NEWS

Looking Back: A child's 15-foot tapeworm and Charlevoix's new power plant

David Miles
Charlevoix Historical Society
Charlevoix electric plant, built 1921-22 at future Ferry Beach.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the Dec. 2, 1871 Charlevoix Sentinel announced that “Navigation is closed.” 

This meant that the little, manually operated drawbridge across the lower channel had ceased operations for the year, and would not resume until after the lake ice was gone in late spring. Apparently, the lakes had started to freeze earlier than usual that year. 

The same issue announced that local “Dr. L. (Levi) Lewis, on Thursday, took a worm fifteen feet in length from a young child of this village.” 

Segmented, flat intestinal tapeworms were a scourge of early life here, later known to have been transmitted to humans from animals grazing in pastures or drinking contaminated water, and even fish. Undercooked meat from infected animals was considered to be a prime source of the illness.   

Also, the passenger/freight steamer Fountain City, the first large vessel to enter Round Lake in 1869, was reported to have called here 34 times over the 1871 season.   

One hundred years ago, the Nov. 30, 1921 Charlevoix Courier reported that a “PHEASANT WALKS DOWN BRIDGE STREET. Beautiful Game Bird Gives the City the ‘Once Over.’ Saturday morning early arrivals on Bridge Street were greeted with a rather unusual sight, and everybody (got) a good look at a hen pheasant (that) strolled about the street, unafraid, and probably wondered why such a fuss was made over her visit.  She visited the Sugar Bowl (now the book store), looked the theater entrance over (next door to the south), visited the Courier office, and without doubt, upon invitation, would have spent several hours shopping about the town. She created considerable comment anyway, whatever her reasons for the visit.”

In the same issue, it was reported that Charlevoix was nearing completion of a long anticipated improvement in a portion of our city services. After years of erratic electrical service, fed from a less than adequate plant in Bellaire, our own brand new electric plant would help solve the problem, which had been especially evident and embarrassing that year. Special apologies had been made to our two resort associations and the big hotels for an unfortunate summer season of stop and go power and water. 

“POWER PLANT WELL UNDER WAY. City’s New Electric Station To Be A Modern One. Every Effort Being Made To Complete Building Before Cold Weather Stops Work. City officials promised plenty of electric current for the future and from all indications are making good on their promise. If the present weather continues for a few days longer, outside work on the building will be completed, and inside construction can go on without interruption regardless of climatic conditions.”

The new brick and tile building would be 106 feet long by 50 feet wide, divided into an engine room with an 18-foot ceiling, boiler room with a 26-foot ceiling, transformer room, office, machine shop, garage, and a 16 x 38’ coal room. Cement foundations, reinforced with steel, were poured to depths of 28 and 40 inches in the larger rooms to support the massive tonnage of the new equipment. 

“It is estimated that this equipment is capable of producing practically double the capacity of the Belaire [sic] plant. The plant throughout when completed will be about the last word in modernism. Nothing has been overlooked ... Charlevoix has in the past years been sadly lacking in electric power. The new auxiliary steam plant in connection with the water plant in Bellaire will furnish all the power we need.” 

That vast improvement lasted until the plant burned in a spectacular fire in 1993. 

Where exactly was it located?  

On Ferry Avenue at the Ferry Beach area, right next door to the old Charlevoix farmers’ co-op building which occupied the Stover Road intersection corner, now the site of The Back Lot food truck building, once Kelsey B’s restaurant.