The Long-Awaited Ambassador Bridge Connects Detroit with Windsor

Ambassador Bridge Announcement--Detroit Free Press

When the automobile business took off early in the twentieth century, the need for an international bridge connecting Detroit with Windsor to expand the auto industry and increase international commerce became apparent, but securing government funding for the bridge project was a hard sell fraught with political red tape and delay. The highest-profile person supporting the bridge project was automobile magnate Henry Ford. "The only way to get things done today is by private business," Ford said.

A team of Detroit business leaders incorporated the Detroit Bridge Company and sought out a former Detroiter, successful New York City banker Joseph A. Bower. Bower sold securities to finance the project and was able to raise $23.5 million in privately financed funds, including his own investment.

The project details were presented to the Detroit Common Council and approved unanimously. But one dissenting voice vetoed the project, Mayor John W. Smith. In additional to several ambiguities in the project's prospectus, including revenue for the city of Detroit, Smith was rightly concerned that the bridge deck would only be 135' above the Detroit River.

Mayor Smith, mindful of the future, realized that 135' would limit future navigation of larger freighters. The project engineers went back to the drafting table and re-engineered the bridge to be 152' above the water.

Recognizing the long-term value of the bridge and the threat any further delays might pose to the overall project and his substantial investment, Bower assumed the $50,000 cost of a referendum in a special election supporting bridge construction. The referendum passed by an eight to one margin on June 28, 1927. The next month, McClintic-Marshall engineering firm was awarded the bridge contact which ran from August 16, 1927 until August 16, 1930.

The penalty for late completion would require the firm to pay the interest on the securities until the bridge could generate revenue. If they finished construction early, they would be entitled to half of the bridge's revenue until the official end of the original contract. The newly christened Ambassador Bridge opened six months ahead of schedule despite having to change out the original suspension cables which were found to become brittle in freezing weather. They were quickly replaced with cables spun with stronger cold-roll steel. Still, the bridge cost came in 1% under the original budget allocation.

When finished, the Ambassador Bridge was 1.5 miles long, requiring 21,000 tons of steel. The clearance from the Detroit River was 152' but the bridge's roadway never rises above a gentle 5% grade. The four-lane roadbed (two coming and two going) was 47' wide with an 8' wide pedestrian sidewalk on the west side of the bridge. The bridge was anchored on the American side on West Jefferson and 21st Street. On the Canadian side, the anchorage touched down on London St and Huron Line Road in Sandwich, Ontario.

Opening day ceremonies coincided with Armistice Day (Veteran's Day) Monday, November 11, 1929. An estimated 100,000 from both sides of the Ambassador Bridge were on hand to cheer the ceremonial opening. With much pomp and circumstance, dignitaries from both countries held cermonies on their respective sides of the bridge. At 3:15 pm, Canadian bands played patriotic selections such as "God Save the King" and "Oh Canada," while at the same time, American bands on their side played tunes like "America" and "The National Anthem."

Following the musical programs, speeches were made by dignitaries on both sides of the bridge. Then, bronze "Friendship Tablets" designed by New York sculptor Jonathan M. Swanson were unveiled on the anchorages on both sides of the bridge. The plaques celebrated more than 115 years of friendship between the United States and Canada. The ceremony ended when dignitaries met at the exact international boundry. They shook hands and cut a white, silk ribbon. Then in concord, sirens and fog horns of river craft sounded continuous acclamation while many airplanes soared and circled above the bridge.

The bridge was originally scheduled to open in 1930 which is what the plaques reflect.

In what only can be described as a loosely controlled riot, joyous crowds on both ends of the bridge swarmed the deck. When the roadbed became so crowded that people could not move, some of the braver revellers climbed the construction catwalks on each side of the bridge to the top of the piers. It took well into the night before the bridge was cleared and secured again.

Photo from Windsor Star.

Four days later, the Ambassador Bridge opened for business. The opening was signaled by the passage of two cars filled with dignitaries from each country that left simultaneously from each side of the bridge. They honked in friendship as they passed at the center of the bridge and a signal cannon boomed to officially open the bridge to the toll-paying public. Cheers and applause broke out on both ends of the bridge.

