Migrating to Michigan (9 page)

The man puffed up his chest. “Why, yes,” said the man, as he reached out his hand to the professor, “and you are?”

“My name is Tuesday,” said the professor. “My friends and I have traveled afar just to meet you.” Then the professor introduced each of us to Mr. O'Malley.

While we visited with Mr. O'Malley, he talked to us about his store and his hopes for a better life than he had in Ireland. After our chat, the professor reached into his coat pocket and took out two pencils. The professor handed the two pencils to Mr. O'Malley and showed him how the erasers worked.

“These are fine writing instruments,” the professor said. “Would you trade them for a few pieces of hard candy for my young friends?”

Mr. O'Malley's eyes were wide with excitement. “Certainly,” he said. Mr. O'Malley reached behind the counter and took out a glass jar. He took off the glass lid, and we each took a piece of candy.

“We must be going now,” said the professor. “We have much to do yet today, but first we need to rest.” He thanked Mr. O'Malley and we went outside.

O
wen, Rachel, and Mister Adams popped their hard candies into their mouths. I wanted to save mine, so I put it in my jacket pocket. Mister Adams smiled widely as he sucked on the sweet treat. Owen tried to chew on his piece, but it was too hard. Rachel just shook her head at him.

“Everyone knows that you don't chew hard candy,” Rachel said. “Everyone except Owen, that is.”

“Can you give it a rest?” Owen asked. “She-e-e-sh.”

Seagulls swooped in and out above our heads as we walked along the road that led to the fort on the hill. We sat in the tall grass beneath a large tree. Professor Tuesday took off his shoes and socks once again, but no one else did. He leaned on one elbow as he rested in the grass. “Remember the first time your class came to see me? We talked about Pontiac's war of 1763. Well,” the professor said, “this is the island that the native people called the ‘great turtle.'”

“I remember,” said Rachel.

“What did we learn about Irish immigrants on this trip?” the professor asked.

“There wasn't much to see,” Owen said. His words sounded funny because he had a mouthful of candy. “Of course we saw some big fish and a store.”

“Who was that O'Malley guy we met?” Rachel asked.

“We'll talk about Charles O'Malley a little later,” said the professor. “What were the first things you saw on Mackinac Island?”

“We started out on a rocky beach,” Owen said. He put his finger to the side of his head as he thought. “There were some fishing boats out on the water. It looked like they were catching a lot of fish. One time my dad and I caught thirty perch. But those guys back on the island were really catching fish, big ones and lots of 'em.”

“Yes, they were,” said the professor. “Many Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s became fishermen in Michigan. Several took up fishing on Mackinac Island, Beaver Island, and other islands and port cities around the state.”

“So, the Irish were fishermen?” Owen asked. “I'd like that job. Fish are fun to catch. I use worms, but my dad likes to use minnows.”

The professor scratched his head and blinked twice. “Fishing is only one of the jobs the Irish did. Many of the Irish immigrants became fishermen here because they were professional fishermen in their home country. The Irish were also involved in farming, construction, and mining. If you recall our visit to the Erie Canal, many Irish immigrants worked to dig that canal and others. In fact, a few years after our visit to Mackinac Island, Irish workers helped to dig the canal at Sault Ste. Marie. This canal opened up all of the Great Lakes to shipping. The early railroads that crisscrossed the state were also built in large part by Irish workers.”

“You said they were miners,” Owen noted. “Did they work in the mines with the Finns?”

“Why, yes,” said the professor. “I noticed that you were looking at books about the early Finns in Michigan. Good for you. Several immigrant groups, including the Irish and the Finns, worked in mining as well.”

A big smile crossed the professor's face. “I just finished reading a magazine article about an Irishman named Billy Royal. According to the story, his pigs fell into a pit near Calumet, Michigan. Some claim that the pigs fell into a hole in the ground that was made by ancient copper miners. As the story goes, Billy Royal's pigs found the first evidence of a rich deposit of copper known as Calumet Conglomerate.” Professor Tuesday winked twice at us. “Nobody knows if the story is true or not, but it is a good story, don't you think?”

I raised my hand to ask a question. “You talked about spinach before … that reminds me of something. You said that the Irish were starving in their homeland?”

“Excellent,” said Professor Tuesday. “Between 1799 and 1815 there was a series of wars fought between France and several European nations. They were called the Napoleonic Wars because the French were led by Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous military leader. Once these wars were over, much of the world fell into an economic depression. In those times many immigrants, including the Irish, came to America looking for a better life.

“To make matters worse, a potato famine struck Ireland around the middle of the 1800s,” added the professor. “When their crops failed, starving Irish fled their country. They believed that coming to America was their best hope. Michigan proved to be a great place for many of them to settle. Just so you know, Michigan was, and still is, a great place for growing potatoes.”

We were all quiet for a while, thinking about how terrible it would be to starve. I guess that if I were starving, I'd eat spinach … but only if I had to.

Owen spoke up once again. “Like I said, the fishermen were catching a lot of fish, and big ones, too.”

“The Great Lakes provided much of the food for early settlers in Michigan,” the professor said. “It looked like the fishermen were catching lake trout. As you may know, Mackinac Island is on Lake Huron. In terms of water volume, Lake Huron is the third largest of the Great Lakes after Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.”

“Professor,” I said, “there's a big fort on the top of the hill. Can you tell us about it?”

“What you are looking at is Fort Mackinac as it was in 1840,” said Professor Tuesday. “The fort itself was originally built by the British in 1780. It played a role in the French and Indian War and the War of 1812. When peace finally came to the frontier, traders like Charles O'Malley set up businesses on the island in the shadows of the fort.”

“Can you tell us about Mr. O'Malley?” I asked.

The professor smiled as he put his hands on the back of his head. “I've always wanted to meet Charles O'Malley.”

