In 1922, George Bacon, Chief Engineer for the Detroit Electric Vehicle Company, designed a remarkable new milk delivery truck. It could be driven from four positions, front, rear, or either running board. But battery power was no match for winter weather, heavy loads (such as milk) or long days on the city streets. His employer balked at making a gasoline powered truck, so Bacon and other investors formed the Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company (D.I.V.CO.) to produce his invention using a LeRoi gasoline engine. After testing a prototype in 1924, and 25 more prototypes with the Detroit Creamery in 1925, Bacon and his investors were ready to go into business.
Read on for a whole lot more about these classic vehicles!
Otisourcat shares that this photo shows a milk delivery on Nelson Street in Midland circa 1940. Head over to their Flickr for the latest.
Point Betsie Lighthouse on Lake Michigan just north of Frankfort is one of the most photographed lighthouses in Michigan, but it’s definitely an “ice cleats mandatory” location this time of year! If this view looks good to you, consider supporting the renovation of this iconic lighthouse on with a stay in the Keepers Quarters.
Jeff shares that Wednesday evening was his first time in a while seeing clear skies and sunset, and the ice sculptures made by the wind and breaking waves did not disappoint! There’s a couple more pics below. See (and purchase) this photo & others in the Winter Wonderland gallery on his website, and for sure follow Watermark Photography on Facebook for his latest.
The folks at Michigan Storm Chasers share a detailed statewide Michigan weather forecast every morning that you should definitely incorporate into your daily feed. On Facebook they share that although we will see temps above freezing for most of the state, even topping 50 degrees in southern Michigan, temps will drop later in the day, potentially precipitously in what is known as a “flash freeze”. A flash freeze happens when rain has fallen, completely stopped, and then shortly afterward air temperatures drop from the 40s or 50s down into the 20s or colder. Ryan explains is all in their excellent video.
Michael shared this photo 13 years & one day ago on December 17, 2012, remarking that it was strange to see rain in December in the UP. Here are a couple more he shared to our Absolute Michigan group on Flickr, and you can see more in his The UP Eh! gallery.
“I’ve made movies that nobody saw initially, and then, all the sudden, people over the years pick up on it.” – Rob Reiner
On Sunday, director, actor, writer, producer & comedian Rob Reiner was murdered. Because we are thoroughly broken as a society, a tawdry political back & forth led by the actual President of the United States has threatened to overwhelm reflection on a truly legendary career that spanned decades. Let me say that if you haven’t dug into Reiner’s filmography from Spinal Tap to Stand By Me to Defending My Life, this is an excellent time to do so. All I want to say about Reiner is that few filmmakers have ever had such a deft touch in bringing to life the small moments that make us human.
Steve shared that the parts of the Disney movie “Flipped” (August 2010) were filmed in his hometown of Manchester, Michigan writing “Rather exciting for the residents of a small town, 2500 miles from Hollywood, when parts of a movie are filmed right on Main Street. Here a small crowd of local resident spectators has gathered on July 27, 2009. Kind of funny how the film crew had to herd us spectators around to keep us out of the way!”
The latest Michigan photo calendar we’re featuring is the 2026 Detroit Calendar from Chris Ahern Photography. The calendar features brand-new images of Hudson’s Tower, Michigan Central Station, Ambassador Bridge, Gordie Howe Bridge, Campus Martius, the Detroit Riverwalk, Belle Isle, the downtown skyline, and more with many never before released!
I’m old enough to remember the Bicentennial craze of 1976 from Sam the Eagle to Michigan’s iconic bicentennial license plates. Get ready drivers, because Bridge Magazine shares that Michigan is bringing back the red, white and blue retro license plate next month in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary: Beginning Jan. 2, Michiganders will be able to order a new red, white and blue semiquincentennial plate that is modeled after the 1976 bicentennial design. The plate features updated patriotic elements, including stars and stripes, and will be available through the end of 2026.
The photos that David of Design Turnpike shared years ago of his original license plate artwork were so perfect for this post, so I was happy to see that he’s still in business! Follow Design Turnpike on Facebook and view & purchase his work on his website.
