February 20th, Pasty Central Day in History
On this day in 1865, the Michigan Legislature passed into law act number 87, a resolution authorizing railroads in the Upper Peninsula to charge four cents a mile for passenger travel.
But trains wouldn’t connect between Houghton and Hancock for another ten years as the first bridge to the Keweenaw was built in 1875.
Also on this day in 1872, the patent for the first toothpick manufacturing machine was granted. In February of that year, a party of 20 Englishman walked across Lake Superior without mishap. From the Canadian side to Isle Royale, then from Isle Royale to the Keweenaw Peninsula, proving that in fact, Lake Superior has been known to freeze over. Pasty Central Day in History, February 20th.