Tales of Southwest Michigan's Past

In November of 1913, a great winter storm like no other recorded before hit the Great Lakes region.  It would later become known as the White Hurricane, when cyclone-force winds pushed ships right off the lakes onto shorelines, against rocks and sank twelve across four of the five Great Lakes.  Lake Huron bore the brunt of the damages and loss, but ships were sank also on Lake Michigan,...

In this expisode I explore some of the impact of the famous Christmas story by Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' and it defining influence in the Victorian Era, as well as a look at Southwest Michigan.  I also include a full replay of a 1949 Radio Drama that aired on December 25th of that year of 'A Christmas Carol' featuring Lionel Barrymore. For more information on Michael Delaware, visit...

The Augusta Beacon was a small local newspaper in the village of Augusta, Michigan that was published between 1902 - 1952.  In the course of doing research for stories, I often read through many old newspapers.  I came across the Augusta Beacon, and in scanning through a few of their early editions I found several stories that were brief, but also quite unusual and even somewhat amusing....

Mark Lovett from the Allegan County Historical Society is my guest as we talk about some stories from the early days of Allegan County, as well as take a tour of the Jailhouse Museum and the John Pahl Historical Village.  Listen in to hear some amazing stories of the early days of Allegan. For more information on the Allegan County Historical Society, visit: http://alleganoldjail.com/ You can...

In this episode, I explore the history of the Page Brothers Buggy Company that existed in Marshall, Michigan from 1869 - 1917.  The Founder of the Company William L. Page, brought into the enterprise his brothers Lucius Franklin Page and Egbert E. Page as the company grew.  Lucius would remain a major stock holder, and serve as a director until the company sold in 1917.  Egbert was...

This is a story of the two brothers who founded the village of Marshall in 1831.  Sidney Ketchum was the first of the pioneers in Calhoun County to file a claim in 1830, and he returned to his home state of New York and convinced his brother George Ketchum to join him in the wilderness.  Together with their families and others they build the foundation of the village of Marshall, with a...

Rod Kroes, the President of the Bernard Historical Museum in Delton Michigan is my guest on this episode as we explore not only the history of the museum, and many other stories of Delton Michigan, and around Barry County.  Hear the stories of Chief Noonday, Delbert Monroe, Reverend Slater and many others. For more information on the Bernard Historical Museum, visit: https://www.bernardmuseum...

The Victorian Era was the period of the reign of the English Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901.  It was a time period when the economies of both England and the United States went from predominantly rural economies to the height of the Industrial Revolution.  A middle class emerged and a middle class emerged.  The many changes in this era in Southwest Michigan were significant from i...

In this episode I explore some history of Union City with the life of celebrated artist J.P. Palmer as well as the Hammond House Museum where people in search of history today in the area can see a lot of his famous work.  J.Pierpont Palmer was born in 1856 in New York, and moved with his parents to Union City when he was 10 years old.  Even as a young boy he was gifted as an artist, and...

Author T.R. Shaw joins me to talk about the history of Michigan Wine.  The Michigan wine industry began with the early settlers of Detroit, and as the population headed west in the state, the Lake Michigan Shore and surrounding countryside all the way to Travese City developed into successful vineyards.   For more information on T.R. Shaw and his book, visit: https://amzn.to/3UkAogo For...

Lawler's Corners was once a small town consisting of a general store at a crossroads where the Fort Custer Military base now stands.  It was once a stage coach stop along the route between Detroit and St. Louis, and also a key delivery location for mail for the village of Augusta in the 1830's.  The cemetery was established in 1831 on a farm owned by a man named Lawler, hence the name. &...

The Fort Custer Recreation Area is located off of Dickman Road between Augusta, and Battle Creek, Michigan.  It is a 3000+ acre park which originally was a military training area that was eventually turned over to the Department of Natural Resources in the State of Michigan to develop into a State Park.  It was an eleven year journey for the State to acquire the land, and also a long jou...

