Tales of Southwest Michigan's Past

Author Amberrose Hammond joins me on the podcast to talk about her book that will be released in August: Mysterious Michigan.  We discuss Michigan legends, ghost stories, the Spiritualism movement, and some other tales of the macabre.  She gives us insight into some of the interesting stories in her new book, as well as some from here other published works.  It is a fun and interest...

John Stewart Barry was elected the State of Michigan's 4th Governor in 1842, and served until 1846.  He was again elected in 1850 where he became the 8th Governor.  He is the only one in state history to serve three terms, and he is most noted for the expansion of the railroad, as well as the opening of the University of Michigan during his term.  He was also very interested in the...

Erastus Hussey was an early pioneer in Michigan, originally from the New York.  He first came to Michigan in 1824, and settled in the Plymouth Township area.  He eventually married, and had a child, and then moved to Battle Creek in September 1838.  First he was in the shoe repair manufacturing business, and also owned a grocery store.  He later owned and operated a dry good st...

The Haskell Home Orphanage was built in 1894 in Battle Creek Michigan, under the guidance of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, and funded by Caroline Haskell, and widow who had visited the Sanitarium and wanted to contribute to the community.  The model for the building was featured at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 when it was being constructed.   It was a beautiful three st...

A forgotten and yet disturbing tale from the early history of Battle Creek was the Haviland Children Murders of 1865 .  It was not the first crime in the community, nor would it be the last, but when it occurred, it sent shockwaves across the state of Michigan and even the nation.  Sarah Haviland, a mother of six, would decide to murder her own children so that she could be with a man sh...

The small village of Stevensville in Berrien County has a population of less than 1200 people.  It was originally platted by a man named Thomas L. Stevens in 1870.  He had purchased a large tract of acreage, and made an agreement with the Chicago and Went Michigan Lake Shore Railroad Company to allow them to lay a rail line through his land, and establish a train depot.  Another wel...

The Bailey Museum and Gardens honors the life of Liberty Hyde Bailey, Jr , known as the father of modern Horticulture.  He was born in South Haven, and grew up on an 80 acre tract of land where his father had an orchard and a forest.  From an early age, his mother, teacher and other members of the community saw the potential in the young Bailey, and helped him overcome his obstacles to g...

John Nichols was the co-founder of the Nichols & Shepard Company in Battle Creek that became internationally known in their time for the production of agricultural threshing machines.  The company was founded in 1850, and by 1870 it had grown from a small shop on canal street to a manufacturing facility on the East side of Battle Creek which consisted of 40 acres and a dedicated railroad...

In this episode I cover the early history of Kalamazoo Michigand the origins of the name Kalamazoo .  The town was originally named Bronson, after the first settler by that name.  In later years the town name was changed to Kalamazoo, after the river.  The area was once well known for celery as a crop, and it is the birthplace of the famous Gibson Guitars and the Checker Cabs, among...

In this episode I interview Julie Rathsack , who is the co-author of the book Ghosts of Grand Rapids which was released in 2013.  We cover a whole host of ghost stories about the Grand Rapids area, and also the historical backstories for many of the events and locations.  We discuss hauntings at the Michigan Bell Building , the Amway Grand Hotel , Phillips Mansion , St. Celia Music Cente...

The great flood that occured primarily in Southwest Michigan between March 24th through March 29th in 1904 was the most unprecedented event in the history of the state up to that point in history.  On March 14th, a snowstorm dropped a record snowfall across lower Michigan averaging 10 inches in most areas.  Later in the month this ice pack would combine with heavy rains to create an unpr...

In this episode I explore the early history of South Haven, located on the mouth of the Black River, as a pioneer settlement, emerging as a lumber milling industry and later a productive farming community known for its blueberries, apples and peaches.  I also discuss its growth as a city for tourism during the 1920's through 1940's, which developed into a prospering entertainment and resort a...

