Detroiters caught their first glimpse of an airplane on July 14, 1910, seven years after Orville Wright’s historic flight at Kitty Hawk. Arch Hoxsey soared and swooped over the State Fairgrounds in his biplane, prompting local boosters to tout Detroit as “the airship city.” Like many an early aviator, Hoxsey was destined to die in a crack-up of his fragile craft. But the dangers didn’t deter others from advocating the benefits of manned flight.
The proportions are out of whack, but early postcard proclaims “Detroit the Airship City : First Airplane Flight Over Detroit”
Hard to determine what was more exciting on this day in Detroit history. According to the Detroit Free Press, “300,000 spectators jam line of march” to watch the Elks’ Parade.
Meanwhile as part of the Elks’ celebration in Detroit, Detroiters were also able to watch the first aeroplane flights at the State Fair Grounds. An altitude of 2,200 feet is attained by one aviator.
“Elks’ Parade Is Biggest Pageant Ever in City”, Detroit Free Press, July 15, 1910, column 1.
“Skymen Give Proof of Their Mastery of Air”, Detroit Free Press, July 15, 1910, column 7.
Richard Bak, “Wings Over Michigan”, Hour Detroit, May 2013. Includes three stories : (1) Former Girl Scout’s memoir recalls Detroit’s postwar heyday as a small airport hotbed and (2) The Airship City.
Gerald Rudolph “Jerry” Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment (after Spiro Agnew had resigned), when he became President upon Richard Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974, he became the only President of the United States who was never elected President nor Vice-President by the Electoral College. Before ascending to the vice-presidency, Ford served nearly 25 years as the Representative from Michigan’s 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader.
In honor of the only President from Michigan, the Michigan Legislature passed the following legislation (MCL 435.302):
ec. 2. (1) The legislature recognizes the exceptional contributions to American life, history, and leadership made by Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth president of the United States and the only United States president from Michigan, who for decades has served the United States and the state of Michigan. For much of his life, President Ford resided in Grand Rapids. He attended South high school in Grand Rapids and the university of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He served with distinction as a member of the United States house of representatives, vice president of the United States, and president of the United States. Among numerous other awards and honors, President Ford has received the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the nation, and the Congressional Gold Medal for his “dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions”. In commemoration of the significant role Gerald R. Ford has played in the history of the state of Michigan and our nation, the legislature declares that July 14 of each year shall be known as “President Gerald R. Ford Day”.
(2) The legislature encourages each individual in the great state of Michigan to pause on President Gerald R. Ford day and reflect upon the significance of President Ford’s leadership and important contributions to the history of the state of Michigan and to the history of this great nation.
Source : Gerald Ford wikipedia entry
For another, see Angie Jackson, “Generations of Ford family return to Grand Rapids to mark President Ford’s 99th birthday”, MLive, July 14, 2012.
Zane McMillin, “From broken home to the White House: Gerald R. Ford’s legacy endures on 100th birthday”, MLive, July 14, 2013.
On July 14, 1968, for the first time in more than 50 years, bars were able to legally serve liquor on Sunday.
Source: Mich-Again’s Day.
On July 14, 1975, with little fanfare, Gov. William G. Millikin signed a law that stipulated that death has occurred in Michigan when no brain waves show on encephalgraphs taken twice within a 24-hour period. A group of religious, medical, legal and legislative leaders wrote the law because technological advances had made traditional criteria – heartbeat and lack of breathing – meaningless as physicians using machines can continue those functions almost indefinitely.
Source: Mich-Again’s Day.
On July 14, 1975, Time magazine published an article on Michigan Supreme Court Justice John Swainson being convicted of perjury over his testimony to a grand jury on a case in which he was accused of accepting a $20,000 bribe for a felon. Swainson was found innocent on the bribery charge, but was still sentenced to 60 days in a minimum-security prison and lost his law license for three years.
Mr. Swainson, a Democrat, was elected Governor in 1960, served a two-year term and was narrowly defeated after a re-election campaign in which the state’s economy was a major issue. He said he had been thwarted by Republican legislators in efforts to revamp the state’s finances.
He later served as a Wayne County circuit judge, was elected to the state Supreme Court in 1970 and came to be seen as a prospective candidate for the United States Senate.
But his political career ended in 1975 after he was convicted, in Federal District Court in Detroit, of lying to a Federal grand jury in connection with accusations that he had accepted a bribe in 1972 to help a convicted burglar gain a review of his case. He was acquitted of conspiracy and served 60 days in a halfway house in Detroit.
Mr. Swainson was born in Windsor, Ontario, and moved with his family to Port Huron, Mich., as a toddler. He went to Port Huron schools, served in the infantry in World War II and lost both legs, just below the knees, in a land mine explosion in 1944 near Metz, France.
He earned bachelor’s and law degrees in 1949 and 1951 from the University of North Carolina. He practiced law in Detroit and was a Michigan State Senator and then Lieutenant Governor before being elected Governor. Later in life, he worked as a mediator and arbitrator.
