Reviewing the news: Picnics and tornadoes

July 5, 1924: Thousands go on picnic parties

Northern Michigan lakes were visited by record breaking crowds Friday, the Fourth of July. Every lake had its large quota of picnic parties, bathers, fishermen with ideal weather for great enjoyment. There were noon picnics, evening picnics and other picnics which began in the early forenoon and continued through the entire day.

Round Lake, just north of the city, drew a large number from Petoskey for the fishing, boating and bathing. Crooked Lake had great crowds, according to word from Conway, Oden and Ponshewaing, while Pickerel Lake was covered with boats. Douglas lake and Carp lake drew their picnic parties, those going from Petoskey to Carp lake reporting more than a thousand people there during the day. Burt lake had its fishermen and Fourth of July outing parties while the streams drew trout fishermen. The state parks were packed, hundreds coming to Petoskey from surrounding places, and Petoskey people going to the other parks, particularly to the park at Indian River.

Hundreds drove to Boyne City where the biggest celebration of the day was held while others visited the lakes south toward Traverse City. Baseball games in surrounding cities had big crowds of fans.

July 5, 1974: Antrim, Otsego hit by twisters

Michigan’s long Fourth of July holiday was violently ushered in Wednesday night with major storms across much of the Northern Lower Peninsula that spawned heavy rains, high winds and tornadoes.

Rest areas along northbound I-75 in the Gaylord area were jammed Thursday morning with stranded campers. An estimated 60 persons spent the night housed in the Otsego County Sheriff’s office at Gaylord.

Power was still out at noon Thursday in areas west and north of Gaylord, and radio stations in Traverse City and Petoskey were temporarily knocked off the air Wednesday night.

U.S. 131, U.S. 31 and M-32 in neighboring Antrim County were closed by State Police because of debris strewn about when a tornado touched down and destroyed a building. U.S. 131 and M-32 were reopened Thursday morning, but U.S. 31 remained closed because of a washout on a bypass in Petoskey caused by 50-mile-per-hour winds and rain.

Two girls were injured when a twister struck a chicken house in Elmira. A tornado also destroyed a warehouse housing a well-drilling operation nearly, and there were an estimated 300-400 trees down in the Elmira area alone due to heavy winds.

Lightning struck a house next to the Bear Creek Fire Station north of Petoskey, causing minor damage. Lightning also struck a home in the Grand Traverse area and set one bar afire.

Cheboygan and eastern Lower Michigan areas also had storms and heavy rains, but no major damage was reported.

Despite warnings by the National Weather of the possibility of severe thunderstorms over much of the state, holiday vacationers jammed popular recreational facilities Thursday in efforts to beat the 80-degree weather in southern Michigan.

Boat traffic doubled on Lake St. Clair during a one-hour period, and managers of jammed Detroit area parks were advising motorists to stay away.

However, rain continued to plague outdoor enthusiasts in portions of Western Michigan, especially in the Hart, Petoskey and Traverse City areas.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Reviewing the news: Picnics and tornadoes