It was on March 9, 1977 that the events in Dansville took place which became known throughout the country as “The Burning Bed.”
One night, Francine Hughes, a battered & abused housewife for over twelve years, took her children out to the car and told them she’d be right back; she proceeded to go back into the house, pour gasoline around and on the bed of her sleeping, abusive husband, Mickey – and set it on fire. Mickey died in the blaze.
She turned herself into police. In a trial that followed she was declared innocent because of temporary insanity. The incident would eventually become the basis for the movie “The Burning Bed”.
Source : Michigan Every Day
Available in the MSU Library Digital and Multimedia Center : The burning bed / produced by Carol Schreder ; teleplay by Rose Leiman Goldemberg ; directed by Robert Greenwald. Santa Monica, CA : MGM Home Entertainment, c2004.
Also available as a book : The burning bed / by Faith McNulty. New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c1980.
For an article, see Louise Knott Ahern, “The Burning Bed”: A turning point in fight against domestic violence”, Lansing State Journal, August 17, 2012.
For another, see Zlati Meyer, “This week in Michigan history: Woman kills abusive ex-husband, becoming inspiration for ‘Burning Bed’, Detroit Free Press, March 9, 2014.
William Clay Ford, the last living grandchild of Ford Motor Co. founder Henry Ford, died Sunday morning at his suburban Detroit home from pneumonia.
Ford, 88, served with the Dearborn-based automaker for 57 years as an employee and board member, including most recently as Director Emeritus.
Ford had numerous associations and roles outside of Ford Motor Company. He became president of the Detroit Lions football team in 1961. He purchased the team in November 1963 and served as its chairman until his death. He also was a dedicated and generous philanthropist and community leader.
For the full article, see Michael Wayland, “William Clay Ford: A timeline of his life, career”, MLive, March 10, 2014.
On March 10, 1707 Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac gave the first known grants of land to French settlers in Detroit.
Source : Historical Society of Michigan.
For more information, see Cadillac and the founding of Detroit : commemorating the two hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the city of Detroit by Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac on July 24, 1701 by Henry D. Brown. … [et al.]. Detroit : Published for the Detroit Historical Society by Wayne State University Press, 1976.
On March 10, 1902, Henry Ford resigned from the Henry Ford Company over a dispute with bankers. The company’s name was changed and, under the leadership of Henry Leland, began building Cadillacs — cars named for the founder of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.
The Michigan State Board of Education will make immediate attempts to improve the penmanship of students in Michigan Schools and Colleges. No student will be exempt by this endeavor. “The poor penmanship of the graduates of our public schools has long been a disgrace to the public school system,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Keeler.
Source : News From 100 Years Ago Today, Historical Center of Traverse City, Traverse City Record-Eagle, March 10, 2014.
March 10-April 7, 1937.
Under the stress of wage reductions and layoffs resulting from the nation’s Depression, more than 1500 workers at REO Motor Car Co. in Lansing went on strike March 10, 1937.
Lansing Auto Worker declared during the event, “Reo Strike Is Nation’s Model Demonstration”. Reo workers shut down the factory and occupied it for a month. Workers remained peaceful, engaging in activities such as checkers, volleyball, and singing with the Reo Ramblers.
On April 7, 1937 the strike was settled, and the UAW was approved as the workers’ union.
Sources :
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Matthew Miller, “Lansing’s sit-down strike 75 years ago brought UAW”, Lansing State Journal, March 11, 2012.
For more information see The story of Reo Joe : work, kin, and community in Autotown, U.S.A. by Lisa M. Fine. Philadelphia, PA : Temple University Press, 2004. MSU community users can also read an electronic version.
Also check out the Lansing Auto Town Gallery courtesy of the Michigan State University Library Vincent Voice Library for interviews with former REO workers and their families, some of who recall the sit-down strike of 1937.
One of Michigan’s most successful chief executives, Alexander Groesbeck is credited with reorganizing state government. Although he was called, “aloof as a politician and dictatorial as governor,” Groesbeck was elected governor three times (1920, 1922 and 1924). He also lost his party’s nomination on three other occasions (1926, 1930 and 1934). A Republican, Groesbeck was born in Macomb County and worked in his father’s sawmill before attending the University of Michigan where he graduated with a law degree. Groesbeck was buried in Detroit.
The Bay City Democrat weekly newspaper rolled out the last edition of its 126 years Thursday, March 10, 2016, with a front-page article called “The end of an era.”
It’s no April fool’s joke, as some curious people have wondered as they stopped by, said Editor and Publisher Wendy M. Knochel.
“I’m shocked, just totally shocked,” said Bay City Mayor Kathleen L. Newsham. “They have done so much for the community.”
For the full article, see Clark Hughes, “Last issue of The Bay City Democrat rolls off the press — 1890-2016“, MLive, March 10, 2016.
Online version of last paper.
Season after season, extreme weather bombards the continental United States. Over the next 83 years, its cascading effects will force U.S. residents inward, upward, and away from newly uninhabitable areas. But don’t worry: We’ve mapped out how these factors will alter the country’s landscape in 2100. Courtesy of Popular Science.
We already think Michigan is the greatest place to live in America. But according to Popular Science, it’ll be really great by 2100 AD – because it predicts climate change will make other areas of the country “uninhabitable.” (Womp.) The website uses a graphical video of about 90 seconds, called “Where to live in America, 2100 A.D.,” to show how the landscape of the United States will change over the next 83 years. It says sea levels could rise by up to 6.6 feet, the number of Category 4 & 5 hurricanes will double, tornadoes will be more severe and almost the entire country will be at greater risk of a drought. The video also points out the entire West could get hotter by several degrees, more wildfires will burn because of that and mosquitoes that carry pathogens will expand their range.
For the full article, see Brian Manzullo, “Michigan the best place to live by 2100 AD, Popular Science says“, Detroit Free Press, March 22, 2017.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency late Tuesday after confirming Michigan’s first two cases of the new coronavirus, an infectious disease first found in China and now spreading through the United States.
An Oakland County woman with a recent history of international travel and a Wayne County man with a recent history of domestic travel have tested positive for COVID-19 and are hospitalized, said Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive.
Officials are calling these “presumed” cases while awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both patients are middle-aged.
“It is very likely that we will see more cases and that there will be community spread,” Khaldun said in a 10:45 p.m. news conference with Whitmer at the Michigan emergency operations center. “We need everyone to do their part to prevent the spread of the disease as much as possible.”
Khaldun said the state learned of the diagnoses hours earlier. She was unable to detail recent travel by either patient but said local health officials are working to identify anyone who had close contact with the patients for possible testing or monitoring.