Discover the rich history of Benjamin of Mackinac, a beloved shop that has been a staple on the island since 1950. Host Heather shares the fascinating origin story of the Benjamin family, whose roots on Mackinac date back to 1887. The episode highlights the shop's evolution from a camera store to a diverse retail destination offering everything from Kodak film to unique island memorabilia. Heather also explores the personal touches and community connections that make visiting the shop a memorable experience for tourists. Tune in to learn about the family-owned legacy that continues to thrive as they prepare to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

Learn about the shop Benjamin of Mackinac. A staple on the island that has a history that goes way back.

www.benjaminofmackinac.com

www.totallymackinacislandpodcast.com

Located on the crystal blue waters of Lake Huron lies Mackinac island, tucked in between Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.

Indulge me as I share the ins and outs of the place that stole my heart.

This is Totally Mackinac Island Podcast.

Hello and welcome to Totally Mackinac Island Podcast.

I'm your host, Heather.

I hope everyone is doing well.

I feel like I need to just put this out there and get it out of the way.

I put up my Christmas decorations.

That's right, I did it.

So if you aren't aware and the reason I know this, I've known about this for actually quite some time because of if you are a hair stylist, this comes up to the busiest time of year for you and it's always been this way.

It is insane, but it is fun.

So Thanksgiving this year falls at the very end of November.

So sometimes, you know, you have a week after Thanksgiving and then we go into December.

We go from Thanksgiving into December.

So we have basically three weeks after Thanksgiving until Christmas.

So it's a little crazy.

And I thought it's been beautiful weather here.

I'm going to get the stuff out, especially the outside stuff.

I like to put it out the lights especially if it's not too cold so my hands aren't freezing because again my hands are already starting to crack.

Anybody else having that?

So got those out and I actually got rid of a lot of stuff last year.

I love to go to Hobby Lobby for some of their stuff.

So I'll use that for a few years and I'll get some new stuff.

I like to mix it around.

So I'm loving seeing some of the old vintage, like the old school plastic Christmas decor light ups that you can put out.

That was so my generation.

I found this tree on Tick Tock that when we get a house I'm totally going to do a tree like this.

It looks like ornaments from the 50s which I have some from my grandma which want to find a special case to put them in.

But I love that whole look.

It just the aesthetic of it is wonderful.

So anyway, got that up and I'm loving it.

And so I feel like I'm in a Hallmark movie now.

Yeah.

So I like to reach out to businesses, people, different things.

This is how I find them to come on the show.

I reach out to them sometimes you might hear back from them, sometimes you don't.

Sometimes I reach back out to them again because who knows if it goes into spam.

So I especially contact a lot of businesses to have them on.

And so I wanted to hear possibly have on this particular shop on the show.

But here's something that I do when I reach out to people.

Sometimes people don't feel comfortable or they don't think they're going to feel comfortable coming on and talking on a podcast, which I get a lot of times people hate the way their voice sounds and it took me a while to get over that for me.

Sorry, the dogs are barking.

Apologies.

There's.

Anyway, so I reached, when I reached out, I asked them if they would be interested in coming on.

I send the questions ahead of time just so they can be prepared.

Sometimes I go off script, which can happen, but I generally stay in the line of direction of the questions.

And if they don't feel comfortable, I'll send the questions.

If they want me to read it off their answers, I'm more than happy to do that, too.

My whole point is just to get the information out there.

So today I'm going to be talking about Benjamin of Mackinac.

All right, so we're going to get right into the questions and get it going.

Can you share with the listeners what your Mackinac island origin story is?

All right.

And this is from.

So the question is for me, and obviously the answer is from them.

From Benjamin of Mackinac.

My great great grandmother Catherine Benjamin and her son Robert H.

For many years after this, Robert H.

And his son Herbert served the island as blacksmiths.

Their original shop was moved down the street and became part of Mackinaw State Historic Parks.

My grandmother's family was also here about the same time when they brought their family Foley Brothers photo studio to the island.

My family were among the founding members of Little Stone Church.

My dad and aunt were born on the island.

I literally could not love that origin story more.

This is nothing more iconic, in my opinion, than Mackinac right here.

Let's go into your store, Benjamin of Mackinac.

How did you come up with the name and where are you located on Mackinac?

It's our family surname.

And now that I've said that to you guys, I'm sure a lot of you are instantly going to have the picture of the yellow awning and know what the store is.

Okay.

How long have you been in business for?

About that time, his sister Dorothy Benjamin Zach created the horse and buggy design in fact, she would sit in the front window and paint this design on wooden trays and plates.

This image continues to be a family and island visitor favorite.

Can you share what all your store has to offer?

Originally a camera shop, we still carry Kodak film and disposable cameras.

When he opened the shop, my dad photographed classic Mackinaw scenes such as sailboat races, carriages and lilacs in bloom, offering prints for sale.

As customer needs have changed, we've continued to adapt.

Today, in addition to our original merchandise, we also carry phone cords and chargers.

Our shop offers a large selection of hats, T shirts, sweatshirts, gifts and island mementos.

Are you always looking for new products to have in the store and if so, how do you go about it?

Yes, of course.

We often get ideas from our customers.

What are the business hours and when do you open and close for the season?

We are open the beginning of May through October, seven days a week.

During shoulder seasons our hours are 9am to 7pm pm excuse me, peak season, our hours are 9am to 10pm do you hire help for the season and if so, when would someone want to apply and do you offer lodging?

We start thinking about seasonal help after the new year.

We have housing above the shop available to employees.

Now.

Outside of the shop, what are some of your personal favorite things to do on the island or that you share with those visiting?

My favorites are jumping in the lake, walking my dogs up to Fort Homes and riding bikes on the trails.

Do you have a favorite season on the island?

Any season that I'm on the island is my favorite.

What is something you always like to share with the tourists to help make their visit that much more memorable?

I often remind visitors that many of Mackinac's unique establishments are family owned and that my family's connection to the island and the history behind our horse and buggy design can be traced back several generations.

Is there anything else you can think of that you would like to share with the listener?

I am proud that our business is still family owned and operated as we prepare to celebrate our 75th anniversary.

Well, I just cannot thank them enough for getting back to me and sharing that valuable information.

I had no idea that their connection with the island was so long and historical.

It just goes to tell you, this is what I love about doing this podcast is being able to reach out and meet these people and hear their story with it.

No doubt you have been in Benjamin of Mackinac yourself and didn't know all this history behind it as well too.

So I love that I got to share this and learn from them.

And as I mentioned, I'm going to have photos on Instagram and of course on the website and you can get on there to see what more the store has for you to look at.

Okay, well, that concludes this week's episode.

I look forward to talking to you next week about our favorite place, Mackinac Island.

Totally.

Mackinac island is written, produced and edited by me, Heather.