The steamship Superior arrived in Detroit from Buffalo with 94 passengers.
The second steamboat on the Great Lakes, the Superior contained the engine of the Walk-in-the-Water, the first steamship on the Great Lakes, which was wrecked in 1821.
The Superior was the only steamboat operating on the Great Lakes until 1826. It travelled as far as Mackinac and Sault. Ste. Marie.
Flickr photo of oil painting from the Western Reserve Historical Society.
Source: History of the Great Lakes,edited by John Brandt Mansfield, 1899.
Mary Anne Bryant was born in Calhoun County on May 25, 1845 and married Perry Mayo, a Civil War veteran, on April 14, 1865. They had two children together, a son named Nelson and a daughter named Nellie. In 1884, the Mayos were founding members of a chapter of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, also known as the Grange. Within the Grange, Mary advocated for girls and women to better themselves and to receive the same education as the men.
Even though women were admitted to MAC in 1870, the classes weren’t tailored to women; women were expected to work the land just like the men. Only a handful of women graduated from MAC during this time. In response, Mary was the main driving force for domestic science classes to be taught at MAC because she thought plowing and crop maintenance weren’t suitable for young women.
Her persistence paid off in 1896 when 42 women enrolled in the new Home Economics Program, which was an instant success. Dormitory space was created in Abbot Hall for the female students. The presence of women was seen as an antidote to the reputation for rowdiness in the men’s dorms. Two years later, the legislature funded a building specifically for the housing and teaching of women. The “Women’s Building,” nicknamed “The Coop,” opened in 1900 and was later renamed Morrill Hall (per professor Robert C. Kedzie’s original suggestion).
Mary continued her work on behalf of female students until she became ill in 1902; she died a year later on April 21, 1903. She is buried in the Austin Cemetery that is located in Convis Township, Calhoun County.
Mayo Hall, 1940, was named in her honor.
Jennie Russell, “Rumor Has It“, MSU Archives & Historical Collections Current Events Blog, October 19, 2016.
Fred Honhart, “A Dozen Milestones of MSU’s Sesquicentennial”, MSU Alumni Association Magazine, Winter 2005.
Historic women of Michigan : a sesquicentennial celebration / edited by Rosalie Riegle Troester. Lansing, Mich. : Michigan Women’s Studies Association, c1987.
“Home Economics: Progress of a Course, 1895–2005”, University Archives and Historical Collections.
On May 25, 1861, Flint’s Sarah Emma Edmonds joined the 2nd Michigan Infantry disguised as Franklin Thompson.
Sources :
Michigan History, May/June 2012.
For more information, see :
Sara Emma Edmonds entry from Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame
A Female Soldier in the Civil War: Emma E. Edmonds, LibraryPoint.
Sara Emma Edmonds (Frank Thompson), ThoughtCo’s Women’s History.
Sara Emma Edmonds wikipedia entry
Memoirs of a soldier, nurse, and spy : a woman’s adventures in the Union Army, available in the MSU Library and through interlibrary loan.
Nurse and spy in the Union Army, online access restricted to the MSU community and other subscribers to The American Civil War : Lettrs and Diaries.
On May 25, 1927, the Ford Motor Company announced in Dearborn that its popular Model T, known as the Tin Lizzie, would be discontinued and replaced by the more modern Model A.
Courtesy of WAKV (Plainwell, MI), The Memory Station
Eighty years ago, one of the most impressive athletic feats in history occurred on Michigan’s campus.
And it was accomplished by a Buckeye.
On May 25, 1935, track and field trailblazer Jesse Owens set three world records and tied another at the Big Ten meet at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor.
That feat is amazing enough — but Owens did all four in the span of 45 minutes.
Owens tied the world record of 9.4 seconds in the 100-yard dash, then had a long jump of 26 feet, 81/4 inches, ran the 220-yard dash in 20.3 seconds and the 220-yard low hurdles in 22.6 seconds for Ohio State.
Historians marvel at Owens’ accomplishments some have called one of the best one-day achievements in sports history.
For the full article, see Rod Beard, “Jesse Owens set track world on its ear 80 years ago”, Detroit News, May 24, 2015.
Steve Karnacki, “A Feat to Cherish“, Michigan Today, February 19, 2016.
Shawn Windsor, “Before Berlin, Jesse Owens made history at Michigan”, Detroit Free Press, February 19, 2016
Jesse Owens Recalls Events on This is Your Life, 1960, courtesy of Awesome Stories.
Listen to Sparty play the MSU fight song on the campus Beaumont Tower carillon.
Sparty gets it done on the field, but who knew he also had musical chops?
He’s been voted the best mascot by ESPN, clearly he lifts and he’s got the moves, but now he might get the attention of the unexpected talents panel. Sparty the Michigan State University Spartan warrior mascot rang out an exceptionally passable version of the school’s fight song on the Beaumont Tower Carillon and it’s hitting all the right notes with fans.
The video has been shared almost 2000 times and has more than 100k views since being posted to Facebook on Tuesday.
The 89-year-old Beaumont Tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks on the university’s campus and the carillon at the top has 49 bells.
Source : CBS Detroit, May 25, 2017.
A fish caught on the Grand River has set a new Michigan record.
