Michigan Logging Train Excursion

Posted on by farlane

Excursion Logging Train, Harbor Springs, photo from Detroit Publishing Co., c1906 (at the Library of Congress)

I noticed that the Newaygo Logging Festival (Eventful link w/ map) happens this weekend. Several recent conversations and excursions of my own have driven home how profoundly the logging industry has shaped Michigan. Like miners, the timber trade roamed from river mouth to natural harbor up and down our Great Lake shoreline, into connected lakes and with the coming of the railroad, across the entire Lower & Upper Peninsulas.

At every stop, when the trees were gone, the land was left cleared and ready for villages and farms. Many of those working in the timber trade turned to farming and town building, and the names of the founders of these towns (and the owners of the dry goods stores) were often the names of the principals of the lumber companies.

Over Labor Day Weekend, I think it would be neat if Michigan were to somehow remember and honor the role of logging and loggers played in creating our state.

…and when it’s not such a lovely, last weekend of summer out there, be sure to check out some Michigan lumbering history and this really cool collection of Michigan logging photos from MichiganEpic.org.

Seriously, these logging photos are great!

The Opossum Family Road Trip

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

close up

close up, photo by gerrybuckel.

Well, the weekend is here and all around Michigan folks are packing their families into cars for a family getaway. This photo is dedicated to any who are tempted to lose their temper or otherwise complain about their lot.

Gerry has a few more photos of the possum family at her “animals” tag.

Have a great weekend people!

Corunna, Michigan beet farmers and the photography of Lewis Wickes Hine

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Corunna, Michigan beet farmers by Lewis Wickes Hine

Corunna, Michigan beet farmers, photo by Lewis Wickes Hine

This photo from the Library of Congress from July 17, 1917 is captioned: Jo Durco. This man, his wife and two children, Mary 8 years, Tony 10 years, do all the work on a large plot of beets. They are blocking and thinning now. Location: Corunna, Michigan / L.W. Hine. Here are several more from Hine’s visit to Corunna.

Not too many of Hine’s 5000 photos in the Library of Congress (hit “Preview” to see thumbnails) are from Michigan, but I figured a tiny opening was all that was required to introduce the work of one of this country’s truly legendary portrait photographers.

You can read more about Hine in Wikipedia, search the National Child Labor Committee’s collection at the Library of Congress and view some selected photos of child laborers from the collection at The History Place. There’s a few videos on YouTube – I thought this one titled Lewis Hine: Taking a Stand Against Child Labor was by far the most informative, relating details of how Hine gained access to closed factories and other aspects of his “sociological photography”.

Oh, There Were Once Great Ships On Our Mighty River!

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Oh, There Were Once Great Ships On Our Mighty River!

Oh, There Were Once Great Ships On Our Mighty River!, photo by “CAVE CANEM”.
CAVE CANEM writes…

So there I was… (On Black)

rutting through some boxes for some tax documents and BAM, look what I found!

If grew you up in Detroit between 1910 and the early eighties this should make you smile. This is an Detroit icon for all us kids that had to run the concrete jungle during the dog days summer. As I remember there were few things better than to take that first step onto the boat full of excitement waiting for those big steam monsters to start up, or catching that breeze in the face, any hot August morning while traveling the island. To be honest I can still feel that gentle wind as I ran what seemed like endless decks, it’s wonderful. Cruising to and from Bob-lo was the perfect way to cap off the season before the return of school and gray skys.

This is the S.S Columbia one of “twin steam boats” made for the Detroit, Windsor, and Belle Isle Ferry Company to cruise the Detroit River in-between the ice flows. I remember it was just cool to sit and watch them lazily make their way up and down the any day you were downtown, or to hear the voices bouncing off the wateras a ship full of revelers lost themselves on hot night while I caught a breeze with pops. If I miss anything it’s the late afternoon picnics with my family we had on that amusement island (Mangos! who knew?). This was one the best things about being in the city as a kid it saddens to think me my friends will never treat their children to such a day.

Oh well all good things come to an end….
The question is when will the bad things?

