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PODCAST

The End of the Road in Michigan

Thumbwind Publications

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

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

8:04

The Two Eras of Interlochen Michigan

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2026/03/13

Interlochen, Michigan was once a timber town on a narrow strip between two lakes. In 1917 the state bought a stand of white pines to create Michigan’s first state park, saving the forest and the town’s future.By 1928 conductor Joseph Maddy had brought the National Music Camp to Interlochen, and by 1962 the Interlochen Arts Academy opened as a boarding school for gifted artists.Interestingly, it all grew from that one decision to spare the pines – a logging-era move that paved the way for music

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7:49

Steam, Smoke, and Sunday Excursions: Newberry’s Turn...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2026/02/27

Newberry, Michigan rose with the railroads and the timber economy, then learned how to survive the long shift that followed. In this episode, we trace how a small Luce County town became both an industrial workhorse and a starting point for North Country travel.From charcoal iron and logging payrolls to the steady presence of the state hospital and the early pull of Tahquamenon country, Newberry’s story is about adaptation without pretense. It’s a place shaped by winter, work, and the people who

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8:33

Walled Lake, Michigan: Roller Coasters, Dance Floors,...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2026/02/27

Walled Lake, Michigan — just 25 miles from Detroit — was once one of the Midwest’s most electric summer destinations.In this episode of The End of the Road in Michigan, we step back to the early 20th century, when steam trains, Model Ts, and streetcars carried thousands to the first popular beach west of Detroit. What began as a quiet farming village transformed into a lakeside playground filled with dance halls, glowing pavilions, and the roar of the Flying Dragon roller coaster.We tell the story

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7:48

Snow, Music, and Baseball: How Fort Brady Felt More...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2026/02/27

On a hill above the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Fort Brady stood guard for more than a century. It never became a battlefield. It rarely made national headlines. Yet for decades, it shaped the lives of soldiers and the community around it.In this episode of The End of the Road in Michigan, we step into the years between wars — when Fort Brady functioned less like a combat outpost and more like a northern town in uniform. Soldiers drilled at dawn, shoveled heavy snow in winter, played baseball in

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12:10

City of Bangor Shipwreck: Stunning Winter Rescue of...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2026/02/26

The End of the Road in Michigan is a nostalgic journey to the far corners of the Great Lakes State—where highways thin, weather makes the rules, and history still feels close. Each episode tells a true Michigan story with the pace and detail of a classic historical documentary. In Copper Harbor, Michigan, Lake Superior doesn’t just mark the edge of the map—it sets the terms. On November 30, 1926, the freighter City of Bangor ran aground near Keweenaw Point in a fierce storm, carrying a remarkable

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28:54

The House of David: Michigan’s Cult That Built an...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2026/02/26

In this episode of The End of the Road in Michigan, we tell the bizarre true story of the House of David — a celibate, vegetarian religious commune in Benton Harbor that ran one of the most successful amusement parks in the Midwest. With long beards, a world-famous baseball team, miniature trains, and half a million visitors a year, they built an empire on joy and faith.Then came scandal, a public trial, and a slow collapse.How did a strict religious sect end up with a beer garden, a zoo, and

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9:03

Romeo, Michigan: When the Interurban Ran the Town —...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2026/02/26

In the early 1900s, Romeo, Michigan, was a farm town with a surprisingly modern advantage: electric interurban rail service. It gave residents a way to reach jobs, shops, and neighboring communities on a timetable—years before most families owned reliable cars.This episode follows the interurban era as it shaped daily life in Romeo. We examine how scheduled public transportation affected downtown businesses, how it widened the market for farm communities, and why the system faded as cars, paved

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15:03

Grand River Tales: The History of Farmington, Michigan

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2026/02/25

Long before Farmington became a suburb, it was a stopping point on one of Michigan’s most important roads. This episode traces Farmington’s story from the late 1800s through the early 20th century, when Grand River Avenue carried farmers, rail traffic, interurban cars, and travelers moving between Detroit and the interior of the state.Using historic descriptions and first-hand accounts, we look at the hotels, mills, churches, schools, and power plants that shaped daily life between 1890 and 1940

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7:15

Fort Brady - Soldiers in the Snow

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/10/28

Explore the captivating story of Fort Brady, Michigan, from 1900 to 1941. This video looks at the historic U.S. Army fort in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where soldiers guarded the Soo Locks and endured brutal winters. You’ll see vintage photographs of troops clearing deep snow, playing baseball on the parade field, and marching to a military band.Fort Brady was built to protect American territory, but life at the post included everyday friendships and pastimes. Learn how the fort grew in the early

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13:11

Pontiac’s War – The Fire That Swept the Great Lakes

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/10/12

In 1763, the Great Lakes erupted in rebellion. The war between Britain and France had ended, but peace never reached the frontier. When British officers replaced French traders at forts like Detroit and Michilimackinac, Indigenous nations faced an empire that dismissed their alliances and restricted their trade.The result was a sweeping uprising led by an Odawa war chief named Pontiac — a conflict that reshaped both Michigan and North America. This ten-minute episode of End of the Road in Michigan

