In this episode I explore numerous stories of 'petrified bodies' carried in Michigan Newspapers from 1837 to 1895.  The stories are mostly relayed from other parts of the country, and carried in these papers.  However, the subject of body petrification after burial was a popular topic of the period, and so I explore the myths and facts about this.

For more information on Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com

Author Blaine Pardoe joins me on Tales of Southwest Michigan's Past to talk about his book: Secret Witness: The Untold Story of the 1967 Bombing in Marshall, Michigan.  This a tragic story, filled with fascinating details that one would not expect.  It was a shocking event in the history of Marshall, and although the killer was identified, he managed to use errors in the legal system to escape going to prison for life.  Blaine Pardoe delivers an incredibly detailed account of events in this fascinating history.

To get a copy of Secret Witness: The Untold Story of the 1967 Bombing in Marshall, Michigan: https://amzn.to/3VRijHM

To see a full list of Blaine Pardoe's books, click here: https://amzn.to/3CxcIPM

For information on Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com

Join me as I explore a collection of historical biographical accounts from various Counties around Southwest Michigan, and read the history of the early pioneer experiences with wolves.  Some stories are just haunting, and other encounters were near deadly.  It is a insightful look at the early pioner settlement period in Michigan.

In this episode I explore the history of the village of Berrien Springs, in Berrien County, Michigan.  It has a fascinating history, with one of its founders being associated with one of the landmark US Supreme Court Cases in history, as being named after Andrew Jackson's Attorney General.  It is also the home of the Pickle Festival, the Lemon Creek Winery, an NFL player as well as the former home of Mohammad Ali.  

To find out more about Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com

Join me for a look at the history and culture of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) as I interview Kevin Harris from the tribes culture office.  The NHBP is a Federally Recognized tribe which resides on the Pine Creek Indian Reservation in Fulton, Michigan.  They also have land in the Athens area.  Mr. Harris explains some of the early migration of the tribe around the Great Lakes, even from the time before the French occupied the Michigan Territory.  He explains a lot of the culture and teachings of the NHBP, and offers a beautiful insight into the tribal view of the importance of being stewards to the natural world.

For more information on the NHBP, visit: https://nhbp-nsn.gov/

To follow Kevin Harris on Facebook and to see his artwork, visit: https://www.facebook.com/sitting.bull.37266

For more information Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com

Join me as I explore the story of the Golden Harvest from the 1860's to the 1870's in Michigan, and one season where many of the wheat farmers within a 10 mile radius of Battle Creek made enough from one crop to pay of their land.  This story explores the history of the wheat production in the early years, and also the crops that replaced them up to modern day.

For more information on Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com

John Palmer, an immigrant from England, fiddled around at country dances in Union City and Burlington, and devised a solution to save the dancers trouble.  He observed that people were having trouble after dances finding their garments, and Palmer came up with a solution that was ultimately adopted by some railroad employees from Marshall, and the baggage check system was born.  It is a fascinating story from Calhoun County history.

For more information on Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com

Jim Jackson, the author of the book 'Veterans of Oak Hill Cemetery' and the editor of the book 'Beyond These Gates: Oak Hill Cemetery' joins me for a talk on some of the history and stories of Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek Michigan.  The cemetery was founded in 1844, and is the final resting place of W.K. Kellogg, John Harvey Kellogg, Sojourner Truth, James & Ellen White, C.W. Post and many other famous people.  

To get a copy of Jim Jacksons books, use the following links:

Beyond These Gates: Oak Hill Cemetery https://amzn.to/3GHvxlK

Veterans of Oak Hill Cemetery https://amzn.to/3ijtvPp

To donate and support the Chapel Renovation Project at Oak Hill Cemetery: https://bccfoundation.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=5224

For information on Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com

In this episode I explore the history of the lost village of Harmonia, Michigan which was originally founded as a Spiritualist Utopia in early days of the Spiritualism movement in the country in 1855.  The Bedford Harmonial Institute was established in 1852 on by Hiram Cornell, on the land owned by his parents Reynolds and Dorcas Cornell.  A village was eventually platted in 1855, and the name 'Harmonia' was adopted.  The village became a place where many intellectual people came to reside who were interested in the movement over the years, including many famous abolitionist speakers of the time.  

However, the village ultimately went into a decline following a tornado in 1862, along with financial troubles, and by the early 1900's only a few houses remained.  In 1917 the land was acquired by the U.S. Government to build Camp Custer, and all that remains of that village today is a cemetery that bears its name.  The land where the village once stood is not a parking lot in an industrial district.

For more information Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com

To see the video on Harmonia: https://youtu.be/MbExbGvLDq4

At the close of a harvest day in the summer of 1832, on Toland's Prairie, Kalamazoo County, Michigan a farmer named Hiram Moore strolled over to a neighbor, John Haskell and had a conversation that would ultimately change the agricultural world.  Haskell, tired after a hard day's labor in gleaning wheat, remarked to Moore "Why cannot some machine, drawn by horses, be made to cut the grain and ave all of this sweat and hard work?"

Hiram, being an inventive genius, used the suggestion create such a machine.  By 1845, he had created his vision of a perfect grain harvester and gave a trial on the Climax Prairie which hundreds of people came from all over Southern Michigan to witness.  It was the progenitor of all modern harvesters, drawn by a team of twenty horses.  This is the story of Hiram Moore, the man who invented the grain harvester, and who also lost rights to all his patents as others profited from his inventions.

For more information on Michael Delaware, visit: https://www.michaeldelaware.com