Louis Stepman was lucky. His desperate hold on thin strands of metal was the only thing keeping him from a 400-foot plunge to a watery grave. Two other men who were with him were not so lucky.On the afternoon of June 6, 1956, Louis "Big Louie" Stepman and three other workers were stringing a catwalk [...]
By farlane
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Also posted in Articles, Books & Magazines, Community, Government, History & Libraries, Media, Michigan, NE, The Michigan Pages, The Michigan Pages: History, UP
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As early as the 1880s, Michiganians talked about building a bridge across the Straits of Mackinac. When the Grand Hotel opened on Mackinac Island in 1888, railroad and shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, a member of the hotel’s board of directors, declared, “What we need is a bridge across the Straits.”No bridge was forthcoming, but in [...]
2007 is the 50th Anniversary of the Mighty Mac. We’ll be telling the story of the Mackinac Bridge piece by piece here on Absolute Michigan and on Michigan in Pictures and we’ll post links to the photos and stories below. If you have some links to share, please add them in the comments. If you [...]
By farlane
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Lapeer County Courthouse by Larry the Biker
(click for a closeup of the marker!)
In the summer of 1831, brothers Alvin N. and Oliver B. Hart left New York state and headed west in a quest for land. They camped along the fast-moving Flint River, at a place their guide called LePierre. The men returned to New [...]
On May 30, America will pause once again to remember the men and women who have died in defense of this nation.
Memorial Day officially started in 1868 when Major General John A. Logan, head of the postwar Union veterans' group called the Grand Army of the Republic, declared that on May 30, "the choicest flowers [...]
Today, we call it Memorial Day. However, in the days immediately following the Civil War, the annual May remembrance of the soldiers who died saving the Union and ending slavery, was known as Decoration Day. Not surprisingly, one of the most-recognized annual ceremonies to honor these valiant dead occurs at Arlington National Cemetery on the [...]
Before mechanical air conditioning, U.S. presidents often left Washington, DC during the hot and steamy summers for cooler locations in the Appalachian Mountains or along the Atlantic Ocean. By the early twentieth century, Michiganians began promoting Mackinac Island as an ideal place for the summer White House.After having received a variety of Michigan appeals and [...]
Lightship Huron by Darryl Wattenberg
Another view of the Lightship Huron
Lighthouses don't move ... unless they are lightships. Lightships were used in places where it was too difficult or expensive to build a lighthouse. A lightship had a bright light at the top of the mast and carried a foghorn to alert sailors when the [...]
The Dark Side of White Lake by mellowhummer
(has additional info on the haunting!)
When Karen McDonnell is alone she sometimes hears footsteps on the stairway of the former White River Light. But she isn't afraid. She says, "I like the comfort it gives me. It's like a watchman, just making sure everything is okay before it's [...]
In most cases, being a lightkeeper was a man's job. Yet, at least 19 women, including Elizabeth Whitney Williams, kept Michigan lighthouse beacons burning bright.
As a child, Elizabeth was friends with the lighthouse keeper's children at Beaver Island Harbor Point Light on Lake Michigan. When the lighthouse keeper left, she and her husband Clement took [...]
By farlane
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Also posted in Articles, Attractions, Books, Music & Video, Community, Destinations, History & Libraries, Lodging & Travel, Media, Michigan, NW, Parks, Recreation & Sports, Technology & Internet Media
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