Reviewing the news: Icy straits and roads
Jan. 25, 1924: Crossing ice from island dangerous job
Thursday being a mild day and no signs of an approaching storm several of the residents of Bois Blanc Island made up their mind early in the morning to venture across the ice to Cheboygan.
Those who came over were Andrew Fisher from coast guard station and Earl York, Al Jewell and William Latouri, all with lots of experience in crossing ice when it requires judgment. In coming from Sand Bay to Point au Sable west of the crack to be found every mile extending from Point au Sable to the main land. The snow on the ice in patches was not over three inches deep, and it is there the death traps are usually found. One of the party in testing the ice where the snow lodge drove his ax through with one blow.
They landed here without any trouble but are held here on account of the northwest blizzard which set in early this morning.
Jan. 25, 1974: All local children are given holiday
All schools in Cheboygan County and most schools in Northern Michigan were closed Monday due to icy conditions of roads resulting from a freezing rain Sunday.
Roads were slicked over with a glaze of ice, making travel by school buses as well as all cars hazardous to dangerous.
Cheboygan public and parochial schools were closed for the first time this winter. This time it wasn’t a case of too much snow or blowing snow or high snow drifts, but slippery roads.
Cheboygan children were joined in their “Ice Day” holiday by children of Mackinaw City, Inland Lakes, Wolverine, Onaway, Vanderbilt and Pellston school districts. This takes in all the kindergarten, elementary, and high school children in Cheboygan County.
The Intermediate School District office at Indian River was closed too, but John Sibel of the staff reported that so far as known, all schools in the three counties of the district were closed. Reports were in from all districts except Rogers City and Posen in Cheboygan, Presque Isle and Otsego, the three counties which the Indian River office serves. This includes the Gaylord schools.
Reports of closing were also received by the Observer from St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Petoskey, Cedarville, Kalkaska, DeTour, and Engadine.
Alpena Community College also was closed.
Cheboygan schools remained out for a second day Tuesday, due to icy roads.
The County Road Commission advises Tues. morning that country roads were still very slippery, making operation of school buses and cars in general dangerous.
The children’s weekend holiday has thus stretched out to four days.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Reviewing the news: Icy straits and roads
