MICHIGAN TRAVEL TIPS
FROM
THE HOLOGLOBE PRESS
(The 37th Edition)by
Victor Edward Swanson,
Publisherwww.hologlobepress.com
RULES OF USE
The reports and stories contained on this Web page have been put together with information taken from "The Victor Swanson Fabulous Files of Places to See in Michigan and Wisconsin" and with information obtained from operators and staffers of tourist attractions and from press releases, Web sites, and other sources. The reports and stories are provided as a public service by Victor Swanson and The Hologlobe Press. Almost all persons and entities, such as staffers of radio stations, may freely use the materials; neither AAA Michigan nor any employee of AAA Michigan may use, distribute, download, transmit, copy, or duplicate any of the material presented on this page in any way or through any means.
- - - Travel Thoughts for Everyone - - -
No matter to where a person plans to go on a trip, the person must make preparations. The vehicle to be used must be made ready, and that can involve, for one, checking to see the power system--which might be a simple "four banger" or something greater--is working properly. A good traveler will be sure to store way in the vehicle emergency equipment and repair equipment, which could range from a simple non-electric screwdriver to some type of test meter, maybe a type of error-code reader. Because vehicle breakdowns are always a possibility, some parts and supplies for the vehicle should be stored aboard. Personal belonging must be gathered together, such as clothing that is suited for the destination, especially if the destination has different weather conditions than the departure destination has. Certainly, thought has to be given to food and water and other like supplies, maybe a batch of granny's best cookies.
Usually, a person who is getting ready for a trip already has the destination in mind, and maybe that destination is "Gliese 581 C" (circling around a star named Gliese 581, which is found in the area of the sky related to the constellation Libra), which was found by people working at the European Southern Observatory, which is in La Silla, Chile. The finding of the planet was announced, for example, through a press release that was issued on April 25, 2007, by people associated with the European Southern Observatory (at La Silla, Chile). [The press released was entitled: "Astronomers Find First Earth-like Planet in Habitable Zone".] To get there--that Earth-like planet, as it was described--a person would need to have some type of very unique vehicle, something yet undetermined and, certainly, something not now available to you, who is relegated to types of vehicles that can allow you to move only about Earth--a few of which are the focus of this edition of Michigan Travel Tips.
Since the start of this year, I have come across two books that have had errors that I have been compelled to correct publicly--the first book was From Soupy to Nuts! A History of Detroit Television (which I talked much about in T.H.A.T. #36, which can be found through the Web site of The Hologlobe Press and the link to which is this: T.H.A.T. #36) and the second bok was Shipwrecks of the Lakes: Told in Story and Pictures, originally published in 1952 (the version that I came across was a paperback version published in May 1991).
Now I talk about Shipwrecks of the Lakes: Told in Story and Pictures, which was written by Dana Thomas Bowen (Bowen, Dana Thomas. Shipwrecks of the Lakes: Told in Story and Pictures. Cleveland, OH: Freshwater Press, Inc., 1952, 1991). In the book on page 198, a chapter entitled "The Joseph S. Fay and the D.P. Rhodes" begins, and it is information about The Fay in the chapter that I have to make note of; last summer, I first became exposed to The Fay, parts of which are on the beach near Forty Mile Point Lighthouse (the Rogers City area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan), where I did volunteer work, such as when regular volunteers, such as the president of the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse Society, were unable to do duty there. On page 198, "1902" is shown under the title, and it indicates when the ship sank in Lake Huron, and on page 202, a more specific date is given--October 19, 1902. Upon seeing "1902," I knew something was wrong with the book or with information that I had in mind; I had had the impression through unverified information (by me) that The Fay had been sunk by a storm in "1905" (for example, modern-day writing available through the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse Society had "1905"). To check on the date for the sinking of The Fay, I went recently to the public library in Rogers City to find past articles in the Presque Isle County Advance (a newspaper that has been based at Rogers City since at least 1902), and, particularly, using a microfiche reel (of past editions of Presque Isle County Advance), I looked for articles of the then weekly newspaper (published on Thursdays) after October 19, 1905. Unfortunately for me, the edition of the paper for October 26, 1905, was not on the reel, never having been photographed, it seems, for the microfiche reel and for posterity (to me, the October 26, 1905, edition of the newspaper should have had a story about the sinking of The Fay). At the time, during my search, I was aware one member of the crew did not survive the sinking and the body of the crewman was found sometime in December 1905. I found a story in the December 7, 1905, edition of Presque Isle County Advance about the discovery of the missing crewman--"Body of David Syze Mate