About 18,000 years ago, when the last glaciers invaded this area from the north, creatures of every type were living here and enjoying life in beautiful Northern Michigan. However , as the extreme cold persisted and dropped the thermometer well below the zero degree temperature level, a multitude of the creatures either migrated south (quite possibly to the Florida area) or actually became extinct. A very small, yet hardy, group remained able to withstand the cold of Michigan winters and refused to leave their homes, friends and families.
One of the few remaining was a solitary pelican who struggled with the decision of “Packing and Leaving” or whether he should “hunker down” and battle the elements. This pelican decided that Northern Michigan was his home and that he would indeed stay.Observers report that during the first winter the temperatures were so cold that the pelican’s feathers actually turned blue.Today, on the shores of Torch Lake, residents regularly report seeing the silhouette of a very cold and lonely BLUE PELICAN silently gliding above the surfaceof the lake.