County’s First Newspaper on Display

The first issue of the Schoolcraft County Pioneer printed on cloth. The newspaper is on display at the M-Bank Arts and Cultural Center.

  Wright E. Clarke came to Manistique in April of 1880 and immediately began the publication of the county’s first newspaper, the Schoolcraft County Pioneer. The first issue of the paper (Vol. 1, No. 1) was printed on April 29, 1880. The newspaper was printed on cloth for its superior durability, enabling it to be passed around and read by more people.

   In the fall of 2019, the Schoolcraft County Historical Society was contacted by Michelle Doucette of Connecticut, who is a very distant relative of Dr. Edith MacLeod, granddaughter of Wright E. Clarke. Dr. MacLeod had preserved a number of items pertaining to the Clarke family, including tin type photographs, letters and documents, and most precious of all, the first edition of the Pioneer, printed on cloth. These items were all donated to the historical society by Mrs. Doucette from the Dr. Edith MacLeod collection. The newspaper is in remarkably good condition after 140 years. A generous donation from Maurita Holland enabled the historical society to have the cloth newspaper transported to a fabric conservator in Washington D.C. where it was cleaned, wrinkles removed and mounted in a protective box that could be used for display. The newspaper was returned to Manistique just prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. The survival of early cloth newspapers is a rare occurrence. We are indebted to generations of the Clarke family for having so diligently looked after this early piece of Schoolcraft County history. Read More...

The Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020

The Front Door of the Cedar Street Cinema in Manistique,

           We are living in historic times reminiscent of both the 1918 “Spanish” influenza pandemic and the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

            People’s lives have been turned upside down, and it is difficult to plan beyond today or this week. The way forward is uncertain. The Upper Peninsula has thus far been spared the devastating numbers of virus cases and deaths that has ravaged Detroit and its suburbs. The danger of course, is that any widespread outbreak here would quickly overwhelm our rural hospitals and sideline many of our health care professionals. Read More...

Maligned Manistique – May 1884

Mug shot of alleged Manistique lawbreaker, Paul Bunyan?

        Wright E. Clarke, editor of the Schoolcraft County Pioneer, often lamented Manistique’s undeserved reputation as a center of lawlessness. Nevertheless, word had spread across the peninsula that the growing village of Manistique was the 1880’s equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah. Seeking the truth, the Marquette Mining Journal sent an investigative reporter to Manistique to ascertain the facts:

            “Manistique, May 10, 1884—Manistique having been advertised far and near as a community given over to lawlessness and deeds of violence, and the major portion of its citizens as banded together for the perpetration of all the crimes against which laws have been ordained by powers both human and divine—a place to be shunned and a people to be feared—a representative of the MINING JOURNAL visited the village last week to learn, if possible, what the attraction is that called so many ‘dogs of Hades’ to one spot. Read More...

Campbell Bros. Circus – August 8, 1910

          The Campbell Brothers Circus arrived in Manistique during early August of 1910. The festivities were kicked off with a thrilling parade designed to entice people to attend the circus. The event was witnessed by throngs of children and their parents, who lined the boardwalks and spilled into the street as the exotic spectacle wound its way through town.  Camels, elephants and water buffalo plodded single file down Cedar Street followed by a melodious steam calliope, drawn by a team of six draft horses. Colorful circus wagons holding tigers, lions, monkeys, exotic birds and a striped zebra mesmerized the crowd. The parade, which extended for eight city blocks, also included a 25 piece concert band, four band wagons, jugglers and a troupe of acrobats.  In all, the circus traveled with 500 animals and employed 700 people. Read More...