Don R. Ostrander, circa 1941-1945

On a cold February day in 1944, two Michigan airmen rolled an experimental aircraft out of a hanger at Lockheed’s test facility at Langford Lodge in Northern Ireland. They had been working on the project for two years, and it was time to put it to the test.

The Airmen

Major General Don R. Ostrander (retired) was born Sept. 24 1914, in Stockbridge, Michigan. He was valedictorian and president of his class of 1931. He attended West Point, where graduated in the upper third of his class of 1937.

After receiving his commission as a second lieutenant in the cavalry, Ostrander was ordered to Fort Bliss, Texas, where he served as a cavalry troop commander. Realizing that the impending war would not be fought on horseback, and that air power would loom large, he lobbied General H.H. “Hap” Arnold for a transfer to the Army Air Corps. Arnold granted his request, and he was transferred to the 709th Aviation Ordnance Co. at Langley Field, Virginia. In October 1941, he was again transferred to the 726th Aviation Ordnance Co. at Selfridge Field near Mt. Clemens, where he met and befriended Cass S. Hough.

Cass Hough, circa 1942-1945

Cass S. Hough was born October 4, 1904, in Plymouth, Michigan. His grandfather started the Daisy Manufacturing Company, makers of the famous Daisy air rifle, in 1886. He graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1921, and then attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 1925. He joined the family business in 1926. He was commissioned into the Army Air Corps in 1938 and stationed at Selfridge Field, where he commanded a fighter squadron until he was transferred to England and the 8th Air Force in 1941.

In May 1942 Ostrander was also transferred to England where he became the ordnance and armament officer for the 8th Air Force Interceptor Command. He and Hough renewed their acquaintance and began working closely together on ordnance projects.

The Plane

The P-38J “Droop Snoot” project was the brainchild of Ostrander and Hough. They came up with the idea of modifying the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter into a “leader” bomber. The advantages of using a fighter as a strategic bomber were three-fold: a much higher air speed to and from the target, much fewer crew members risked in the mission, and the squadron could serve as its own fighter escort. The Modified P-38J was equipped with a Plexiglas nose cone and fitted with a top-secret Norden bombsight and body armor replacing the machine guns and cannon. The bombardier rode in the nose cone and led the bombing run; when the lead P-38J dropped its payload, so did the entire squadron.

The concept was so successful that the 8th Air Force immediately ordered three, then fifteen, Droop Snoot conversions. A total of twenty-three P-38Js were modified at Langford Lodge. The 20th Fighter Group flew the first combat mission April 10, 1944, when a Droop Snoot bomber led forty-two other P-38J’s on an attack against the Luftwaffe base at Gutersloh, Germany. Other successful missions in Germany and Italy followed, until the war in the European Theater was over in the spring of 1945.

Interlochen student Patty Albinson plays a flute by a statue of the Greek God Pan (Photo by Michigan Tourist Council, 1956)

Editor’s note: This year, Interlochen celebrates its fiftieth anniversary as a year-round facility.

One could argue that the beautiful northern Michigan woods makes it own kind of music. Sounds of native wildlife and wind rustling through the trees can be quite pleasing to the ears. Imagine human beings adding their own beautiful music to such a scene. In 1928, three men imagined exactly that.

Founding Fathers

Joseph Maddy, T.P. Giddings and Charles Tremaine established the National High School Orchestra Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. The three men had previously collaborated on projects for the Music Supervisors National Conference. In the 1920s, the MSNC was the nation’s main organization concerning public school music instruction. Many schools added music classes in the years following World War I, and Maddy, Giddings and Tremaine advocated the practice. Maddy was a University of Michigan music professor and chairman of music in Ann Arbor public schools. Giddings supervised music in Minneapolis, Minnesota schools. Tremaine, a New York businessman from a piano manufacturing family, proved adept at financial matters.

In 1926, MSNC President Edgar Gordon asked Maddy to organize and conduct a student orchestra concert for MSNC’s national convention in Detroit. Giddings and Tremaine helped him in his endeavors. The concert went well, and Maddy received high praise. In the next two years, he prepared similar programs for conventions in Dallas and Chicago.

