The Door Into Next Year

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Detail from the House that Father Coughlin Built...

Detail from the House that Father Coughlin Built…, photo by “CAVE CANEM”.

As we prepare to leave 2008 at the docks and set sail on 2009, I think there’s probably a lot that we hope to leave behind, and much that we hope to discover in the year to come.

I hope that all of you find what you’re seeking in the year to come and that you have very happy and safe celebrations tonight!

Be sure to view this larger and check out C.C.’s In Through the Out Door set (slideshow).

You can read more about the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak on Wikipedia and the story of the “venom and compassion” of the man behind its construction 1930s radio priest Father Charles E. Coughlin.

Castle Rock: Another (Michigan) Roadside Attraction

Posted on by farlane

Castel Rock Curios

Castle Rock Curios, photos by Alan C of Marion,IN

This photo is just one of very many in Alan ‘s Roadside Finds set (slideshow) and you’ll also want to wander through his Michigan pics!

Michigan’s Roadside Tourist Attractions will be showcased in a special exhibit opening at the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing on January 10, 2009.

Michigan’s Roadside Attractions, set to run through Sept. 14, 2009, features more than 50 roadside attractions that grew up as Michigan expanded its highway system from the 1930s through the 1970s. Many of these attractions still provide fun and excitement for millions of tourists each year.

“Deer parks and dinosaur gardens are just a couple travel experiences that take center stage again in this exhibit. Places like Castle Rock in St. Ignace, the Soo Locks Boat Tours and the multiple locations where Paul Bunyan has been spotted are also featured through photos, artifacts and souvenirs,” said Phillip C. Kwiatkowski, director of the Michigan Historical Museum System. ” Michigan’s Roadside Attractions is about treasured mementoes, from miniature Paul Bunyan statues and plastic purses to dinosaurs, seashells and even ceramic doll dish sets.”

Learn more about the exhibit from the Michigan Historical Museum.

I know you’re all wondering about Castle Rock – here’s what Roadside America has to say:

Castle Rock is an abrupt, geologic protuberance just north of the Mackinac Bridge on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The nearly 200-ft. column of rock was long ago augmented with a man-made ramp and walkway to provide tourists a climb for an unparalleled view of Lake Huron and distant Mackinac Island.

At the base of the Castle Rock lookout is an amusing Paul Bunyan statue accompanied by his mythical sidekick, Babe the Blue Ox. This Bunyan is rare. Instead of standing, ready to deforest Michigan, Paul sits, staring googly-eyed towards the lake. With a newspaper in his hands, we’d complete the visual that Paul is halfway through one of his mighty bowel movements.

OK, probably should have cut that one sentence earlier. Read more about Castle Rock from Hunt’s UP Guide (I learned that it only costs 50¢ to climb – definitely stopping next time!)

Industrial Haven

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Industrial Haven

Industrial Haven, photo by Jesse Speelman.

Attention superheroes: if you’re looking for a cool & moody hideout, Detroit has you covered!

Be sure to view it bigger, on black. Chancellor Monnette has a cool photo of the tunnel and a map.

in the woods

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

in the woods

in the woods, photo by nicole st. john.

Nicole says that she found some old pictures that she never got around to uploading. See them larger in her slideshow.

Let’s pass on the discussion of bee-keeping for today and dream about that nice warm buzz of spring … something it seems that Mamma Michigan is doing this morning as well.

Enjoy your weekend, folks – maybe a nice museum today?

Superior moon

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Superior moon

Superior moon, photo by farroutdude.

faroutdude says this is the moon rising over Lake Superior on a cold night.

Be sure and check this out larger and on black and also have a look at his other night photography for some sweet shots of the Marquette lighthouse..

Happy Michigan Holidays

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Holiday Train, photo by StormchaserMike Photography

The holiday season seems to too often become about things that I have no desire to celebrate – busy-ness, consumption and another excuse to fight about the fact that we are a country that is predicated on the acceptance of all religions and lack thereof.