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7:14

The Curse of the Schooner Augusta, The Pariah of the...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/08/18

On September 8, 1860, the sidewheel steamer Lady Elgin collided with the schooner Augusta off Winnetka, Illinois, sending more than 300 passengers into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. While the disaster became one of the deadliest shipwrecks in Great Lakes history, much of the blame focused on the Augusta.Branded reckless, cursed, and unlucky, the schooner soon earned a reputation as a pariah of the inland seas.This episode of End of the Road in Michigan traces the tangled story of the

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9:17

Inside Spikehorn Meyers’ Wild Bear Camp in Harrison,...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/08/16

The Bear Man of Harrison, Michigan In the 1930s and 1940s, motorists driving through Harrison, Michigan, often stopped at a roadside attraction unlike any other: Spikehorn Meyers’ Bear Den. Here, an eccentric old woodsman dressed in buckskin invited families to feed, pet, and even shake hands with live black bears. For nearly three decades, John “Spikehorn” Meyer turned his rustic camp into a legendary stop along US-27.Visitors gasped as bears sipped soda from glass bottles and nibbled popcorn from

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12:27

Beaver Island, Michigan – Kingdom, Fishermen, and the...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/08/15

In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we journey to Beaver Island — the largest island in Lake Michigan and the only place in America that once had a king. From 1848 to 1856, James Jesse Strang ruled here as a self-proclaimed monarch, building roads, homes, and a newspaper before his dramatic assassination at the St. James docks.We explore the Irish fishing community that reclaimed the island, the rise and fall of its Great Lakes fishing dominance, and the daring rescues of lighthouse

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7:30

Quincy Mine: Old Reliable’s Rise, Innovation, and...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/08/12

In the early 1900s, Hancock’s Quincy Mine—nicknamed Old Reliable—was one of America’s most productive copper mines. It reached over a mile underground, ran the world’s largest steam hoist, and fueled Michigan’s Copper Country economy for decades.But the work was grueling, the hours long, and tensions boiled over in the 1913 strike—culminating in the Italian Hall disaster, one of the darkest days in Michigan’s labor history.In this End of the Road in Michigan episode, we uncover the full story: the

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6:40

Saugatuck in the Early 1900s: Chicago’s Lakeshore...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/08/06

In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we take you back to the early 1900s, when Saugatuck transformed from a quiet lumber town into a vibrant summer retreat for Chicago’s city dwellers. You’ll hear how steamships, interurban trains, and hand-cranked ferries brought thousands to this lakeshore village.We revisit the days of the Big Pavilion, where electric lights lit up the harbor and music echoed across the water, and follow vacationers over Mt. Baldhead to the soft sands of Oval

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6:11

North Adams, Michigan: From Legendary Strength to...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/08/06

This episode traces North Adams, a Hillsdale County village that grew up along the rails and wired itself for the future. We open with the town’s most retold story—blacksmith Henry Taylor, a former slave who became a respected tradesman and was said to carry his anvil and once walk off with a potbelly stove. From there, we move down Main Street to Maccabee Hall, Barden’s Hotel, and C. J. Knapp’s store, then over to the 1912 Municipal Lighting Plant that brought electric light to homes and

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6:12

History of De Tour Michigan – From Native Encampments...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/08/06

At the far eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula lies De Tour Village, where the St. Marys River meets Lake Huron. In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we trace De Tour’s history from its earliest Native American encampments and French voyageurs to the bustling lumber era of the late 1800s.We revisit the days when the harbor was crowded with freighters, the winters when ships froze in place, and the arrival of summer tourists drawn to nearby Caribou Lake resorts. Through maritime

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6:10

The History of Tower, Michigan (1900–1950)

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/08/06

The History of Tower, Michigan (1900–1950) In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we travel to Cheboygan County to tell the story of Tower, a northern Michigan village built on timber and the railroad. At the turn of the 20th century, Tower was a booming lumber town — home to busy sawmills, the Stratton Handle Factory, and a thriving Main Street lined with shops, hotels, and saloons.But Tower’s fortunes changed quickly. In 1911, a massive wildfire destroyed much of its industry and

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9:14

Inferno at Parisville: Michigan’s Deadliest Day in...

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/05/01

On September 5, 1881, Michigan’s Thumb was engulfed by one of the deadliest forest fires in state history. In this gripping episode of The End of the Road in Michigan, we recount the devastating story of the 1881 Parisville Fire, which destroyed 446 buildings and claimed 22 lives in a single afternoon.Through vivid storytelling and eyewitness accounts, we explore how this small Polish immigrant community faced total destruction—and how a handful of mysterious "miracles" gave them hope amid the

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4:58

When Ships Ruled the Lakes The D&C Navigation Legacy

The End of the Road in Michigan ·

2025/04/29

Before the freeways, before commercial flights, lake steamers were the gateway to the Midwest.In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we chart the rise and fall of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company—one of the Great Lakes' most iconic passenger lines. From grand vessels like the City of Detroit III and Greater Detroit, to the six-day cruises connecting Detroit, Cleveland, and Put-in-Bay, the D&C Line helped shape the travel culture of an industrializing Michigan.With luxury

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90 results

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