Flushed from this success, Maddy wished to gather a similar orchestra where the student musicians could live and perform together for several consecutive weeks. He discussed his thought with Giddings. Ultimately, a Detroit businessman named Willis Pennington offered to sell some land near Traverse City. Maddy and Giddings agreed and later brought in Tremaine to handle financial matters.

Evolution

The first National High School Orchestra camp convened at Interlochen in 1928. That initial class consisted of about 115 student musicians, who lived in tents and small cabins. Over the years, the camp would grow. Beginning in the early 1930s, Interlochen offered theater, dance and visual arts classes as well as music classes. Music continued to be emphasized for awhile, though, and the camp was renamed the National Music Camp in 1932.

Finally, in 1962, the Interlochen Arts Academy opened as a year-round facility. In his book Interlochen: A Home for the Arts, Dean Boal notes that it was “the nation’s first independent high school for the arts.” Today, the Interlochen Arts Academy High School and the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp continue to offer instruction to arts students.

Lucinda Hinsdale Stone

Subscription or social libraries provided most of the library services for the majority of adults in the United States before the 1870s. Michigan’s 1831 enabling legislation provided the framework for the state’s social libraries, the most prolific being ladies’ library associations. Between 1850 and 1900, approximately one hundred Michigan ladies’ library associations provided services to communities under this legislation, with the Kalamazoo Ladies’ Library Association leading the development and charting new territory for women’s organizations.

The earliest accounts of the Kalamazoo Ladies’ Library Association cite informal beginnings as a reading circle in the mid-1840s. The organization incorporated in 1852 and began providing services for members and the community. Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, an early leader in the Kalamazoo organization and recognized as Michigan’s “mother of clubs,” viewed the club movement as the vehicle for married women who had never had the opportunity to attend college. Women enriched themselves as they read, prepared and presented papers, and participated in the Association events.

Kalamazoo Ladies' Library Association building, circa 1880

The Kalamazoo Ladies’ Library Association also provided a very valuable service to the community by sponsoring the first public library. Yearly subscriptions cost fifty cents. Men could also join in order to access the library, but they could not participate in the meetings. Finding a space for the circulating library proved to be a major challenge for the first thirty years. It was initially located in a private residence, but public interest soon dictated a move to a downtown storefront. Over the years, the circulating library was located in the Kalamazoo County Courthouse, a church and eventually Corporation Hall, which also housed Kalamazoo’s municipal offices.

By the 1870s, state legislation shifted in favor of funding municipal libraries. The Kalamazoo Ladies’ Library Association grappled with its role in the changing milieu and also faced the prospects of losing their space in Corporation Hall. The women concentrated on changing the focus of the organization and determined to build a permanent home. The organization spent most of 1877 on fund raising. The women also led all phases of planning to build the $8,000 structure that was completed in 1878 and constructed on a donated lot, prominently situated one block south from the public square and about two blocks from the major business arteries of Rose Street and Main Street.

The new building represented a bold move by the Association, as it was the first women’s club building to be planned and constructed by a women’s organization in the United States. The women secured the necessary legislative approval from the state to own property worth less than thirty thousand dollars. It also presented new opportunities and challenges for the organization as it moved into the twentieth century. The Association continued emphasizing member enrichment, while broadening its support of a wide spectrum of charities. The clubhouse was restored in the 1970s and became the first building in Kalamazoo to be placed on the National Register. The organization and its magnificent clubhouse flourish in the twenty-first century with a membership of two hundred women.

The interior of the Kalamazoo Ladie's Library Association building, 1878

Post card photo of Billie Burke, circa 1907

We know her as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the ubiquitous movie The Wizard of Oz. Yet, actress Billie Burke enjoyed a well-established theater career before going into films. In 1910, she offered Detroit audiences a New York theatrical experience by reprising her role of Jacqueline in the play Love Watches. This romantic comedy was produced by the well-known theatrical impresario Charles Frohman. The Detroit venue: the Detroit Opera House at Campus Martius.

