101 Things That Happened on the Mackinac Bridge

Registration required

This program is being offered in-person and remotely via Zoom. The Zoom link will be included in the registration confirmation email and reminder email sent 48 hours before the event.

Join us for an entertaining, informative presentation about Michigan’s iconic Mackinac Bridge. The "Mighty Mac" has seen historic, tragic, and hilarious events. Since construction began in 1954 and opening in 1957, the Mackinac Bridge has withstood gale-force winds, the pressure of crushing ice flows, blinding snowstorms, being struck by lightning, and being hit by both an airplane and ship! Yet it still stands as perhaps the safest five miles of I-75. Take a trip through the first six decades of the bridge’s history and experience unusual crossings, triumph and tragedy. You will hear the stories, see the photos and meet the people who have made this engineering wonder a symbol of the state of Michigan. Copies of How The Mackinac Bridge Was Built and It Happened on the Mackinac Bridge will be available for purchase after the event.

Mike Fornes covered the Mackinac Bridge and the USCGC Mackinaw for 26 years for several media outlets in Northern Michigan, including radio and television stations and the Cheboygan Daily Tribune. A resident of Mackinaw City, Fornes is frequently in demand as a guest speaker and presenter to tour groups, cruise ship organizations and historical societies. He has given more than 2,000 tours of the Mackinac Bridge, Grand Hotel and the USCGC Mackinaw.

Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Farmington Community Library