February 5, 2007 – 7:28 am
For years, February has been recognized as Black History Month. In nearly 250 years of living in Michigan, African Americans have made many important-and often overlooked–contributions to our state's past. One of the earliest records of African Americans living in Michigan came in the early 1760s when the British replaced the French at Detroit. [...]
January 25, 2007 – 8:41 am
fountain in the woods by catzinahat
Las Vegas boasts that it is America's "wedding capital." Yet, in the early years of the twentieth century, Michigan, especially the Lake Michigan town of St. Joseph, was the "wedding capital of the Midwest." Michigan marriage laws did not require residency, allowed people to marry at the age of 18 [...]
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January 16, 2007 – 9:50 am
Googling "first American in space" leads you to Alan Shepard's May 5, 1961, flight into space. But five years earlier, a Michigan native piloted a supersonic plane to a record height of 126,200 feet above the surface of the earth. As a result of his historic flight on September 7, 1956, Captain Iven Kincheloe was [...]
October 12, 2006 – 11:13 am
It happened in 1894 during an experiment to make healthier food for patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium or the "San." A batch of cooked wheat accidentally was left out and dried. Rather than throw it away, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, director of the San, and his brother, William Keith (better known as W.K.), passed [...]
September 22, 2006 – 10:56 am
Three Fires Traditional Pow Wow
several pics by oldbrushes
The three Indian tribes most commonly associated with Michigan are the Ojibwa (Chippewa), the Odawa (Ottawa) and the Potawatomi. Closely related in language and culture, these three tribes interacted with each other like members of a family. The Odawa and Potawatomi called the Ojibwa "older brothers." The Odawa [...]
September 18, 2006 – 8:10 am
Going to Work on Fire Lane, photo by Trykemom
On March 9, 1933, five days after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined his plan that combined both relief for the unemployed and conservation of the nation's natural resources. It was called the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The Civilian Conservation Corps, better known as the CCC, recruited unemployed [...]
August 18, 2006 – 1:55 pm
James Jesse Strang
James Jesse Strang possessed grand visions. Born in New York in 1813, he came to Wisconsin in 1843. It was there that he had an opportunity to reach his lofty goals of becoming another Caesar or Napoleon.
Despite claiming to be "the perfect atheist," Strang became a follower of Mormon leader Joseph Smith. When [...]
August 11, 2006 – 3:24 pm
Today, Sault Ste. Marie is a pretty town located along the Marys River. It has many restaurants, boat tours and gift shops, but as Michigan's oldest settlement, it has a long history.
More than 2,000 years ago, Native Americans settled at Sault Ste. Marie because it was a good place to gather fish and furs. In [...]
Gerald Ford never imagined becoming president of the United States. Yet, that happened on August 9, 1974.
Born in Nebraska, Ford moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his mother a few weeks after his birth. Nicknamed "Junior," Ford became an Eagle Scout and attended South High School. A good football player, he won a scholarship [...]
As the Continental Congress discussed the Northwest Ordinance, a Massachusetts delegate suggested adding a provision banning slavery in the Northwest Territory, which included the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. The Ordinance, including this measure, was adopted on July 13, 1787. It was the first time the federal government set limits on [...]
