Mission House, 1909

This antique Mackinac Island post card is one of my favorites. The Mission House is now owned by the Mackinac Island State Park and they use it to house their island employees. Some of my most treasured memories are from the seven summers that I worked for the fort and lived in the Mission House. 

This card from September 22, 1909 says:

Dear friend, 

I hope you arrived home safe and you enjoyed yourself very much. Mother said the next time you come up you must stay with us for a meal at least. She give me the deuce for not bringing you here on Sunday for dinner. I hope you will come up again as we all like you very much.

From a friend, Evan

I had to Google the meaning of "give me the deuce" since I had never heard that expression. Apparently, in the 1920s, it was an idiom that meant to give someone a sharp reprimand.  Now, if I could only discover who Evan and Blanche were!

Arch Rock, 1909

This 1909 postcard says, "As usual we saw some old friends of J.  -Nellie" Apparently J's friends weren't much to write home about. 

I'm having fun looking at all these old cards. They contain a lot more information than I originally thought. Today I learned the Pasadena was an expensive apartment building on Nineteenth Street in Toledo, Ohio. It's since been torn down, but in its day it was quite modern - having both elevators and steam heat.

Lachance Cottage, Circa 1907-1912

Even though it doesn't have a date, I love this Mackinac Island postcard. It is a card for Lachance cottage, but it is signed by L.J. Metevier, presumably a relation of the Market Street Meteviers (after whom the Metevier Inn is named.)

The card reads: 

Mackinac July 17

Madam:

In answer to your inquiry for rates per week 2 persons in rooms, our rates are 14.00 & 16.00 per week including meals front rooms being the more expensive. We would be pleased to have your reservation and are sure we can make your visit to Mackinac pleasant & enjoyable. Trusting you will favor us by notifying us of time of arrival and price of room desired. 

Yours truly,

L.J. Metevier

I guessed the card's date to be from the early 1900s, but I wasn't sure so I asked AI, specifically Google Gemini, for its input. It had several interesting "thoughts:" I copied everything in blue text directly from AI.

Estimated Date: 1907–1912

• The Divided Back: This is your most precise physical clue. Postcards with a vertical line on the back were produced between 1907 and 1915. Before 1907, the back was for the address only, and messages had to be written on the front. 

• The Signature (J.L. Metevier): Joseph Louis Metevier was a well-known island figure and Civil War veteran. His management of the property fits perfectly within this pre-WWI window. 

• The Price ($14–$16/week): This price reflects the peak of the "Cottage Era" on Mackinac. By the time the postal rate changed in 1917, inflation from the war began pushing these rates toward $20–$25. 

• Postage Rate ($0.01): The "one cent for domestic/two for foreign" was the standard until the temporary war tax of 1917. 

• The Spelling ("Lachance"): Using the lowercase 'c' is consistent with early 20th-century records.

I'm not a huge AI user, but every now and again I do find it quite helpful.

Arch Rock, 1908

This card, from October 1908, reads "Mackinac Island is certainly a beautiful place - Weather fine but smoke from forest fires unpleasant. M+A"

After reading it, I got curious about the mentioned fire. Turns out there was a huge forest fire in Presque Isle County on October 15, 1908. The Metz Fire burned over 200,000 acres and completely destroyed the Village of Metz, leaving about 40 people dead and over 700 homeless. (Metz is marked in red below.)

It sounds like an awful, awful day. Of the 16 killed on the train, three women and nine children were burned to ash in a steel car, while a man who sought safety in the train's water tank was boiled to death, literally. A number of people who jumped survived, but just barely. The silver lining however is that due to the tragic loss of life from the fire, Michigan began working to create forest fire prevention and control programs so something like the Metz Fire would never happen again.

Marquette Park, 1962

I collect antique Mackinac Island postcards. I suppose technically, I use to collect postcards since I haven't bought a new one in about 17 years. I quit because as postcard collecting became more popular prices skyrocketed, and as a new mom I didn't have extra cash laying around to play with in those days.  

Yesterday I opened the box and had a lovely time perusing my collection. I thought they might make a few of you smile as well. Many of my favorite cards have been sent through the mail; I like having a concrete date. Plus the teacher in me thinks it's fun to try to decipher the senders' handwriting. Which sometimes is quite difficult! Click on the card to see it full size.

 

I think it says: "Hi here I am we all having nice time Am all having lunch fort Going to Mc Island this morning. Little cool. Seeing all soon Mother Lyn"  In some ways it reminds me of American Sign Language - if you wrote it down. What do you think?