Tales of Southwest Michigan's Past

In this episode I had the pleasure to interview Dave Eddy , the former morning show host on WBCK for many years.  Known as the Morning Mayor, Mr. Eddy grew up in Albion, Michigan.  We discuss his early life and how he started in radio, as well as local Albion history and famous people.  Join us for a fun time as we explore some interesting Tales of Southwest Michigan's Past. For mor...

The Titus & Hicks Mill was originally founded by Richard Titus and Ellery Hicks in 1853.  After they passed away, the mill past away their sons took over the operation.  Making bold and revolutionary moves, the sons tore down the old mill and rebuilt it, increasing production of the mill by 5X and a few years later advanced it to 8X more than when their fathers owned it.  It is...

Michigan was under the French Flag for over 150 years as part of the territory of New France as declared by Samuel de Champlain in 1608.  In this podcast I explore some of that early history and the French influence that remains in this state today, including some locations in Southwest Michigan.

The war for American Independence was between 1775 -1783, and the wave of pioneer settlers began in 1831, some 48 years later.  However, despite the many decades between, several former soldiers of the American Revolution settled in Michigan in their final years with their families.  In this episode, I explore the lives of two that were buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek, one th...

My guest on this episode of Tales of Southwest Michigan's Past is Dan Hil l from an organization called Outhouse Diggers .  They are a group of modern day history hunters who locate where old outhouses once stood from the 1800's and excavate them to find their hidden secrets.  Over the years, his team has found many relics from the past, as well as some secrets that were lost to time. &n...

A hobo is a migrant worker or homeless vagrant.  The term originated in the U.S. around 1890.  Unlike a 'tramp', who works only when forced to, or a 'bum', who does not work at all, a "hobo" is a traveling worker.  The number of hobos increased during the Great Depression era of the 1930's.  With no work and no prospects at home, many decided to travel the freight trains in pur...

Walter Woolnough was born in Bungay, Suffolk County, England in 1821.  He moved with his parents to America when he was just eleven years old.  He would grow up in New York and become an apprentice for a printing company.  He would eventually move west to Ohio, and work for the Ashtabula Ohio Sentinel, a Whig newspaper in 1842.  A decade later he would move even father west, an...

The Battle Creek Regional History Museum is located at 307 W Jackson St, in Battle Creek Michigan.  In this episode I interview Doug Sturdivant, the President of the museum.  We discuss the exhibits, coming events at the museum and also some of his favorite local history.  We also talk about some of the past and present projects at the museum.  For more information on the Battl...

Lawton, Michigan is located on the Southeast corner of Van Buren County, and has a history of steel production, fruit growing and wine production.  Today Welch's has a fruit juice manufacturing operation there, and in this episode I explore some of the history of this village that all started with a train station in 1848. For more information Michael Delaware , visit: https://www.michaeldelaw...

The golden age of circuses is often cited as beginning in 1872, when the growth and expansion allowed circuses to move their tents, animals and people over greater distances with ease.  When the circus came into town, it was one of the only forms of entertainment that offered an escape for the hard work of farmers in the fields.  Entire families would converge on a town to see witness th...

T.R. Shaw and his family operated the Shaw Funeral Home in Battle Creek, Michigan for four generations.  The company was founded just after the close of the Civil War, and was in continuous operation until the family sold it in 2015.  T.R. tells stories from the business going back to the late 1800's, including stories from Battle Creek, Bellevue, Detroit as well as his experiences growi...

The American Civil War has often been referred to as a war which placed brother against brother .  In Southwest Michigan, I uncovered a story of two brothers, the Byingtons, who fought on opposite sides of this conflict.  They were both originally born in New York, but one moved with his family to Battle Creek, Michigan many years before the start of the war, and the other moved to Montg...

In this episode I explore the broad history of the early transportation in the unsettled territory starting with the Native Americans on the rivers, from the arrival of the French moving forward through Indian Trails, territorial roads, courduroy roads, plank roads and railroads.  I use a book entitled 'Right on Track: A History of the Railroads in Eaton County, Michigan' as a guide for this...

