $5000 to the completion of a historic resources architectural survey.
PLEASE EVERYONE THROUGHOUT THE STATE, SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS, AND ESPECIALLY SUPPORT THE EFFORTS TO SAVE THE HISTORIC MCNALLY COTTAGE, given a demolition permit last fall was given, and awaiting the actions of the community to attempt to save the longest running family cottage B&B in Michigan:
we are trying to seek interest in a good developer to attempt to purchase away from demolition this cottage, and have created a website, www.McNallyCottage.com, to show that it can profit from a community effort to aid this effort, by saving the beautiful Lilac Trees surrounding this cottage.
Below are winter scenes as this wonderful winter/spring/summer -time story unfolds... as on this week of mid-summer updates***, the greatest hope is emerging...
from Mackinac Island where our group is working to preserve the historic downtown...
great fun and revelry as the new year approaches...
MACKINAC ISLAND
-a cherished part of Michigan & of Michigan History!
Look carefully at these photos taken just before New Year's Eve, and then at the postcards from around a hundred years ago shown below, and you will notice that SO FAR very little has changed...
Souvenir Postcards
from
our Historic past...
in essence unchanged a century ago
Christmas Night:
Christmas on Mackinac Island . . .
from us here on the Pioneering Community of Michigan, essentially unchanged from its beginnings in the 1800's & Michigan's most historic site...
On this Christmas & New Year's, we report enormous optimism that with your wishes and support and ours for you, all the best dreams will come true...
Michigan is the most beautiful state in the nation by far with the greatest potential. Out of the difficulties of the present are enormous opportunities for the future.
We believe that the New Year will bring Good News for All of Michigan, and for Our Resort of Mackinac Island, that We May Still Be Able to Protect ...
The beauty and charm of Mackinac Island must be maintained.
Here is our greatest Wish for the New Year:
That we will have good news to report in the coming years, that things will get better for all…
Please share with us this Dream that everything will show a bright promise in this new Year.
FOR ALL OF MICHIGAN
Keep supporting us and we will keep working to make things better for you, and together we can make change for the better...
Mackinac Island Harbor from a distance taken late fall 2009
The future belongs to places which maintain their beauty, character & charm, and which open these up to everyone to share while protecting them and which use vision and energy to make them better, rather than stand by, watch them get worse. To instill in everyone the care for our past history, and to get everyone not afraid to take a stand and actively work to make this happen.
Our pioneering settlement, the oldest and best preserved in the state, in fact, the best preserved authentic real, and still existing settlement in essence unchanged from its pioneering birth, in the nation, with the first popular national park in the nation and the world which our state took over in 1895 to make it the first state park and the most beautiful and historic island in the World… it is all here in Michigan and something which fills us with pride that our state brought forward not only the most creative entrepreneurial spirit in the world but the most idealistic spirit in the nation….
MICHIGAN IS THE GREATEST STATE IN THE NATION WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL
Out of the difficulties of the present are enormous opportunities for rebirth, with only the limitations we place upon ourselves for their development AND protection…
P C
O A
S R
T D
. S
old photos* of the main street from long ago, all pictured nearly all still here, in our amazing state still...
Thing are looking up for all, we can build a better future for everyone while retaining our past…
Please continue to support our Preservation efforts on Mackinac Island ...
The same we believe can emerge for all of our state, including our great cities such as Lansing and Detroit, where some members live who have lived on the island, where can emerge a community effort toward making these the greatest cities and centers of the most beautiful state in the nation.
Only our lack of creative and open thinking can prevent this, because out of misfortune there is always opportunity.
And our return from Pessimism, to Optimism…
Let’s join together everyone and make things happen…
Photo taken from Shepler's ferry in the fall of 2009 at the start of the preservation effort...
SaveOurIsland@AOL.com, P.O.Box 1276, Mackinac Island, MI.49757
There is renewed hope and every expectation that actions will be happening to change things soon...
Check for updates...
*"only classics image" above with permission only
More info is available at the local newspaper website below (Check the ARCHIVES for full story) and notice particularily the Letters to the Editor from all over the state and nation indicating the importance of Mackinac Island to our country's history and the emotional connection which the history of Mackinac Island has to us as a people(see "Opinion" link): ALL PAST ISSUES NOW FREE
ISLAND HOPE
Pictures from New Year's Day...
....................Christmas tree greets New Year..........the Cottage sees its 121st year............................
....................Two of the oldest buildings.....................Main Street as New Year ebbs........................
....................both possibly before the 1860s...................outside another tavern...............................
....................as snowmobiles lay outside the oldest tavern on the street............................................
.................2 old boats wait for a hard winter........private docks view of Fort Mackinac..................
......................rare view of the harbor....................the harbor shore, largely closed off.....................
Will try to post more beautiful night-time pictures of the downtown & tree later. The harbor unfortunately, in spite of how most are in favor of opening it, still remains mostly closed off...
Can we manage to change this also?
It IS still possible...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
never give up . . .
HERE ARE SOME MORE NEW YEARS DAY FUN . . .
and more pictures of the McNALLY COTTAGE & BEACH we are trying to SAVE
more pictures to come as winter unfolds...
bridge way in distance (l.) & shore ice forms New Year's (r.)
winter scenes of fun with harbor in distance
to left is night-time anchor before main dock on New Year's day night
and to right is New Year's eve last dray run of the eve...
hamming it up on a snowmachine with historic street as back-drop...
below is a bit of winter magic...
the water roils in the distance, the old and new lighthouses frame this winter water magical dance as a thin crust of ice begins to form in the harbor, sheer winter magic...
this is the magical historic street which is worth fighting to create awareness and hopefully to save. It has stood for well over a hundred years now very slightly changed, can we succeed?
McNally House (1889)
this beautiful American cottage, looking out over the harbor, the view below which it protected as the last remaining open view, existing since the beginning of time, holding back "progress".
Can we keep this and the cottage which protected it, greeting & sheltering visitors who have slept in its bedrooms since 1889, witnessing this same view and an island ambience still intact...
McNally Beach below -the view it saved til now:
McNally Beach
this beautiful harmonious sliver of nature still present...
this magical New Year's Day's Eve hope...
at the bottom of the page are the spiritual rock formations of the island...
we hope and pray for a new year of magic and of dreams answered. More photos will be posted as the New Year advances, and the winter-time magic continues...
upper right, the New Year's "Crunch" begins, where is a parking space?, bumper to bumper, and parking on the sidewalk! (try this at home!)
Can we "hail a cab"?
Yes ! ! !
below: I think we'll "walk" (the "mackinac way")
Mackinac Island
east..................................west
Arch Rock & Devil's Kitchen
from wherein the spirit of all there is enters and exits
Sugar Loaf. (below)
Sugar Loaf
the all encompassing spirit of all people, all life, all that is upon earth, lies here
the Cathedral:
daybreak(left) & twilight(right)
the great spirit enters arch rock at daybreak and exits devil's kitchen at twilight
into the sky at night & into Sugar Loaf during the day -
which is the point of the center, this rock formation, revealed to the souls of islanders at different times in life but rarely to others (until now). It reveals itself into our souls. For us, it is the most amazing spiritual formation on the planet, and is the universal center. The face of this rock formation, is our ancestor, watching over & protecting Us, looking up to the island's high point, which has the shape of an elongated tear drop, a turtle's head representing mother earth, looking up to the heavens, and to the north, where our northern tribes are the tribes of the northern lights, We are children of this Spirit - the soul of our ancestors which watches over all of us.
the Great Spirit lies in this tall rock formation...
it's spirit protects all of us ...