By Bill Loomis / Special to The Detroit News It was not long after the first steamboat, “Walk in the Water,” docked in Detroit in the summer of 1818 that emigrants from Europe and New England, tourists, soldiers and other visitors began pouring into the small town. By 1835 there were hundreds of newcomers daily; … Continue Reading →
By Arthur Herman / Special to The Detroit News On May 28, 1940, the phone rang in Bill Knudsen’s office in the General Motors Building. Knudsen, a Danish immigrant who had made parts for Henry Ford’s Model T in a bicycle factory in Buffalo before working his way up to become president of GM, heard … Continue Reading →
“It is hard to make railroading pleasant in any country. Stage-coaching is infinitely more delightful.” – Mark Twain By Bill Loomis / Special to The Detroit News The desire for a railway began very early in Detroit, considering it was a frontier town on the western extremes. The first railroad chartered in the United … Continue Reading →
By Larry Jeddeloh / Special to The Detroit News Detroit has taken on many nicknames including Motown, The Motor City, Hockeytown, Rock City or just simply “The D.” While we are proud of our automotive heritage and music history, there are lesser-known facts about Detroit. Here we will explore six facts every Detroiter, historian or … Continue Reading →
By Bryce Hoffman / The Detroit News Saturday, May 26, 2012 marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Overpass, the infamous encounter between leaders of a young United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co. security men on a footbridge over Miller Road outside the company’s River Rouge complex. It would prove a defining … Continue Reading →
By Bill Loomis / Special to The Detroit News “George H. Rogers was instantly killed at Bosewell’s logging camp on the 25th of January,” the Manistee Times reported in February 1869. “The deceased (was) with a large load of logs that turned partially over, when in the haste of the moment he seized an ax … Continue Reading →
By Bill Loomis / Special to The Detroit News “Mrs. Gertrude Klinck is a milk peddler, and yesterday she left her horse wagon and cans on Russell Street while she entered a grocery store to make some purchases. She desires to know now where her horse and wagon are,” said a notice on Dec. 8, … Continue Reading →
By Genevra McLaren / The Detroit News The DeLorean was immortalized in the 1985 hit film “Back to the Future” — it’s the cool car that was transformed into a time machine by the kooky scientist. The man behind the machine has a story of his own, just as colorful as any Hollywood movie. As … Continue Reading →
By Joel Kurth / The Detroit News The Rouge Factory Tour opened Monday with a bang. Literally. Clare Fisher’s ears may still be ringing. Bangs, booms, strobe lights, mist and other special effects wowed 825 visitors who sold out the factory’s first day of tours since 1980. The MTV approach to heavy industry had Detroit … Continue Reading →
Students of the Henry Ford Trade School head for class in January of 1941. “We try to stimulate boys to think for themselves by working out practical problems and doing practical work. Our text books are the basic things-the materials and forces of nature and human society.” — Henry Ford. That belief was the driving … Continue Reading →