For more information, see Eric Pace, “John Swainson, 68, Michigan Governor And Perjured Judge”, New York Times, May 6, 1994.
Lawrence M. Glazer, “Wounded Warrior: The Rise and Fall of Michigan Governor John Swainson”, (recognized as a 2011 Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan. Also available online), calls into question whether Swainson did in fact lie intentionally, saying his whole testimony was an unusual occurrence.
Berry Craig, “Michigan’s Second-Youngest Governor Was a Double Amputee”, O&P News, June 2012
Tonya Blust, “The “unfinished” legacy of John B. Swainson”, My Michigan, September 24, 2013.
Detroit put on a grand old party when it hosted the Republican National Convention 30 years ago this month. From July 14 until July 17, 1980, Joe Louis Arena was packed with party loyalists, including such celebrities as Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor.
On July 16, delegates officially nominated Ronald Reagan for president and George Herbert Walker Bush as vice president.
Former President Gerald Ford was entertaining the possibility of accepting the number-two position, but he had certain stipulations about whom he wanted in cabinet posts. Reagan opted for Bush as his partner instead.
Source : Michigan Historical Calendar, courtesy of the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan History.
For more information, see George Bulanda, “The Republican National Convention”, Hour Detroit, July 2010.
On what would have been President Ford’s 105th birthday , a statue of First Lady Betty Ford is unveiled at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Saturday, July 14, 2018. The statue, which pictures an inviting Mrs. Ford in a dance-like pose and extending an open hand toward the viewer, was sculpted by local artist J. Brett Grill. The unveiling ceremony, which was attended by Ford children Mike, Steve and Susan.
The statue, which was created by local Grand Rapids sculptor J. Brett Grill, is the 10th sculpture to be created for the Grand Rapids Community Legends project.
It pictures a welcoming likeness of the former First Lady in a dance-like pose, extending her hand to all guests of the museum.
Source : Casey Sykes, “Betty Ford statue unveiled at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum”, MLive, July 14, 2018.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday announced plans to create a new $26.2 million state park in the city of Flint using federal COVID-19 relief dollars.
The governor said this would be the first state park in Genesee County, the only county in Michigan without land that is managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). It would become Michigan’s 104th state park. The timing for the project has not been set.
The investment would be drawn from $250 million in funding previously proposed by Whitmer to address a backlog of needs in state parks and trails across Michigan. The Legislature must sign off on the spending. The DNR will look to leverage the Flint River Restoration Plan and collaborate with the local community to develop the park and to seek other funding.
She made the announcement at Chevy Commons, a former industrial site in Flint currently owned by Genesee County that would serve as the center for the new outdoor recreation space. Whitmer was joined by U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint), Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley and others.
The park would be anchored at Chevy Commons and expanded along the Flint River corridor to connect the park to the University of Michigan-Flint, Kettering University, the Flint Farmers’ Market, the Flint Cultural Center Campus and the Iron Belle Trail. The park could include non-motorized trails, playscapes, accessible open spaces, fishing platforms and canoe and kayak launches into the Flint River.
Source: Susan J. Demas, “Whitmer announces plans for Flint state park, 1st in Genesee Co.“, Michigan Advance, July 14, 2021.
Breaking News:
The Faster Horses country music festival will mark its 10th anniversary this summer with a three-day lineup topped by Luke Bryan, Shania Twain and Zac Brown Band, organizers announced Wednesday.
Those three heavyweight performers make up the most noteworthy set of headliners since the country-and-camping fest launched in 2013 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn.
The 2023 Faster Horses festival will run July 14-16 at MIS. Three-day passes will go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 10 at fasterhorsesfestival.com.
The rest of the story:
Not to generalize, but a fair number of country music songs are written about good times spent in the summertime sun, drinking and partying with friends.
In that sense, Faster Horses is just like a country song. The three-day country music festival will be celebrating its 10th year of friends, fun and sun at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn in 2022, establishing itself as one of the top new events on Michigan’s summer concert calendar.
Attendance will be capped at 50,000 per day.
Zeke Jennings, “Faster Horses Festival: What’s up with the name?”, MLive, July 16, 2014.
Faster Horses Music Festival website.
In honor of the only President from Michigan, the Michigan Legislature passed the following legislation (MCL 435.302):
ec. 2. (1) The legislature recognizes the exceptional contributions to American life, history, and leadership made by Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth president of the United States and the only United States president from Michigan, who for decades has served the United States and the state of Michigan. For much of his life, President Ford resided in Grand Rapids. He attended South high school in Grand Rapids and the university of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He served with distinction as a member of the United States house of representatives, vice president of the United States, and president of the United States. Among numerous other awards and honors, President Ford has received the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the nation, and the Congressional Gold Medal for his “dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions”. In commemoration of the significant role Gerald R. Ford has played in the history of the state of Michigan and our nation, the legislature declares that July 14 of each year shall be known as “President Gerald R. Ford Day”.
(2) The legislature encourages each individual in the great state of Michigan to pause on President Gerald R. Ford day and reflect upon the significance of President Ford’s leadership and important contributions to the history of the state of Michigan and to the history of this great nation.