Vintage Postcard – Surf Motel

Surf Motel
New – Modern
Located on U.S. 23 & 27 in Mackinaw City, Michigan.
Owners, Mr. & Mrs. Everett J Miller
P.O.Box 236

Copyright 1955, The L.L.Cook Co. 88086
From A Natural Color Transparency, The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, Wis.

I swear I remember driving past the Surf as a child. The directions, U.S. 23 and 27, aren’t quite exact for where it would be, though other cards of the motel suggest it is as it says, on 23 at the south approach to the Mighty Mac. Also, looking online at other card for the motel, in more recent years a building was added down closer to the water where the pine trees, car and white bench are located, and the ownership changed to Pete and Alvirta Granger. It appears that the Surf in its original form no longer exists.

I can find no listing on the previous owners, but there is a cemetery listing for Alvirta Granger in Maple Hill Cemetery, Charlotte Michigan. I’ve requested more information from the Eaton County Genealogical Society, to see if it is the same Granger family and will update you when I find out!

We spent a fair bit of time up north growing up. My grandparents had a place in Ocqueoc (on Circle Drive). Sometimes when we’d go up there, we’d stay with them but other times we’d go up and stay in Mackinaw City. We’d stay in the Bell’s Melody Motel/Northwinds/Sunrise Beach complex. If you look online, there aren’t any 4 or 5 star hotels or motels in Mackinaw City. There are still a fair number of small, independent little motels. They are cheap, on the beach, convenient to town. If you’re lucky, they’ll have firewood ready for you, and you can have a nice little fire on the beach while you enjoy a bottle of wine.

There’s a lot to do in Mackinaw. Walk the beaches, check out the Mighty Mac, visit the fort, go to the lighthouse, eat some fudge, take a ferry to Mackinac Island. It’s a lovely little trip, and something everyone should do.