1960: A potentially disastrous incident occurred the day before the dedication of the new Houghton-Hancock Bridge over Portage Lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The steamer J.F. Schoellkopf narrowly avoided colliding with the bridge after the bridge operator failed to open it upon receiving the whistle signal from Captain Albert Wilhelmy. Reacting swiftly, Captain Wilhelmy ordered the engines reversed and dropped anchor, inadvertently snagging two of six Michigan Bell telephone cables in the process. This led to the steamer running aground and cutting off telephone service to approximately 1,000 customers in and around Hancock.

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24 Jun 2024