Author Archives: hro50ta1

Loosely speaking

By Joel Thurtell I still have not found the story I wrote about a Farmington museum’s quest for the site of its outhouse. This is driving me nuts. You’d think it would be easy to search. The lead of the … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures in history | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Midwest Book Review: CROSS PURPOSES = ‘poignant read’

By JOTR staff CROSS PURPOSES, the latest book from upstart startup Hardalee Press, just got a five-star rating from Midwest Book Review. “Why compete with the other news reporters when your own paper presents plenty of competition already?” notes MBR … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Hardalee Press | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Thank God it’s (not) Friday

By Joel Thurtell Okay, I have to admit: I had a lot of fun those last couple years working at the Detroit Free Press. When managers weren’t trying to fire me for giving $$ to the Dems, they pretty much … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures in history | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Ambassador lies

By Joel Thurtell How many lies to you count in this historicbridges.org description of Matty Moroun’s Ambassador Bridge? This bridge may span between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, but this bridge is truly Windsor’s bridge. A well-maintained and extensive park … Continue reading

Posted in Me & Matty | 2 Comments

Matty’s fence — gone!

By Joel Thurtell By the time we got to Riverside Park a bit after six Friday afternoon, June 4, 2011, Matty’s fence was gone. The metal poles that once supported it were still standing in a row parallel to the … Continue reading

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Matty’s fence

By Joel Thurtell Wonder what this might mean: An electronic flyer from Detroit Bridge Watch calls for “Community Action to Take Back Riverside Park.” Wow! Is somebody going to take direct action to return a stolen park to the city … Continue reading

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The myth of Matty’s twin

By Joel Thurtell Why am I not ecstatic about the Detroit Free Press’s strong endorsement of the New International Trade Crossing, aka Detroit-Windosr bridge on Sunday, April 24, 2001? How journalists shape their questions largely determines how they present information … Continue reading

Posted in Joel's J School, Me & Matty | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Naming names

By Peppermint Patti JOTR Columnist My two-leggers have names for each other, Sophie. KahRen. ChowEl. I call them other things. The female is “Finder.” She found me at the dog pound. I am graateful to her. I call the male … Continue reading

Posted in Peppermint Patti | Tagged | Leave a comment

Peace Corps needs a union

By Joel Thurtell The Peace Corps does not need a cascade of new laws designed to force its administrative caste to treat the flunky class — volunteers — like human beings. What Peace Corps volunteers need is a union. Recent … Continue reading

Posted in Bad government, Togo & Peace Corps | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

UP THE ROUGE! and REI Paddlefest

By Joel Thurtell I’ll be talking about the adventure of canoeing an urban river Saturday, May 14 at 11 a.m. in the REI store in Northville Township. The stream I’ll be discussing, of course, is the Rouge River in metro … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge, Lakes and streams | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment