Irish Ingenuity at Mackinac Posted March 17, 2023 “There is a clear suggestion of a Celtic origin in the name that heads this sketch, and some experiences in the early life of Mr. Doherty show him possessed of a large percentage of the spirit of independence and self-reliance that is characteristic of the Irish people.” Men of Progress: Embracing Biographical Sketches of Representative Michigan Men. Detroit (1900) Alfred James Doherty was born May 1, 1856, in New York City. His grandfather captained an ocean liner, immigrating to America from the north of Ireland. A.J.’s father, Michael, worked as a lumber dealer along New York’s East River, specializing in cutting and marketing ship timbers. The Doherty family eventually settled in western New York state, where they operated a profitable farm and raised many children.Portrait from Men of Progress (1900) In 1876, Alfred married Alice Gleason, and the young couple set off to make a life in the west. In 1878, they settled in Clare, Michigan, in the midst of the state’s booming lumber industry. Of modest means, A.J. first found employment in a sawmill, working in every department, from piling lumber to scaling logs. Their four children, Floyd, Frank, Lyda, and Alfred Jr., were raised in Clare and would grow up to love Mackinac Island. With seemingly endless energy, Alfred held many positions over the next decade, including store clerk, teacher, insurance agent, stock farmer, and owner of a hardware store, selling supplies to lumber companies. In 1892, he became general manager of the Clare Woodenware Co., and by 1900 ran the Clare Electric Light Company. He also served as local manager of Michigan Bell Telephone. Renowned for his “business hustle and ever present smile,” nearly every Michigander would eventually hear of Mr. Doherty. From 1901–1906, “Bellwether Doherty” served three notable terms as State Senator, being a leading member of the Michigan Republican party. He later served on the State Board of Agriculture, the Public Domain Commission, as superintendent of the Michigan State Fair, and as a long-standing trustee of the Michigan State Agricultural College (now Michigan State University).Mackinac Island’s Municipal Water, Light and Power Company, by William H. Gardiner (bef. 1915) In 1911, A.J. Doherty became owner of the Municipal Water, Light and Power Company on Mackinac Island. It was a family business, with sons Fred, Frank, and Alfred Jr. each serving various roles for nearly two decades. Originally constructed in 1901, the main building was located along the island’s eastern shore. From there, water was pumped from Lake Huron to a reservoir at Fort Holmes, where gravity-fed pipes distributed it to island locations. In his 1916 report, Names of Places of Interest on Mackinac Island, Michigan, Rev. Frank A. O’Brien boasted, “Mackinac has a fine sewer system, as pure a water supply, and as perfect lighting and electrical service as any place in the country.”Mackinac Specialty Co. In 1916, A.J. Doherty combined his boundless energy, agricultural knowledge, and forestry skills in the Mackinac Specialty Company. His signature product was “Mackinac Balsam Balm,” designed for medicinal use. Made from the clear resin of Balsam Fir trees, various balms, decoctions, and tinctures have been made from this fragrant liquid for centuries. Balsam Fir is one of Mackinac Island’s most abundant evergreens, especially common along the shoreline. Other products, including a “fumigated nest egg” and an eight piece kitchen set, were intended to make life easier on the farm and in the household. With Doherty’s many other business interests, the Mackinac Specialty Company was a short-lived venture, only lasting a few years. Their family legacy, however, would continue to be felt by the Mackinac Island community.The Doherty Cottage (Geary House), on Mackinac Island’s Market Street, as it appeared in 1970. For many years, the Doherty family lived seasonally on Market Street, next to today’s Beaumont Memorial. Now known as the Geary House, the structure was originally built about 1846 by Irish immigrant Matthew Geary, a prominent citizen of 19th century Mackinac Island. