Governor Aaron T. Bliss was born May 22, 1837 in New York.
During the American Civil War, Bliss enlisted as a private in the Peterman Guards of the Tenth New York Volunteer Cavalry, October 1, 1861, and reported for duty at Elmira, New York. After a quick advancement to lieutenant, his regiment formed a part of Kilpatrick’s Brigade and was ordered to the front, joining the Army of the Potomac. He commanded a squadron from Washington, D.C. during the Second Battle of Bull Run and his rank advanced to captain. He also fought in the battle of Fredericksburg, the Wilderness, Petersburg, Ground Squirrel Church, Stony Creek, South Mountain, Falls Church and Warrenton. Then he was captured on General Wilson’s raid near Richmond.
For six months he was held at the Confederate prisons of Andersonville, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, Macon, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina, where on November 29, 1864, like the man who would later precede him as governor, Hazen S. Pingree, Bliss escaped from a Confederate prison. He walked near three weeks until he reached General Sherman’s army at Savannah, Georgia, just two days before its evacuation. Bliss soon rejoined his own command at Petersburg, Virginia, where he remained until the war ended.
In December 1865, he moved to Saginaw, Michigan and found employment at a shingle mill. With his brother, Lyman W. Bliss, and J. H. Jerome, he formed A. T. Bliss & Company and engaged in the manufacture of lumber and the exploitation of lands along the Tobacco River. In 1868 the brothers bought the Jerome mill at Zilwaukee, and it became A. T. Bliss & Brother. In 1880, Bliss was one of the organizers and a director of the Citizen’s National Bank, which was reorganized into the Bank of Saginaw, and was president and director of the Saginaw County Savings Bank.
In 1882, Bliss was elected member of the Michigan Senate from Saginaw County (25th district), and during that time helped establish a soldiers’ home in Grand Rapids. He was appointed aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Russell A. Alger in 1885, with the rank of colonel, and held the same position on the staff of the commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1888.
In 1888, Bliss was elected as a Republican from Michigan’s 8th congressional district to the 51st Congress, serving from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1891. Among notable bills he introduced were for appropriating $100,000 for a federal building in Saginaw and $25,000 for an Indian school at Mt. Pleasant. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1890 to the 52nd Congress, being defeated by Democrat Henry M. Youmans.
After leaving Congress, Bliss resumed the lumber business and also engaged in banking. He was department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in Michigan in 1897.
In 1900, Bliss was elected Governor of Michigan, defeating mayor of Detroit William C. Maybury, and was re-elected in 1902, serving from 1901 through 1904.
During his four years in office, the Michigan Employment Institution for the Adult Blind was established in Saginaw, a state highway department was formed, and railroad taxation was sanctioned.
Source: Aaron T. Bliss wikipedia entry
William Ferguson was born on May 22, 1857 to the family of Joseph Ferguson, the first African American graduate of the Detroit Medical College. He was educated in Detroit schools. Ferguson had a successful career in printing and real estate and also became a lawyer.
In 1890 he was expelled from Gies’ European Hotel Restaurant for refusing to eat in the colored section. He filed a lawsuit and was the successful plaintiff in a landmark civil rights case before the Michigan Supreme Court — Ferguson v. Gies — when the court ruled that separation by race in public places was illegal. The ruling propelled Ferguson to a prominent position in the African American community, and he subsequently became Michigan’s first African American legislator when he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1893 and again in 1895.
A photo of William Ferguson.
Ferguson died in 1910 and is buried in section 10, Lot 54, of Historic Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
A Michigan Historical Marker was placed at Ferguson’s former homesite on Alfred Street near the Brewster Wheeler Recreation Center.
Source : Historic Elmwood Cemetery William Ferguson Biography
Ferguson was a Republican from Detroit at a time when most African Americans were Republican, thanks to their appreciation of the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party on their behalf.
Source : Nick Minock, “First Portrait of African-American to be placed in Michigan State Capitol building“, Newschannel 3, February 23rd 2018.
On May 22, 1926, Michigan became the nation’s sixth state to register and license more than 1,000,000 automobiles.
Source: Mich-Again’s Day.
As a young girl, Olga Loizon would help her mother make spinach and cheese pie. She would watch her, and then she would play her own role.
“She’d tell me, ‘you sauté the onions and I’ll keep telling you what to do,’ ” she says.
As an adult, Loizon would make the Greek staple for special events at the church and her version became popular in her community.
“I thought maybe I do have something here,” Loizon recalls. Spinach and cheese pie was for special occasions because it can be time consuming to make, she says, “but once a few people got a taste of it and they proved to me that I had something, there was no way I was going to stop.”
