On October 24, `1958, on a practice run from Goose Bay, Labrador to Lincoln, Nebraska during the height of the Cold War, a four-engine British Vulcan military jet tore through treetops before burying itself in Detroit among houses on Ashland near Scripps, leaving behind a trench 100 feet long and 40 feet wide. Mud, red-hot debris, and jet fuel rained down on Harbor Island, the one-street island directly across the canal from Ashland. Splintered boards and timbers from the shattered seawall flew like giant matchsticks. “A car got blown from the foot of Ashland across the canal,” Schwartz says. “The transmission was stuck in the seawall.” Pieces of the plane and crew were scattered over a seven-block area. A 6-foot wing section landed on a porch, while a 1-pound fitting hit the back of a terrified paperboy. For blocks around, the force of the explosion cracked plaster walls, blew out windows, and even ripped a garage door off its hinges. Although the entire British air crew were blown to bits, no one in Detroit died.
For the full article, see Richard Bak, “Mayday! Fifty years ago, a British bomber crashed into an east-side Detroit neighborhood”, Hour Detroit, July 2008.
Although it had been closed for a number of years, it was still sad on October 24, 1998 when Mayor Dennis Archer pressed a button to implode the the downtown Detroit Hudson’s Building.
At the time, Hudson’s was the largest and tallest building ever imploded.
Sources :
J.L. Hudson Department Store Controlled Demolition, Inc.
Jeff Byles, “Disappeared Detroit”, Lost Magazine, January 2006, no.2.
Hudson’s Implosion via YouTube
On October 24, 2005, civil rights icon Rosa Parks died at the age of 92 in her adopted hometown of Detroit. As a testimony to her legacy, the front seats of city buses in Detroit and Montgomery, Alabama were adorned with black ribbons in the days leading up to her funeral. Fifty thousand people visited her casket as it rested for two days in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol, the first woman to receive this honor. A seven-hour funeral service was held for her at the Greater Grace Temple Church in Detroit, followed by a procession in which thousands of people came to celebrate one of the bravest and most influential figures of the 20th century. Rosa Parks is buried in Detroit’s Woodlawn cemetery.
Learn more about Parks’ life and legal in the Encyclopedia of Detroit courtesy of the Detroit Historical Society.
Ken Coleman, “On this day in 1913: Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks is born“, Michigan Advance, February 4, 2022.
How could fictitious towns have been placed on a state highway map? Peter Fletcher, then Chairman of the Michigan State Highway Commission, admitted responsibility. To learn more, this author went directly to the source. I spoke to Peter Fletcher himself on October 24, 2008.
Mr. Fletcher told me the story behind this infamous map. He explained that a fellow University of Michigan alumnus had been teasing him about the Mackinac Bridge colors. According to Fletcher, this man wondered how Fletcher, as State Highway Commission Chairman, could allow the Bridge to be painted green and white. Those were the colors of Michigan State University! Mr. Fletcher noted that the bridge colors were in compliance with federal highway regulations, so he had no choice in that matter. He did, however, have more control over the state highway map. Mr. Fletcher said that he thus ordered a cartographer to insert the two fictitious towns. These towns displayed his loyalty to his alma mater.
Mr. Fletcher noted that the map accurately depicted the area within Michigan state lines. His imaginary towns were placed in Ohio, outside the map’s focus. “We have no legal liability for anything taking place in that intellectual swamp south of Monroe,” Mr. Fletcher jokingly told me. He added that he had never forgiven Ohio for the Toledo War of 1835!
Today, the 1978-1979 edition of the official State of Michigan transportation map, with the Beatosu and Goblu towns, is a collector’s item!
For the full story, see Beatosu and Goblu, Ohio, an Image of the Month from the State of Michigan Historical Archives.
A copy of the map is available in the MSU Map Library Call Locked Cabinet, 843-b D-1978/79
Steve was born October 12, 1948 in Stambaugh, MI and graduated from Stambaugh High School in 1966 and was an all U.P. running back. At the age of 17, Steve attended Northern Michigan University on a football scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in social work in 1972. For the next ten years, he worked as a Community Mental Health Counselor in Iron River and Iron Mountain. Steve furthered his education at Michigan State University where he obtained his Master’s Degree in public administration. He was employed as a budget analyst for the Michigan House Fiscal Agency, overseeing budgets for the DNR and the Department of Agriculture. In 1993, he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, serving the 110th District. Steve was proud to be regarded as a staunch liberal Democrat. He believed in fighting for the underdog and in preserving and protecting our natural environment. Steve never forgot his UP roots and valued his Iron County community. He played a significant role in obtaining funding to develop the Apple Blossom Trail, the Caspian Ski Hill and current City Hall, and the Iron River RV Park.
