On December 7, 1925, CMU’s original building, Old Main, burned. Following the calamity, some state legislators went as far as to propose moving the school to a city in their district. However, strong support kept the school in Mount Pleasant.
Source : CMU Clarke Historical Library Blog, December 7, 2017.
Born in Detroit on Dec. 7, 1932, Ellen Burstyn worked numerous odd jobs before landing a regular gig on “The Jackie Gleason Show.” She debuted on Broadway in 1957, then spent years working in TV and in minor film roles.
Her breakthrough came in 1971, with a performance in The Last Picture Show that earned her Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. She received another Oscar nomination for The Exorcist (1973), then won an Oscar and a BAFTA for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1975). Burstyn received two more Oscar nominations for her re-creation of her Tony Award-winning role in the film adaptation of Same Time, Next Year (1978) and for Resurrection (1980).
Other notable films include The King of Marvin Gardens, Requiem for a Dream (which won her an Independent Spirit Award) and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. In 2006, she earned an Emmy nod for her turn in the TV drama Mrs. Harris.
Quite recently, she appeared in The Age of Adeline.
The Army and the FBI Sunday night took over Detroit to insure protection of her vital defense industry.
Four truckloads of Selfridge Field troops arrived in the city at a late hour to set up guard at the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. Similar precautions were planned for the Michigan Central Railroad Tunnel under the river and vital carferries.
Sources :
“U.S. Troops Arrive to Protect City”, Detroit Free Press, December 8, 1941, cover page.
“War Guard Moves Into City Plants; FBI Takes Action to Fight Sabotage; Workers to Have Strict Regulations”, Detroit Free Press, December 8, 1941, cover page.
Ben Marsh Jr., a 25-year-old ensign aboard the USS Arizona, became metro Detroit’s first reported casualty of World War II, when his family learned of his death on Dec. 12, 1941, five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The telegram, saying that he’d been killed in action, arrived at the family’s Grosse Pointe home at 4 a.m.
After his 12-4 a.m. watch shift ended, Marsh waited in the officers’ dining room for a small boat to take him ashore to play golf with fellow Grosse Pointe High School graduate George Ghesquiere; he’d been Ghesquiere’s best man in his wedding nine days before. But when the Japanese air attack started, Marsh raced to his battle station in the engine room, where he was killed minutes later.
For the full article, see Zlati Meyer, “This week in Michigan history: Metro Detroit mourns its first Pearl Harbor casualty”, Detroit Free Press, December 8, 2013.
Ensign Francis Flaherty of Charlotte in Eaton County was one of 15 people awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during Pearl Harbor. The 22-year-old, who received his posthumously, was cited for “conspicuous devotion to duty and extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty,” because when the USS Oklahoma was about to capsize and everyone was ordered to abandon ship, he “remained in a turret, holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life.”
Source : Zlati Meyer, “Did you know these Michigan facts about Pearl Harbor attack?“, Detroit Free Press, December 7, 2016.
On December 7, 1945, former Michigan Governor Chase S. Osborn volunteered Sugar Island, on the eastern tip of the Upper Peninsula, as the home of the United Nations. Unfortunately another island – Manhattan – was selected.
An alternative version holds that on this day, members of Michigan’s Congressional delegation sent a cable to London suggesting that Sugar Island, in the St. Mary’s River off the coast of the Upper Peninsula, be selected as the home of the new United Nations. Rather than choosing the Yooper site, the honor instead was given to New York City.
Today, 49-square-mile Sugar Island is home to 652 people. The island is largely undeveloped, and both the Bay Mills Indian Community and Sault Tribe of the Ojibwa Indians claim interests on the island. The southern tip of the island is also home to the University of Michigan’s 3,200-acre Chase Osborn Preserve.
Sugar Island, off the cost of the Upper Peninsula near Sault Ste. Marie.
Sources :
Michigan Every Day
#MIHistory – Dec. 7: Home of the United Nations?, the Official Blog of the Michigan House Democrats.
Charlene Mires, “Sault Ste. Marie as the Capital of the World? Stellanova Osborn and the Pursuit of the United Nations, 1945”, Michigan Historical Review, Vol. 35, No. 1 (SPRING 2009), pp. 61-82
Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos, Sr. are the two co-founders of the Amway Corporation, a pioneer company in network sales of household and personal products. The network sales company distributes its products through dealers who in turn recruit other second level dealers, second level dealers recruit third level dealers, etc. with the final level dealers typically being largely consumers of the products that move through the dealer chain.
The two co-founders of Amway had known each other since high school days, and as adults tried a variety of different businesses including a flying school, a drive-in restaurant and a direct sales dealership selling vitamins and supplements. It was the latter business that piqued their interest and they started the Amway Corporation in 1959 to sell their own brand of household products. Their first product was a general household cleaning product, but they quickly expanded to other products including personal grooming products.
