Bill and Marian King’s license plate story began in Michigan, where both attended the Sault Branch of the Michigan College of Mining and Technology Tech, referred to as Soo Tech. Bill’s time there spanned from 1948 to 1950, while Marian followed a few years later, from 1956 to 1958. It was during these formative years that their bond to Soo Tech grew, and little did they know, this small college in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan would have a lasting influence on their lives for decades to come.
Bill and Marian would eventually move to California, but their love for Soo Tech remained strong. They decided to honor the place that had shaped them in such meaningful ways with something uniquely personal. The idea was simple: a customized license plate that read “Soo Tech,” a tribute to the school that had given them so much. Their first “Soo Tech” license plate was issued in Michigan, where they had both attended school and where the roots of their story were planted.
Bill King with their beloved van
It wasn’t just a license plate to them; it was a symbol of their shared experiences, memories of the small but tight-knit community of Soo Tech. “We didn’t want Soo Tech to be forgotten,” recalls Marian. “We had a large van and traveled all around the country and to many National Parks, and the license plate was a topic of conversation, which was very exciting for me.” People would ask them what “Soo Tech” meant, and Marian and Bill would share stories of their days on the campus in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. She loved the connections they made through this simple, yet meaningful, plate. Soo Tech wasn’t just a name—it was a piece of their history.
When Bill and Marian passed on their beloved van to their son, Roch King, who lived in Indiana at the time, the Soo Tech tradition continued. Roch knew how much the plate meant to his parents and was eager to keep the tradition alive. He kept the plate on his vehicle, maintaining the legacy of Soo Tech with pride. Just as Bill and Marian had shared stories with strangers on their travels, Roch, too, found joy in explaining the significance of the plate to those he met. The Soo Tech license plate, which had once been a small gesture of connection, had now become a part of the family’s history—a living symbol of their ties to the school, to each other, and to all the places they had traveled and people they’d met.