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Posted byWalter E KitterPosted inUncategorized

The 4th of July 

Here we are now in the middle of the season, 4th of July on Mackinac Island.  I was usually a tour driver; I would usually ask about going in early so I could get ready for the Parade through town.  I was and still a member of American Legion Post # 299 Mackinac Island.  I was usually sent in early, around 4:00 or 5:00.  I usually told the ticket office in the morning and reminded them when I came down from feeding my horses about needing to go in early.  Being a member of a small post is great.  What I like about being a member of a small Legion Post is everybody gets to participate in functions, whether it is posting the Colors at the Grand Hotel, or doing parades, everyone has a chance to participate.  We would take the Colors down in front of the island House along with some Fire Trucks from the Mackinac Island Fire Department (MIFD).   We would make sure we all had ear plugs, the firefighters would get carried away with the horn, because we were leading the fire trucks through town. all the way to the Mackinac Island Public School.  We would roll the Colors up and walk back to the Court House, storing the Colors and the rifles, and then head to the Post Bar, talking amongst ourselves, having a cold beer or two, while the fireworks are going off from a Barge off Windmere Point.            

For the tourists, the day is fun filled, with events scheduled including various fudge shops, tours, and shops to visit. the events are as folllows. The Grand Hotel has a package that includes accomodations,breakfast and dinner daily, including a childrens carnival and other activities. There is a Star Spangled Fourth of july at the Fort. The fort is decked out for the fourth of July, including a 38-gun salute honoring the number of states in the union at the time. Childrens games on the fort parade ground beginning at 1:30, Tea Room and Restraunt is open. There is an Stone Skipping Tournament starting about 10:00 am down at Windemere Point Beach (Located next to the Hotel Iriquois). Then at Dusk we have the fireworks. most view the fireworks from behind the island schoolhouse, just below the Grand Hotel. If you are a little more adventureous, one could go up to Ft Holmes where you could have a possibility to view St Ignace, Mackinaw City, Cheboygan, and of course Mackinac Island which is done off a barge. We are now about 3/6, or ½ way through season. 

Published by Walter E Kitter

I am a U.S. Army Veteran for 13 years, served in Desert Shield/Storm. I graduated from Saginaw Valley State University with a degree in Education. That is where I found out about the joy of writing. I was a tour driver for about 10 or 11 years for Mackinac Island Carriage Tours. I learned to harness, hitch and drive a team of horses. That job really slowed my life down. Driving 3 to 5 mph, if you went any faster there is a good chance that you could be in trouble. I am in no hurry to go nowhere. In the beginning I was using information about the island that was written by someone else. I Had to make the tour my own. So I bought the books and researched the information for the tour so I could answer any questions that customers had answering with something else besides I don't know. One rainy day, sitting on my carriage, watching the team, rain dripping down my back. it was cold and rainy, all you needed was the ducks, decoys, call and the dog you would set for duck hunting. I wanted to write a book about the island. I found the story behind the facts sometimes more interesting than the facts themselves. I am going to write a book, now I needed pictures for the book, how am I going to get them? thousand yard stare looking out at the team in front of me, pulling up now and then when the carriage in front moved up. Making it to the ticket office, waiting to be loaded still wondering about pictures for my book, customer sees that I am deeply thinking about something. He asks me what am I doing, I explain to him the problem of pictures for the book. He explains that I have the frame for the pictures right in front of me, the two horses heads are the frame for the pictures. That is when I came up with the title, A Place That I Love a tour drivers perspective of Mackinac Island. I spent a lot of time at Anne's Tablet. That is how the book came about

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