“Really?” I asked.

The professor nodded his head. “Mr. O'Malley immigrated to the state in 1835. He was originally from Dorrada, county Mayo, Ireland. O'Malley thought about being a priest, but when he came to Michigan he helped to build an Irish settlement on Mackinac Island. He also ran a very successful general store.”

“So, we were in Mr. O'Malley's store?” I added.

“Correct,” said Professor Tuesday, “but that's not the end of the story. Mr. O'Malley was also interested in politics. He held several offices on the island and served in the state legislature. He was first elected in 1846. His work in the legislature can still be seen around Michigan.”

“How so?” Rachel asked.

“Well, he gave Irish names to several northern Michigan counties,” said the professor. “County names such as Wexford, Antrim, Clare, and Emmet are all Irish names.”

“How cool is that!” said Owen. “An immigrant moved from Ireland to Michigan in 1835. After only 11 years in this country, he gets elected to the state legislature.”

“Mr. O'Malley has a very interesting place in Michigan history,” said the professor. “I've always wanted to meet him, and your project on immigrants gave me the chance. So, thank you for that.”

Professor Tuesday thought for a moment before continuing, “Did you notice anything else?”

“I noticed that they made pretty good candy back in the 1800s,” Owen said. Mister Adams nodded his head in agreement and clapped his hands.

Professor Tuesday, Mister Adams, and I had a good laugh. Rachel didn't think what Owen said was all that funny.

“Well, Owen,” the professor said, “you've been reading a little about the Finns. Where should we go to visit some of them?”

“We should go to the Keweenaw Peninsula,” Owen said.

“Very good,” said Professor Tuesday. “You paid close attention to your reading.”

The professor put his shoes and socks back on, then stood up. He turned to his nephew, “Mister Adams, when we get back to my office, remind me to pack a bag of safety gear. We'll be heading into the deep wilderness.”

For some reason, the idea of needing to take safety gear on our next trip was kind of scary to me.

A
fter we stepped through the teleporter, we found ourselves in the warmth of the professor's office once again. Mackinac Island had been chilly and windy.

“I have to check my phone messages and e-mail before we go anywhere else,” the professor said as he turned to his desk and began working on his computer.

Rachel and Owen wrote in their journals as I watched the professor's nephew. Mister Adams and I played tic-tac-toe for a while, then we had several games of hangman. He won every game. That didn't bother me at all. After a while, he got bored with playing games, so he picked up a history book and started to read.

I stared out the window and watched children playing in the park across the street from the professor's office building. As I looked out the window, I thought about coming along with Rachel and Owen to see Professor Tuesday. It would have been great to spend the whole day running and playing with my other friends. But, I was having fun in another way. I was enjoying myself by learning new things. It had been a fun day with my friends and Professor Tuesday. I was eager to learn more. My thoughts were interrupted when the professor started shouting and jumping around.

“Yippee,” shouted the professor as he did a little dance. “I just won a new camera online.”

Owen perked up, “Really? That's cool, Professor. How did you win a camera?”

“I just got an e-mail that told me I won,” answered the professor. “When I opened up the message, all I had to do was fill out some information. My new camera should be here next week.”

“Professor, did you know the company or person who sent you the e-mail?” Owen asked.

“Well, no,” the professor answered.

Owen looked concerned, “It's not a good idea to open e-mails and give personal information to strangers.”

Rachel glared at Owen. “The professor knows what he's doing, mind your own business.”

“Well,” said the professor, “I'm excited about my new camera. It will be great to take along on my trips into the past.”

“When are we taking our next trip?” I asked.

“Right now,” answered the professor.

He turned to his computer and started working. As the professor input information into his laptop, he began to look a little concerned.

“Is everything alright?” Owen asked.

“My computer is acting up,” said the professor. “If I can't get it to run right, we won't be able to visit Copper Country.”

The professor picked up his laptop and shook it twice. Then he fiddled with some keys and let out a big sigh.

Rachel just stood back and didn't say anything … for a change.

Owen asked the professor if he could take a look at his laptop. When the professor agreed, my friend took a seat at the professor's desk and started working on the computer. Mister Adams stood by Owen and watched him.

“What are you going to do?” asked the professor.

“Your computer locked up,” Owen said. “I'm going to restart it and check it for system conflicts.”

“What?” asked the professor.

Without looking up from the laptop, Owen explained, “I'm going to see if you have some programs on your computer that don't get along with each other.”

“Just like you and me,” Rachel said.

“A lot like you and me,” Owen answered.

Owen tapped away at the keyboard as Professor Tuesday watched over his shoulder. Rachel and I played games with Mister Adams as we waited. Rachel was worried that Owen might ruin the professor's computer and that they'd never get their report done.

“There,” said Owen, “that ought to do it.” He turned to the professor as he shut down the computer. “I have to re-start your laptop to accept the changes I've made.”

“Changes? You made changes to my computer?” the professor said as a worried look crossed his face.

“Don't worry, Professor,” Owen said. “Your computer had some spyware that was creating problems. You may have picked it up from the e-mail that offered you a free camera. That's why you should be careful about the messages you open. I just removed the spyware, that's all. Once your laptop starts up again, it should run much better.”

When the computer started again, it was running smoothly. “Thank goodness,” the professor said as he wiped his brow. “I'll be more careful about the messages I open from now on.”

“Well,” Rachel noted, “it looks like Owen is good for something after all.”

“Rachel,” I said, “can't you say something nice for once?”

The professor went back to work, programming our next trip into his computer. When he hit the ENTER key to start up the Tuesday Teleporter, the globe lit up and colorful lights started circling the room once again. Around and around they went as the noises grew and grew. Slowly the green cloud took shape by the professor's desk. He peeked inside quickly.