“Ross Lang was known by many as a fisherman’s fisherman, respected by everyone who knew him for his efficiency, determination, and ingenuity. The shock experienced by all when he died in a fishing accident on a beautiful calm April day in 1998 is still felt today.” –Fishtown Preservation
Once upon a time, Joy Lang Anderson & her husband Ross were my across the street neighbors in the village of Leland. Back in 2017, I sat down with her in Leland’s Fishtown to talk about how she & Ross (both UP natives) ended up integral parts of the village of Leland and its fishing history. I hope you enjoy it!
The photos of the Joy were taken by Mark Smith (I took the pic of Ross’s marker). See more in Mark’s Leland album on Flickr and for sure view & purchase Mark’s work at Leelanau Landscapes.
For generations, she and her older partner in fun times, the Columbia, would ferry Detroiters from downtown to the Boblo Island amusement park Downriver. The two Boblo boats made their final run to Boblo Island on Sept. 2, 1991, and smaller boats were used to transport families to the island until the park closed Sept. 30, 1993. In the meantime, the two steamers – among the last of their kind – were designated as National Historic Landmarks on July 6, 1992, signifying their rarity and importance to American history.
There have been many attempts to save both of the historic vessels over the ensuing decades, including one launched by Dr. Ron Kattoo when he bought the Ste. Claire in 2007. Sadly, on July 6, 2018, the Ste. Claire was completely destroyed by a fire that broke out on board during restoration efforts.
Here’s a shot of the Boblo Boat from back in the day along with another shot of the Ste Claire & the now vanished Joe Louis staircase by Will from his Detroit gallery on Flickr.
At Michigan Central Station, much of the building’s limestone — 600 tons of it — had deteriorated from three decades of uncontrolled water into the building. Research and good teamwork led to finding the original, uniquely banded limestone source, the Dark Hollow Quarry in Bedford, Indiana. The only problem: it had closed in 1988, the same year as Michigan Central Station.
Luckily, quarried blocks had been left on site, but were now surrounded by 30-year-old trees! A new access road was installed, trees removed, and truckloads of raw blocks — the largest single piece over 20 tons — were sent to Bridgeport, Michigan for fabrication. Skillfully sequenced for reinstallation, the restored limestone facade, from the front to the back of Michigan Central Station, matches perfectly with the skill of marvelous teamwork.
Marvelous indeed. We’ll continue to share more about this iconic Detroit structure that officially reopened June 6, 2024. Head over to the Christman Company’s post on Facebook for more pics as well as info about the process and all the contractors involved. For sure check out much more Michigan Central on Michigan in Pictures & for sure follow Historic Detroit for all kinds of cool Detroit content!
Here’s a couple more shots along with a few of mine from last July soon after the station re-opened.
Join the Golden Boy at the Marche du Nain Rouge by Andrew McFarlane
The annual Marche du Nain Rouge takes place this Sunday, March 23rd 2025 along the Cass Corridor in Detroit. The festivities begin at 11:30 on the Community Stage at the intersection of Canfield & 2nd with Detroit-centric sets & hilarious entertainment as excitement builds toward the Nain leading the celebratory procession down to the Masonic Temple and the FREE Official Afterparty with drinks, friends, vendor tables, and DJs spinning.
In the mythology of Medieval Normandy, the Nain Rouge (or Lutin, or an earlier version called “Netun”) is a sort of house spirit that has many names, assumes many forms, and plays nefarious pranks. The Lutin of Normandy is very similar to domestic spirits of England, Scandinavia and Germany. They are fond of children, horses (often taking their form), and young maidens also, but are cruel to those who do not treat them with respect. In Archibald Maclaren’s The Fairy Family: A Series of Ballads and Metrical Tales Illustrating the Fairy Mythology of Europe, the Lutin is compared and contrasted with England’s trickster Robin Goodfellow, and found to be quite a bit more mean-spirited, remarking “Many a man laid his ruin at the Lutin’s door; although it must be confessed that in these cases neighbors were uncharitable enough to fay, that the Lutin had less to do with it than habits of Want-of-thrift and Self-indulgence” (Maclaren, 1857, p.67). The subclass of Lutin called the Nain Rouge is described in the folktales of Normandy as playing dastardly tricks on, but on occasion being particularly kind to fisherman.
PS: My friend Joel was there in 2017 as well and he took MUCH better pics that I have featured before.
PPS: I didn’t know the guy in the first pic when I talked to him about the paper mache head he made, but he’s now one of my best friends and we work together. Magic!!
PPPS: The Trinidadian dancers & steel drum band ROCK!!!
Most remember that President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law establishing that Yellowstone as America’s first national park on March 1, 1872, but not that many are aware of the 2nd national park that Congress created just three years later on March 3, 1875. The National Parks Traveler has a great feature on America’s “forgotten” national park which existed from 1875 to 1895 when it became Mackinac Island State Park, the nation’s first state park which is now Mackinac State Historic Parks.
Mark has shared a ton of Mackinac Island pics on Flickr and in our Absolute Michigan group. Here are some of my faves. See more in his Mackinac, Michigan gallery on Flickr!!
Johnny Cash was born 93 years ago today, and though he wasn’t born in Michigan, he sang about us and the struggles of workers on the line. In honor of the Man in Black, here’s a photo that Bill shared photo back in 2023 writing “Formerly the Gibson Guitar factory. Rumor has it that Elvis Presley himself came to Kalamazoo to pick up his guitars straight from the factory. Johnny Cash, Steve Winwood, B.B. King, and others also visited to check on their orders.”
