Sunday, January 19, 2025

an unusual roadside attraction near the west side of Torch Lake, the Hugh J, Gray Cairn which is located near Kewadin, Michigan, 1/2 way between the North Pole and the equator. Very rare is the man who has seen a monument dedicated to his accomplishments in his lifetime

the cairn was officially dedicated on June 28, 1938, constructed of 83 stones, one furnished by each county in Michigan and inscribed with the donating county’s name. 

The exception was Wexford County’s “stone,” which was actually a two-foot-square piece of rubber manufactured at a tire plant with the county’s name engraved on an attached steel plate, because of Cadillac Michigan's fundamental connection with the rubber and automobile industry

The stones were transported free of charge to the site by the Père Marquette and Pennsylvania railroads. Masons from Antrim County and workers from the Michigan Highway Department constructed the cairn.

The monument is 12 feet square at the base and 16 feet high. 

On the cairn is a bronze plaque bearing the likeness of Mr. Gray with the inscription “Hugh J. Gray – Dean of Michigan’s Tourist Activity.” Inside the monument is a sealed crypt holding resort booklets and brochures from every section of the state and various Michigan newspapers carrying stories of the dedication and articles of Mr. Gray’s promotional efforts. 

Gray recognized the need for a skilled workforce to support the growing tourism industry. He developed hotel management courses at Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) 

Classes gave “scientific sales instruction” to persons interested in answering inquiries of tourists, motorists or other travelers. Class attendees included people from hotels, restaurants, gas stations, taxicab companies, railroad companies and bus lines.

Under Hugh Gray’s guidance and thanks to his untiring enthusiasm, the West Michigan tourist industry grew bit by bit, then by leaps and bounds, becoming the second largest industry in the state, bringing in $315 million in 1937, outranking even California in the tourism industry.




the West Michigan Tourist Association. secured the services of Hugh Gray, who was given the title of secretary/manager and paid a salary of $300 per month plus expenses. Responsible for recruiting new members, creating advertisements and promotions, and the day-to-day running of the organization, the secretary/manager was the person who really ran the show. 

With an established career and a quarter-century of experience in railroading behind him, Hugh Gray was the right man for the job. He energetically coordinated the efforts of business leaders, transportation companies, hotels and resorts, in order not only to attract visitors to Michigan, but also to make their stays enjoyable. 

Born in 1868 in Lakeville, Michigan, Gray was obliged to become a breadwinner at the age of 13 when his father died. At 17 he came to Grand Rapids to take a job as a car sealer for the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway. Steady advancement carried him five years later to a position as a rate clerk in the passenger department of the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad. 

Gray often commented that this job placing him in charge of promotional booklets and advertising, many of which were designed to lure travelers to western Michigan, actually started him on his career in the tourist business. 

During his tenure as a Père Marquette Railroad agent, Gray was appointed to the executive board of the Western Michigan Development Bureau.

After Gray cast his lot with the newly formed Michigan Tourist and Resort Association, he  bought his first automobile, a Velie, and started driving all over the sand trails of western Michigan, interviewing businessmen and enlisting members. 

During his first year with the MTRA, he put 8,000 hard, dusty miles on his car and raised about $4,000 for advertising and promotion. 

Appeals were made to resort owners, hotel operators, garage managers, wholesalers, retailers, public utilities, chambers of commerce and civic organizations throughout western Michigan to become members of the new organization. 

Gray created a “scientific publicity campaign” with advertisements in 90 midwestern and southern newspapers. Concentrated on an area that encompassed Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha and Chicago, the advertisements paid off royally, attracting an estimated 80 to 90 percent of all vacationers to Michigan in the association’s early years.
The MTRA later advertised in national magazines such as Colliers, the Saturday Evening Post and Life. 

Gray also arranged for the state highway commission to furnish the association with weekly bulletins regarding road conditions, detours and other travel information to be passed on to its members and inquiring travelers. He urged the state health department to have its traveling laboratories monitor sanitary conditions, clean water, good milk and food at hotels, resorts, restaurants and public bathing beaches.

Much of Gray’s successful boosterism had ripple effects. In the 1920s and 1930s many lakeshore counties saw their resort properties double thanks to the construction of family cottages and resort facilities. Almost every county in West Michigan saw an increase in its property tax revenues from vacation homes. Retail sales soared during the summer months, bringing a new prosperity to many small towns whose merchants were only too happy to supply the vacation essentials such as fishing tackle, bathing suits, cameras and compasses, which, according to a 1927 survey, many forgetful tourists were apt to leave at home.

Gray and the association played a leading part in the promotion and development of the state park system. He anticipated the motor-camping craze of the 1920s and recommended that the state parks provide camping facilities for the convenience of motorists. He encouraged the state park system to supply maps indicating available facilities for campers, including amenities such as fresh water, firewood and comfort stations.

The cairn is located at approximately the 45th parallel.

 The cairn was a major roadside attraction in its first years, but its popularity faded after 1955 when US-31 was routed more directly north out of Elk Rapids. The old US-31 was renamed the Cairn Highway in honor of the monument. 

South of the monument, you may encounter a few signs of the "Polar Equator Trail", a loose confederation of roads which follow the 45th Parallel across Michigan for over 140 miles from Kewadin to Alpena.

 In the early 1970s, a group of wealthy Michigan outdoorsmen and big game hunters plotted a route across the state to promote tourism and interest in outdoor opportunities along the 45th Parallel.









The Michigan Polar-Equator club formed sometime in 1965, with archery legend Fred Bear among the founders. 


the above, is Fred Bear, who bought this 1915 Indian motorcycle when he was 17, for 35 dollars raised by selling furs. Bear is known as the "Father of Bowhunting" and is considered one of the greatest bowhunters of all time, he founded the Bear Archery company. Nugent wrote a song about him.

At the age of 29, Bear embarked on his first hunt, igniting a passion for bowhunting that would later define his legacy. In 1933, this passion led him to start his own company where he created revolutionary products - his most famous being the first fiberglass take-down bow - that pioneered the way for modern bowhunting.





At the time it was mostly a social club for world trophy hunters. As time passed, the club settled on an objective to “establish and maintain a trail across the State of Michigan as close to the 45th parallel as possible.”

 Over the next decade the club erected 200 trail markers and successfully lobbied the state legislature to declare the trail a significant tourist attraction.

They placed bluebird houses on the trail also, and on many of the mile marker signs. This is a project supported by the MP-EC to help promote preservation of the "Trail signs." The MP-EC Trail mile marker signs and Bluebird houses have been installed and maintained exclusively through the financial and volunteer efforts of the members of the Michigan Polar-Equator Club.

Other members of the 45th club -- Minneapolis, Yellowstone National Park in Montana, Hokkaido, Japan

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