Help Preserve Michigan Stove Company's Famous Giant Stove Landmark - The World's Largest Stove

The Goodyear Tire on I-94 near the Southfield Freeway exit has served as a local landmark for generations of Detroiters. Such was the case with a giant Garland stove that stood outside the Michigan Stove Company plant on Jefferson and Adair. The stove, built originally for the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893, was as big as a house and became a famous landmark.

In the book on Detroit history All Our Yesterdays (Wayne State University Press 1969), authors Frank B. Woodford and Arthur M. Woodford wrote: "No visitor to Detroit did right by his friends and family back home unless he sent them a picture postcard of the 'Detroit stove.'"

"Long before Detroit put the world on wheels it was warming the nation's backsides and keeping its coffee hot. For years the city was the world's foremost manufacturer of stoves and kitchen ranges."

The book states the stove industry began about 1830 but heated up in the 1870s and 80s and "for fifty years or more stove manufacturing was Detroit's leading industry."

In 1927, the famous Garland stove landmark was moved to a pedestal near the Belle Isle bridge. Later, it was slated for the wrecking ball. Public outcry against the destruction resulted in the relocating of the stove to the Michigan State Fairgrounds in 1965.

Now you can help preserve this preserve this great monument to one of Detroit's leading industries. The Michigan State Fair Commission is seeking donations to create a paved area to display this famous landmark. See details below:

MEMORIAL BRICK APPLICATION THE WORLD’S LARGEST STOVE

Built by the Michigan Stove Company for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the World’s Largest Stove” weighed 15 tons and measured 25 feet high, 30 feet long and 20 feet wide. After decades of exposure to Michigan weather, the familiar Detroit landmark was dismantled in 1974 and stored in a warehouse.

In 1998, John Hertel, General Manager of the Michigan State Fairgrounds rallied corporations, labor unions and individuals to restore this symbol of nineteenth-century Detroit industry for present and future generations to enjoy. The restoration project was successful and the “World’s Largest Stove” was unveiled at the Fairgrounds on August 24, 1998.

The majestic stove stands proudly on a grassy knoll with a pathway of Memorial Bricks leading up to it. These bricks provide an enduring legacy and may be ordered by completing the following application and mailing it with a donation of Fifty Dollars ($50.00). Each 4x8” brick has an epoxy filling to ensure durability and each character engraved is 3⁄4”
high for clear visibility.

There is space for three lines of engraving with each line containing a maximum of thirteen characters. To be placed at the Stove site in August 2008, Memorial Bricks must be ordered by May 30th , 2008.

The completed form and a check or money order payable to: The State of Michigan should be mailed to: THE STOVE PROJECT- MICHIGAN STATE FAIRGROUNDS - 1120 W. STATE FAIR AVENUE, DETROIT, MI 48203

Download an application at:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDA_STOVE_APPLICATION_37597_7.PDF

Happy History! Remember, History is all around you. Seek it out!

Karin Risko,
The Happy Historian

Member of the 2008 Custer Week Programs Committee

Since my last post much has happened. I've been in contact with members of the Dearborn and Plymouth Historical Museums. Both have significant Civil War primary sources. I need to visit these museums and conduct research.

Also, I was invited to join the 2008 Custer Week Celebration Programs Committee as educational coordinator. I'm excited about the opportunity. I had a great time exploring Custer's Monroe, Michigan roots last year. I learned a lot!

Check out details on the 2008 Custer Week programs here (I'm also a co-blogger at this site):

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/custer/

Happy History! Remember, History is all around you. Seek it out!

Karin Risko,
The Happy Historian

Southeast Michigan Civil War Buffs - Help Wanted!

Over the years, I’ve become aware of the vast importance southeast Michigan played in the Civil War and have discovered many interesting artifacts, documents, photographs etc. housed at local museums. I've also learned about interesting people who fought and those who died fighting to preserve the Union. My goal is to tie all this history together in an organized and interesting manner - a history book / local tour guide entitled “Southeast Michigan and The Civil War – It happened here!”

