July 3, 2012
Happy Fourth of July, Detroit
A remarkable postcard from Campus Martius, July 4, 1866.
July 3, 2012
A remarkable postcard from Campus Martius, July 4, 1866.
May 31, 2012
From sturgeon to shad, pike to pickerel, carp and people who carped about carp, the fish tells us a lot about the way we live in Detroit. Today: the magnificent whitefish.
March 12, 2012
Why are we called “Wolverines”? You’ve heard the stories about the Toledo War and greedy land-grabbing settlers. Here’s one more idea, from an old tavern in Dearborn.
February 7, 2012
The Detroit Boat Club, founded in 1839, is the oldest in the country. Its home on Belle Isle is crumbling, compelling, and calls home centuries of water sport.
January 20, 2012
”Blake … stood in mortal fear of death and from the cholera in particular. He went to Milwaukee to escape the latter, but unfortunately he did not.”
October 12, 2011
So my book is officially here.
September 23, 2011
A few details about that book I’ve been hinting about for months now. Which is available for pre-order.
September 16, 2011
The old Log Cabin at Palmer Park. Why a log cabin? What did it look like inside? Did people really live in it?
December 30, 2010
OR: What I learned about Detroit history in 2010.
November 24, 2010
Shoot your own turkey. At the bar.
October 15, 2010
“It was said that Father Richard was so studious and patient in his search after knowledge that he actually counted the eggs in a whitefish. How many millions, history fails to tell.”
July 16, 2010
June 24, 2010
Palmer Park is on the list of parks slated for closure on July 1.
June 2, 2010
After days! of suspense! Here are the answers to our special Memorial Day Michigan military figures trivia game. We might do this again sometime. We might not. It was a little silly, but we had fun.
April 21, 2010
In which he tells a corpse joke that made me laugh out loud in the library, and admits a penchant for bagpipes and white bowties.
January 20, 2010
UPDATE: Silas Farmer’s death certificate is in the Michigan state archives. He died suddenly on December 28, 1902, apparently of a heart attack. He was living in present-day midtown, at 52 Selden, and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. Next stop, as my mom sassily pointed out to me on Twitter (MOMS ON TWITTER!!), is a real-life library.