of the Steamer Fay Comes Ashore." Presque Isle County Advance, XXVI, No. 1369, 7 December 1905, p. 8. Over the previous year, between April 2006 and early April 2007, I was under the impression that David Syze, the first mate of The Fay, drowned while trying to swim to shore, and my impression came about from written materials available at Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. The article published in 1905 hints that David Syze did not drown trying to swim to shore, and it looks as if, to me, he never was able to get off the ship. The article notes that the body of David Syze (officially, David W. Syze) was discovered by H. N. Burrows, the assistant lighthouse keeper for Forty Mile Lighthouse (in 1905), on Monday, December 4, 1905, at about 2:00 p.m., and it was discovered that the body of David Syze was "protruding from the hatchway" of a section of the steamer, a section (about 20-feet wide by 40-feet long), that had recently come ashore, and some of the things found on the body were $165.00 in bills (contained in a wallet), a locket with photographs, keys, a note book, a small knife, and a gold watch. Today, you can see some remnants of The Fay on the beach near Forty Mile Point Lighthouse, and if you go to see what can be seen of The Fay (more parts are down in water a little offshore from the lighthouse), you should be aware it is very unlikely David Syze died trying to swim to shore (which you might have told to you or you might see written in text not written in 1905) since it seems very unlikely he was able to get off the ship, and, be aware, I have information from Mark Thompson of the Presque Isle County Historical Museum at Rogers City (acquired on May 2, 2007) that suggests The Fay was really called officially nothing more than "The J.S. Fay" and not "The Joseph S. Fay" (but that is information that you should treat as not verified).
[Note (added on July 10, 2019): Since 2007, I have proven that the ship known as The Joseph S. Fay was always officially called The Joseph S. Fay, and it was not formally known as The J.S. Fay, which is an informal name, which was often used by newspaper people. More about The Joseph S. Fay can be found in my document entitled Michigan Travel Tips #183, which was published on July 10, 2019, and which can be reached by using this Travel #183 link. Michigan Travel Tips #183 shows up crap from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA).]In the future, The Fay should be looked at as part of the long line of ships that helped man reach the stars, and other ships soon to be on display again, this time at Kalamazoo (in Kalamazoo County of the Lower Peninsula), should also be looked at as ships that helped man reach the stars, and where the ships will officially be is the "Michigan Space Science Center" (or the "MSSC"). I reported through Michigan Travel Tips #10 (published on January 10, 2005), that the Michigan Space and Science Center was no longer at Jackson (of Jackson County in the Lower Peninsula), and since I published Michigan Travel Tips #10, I have talked about the Michigan Space and Science Center in other editions of Michigan Travel Tips (Michigan Travel Tips #24, Michigan Travel Tips #27, and Michigan Travel Tips #32), noting, for example, the museum was soon going to be associated with the Air Zoo at Kalamazoo. I can now report, using information from the Air Zoo, that a new museum called the "Michigan Space Science Center" will be opened to the public on Saturday, June 9, 2007. This new museum will have items that were once associated with the Michigan Space and Science Center (at Jackson) and other items. One of the items will be a full-size replica of a Gemini space capsule (the "Gemini" program was an Earth-orbiting spaceship project of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (or NASA) of the United States of America in the 1960s), and there will also be a Gemini crew-training simulator. One big permanent exhibit will focus on the International Space Station. When the Michigan Space Science Center is open, the Air Zoo will be made up of the Air Zoo proper, the Michigan Space Science Center, an "Eastern Campus," and a "Northern Campus" (which is normally not open to the public).
Another new museum can be toured this summer tourism season or really this May through October, and that new museum is officially known as the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum, which is at Mackinaw City (the Straits of Mackinac area or the Mackinac Bridge area). The museum was once a true icebreaker on the Great Lakes and was commonly called The Mackinaw. Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum Inc is the organization that is overseeing the care of the "old Mackinaw," as it might be called, given there is a new Mackinaw on duty on the Great Lakes. Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum Inc. reports that the old Mackinaw can be seen this year on weekends from ten to eight in May, every day from ten to nine in June, July, and August, and on weekends from ten to six in September and October.
In essence, all the vehicles talked about in this edition of Michigan Travel Tips are unique vehicles--each was designed to do a particular job. At the time The Fay sunk, because of how it had been constructed, it was able to carry iron pellets. Rockets at the Michigan Space Science Center were devised so that they could take payloads to heights far above the ground. The old Mackinaw because of how it had been built was able to break ice on the Great Lake so that ships could travel better and at more times of the year on the Great Lakes.
