A few blocks northeast of the Flint Truck and Bus assembly plant is a small park with a memorial to the Sit Down Strike. On December 30th, 1936 the workers at General Motor’s Fisher Body Plant stopped production and barricaded themselves inside the plant. They learned the company was going to move the dies that stamp out most of the body parts for GM’s cars. Rather than picketing outside, they occupied the plant so GM could not move the stamping dies or bring in scab workers to break the union strike. Without the body parts, most of General Motor’s production came to a halt.  Governor Murphy sent in the Michigan National Guard, not to help one side or the other, but to keep the peace. After 44 days the United Auto Workers of America and GM came to an agreement and production resumed.

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A Michigan historical marker stands near downtown Bay City and reminds us of a time when lumberjacks and sawmill workers labored for little pay and long hours. It reads:

When Bay City’s sawmills opened in 1885, mill owners notified workers that wages would be 12 to 25 percent lower than in 1884. On July 6, 1885, Bay City millhands began to walk off the job. Their slogan, “Ten Hours or No Sawdust,” represented the demand for a ten-hour day, higher wages, and semimonthly pay. On July 9, 1885, D.C. Blinn, editor of Bay City’s Labor Vindicator and a member of the Knights of Labor, held a rally at Bay City’s Madison Park. After the rally, millhands left by barge for Saginaw, where they closed the mills the next day. The demands of the millhands were rejected, and the sporadic violence that followed led the mayors of Bay City and Saginaw to seek help from the state militia and private detectives.

On July 19, 1885, Governor Russell A. Alger, a wealthy lumberman came to Bay City to attempt to resolve the strike that had closed Bay City and Saginaw mills. From the steps of the Frazer Hotel, across the street from this site, he spoke to a crowd of millhands, warning against further violence. On July 29, Terence V. Powderly, Grand Master of the Knights of Labor, came to the valley. He urged the millhands to return to work with a ten-hour day and reduced wages. Nevertheless, the strike continued for several weeks, with support from the people of Bay City. The mill owners, however, remained intransigent, and by late September the strikers were defeated. The ten-hour workday went into effect on September 15, 1885, by an act of the state legislature, but wages remained low.

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In the center of the Lower Peninsula near the Maple River is the East Plains Cemetery. Next to a headstone is a small historical marker for “Skyman” Philip Parmalee. He was born in 1887 not far from the cemetery near the small town of Hubbardston. He worked at a machine shop in St. Johns and was skilled at building small engines. He moved to Flint and became and fell in love with racing cars while working for Buick.

In 1910, he submitted an application and was chosen to join the Wright Flying School run by Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright. After training, he joined the Wright Exhibition Team. With his blond hair, dashing good looks, and fearless flying abilities, he was given the nickname “Skyman”.  He was credited with the first commercial flight of an airplane, establishing a world cross-country speed record, holding the world flying endurance record, piloting the first aircraft to drop a bomb, conducting the first military reconnaissance flight, and piloting the first aircraft involved in the world’s first parachute jump.

Tragically his life was cut short in 1912 when his airplane flipped over in turbulence and crashed during an exhibition flight in Yakima Washington. His body was sent back to Michigan and he was laid to rest near the town where he was born. Few people know his name or his story but he was an early pioneer in the history of flight and his contributions should not be forgotten.

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This cross stands on a hill south of Ludington near the mouth of the Pere Marquette River. It marks the death of Father Jacques Marquette. The exact location of his death is unknown but the site of the cross corresponds with early French accounts and maps. Marquette died in 1675 while returning to his mission in St. Ignace.  His body was buried near the shore of Lake Michigan. Marquette’s remains were reburied at St. Ignace in 1677. The cross was erected in 1937 at a park in the approximate location of the historic priest’s death.

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In 1890, James O. Scotford, a sign painter living in the central Michigan town of Edmore, claimed to have found a strange clay cup and carved tablets in the ground near his home. As he found more ancient artifacts he started drawing the attention of investors who purchased the strange objects with intention of making a profit off of displaying them to the public. By 1907 he partnered with Daniel E. Soper former Michigan Secretary of State who resigned after being accused of embezzlement.

Scotford would find the artifacts and Soper would sell them. They found thousands of ancient relics in 17 counties around Michigan. It was said that Scotford would take investors out and dig around looking for relics. when he found one he would let his investors or landowners remove them from the soil. Know one know for sure but it is believed he used sleight of hand tricks to partially bury the artifacts.

As scholars and experts began looking at them they seemed fake with multiple languages on the same artifact and details that were missing that should not have been. The number of relics found was also suspect. Scotford and Soper never admitted to faking any of the artifacts and maintained they were authentic to the day they died.

Because of their religious theme, many of the relics were purchased by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1900s. As time went on many experts proved that the artifacts were fakes. By 1960 technology could prove the copper used was manufactured using modern 20th-century technics and was not thousands of years old.

The church gave most of the relics to the Michigan History Museum where they were put on display in 2003. Since then they have been picked up and put into storage like the ark in Raiders of the Lost Ark. There is way more to the story than what I have written here, but I wanted to keep it a short read for my daily post.  It has been said to be one of the largest hoaxes in the archeological world and has brought into question, what artifacts found in Michigan are legitimate and what is fake.  I am surprised the story has not been made into a movie yet.

P.S. If you can find it, the documentary Hoax or History: The Michigan Relics is fascinating. I watched it several years ago on PBS. It shows up on Amazon Prime HERE but it is not available for viewing.

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A few miles north of the Upper Peninsula town of Hessel is the Rockview Cemetery. Reverend William Hainstock Law is laid to rest in the small township graveyard. In 1852 Law was born in Canada and in his late 20s he traveled to the Upper Peninsula to minister to the Lumberjacks. He settled in the town of Hessel and sailed to the many islands in the Les Cheneaux Islands. During a storm, he was rescued by the U.S. Lifesaving Service and stayed with them for a few days until the storm subsided. He got to know the men and the families living there and vowed he would support them through ministry. He collected books for the keepers along with toys and crafts for their children. Many were isolated from civilization and had little contact with the outside world. The reverend brought much joy and comfort to many keepers and their families. He also worked tirelessly to help pass legislation giving the men pensions after their retirement.

“Sky Pilot” is slang that sailors used for a chaplain. He continued his dedication to the families of the Life Saving Service until his death in 1928.  His great-grandson, John Kotzian, wrote a book about Rev. Law titled Sky Pilot of the Great Lakes. It is a well-writen book about both Rev. Law and the hardships early keepers and life saving stations had on the Great Lakes. I think it is out of print but you may still find copies of it at your local book store, library, or used copies on Amazon HERE

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