Tales of Southwest Michigan's Past

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...

Casey Winningham is a professional headstone carver who uses traditional techniques in his craft.  He also has done a lot of headstone and monument restoration.  He joins me in this interview to talk about some of the history of memorial stones, symbology found on stones and his experiences as a stone carver.  For more information on Casey Winningham , visit: https://caseywinningham...

Alonzo Noble was one of the early pioneers of the village of Battle Creek, arriving in 1836 with his wife.  He established the second store in the village history, on the central corner of downtown.  He built the first home with a chimney in the history of the area, and he would go onto become a stable and successful dry goods store in the community.  He later became the second Mayo...

The village of Paw Paw is located in Van Buren County, and is has some interesting history.  I was able to uncover a collection of stories from the early days of the founding of the village that are great tales from yesterday.  One story of a man who named nine pairs of oxen, and cleared wooded acreage for many new pioneer settlers.  Another of a man who visited the home of an India...

The Greenfield House in Athens, Michigan is a historic home on the north side of the Athens village which was built by Sylvester Ware sometime between 1963-1965.  He was established a window and blind milling factory adjacent to the home, and was very involved in the milling industry in Athens.  After his death, the home was sold to El Dorado Greenfield in approximately 1883, who was ano...

Dulcenia (also spelled Dulcina) Daily was a woman who had endured a lot of loss and hardship in her life.  She was widowed at young age when her husband died just three years into their marriage, and she raised her son on her own, only to have him die in the Civil War.  She worked for years in a department in Washington D.C. helping people overcome their struggles following the war, and...

Many people are familiar with the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia.  Not everyone is aware there are unknown soldiers buried in many cemeteries across Michigan.  In Southwest Michigan there are gravesites for these men in Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Ottawa and Lake Counties to name a just a few.  Many are from the Civil War when as many as 40% of the dead soldiers...

Dennis Skupinksi from Michigan's Military Heritage Museum joins me for an interview on the subject of the Toledo War.  The historic boundary dispute between Michigan and Ohio, which was a complicated test for the growing Republic of the United States.  Mr. Skupiniski explains the events that led up to the territorial dispute which almost became a military conflict, but was ultimately set...

Lake Odessa is a small village of a little over 2000 people on the southern edge of Ionia County in Michigan.  It has an interesting history, as it was once about 1/2 mile North of its present location and known as Bonanza .  When the railroad came through, the entire village moved, including entire merchandise stores and goods to establish themselves closer to the train depot and railro...

Camp Custer just west of Battle Creek was built in 1917 in just six months to provide comfortable quarters for 36,000 who were being trained to go over to the war in Europe.  The camp was built on the site of the village that was once known as Harmonia, and stretched its length of over four miles of territory. It was an incredible undertaking that had never been done before in the history of...

In this episode Bobbie Mathis from the Union City Society for Historic Preservation and Andrew Noland from Silent Cities Restoration join me to talk about cemetery headstone restoration .  Both have restored over 2000 headstones in various cemeteries across Michigan.  We discuss types of material historically used in headstones, the process used to level and repair headstones, as well as...

There was once a small community in Leroy Township known as Dogtown .  Today you would not even know this community every existed.  How did this community which was originally known as Fiddler's Grove become Dogtown?  These are the questions I asked myself when I first discovered the title of the little village marked on an 1894 Atlas of Leroy Township.  I began searching newsp...

Battle Creek Michigan has been the home to many music legends.  Some have been forgotten with time, and others still have their music played today in popular culture.   Del Shannon was famous for his #1 song 'Runaway', as was Junior 'Shotgun' Walker and the All Stars had several hits on the R&B Charts.  Much of their music is still popular, and some of their songs are still used...