• Sunday-What'sUP February 22 - 11:59 am

Miss Ishpeming and Miss Marquette were on hand at the 10-year anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge, celebrating its opening in 1958. In the second close-up you can read their banners and see the wheels that saved a lot of wear on the runners during the 5 mile crossing. The nice toll attendant only charged them the motor cycle rate, ignoring all those extra axles.

As Internet content continues to grow at an exponential rate, Upper Michigan is contributing its share to the visual history of its people and culture. Today's photo is a fine example of the growing database at the Upper Peninsula Digitization Center Collections which I visit from time to time to see what's new. Often we find pictures that go well with Day in History to illustrate items of interest on any given day.

Wonder if anyone remembers ever riding a Rupp?

Have a good week :o)

Wow, check out those rates in the first photo. $1.50 for a car -- and the bridge was just $2.50 until just a few years ago. I guess they really didn't keep up with inflation!

(According to the inflation calculator, $1.50 in 1968 would be the same as $8.85 in 2007. Yikes!)

I think the toll at the bridge was higher when it opened than it is now.

My grandpa tell us stories of waiting in lines getting on the ferry to go hunting in the UP before Big Mac was built...Cool history...Thanks Charlie!

We had 3 Rupps (2) 1968s and a 1972. Bought from The Hancock Bike Shop and The Pit Stop Speed Shop in Hancock. We also got parts from Duby's in Hubble. God rest Mr. Duby's soul, he was killed on his Rupp by a drunk driver with a car.

I rode a Rupp snowmobile and a Rupp mini bike!
Around 1968 or 1969

If I recall correctly when the bridge opened for the first few years (2?) The toll was $1.50. Later when some of the bonds interest or whatever matured they had to raise the toll to $3.75! Almost choked some of us to go north then! Sometime later after, don't remember how many years it went then back to $1.50. (Someone here will probably get these statistics exact)

I used to have a 1972 Rupp. Not a very good machine by today's standards. The two girls in the picture certainly are beautiful; I wonder what they look like today? They're probably about my age.

The local snowmobile junkyard, down here near Grand Rapids,has many Rupps on hand. there are many driving around at Tip-Up-Town USA every year also. My family had John Deeres but I now recognize the Rupps were more advanced.

Grant