The End of the Road in Michigan

Thumbwind Publications
  • 4.0 (13)
  • Places & Travel
  • Daily

This audio collection of amazing short stories is taken from the Great Lakes region and the Tip of Michigan’s Thumb. We love Michigan's history, places to see, and things to do in Michigan. Each episode is taken from feature articles from Thumbwind.com and Michigan4you.com. So, as a podcast, you can enjoy them anytime and anywhere. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s tale from the End of the Road in Michigan. Thank you for taking the time to listen to check out and listen to our little podcast. If you like this kind of tale, you are invited to subscribe. Search for The End Of The Road In Michigan from wherever you're listening. Please watch for and download next week’s episode and take a moment to give us a review. We cover #Michigan, #MichiganThumb, #PureMichigan #Thumbwind #Caseville, #PortAustin, #BadAxe, #GrindstoneCity, #HarborBeach, #Kindie, #Elkton, #BayPort, #Sebewaing, #Verona, #Pigeon and #PortHope

  1. 5d ago

    760 Votes Short: Michigan Women’s Fight for the Ballot

    Michigan women spent decades pressing for a voice at the ballot box. In 1912, a state suffrage amendment failed by just 760 votes. This episode follows Sojourner Truth, Mary T. Lathrop, Emily Burton Ketcham, Clara Arthur and Anna Howard Shaw through petitions, political setbacks and organizing across the state. It also examines Gov. Albert E. Sleeper’s 1917 measure, which gave women a limited vote for president before the 19th Amendment set a national constitutional guarantee. In 1918, Michigan voters approved full state suffrage. A year later, the Legislature unanimously ratified the 19th Amendment. The long campaign—and the barriers that remained—reshaped voting rights in Michigan and across the nation. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications

    760 Votes Short: Michigan Women’s Fight for the Ballot

  2. 5d ago

    Detroit on Trial: Diego Rivera's Murals That Shocked a City

    Detroit, 1933. A world-famous artist. An automobile empire. Twenty-seven murals that would ignite one of the city's fiercest cultural controversies. When Mexican artist Diego Rivera arrived in Detroit in 1932, he came to paint the industrial might of America's Motor City. Funded by Edsel Ford, president of Ford Motor Co., Rivera's ambitious commission would transform the Detroit Institute of Arts into a monument to machinery, manufacturing and the workers who powered an industrial revolution. But Rivera was no ordinary artist. A controversial communist whose paintings celebrated working people, Rivera found himself at the center of a bitter public dispute. Religious leaders condemned his imagery. Newspaper editorials attacked his work as un-American. One city councilman wanted the paintings washed from the museum walls. Yet Edsel Ford stood behind the artist.In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we return to Depression-era Detroit to tell the extraordinary story behind Rivera's Detroit Industry Murals. From the roaring assembly lines of Ford's River Rouge complex to the towering walls of the Detroit Institute of Arts, we examine how Rivera created his 27-panel masterpiece, why it sparked outrage and how it became one of Michigan's most important works of public art.It is a story of wealth and labor, artistic freedom and political conflict, and a city confronting the meaning of industrial progress. More than 90 years later, Rivera's murals still ask a powerful question: Who deserves the credit for building Detroit? Join us for another compelling chapter of Michigan history on End of the Road in Michigan, The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications

    Detroit on Trial: Diego Rivera's Murals That Shocked a City

  3. Oct 22

    Whitmore Lake's Forgotten Glory Days: Hotels, Trains and Summer Escapes.

    Whitmore Lake: The Resort Town That Harvested Ice In the early 1900s, Whitmore Lake, Michigan, was a thriving summer destination where passenger trains delivered vacationers to grand hotels, wooden swimming towers and lively dance halls. Visitors came from Detroit, Ann Arbor and other cities to escape the summer heat. But when winter arrived, the lake became a very different place.Workers ventured onto the frozen surface to cut enormous blocks of natural ice, which were stored in massive icehouses and shipped by railroad. The same lake that attracted swimmers and sailboats during summer also supported a demanding winter industry.In this episode of The End of the Road in Michigan, we revisit Whitmore Lake's remarkable resort era. We'll examine the grand Clifton House and Lake House hotels, the railroad connections that brought thousands of visitors, and the community's surprising ties to legendary University of Michigan football coach Fielding H. Yost. We'll also explore the Roaring Twenties, when a popular dance pavilion drew college students, and trace the devastating fires that destroyed several of Whitmore Lake's most important historic buildings. By the 1940s, changing travel habits, wartime employment and the automobile were reshaping the community. The grand hotels disappeared, but Whitmore Lake continued its transformation into a year-round hometown. Join us for a journey through Michigan history, when the railroad brought summer vacationers, hotels filled the shoreline and a frozen lake provided a winter paycheck. The End of the Road in Michigan shares the remarkable people, places and events that shaped the Great Lakes State.Do you remember old Whitmore Lake? Share your family's stories and memories. #MichiganHistory #WhitmoreLake #MichiganPodcasts The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications

    Whitmore Lake's Forgotten Glory Days: Hotels, Trains and Summer Escapes.