The First Opera House

The theater where Billie played was actually the rebuilt Detroit Opera House. The original opera house (1869-1897) began as the dream of theater manager Barney Macauley and industrialist William Livingston. Macauley and Livingston formed the Opera House Association, whose goal was to bring first-class theatrical productions to Detroit. The Association wanted the legitimate and the lavish. This required real estate. The ideal property was the site of the H. R. Andrews Railroad Hotel on the north side of Campus Martius. The acreage was large, and the location ideal because of surrounding commercial interests.

The first Detroit Opera House, circa 1888

The plan hit a snag when Livingston, the prime mover, left for Europe, and the Association members began to rethink the project. Dr. Eliphalet M. Clark, a prominent Detroit physician, stepped in and bought the property from the Association for $55,000. He then hired architect and artist Mortimer L. Smith to design the building. The five-story opera house designed by Smith reflected the popularity of French Renaissance architecture in Detroit. It opened on March 29, 1869, with the production London Assurance, a five-act comedy by Dion Boucicault.

Road Companies

The fortunes of the Detroit Opera House depended on embracing a major change in the theatrical world: the rise of the road companies over stock players employed by a single theater. Touring groups worked their way from New York to the West Coast, and Detroit was on the circuit. Detroiters enjoyed operas (Carmen, La Traviata, Pagliacci), plays by Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, Hamlet), plays by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (The Rivals and The School for Scandal), and comic operas by Gilbert and Sullivan (H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Sorcerer). The Detroit Opera House offered popular musical variety and minstrel shows performed by troupes such as Haverly’s United Mastodon Minstrels. Borrowing techniques of showmen P.T. Barnum, Jack H. Haverly emphasized the spectacular: a large company of musicians (brass band, drum corps, etc), elaborate costumes and scenery. Yet it was a minstrel show — white musicians performing in blackface.

The second Detroit Opera House, 1914 (Photo by Manning Brothers Commercial Photographers)

The Second Opera House…and Charles Frohman

The first Detroit Opera House was destroyed by fire on October 7, 1897. It was rebuilt on the site and reopened on September 12, 1898. Architect George D. Mason designed the new structure. Mason changed the architectural style from French Renaissance to Italian. One aspect of the building that continued in both the 1869 and 1898 versions: retail space on the first floor. An important development for the renewed opera house: productions bankrolled by Charles Frohman.

A native of Sandusky, Ohio, Frohman was a major influence in American theater. In 1896, he and other New York producers organized the Theatrical Syndicate. Its purpose was to centralize the bookings of theatrical productions nationwide. The Syndicate soon controlled all aspects of theater production in New York and throughout the country. This monopoly usually benefitted the producers, not the individual theater or actor. A failure to meet Syndicate terms could translate into plays being withheld from local venues. Charles Frohman is considered a “star maker.” Some sources characterize him as an idealist who discovered and encouraged successful actors; others stress the entrepreneur who manipulated the system for financial gain.

Billie Burke - in the trailer for Topper Takes a Trip (1939). This film was released the same year as The Wizard of Oz, in which Burke played Glinda.

Regardless, it appears that Frohman liked Detroit. Thanks to him, Detroiters were able to enjoy performances by John Drew, Ethel Barrymore, Maude Adams and Billie Burke. Charles Frohman was returning from Europe after scouting new productions when he died on the Lusitania.

Twilight Years

In 1919, the Detroit Opera House became the Shubert-Detroit Opera House. This business permutation did not last very long. The opera house could not survive the economic dislocation of the Depression, and ended up closing in 1931. Interestingly, during this period Billie Burke renewed her movie career and became popular with roles in Dinner at Eight (1933) and Topper (1937). But she is most known as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, who knew the secret of the ruby slippers.

Sources:

Peterson, William A., A History of the Professional Theatre of Detroit, Michigan, September 13, 1875 to July 3, 1886. (Dissertation: Florida State University 1959).

Detroit Free Press, 1890-1920.

Historic Detroit.org

Internet Broadway Database

Answers.com: Charles Frohman

Author Jesmyn Ward

The Library of Michigan will host the 2012 Night for Notables event April 28, between 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at The Library of Michigan, 702 West Kalamazoo Street, in Lansing.