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, the structure was restored by Mackinac State Historic Parks, but is not open for public tours. The 1920s were a busy time for the entire family. Alfred Doherty Sr. served a term as mayor of Clare and built the impressive Doherty Hotel, which opened in April 1924. The hotel featured a banquet hall, ballroom, automatic elevator, billiard room, laundry, display rooms for traveling salesman, barber shop, and even a public library. The local paper boasted, “Residents of Clare are free in their assertions that for its size, there is no better hotel in the state.” Nearly 100 years later, the business is still owned by the Doherty family and is a defining feature of the Clare community. Near the end of the decade, the Dohertys sold their interests in the Municipal Power Company to a New York City firm and brothers Alfred Jr. and Frank helped form the Mackinac Island State Bank. The bank opened October 25, 1928, with Alfred serving as vice president and Frank working as cashier. Frank also became a beloved member of the Mackinac Island Civic Association, a forerunner to the current Chamber of Commerce. The association published an island guide book in 1927, and purchased the large American Fur Company buildings on Market Street in 1930. Frank’s wife, Sarah, served as custodian of the city-owned museum for many years. Senator Alfred J. Doherty died in Clare on September 27, 1929. The following year, Frank B. Doherty passed away, on October 23, 1930, at his home on Mackinac Island. The island community mourned his passing, lowering flags to half-mast as tribute. A special note in his obituary reads, “Mr. Doherty was a genial and attractive personality and popular with all classes. The island surely mourns the death of one who has eagerly and conscientiously promoted the interests and material progress of Mackinac Island.”
Cedars and Everlastings: Mackinac’s Amazing Evergreens Posted July 30, 2021 Dr. Carlos Carvallo“The Island of Mackinac, three and a quarter miles long and two miles wide, though not the largest is the most picturesque and inhabited of the small group constituting the archipelago of the Straits of Mackinac… It is girded by limestone battlements and cliffs, which rise abruptly 100 to 150 feet above the surface of the water… The hills are covered with a dense growth of cedars and everlastings, which appear to extend from the water’s edge to the summit of the island.” Dr. Carlos Carvallo, Fort Mackinac Post Surgeon (1873)Roots of an eastern white cedar span an outcrop of limestone along Quarry Trail in Mackinac Island State Park. In every season, visitors to the Straits of Mackinac are amazed by the varied shapes, forms, sizes, and habits of the numerous species of conifers that grow in this region of the North Woods. Venture out and you’ll discover towering white pines, pointed spires of spruce trees, dense thickets of eastern white cedar, and soft needles of fragrant balsam fir. Perhaps you’ll find yourself in the company of hemlocks whose dark canopy nearly shuts out the light of day, or enjoy a sun-filled stroll while prickly juniper bushes scratch at your ankles. For centuries, travelers to this region, including Dr. Carlos Carvallo, have commented on such “cedars and everlastings” while documenting their observations of the Island. Below are a few favorites to enjoy during your next Mackinac adventure. Balsam Fir If it suddenly smells like Christmas, you’re likely in the company of balsam fir trees. This medium-sized evergreen may grow 65 feet tall or more, but dozens of saplings may also create impenetrable, brushy stands. Bark of young trees features bumpy “resin blisters” which tend to spray when ruptured, resulting in a sticky (but delightfully-smelling) encounter with nature. Since the mid-1800s, small sachet pillows, filled with dried balsam needles, have been sold on Mackinac Island as souvenir keepsakes. Canada Yew This native evergreen grows as a low, spreading shrub, especially in wet areas. A shade-lover, yews are common in northern portions of Mackinac Island, particularly under the canopy of cedar and balsam fir trees. Yew cones consist of a highly-modified scale, known as an aril, which ripens to resemble a soft, bright red berry that remains open on one end. Yew seeds are a favorite food of thrushes, waxwings and other birds. Look for them near Croghan Water Marsh. Northern White Cedar If there is one dominant feature of the northern Michigan landscape, it just might be the cedar tree. Early French traders referred to this species as arborvitae, or “tree of life” due to its medicinal properties, including a high dose of vitamin C used to prevent scurvy. Cedar’s fragrant needles, pliable bark, and rot-resistant wood have been utilized by Native Americans for making containers, canoe