Serendipity and the Statue of Liberty
by Jean Martin and an album by Kateri Konik with courtesy photos
We were getting ready to return from Mackinac Island on June 10. We had been on the Island just because we could. We decided to take the 6:30 p.m. boat back to Mackinaw City so that we could ride under Big Mac.
We believed that we had seen about all we intended to see on that trip and were just cooling our heels down by the taxi stand on Main Street. Then we noticed that the fire truck was heading east on Market Street. There were no lights, no sirens.
Shortly thereafter a dray turned the corner heading east on Main, and it was accompanied by an Honor Guard. In the bed of the dray was none other than the Statue of Liberty that had stood in the harbor below the Fort for many years. She was all refurbished and ready to take her place in the harbor once again.
On May 28th, 1950 the Statue of Liberty replica was dedicated on Mackinac Island. This replica was 1 of 200 placed in 39 states around the country. The idea of Boy Scouts of America in Kansas City called the crusade to “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty”. No one knows why the Island was chosen, although speculation is because of the work the Scouts performed at Fort Mackinac.
For 62 years Lady Liberty stood tall in the high winds, rain, deep snows, and all of Mother Nature’s fury, the weather has taken its toll. Her seams were cracking, the spikes on her crown had worn off, her color had faded, and she suffered dings and dents over the years.
As part of the Mackinac Island community and as an Americanism project for the Mackinac Island Post the American Legion decided to help bring back the glory of the Islands Lady Liberty. On November 28, 2012 the statue was removed from her pedestal, with Winberg Masonry, Belonga Excavating, Davis Construction and Venus Bronze Works, Inc. involved in the project.
Now she is back, and a re-dedication will take place later in the year with a new memorial plaque in place.