Brandonn Kramer of Muskegon caught the 46.54-pound, 39.75-inch black buffalo in Ottawa County at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 25. Kramer was bowfishing when he landed the record fish.
Assistance was provided by Kramer’s friend and fishing cohort, Shawn Grawbarger, also of Muskegon. Jay Wesley, a DNR fisheries manager for Lake Michigan, verified the record on Tuesday, June 12.
Kramer’s catch breaks the previous state record black buffalo which was caught by Sage Colegrove of Muskegon on the Grand River in Ottawa County on April 12, 2015. That fish weighed 44.54 pounds and measured 38.5 inches.
State records in Michigan are recognized by weight only. To qualify for a state record, fish must exceed the current listed state record weight and identification must be verified by a DNR fisheries biologist.
For the full article, see Brandon Champion, “Black buffalo caught on Grand River breaks Michigan record“, MLive, June 14, 2018.
Dedication of the St. Mary’s Stone Monument May 26, 2018
The monument depicts an overview of the origins of St. Mary’s Church in Sault Ste. Marie that was built in 1668, being the first permanent wooden structure in what is now the State of Michigan. Dedication is following the 4 PM mass.
Source : Pure Michigan
The first election was held in Detroit on May 26, 1768.
Philippe Dejean was voted judge and justice of the district of Detroit, according to Clarence Burton’s book “The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922″. The public record shows 31 men voted.
For the full article, see Zlati Meyer, “This week in Michigan history: In 1768, the first Detroit election is held”, Detroit Free Press, May 25, 2014.
Today (May 26, 1927) is the anniversary of legendary Spartan basketball coach George “Jud” Heathcote’s birthday. The 1995 autobiography entitled “Jud: A Magical Journey,” co-authored by Jack Ebling, chronicles his early years.
Born in Harvey, N.D. to parents Marion and Fawn Heathcote, both his father and mother were teachers. Jud’s dad and baby brother died during the diphtheria epidemic of 1930, so after a couple years later five-year-old Jud, his older brother, Grant, and his younger sister, Carlan, were sent to Manchester, Wash. to live with his maternal grandparents. At the age of eight, he and his brother, Grant, began working for their neighbors, digging and clearing brush. During the summer before he began high school, Jud and Grant got jobs as water boys for a construction company. As a nearly 6-2 and 195-pound prep athlete at South Kitsap High School, Jud was an all-conference end and defensive tackle in football, and earned all-state honors in both baseball and basketball. In his book, Jud indicated that the most influential men in his life were his coaches. Said Jud, “I always wanted to be a teacher and a coach. Everyone said it was because of influence my coaches had on me. To a degree, I think that’s true. But I really think it was from the memory of my dad. I knew he was a coach and a teacher. And that’s probably why I did what I did.”
Source : Mike Pearson, “Spartifacts”, Lansing State Journal, May 26, 2015.
George M. (Jud) Heathcote coached the Michigan State men’s basketball team from 1976-95, guiding the Spartans to 340 victories, three Big Ten titles, nine NCAA Tournament berths and one national title during his 19 seasons in East Lansing.
Heathcote is the second-winningest coach in MSU history with a record of 340-220 (.607), including a 14-8 (.636) mark in the NCAA Tournament. His overall record was 420-273 (.606) over 24 seasons, including five years at Montana.
In his third season in East Lansing, Heathcote led Michigan State to its first NCAA men’s basketball championship in 1979 and won back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1978 and 1979. During those two seasons, Heathcote had the opportunity to coach one of the game’s greatest players, All-American Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who propelled the Spartans to a 51-10 record in his two seasons at MSU.
A two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (1978 and 1986), Heathcote coached seven All-Americans (Johnson, Gregory Kelser, Jay Vincent, Sam Vincent, Scott Skiles, Steve Smith and Shawn Respert) and 22 NBA players. Five of his players won the Big Ten scoring title a total of six times. During Jud’s tenure, MSU had at least one player among the first-team All-Big Ten selections in 12 of his 19 years.
Prior to his retirement, Heathcote ensured that the future of Spartan basketball would be in good hands. In 1990, he promoted assistant Tom Izzo to associate head coach, and fought for Izzo to be named his successor.
He was the National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year for the 1989-90 season in which he claimed his third Big Ten championship. He was NABC District 7 Coach of the Year for the 1977-78 season and College Sport Magazine Coach of the Year his last season in 1994-95.
In his five-year stint (1971-76) as head coach of Montana, Heathcote led the Grizzlies to two Big Sky championships and was named Inland Empire Coach of the Year and Big Sky Coach of the Year in 1975. The two conference titles were the first in school history.
He served as an assistant coach of the United States Pan American team in 1975 and 1987.
Jud played varsity basketball and baseball for Washington State and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in September of 1990. Heathcote was also inducted in May 2000 to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2009, he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Heathcote received the 2001 Golden Anniversary Award for 50 years of service to basketball by the NABC at the 2001 Final Four in Minneapolis. Jud was also a Silver Anniversary Award winner in 1976.
He passed away on August 28, 2017.
“Heathcote Passes Away At 90, MSU Basketball Website, August 29, 2017. Legendary Spartan coach led Michigan State to its first NCAA Championship in 1979.
“Michigan State’s Jud Heathcote Through the Years“, Detroit Free Press, August 28, 2017.