The book is aimed at Civil War buffs, teachers, students and locals who want to know more about their regional history. It will be dedicated in remembrance of one of my favorite heroes, Colonel Thornton Fleming Brodhead, second editor of the Detroit Free Press and former Detroit Postmaster. Colonel Brodhead led the First Michigan Cavalry at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Mortally wounded, he penned a final letter to his wife. The letter concluded with:

"Two bullets have gone through my Chest, and directly through the lung. I suffer little now, but at first the pain was acute. I have won the Soldier's fate. I hope that from heaven I may see the glorious old Flag waive again over the individual Union I have loved so well. Farewell wife and Babes and Friends. We shall meet again. Your loving Thornton."

I've read this letter a dozen or so times. Yet it still brings tears to my eyes every time I read it.

While I've accumulated lots of interesting material, I'm sure I'm still missing many interesting facts and stories. So all you local Civil War experts, would like to contribute your knowledge to this project? I’m seeking information on interesting artifacts, photos, documents, special collections on display at local museums, period newspaper clipping files, significant contributions made to the war effort by local civilians, enlisted personnel, and businesses, important cemeteries, monuments, recruiting sites, historical buildings used for the war effort, etc. Communities of interest span from Detroit to the Ohio border and west to Ann Arbor.

I can be contacted via email at: atrisko@yahoo.com.

Thanks for your assistance.

Happy History. Remember, History is all around you. Seek it out!

Karin Risko,
The Happy Historian

2008 Congressional Academy for American History and Civics Open to High School Juniors

"From the heated debating floor of Independence Hall, to the bloodied fields of Gettysburg and the empowering steps of the Lincoln Memorial, American history is far more than just dates and speeches. The Congressional Academy for American History and Civics takes you on an exploration of the American experience with a careful study of three of America's most critical eras through the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech."

High school juniors. This exciting learning opportunity is available to you. The Congressional Academy for American History and Civics is open to only two students from each state. Be one of the chosen few, apply today at www.CongressionalAcademy.org

Deadline is on or before April 1, 2008.

Happy History! Remember, History is all around you. Seek it out!

Karin Risko,
The Happy Historian

Save Detroit's Historic Architecture - Join Preservation Wayne

Annual Volunteer Recruitment Meeting.
Become a tour guide or serve on one of Preservation Wayne's committees.
Date: Saturday, March 8, 10 AM - 1 PM.
Location: University of Michigan Detroit Center
Ground Floor of Orchestra Place (one block south of Orchestra Hall)
3663 Woodward, NW Corner of Woodward and Marting Luther King

RSVP Today via phone: 313.577.7674 or
E-mail: info@preservationwayne.org

Learn more about this great organization by visiting: www.preservationwayne.org

Happy History! Remember, History is all around you. Seek it out!

Karin Risko,
The Happy Historian

Michigan Teachers! Have you applied to the 2008 Presidential Academy?

(I received this email from Ashland University Presidential Academy Coordinator stating openings are still available for the 2008 Presidential Academy. One teacher from each state will be selected. Michigan teachers apply for this great program!)

I would like to extend an invitation to those of you who have not applied to the 2008 Presidential Academy. It is a program unlike any other that will lead secondary school teachers in a careful study of the pivotal turning points in American history memorialized by the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the "I Have a Dream" speech. Participating teachers will spend five days in Philadelphia , six days in Gettysburg , and six days in Washington , DC , studying the American Revolution and Founding, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement, respectively. During their stay in each of these cities, participants will be surrounded by the streets and halls, the battlefields, public places, and private lodgings where the history we are studying took place.

Participants may choose to receive four hours of Master's degree credit from Ashland University . This credit can be used toward the Master of American History and Government offered by Ashland University or may be transferred to another institution.

One teacher will be accepted from each state plus one from the District of Columbia and a US territory. The deadline for applications is March 15 so please don't hesitate to apply and spread the word. The application is available on-line at: http://www.PresidentialAcademy.org .

Lisa M Ormiston
Presidential Academy Coordinator
1 (877) 289-5411
lormisto@ashland.edu