Michigan Trivia & Tidbits - Page 2

Looking for Michigan trivia? Try our list Michigan little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—The state’s official gem is chlorastrolite, also called Isle Royale greenstone, and can be found as rounded beach pebbles, often with a green turtleback pattern.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—The first Republican state convention was on July 6, 1854, in Jackson (pop. 36,316), when an assembly of anti-slavery men met to officially form a new political party and to choose a slate of candidates.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—The U.S. Marines got a few good triplets in June when 17-year-olds Andrew, Sam and Elizabeth Foltz of Cadillac (pop. 10,000) enlisted after high school graduation.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—The woods around Ewen in Ontonagon County (pop. 7,818) supplied the world’s largest load of logs—50 logs or 36,000 board feet of timber—pulled by a single team of horses, for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

—Wexford County (pop. 30,484) is an outdoorsman’s paradise, with nearly half of the county located within the Manistee National Forest and the Pere Marquette State Forest. The area is good for hunting, hiking, snowmobiling, boating and fishing.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—In May, Ryan Lomonaco, 18, of Wyoming (pop. 69,368), became the youngest student to graduate from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. Lomonaco completed high school at age 14.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—Established in 1836 by former slaves, Second Baptist Church in Detroit is the state’s oldest African-American church. The church served as a key station on the Underground Railroad, providing shelter to 5,000 slaves on their way to freedom in Canada.

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—Jennifer Sharpe, 15, of Dearborn, sold an astounding 17,323 boxes of Girl Scout cookies last spring by setting up shop on a street corner of her hometown. She was the nation’s top seller and helped earn her troop a trip to Europe.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—Housed in an 1898 firehouse with a restored bunk area and original brass pole, the Michigan Firehouse Museum in Ypsilanti (pop. 22,362) includes an array of vehicles, including steam-powered pumpers, and a collection of vintage toy and model fire engines.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—In 1994, rock climber Lynn Hill became the first person to free climb the Nose of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, in a single day. Hill was born in 1961 in Detroit.

first appeared: 8/24/2008

—Former Gov. Gerhard Mennen Williams, who served from 1949 to 1960, was nicknamed “Soapy” because his grandfather founded the Mennen Co., maker of soaps and toiletries.

first appeared: 8/10/2008

—The world’s biggest tire—80 feet tall and 12 tons—advertises Uniroyal Tires in Allen Park (pop. 29,376). The tire originally was built as a Ferris wheel for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, then in 1966 was moved to Allen Park.

first appeared: 7/27/2008

—Open since 1982, the Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum in Okemos (pop. 22,805) serves up food from different regions of the world along with an outstanding exhibit of humble horns.

first appeared: 7/13/2008

—The state’s oldest black church is the Second Baptist Church in Detroit, established in 1836. The still-active church became a stop on the Underground Railroad and aided slaves who were fleeing north to freedom.

first appeared: 6/29/2008

—It always smells like Thanksgiving at Gobbler’s Restaurant in Gaylord (pop. 3,681), which is famous for its oven-roasted turkey and dressing dinners served year-round.

first appeared: 6/15/2008

—Miss Michigan, Kirsten Haglund, 19, an aspiring Broadway star from Farmington Hills, was crowned Miss America 2008. She won a $50,000 scholarship and a year of travel to promote the pageant.

first appeared: 6/1/2008

—Caseville (pop. 2,723) is nicknamed the “Perch Capital of Michigan” and has 300,000 shallow sandy acres of water in its inner bay, which lake perch favor.

first appeared: 5/18/2008

—Kirk Jones, 40, of Canton, is believed to be the first person to have plunged over Niagara Falls without any safety devices and survived. The daredevil, wearing only the clothes on his back, went headfirst over Horseshoe Falls, a plunge of about 175 feet on the Canadian side, in 2003.

first appeared: 5/4/2008

—Along with making lightweight metal snowshoes, Iverson Snowshoe Co. in Shingleton makes traditional snowshoes from ash wood that is steamed, bent around a form and dried in a kiln.

first appeared: 3/9/2008

—Residents of Hell have fun with their town name, which according to lore was named in 1841 by settler George Reeves. When asked for a town name, he said, “You can name it Hell if you want to.” The post office’s cancellation stamp is popular at tax time when people mail their returns from Hell.

first appeared: 2/24/2008

jump to page: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18

newspaper partner login create account

Recent

Popular

Recipes

Below are the most recent American Profile articles:

Below are the most recent, highest rated American Profile articles:

Below are the most recent, highest rated American Profile recipes:

Relish

Spry

Below are the most recent articles from our Relish sister site. Click on the "Spry" tab above to see the most recent articles from our other sister site.

Below are the most recent articles from our Spry sister site. Click on the "Relish" tab above to see the most recent articles from our other sister site.