The Ambassador Bridge was now officially open. An estimated 235,000 persons crossed the bridge the first day--35,000 of them were pedestrians. Traffic was backed up almost two miles on each bridge approach with people wanting to claim bragging rights that they had crossed on the first day.

On opening day, American customs officials reported that eleven quarts of whiskey were seized in three separate incidents. Prohibition was still in effect on the American side. At 8 pm, a man carrying four quarts, and at 9:15 pm, a woman carrying six quarts were detained by customs inspectors. Both people used the same excuse, they needed the whiskey to make holiday fruit cake." Just after 11 pm, a single quart was found tucked under the back seat of a car.

It was determined by customs agents that none of the instances was a commercial violation. The smuggled Canadian liquor was confiscated and the offenders were released after paying a $5 fine for each quart.

The Ambassador Bridge had the misfortune of opening just twenty-one days before the Great Depression struck. To compound the misery of the bridge's investors, the new Detroit-Windsor Tunnel opened downtown the following year charging lower automobile tolls. One factor remained in the bridge's favor though, the Detroit Bridge Company held a monopoly as the only Michigan international crossing for the commercial truck business.

When World War II broke out just over a decade later, American gas rationing dramatically cut automobile bridge traffic, but commercial truck traffic increased due to the war effort. In 1944, two years into the United States entry into the war, the Ambassador Bridge became profitable for the first time. Investors were paid 75 cents per share which began an unbroken stream of dividends every year since.

Gordie Howe International Bridge 

John Norman Collins Canadian Connection

When I speak to people about the Washtenaw County murders of the late 1960s, I am usually asked, "Have you been in contact with any of John Norman Collins's family?" My answer is always, "I've made several attempts without success."

JNC's older brother and his late sister were steadfast in their silence about their notorious younger brother. Neither of John's siblings bear any responsibility for what their brother did; regardless, they both paid a heavy personal price and are victims of the collateral damage from the very public and court case. They chose not to comment--well within their rights.

John Norman Collins (13), his brother (16), and sister (15) - December 30th, 1960.

The Collins' family wall of silence is a legacy from their mother, Loretta--the family matriarch. She was the sole ruler and spokesperson for the family during her son's trial and afterward. Not even John was allowed to speak in his own defense. Now that Loretta is gone, no one speaks for the family. I had just about given up establishing contact with anyone in the Collins clan when I received an unexpected email from a surprising source.

"My name is John (Philip) Chapman; I am John Norman Collins's Canadian cousin. I've been in contact with my cousin since 1981, thirty-two years now--and I have some interesting information I would be willing to share with you pertaining to John's family history and facts he has revealed to me. 

"I normally would never get involved, however, after reading your blog post--Treading on the Grief of Others in the John Norman Collins Case--I agree a debt is owed to history that must be paid.

"My heart truly goes out to those young women and their families who had their daughters taken away from them too soon. If there is anything I can share with you to help, I would be happy to do so."

John Philip Chapman appeared exactly when we needed him most. My researcher Ryan M. Place and I had worked for three years to get someone from the Collins family to speak with us about John's early family history.

Richard Chapman in 1944 on motorcycle seen with his friend Fred Higgins who saved his life.

"John's father--my Uncle Rich--was a light-infantry officer and an explosives/demolition expert in His Majesty's Canadian Services. He lost his left leg in 1944 during the Second World War. After his injury, he spent weeks in a military hospital recovering from battle fatigue and physical complications before being shipped home to Canada. He was on medication for the rest of his life. My uncle lived until 1988.

"I want to correct a public inaccuracy. Uncle Richard was never abusive towards his children or my Aunt Marjorie (Loretta went by her middle name in Canada). He never abandoned his children and never would. My aunt divorced my uncle for alleged 'extreme mental cruelty.' Uncle Rich loved his children very much, however, due (to) the amount of lies Aunt Marjorie put in their heads, they didn't want to be bothered with him. Hoping to avoid dragging their children through a bitter divorce, my uncle gave Aunt Marjorie what she wanted--full custody. My cousin Gail learned the truth shortly before her Dad passed away."

