“Michigan Spirit
Quest”
The Michigan Spirit Quest series of
geocaches will take you to a number of historic cemeteries
built by MICHIGAN Pioneers. This series is inspired by and a
continuation of the Indiana Spirit Quest caches created by
SixDogTeam. In just over a year and a half, the SPIRIT QUEST has
grown to over five hundred caches and the hiders have grown to
Twenty cacher teams, most of which are comprised of Dogs and
their Humans. Over 1,000 cachers have
logged over 12,500 finds. One cache machine found 102 ISQ caches in
a single day (daylight hours only).
(Photos by Wolverine Warriors)
Michigan Spirit Quest
#13
"Magical Men"
Welcome to Lakeside
Cemetery in Colon, St. Joseph, Michigan. We found many graves
dating from the mid to late 1800's to present day. As you walk the
cemetery you will see many veterans of different wars, however
there is one very special grave here of men who would entertain
those Soldiers. The grave of Harry Bouton Blackstone, Peter Bouton
(Harry's brother), Harry Blackstone Jr. and Harry Blackstone
III.
Harry Blackstone, Sr. -
The Great Blackstone - started it all near the beginning of the
20th Century. The tradition was magnificently carried on by his
son, Harry Blackstone Jr., who was continentally celebrated for the
most lush and lavish stage illusion show seen since his father's
retirement.
The elder Blackstone
was born Harry Bouton in Chicago in 1885. Like many youngsters of
the age, he received a magic trick as a birthday gift at the age of
eight. Later that year, 1893, he did his first amateur performances
in a church basement for members of the family congregation, thus
embarking upon a magical tradition that dates back 100 years. At
the age of twelve, the youngster stood in front of Chicago's
McVickers Theater, gazing in complete fascination at the colorful
lithographs heralding the Great Kellar, the era's most famous
illusionist. The young man was so impressed that he plunked down
the few pennies in his pocket for a seat in the theater's topmost
gallery. For Harry, the next few hours were pure enchantment. When
he climbed down the stairs that long-ago day, the youngster vowed
that some day he, too, would be a great magician. As he learned
more and more about magic, the youngster ascertained that there
were two separate and distinct ways to master the field. One was to
spend the hours necessary to perfect difficult slight-of-hand moves
with balls, ropes, coins and similar small objects. The other was
to build or buy the complicated apparatus needed for a full-scale
stage performance. With wisdom that belied his years, he decided to
attempt both types of magic, thus inaugurating a unique and very
personal style that was to become his trademark throughout his
65-year professional career.
While diligently
rehearsing slight-of-hand, Harry secured a series of jobs with
cabinet makers and other craftsmen in his neighborhood to perfect
the skills needed to construct his own props. Until his retirement,
Blackstone and his brother, Pete, a gifted technical genius,
designed and built almost every piece of equipment required for the
lavish Blackstone show. In 1899 came his first opportunity for a
paid engagement. He and his brother, Pete, became regular
performers on the club and party circuit, perfecting their art and
helping to pay the bills at home. Around 1904, the brothers put
together a vaudeville act entitled "Straight and Crooked Magic."
Later they appeared under the billing "Fredrik, the Great &
Co.," chosen because they were able to purchase, at cut-rates, some
fancy lithographs bearing that name. As World War I loomed,
Germanic names became quite unpopular. The Bouton brothers changed
their names to Blackstone and the rest, as they say, is
history!
Around 1915-16, Harry
and Pete put together their largest illusion show to date. During a
Los Angeles engagement, their show was seen by none other than the
Great Kellar himself. The older magician was so impressed by the
Blackstone show that he came backstage to tell the younger conjurer
that he was the best all-around magician he'd ever seen! Quite a
compliment from the man who had inspired Blackstone's interest in
magic in the first place.
His performances
brought him to Michigan many times during his career. In he bought
208 acres of wooded lands in Colon including footage on Sturgeon
Lake. It would become his headquarters, workshop and home where he
and his company of performers could relax each summer from their
grueling schedule. This was a time when air conditioning was a
luxury and most theaters had a limited run of shows during the dog
days of summer. Fellow magicians and entertainers often summered
with the Blackstones, basking in the lifestyle that a small town
can offer weary travelers tired of hotel and restaurant
meals.
In 1927, Harry invited
a visitor who would have further impact on the town and the world
of magic. Percy Abbott came for the fishing and relaxation, but
stayed and helped form the Blackstone Magic Company, and when the
partnership dissolved, stayed on to continue the business. Today,
Abbott's Magic Manufacturing Company is the largest manufacturer of
magical implements in the world. Colon is also host to the world's
largest annual convention of magicians.
During World War II,
under USO auspices, Blackstone, Sr. toured his big illusion show to
one hundred and sixty-five military bases. Since many of the camps
had no theatrical equipment, the master magician trouped everything
from lights to ladders to curtains. It was a rigorous, demanding
tour, but one of the show business accomplishments of which Harry
Blackstone, Sr. was most proud.
In 1942, The Great
Blackstone performed what many people consider his greatest trick:
The Vanishing Audience. In Decatur, Illinois, during a performance
it was announced that the next trick was so large and spectacular
that members of the audience would have to adjourn to the street to
see it. The magician supervised an orderly, row-by-row exit of the
theater. When they reached the street, the crowd instantly saw what
Blackstone had known all along: The theater was on fire! His
coolness averted panic and surely saved many
lives.