The Detroit News won a Pulitzer for its 1993 coverage of a scandal involving the House Fiscal Agency. Director John Morberg pleaded guilty to racketeering and tax evasion charges. He had used state money for things like vacations, furniture and dental work from 1987 to 1993. Democratic Rep. Stephen Shepich was caught up in the scandal and resigned after pleading guilty to a felony charge for filing a false travel voucher in connection with the agency’s misdeeds.
Sources:
Obituary for Stephen “Steve” Shepich viewed on June 8, 2018.
Emily Lawler, “Death, Drugs, and Skullduggery: A Brief History of Michigan Political Scandals“, MLive, August 21, 2015; updated August 24, 2015.
An underwater telephone cable allowed the first permanent connection between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan on this day in 1889.
Source : Michigan History, September/October 2011.
Stations in London, Rome and Madrid carried his program. Fr. Coughlin was called many things: Social watchdog, Nazi, saint, anti-Semite. In response to the charge of anti-Semitism, he replied that he had also…assailed prominent Gentiles, both Catholic and Protestant.”
He was instrumental in the construction of the Shrine of the LIttle Flower on Woodward in Royal Oak, collecting donations of nickels and dimes from listeners.
Father Coughlin ruled the radio waves until a new Archbishop decided he was too controversial in 1937.
Source : Father Charles E. Coughlin, The Radio Priest, Detroit News, July 23, 1995.
Father Charles Couglin Radio Broadcasts courtesy of the University of Detroit Mercy
After four years of construction, Francis Clergue, hoping to make a fortune selling electric power, opens a hydro-power plant in Sault Ste. Marie (U.S.). This low-head hydro plant was the longest in the world, and in design capacity (40,000 h.p.) was second only to Niagara in the U.S. The canal had the largest water-carrying section in the U.S., delivering 30,000 cubic feet per second.
Clerque spent over $50,000 for fireworks, bands, and food to celebrate the event on this day. “Invitations were sent to all members of the Michigan State Legislature, the Governor, the heads of the state government departments, the U.S. Congressional delegation from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin and a large number of prominent American engineers, businessmen, and representatives of the press. Special trains were chartered at company expense, bringing Investors and potential Investors from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, and Toronto for the celebration. The second floor of the powerhouse was used for the celebration, which was attended by 5,000 people. A large civic and military parade was held and Clergue’s sister, Helen, threw a gold and jeweled switch, setting two generators into operation, lighting up several strings of arc and Incandescent lamps, and setting In motion a street car that ran over tracks laid from the powerhouse to the country club. Speeches were delivered at the banquet, with Clergue offering a rosy picture of Industrial development In Sault, Michigan. It was thought to be only a matter of time until this small outpost of the eastern upper peninsula would become a thriving city of over 100,000 and an industrial center of the Midwest.”
Source : Michigan Every Day and Edison Sault Electric Company website.
For more information about Clergue, visit Francis H. Clergue and the Clergue Industrial Empire
Mark Dantonio was speaking at a luncheon Saturday afternoon three hours before kickoff of the Michigan game when he was surprised with a rare piece of Michigan State football history.
Bob Apisa, the All-American fullback at Michigan State in the 1960’s, walked up to Dantonio at the luncheon and surprised him with a game ball he had kept from his playing days.
The ball was from the most famous game in Michigan State history: the Spartans’ 1966 game against Notre Dame, a 10-10 tie between two undefeated teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country billed as the “Game of the Century.”
“I didn’t really know what to say because it really took me by surprise a little bit too,” Dantonio said Thursday on his weekly radio show. “But it represents a lot to Michigan State and to college football in general, that game. When you look at the history of Michigan State inevitably you’re going to come to that championship team and the 10-10 tie with Notre Dame is one of the great games of college football.
“That game ball has tremendous meaning and there’s a lot of emotional ties to that, so for him to give that to the program was a big event.”
The full story behind that ball was told Thursday’ on Dantonio’s weekly radio show.
Since the game ended in a tie, then-coach Duffy Daugherty decided that no game ball would be awarded, as is tradition after wins. But an equipment manager kept a ball anyway, and later presented it to Apisa. Before making the trip to East Lansing for Saturday’s game, Apisa, who lives in California, decided it was time for the ball to be returned to the program
The game ball was the only one in Apisa’s collection. He had been given a game ball earlier that year following the Spartans’ 20-7 win over Michigan, only to give it away minutes later to a young wheelchair-bound fan who asked for his autograph after the game.
So to complete the circle, Dantonio invited Apisa into the Spartans’ locker room following the team’s 35-11 win Saturday and presented him a new game ball from Saturday’s win.
“It’s this cycle story of three footballs that all have great meaning,” Spartans athletic director Mark Hollis said Wednesday on his radio show.
For the full article, see Kyle Austin, “How the game ball from the 1966 ‘Game of the Century’ returned to Michigan State last weekend”, MLive, October 31, 2014.
Mackinac County [originally Michilimackinac County] was established October 26 1818. Originally the county included most areas north of Metro Detroit and most of the UP. [1839 map] https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/s/83hk1a …