  4. Oct 22

    Mackinac Bridge: The Long Fight to Build the Mighty Mac

    Before the Mackinac Bridge became Michigan’s most recognizable crossing, it was a proposal that repeatedly stalled. Engineers drew plans. Supporters pushed lawmakers. Financing fell through. Meanwhile, state ferries kept carrying motorists across the straits. In this episode of The End of the Road in Michigan, follow the decades-long campaign to build the Mighty Mac—from early bridge proposals and the growing ferry fleet to Prentiss Brown’s determined push for financing. Then follow the crews who turned David Steinman’s design into a five-mile crossing above the water. Drawing on historical records from the Mackinac Bridge Authority and Michigan’s history agencies, this episode examines the political setbacks, financial gamble and demanding construction behind the bridge’s opening on Nov. 1, 1957. It also remembers the five workers who died building it. Listen to the story behind those familiar towers—and the people who made it possible for Michigan’s road to keep going. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications

    Mackinac Bridge: The Long Fight to Build the Mighty Mac

  5. Oct 22

    Michigan State Police: From Wartime Force to Highway Patrol 1917

    A car heads north from Toledo before dawn. Michigan State Troopers signal its driver to stop. Moments later, it strikes a log pulled across the highway. Officers find illegal liquor in the wreckage—but the Michigan Supreme Court will have something to say about their methods. In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, follow the Michigan State Police from its creation as a 300-man wartime force in 1917 through its transformation into a lasting police agency. Meet the mounted troopers, follow Prohibition enforcement along the Ohio border, and hear the story of Cpl. Sam Mapes, who refused a bootlegger’s bribe and paid with his life. Drawing on court records, state histories and memorial accounts, this episode examines the danger, disputed authority and consequential decisions behind a familiar Michigan institution. Listen to the story of the troopers who stayed after the war ended. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications

    Michigan State Police: From Wartime Force to Highway Patrol 1917

  6. Oct 19

    The Doctor, the House and the Mob: The Ossian Sweet Trial

    In September 1925, Dr. Ossian Sweet moved his family into a brick house at 2905 Garland in a white Detroit neighborhood. The next evening, a crowd gathered, rocks struck the house and gunfire erupted from an upstairs window. One man was killed, another was wounded and all 11 people inside were arrested. The resulting trials became a national test of race, self-defense and equal treatment under Michigan law. Backed by the NAACP, a legal team that included Detroit’s Black attorneys and famed courtroom lawyer Clarence Darrow argued that the Sweets had the same right to defend their home as any white family. This episode follows the disputed events outside the house, the competing courtroom accounts and Judge Frank Murphy’s historic instructions to an all-white jury. It also addresses a fact the prosecution could never settle: Who fired the fatal shot? The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications

    The Doctor, the House and the Mob: The Ossian Sweet Trial

  7. Oct 16

    The Patriot War: Michigan’s Secret Border Network

    In 1837 and 1838, Michigan’s border towns became a key part of the Patriot War. Secret Hunters’ Lodges recruited supporters in Detroit, Port Huron, and nearby communities as Canadian rebels sought to renew their fight against British rule. This episode follows the struggle over weapons at Fort Gratiot, the theft of hundreds of guns from a Detroit jail, and the Michigan militia’s guard duty at the Dearborn arsenal. It also traces the failed Patriot expedition aboard the schooner Ann and the armed crossing that ended in the Battle of Windsor on Dec. 4, 1838. Michigan was officially at peace with Britain. But its rivers, roads, and towns became both routes for rebellion and lines the state had to defend. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications

    The Patriot War: Michigan’s Secret Border Network

  8. Oct 16

    Building the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel: Nine Steel Tubes Beneath the River 1928-1930

    From 1928 to 1930, crews built a highway tunnel beneath the Detroit River using steel, concrete, dredging, and compressed-air excavation. One 500-ton tube nearly toppled when its timber supports failed. The workers regrouped, lowered nine steel sections into a riverbed trench, joined them underwater and connected them to tunnel approaches on both shores. Hear how welders, tugboat crews, divers, and tunnel workers helped build the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, which opened to traffic on Nov. 3, 1930. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications This episode includes AI-generated content.

    Building the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel: Nine Steel Tubes Beneath the River 1928-1930
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About

This audio collection of amazing short stories is taken from the Great Lakes region and the Tip of Michigan’s Thumb. We love Michigan's history, places to see, and things to do in Michigan. Each episode is taken from feature articles from Thumbwind.com and Michigan4you.com. So, as a podcast, you can enjoy them anytime and anywhere. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s tale from the End of the Road in Michigan. Thank you for taking the time to listen to check out and listen to our little podcast. If you like this kind of tale, you are invited to subscribe. Search for The End Of The Road In Michigan from wherever you're listening. Please watch for and download next week’s episode and take a moment to give us a review. We cover #Michigan, #MichiganThumb, #PureMichigan #Thumbwind #Caseville, #PortAustin, #BadAxe, #GrindstoneCity, #HarborBeach, #Kindie, #Elkton, #BayPort, #Sebewaing, #Verona, #Pigeon and #PortHope

Information

  • Creator
    Thumbwind Publications
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    128
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Thumbwind Publications LLC
  • Show Website
    The End of the Road in Michigan

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