According to Chapman, "My Aunt Marjorie's family felt Uncle Rich was not good enough for their daughter. He wasn't Catholic. Her parents didn't like their son-in-law and offered him money to disappear.... I know for a fact that my Uncle Rich never took the money."

John Philip Chapman

John Philip explained that he had been writing his cousin John (Collins) in prison since he (Chapman) was seven or eight years old. "(Collins) is twenty-five years older than me and has always been like a big brother. In our letters, he refers to me as 'Little Brother'." John Philip Chapman explained that he was an only child and found comfort in the attention from his older American cousin who became a virtual 'Big Brother' for him.

Somehow, Chapman managed to remain ignorant of his older cousin's crimes. Over the years, Chapman maintained a "Don't ask - Don't tell" policy regarding his cousin's imprisonment. After all, Collins had insisted he was innocent of the Karen Sue Beineman murder. Collins also complained in his letters that he was victimized by a rogue cop (Sheriff Douglas Harvey), an overzealous prosecutor (William Delhey), and a corrupt legal system looking for a scapegoat. Now forty-one years old, Chapman's personal search for knowledge about his cousin was making him confront his deepest fears.

John Philip Chapman asked if I would be interested in receiving some of his cousin's prison letters. Chapman had noticed a change in tone and intensity in the letters of late, and he wanted me to look at them. Then, Chapman volunteered something unexpected. He offered to see what other information he could find out from his cousin about his crimes. 

Without JNC's knowledge, over the next four months we received a total of nine prison letters from Collins to his cousin. The letters average seven pages and cover a range of subjects, but one theme became more and more prevalent as time went on. Collins was pressing for an international prisoner exchange with Canada. This was Chapman's original motivation for contacting me. He wanted to know if he and his mother had anything to fear from Collins. I told Chapman that I wouldn't feel comfortable with Collins in my house or my neighborhood.

Chapman told me that Collins tried unsuccessfully to get an international prisoner exchange with Canada in 1981. Canada has more liberal sentencing provisions than the United States, so Collins saw parole as a very real possibility. The basis for his repatriation claim was he was born in Canada and held dual citizenship. He claimed he had relatives and a support system there.

But both JNC's father and his uncle refused to offer their sponsorship to Collins after being contacted by authorities on both sides of the Detroit River informing them of the particulars of Collins's crimes. When the Detroit Free Press ran an article about the possible transfer acting on a tip from a Marquette prison inmate, the Michigan Department of Corrections summarily revoked Collins's application for the international prisoner exchange.

John Norman Collins

Thirty-two years later, Collins summoned up the courage to ask his younger cousin--his last Canadian blood relative--to sponsor him for another prisoner transfer attempt in hopes of receiving dispensation for timed served in Michigan. To Collins's way of thinking, all he needed was a relative and a place to stay; then, he could be assigned to a work release program in Canada and be free of his Michigan prison cell and his jailers. Now, it became clear to Chapman what JNC had been driving at for months--the chicken hawk wanted to come home to roost.

Link to the above mentioned blog post:
http://fornology.blogspot.com/2013/06/treading-on-grief-of-others-in-john.html

John Norman Collins' Canadian Border Bid

On Wednesday, August 7, 2013, John Norman Collins (JNC) finally got around to asking his Canadian first-cousin what he had been edging towards for months, sponsorship for an international prisoner exchange.

In letter after letter, JNC stresses in elevated and maudlin detail the close personal and emotional ties that bind him and John Philip Chapman together. "I love you, Little Brother" is the most common refrain in  his letters. JNC repeatedly plays the "happy family card" and John Philip quietly accedes. 

For his part, Chapman did little to discourage Collins' line of thinking because it kept the door open for his older cousin to reveal more details about his complicity in some of the other murders he is thought to have committed but was never charged with. 