I would be completely remiss in my features of 2026 Michigan photo calendars if I left out one of Michigan in Pictures’ most enduring supporters, John McCormick of Michigan Nut Photography! His 2026 Michigan Wall Calendar is made right here in Michigan and features some dynamite photos from all over the Great Lakes State. He’s got all kinds of other photo-based gifts so head over to michigannutphotography.com today & make the Michigan lover on your list happy!
I realize that I should add that although you can book tickets to ride the North Pole Express from Owosso, they sell out very early so I will try and shout this out earlier next year!!
The steam locomotive Pere Marquette 1225 was first used by the Pere Marquette Railway to transport products between Detroit, Toledo, Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids and Chicago for a decade before being retired in 1951 when the Railway merged with Chesapeake and Ohio Railway who favored diesel locomotives. It was then given to a reluctant Michigan State University where it sat for 25 years. Spartan Newsroom explains how Pere Marquette 1225 returned to service & became the inspiration for beloved children’s book The Polar Express:
The Pere Marquette 1225 sat untouched on MSU’s campus just south of Spartan Stadium until 1969, when a group of students took interest in the steam locomotive. Randy Paqueete, a Michigan State alum and then-member of the MSU Railroad Club, suggested that the group try to restore the engine instead of it just being on display.
The club’s first goal was to get the steam locomotive up and running to transport students to and from football games. “These students had some crazy ideas. We’re going to go to away football games. We’re going to go to Florida. We’re going to go to Aspen. We’re going to run charters,” Struck said. In 1975, after five years of work, the students were successful in firing up the boiler long enough to sound the whistle. This victory did not come easy, as they needed to put 245 pounds of steam pressure into a 400-ton boiler, which the university was nervous about.
“Ultimately, we got permission,” Paqueet recalled. “We jumped through a lot of hoops but we got licensed. We had to do it on a Sunday when there weren’t very many people on campus.”
The students started the fire for the boiler at 4 a.m., and by 8 a.m., the steam engine had enough pressure to sound the whistle. For the first time in two decades, the whistle of the Pere Marquette 1225 was heard, proving the restoration process on the locomotive to be a success.
The legacy of the Pere Marquette 1225 is not limited to MSU’s campus. Author Chris Van Allsburg, who wrote “The Polar Express” children’s book the animated movie was based on, was inspired by this same steam engine during his childhood. Growing up in Grand Rapids, Allsburg frequently visited MSU on the weekends for football games and would see the locomotive on display. When writing the book he remembered the steam engine he played on as a child, and the model number 1225, which also coincidentally represented Christmas Day. During production of the film, animators were given blueprints of the Pere Marquette 1225, allowing them to accurately recreate the train. They also made frequent visits to Owosso, Michigan, where the locomotive was eventually relocated, to record its authentic sound to use in the movie.
Here’s a few more shots by Charles of Pere Marquette 1225 from this year along with one of a photographer getting the shot that I shared back in 2018. For sure head over to Flickr to check out more in his Steam Engine, Railroad Photos gallery.
Under perfect viewing conditions, the Geminids deliver up to 120 meteors per hour, though factors like light pollution and atmospheric conditions can reduce that number. But unlike most meteor showers, the Geminids don’t come from a comet. They’re created by debris from 3200 Phaethon, a strange asteroid that brightens and grows a faint tail, helping make this shower especially bright.
Most meteor showers occur when Earth passes through debris trails shed by orbiting comets— the bits of ice and dust burn up in our atmosphere, producing shooting stars. Conceptually, the same process creates the Geminids. But instead of passing through a comet’s tail, Earth passes through the trail of Phaethon 3200, which sheds larger, tougher, and rockier debris than comets.
“This material is larger on average and survives further into our atmosphere and tends to produce brighter meteors,” says Rubert Lunsford, the journal editor of the American Meteor Society. Phaethon 3200’s debris also contains more metal. “When these metals are heated during the passage through our atmosphere, they produce colors associated with each type of metal,” he adds. Calcium and silicon produce orange; iron and sodium produce yellow; nickel produces green; and magnesium produces blue.
As an added bonus, we have a pretty active solar situation making bonus northern lights a definite possibility. Ross took this back in September of 2014 in the Porcupine Mountains backcountry. See many more amazing shows in his incredible Aurora gallery on Flickr.
Michigan in Pictures 