History
- Recent History Articles
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Lifelines: Fair myth grew like grass
Today is the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II. I'm not going to share elders' poems on eyewitness accounts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombs. I have them, but my heart isn't there. Instead, I'm going to concentrate on county fairs, a magical midnight in 1956, and empathy for unfortunate critters.
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Lecture focuses on Platte Lake's past
From lumber to lounging, Platte Lake typified a late 1800s transition.
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Loraine Anderson: Clayton Sporre's legacy
My acquaintance with Clayton Sporre began in 2009 when he called and told me he had a collection of scrapbooks filled with Record-Eagle clippings dating back to the early 1900s.
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Lifelines: Real life has film quality
The Traverse City Film Festival is coming back to town next week. Let's celebrate with three folk poems about early movie venues, theaters and promotional gimmicks in the 1930's.
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Southern Civil War vet buried in TC
David Duane, the only Confederate soldier buried in Traverse City's Oakwood Cemetery — and possibly the region — is an elusive fellow.
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Eyewitnesses populate GT history book
Local historian John C. Mitchell faced a big question in 2007 when he considered writing a book about the Grand Traverse region. Was there enough local historical information to create the book he envisioned? He didn’t want to rehash Civil War history or write a military history filled with minutiae. “It had to be about Civil War life and times in this region,” he said. “I wanted to give readers a picture of the Civil War here in the Grand Traverse region from the eyes of those who lived it.” He found what he needed: original local sources.
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Loraine Anderson: Local history books
Call this column History Crossroads. Local history writers are adding new books to the area’s growing trove.
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Lifelines: Friendship through poetry
I'd like you to meet Mary Joseph, 97, from Onekama. Mrs. Joseph participated in the Brethren Elders Project, and was interviewed by Alexis Forsyth, 12. Mary Joseph was 12 years old 85 years ago. Listening to these two girls sharing experiences, while transcribing the tapes, was an incredible experience.
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Loraine Anderson: Portals to TC's past
Local history writer Dick Fidler has a knack for finding history in odd places — a manhole cover, a 19th century photograph of a woman wearing an apron and hat of light bulbs, or a 1924 Traverse City mayor's proclamation designating July 31 to Aug. 9 as "Rat Killing Week."
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Civil War Series
The Record-Eagle published its 30-chapter educational series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War on May 31. View the special section online here.
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Memorial Day speaker focuses on Civil War
Each year for the past eight years, Northport's Memorial Day's speaker Jerry Dennis has focused his talk on one American war — not to glorify but to explain and place in context of its time. This year, the subject was the Civil War.
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Baskets have important role in history
Northern Michigan's black ash splint baskets, sitting on shelves in local museum exhibits or adorning old cottages and farmhouses, recall more than memories of Odawa and Chippewa in this region.
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Lifelines: Kids, seniors share stories
Trains, airplanes, art and love; it's like a poetry salad for a Memorial Day picnic. In early March some Brethren students and I finished up another Elders Project sponsored by SEEDS. Since then I've been polishing up the kids' poems and writing a few myself.
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Service honors Civil War soldiers
Two Indian Civil War sharpshooters buried a century ago in unmarked graves in Boyne City finally can rest in peace under long overdue head stones. John Jacko and William Isaacs finally received their full-fledged Grand Army of the Republic memorial service and grave dedication ceremony on Saturday at Maple Lawn Cemetery, thanks to the Robert Finch Camp No. 14 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
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Lifelines: Celebrating Poetry Month
All we know about people who lived 2,000 years ago is through their art; their writing, songs, paintings and architecture. Art is how the future is going to remember us.
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