Chapman was secure in the thought that this "sponsorship" ploy was pure delusion on the part of his cousin. After all, Cousin John had attempted the same thing in 1981 to circumvent the Life Sentence decreed by The People of The State of Michigan, and he had failed. 

So you can imagine how Chapman felt when JNC sent him a copy of a letter he had written to a Canadian Immigration official in Ontario, Canada, a mere month after he had approached Chapman for his help.
__________

Marquette Branch Prison
John Collins/Chapman 126833
Sunday, September 8, 2013

Honorable Frank Dale:

First of all, I'd like to thank you for your much needed participation and support in my transfer effort to get back home to Canada. Perhaps my cousin, John, has already told you that I tried transferring back to Canada in 1981, under the Prisoner Exchange Treaty between the USA & Canada. That turned out to be a real disaster for me.

Back in 1980, I applied for a transfer and Mr. Douglas Frame was the Canadian Consul at the time. I explained to him that I had a "HIGH PROFILE" case and that it was important for him to move quickly in an attempt to keep my transfer from becoming a "MEDIA CIRCUS." 

Mr. Frame assured me that there wouldn't be any problems and that all of his previous transfers went without a hitch. Once again, I explained my position to Mr. Frame and he assured me once again that there wouldn't be any problems.

Instead of processing my paperwork immediately, Mr. Frame chose to wait several months before coming to visit me. He told me that he and his son were coming up here on a fishing trip and he would visit me then. Those EXTRA COUPLE OF MONTHS cost me my transfer.

Initially, Michigan approved my transfer and so did Washington, who forwarded the paperwork to Canada (Ottawa) for final approval. The paperwork sat on the desk of the person that was supposed to sign the papers for another month because he was off in a foreign country trying to get a relative transferred back to Canada on drug charges.

During that time, the MEDIA learned about my transfer and the victim's family contacted their State Representatives who applied pressure on the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). At that point, I had already been transferred near Detroit for my Verification Hearing and appointed an attorney to represent me.

I thought I was on my way Home. Instead, Michigan rescinded my transfer on the grounds that Canada had not FINALIZED my paperwork yet. Needless to say, I was devastated as was my family over in Canada.

On the "POSITIVE SIDE" right now is the fact that the Attorney General (of the United States), Eric Holder, and the Michigan Governor, Rick Snyder, have BOTH come out vocally and said that we have too many people in prison. They spoke about releasing those with Minor Drug cases and the Elderly inmates that are costing the taxpayer way too much money. Hopefully, that will play into our hands this time around.

The MDOC will simply say that LIFERS will not be transferred because of me. If we get Governor Snyder to APPROVE my transfer, then it is out of MDOC's hands. The USA only honor treaties when it is convenient for them....

In closing, I would once again like to thank you for your support. Hopefully, I'll be able to one day "SHAKE YOUR HAND" in person. My dream is to die on Canadian Soil!

Respectfully,
John Collins/Chapman
__________

The conclusions of the above letter bear closer examination. 

JNC's Canadian family was not "devastated" about Collins being refused his transfer to Canada in 1981. In point of fact, both his birth father and his uncle declined to sponsor John for the international transfer. 

And although it is true that a delay did occur in the processing of JNC's transfer application, the official reason for the MDOC veto was sent to John Norman Collins on January 20, 1982. Then Deputy Director of MDOC, Robert Brown, Jr. wrote: 

"I recently learned through diplomatic channels that you would have minimal family contact if in Canada since most of your family lives here in the States. Further, you spent the majority of your life here in the States.

"Since the main purpose of the treaty is to provide for re-integration into society and since this re-integration would not be possible in Canada, I am revoking our consideration of your transfer request."
__________

Detroit/Windsor Tunnel

One common trait of serial killers is that they learn from their mistakes. Had John Norman Collins gotten any smarter in forty-two years?

For more background on JNC's former border bid, view this link:
http://fornology.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-canadian-dream-of-john-norman.html

John Norman Collins and the Canadian Prison Gambit - Part One

International Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor.

