Wake up and smell the lilacs with authors Sue Allen and Jeff Young

Each June, Mackinac Island’s thousands of lilac bushes go in bloom and transform the island into a majestic profusion of purples, whites and pinks. However, unless you are a full-time resident of Mackinac Island, an early-arriving cottager or a lucky tourist, it is unlikely you have seen the lilacs in their full glory and been delighted by their fragrance.

“This year was the first time in 17 years that the lilacs bloomed according to schedule. They’re sometimes after and sometimes early,” said Sue Allen, co-author of the new book “Lilacs: A Fortnight of Fragrance on Mackinac Island.” 

Allen, a summer cottager, co-authored the 152-page book with lilac expert Jeff Young. Primary photography was done by fellow cottager Jennifer Wohletz. The book was published by Mackinac Memories and underwritten by the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau. “Lilacs” is printed in full color with more than 200 photographs to capture the majesty of Mackinac Island’s lilac bushes. All proceeds for the book will go toward the Mackinac Island Lillac Preservation Fund.

Allen said the team had the book ready to go last year, but it was held up due to COVID. Several local poets were recruited to write poems for the book and Allen contributed the verse “How Not to Prune a Lilac.” 

The book is organized into eight chapters, which covers such topics as “The Old Giants,” “The Baby Boomers,” “The Lilac Festival” and “The Future of Mackinac Island’s Lilacs.”

Mackinac Island’s lilacs can be traced back about 150 years. They were likely brought by English and Dutch farmers coming from the East Coast. “Popular myths trace the introduction of the lilacs to French explorers and missionaries, but that has been disproven,” Allen said. “Some of the tour guides still tell that story, though.”

Each year, Mackinac Island has a Lilac Festival, featuring a parade that has no shortage of horse-drawn floats and includes the crowning of a queen and princess. The festival can be traced to 1948, when island merchants hoped to extend the tourist season to early June. According to the book, islanders Evangeline “Ling” Horn and Stella King were inspired by the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington. The season traditionally ran from the Fourth of July to Labor Day. 

“It now runs from May to October,” Allen said. “This year, tourism is kind of crazy with people wanting to be outside.” 

The Lilac Festival has also been issuing a commemorative poster each year since 1993, when Marlee Brown created a painting of the lilacs in Marquette Park. Island artist Richard Wolfgang created posters until he stepped down in 2008. A chapter in the book shows each of the posters, which now grace the walls of many of the cottages on Mackinac Island.

“Everyone on the island has a lilac story,” Allen said. 

The book is peppered with these stories, as well as detailed information about Mackinac Island’s 300 varieties of lilacs. One mother tells how her son gives her a lilac every Mother’s Day. Other families also plant lilacs as markers of major life occurrences. Some residents have even named their lilacs in honor of relatives or important events.

“Everyone has a little bit of knowledge about growing lilacs and is willing to share it,” Allen said.

Allen says lilacs are almost indestructible. Although the lilac is technically a bush, some grow as big as a tree on Mackinac Island.

“The bushes are everywhere. You can find them in the alleys, in front and back yards of cottages — just about anywhere,” Allen said. 

The biggest profusion of lilacs can be seen from the ferry in Marquette Park on Mackinac Island’s main street as the day trippers come to visit. The park, which was originally a garden for the military on Mackinac Island, is now a public gathering place that has more than 75 varieties of lilacs planted in 13 beds. 

Mackinac Island’s oldest lilacs can be seen at the Harbour View Inn on Main Street. The inn was the original home of Magdeline La Framboise, who ran a fur trapping business and lived there from 1822 to 1846. The book also points out some interesting history, such as famed writer Henry David Thoreau’s visit to Mackinac Island in 1861. He wrote in his notes: “Apple in bloom and lilacs.”

Allen said her favorite sighting of lilacs on Mackinac Island is on British Landing Road. “You can smell the lilacs coming over the hill. Then you see the lilacs, the lake and the smell of lilacs. It is transcendental.”