Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published June 30, 2004

The Fourth of July stirs all sorts of memories

Holidays stir memories, some more than others. Unless you were one of those youngsters who ignored warnings about the danger of exploding firecrackers and suffered painful burns, I doubt that the Fourth of July is high on your list of remembered holidays. I remember it as a day that began and ended with the loud sounds of fireworks popping which left animals shaking with fear.

After television became a regular part of our lives we could sit in our easy chair and be treated to evening concerts from far away cities. They always ended with the booming 1812 Overture and that was followed by awesome fireworks displays bursting high in the sky.

The memory that remains the most enjoyable July 4th for me was in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, known simply as the U.P. An hour or so drive from the Straits of Mackinac there is a small town called De Tour Village. We had an annual invitation to visit friends who summered near there.

One of our visits was in early July and we decided to go in town for their fireworks show. As I said the town was small as was the group that gathered on the beach of Lake Huron that evening as darkness fell, but I guessed there was someone from every house in town there. There was a feeling of patriotism and an unabashed, although unspoken, ripple of "Proud to be an American" enveloped us.

On that July 4th night in the late '50s the bomb and the cold war were common concerns, but no one suspected that terrorism would become part of our language in the future. That night we were united as loyal Americans celebrating the birth of our nation.

The fireworks were fine but outclassed by nature's heavenly show of brilliant stars in a sky untouched by pollution. There was no 1812 Overture, only the music of the waves lapping the beach. It left a memory of America at its best.

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It has been many years since we visited Michigan's U.P. but a recent news story reminded me of how important the Mackinac Bridge has been to that far northern part of the U.S. The story reported on a celebration of the golden anniversary of the beginning of construction of the bridge in May 1954. A number of the now-retired laborers who were part of 3,500 workers engaged in the construction and authorities joined in the celebration at St. Ignace, MI.

Lower Michigan is separated from the Upper Peninsula by the 5-mile-wide Straits of Mackinac. Heavy winds play here where two of the Great Lakes, Huron and Michigan, meet. For many years car ferries were the only way to get across this stretch of water. Visitors planned their trips according to the ferry schedule and even then long lines of cars stretched for miles waiting to board. The wait could be as long as 18 hours.

When talk of a bridge was rumored the idea seemed as impossible as going to the moon. Men of vision were determined to go ahead with what would become an engineering marvel. Where they would get the money was another stumbling block. The federal government said no. The state agreed to fund operations and maintenance but nothing for construction. That depended on private financing and Wall Street had no interest. According to the first executive secretary of the Mackinac Bridge authority, "This was the wild, wild West to them." Finally one financial corporation backed the project with nearly $100 million. That was paid back with toll revenues in 32 years.

On May 7, 1954 the ground breaking was held and on November 1, 1957 the Mighty Mac, the world's third-longest suspension bridge, was opened to traffic.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.