The Amway Corporation expanded quickly. It established its first dealerships in Canada in 1963, and Australia and Europe followed quickly thereafter. The Asia market opened up in 1974 with a dealership in Hong Kong. It took some time to move into China and Japan. But in 1972 a joint venture plant was built in China and Amway Japan went public in 1993. The world-wide annual sales of the Amway Corporation in 2006 amounted to about $ 6.4 billion. At the present time the Amway Corporation is a part of the Alticor Corporation, a company completely controlled by the Van Andel and DeVos families.
The two founders, Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos, turned over the reins of the company to their respective sons in the 1990s. DeVos turned the presidency of the company over to his son Richard [Dick], in 1992. Van Andel followed suit by turning the chairmanship of the company over to his son Steve, in 1995. The two sons also shared the newly-created office of chief executive of the company. In recent years Dick DeVos has become interested in politics and in 2006 was seeking the 2006 Michigan State Governorship. Dick DeVos has been replaced in his position as president by his younger brother Douglas [Doug].
In his later years Jay Van Andel became interested in civic causes and became a generous philanthropist, especially giving generously to enrich the City of Grand Rapids, his home town. He donated substantial funds to build the Van Andel Museum Center which houses the Grand Rapids Public Museum. He also donated a substantial sum to the building of the Van Andel Arena, and to the establishment of the Van Andel Institute devoted to medical research and education, including its $60 million headquarters building. He pledged most of his personal estate to the Van Andel Medical Institute.
Prior to his philanthropic years he had been active in conservative political and civic causes. He served for a year as the chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He was also a strong supporter of the Republican Party and made major financial contributions to conservative political and civic causes.
Jay Van Andel was born on June 3, 1924 and passed away on December 4, 2004. He died from Parkinson’s disease and related complications. His wife Elisabeth [Betty] Van Andel predeceased him on January 18, 2004. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease prior to her death. At the time of Jay Van Andel’s death, Forbes Magazine estimated his net worth to be $2.3 billion.
Source:
Jay van Andel [1924-2004] biography, New Netherland Institute.
U.S. government poster, 1942. (Image from the United States National Archives. Found on Wikimedia Commons).
On December 7, 1941, the “Day of Infamy” according President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, propelling the United States fully into World War II. For an entire generation of Americans, the world changed forever.
Today, later generations may wonder how it felt to experience firsthand such a pivotal moment of history. Check out Michigan History Magazine ‘s November/December 1991 issue contains reminisces on that fateful day.
Source : Bob Garrett, “Remembering Pearl Harbor”, Seeking Michigan, December 6, 2011.
Michigan State beat Ohio State, 34-24, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, to win the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Spartans posted a school-record 12th victory and snapped the Buckeyes’ 24-game winning streak, and denied them a spot in the BCS championship game. Michigan State would go on to grab its first Rose Bowl bid in 26 years.
On December 7, 2018, the Frankenmuth-bred band Greta Van Fleet was notified they had landed four Grammy nominations, topped by a nod for best new artist.
The band members are vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka, bassist Sam Kiszka, and drummer Danny Wagner.
The band will attend the February 10, 2019 festivities at the L.A.’s Staples Center, where the group will also vie for best Rock Performance (Highway Tune), Rock Album (From the Fires), and Rock Song (Black Smoke Rising).
The band recorded its debut album in Royal Oak and Nashville, and has been touring tirelessly for the last year.
On January 17, 2016, the song “Highway Tune” was featured as a live performance by the band on the Showtime show Shameless.
Another one of their songs, “Safari Song,” is featured in the new blockbuster movie “Aquaman”.
The group performed at Elton John‘s Academy Award Party on March 4, 2018 at the host’s personal request. John joined Greta Van Fleet onstage for his “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and their “You’re the One”. After the set Elton John recommended the band get more dramatic and flamboyant with their performance and wardrobe.
On July 26, 2018, the band made their TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon performing “When the Curtain Falls“, the first single off of their upcoming debut album.
Their debut album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, was released on 19 October 2018. According to Josh Kiszka, the name of the album “Anthem of the Peaceful Army” was taken from the title of a poem. The album was the top selling album in its debut week in the US, selling 80,000 copies. Factoring in album equivalent units, it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200.
Update : Young Michigan band Greta Van Fleet grabbed the Grammy Award for best rock album February 10, 2019, scoring the win for the EP “From the Fires.”
Sources :
Gary Graf, “Greta Van Fleet raises the bar, again, at the Fox Theatre“, Oakland Press, December 28, 2018.
Edward Pevos, “Greta Van Fleet in Detroit: How the Frankenmuth four sounded, setlist, swag“, MLive, December 28, 2018.
Brian McCollum, “Greta Van Fleet calls noms ‘surreal'”, Detroit Free Press, December 28, 2018.
Brian McCollum, “‘Gretna, Are You Playing a Concert?’, Meet 88-Year Old who inspired Greta Van Fleet’s name”, Lansing State Journal, December 29, 2018.
Brian Hiatt, “Greta Van Fleet’s Misty Mountain Revival : How four Michigan kids are reclaiming the sounds of the Seventies“, Rolling Stone, January 9, 2018.
Brian McCollum, “Greta Van Fleet wins Grammy for best rock album“, Detroit Free Press, February 10, 2019.