Michigan Notable Books

The Michigan Notable Books program highlights twenty of the previous year’s most engaging books that are set in Michigan, have a Michigan theme or are written by a Michigan native or resident. The Library of Michigan coordinates a statewide committee of librarians, booksellers, reviewers, historians, writers and editors to review hundreds of titles each year and select twenty quality titles that best capture Michigan’s diverse heritage and have wide public appeal. The MNB program has roots stretching back to 1991’s Michigan Week celebration. The Library of Michigan has had primary responsibility for this program since the 2002 awards. Before 2004, the program was known as Read Michigan. “This year’s selections prove that persevering through economic and personal hardship is nothing new for Michiganians, and that this enduring and independent spirit has a long, rich history in the Great Lakes State,” said State Superintendent of Public Education Mike Flanagan. The Michigan Notable Books list highlights exceptional “Michigan books” and brings attention to Michigan authors and topics. Books that showcase the range of experiences of Michigan’s citizens and life in the Great Lakes by well-established and first-time authors can be found on the list.

Author Jaimy Gordon

Night for Notables

The Library of Michigan Foundation is excited to be hosting the ninth annual Night for Notables celebration. Night or Notables is the Library of Michigan’s opportunity to publically recognize the authors and books selected as Michigan Notable Books. This year’s ceremony will feature 2010 and 2011 National Book Award winners for fiction Jaimy Gordon (Lord of Misrule) and Jesmyn Ward (Salvage the Bones) and will be moderated by 2009 National Book Award finalist Bonnie Jo Campbell. Attendees will be able to mingle with fellow book lovers, enjoy hors d’oeuvres, Michigan wine and beer, and meet the 2012 Michigan Notable Books authors. Authors will sign books and answer questions about their works. Copies of all the 2012 Michigan Notable Books will be available for purchase.
For more information about the MNB program or the Night for Notables event call (517) 373-1300 or visit The Michigan Notable Books Web site.

Michigan Notable Books 2012 banner

1945 Tigers Program

Click Tigers Score Card – Large to view an enlarged version of the image.

A Detroit Tigers’ 1945 score card cover appears to the right. This preprinted score card lists a Tigers schedule and 1945 player rosters for both the Tigers and the New York Yankees. The card is a memento from a special season – one where the Tigers brought a World Series to a war weary Detroit.

World War II drained manpower from Major League baseball, as players reported for military duty. Hank Greenberg was the Tiger’s first “star player” to be drafted. He entered the service on May 7, 1941 – seven months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He received his honorable discharge over four years later. On July 1, 1945, 47,000 fans came to Briggs Stadium to welcome him home. Greenberg marked his return by hitting a home run against the Athletics in the eighth inning.

There could be no doubt that Greenberg was back. He played only seventy-eight regular season games that year. During those seventy-eight games, he hit thirteen homers and batted in sixty runs. The most memorable game was the last one of the regular season.

The Tigers found themselves in a neck-and-neck race with the Washington Senators. On Saturday, September 29th, Washington had ended its season with an 87-67 record. Detroit – at 87-65 – had two more games to play. The Tigers only needed one win to advance to the World Series. Their September 29th game in St. Louis was rained out. Sunday, September 30th thus dawned with a fateful double header on the horizon.

Once again, it rained. The rain let up enough to begin the first game – one hour later than scheduled. At the end of the sixth inning, Detroit led the St. Louis Browns 2-1. St. Louis scored two runs in the seventh and then led 3-2. That score remained as Detroit went to bat at the top of the ninth inning. Meanwhile, it began raining harder, threatening a premature end to the season.

As the ninth inning began, Harvey Walker batted a single. James Webb then hit an intended sacrifice bunt. Browns’ first baseman George McQuinn threw late to second, however, and both Walker and Webb were safe. Next came a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk. The bases were thus loaded with one out as “Hammerin’” Hank Greenberg strode up to home plate. Greenberg swung at the first pitch – and hit it right into the bleachers for a grand slam home run! Greenberg’s teammates said that they never saw him happier. The Browns failed to score any further, and the game ended with a 6-3 win by Detroit. The second game was called by rain after one inning, but to most fans, that didn’t matter. The Detroit Tigers were going to the World Series!