paddles, medicine, and ceremonial rites for millennia. Small cedar cones turn from green to brown as they ripen in early autumn, releasing tiny seeds which are essential for birds, squirrels, and other wildlife. Cedar needles, scaly and evergreen, are the most important winter food for deer and also provide shelter when cold descends and snow blankets the North Woods.Ground Juniper Juniper loves both sand and sun. A low-growing, shrubby evergreen, this species grows very slowly and can live up to 300 years. Their fleshy cones look like small green berries and have been used in the distillery process for centuries to give gin its distinctive flavor. Landowner Michael Dousman (1771-1854) once ran a distillery near his large farm on north-central Mackinac Island, possibly producing this herbaceous spirit. Junipers don’t tolerate shade, but are abundant in the sun near the Island’s airport. Several specimens also enjoy a view of the Straits overlooking Robinson’s Folly. White Spruce Not pretentious, white spruce are comfortable in the shadows. Slow-growing and long-lived, their pointed crowns eventually pierce the tree canopy like church spires dotting a country landscape. Spruce needles, while similar in length to those of balsam fir, are stiffer and project from every surface around each branch. In contrast, fir needles only grow from each side of the branch, like tiny wings. Spruce cones are noted for being an especially important food source for birds, including both red and white-winged crossbills. As their name implies, crossbills are named for their unusual beak, perfectly adapted for flicking seeds from ripe conifer cones. Standing beneath a tree as a flock of crossbills feeds above is a memorable experience, as a cloud of discarded seed fragments swirl through the air like tiny brown snowflakes. Red crossbills were once a common nesting species on Mackinac Island. In recent decades, both red crossbills and their white-winged cousins still visit the Island in winter. Eastern White Pine It would be a sad miscarriage of piney justice if a blog about evergreens failed to include the State Tree of Michigan. Historically, this “King of the Forest” reached 300 years of age, growing nearly 200 feet tall with trunks up to six feet in diameter. While the 19th century lumbering clear-cut the vast majority of old growth giants, a few scattered stands and large individuals remain. White pines mature quickly, sometimes adding more than two feet of new growth per year! This species is less common on Mackinac Island than other evergreens, though scattered specimens (including several large ones) can still be located along many trails and roadsides. Several historic guidebooks referred to Forest King, “a magnificent pine tree which excites the admiration of all who behold it” on the trail to Arch Rock. An excellent way to appreciate white pines was expressed by author Anna Botsford Comstock in her Handbook of Nature Study (1911). She wrote, “The needles of the pine act like the strings of an ӕolian harp; and the wind, in passing through the tree, sets them into vibration, making a sighing sound which seems to the listener like the voice of the tree. Therefore, the pine is the most companionable of all our trees and, to one who observes them closely, each tree has its own tones and whispers a different story.” The evergreens above represent just a few of the “Cedars and Everlastings” you’ll find while exploring Mackinac Island and the surrounding region. During your next visit, you’ll just need a trail map, your walking shoes, and an adventurous spirit. Trees of the North Woods are ready to whisper their stories to us. We only need remember how to listen.#thisismackinac
Balsam Just for You Posted October 21, 2016 Since the beginning of tourism on Mackinac Island, visitors have always sought out tokens to remember their experience. Trinkets, sweets, and images of the island helped to memorialize the trip, or were sent to friends and family to let them know they were thinking of them. One of these thoughtful souvenirs which exploded in popularity in the early 20th century was the postcard. With an image on one side, and a place for a personalized message on the other, a postcard can carry a visit anywhere in the world. Although postcards did not originate as a souvenir, but rather a convenient way to send a quick note through the mail, they nonetheless have found their place on visitors’ refrigerators and bulletin boards and in their scrapbooks. (more…)