Then came the mid- to late-1960’s when founder and Greek-American Olga Loizon returned to the Mediterranean to visit her family. It was an opportunity for her and her three small children to get reconnected with their Greek heritage…and in the process, Olga would discover her legacy.
It was a visit to the local market square that inspired what would soon grow into an iconic Michigan brand. Here, Olga’s children first tasted souvlaki, a traditional Greek sandwich of meat and vegetables wrapped in fresh-baked pita bread. Her kids were hooked…and Olga was inspired.
The first step was buying the vertical rotisserie to cook the meat. It had to be authentic. However, in the 60’s, women didn’t typically own businesses and she was refused the machine. But Detroiters don’t give up. So, she gave her uncle the money to buy the machine for her. Soon, Olga, her kids and her new vertical rotisserie were on their way back to Michigan.
Back home, Olga began to recreate the savory delicacy her children fell in love with in Greece, with one important improvement—the bread. Olga felt the bread in the Mediterranean was a bit grainy and dry. She knew she could do better. For two years, Olga rolled and kneaded, baked and balanced, tasted and tested, until finally she had created the Best Bread on the Planet.
With her secret recipe Olga bread in hand, Olga layered it with seasoned beef and lamb, vine-ripened tomato, sweet onion and her homemade Olgasauce—and the classic culinary delight known as the Original Olga was born.
It was now 1970, and Olga was ready to share The Original Olga with the world. But she wasn’t sure how.
As luck would have it, while shopping at the fondly-remembered Continental Market in Birmingham, Michigan, Olga walked past a “wooden shoe” store that was closing. She stopped. She didn’t want any wooden shoes, she wanted the 10 x 10 space. After securing a loan at her local bank, the first woman to ever achieve that small feat, Olga was in business.
But as some of her naysayers had predicted, no one knew what an Olga was and there was simply no demand for something no one had ever tasted before. Thinking quickly, Olga handed out some free Olga samples to passersby. With one simple taste, Olga had transformed the “unknown and unwanted” into the “celebrated and sought-after.”
“The family stood behind me. The only one was (her husband) John. He says he’s not doing it and he’s not giving me a dime (for the business),” said Loizon, who has been married to her architect husband for 71 years.
While John Loizon didn’t like the idea of his wife opening a restaurant, sometimes he couldn’t stay away.
“We had been open about a year. We’re cutting meat and making pita bread when mom said, ‘Don’t say anything, but your dad is out there.’ He might have been hanging around for a while,” Bill Loizon (her son) said. “Someone had said to him they should go to his wife’s restaurant.”
When you start with the Best Bread on the Planet, you quickly discover that you can “Olga” just about anything, and Olga did. From chicken to ham, veggies to turkey, everything tasted better wrapped in Olga Bread.
Next, she added now classic side dishes—The Olga Salad®, Spinach & Cheese Pie, Peasant Soup and everyone’s favorite, Olga’s Snackers®.
The demand grew and grew. Suddenly, Olga’s went from a single 10 x 10 location to a chain of restaurants throughout Michigan and a family favorite. Olga Loizon has achieved her goal.
Today, Olga’s Kitchen is owned by TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants and boasts locations throughout Michigan and an expanded menu. All the classics that made Olga’s famous are still here, plus a variety of new entrees infused with bold flavors, made fresh daily and served on our famous Olga Bread.
Olga herself is still an active and vital part of Olga’s Kitchen. Her “Olga Visits” to various store locations have become immensely popular among guests old and new. She loves to sit and hear the stories of her loyal fans—of college kids heading right to Olga’s upon their return from college, or out-of-towners insisting on stopping at Olga’s straight from the airport, and small children begging for Olga’s for their birthdays. It warms her heart and justifies her journey.
Update: Olga’s Kitchen founder Olga Loizon died at the age of 92 on January 21, 2019.
Sources:
Detroit Born and Bread – Olga’s Kitchen: The Story of a Michigan Icon, Olga’s Kitchen Website, Viewed May 22, 2018.
Lauren Abdel–Razzaq, “Olga’s Kitchen looks to future, stays true to heritage“, Detroit News, October 20, 2014
“From Their Table to Yours“, Hour Detroit, October 31, 2016. For generations, families have been passing down recipes that have stood the test of time. Includes recipes.
Alysa Zavala–Offman, “Olga’s Kitchen matriarch turns 91, franchise celebrates with snackers“. Detroit Metro Times, May 23, 2017
TNH Staff, “Olga Loizon, at 92, Visits Her Namesake Olga’s Kitchen in Michigan“, The National Herald, November 22, 2017.