In this episode, blogger and author Peggy Reiff Miller joins me to discuss the history of the SS Battle Creek Victory , and other ships in its class.  She has spent twenty years calaloguing and researching the history of the Heffer Project and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) project to bring livestock over to Europe in the post years of World War II.  ...

In this episode I explore what life was like at Camp Custer in Battle Creek in 1918.  It was a few weeks after armistance, and the soldiers were returning from the front, and others were stationed at Camp Custer awaiting discharge.  Thousands of soldiers were on the base, and much of what was going on that weekend was published in the Camp newspaper called 'Custer Life' which share some...

Andrew Rees settled on land establishing a farm west of Battle Creek in 1835, bringing with him his wife and nine children from New York.  He would live in this area until his death 40 years later, and he is buried at Reece Cemetery in Springfield, Michigan.  He was respected in his time as being a farmer of thrift and industry, as well as a patriotic and public spirited citizen.  ...

Dave Eddy & Bobbie Mathis join me for a talk on Thanksgiving and Holiday Traditions .  We explore stories of Union City, Albion, Marshall, Battle Creek and much, much more.  Hear the story of Dave's first holiday away from family in the radio business broadcasting remotely in Marshall.  Hear stories of Union City and a Christmas where the entire village was snowed in, and the sl...

In my recent explorations of the Harman Halladay Cemetery in Bedford, Township Michigan I came across a headstone that led me down a path of determined research find the story behind it.  I discovered a man who was lost to all but who knew him, and he had died from an apparent suicide in a nearby marsh.  His name was Svetco Stoyanovitch, and his headstone was crudely carved with misspell...

A native of Albion, Michigan, Gwen Dew became a prolific writer, journalist and photographer in the late 1930's through the 1950's.  She was a world traveler, and served as a Southeast Asian correspondent for the Detroit News and Newsweek Magazine in the early 1940's.  In December 1941, she was in Hong Kong when the Japanese invaded, and was taken prisoner.  She would spend six mont...

Leah Richard from the Vicksburg Historical Society joins me for a talk on Vicksburg history, and the historical village.  We also talk about some of her favorite stories of the past, as well as some of the holiday activities they have coming up this season. For more information on the Vicksburg Historical Society, visit: https://vicksburghistory.org For more information Michael Delaware, visi...

In this episode I explore the history of the town of New Buffalo, located in the Southwest corner of Berrien County, which has long been referred to as the gateway to Michigan.  It has a long and fascinating history which all started with a shipwreck and evolved over the years to be impacted by the railroads, shipping industry and tourism.  Today it is still a beautiful community in Sout...

In this episode I explore the Michigan Convention of Superintendents of the Poor in 1878, and the review of the counties that were represented at that gathering.  The report of the convention offers insight into how the poor were cared for, as well as the differing viewpoints on how they should be treated, from the harsh to the sympathetic.  It is a fascinating chapter in Michigan histor...

In this episode, I interview Dennis Skupinski from Michigan's Military Heritage Museum in Jackson.  We discuss the history of the War of 1812 in Michigan, where the battles were fought, the outcomes as well as discuss how many of the veterans settled in Michigan after the war.   For more information on Michigan's Military Heritage Museum, visit: https://mimhm.org For more information on...

The murder of Nellie Griffin was an event that shocked the state of Michigan when it happened in January of 1891.  A man walked into the Coldwater School, a state institution for children, and adopted a child under a false identity and later murdered her.  This tragic event brought under scrutiny the system for adoption in the state of Michigan, and even sparked a review of the adoption...

The Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek, Michigan celebrated its 100 year anniversary in September of 2022.  In preparation for this event, the Leila Arboretum society reached out to me to create a video on the history of this wonderful park, which I was honored to do.  I decided to made this audio track available in this podcast episode, as it was a wonderful story to research for this very...

In this episode I interview Brian Mohlman , the 1st Vice Commander of the American Legion Post #257 in Battle Creek on the history of the American Legion in Michigan.  He explains the early formation of the American Legion following the Great War (World War 1) and the changes made after WWII.  Today the American Legion has posts all over the country, as well as internationally.  The...