Those who attended the MARP meeting in St. Ignace in September of 2010 will remember what a great time we had hearing about the history the railcar ferries and then exploring the dock area where they landed, taking an ATV ride up the old rail grade to Trout Lake, enjoying the ferry ride to Mackinac Island and bicycling around the island, and, generally, just enjoying the chance to meet with fellow MARP members (including two from Wisconsin) and their families in a relaxed and scenic setting.

Well, our meetings coordinator, Jim Wallington, has planned another great get-away weekend for us August 9 – 11 in Manistee MI. With plenty of time at either end to enjoy this lovely vacation spot, we will be meeting Saturday morning on the railcar deck of the historic S.S. City of Milwaukee, now permanently berthed in the harbor at Manistee. The meeting will take place in conjunction with the annual reunion events of the society responsible for preserving this historic railcar ferry and the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Acacia anchored next to it.

The MARP business meeting will take place from 10:00 am – 12:00 noon, on Saturday, August 10, on board the ship. MARP members are invited to attend the annual meeting of the S.S. City of Milwaukee group at 9 am, immediately preceding our meeting.

Following our meeting, we will join the S.S. City of Milwaukee group in a picnic lunch on shore. Cost of lunch is $7. The ship is moored at 99 Arthur St. (US-31).  CLICK HERE  for Map & Directions. Or visit the website carferry.com .

Tours of the S.S. City of Milwaukee will be offered at scheduled times on Saturday for $5 per person. The USCGS Acacia will be open for self-guided tours until 6pm. Also planned is a Silent Auction (10 am – 4 pm) and afternoon presentations by three special guest speakers: Mark Greenwood (history of USCG buoy tenders), Bruce Groeneveld (history of the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company), and Art Chavez (historic photos of interiors of railcar ferries). See the attached agenda for details.

We hope that members and their families and friends will plan to spend the weekend in Manistee, taking advantage of the opportunity to relax and socialize in a beautiful lakeshore setting.

If you plan to attend – or would like to arrange to carpool – please reply to this email. Steve Sobel has suggested that those who arrive on Friday could get together for dinner. Saturday evening and Sunday morning are also possible for group activities.

Lodging is available on board the ship. Call 231-723-3587 during business hours on Mon and Thu-Sun or send email to  carferry.com/contact

Nearby motels include:

Little River Casino Resort, 888.568.2244

Days Inn 888.626.4783

Manistee Inn & Marina 231.723.4000

Microtel 231.398.0008

Super 8 231.398.8888

Ramsdell Inn 231.398.7901

Arcadia House B&B 231.723.4042

Visitor information can be found at www.VisitManisteeMichigan.com .

See You All in Manistee!

Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers

Below is more information to help you plan your visit.

Historic Building Tour Brochure  includes a map of the downtown area.

Take a leisurely tour of Manistee on a charming trolley. Simply hail one as it goes by or stop by the terminal at 108 Memorial Drive.

Or stretch your legs on the 1.5 mile Riverwalk.

The Waterworks Building  houses logging, railroad, and marine exhibits.

Historic A.H. Lyman Drug Company, now housing museum displays including the Lyman Drug Store, period rooms, and one of the most extensive collections of Victorian antiques and photographs in the state.

Historic Ramsdell Theatre, is one of Michigan’s great architectural landmarks.

Some area events this weekend include:

Friday, August 9th – Sunday, August 11th, 7:30pm-9:30pm

“Squabbles” will be performed at the Historic Ramsdell Theatre on Fri and Sat at 7;30 pm, Sun at 2pm

Saturday, August 10^th, 9am – 3pm

River Ride Classic Car Show at the Little River Casino Resort, Manistee

Saturday, August 10th, 8pm-10pm

Bobby Vinton will appear at the Little River Casino Resort  just north of Manistee.

Saturday, August 10th, 4pm-5:30pm

Pentwater Homecoming Parade with Scottville Clown Band in downtown Pentwater

9am to 9:45am  –  S.S. City of Milwaukee Annual meeting

10am to 12pm – Michigan Association of Rail Passengers meeting

12pm to 1pm  –  Picnic lunch served on shore. $7.00 for food and drink. Sandwiches, salads, chips and desert. Your choice of pop or water.

1pm to 1:45 – Mark Greenwood will discuss the history of the U.S. Coast Guard 180-foot seagoing buoy tenders. Long considered reliable workhorses in the Service’s fleet, the versatile craft were used as icebreakers, search and rescue platforms and maintenance ships for aids to navigation. Moored alongside the City of Milwaukee is the Acacia (WLB 406), the last of the 180-footers to be retired from service. It is fitting that the ships are displayed together as the largest collection of museum ships in Michigan, as the Acacia came to the aid of the City of Milwaukee and other car ferries entrapped in heavy ice on Lake Michigan during the 1960s and 70s by providing icebreaking assistance and replenishing the ships with fuel and supplies. The Acacia has close ties to western Michigan, having spent several years stationed at both Charlevoix and Grand Haven. The City of Milwaukee sailed out of Muskegon and Frankfort as her home port, and now resides with the Acacia in Manistee.

2:00pm to 3pm – Bruce Groeneveld will present the history of the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company. The operation ran railroad ferries between Grand Haven and Muskegon, Michigan to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The S.S. City of Milwaukee survives today as a museum ship interpreting the story of the men and women who sailed aboard the Great Lakes car ferries The City of Milwaukee closed the chapter on the 75 year-old operation in October 1978.  

3pm to 4pm  –  Art Chavez will present a slide show focusing on the interior views of the Lake Michigan car ferries operated by the Ann Arbor, Grand Trunk, and Chesapeake and Ohio Railroads. The vast majority of these intriguing images were photographed during the 1960s by John W. Hausmann, and portray the ferries passenger staterooms, dining rooms, a variety of deck scenes and beautiful wood-paneled lounges. These rare glimpses aboard ships like the Madison, City of Green Bay, and City of Saginaw capture an era that is gone forever, surviving today as a museum ship interpreting the story of the men and women who sailed aboard the Great Lakes car ferries.