On June 10, 1980, Michigan governor William Milliken signed an  agreement (HR4308) with neighboring Canada to exchange prisoners to serve out the completion of their sentences in their home countries. The act joined the State of Michigan to the terms of a 1978 United States/Canadian treaty.

After exhausting all appeals for a new trial, John Norman Collins became aware of the international prisoner exchange treaty. Collins was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 

Collins' mother, Loretta, divorced for a second time by the time John was four, returned to her parents' home in Center Line, Michigan, with her three children in tow. 

John became a naturalized American citizen at five years old. Now, thirty-three years later and serving time in prison, he believed he still held dual citizenship.

John Collins in Jackson Prison Interview

On November 10, 1980, one month after Governor Milliken signed the international prisoner exchange agreement, Collins quietly applied to have his surname changed back to his Canadian birth father's name, Chapman. 

The name change was granted January 5, 1981, and certified by the Deputy Registrar of Probate Court for the County of Macomb.

John's biological father, Mr. Richard Chapman, lived in Kitchener, Ontario. Chapman had been estranged from his children at Loretta's insistence, but once John was charged with Karen Sue Beineman's murder, Mr. Chapman began to correspond and reconnect with his son. He even attended some of the court sessions.

John Collins certainly thought that he might be able to fly under the prison radar as Chapman and begin the process for a prisoner exchange under the international treaty. 

In Michigan with no possibility of parole, Collins had to serve a minimum of twenty years before he could be considered for a pardon by a sitting Michigan governor. The chances of that happening were slim and none. 

In Canada, an inmate serving a life sentence is eligible for parole after fifteen years. With time served in the Washtenaw County jail and various Michigan prisons, Collins could have been eligible for parole in 1985.

Part Two: John Norman Collins Canadian Prisoner Exchange Exposed

Zug Island - Focal Point of Windsor Hum?

Zug Island from Windsor, Ontario

For the last several years, residents of Windsor, Ontario, have complained of a low frequency hum which rattles their windows and keeps them awake at night. Canadian scientists have pinpointed the source as Zug Island, an industrial complex on the United States side of the Detroit River.

Because the blast furnace and coke oven industrial complex is an international border installation, it has come under the aegis of Homeland Security. Surveillance has been beefed up and one of two entrances to the island has been blockaded and fenced off. The exaggerated security of Zug Island combined with the mysterious hum has led to a number of conspiracy theories. 

The SyFy Network is sending Joe Rogan to Detroit to look into this matter, and I've been asked to participate because of my previous on-the-job experience working there and my knowledge of the plant. The producers saw my book, Zug Island: A Detroit Riot Novel, and thought I could add something to their documentary. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but this project is kookie enough to interest me.

To learn more about the the Windsor Hum, view the link below:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zug-island-the-story-of-the-windsor-hum

The Detroit-Windsor International Trade Crossing

Artist's rendering of International Trade Crossing

Ten years of negotiations between Michigan and Ontario has resulted in an agreement to build a new bridge for commercial traffic between the United States and Canada. The bridge will create jobs, save cartage time, and relieve overcrowding on the Ambassador Bridge and in the Detroit/Windsor tunnel.

The new bridge will touchdown in Delray just north of Zug Island and only two miles south of the current international bridge which will continue to serve the general public of both countries. The bridge will conveniently link north/south I-75 in Michigan with east/west Highway 401 in Windsor.

The all but extinct neighborhood of Delray has needed a face lift for a long while, and the U.S. Customs plaza planned for there should help the abandoned area. I can't think of a better use for this depressed but once proud neighborhood. The view looking down onto Zug Island will become an industrial icon welcoming commerce into the country. The contrast between the modern bridge and the rust belt behemoth will be striking to see.

Details about the international agreement, the cost, financing, jobs, and economic impact are in the Crain's Detroit Business link below. This enterprise should give the local economies of Windsor and Detroit a long term boost.

Zug Island where the Rouge and the Detroit Rivers meet.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120615/FREE/120619934