Category Archives: Adventures in history

Tarascan Surnames in Michoacán

Posted on January 18, 2019 by admin

By Joel Thurtell The first of my peer-reviewed academic journal articles about Mexico’s Tarascan society broke important news about an ethnic group that has largely been overlooked by historians. Scholars of Mexican history and anthropology were not previously aware that … Continue reading →

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Lethal Greenfield

Posted on October 14, 2017 by admin

By Joel Thurtell A main — if not the only — purpose of a museum should be to teach us about the past. But Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford have missed a golden opportunity to teach about about industrial … Continue reading →

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Flint’s man-made water crisis: where are the watchdogs?

Posted on January 16, 2016 by admin

By Joel Thurtell What a disaster the Flint water crisis has become. There was no need for tens of thousands of people to lose their publicly-provided source of clean drinking and bathing water. But government stupidity, folly, dishonesty made it … Continue reading →

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Tomatoes & Eggs III — Slavery on Grosse Ile: Colonel Brodhead’s ‘contraband’

Posted on April 9, 2014 by admin

By Joel Thurtell A weird thing happened in 2007 while I was covering Downriver for the Detroit Free Press. It was a time when the newspaper was courting suburban readers, and my job was to put my little journalist’s microscope … Continue reading →

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Free Press motto

Posted on February 22, 2014 by admin

Old Detroit Free Press motto: “It is a newspaper’s duty to print the news, and raise hell.”* New Free Press motto: “A newspaper’s duty is to digitize, and enliven downtown.” * Editor’s note: Oh, come on! This motto was coined … Continue reading →

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Antique oboist plays Denison Hall

Posted on March 22, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell This tale is all about a joke, really, but it begins with my chirimía. For years, this curious musical instrument sat atop the hutch in our kitchen. It was made by a musician from the Lake Pátzcuaro … Continue reading →

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The ex-slave who endowed a church for whites

Posted on February 23, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Born a slave, put Parisian chefs to shame, invested, and endowed a chapel for the white community on Grosse Ile. That is the story of Lisette Denison. Here is my sketch of her life, published with permission … Continue reading →

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Rat on the re-run

Posted on February 21, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell So far, none of my Free Press friends wants to eat rat. Shoot! I got back on the rat track last year when I discovered that Freepster Zlati Meyer had borrowed from some of my old Free … Continue reading →

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The slave quilt hoax

Posted on February 12, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell   Early in 2007, I read a New York Times article exposing a hoax involving the history of the Underground Railroad. I call it the slave quilt scam. Soon after I read the Times article, I noticed … Continue reading →

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‘Tomatoes & Eggs’ Part II: Erasing slavery on Big Isle

Posted on February 10, 2013 by admin

Grosse Ile historians chose not to use photos of slave inventory; one of the slaves mentioned, Charlotte, worked on Grosse Ile. Burton Historical Collection. By Joel Thurtell During the long-ago historical period when I was a grad student in history, … Continue reading →

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