Probably the only link you really need is Bob-Lo Boats: a Tribute to the Bob-Lo Steamers, but lest I look too lazy, here’s the S.S. Columbia in Wikipedia which includes a 1905 photo of the Steamer Columbia on the Detroit River. I also found a 1959 video from the deck of either the Columbia or the Ste. Clair on YouTube.

The Columbia is now on the Hudson river and the S.S. Columbia Project is seeking to restore the vessel. Be sure to have a look at their gallery of historic photos. There’s a group of folks working to restore the S.S. Ste. Clair which is docked most of the year at Tricentennial Park in Detroit – get all the details and more about the boat at bobloboat.com!

Happy Merry Joyous

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Wreath

Wreath, photo by rckrawczykjr.

I suspect that it doesn’t matter as much what we celebrate as how.

May your time be spent with those you love in happiness, health and bounty.

Into the Sun

Posted on by farlane

Into the Sun by J.E.T.

Into the Sun, photo by J.E.T.

If you’re looking to capture a little of the magic and fun of being young and outside in Michigan, I can’t think of a better place to start than with Jessie’s photos of snow (slideshow).

Here’s hoping you get to spend a little quality time this week with the ones you love and several billion snowflakes.

A sensible start for Michigan’s school year

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Reflection

Reflection, photo by rckrawczykjr.

It’s the day after Labor Day and most school districts in Michigan are (quite sensibly) holding their first day of classes today thanks to a mighty fine bit of legislating that has Connecticut lamenting that there’s “something unnatural about sending children to school in August” and Ohio looking to follow suit.

The The Michigan Hotel, Motel & Resort Association found that hotel occupancy for the last two weeks of August was way up as well – kudos to our much-battered elected officials.

State Fair

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

State Fair

State Fair, photo by s•stop.

Here’s a photo from the 2007 Michigan State Fair (Fair web site).

Sam also has a nice set of Michigan State Fair photos (slideshow)

Tiger Stadium, in pictures

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Aerial View of Tiger Stadium

Tiger Stadium #1, found by m7k7k7

Many folks in Michigan have a piece of their heart stored at the Corner of Michigan & Trumbull. Wikipedia’s Tiger Stadium entry says the ballpark located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit hosted the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball team from April 20, 1912 when it opened as Navin Field, through its expansion in 1938 when it was renamed Briggs Stadium (and began hosting the Detroit Lions as well) through 1961 when John Fetzer took control and renamed it Tiger Stadium. It saw two World Series championships, 1968 and 1984 and was the home of the Tigers until Comerica Park opened in 2000. It was declared a State of Michigan Historic Site in 1975 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989.

And it’s scheduled for demolition in October of 2007.

From honorary bat boys spending a few moments with a player to huge and cheering crowds, this ballpark has made millions of memories.

Now it waits for the wrecking ball, slowly falling to pieces. I don’t think that too many want to remove the Tigers from their palatial new home, but it would (in my opinion at least) be a wonderful thing if Ernie Harwell and his group could succeed in preserving a scaled-down park at the Corner so none of us have to say goodbye to an old friend (and maybe The Last Strike at Tiger Stadium wouldn’t actually be the last).

Here’s a whole lot more photos in the Tiger Stadium group on Flickr. If you have any photos (or memories) to add, post a comment below!

Read Ernie Harwell’s plan for Tiger Stadium on Absolute Michigan.

History of the Michigan State Fair

Posted on by farlane

State Fair, 1974

State Fair, 1974, photo courtesy Archives of Michigan

The Image of the Month for August 2007 from the Archives of Michigan:

In this 1974 photo, six year-old Jennifer Weise tugs on a Holstein cow’s ear. The animal was one of 8,000 displayed at the Michigan State Fair that year.

Michigan’s first State Fair was held in Detroit in 1849. The Michigan Agricultural Society sponsored and organized the event. The fair moved to Ann Arbor in 1850 and then back to Detroit from 1851-1862. From 1863-1904, it rotated amongst different Michigan cities.

Read the rest of the history of the Michigan State Fairs (there’s also a UP fair) and click for the official sites for the Michigan State Fair (Wednesday, August 22nd through Labor Day, September 3rd, 2007) and the Upper Peninsula State Fair (held August 13th – 19, 2007).