 |
ABOVE BELOW: Tales
and Folklore of the Fabulous Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Hardcover – 1952 by
Curt. G. Knoblock.
MIRACLE BRIDGE AT MACKINAC. 1957 by David B. Steinman and
John T. Nevill. Jack is profiled in MSU’s Ink Trails II: Michigan's Famous and
Forgotten Authors.
PENINSULA: Essays and Memoirs from Michigan / Edited by Michael
Steinberg - 03/31/2000 Publisher: Michigan
State University Press.
|
 |
| Photos, Letter,
Brochure:
The cars are driving on the ice near our home. The photo was
taken by my father, Woodrow Jarvis, a freelance photographer and writer whose
work depicts life in the Upper Peninsula during the mid-twentieth century.
My dad took the
photo of my brother, Mark Jarvis, on or near Opening Day for the Mackinac
Bridge. Dad took photos and did publicity for the bridge. The 1958 letter is
from my grandmother, Alma Jarvis, referring to the “new” Mackinac Bridge.
|
“CONNECTING PENINSULAS”
I’m a Yooper* born and raised. I grew up on the St. Mary’s
River, five miles from DeTour Village in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Two of
the three books come from my parents’ bookshelves and friendships. Curt
Knoblock, author of Above Below, was the first superintendent of the Drummond
Dolomite mine on Drummond Island. The quarry provided employment for many
(most?) of the men of my hometown, across the channel. Knoblock’s tall tales
capture life in the Upper Peninsula in the mid-twentieth century.
Dr. David
Steinman’s Miracle Bridge at Mackinac conveys his thrill that the bridge he
engineered overcame all obstacles and was built. The coauthor, Jack Nevill, was
a family friend and neighbor in Spring Bay. Jack died in a fire at his home
just before this book was published. His widow, Peggy, was like a grandma to me
as I was growing up.
Above Below and Miracle Bridge at Mackinac keep their
original dustjackets, washed and repaired. The overlaid dust jacket for Above
Below features “Starry Night” and “Snow” Cave Papers. For Miracle Bridge I
trimmed and folded a 2007 Mackinac Bridge poster.
Peninsula[s] uses birchbark covers with the
title Coptic-stitched on the spine. Signatures were remade with Moriki guards
and the original cover bound in.
The multi-section
slipcase is made from Cave Paper “Layered Indigo,” which reminds me of deep, mysterious water.
The container places Miracle Bridge in the middle section that connects Above
Below and Peninsula.
Only as I was
preparing this exhibit entry did I make the connection that Yoopers also live
under a bridge. The International Bridge brochure was written and edited by my
father, Woodrow Jarvis. So, I abandoned my first theme of Yoopers vs. Trolls
because Yoopers are Trolls too.
*(Yoopers=U.P.'ers=people
who live in or are from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Trolls=those folks who live "under the bridge".)