Here are couple more photos of the old plant along with Bill’s burning ring of fire (with apologies to Johnny Cash). Follow Bill on Flickr & Facebook for more!
On December 31st, I will begin my 20th year of doing Michigan-focused photo blog Michigan in Pictures!! I’m going to try some new things this year to keep things fresh & fun for Michigan in Pictures regulars including yours truly like featuring more of my photos from the present day & my surprisingly extensive archives. As with today’s entry, a lot of them will be from Detroit where I live.
My first “Farlane Friday” is the brand new building at the new Hudson’s building in downtown Detroit which I am honestly a big fan of. I wasn’t alone, because this photo blew up when I shared it in the Detroit Photography group on Facebook. Hudson’s was Detroit’s signature department store and the place where I – like many Detroiters – unquestionably got my first picture taken with Santa. I also spent more than one Saturday reading dinosaur books at the lunch counter while my Grandma shopped with her friends. You can head over to Hudson’s Detroit for lots more about this new addition to Detroit’s skyline & for sure check out this post about the history of Hudson’s on Michigan in Pictures.
The 1868 peak in sail-powered ships on Lake Michigan also marked the year the 123-foot Rouse Simmons was launched from Milwaukee’s shipyards. The ship was built by the firm of Allan, McClelland, and Company, one of Milwaukee’s preeminent shipbuilding firms …In the early 1870s, the Rouse Simmons joined the sizeable shipping fleet of wealthy lumber magnate and philanthropist Charles H. Hackley of Muskegon, hauling loads of lumber for Hackley’s fleet from company mills to the various markets around the lake for roughly 20 years.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the popular German tradition of decorating an evergreen tree in the home was widely practiced, and it was not uncommon for a handful of lake schooners to make late-season runs from northern Michigan and Wisconsin loaded with thousands of Christmas trees for busy Chicago waterfront markets. Estimates of the number of Christmas schooners vary, but perhaps up to two dozen vessels in any season delivered evergreens to markets in Great Lakes states.
In Chicago, most vessels, including the Rouse Simmons, sold the trees directly from their berths along the Chicago River’s Clark Street docks. Electric lights were strung from the schooner’s bow to stern, and customers were invited to board the ship to choose their trees. In addition to selling Christmas trees, many boat operators, including Schuenemann, made and sold wreaths, garlands, and other holiday decorations. Barbara Schuenemann and her three daughters (Elsie is pictured above) helped make and sell these items as part of the family’s holiday trade.
You can read on for much more about Herman Schuenemann’s long career as “Captain Santa” which tragically came to an end on Friday, November 22, 1912 when the Rouse Simmons, heavily laden with 3,000–5,000 Christmas trees filling its hold & deck, left the dock at Thompson, Michigan looking “like a floating forest.” Sadly, the Rouse Simmons sailed into a powerful winter storm on the lake that sent her and several other ships including the South Shore, Three Sisters, and Two Brothers to the bottom of Lake Michigan.
On November 23, 1912, Back in 2007 Rich Evenhouse shared this video of a dive to the wreck of the Rouse Simmons. The shipwreck lies upright in 165 ft. at the bottom of Lake Michigan & I’ve heard that every year divers place a Christmas tree on the bow.
Happy Black Friday! It’s an especially happy one for many since for the first time in eight years, we aren’t mourning a Lions Thanksgiving loss!! Yesterday Detroit also hosted another successful Thanksgiving Day Parade on Woodward Avenue (click for some video highlights) which got me thinking about the roots of this holiday tradition.
Thanksgiving parades were created in the early 20th Century by big department store chains to signal consumers that it was time to start thinking about Christmas shopping. The Holidays at Hudson’s video on Detroit PBS explains that the Motor City was no exception. Hudson’s Department Store provided the staff, resources to help launch the annual parade in 1924. A century later, the Parade remains one of the largest in the country.
While you have to donate to view the whole video, the trailer for Holidays at Hudson’s has some great pics & info. One cool fact is that at its apex when a quarter of a million children a year would visit Santa every year at Hudson’s, they were one of the first stores in the country to offer a choice of Caucasian, Black, Hispanic or other Santas. I’ve got a some old pics, a couple parade photos & a video of the Big Heads below!
Hudson’s Float in front of the new Hudson’s by Andrew McFarlane
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”
It’s November 10th again, which means that for the 48th year straight year I have Gordon Lightfoot’s legendary ballad to the Witch of November on repeat. My absolute favorite version of the song (as many of you know probably all too wdell) is this version that Joseph Fulton created way back in 2009. Given YouTube’s ruthlessness on music copyright, I have to assume that Lightfoot blessed this because from the moment Harry Reasoner begins speaking, who wouldn’t?
You can join the 49th annual Great Lakes Memorial Service, a remembrance of the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald in person at Mariners’ Church in downtown Detroit or on their YouTube livestream at 11am today. On November 11, 1975 they rang their church bell 29 times in honor of all the sailors that lost their lives due to the wreck of the S.S. Edmund FItzgerald. They do it every year, and the beloved service also commemorates all sailors who have lost their lives on the Great Lakes.
Here are a couple of photos I took recently of the beautiful stained glass and the historical marker at Mariners’ Church which is between Hart Plaza and the Renaissance Center on the riverfront in downtown Detroit. Lots more about the Edmund Fitzgerald on Michigan in Pictures!
Michigan in Pictures 