The Mighty Mac’s Expanded Antarctic Connection
When Brendan Fisher began his 13-month adventure as a heavy equipment mechanic for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), he brought pieces of the Mackinac Bridge with him. When he returned, he brought a piece back, as well as stories to accompany it, that he presented this month to the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA).
At the MBA’s April 5 meeting in Dimondale, Fisher presented the authority with a shadowbox containing a piece of the bridge’s original deck grating and photos from his time at the South Pole. A noticeable circular piece is absent, representing a disc that is now part of the ceremonial South Pole marker more than 9,000 miles away.
Fisher, whose assignment in Antarctica ran from October 2022 to November 2023, and fellow South Pole adventurer Hans Suedhoff brought the gift and a photo book documenting the Mackinac Bridge pieces that were incorporated into a sign, photo frame, and both the ceremonial and geographic South Pole markers.
Fisher had previously built the sign from a 38-foot piece of the original deck grating he purchased through auction in November 2020, proclaiming the distance from the South Pole to the Mackinac Bridge (9,394 miles), which is on permanent display at the station.
There are two pole markers since the Antarctic 9,300-foot-thick ice sheet (roughly a third of the length of the Mackinac Bridge) moves about 10 meters per year. “There’s Mackinac Bridge in both of them now,” Fisher said.
The Authority thanked Fisher and Suedhoff for the gift, which recognizes the bridge and the team in the Antarctic.
“I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” said MBA Member Barbara Arens. “You’re very talented.”
Each year, the geographical South Pole is replaced on Jan. 1. Once the year’s marker is retired, it joins its predecessors in a display cabinet at the Antarctic station for 20-30 years until the cabinet fills to capacity. After that, the markers are sent to the Smithsonian, where they stay “until the end of eternity,” Fisher said.
The team also used pieces of round steel stock from the bridge to make four bolts that joined corners of a photo frame for a picture of last year’s “winterover” crew at the station, which included Fisher and Suedhoff.
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- Brendan Fisher presents a shadowbox with photos and a piece of Mackinac Bridge steel used to make the current ceremonial and geographical South Pole markers to Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) Chairman Patrick “Shorty” Gleason. From left: Attorney General in Charge for MDOT Kathleen Gleeson; MBA Chief Financial Officer Camille Hansen; MBA Member Barbara Arens; MBA Member Tricia Kinley; MBA Member Caroline Cheeseman; MBA Vice Chair William Milliken, Jr.; MBA Chief Engineer Cole Cavalieri; MBA Chairman Gleason; MBA Secretary Melissa DeKeyser; Brendan Fisher; MBA Business Services Manager Mike Buby; South Pole expedition team member Hans Suedhoff; MBA Bridge Director Kim Nowack.
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- A frame that includes pieces from the Mackinac Bridge original steel deck grating, holding a photo of the 2023 “winterover” crew at the South Pole.
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- The current geographical South Pole marker, which includes pieces from the Mackinac Bridge original steel deck grating.
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- The current ceremonial South Pole marker, which includes pieces from the Mackinac Bridge original steel deck grating.
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- A shadowbox with photos and a piece of the Mackinac Bridge steel used to make the current ceremonial and geographical South Pole markers, presented by Brendan Fisher to the Mackinac Bridge Authority.