Leanne Rogers, “The original Olga stops in to visit her newly remodeled namesake restaurant in Westland“, Hometown Life Newspapers, November 20, 2017.
JC Reindl, “New Olga’s Kitchen owner opening new locations, renovating older ones”“, Detroit Free Press, March 27, 2018.
On May 22, 1928, Dr. Kenyon Butterfield resigned as president of Michigan State College (MSC) effective immediately after a series of issues with the State Board of Agriculture. Butterfield came to MSC from the Massachusetts Agricultural College and brought two of his friends with him, giving them newly created jobs with salaries above those of other college officials.
This, along with his emphasis on “continuing education” after the Legislature refused to grant funds for the work, drew the ire of the board. However, it was the discovery of a $224,000 deficit in the college books along with recommended salary increases of $135,000 that pushed matters over the edge.
Butterfield’s resignation came shortly after his 10-week trip to the Holy Land and the Board fired the two highly-paid friends from Massachusetts.
Source: “M.S.C. Head Quits Under Fire“, Detroit Free Press, May 23, 1924, p.1.
Black Legion regalia included this high powered rifle and a leather-bladed bludgeon used to beat their vict
A 22-year-old Detroit WPA worker was kidnapped, shot ten times, and his body left lying on a rural road. The murder investigation exposed and destroyed a statewide organization called the “Black Legion,” an underground society that used guns, group vengeance and terrorism against those who opposed their anti-Jew, anti-black, anti-communist, anti-Catholic philosophy.
Sources :
Tom Stanton, “Violent secret society plagued 1930s Detroit“, Detroit News, June 1, 2016.
David J. Krajicek, “Wrongful murder in 1936 led Black Legion leader Dayton Dean’s confession“, New York Daily, May 29, 2010.
“History: The Black Legion, Where Vets and the Klan Met“, Veterans Today, November 28, 2012.
Terror in the city of champions : murder, baseball, and the secret society that shocked Depression-era Detroit / Tom Stanton.
Black legion / [presented by] Warner Bros. ; directed by Archie L. Mayo ; screenplay by Abem Finkel and William Wister Haines ; story by Robert Lord. Burbank, CA : Distributed by Warner Home Video, [2008] 1 DVD videodisc (approximately 80 min.) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 in. DMC 4 West PN1995.9.S62 B55 2008 VideoDVD In “Black Legion,” Frank Taylor (Bogart) joins the Black Legion, a Ku Klux Klan-like group, after losing a promotion to an Eastern European immigrant. He then is implicated in a murder and becomes the key witness for the prosecution. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay (where it lost to “A Star is Born”) and was named by the National Board of Review as the best film the year. The film is based on actual events that occurred in Detroit in 1935, when members of the Black Legion, a white supremacist group that targeted Jews, blacks, Catholics, Communists and Eastern Europeans, were charged with crimes ranging from murder to arson. Ultimately, 48 members were convicted of crimes, including 11 for murder. Newspapers and newsreels across the country covered the trial, garnering the attention of Warner Bros., which became known for its anti-fascist movies. When the movie opened at Lansing’s Capitol Theatre in January 1937, dark, garish movie posters depicted a black-hooded man holding a whip with the headline below it, “Death to squealers.” The Black Legion had arisen out of the Ku Klux Klan, switching out white robes and hoods for black outfits that included piratelike hats and black robes. The group, which was estimated to have a membership of more than 10,000, had members in Detroit, Pontiac and several other Michigan cities, including Lansing. It was rumored that the Black Legion was responsible for the death of Earl Little, the father of Malcolm X, who was killed in a 1931 streetcar accident in Lansing. Summary by Bill Castanier, “History in black and white : Film screening revisits local nationalist group”, Lansing City Pulse, February 15, 2017.
Lyndon B. Johnson unveiled his Great Society in a U-M commencement address on May 22, 1964.
LBJ’s Launches Great Society, including text of commencement speech.
More about Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.
“The Grand Rapids LipDub Video was filmed May 22nd, with 5,000 people, and involved a major shutdown of downtown Grand Rapids, which was filled with marching bands, parades, weddings, motorcades, bridges on fire, and helicopter take offs. It is the largest and longest LipDub video, to date.
This video was created as an official response to the Newsweek article calling Grand Rapids a “dying city.” We disagreed strongly, and wanted to create a video that encompasses the passion and energy we all feel is growing exponentially, in this great city. We felt Don McLean’s “American Pie,” a song about death, was in the end, triumphant and filled to the brim with life and hope.” – Rob Bliss, Director & Executive Producer
*Note: The “NEW WORLD RECORD” designation refers to size and scope, not duration. Storyboards and concept art by Greg Oberle.