In this episode, I interview James Popenhagen from the Del Shannon Show, a tribute organization to the music legend.  He was born Charles Weedon Westover in Grand Rapids, and grew up in Coopersville.  However, he adopted the name Del Shannon as his stage name at the beginning of his music career in Battle Creek, Michigan.   In this interview Mr. Popenhagen, a personal friend of Del...

The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was an aorganization created by the Union Veterans of the Civil War.  The G.A.R. existed between 1866 to 1956, covering a 90 year existence.  In Michigan there were 512 posts formed, and over 10,000 GAR posts create by the organization in the nation.  There were even a few posts five posts in Canada, one in Mexico and another in Peru.   T...

In this episode I explore some of the early history of Niles, Michigan which was established on the site of the old Fort St. Joseph.  I also cover the history of how it became to be known as the ' City of Four Flags ' as well as discuss some of the historic places one can still visit today in the city.  Additionally I cover some of the early railroad history, and its importance as a tran...

Memorial Day as we know it today traces its origins to the years following the American Civil War.  The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) had a lot of influence in the creation of this day, which was first known as Decoration Day form established in 1868.  However there were ceremornies that existed in many cities across the country as early as 1866.   In this special Memorial Day...

In this episode, I interview author Blaine Pardoe on his book Lost Eagles: One Man's Mission to Find Missing Airmen in Two World Wars , which is the story of Fred Zinn.  In this interview we talk about Fred Zinn , and his service in World War One in the French and American military, as well as his service in World War II.  He pioneer the concept of recovering lost airmen, and the system...

Victor Carroll Squier, better known in his time as V.C. Squier was a violin maker, music store owner and instructor in Battle Creek.  He had learned the craft of violin making from his father, as well as other prominent violin makers in the Boston area.  He established his coming in 1890 in Battle Creek, repairing and manufacturing violins and other string instruments.  His company...

In this episode I explore the history of coyote migration in North and Central America, and when they first arrived in Southwest Michigan.  The history of the coyote expansion is a fascinating one, as they are the only mammal species to expand their geographic territory over the last 100+ years, whereas all others have contracted.  The coyote has expanded its range by an unprecidented 40...

In this episode I interview three members of the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County (URSCC), Mike Moroz, the President, Cindy Yawkley Co-Chair of the Education Committee for the society and Cathy LaPointe, the treasurer.  We talk about the history of the underground railroad in Michigan, and the people in Cass County that we a part of it.  The URSCC has preserved three of the ho...

The earliest pioneers were agriculturalists, whether they intended to be this or not.  Their first priority upon arrival in the wilderness was establishing a food source.  Even the experienced farmers found establishing farms in the new country of Southwest Michigan a challenge and sometimes a hardship.  In this episode I explore some of that experience, as well as the wheat harvest...

In this episide I explore a history of postmasters and postal delivery in Calhoun County from mostly the 1800's to early 1900's.  I cover the original founding of the post offices in Albion, Marshall and Battle Creek, and their postmasters and early delivery systems.  Did you know the first post office Marshall was a cigar box?  The second one was even more interesting with it being...

In this episode I interview author Arnie Bernstein about his book, Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing .   The Bath Consolidated School was bombed on May 18, 1927 by a man named Andrew Kehoe.  The story is a tragic one, where at the end of the day, 44 people were killed including 38 children.  It was an event that shook the country, and devastated the Bath Community w...

In this episode I take a look at some of the history of early newspaper and magazine publications in Battle Creek, and other cities in Southwest Michigan.  I also explore the history of the Duplex Printing Press Company that once existed in the area, which supplied printing presses all over the world.  I further discuss the importance of preservation of archives of old newspapers with lo...

The period in Michigan from 1850 to 1910 was an interesting time of traveling circuses.  In this episide I explore several different circuses that came through Southwest Michigan during this time, including some very interesting anecdotes.   Old Hannibal the elephant and Jumbo the elephant came through the region.  Giraffes, polar bears, lions, tigers, zebras, seal ions and even a h...