In the 1945 World Series, the Tigers squared off against the Chicago Cubs. The Series lasted seven games, with Detroit ultimately emerging as World Champions. It was an exciting season for Tiger fans, but no moment ever topped Greenberg’s grand slam homer of September 30th.

The following books were consulted:

Anderson, William M. The Detroit Tigers: A Pictorial Celebration of the Greatest Moments and Players in Tigers’ History. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999.

Greenberg, Hank. The Story of My Life. (Edited and with an introduction by Ira Berkow.) New York: Times Books, 1989.

McCollister, John. The Tigers and Their Den: The Official Story of the Detroit Tigers. Lenexa, Kansas: Addax Publishing Group, 1999.

Other Baseball Articles in Look!:

Hey, Batter, Batter! (About the early days of baseball) by Christiane Evaskis

Opening Day by Mark Harvey

Titanic at the docks of Southampton, 1912 (Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons).

Jane “Jennie” Quick was annoyed. She had just learned that the passages she had booked to America from England for herself and her two daughters, eight-year old Winifred and three-year-old Phyllis, had been cancelled due to a coal strike. Although their travel arrangements were transferred to the Titanic, a bigger ship scheduled to leave Southampton on April 10, Jennie made a second trip to the Plymouth shipping office to complain. “I don’t want to sail on a new ship,” she told the young man behind the counter, “I want one that is tried and true and tested.” (“They Never Forgot: Michigan Survivors of the Titanic,” by Carey L. Draeger. Michigan History Magazine, March- April, 1997.)

The Titanic was not “tried and true and tested.” Instead, it was steeped in romance, hubris and class distinction. April 15 is the one hundredth anniversary commemorating the shipwreck. I have seen all of the celluloid evocations of the tragedy. I enjoyed watching Leo and Kate fall in love all the time knowing that Jack Dawson would not survive. I have been to a traveling Titanic exhibit twice and have watched my share of the History Channel interviews with survivors. But the basic facts are stark and not in the least romantic. The Titanic left for its maiden voyage without enough lifeboats to accommodate its passengers. It hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 pm. (April 14) and sank at 2:20 am (April 15). The Titanic carried around 2,200 passengers (including crew); over 1,500 of them died.

Carey Draeger’s Titanic article for Michigan History Magazine meshes historical fact with survivor memory. She writes that Jennie Quick had been separated from her husband, Fred, for three years. Like many immigrants, Fred found work in America, saved money and then sent for the family. A plasterer, he had settled in Detroit, Michigan. Anxious to be reunited with her husband, Jennie Quick accepted the second-class accommodations on Titanic’s F deck.

In contrast, Dickinson “Dick” Bishop and his new wife, Helen Walton Bishop, “specifically booked passage on the Titanic for their trip home, wishing to enjoy the novelty of the vessel’s maiden voyage.” Returning to Dowagiac, Michigan, after a three-month honeymoon, they boarded the ship at Cherbourg, France. As first-class passengers, they immediately made the acquaintance of John and Nelle Pillsbury Snyder. (Snyder was the grandson of the cofounder of Pillsbury.) The couples became friends; all survived the shipwreck.

Poster of the White Star Line, showing the Titanic, circa 1912 (Image taken from Wikimedia Commons)

Dick Bishop’s life after the Titanic was difficult. Like many men who made it home, he was accused of cowardice and hounded by gossip that he dressed like a woman in order to be saved. Helen Bishop and Nelle Snyder insisted that an officer ordered brides and grooms to enter the lifeboats. Nevertheless, the wealthy newlyweds’ survival was juxtaposed against those third-class passengers, particularly women and children, who died.

Jennie Quick and her daughters also survived. Jennie arrived in Detroit with one tangible fragment of that fateful voyage, a small, tattered flag found in her raincoat pocket. “Described as being the Titanic’s official flag, the little pennant may have been purchased at one of the ship’s band concerts.” Interest in the tragedy was so fierce that King Amusements, a vaudeville production company, employed Jennie to speak to audiences at the Palace Theater in Detroit. Earning $7.14 per show, Jennie told her story. Her vaudeville career, however, was short-lived. By 1918 she gave birth to two more daughters, Vivian and Virginia. Jane “Jennie” Quick, who was smart enough to know that she wanted passage on a “tested ship,” lived until 1965. She was eighty-four when she died.

