2022 Pure Michigan Milestone Celebrations!
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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Promote Michigan Blog
Digital Treasure Hunting
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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Hugh Matthews Survived Civil War POW Camp, Returning to Work & Raise His Family
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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Boss Ladies
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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Bridges to Michigan’s Past
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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FAREWELL TO BACHELORHOOD: Ernest Hemingway’s Wedding in Northern Michigan
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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Michigan Cities & Sites that Pre-date the Signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776
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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Michigan’s Superman Connections
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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Memories of Memorial Weekend
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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Mothers of Michigan’s Lights
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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The Mysterious Family Tree of Hannah Lincoln Sammis of Montague, Michigan
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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Was Hemingway REALLY here, there and everywhere in Michigan?
Over the past few years, a handful of communities have claimed that the award-winning author Ernest Hemingway had ate, drank, slept, hunted, fished or visited, with little or no actual proof that said statements were true.
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The American Robin Celebrates 90 Years as Michigan’s State Bird
A sure sign of spring…the return of the robins to Michigan! In April 1931, the American robin (Turdus migratorius) was chosen as Michigan’s official state bird – one of three to claim this red-breasted aviary as its state bird (the others are Connecticut and Wisconsin).
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