Still, there’s a part of me that sat at the top of the stairs, waiting for the report as to whether or not Santa came, one that snuggled in bed with my grandmother listening to the radio announcer tracking that red and white clad superhero of wishes and dreams, who sang carols with my family around the tree on Christmas Eve.

happy-holidays-paws-ofthe-tigersThat part wants – with much thanks to Samara and Paws of Roar of the Tigers – to wish all of you a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa a belatedly Happy Eid al-Adha, a Happy Winter Solstice/Yule and a Happy Winter Season for those who prefer not to celebrate anything.

Be sure to check Mike’s Holiday Train out bigger and his whole Holidays slideshow.

A Michigan December, Henderson Castle

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

A Michigan December, Henderson Castle

A Michigan December, Henderson Castle, photo by John Clement Howe.

Henderson Castle, constructed 1895 and now a bed & breakfast.

View this bigger along with more photos of Henderson Castle in John’s Historic Homes of Kalamazoo set (slideshow), read more about Henderson Castle on Michigan in Pictures and see a video tour of Henderson Castle on YouTube.

Coffee Tasting at Paramount Coffee of Lansing

Posted on by farlane

Coffee Tasting, photo by WAXY.

John writes that this is from a coffee tasting session at Paramount Coffee in Lansing. The man on the right is his grandfather, Lawrence B. Weingarten, one of the founders of Paramount. He got this history from a previous version of the Paramount Coffee web site:

In 1935, during the height of the great depression, two established coffee salesmen decided to take a chance. They left their jobs in Chicago and ventured up I-94 to Lansing, Mich., to start their own company. They chose Lansing as they felt it was the ideal location for their new challenge. So on Aug. 14, 1935 the two friends scraped together every penny they had and went after their lifelong dream. What they lacked in money, they more than made up for in enthusiasm and energy. Paramount Coffee Company was born.
You can see this photo bigger in John’s slideshow and more of his work can be found at Waxy Photography.

Welcome to Winter…

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by Brooke Pennington.

…probably seems like you never left, right?

View this photo (and many more) bigger in Brooke’s slideshow and see the same building in summer.

If you need another link, here’s “winter” as performed by the Absolute Michigan pool.

Albion: History of The Forks

Posted on by farlane

Destination, photo by Stephen K. Willi

In keeping with this blog’s tradition of “Well here I am, now where is that actually?” (as opposed to “Hey that looks cool, I wonder what’s up with that?”) I thought I’d take a look at the city of Albion. Although I come here once or twice a year, my knowledge has been confined to Albion College (which is always closed when I’m here), Albion’s world class sledding hill, the Bohm Theater, the “other” Cascarelli’s (cause Homer’s Cascarelli’s rocks), the Coca-Cola sign and one very cool bookstore. I suppose that could be enough to build a post on, but I have my reputation to think about. And so, with already far too much adieu…

Wikipedia’s entry for Albion, Michigan says that this city in Calhoun County had a population of 9,144 in 2000.

The first white settler, Tenney Peabody, arrived in 1833. As local legend goes, Peabody’s wife decided to name the city after Albion, Oswego County, New York where another prominent pioneer, Jesse Crowell, came from. The city was almost named Peabodyville, but Albion was the preferred choice.

….The forks of the Kalamazoo River provided power for mills and Albion quickly became a mill town as well as an agricultural market. A railroad line arrived in 1852, fostering the development of other industries.

From the time that the earliest English-speaking settlers arrived, the area has also been known as The Forks, because it is situated at the confluence of the north and south branches of the Kalamazoo River. The Festival of the Forks has been celebrated annually since 1967, celebrating Albion’s ethnic heritage.

If you want to really dive into the history, you’re in luck because the Albion Michigan website has an amazing amount of historical information courtesy of historian Frank Passic. The site is framed so it’s hard to link directly to stuff, but be sure to go to the Albion History section and click into the gallery of photographs.

See this photo larger in Stephen’s Black and White Photography slideshow (view set).