2024 - Honoring the Maurer Family and Maurer Publishing

Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, July 17, 2024, when we will celebrate the contributions of the Maurer Family and Maurer Publishing at the MHS Bridging History Celebration at Little Bear East.

The MHS Bridge Award for Historical Impact is given to those who inspire use with their outstanding philanthropy, community involvement, and dedication to preserving history so that others may learn from it. We are honored to celebrate the contributions of the Maurer Family and Maurer Publishing whose names have been synonymous with journalism and integrity on Mackinac Island, St. Ignace, and the Les Cheneaux Islands for more than six decades. Their impact on all of Mackinac County has been profoundly felt by many and we proudly celebrate their dedication to make their community a better place.

Maurer Publishing began with Wesley and Margaret Maurer, Sr. and continued with Wesley and Mary Maurer, Jr. until March of 2023. Wesley Maurer, Sr. was a professor of journalism at the University of Michigan and dedicated to improving journalism education. During his extensive career he received numerous accolades for his work. The highest honors include receiving the title of professor emeritus from the University of Michigan, the Honor Medal for distinguished service in Journalism, and induction to the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.

Mr. and Mrs. Maurer, Sr. purchased the Mackinac Island Town Crier in 1957 to use the small-town paper as a laboratory for graduate journalism students interested in community journalism. They extended the laboratory when they purchased the weekly Harbor Springs’ newspaper Harbor Light in 1963, eventually turning the paper over to a former student. In 1975 the Maurer family purchased the Les Cheneaux Weekly Wave and then The Republican News & St. Ignace Enterprise. The paper was later renamed to The St. Ignace News and incorporated the Weekly Wave in 1978. Wesley Maurer, Sr. was devoted to social justice and to professionalizing the field of journalism and believed that “the newspaper is the basic element of the community, its institutions and life. The newspaper’s objective should be information” (Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame). He lived this purpose and instilled these values in his family.

The net proceeds of this event go toward finishing the Straits Cultural Center.

2023 - Honoring the Boynton Family

The MHS Bridging History Celebration took place on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at 5:30pm at Little Bear East Arena. We honored the historical contributions of three members of the Boynton family: Commodore Lewis R. Boynton, Postmaster Ollie Boynton, and Brother Jim Boynton, SJ.

The MHS Bridge Award for Historical Impact is given to individuals who inspire us with their outstanding philanthropy, community involvement, and their dedication to preserving history so that others may learn from it. We are honored to celebrate the contributions of the Boynton family members. Like a bridge, the impact of their family spans generations and demonstrates the importance of historical invention, leading by example, and preserving history.

The Boynton family has a long history in the Straits of Mackinac. It began in 1883 when Commodore Lewis Boynton and his wife, Sarah, moved to Saint Ignace to run the Island Transportation Company. Commodore Boynton worked with renowned marine engineer Frank Kirby to design a railroad ferry capable of breaking through ice. The icebreaker St. Ignace was launched in 1888, ending the annual isolation between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas when the Straits of Mackinac froze in the winter. The commodore served as the first captain of the Chief Wawatam when it launched on October 26, 1911. In 1884, Lewis became the superintendent of the marine service of the Mackinac Transportation Company. In that position he assumed command of the freight and passenger steamer Algomah, and supervised the company’s car ferries. As commodore, he oversaw all construction and repair work on the vessels.

Commodore Boynton was the great-grandfather to Ollie Boynton. Ollie married Patty November 1959. He served in the U.S. Army, then later returned to St. Ignace where he served as a County Commissioner and City Councilman. Ollie spent his career with the U.S. Post Office and was the postmaster in St. Ignace for thirty-five years. He has spent his retirement dedicated to St. Anne Catholic Church on Mackinac Island. He and Patty had four children and lived a life of giving, modeling that for their children.

Ollie’s youngest child, Jim, fell in love with history and the stories that went with it. As a teenager, Jim volunteered at St. Anne Church on Mackinac Island curating the small museum in the church and later, became a tour guide at Fort Mackinac. Brother Jim’s passion for history is evident through his research into Jesuit history, inspiring his book Fishers of Men: The Jesuit Mission at Mackinac 1670-1765. More than an educator, Brother Jim is a frequent presenter for MHS and a contributor to the growth and interpretive value of the museum’s collection.

The net proceeds of this event go toward finishing the Straits Cultural Center. With its doors open, the vibrant history and traditions of the Straits region can be shared with the community once again.

2022 - Honoring Prentiss “Moie” Brown, Jr.

Born in December of 1925, Moie made his life in St. Ignace just as his father and grandfather did. Son of U.S. Senator Prentiss M. Brown, who is credited with securing the funding for the Mackinac Bridge, you could easily make the case that the impact of the Brown family bridges history. Moie and his wife of 63 years, Peggy, raised for children in Northern Michigan. He is a Navy Veteran and an Albion College graduate. A third-generation attorney, he served as the St. Ignace City Attorney for more than 40 years. Moie’s love of storytelling and the history behind those stories got him involved at the Michilimackinac Historical Society. He has stepped up to help at MHS countless times and is an Honorary Co-Chair of the Straits Cultural Center campaign. Moie has spent his life inspiring others with his philanthropy, his community involvement, and his dedication to preserving history so that others may learn.