Links:

MaritimeQuest: Titanic

RMS Titanic – Statistics and Interesting Facts about the Ship

Titanic Universe

Chromolithograph of the Battle of Shiloh, by Thure de Thulstrup, 1888 (Taken from Wikimedia Commons).

Editor’s Note: April 6-7, 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh, fought in southwestern Tennessee. Participants included the men of Battery B, First Michigan Light Artillery. Larry R. Houghton told their story in Michigan History Magazine, March/April 1993 issue. Excerpts from his article follow.

Excerpt #1 (Sunday morning, April 6)

In position at about 9:00 A.M., Battery B began firing for the first time at human targets. Sergeant Mills recalled,

We could see the enemy advancing at a rapid rate. We formed in battery, and poured upon them the deadly shell. Our position then being so near, it was responded to by a volley which fell like hail around and in our midst. We then retired a short distance [back to the Hamburg-Savannah Road] and ceased to fire. Here, for the first time, the dreadful havoc of war became a stern reality to us, and was no longer a picture of imagination.

Except #2 (Sunday afternoon, April 6)

The Battle of Shiloh raged into the afternoon. With less-than-perfect communication between divisions—even between regiments—portions of the Union line surged back and forth as they first gained the advantage, then gave way to Confederate charges. Tens of thousands of men clashed in a fury never before witnessed on the North American continent. The roar of continuous firing sent clouds of blue smoke drifting over a hideous scene of death and suffering. Even nature’s landscape of trees and brush seemed to scream from the hail of lead and steel. Thousands of wounded men cried for water in the sun’s heat. Some crawled to a small pond for relief, their open wounds staining the waters red and giving it a name to memorialize their sacrifice: Bloody Pond.

In this surreal scene Battery B held its midday position until 2:00 P.M. when they were forced to retire with the remainder of Hurlbut’s division. Their new location in the Wicker Field, just north of the old farm lane known as the “sunken road,” was their last fighting position. The battery continued in heavy action backing up the furious fighting in front of them in the area dubbed the “Hornets’ Nest.” There, the intensity of the day’s conflict reached its deadly peak. Numerous charges were repelled, leaving rows of dead rebels before the Union position.

At 4:00 P.M. General Hurlbut ordered a general retirement of his forces along the entire Federal left flank. Ross’s battery fell back to the Hamburg-Savannah Road/Corinth Road intersection; there it was charged and surrounded by Colonel Andrew J. Lindsay’s First Mississippi Cavalry, just in front of the battery’s camp (Position E).

The battery’s efforts to carry out Grant’s orders to hold this “position at all hazards” had ended.

Photo of Michigan monument at Shiloh (Taken by Bob Garrett, December 2011).

Except #3 (Aftermath of the Battle)

In all, the rebels captured approximately twenty-two hundred Yankees, including about one hundred men from the Twelfth Michigan Infantry. The excitement of taking such a large group of prisoners and the logistics of moving so many men back from the battlefront slowed the Confederate advance. The eventual arrival of most of General Buell’s army and the artillery bombardment by two Union gunboats, the Lexington and the Tyler, halted any further advance. Darkness and exhaustion soon brought the day’s horrendous battle to a close.

Battery B was now split in two. Forty-nine men and three officers were prisoners; five others had been wounded. Miraculously, none had been killed.

Eventually, the Battle of Shiloh—which resumed the following day—left 13,147 Union and 10,694 Confederate casualties. Late on the afternoon of the battle’s second day the rebels began a retreat to Corinth. Preceding them were the men of Battery B, whose war experience took another unfamiliar turn as they settled into captivity.

