Author Archives: hro50ta1

‘Confusion’ about War of 1812

Posted on March 2, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell “There’s lots of confusion about the War of 1812.” And a recent book review in domemagazine.com complaining about the “confusion” further muddies the water. Several distortions or misstatements in the review raised my hackles, and I’ll write … Continue reading →

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Tomatoes & Eggs II: Erasing slavery on Big Isle

Posted on March 1, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell During the long-ago historical period when I was a grad student in history, my faculty adviser warned me that contemporary history can be a time of troubles for historians. Too many living parties with stakes in yet-to-be-played … Continue reading →

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Tomatoes & Eggs, Part I: Slaves on Grosse Ile

Posted on February 29, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Just as I predicted in a January 2007 Detroit Free Press story, Grosse Ile’s historians changed history. But not the way I expected. Early in 2007 (I retired from my Free Press reporting job the following November), … Continue reading →

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History as science

Posted on February 25, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Brace yourselves! Readers of joelontheroad.com will need to get used to a new kind of “content.” I’ve been fairly quiet recently, at least as far as blogging. While I’ve followed the recent antics of Matty, I haven’t … Continue reading →

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Interfering with news? What’s new?

Posted on February 16, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Unbelievable! Frightening news! Democrats are poised to take over Philadelphia newspapers! A former Democratic mayor of Philly who was also a governor of the state is heading a group who plan to acquire the newspapers. Already, they’re … Continue reading →

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Spiking the Super Bowl pizza

Posted on February 5, 2012 by hro50ta1

Here, slightly edited, is my annual Super Bowl story: By Joel Thurtell I’m no sports writer, so it was neat to think my byline would appear over a Super Bowl story. What a drag that my first-ever Super Bowl piece … Continue reading →

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Morounopoly

Posted on February 1, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell The answer: MOROUNOPOLY. The question: How do you spell Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority? According to Gongwer News Service, Gov. Rick Snyder might use the port authority to bypass the Legislature in his quest to build a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Guts on the floor

Posted on February 1, 2012 by hro50ta1

eviscerate vb 1. (tr) to remove the internal organs of; disembowel 2. (tr) to deprive of meaning or significance 3. (Medicine / Surgery) (tr) Surgery to remove the contents of (the eyeball or other organ) 4. (Medicine / Surgery) (intr) … Continue reading →

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My natural experiment

Posted on January 31, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell For years — decades, in fact — I’d been telling the same story. I was trained as a historian and I ought to know. The famous dictum of the great medieval historian Marc Bloch that “history is … Continue reading →

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The Newt & The Con

Posted on January 28, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Bottom line, what’s the difference, speaking ethically now, between Newt “The Newter” Gingrich and John “The Con” Conyers? First, I need to own up to having a bias. Rather, I have two biases. I think The Newter … Continue reading →

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