, , , , , , , , ,

SOO LOCKS at 150

On June 18, 1855, the steamer Illinois became the first boat to pass through the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie. The trip past the rapids of the St. Mary's River took less than an hour. Although the Soo Locks were difficult to build, they soon…
, , , , , , , ,

Michigan and "The Longest Day"

On Monday, June 6, 2005, aging allied veterans gathered on the rain-whipped beaches of northwestern France and quietly honored friends who had fallen 61 years earlier in the battle that changed the course of World War II. In Michigan, the…
, , , , , , , , ,

The Toledo War (aka the Ohio-Michigan War)

Money Shot by by allotta (Stevens T. Mason Statue, Capitol Park, Detroit) Most wars leave people injured, dead, and leave damage in their wake. The Toledo War was an exception. It was not an official war, no one died, and there was little…
, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sitting Down to Take a Stand

On the night of December 30, 1936, workers at one of the General Motors automobile assembly plants in Flint, Michigan, locked the doors from the inside and guarded the windows. The Flint Sit-Down Strike had begun. For the next forty-four…
, , , , , , ,

Highway Lighthouses

We are all acquainted with the yellow warning signs along Michigan's roads alerting us to dangerous intersections, sharp curves, steep grades and other driving hazards. But few people are familiar with the devices that preceded these modern…
, , , ,

Pontiac's Rebellion

On the morning of May 7, 1763, fifty Indian warriors approached Fort Detroit. Their leader, a charismatic Odawa chief named Pontiac, had requested a meeting with Major Henry Gladwin, the fort's British commandant. Pontiac carried a wampum…