Except #4 (Conclusion)

Battery B continued its dedicated service throughout the remainder of the war. Despite participation in a number of battles, its casualty list was surprisingly short. Only a dozen men were wounded in the last year of the war; none were killed in battle. After the war’s conclusion, the Michigan artillery men participated in the grand review of Sherman’s army on 24 May 1865 in Washington, DC. The battery was mustered out of federal service on 14 June 1865 in Detroit. These sons of Michigan returned to their homes justifiably proud of having given exemplary service to the Union and to their state. The Michigan monument at Shiloh had them in mind when it concluded:

More enduring than this granite will be the gratitude of Michigan, to her soldiers of Shiloh.

Say ya to da UP eh

The Keweenaw Peninsula has a fascinating history – from remote outpost to the boom of mineral wealth to a university center and tourist destination.  The Keweenaw has a unique ethnic flavor as many immigrants from Finland, Sweden and England landed there to work the copper mines.  Houghton is the county seat and home to Michigan Technological University.  It’s a great base of operations, as you’ll find many of the conveniences of chain hotels and restaurants here.   You can taste the heritage of the region by diving into a cornish pasty at Amy J’s Pasty and Bake Shop or stopping for a bite to eat at Suomi Home in Houghton.  Suomi Home is noted for its Finnish pancakes and other Scandinavian treats.

Mining Past

If you press north, you’ll pass the Quincy Mine where you can ride down the mine shaft like the actual miners did in the nineteenth century.  Ghost towns of the mining area dot the landscape in the Keweenaw.  If you have Michigan Ghost Towns: of the Upper Peninsula in hand, you can explore them for yourself.  Some areas are mostly untouched from the mining era and to experience these places is almost like time travel.

If you need a respite as you head to Copper Harbor, the Laurim Manor Inn gives insight into the past granduer of a mining executive’s home. Built for Thomas H. & Cornelia Hoatson, owner of Calumet & Arizona Mining Co., no expense was spared building this forty-five room mansion.  The inn is a good base to explore Calumet, Central Mine and Ahmeek.  If you travel with your pet, you may want to time your visit with the Blessing of the Pets at the Phoenix Church and Museum in Phoenix, Michigan.  It’s a tradition that dates back to the patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi.

Open Water

The Keweenaw is noted for its extreme weather.  Past winters saw up to 390 inches of snow dropped on the region.  In the summer, it can reach the 80′s or 90′s in Houghton.  If you like to escape the heat, you only need to continue on US 41 towards Copper Harbor.  On a recent visit, the air temperature dropped fifteen degrees as you approached the open water–quite a relief!  There are great detours along the way, including the towns of Eagle Harbor and Eagle River and the Keweenaw National Historical Park.  There are miles of walkable/wadeable beaches where agate hunters may find the perfect specimens for their collections.  A must stop on the way to Copper Harbor is the Jampot.  It is a confectionary run by a Byzantine order of monks.  It’s a unique retail experience to say the least.  Plus, they make some of the best thimbleberry jam, breads and artisan caramels you can find.  The Jampot is also adjacent Jacob’s Falls, so you can enjoy your treats in wonderful natural setting.

The literal end of the road is Copper Harbor.  US 41 originates in Copper Harbor and you can follow it all the way to Miami, Florida.  Copper Harbor was an outpost at one point, as evidenced by the Ft. Wilkins historic state park.  Run by the Michigan Historical Center and the DNR Parks, the site interprets the mid-nineteenth century era fort and is part of a busy state park campground (Check availability in advance.).  Outdoor recreation opportunities are everywhere, from hiking or biking (rentals available in town) in Estivant Pines (a virgin pine forest), to heading out to the tip of the Keweenaw in search of thimbleberries.  Maritime enthusiasts can enjoy the Copper Harbor Lighthouse or the boat tours that explore shipwrecks, and ride alongside the Great Lakes freighters in Lake Superior.  There are a number of lodging options in Copper Harbor, including the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.  For a great capstone to your day, grab a wild bilberry sundae from the Berry Patch ice cream shop and head up to the top of Brockway Mountain for the sunset.

You can explore more of the history of the Keweenaw at seekingmichigan.org and plan your trip at puremichigan.org

Japanese Emperor Hirohito tips his hat to Gwen Dew as he walks by her (Photo taken in 1946. It is used here courtesy of Frank Passic, Albion Historian).