When he finally hung up
his white tie and tails and put his rabbits out to pasture after 65
years on the road, Blackstone settled in Hollywood. Harry
Blackstone, Sr. passed away in Hollywood, November 16, 1965. Paying
tribute to the timeless greatness of the celebrated conjurer, The
New Tops, a magician's magazine, wrote: "Harry Blackstone, age 80;
occupation: Legend."
Harry Blackstone Jr.
was an author, an actor, an inventor, a casino showroom headliner,
a TV personality, a teacher, a father, and the creator and
performer of the longest running magic and illusion show ever to
play Broadway. No magician in history was more honored by his peers
than Harry Blackstone Jr. In March 1994, he was named a recipient
of the prestigious Masters Fellowship, presented by the Academy of
Magical Arts and Sciences. He was named "Magician of the Year" in
1979 and 1985 by the Academy of Magical Arts, and was the
"International Ambassador of Magic" for both the Society of
American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magic at
the time of his death in 1997. He was an Honorary Life Member of
the Academy of Magical Arts at the Hollywood Magic Castle, a
distinction his wife, Gay still holds. Harry Jr. was also the
recipient of the coveted "Star of Magic" an honor bestowed to only
11 other magicians in history, including his father. On June 11,
1994 Harry was made an honorary member of the International College
of Surgeons. Since the College's founding in 1936, there have been
only 14 other honorary members including only one other from the
entertainment industry, Bob Hope.
Born in Colon,
Michigan, "The Magic Capitol of the World," Harry's career in magic
began at the age of six months, appearing and disappearing in his
father's illusions. Under the master's watchful eye, young Harry
grew up learning the elements of his exacting craft. He continued
to perform such world-famous illusions as The Floating Light Bulb,
The Vanishing Birdcage, The Dancing Handkerchief, and the
frightening Buzzsaw, all of which he learned and perfected with his
father's guidance and encouragement.
Far from satisfied with
repeating the feats of his father, Harry developed the art of magic
into something both uniquely and arrestingly modern, injecting not
merely innovation, but transcending the stage barrier to touch his
audiences with a presentation which was not only reverent of the
past, but very much of the present, of the future and of his own
creation. As he put it, "What I am undertaking is the challenging,
but delightful task of bringing this magnificent art to even higher
levels, building on what has gone before, injecting a modern,
innovative presentation that is very much of the present, of the
future and of my own creation." Harry proved the popularity of this
modern approach in 1980, when after touring the U.S. and setting
box office records in 16 major cities, he arrived at the Majestic
Theater on Broadway, where to unanimous rave reviews he presented
the longest running magic and illusion show in the history of the
New York theatre. His show continued to receive rave reviews and
standing room only audiences in its worldwide
tours.
Harry then set his
sights on television. He starred in three of his own magic specials
(one for PBS and two for HBO). He also appeared as a guest on
numerous other television shows. Harry also magically introduced
all 50 contestants for the 1996 Miss America Pageant. To unanimous
critical acclaim, Blackstone Jr. presented his unique "Magic of
Music and Music of Magic" in symphonic halls throughout the
country. This performance was an examination of the four
thousand-year history of mystery, with live illusions, full stage
graphics and an entire symphony orchestra.
Away from the bright
lights, Harry Jr. met with success in a broad spectrum of
entertainment-related careers. In 1985 the International Platform
Association honored him as "Speaker of the Year". He co-authored
three books (The Blackstone Book of Magic and Illusion, There's One
Born Every Minute and My Life As A Magician released in the summer
of 1991) and re-edited his father's Blackstone's Secrets of Magic.
Blackstone Jr. also designed and inaugurated a line of four magic
kits, "The Magic World of Blackstone" (manufactured by Pressman
Toys), for beginners to advanced, which have become the
largest-selling magic items in U.S. history. In 1990, an additional
line of beginning, intermediate, and advanced magic items were
released (by JAK-PAK INC.) both in the U. S. and
overseas.
In 1985, on the
anniversary of his father's birth, Harry donated the original
floating light bulb, designed and built by Thomas Edison, and the
original Casadega Cabinet, used in his father's "The Spirit
Handkerchief" illusion to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington
DC. It was the first ever donation in the field of magic accepted
by the Smithsonian.
Harry Jr. always had a
love of education and knowledge. He attended Swarthmore University
in Pennsylvania and after a three-year tour of duty with the U.S.
Army in Korea, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in
Communications from University of Southern California. Harry later
attended the University of Texas for graduate work in theatre and
broadcasting. In May 1993, Harry dedicated the Blackstone Theatre
Collection in honor of Harry B. Blackstone III at California State
University, San Bernardino. In May 1997 Harry Blackstone Jr. passed
away but his legacy continues. Gay Blackstone, his wife of more
than 20 years continues to control and direct the flourishing
magical production company which was started by Harry in
1971.
FIND LOGS ON THIS CACHE THAT INDICATE NIGHT CACHING
WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT
NOTICE!
The cache container is a small
lock-n-lock container. BYOP. .The cache is not located near a
grave... If you find a fallen US flag, please stick it back in the
ground or replace it. As always, please be respectful, and cache
in, trash out. Say a prayer for our brave troops, fighting
overseas. God Bless America!
"MSQ caches are
brought to you by the following fellows of
GEOMSQ*: SixDogTeam (Earthdog Patrick,
Lead Dog, Wheel Dog), Wolverine Warriors, The Outcaches, and
SafariBob & Tweety. If you are interested in spreading
the Quest to your neck of the woods AND WOULD LIKE TO JOIN
US, email Wolverine Warriors.
*Grand Exalted Order of
the Michigan Spirit
Quest
xxxxx