Special guests Julie Kimmer, Director of the Courthouse Square Museum and Jenn Carpenter from Scream Queen Productions join me to discuss the annual event called 'Festival of the Oddities' in Charlotte, Michigan.  This event features an interesting mix of history from historical artifacts, museum tours, ghost hunting adventures and much more! The Festival of the Oddities is an annual event. &...

What is in a name?  Have you ever wondered that with some of the names of Michigan Counties?  In this episode I use a booklet published in 1969 that I came across recently that gives a short history of the name of each of the counties in Michigan, and how they were named.   For more information on Michael Delaware, visit: https://michaeldelaware.com

This is the story of Ambrose Minty and his cigar factory that fell into the mill race in downtown Battle Creek in 1899.  It is an unusual story of the early pioneer period, but is also offers a very interesting insight into the moral fiber of the community during this time period in history. Donate to T he History Education Project : https://www.patronicity.com/history For more information on...

I recently had the pleasure to interview John Braganini, the President of the St. Julian Winery in Paw Paw, Michigan.  We talked about the history of St. Julian, which is a four generation company, and the history of wine making in Southwest Michigan.  The company was originally founded by his grandfather Mariano Meconi in Ontario, Canada, and moved to Michigan after the appeal of Prohib...

Dr. James Martin Peebles graduated from the University of Medicine & Surgery at Philadelphia, PA in 1876.  His life journey took him around the world four times, and he established medical institutions in Texas, California and Battle Creek, Michigan.  He was also selected by President Ulysses S. Grant to serve in the role of an Amassador to Turkey for two years.  He held many po...

Marshall Michigan was founded in 1830, and it was founded by two brothers who envisioned more than just an industrial or agricultural town.  They dreamed of a community filled with professional politicians, lawyers, businessmen and doctors.  Marshall was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and later an transportation center and has been home to many great hotels, inns and businesses. &nb...

In this episode I intervew Author Amberrose Hammond on the subject of prostitution and madams of the Gilded Age in Grand Rapids, and also cover a few stories of Kalamazoo and Grand Haven.  The Gilded Age refers to the period of time between the end of the Civil War, and the turn of the century where there was an economic boom, but it implies that underneath the glitter and gilded surface of t...

The year 1917 in Battle Creek, Michigan was a time of great change.  President Wilson had signed a declaration of War passed by Congress in April, and a military base which would become Camp Custer was under construction west of the city by June.  Thousand of new people were in town, and arriving on trains, and from August to September, arrests by the police had increased by 900%.  ...

Hillsdale is the name of a County, a town and a college in Southwest Michigan.  The County received its name from the topography of the region, being land with hills and dales.  The college was founded in in 1844 originally in Spring Arbor, and it moved to Hillsdale nine years later.  The college was the first American college to prohibit in its charter any discrimination based on r...

Charles Westover, better known by his stage name Del Shannon was a music legend who shot to number one with the single 'Runaway' in 1961.  He was also well known for other hits such as ' Hats Off to Larry' , 'Little Town Flirt' and 'Handyman' .   Brian Young is working on a biography on Del Shannon , and also manages the Del Shannon fan website and the Del Shannon Appreciation Society. &...

During World War II there were German POW camps in Michigan that were all directed by Fort Custer in Battle Creek.  The main camp was at Fort Custer, and between 1943 to 1946, there were approximately 19 different branch camps set up across the state to alleviate critical labor shortages in agriculture during the war.  A tragedy happened at one of the branch camps where 16 of the prisone...

Have you ever wanted to know the story of the origins of Tony the Tiger ?  That famous character that has become a household name in cereal for decades?  The back story behind the changes in the advertising industry which ultimately led up to the creation of the cartoon character adorning cereal boxes is a very interesting one.  In this episode I rely on the book ' Cerealizing Ameri...