This $40,000 production was entirely financed by the generosity of local sponsors that are listed below:
PLATINUM SPONSORS:
Amway Grand Plaza Hotel (http://amwaygrand.com/)
EasyRotor Helicopter (http://easyrotor.com/)
Grand Vally State University (http://gvsu.edu/)
metroPCS (http://metropcs.com/)
Avanti Law Group (http://avantilaw.com/)
GOLD SPONSORS:
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (http://www.krispykreme.com/home)
Experience Grand Rapids (http://experiencegr.com/)
Grand Rapids Downtown Alliance (http://downtowngr.org/)
A.K. RIKK’S (http://akrikks.com/)
Eastern Floral (http://easternfloral.com/)
United Bank of Michigan (https://unitedbankofmichigan.com/)
The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation
The Seccia Family Foundation
SILVER SPONSORS:
Fifth Third Bank (http://53.com)
PNC Bank (http://pnc.com)
Steelcase (http://steelcase.com)
Huntington (https://huntington.com/)
UICA (http://uica.org/)
Biggby Coffee (http://biggby.com/)
Mindscape at Hanon-McKendry (http://mindscape-hm.com/)
Harold Zeigler Auto Group (http://haroldzeigler.com)
Express Signs (http://giantgraphics.com/)
BRONZE SPONSORS:
Hanon McKendry (http://hanon-mckendry.com)
HopCat (http://hopcatgr.com)
Cascade Engineering (http://cascadeng.com/)
Rockford Construction (http://rockfordconstruction.com/)
Siegel Jewelers (http://siegeljewelers.com/)
Gentex Corporation (http://gentex.com/)
Rob Bliss Events and SEF video
(http://facebook.com/robblissevents)
(http://sefvideo.com/)
proudly present
in association with Creo Productions
(http://creoproductions.com)
THE GRAND RAPIDS LIPDUB VIDEO
LINE PRODUCER
Josh Rubino
SCRIPT SUPERVISOR
Keri Larsen Kujala
ASSISTANT TO THE PRODUCER
Melissa Dylan
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Andrew Tingley, Creo Productions
DIRECTOR
Rob Bliss
PRODUCER
Scott Erickson
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Rob Bliss
Scott Erickson
FULL CREDITS HERE
http://www.facebook.com/GRLipDub?sk=info
MUSIC
“American Pie,” written by Don McLean;
Produced by Ed Freeman for The Rainbow Collection, Ltd.
FACEBOOK
http://www.facebook.com/GRLipDub
T-SHIRT DESIGN:
Grand Rapids Graphix: http://grandrapidsgraphix.com/
Category
Entertainment
License
Standard YouTube License
On May 22, 2012, after a 30 minute struggle, Rodney Akey of Niles landed a 49.8 pound and 45.7 inch flathead catfish — the largest ever caught in Michigan.
For the full article, see Jim Lynch, “Niles man reels in record-breaking ‘monster’ catfish”, Detroit News, June 4, 2012.
Stonehenge is creepy enough as is, but finding another Stonehenge underwater? That’s just too much for us to handle. That’s exactly what divers found though, in what we used to think wasn’t a very mysterious place: Lake Michigan.
The lake isn’t well known for archaeological mysteries, so when divers found the ring of stones under the water, it was a huge surprise. The structure looks just like the Stonehenge on the British Isles and got constructed in 10,000 BC. The stones have the familiar circular pattern and even have a carving of a mastodon in them. Because they’re underwater, they have degraded much more than the above-water Stonehenge. Researchers can still see the pattern though. Nobody really knows how they got there, or why they bear such a resemblance to Stonehenge.
Our biggest problem is that doing research requires scientists to go underwater, which isn’t ideal conditions to do scientific work. Leading theories say that back in ancient history, Lake Michigan was dry, and climate change slowly filled it up with water. Okay, we can buy that, but it doesn’t really explain how the ancient Michiganders decided to build the same stone ring as the people on the other side of the Atlantic. Did they have contact with the ancient people of the British Isles, or did ancient Michiganders and ancient Brits descend from the same group of people? Whatever the case, this made Michigan 500-percent more mysterious than it was before. We don’t want to say aliens did it, but …
Read More: Lake Michigan Underwater Stonehenge courtesy of Grunge
Rock Carving of a Mastadon Found at the Underwater Stonehenge of Lake Michigan. Image of Mastadon appears at 1:10 mark.
Under Water Stonehenge Found in Lake Michigan | Secrets of the Underground courtesy of Discovery UK.