Gwen Dew worked as a celebrity gossip columnist and a newspaper reporter. She traveled around the world, was taken prisoner during World War II and designed a still-recognizable corporate logo.

Gwen’s Early Journalism Days…and a Famous Logo

Gwen grew up in Albion, Michigan and attended Albion College. In her senior year, she transferred to the University of Michigan and studied journalism. In 1924, she returned to Albion and became society editor of the Albion Recorder.

Two years later, Albert Pochelon of the Florists’ Telegraph Delivery Association – or “FTD” – approached Gwen. He wanted her to start FTD’s public relations department. She agreed, and for FTD, she created the famous “running Mercury” logo. FTD still uses a modified version of it.

New York…and Hollywood Gossip!

In 1929, Gwen suffered a car crash. The crash broke her back and put her in a cast for months. Vowing to live a more exciting life, she moved to New York City.

In New York, she became a publicist for the Chinese Cultural Theater dance troupe. Later, Screen Book Magazine, a New York-based publication focused on Hollywood gossip, hired her as a columnist. To her readers, she promised “intimate, gossipy notes about pictures, purely from the feminine point of view.” She contributed to other, similar magazines as well.

Gwen Dew in Honolulu, 1936 (Photo courtesy of Frank Passic, Albion Historian).

First World Tour

In 1935, Gwen left New York and returned to Michigan. She wanted to travel. She made a proposal to The Detroit News – as she traveled the world, she would send back articles and photographs. Initially, the paper wasn’t interested. Then, Gwen met with Fred Gaerner, Jr., the managing editor, and earned his approval.

New Orleans was her first destination. She arrived in time for Mardi Gras. Then, she headed to California and interviewed some Hollywood stars. From there, she traveled to Hawaii, Japan, China (where she interviewed Madame Chiang Kai-Shek), Hong Kong, Nepal, Java, Borneo, Thailand, Singapore, Burma, Malaysia, Bali, India, Egypt and more. She visited eighteen countries in under two years. She finished her journey in Paris, France in 1937. From there, she returned to the United States.

Second World Tour…and a Prisoner!

Gwen’s articles from her first journey were popular, and she didn’t remain home long. The United Press hired her as a special correspondent. Once again, she was on the road. She traveled to Mexico, then to Hawaii and to points beyond.

She found herself in Hong Kong when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The Japanese soon assaulted Hong Kong as well, and Gwen was among those taken prisoner. She and two hundred other westerners were marched ten miles north of Hong Kong. There, they were held prisoner in designated hotels. Several weeks later, they were taken to Camp Stanley, a British settlement, and interned there. Gwen kept notes, recording her observations of camp conditions, Japanese atrocities and other matters. She hid these in the hollow parts of Ming dolls.

Her imprisonment ended on June 30, 1942. She and other prisoners were then put on a Japanese liner to Portuguese East Africa. From there, she made her way back to the United States.

Once home, Gwen took her notes from Hong Kong and wrote a series of articles for the Detroit News. Collectively titled, “I Was a Prisoner of the Japs,” the articles ran on the front page and received top billing. She expanded these articles into a book, Prisoner of the Japs. She went on the lecture circuit, and the United States Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner of the modern Central Intelligence Agency) hired her as a “rally speaker” for the remainder of the war.

Gwen Dew's tombstone, Albion, Michigan (Photo courtesy of Frank Passic, Albion Historian).

After the War

Following Japan’s surrender, Gwen became the first female foreign correspondent permitted into that country. She reported on the state of postwar Japan, sending articles to over twenty American newspapers.

While in Japan, she met Army Captain James Buchanan. The two married in 1948. James died of a heart attack five years later, and Gwen Dew Buchanan moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1957, she created her “World Adventure Travel Series,” in which professional photographers and filmmakers narrated images of faraway places.

Gwen Dew Buchanan died on June 17, 1993 – one day before her ninetieth birthday. She is buried in Albion. In her nearly ninety years, she lived a life such as most can only dream!

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Albion historian Frank Passic of the Albion, Michigan Home Page. Mr. Passic wrote “Around the World with Gwen Dew” (Michigan History Magazine March/April 1999), and some of his Dew-related material appears on the aforementioned site.