| I first visited Mackinac Island when I was 3 years old. We live in a suburb of Chicago, and my family traveled to Mackinac in 1959. Those memories are the earliest clear memories of my life. I remember things vividly....the atmosphere--horses and carriages, Grand Hotel with its never-ending hallways when they still had transom windows above the room doors (I thought that was odd, windows over doors), swimming in the hotel pool (where I skinned my knee). I also remember crying because I could not ride a two-wheel bike and they didn’t have child bike seats back then. To appease me, while my mom, dad and older sister went riding, my aunt and uncle took me on a a carriage ride into the island’s interior where there was an Indian tribal dance performance! We rode to church in a horse-drawn carriage too.
I had not been back to Mackinac again until 1979, when my husband and I went together. What happened next is a legend-like story--I ended up, through a series of amazing circumstances, working on the romantic classic film, Somewhere in Time. I wore 5 authentic period outfits (15 hours a day) and even spent free time with the film’s stars, Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. I felt like I actually lived in 1912 for 3 weeks. My life completely changed after that incredible experience...and I have lived an entirely different life than I would have otherwise. (You can read my amazing story of working on the movie on the Somewhere in Time Website, Articles section, “Barely in Time.”) I’ve been friends with Chris and Jane ever since, I’m the president of the SIT fan society INSITE (International Network of Somewhere In Time Enthusiasts) and publish our elegant quarterly magazine. I’m also the licensee for the film, which has allowed me to produce the official movie collectibles. I am co-coordinator of the annual Somewhere in Time Weekend at Grand Hotel, and my husband and I have produced 6 full-length documentaries chronicling the legacy of this world-renowned movie. I consider getting Universal to produce the Collectors Edition DVD of Somewhere in Time one of my life’s greatest achievements. I love being at the center of the film’s passionate following, and I spend my time and energy ‘giving back’ to the movie all it gave to me.
Since 1979, I have been back to Mackinac countless times....for the past 7 years a consistent twice-yearly trip in spring and then in late fall for the Somewhere in Time Weekend. The island is a truly magical place, (unlike anywhere else in the world) and it is forever linked with the movie and its powerful message of the timelessness of love. There has never been a more perfect marriage of story and setting than Somewhere in Time and Mackinac Island.
In 2005, in honor of the movie’s 25th Anniversary, I created the Somewhere in Time Jewelry line, and was so pleased with the results, I knew I had to create Mackinac Memories Jewelry. There has never been anything that embodied the essence of the island and its unforgettable symbols, in jewelry--up til now...Jewelry that instantly evokes memories of special hours enjoying all the island has to offer....making the past alive again. And isn’t that what Mackinac is all about?
I hope you enjoy it....
Yours in time,
Jo Addie
The official Somewhere in Time Website
www.somewhereintime.tv
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