Photo Contest
Father Marquette Statue Photo Conest Winners Announced!
In celebration of the centennial anniversary, Mackinac State Historic Parks hosted a Father Marquette statue photo contest. With nearly 70 captivating entries from around the country, it proved a resounding success.
WINNING PHOTO: Gaspare "Perry" Calandrino
Ada, Michigan
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Gaspare “Perry” Calandrino took first place with his stunning photograph of the Father Marquette statue surrounded by lovely lilacs in full bloom. Gaspare, owner of Perry Calandrino Sales, lives in Ada, Michigan with his wife of 24 years, LuAnne, and their teenage sons, Joseph and Scott. The Calandrino family, who are also Mackinac Associates members, enjoy fractional ownership in a condo in the Violet Residence near Mission Point Resort during six separate weeks each year. His winning photograph was taken during the lilac festival several years ago. |
HONORABLE MENTION: Jenna Goodall,
Black Creek, WI
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Honorable mention winner Jenna Goodall from Black Creek, Wisconsin, is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, majoring in French and library science. Jenna and her boyfriend, Mason, vacationed on Mackinac Island last month. It was during this visit that Jenna took this engaging photo of Mason “holding” Father Marquette in his hand. |
FINALISTS
Centennial Celebration, September 1, 2009, Marquette Park
In front of over 100 attendees, Mackinac State Historic Parks Director Phil Porter presented Gaspare “Perry” Calandrino of Ada, Michigan, with a tote bag full of apparel, autographed publications, and a Mackinac Associates membership for his stunning first place photograph of the Father Marquette statue surrounded by lovely lilacs in full bloom. The photo was unveiled at the ceremony while Calandrino and his wife of 24 years, LuAnn, watched from front row seats. Calandrino took the winning photograph during the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival several years ago.
“Mackinac Island is a nice place to visit,” Calandrino said. “When you go there, you’re one step away from the 18th century in certain places. One minute you’re watching soldiers in Fort Mackinac, and the next you’re in the Benjamin Blacksmith Shop, at the Tea Room Restaurant, or in a fudge shop. You’re always one step away from a different century, and you can’t do that in many places.”
Calandrino is owner of Perry Calandrino Sales, which sells sporting goods to four states. Because he works in sales, he is often on the road, and this is one of the many reasons why he and his wife, along with their children, Joseph, 15, and Scott, 13, enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of Mackinac Island. |
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Gaspare Calandrino with his winning photo in front of the Father Marquette statue at the centennial celebration September 1.
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Gaspare and LuAnn visited the island several years ago for the first time, staying at Grand Hotel. They enjoyed their visit immensely and so six months later purchased fractional ownership in a condo in the Violet Residence near Mission Point Resort where they enjoy six separate weeks each year, including a week in the fall and the winter. No matter the season, Calandrino can be seen lugging tripods and camera equipment around the island.
“The natural and historic beauty of Mackinac Island offers bountiful opportunities for photographers,” he said. “One of the reasons I love Michigan in general, and Mackinac Island in particular, is the changes that occur from the four seasons.”
He especially enjoys fall and winter visits. “I don’t even like cold weather,” he said, “but when going through Mackinac Island State Park in the winter, trees are full of snow and it’s very pretty to see it that way. People usually think of Mackinac Island in the summer, but they don’t think of the cross-country skiing and the quiet, relaxing atmosphere they’ll find in the woods of the state park in the winter or the bright autumn leaves in the fall.”
Honorable mention went to Jenna Goodall from Black Creek, Wisconsin, for her engaging and comical photograph of a man who is seemingly “holding” the Father Marquette statue in his hand. Goodall, who aspires to become a librarian, is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, majoring in French and library science. She and her boyfriend, Mason, who is the man in the photograph, visited Mackinac Island, including Fort Mackinac, on August 13 of this year. It was during this visit that she took the photograph. She enjoys photography immensely, and will be taking a photography class this semester. Goodall could not attend the celebration because of school commitments.
During the centennial celebration, the base of the Father Marquette statue was draped in American flag bunting. Remarks were made by Porter, Mackinac Island State Park Commission Vice-chairman Dennis Cawthorne, and Mackinac State Historic Parks Chief Curator Steve Brisson. After the recognition of the photo contest winners, the Grand Hotel orchestra played “America” while the Mackinac Island Scout Service Camp Girl Scouts, Heart of Michigan Council, led the audience in singing “America.” The celebration concluded with the ceremonial firing of the Fort Mackinac cannon from the bluffs 150-feet above Marquette Park.
PRIZES
First place received:
Honorable mention received:
MACKINAC ISLAND'S MARQUETTE STATUE
Efforts to create a monument on Mackinac Island honoring the French Jesuit missionary and explorer, Jacques Marquette (1637-1675), had been going on since 1877 with the establishment of the “Marquette Monument Association.” Although several fund-raising efforts took place over the next several decades, little progress had been made. In the meantime, the State of Wisconsin had submitted a white marble statue of Marquette by the Italian sculptor Gaetano Trentanove. It was accepted, albeit with some controversy due to anti-Catholic prejudice, in 1896. Even before it was accepted, the citizens of Marquette, Michigan had commissioned Trentanove to create a version in bronze to adorn a new city park. It was dedicated in 1897.
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The 1909 Dedication |
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| The man primarily responsible for raising the funds for the bronze statue was Peter White, a city father. White was, by this time, a member and chairman of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. In 1899 the commission set aside the ground below Fort Mackinac as a park honoring Marquette. The commission began working with the two decade old Marquette Monument Association to place at the center of the park the long sought monument to Marquette. White naturally turned to Trentanove to create another bronze version of his statue. Fund raising efforts, however, again proved a challenge. It would unfortunately take the death of White in 1908 to finally achieve the goal. He left a gift in his will to cover the balance needed to erect the statue. |
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Learn about the dedication of the statue.
Learn about the design of the statue.
THE STATUE TODAY
The statue received a new base (replacing the original 3-tiered concrete base below the Trentanove-designed granite pedestal) in the 1960s. After a complete restoration in 1998, through the generosity of Venus Bronze Works of Detroit and the Michigan Knights of Columbus, the Marquette Statue is aglow once again and continues to serve as the focal point of one of Mackinac Island’s most visited public spaces. Though altered, the park continues to serve the purpose that the Monument Association and the Park Commission intended: the pleasure, rest and relaxation of the many summer visitors to the island. Other monuments to Marquette have been erected throughout the Midwest in the twentieth century. None of these match the works of Trentanove in sheer nobility and confidence. The work perhaps better represents the ideals and aspirations of Americans at the turn of the twentieth century than the intrepid priest and explorer of the seventeenth. These ideals are clearly seen in the actions of Peter White. It is doubtful that either of the bronze replicas would have been completed without his commitment and zeal. The statues symbolize his willingness to give of himself and lead others to give of themselves as well. His gift and legacy are immortalized on Mackinac Island’s front lawn.
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