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March 20, 2005
Drive for approval of stampGroup hopes to see Mighty Mac on U.S. mailByRecord-Eagle staff writer MACKINAW CITY - Richard Moehl wants to post his mail in 2008 with first-class stamps featuring the Mackinac Bridge. He is leading a local effort to persuade the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp in June 2008 - the 50-year anniversary of the bridge's dedication. A stamp of the Mackinac Bridge was released in 1958, the last 3-cent commemorative stamp issued by the service. "The Straits of Mackinac is near to my heart. This is a special place," Moehl said. The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service this year rejected the Mackinac Bridge for a first-class stamp to be released in 2007. The application filed last year was "too local or regional," Mackinaw City postmaster Dennis Godzick said. The committee, however, suggested reapplying for a 2008 stamp release, focusing on the bridge's importance nationally. "I do think it has national significance," Godzick said. "When it was built, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world and remained so until 1998. It's still the longest in the Western Hemisphere." The idea of a bridge spanning the five miles between the peninsulas was considered a "pipe dream" by many, Moehl said. After seven years of planning and construction, the bridge was opened to traffic on Nov. 1, 1957. It was too cold to celebrate the opening then, so it was dedicated in June 1958. Moehl said the bridge changed the maritime views from both peninsulas and also helped draw so many tourists that today the bridge and straits are the most visited place in Michigan - as many as three million tourists each year from all over the country and world. "This was a magnificent feat," Moehl said. "Of course, it's of national importance." Moehl is meeting with the Mackinac Bridge Authority next month to discuss the campaign for a first-class stamp and how best to prepare the application. He said a petition drive will begin soon at local businesses. The letter-writing campaign must wait until after summer when the new application is filed with the postal service. "We want to wait until after the Labor Day Bridge Walk," Godzick said, adding that many signatures could be gathered at the annual event. Anyone interested in joining the effort can call the Mackinaw City Chamber of Commerce at (231) 436-5574.
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Record-Eagle/Sheri McWhirter
