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Circa 1908. "Main Street, Mackinac Island, Michigan." No motor traffic allowed, but postcards and dentists galore. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Fascinating how they parked their bikes at this time, there seems like a short kickstand.
It also seems that bike theft was no huge concern.
I’m struck by what appear to be concrete crosswalks with a pattern. A friend suggested they may be specifically about avoiding mud during the rainy season. They just seem so out of place and time.
When I was a kid I lived down the road in Cheboygan, we called the tourists "Fudgies" because the stuff was so ubiquitous up there.
I searched in vain for a "Fudge" sign in the photo. I wonder when the fudge revolution occurred -- because as indydad indicated, fudge is everywhere on Mackinac now. Right now I would imagine the lilacs -- the biggest lilac bushes I've ever seen -- are in bloom, so there is something wonderful in the air besides sugar.
We visited Mackinac Island a few years ago and one can smell it from the boat. I can tell you the aroma was not sugar. By the way, I learned from a native that the "c" was added by the French and the correct pronunciation is something like "Mackinah". He didn't give it the "w" sound.
as "Fudgies" by locals.
If there's any kind of fudge they don't sell on the island, I don't know what it is. On a summer's day, you can smell the sugar just walking down the street.
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