Thanksgiving at Fort Mackinac Posted November 22, 2012 In the 1880s, both the civilian and military residents of Fort Mackinac celebrated Thanksgiving day with rest and recreation. On November 28th, 1883, Captain Edwin Sellers wrote an order commanding that regular duties be suspended the following day. “Tomorrow the 29th having been appointed by the President as a day of National Thanksgiving and prayer all duties will be suspended at this post during this day except the necessary guard and police.” Ten year old Harold Dunbar Corbusier kept a diary of his experiences while living with his family at Fort Mackinac in 1883 and 1884. On November 29th, 1883 Harold noted the Thanksgiving holiday in his diary, writing “Today is Thanksgiving day. We boys went skating on the pond. Mama and papa went to church.” Thanksgiving was also a holiday for the soldiers stationed at Fort Mackinac. The image to the right is a page from a collection of Fort Mackinac’s orders. The highlighted passage mentions the Thanksgiving holiday.
Halloween for Harold Posted October 31, 2012 Harold Dunbar Corbusier was the second son of William Henry Corbusier, post surgeon at Fort Mackinac, and Fanny Dunbar Corbusier. He lived on Mackinac Island with his family from 1883 to 1884. On his 10th birthday, January 14, 1883 he began his diary. His entry for this day 129 years ago, with its original grammar and spelling, shows an excitement for the holiday festivities similar to that of a 10-year-old of the present day. Harold (seated center) kept a diary of the daily occurrences around the Straits of Mackinac. A Boy at Fort Mackinac, October 31, 1883: “It has been a very stormy rainy day. It is All Hallowes eve we going to dive for apples but there wre none in town so we had to dive for potatoes we played games and mamma made candy I have a headache today.” His brief entries give us clues of what life was like on Mackinac Island in a period of great change. This former fur trading outpost was beginning to receive many summer visitors, and the Mackinac National Park (established 1875) was a great attraction. Harold recorded what he saw, and gives a detailed picture of what life was like for an army family. For more information about Harold and purchase a book containing all of his transcribed diary entries, visit the Mackinac State Historic Parks website.
