Four out of five Great Lakes (all those touching Michigan) have an official “Circle Tour” route that were each established to encourage travel to the unique small towns and larger urban centers found along the way.
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Each spring, as the days get longer and the temperatures begin to rise, Michiganders head out into the woods to take part in the state’s oldest agricultural activity…tapping maple trees for sap to be turned into mouth-watering maple syrup, candies and other sweet treats.
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Michigan was founded on January 26, 1837 as the 26th state of the United States of America…making this year our
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As a freelance writer and author, I spend a great deal of my time doing historical online research. To be honest, it is this part of the process that I think I enjoy the most. It’s like a treasure hunt for information – to prove or refute details that tell one story, or another.
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Throughout the pages of the recently-released historical novel The Penny by Michigan author Stewert James, readers find intertwined storylines that bring generations of families and friends together during often difficult times. One of the more compelling stories, one that warrants a more in-depth look, is Hugh Matthews – James’ great-great-grandfather.
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Childhood dreams do come true. Just ask Janet (Noyes) Carrington, a seventh-generation resident of the Les Cheneaux Islands in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She was just eight years old in the late 1950s when she first laid eyes on the luxury 42-foot wooden yacht named Boss, docked at E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works in Hessel. It was love at first sight. She admired its sleek lines, rich mahogany color and unique character, and promised herself that someday Boss would be hers.
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If your interest in covered bridges dates back to the 1995 film “The Bridges of Madison County” with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, you’re not alone! It was shortly after seeing that romantic drama that I began researching Michigan’s historic covered bridges – of which just few still exist. Over the past 12 months or so, I made a point to visit a couple of these bridges that I had yet to see for myself (in person). It renewed my interest in these beautifully rustic structures and I am reworking my presentation of the same name to add to my portfolio and am even looking at publishing a book in the future with The History Press.
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It should come as no surprise that Ernest Hemingway chose northern Michigan as the setting for his first wedding. This rural countryside was his first real love, so it was fitting that he and his muse would begin their marriage alongside the towering trees and flowing rivers which shaped his life. This year – September 3 – marks the 100th anniversary of the marriage between Hemingway (at the time, a life-long summer resident on Walloon Lake) and Hadley Richardson.
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The United States celebrates its 243rd birthday today…but several Michigan communities pre-date the historic signing of the Declaration of Independence
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June 12 has been declared “Superman Day” – celebrating this super hero first created in 1933 by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel (writer and illustrator, respectively). Did you know Michigan has at least two connections to this long-standing franchise?
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Memorial Day has always been an important day in our family – given that my brother and me were both born on May 30 (5 years apart, 1964 and 1969 respectively). As a young child, I always felt the parade was just for us…in celebration of our birthdays.
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Michigan’s many historic lighthouses were home to dozens of women who served as keepers while also raising their families in often remote locations. This Mother’s Day, we pay tribute to these “Mothers of the Lights” here in the Great Lakes State!
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Earlier this summer, while speaking at the Montague Library in Muskegon County, I learned about one of the community’s most noted former residents – Hannah Lincoln Sammis – who was said to be a cousin of President Abraham Lincoln. The sign at the Sammis Cemetery in Montague Township, erected in 1977, even notes this designation while the City of Montague website states “President Abraham Lincoln’s first cousin, Hanna (sic) Lincoln Sammis, is buried in a little cemetery on the north side of Eilers Road, between Besser Court and Cook Street (in Montague Township).”
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