A ship that could make "Gliese 581 C" a destination would have to have a unique design, something that, of course, would be able to take all the personal belongs and provisions that the traveler within would need to have. To me, it seems that a traveler who heads off to Gliese 581 would take such things as combs or brushes, underwear, socks, and slippers. And to me, it does seem likely that a traveler who goes to Gliese 581 C someday might take a batch of granny's cookies.
Your travel tips of Michigan in this edition of Michigan Travel Tips are:
The Fay, 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Park, the Rogers City area, Presque Isle County, the Lower Peninsula.
Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum, Mackinaw City, Cheboygan County, the Lower Peninsula.
Michigan Space Science Center of the Air Zoo, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, the Lower Peninsula.
- - - Public Service Copy for Broadcasters (four pieces) - - -
Number One:
When stories of fact are told over time, the stories can be changed
inadvertently from what really happened. For example, the publisher
at The Hologlobe Press--Victor Swanson--has uncovered such an
incident related to a ship that sunk near 40 Mile Point Lighthouse in
1905. The Fay sunk near 40 Mile Point Lighthouse on October 19,
1905, and one sailor died. Today, some people say that the sailor
died trying to swim to shore. Victor Swanson discovered in the
Presque Isle County Advance for December 7, 1905, that the
assistant lighthouse keeper found the body on December 4, 1905,
washed ashore with a 20-foot-by-40-foot section of The Fay.
Evidence from the article hints that the sailor never made it off The
Fay--he was found in a hatchway. Today, parts of The Fay are on
the beach near 40 Mile Point Lighthouse, which is in the Rogers City
area. To see The Fay, head to 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Park, and
enjoy your safe traveling.
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Number Two:
While vacationing and traveling in Michigan, it is possible for you
to see things that might inspire you to create things or invent things.
On April 25, 2007, people associated with the European Southern
Observatory and who had been using a telescope at the observatory
at La Silla, Chile, announced that they had found an Earth-like planet
about 20.5 light years from Earth. On June 9, a new museum called
the Michigan Space Science Center will be opened as part of the Air
Zoo at Kalamazoo. It will have a lot of true space-related items, such
as space suits and a moon rock. If you were to go to the Michigan
Space Science Center, you could end up in the International Space
Station exhibit and think of something truly spectacular--a way to
really travel through great distances of space. That may sound wild!
But you never know. Put your mind to work at the Michigan Space
Science Center, and enjoy your safe traveling in Michigan.
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Number Three:
No matter where you go in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
in the summer, you should very easily find boats or ships to see.
There can be fishing boats and pleasure boats out on bays or lakes or
rivers, of course. At Sault Ste.Marie, there is a 1917 freighter to
see--it is a museum ship called The Valley Camp, and some of what
it has are lifeboats from The Edmund Fitzgerald. The Valley Camp
goes nowhere, unlike the boat with a glass bottom at Munising. The
glass bottom of the boat at Munising is used to let people see
shipwrecks in Lake Superior. Also from Munising, a person can
take a boat that travels to the Pictured Rocks of Lake Superior.
At Kearsarge, there is a stone boat call The Kearsarge to see.
Remember: When there are boats on trailers being pulled by motorists
on two-lane roads that you want to pass, you have to make sure the
way ahead is clear for a long enough time to pass safely and enjoy
safe traveling.
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Number Four:
Last year, an icebreaker that had worked the Great Lakes for
about six decades was retired, and that icebreaker is The Mackinaw,
and also last year, a new icebreaker called The Mackinaw was put
into service. Since last year, people have done work to make the
old Mackinaw a museum for all to see. Icebreaker Mackinaw
Maritime Museum Inc. announces that the summer tourist season is
here and the schedule is: In May, the old Mackinaw can be seen and
toured on weekends from ten to eight, and in June, July, and August,
it can be seen any day from ten to nine, and in September and October,
it can be seen on weekends from ten to six. To see it, you have to go
to the marina at Mackinaw City. Incidentally, at least from the outside,
you can see the new Mackinaw, but you have to go to Cheboygan,
which is about fifteen-minutes driving time from Mackinaw City by
way of US-23. Enjoy your safe traveling in Michigan!
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- - - Contact Information - - -
The Hologlobe Press
Postal Box 20551
Ferndale, Michigan 48220-0551
The United States of Americacopyright c. 2007
File date: 10 May 2007To see the next edition of Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel #38.
To see the previous edition of Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel #36.
To see the catalog page for Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel.
To go to the main page of The Hologlobe Press,
click on: www.hologlobepress.com.
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