Connecting with Literature

There are just some people, places, things, and events that hold no interest for me. For example, I saw pictures of the Grand Canyon growing up, but I wasn't really interested in finding out more about it or going to see it. Then the summer before I moved to California there was a book of historical fiction on the popular book rack at our store. It was called Grand Canyon. Lacking anything better to do while working, I read it. I liked the book so much that suddenly the Grand Canyon was interesting. On my way to California, I made sure to stop at the Grand Canyon. Suddenly the places and thing that I had read about in the book had meaning and interest.

Inversely, a connection with a person, place, or thing that is the subject of a book can add meaning to the piece of literature. I frequently look to find connections to the literature that I read and also seek out literature based on a personal connection with the subject. This is also helpful when finding material for my daughter to read.

A sometimes overlooked piece of local literature, that everyone here should be able to connect with, is Little Mossback Amelia. We have 2 copies available in the library. Amelia came to the Petoskey area as a child around 1879. Her family homesteaded just outside of town. What is a short drive out of town today took the family 2 days of walking to reach.

This book can be found in the children’s section of the library, but is a book that Michiganders of any age can connect with. You can even take a drive by the family homestead and imagine what it would have been like. There is a map in the front of the book.

You can also connect with the author, Frances Margaret Fox. Frances is a local author who wrote over 50 books and was the author of the original Little Bear series. Anyone who has spent time in Mackinaw City should be familiar with her little stone house on the lake that is not too far from the bridge, Happy Landings.

Happy Landing Now and Then

External Links:
CMU Michigan in letters:Frances Margaret Fox

Michigan History


I would like to thank the Michigan History (HST-270) class and instructor Hollie Johnston-Davidson for stopping into the library to learn about our research materials for Michigan History.

Michigan history is one of my favorite subjects. My family has been in Northern Michigan for well over 300 years, so Michigan history is a very personal subject for me. Michigan history is frequently overlooked in the general chronology of American history due to the fact that Michigan was colonized by the French. However, Michigan history is unique and fascinating, and Michigan was twice the center of the most important industries of their time in the world: the fur trade right here in Northern Michigan and the auto industry in Eastern Michigan. So, as I did in my instructional session for the Michigan History class, let me take a moment to point out some of the wonderful resources for information about Michigan history that we have here in the library.

Resources

Michigan History Magazine is available bound starting with editions published in 1919. You can also find issues online from 1917 to 1922 at http://books.google.com/ and issues from 1998 to the present in our Infotrac periodical collection in the General OneFile database, available through our library homepage or through MEL(the Michigan Elibrary).

The NCMC Catalog, available on our library homepage, will show the plethora of books that are available in the library as well as books in our online collection. Take a look online at the history of our area as told by Andrew J. Blackbird in his book, History of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan, or relive Alexander Henry's tale of his escape from the massacre at Fort Michilimackinac facilitated by his native friend Wawatam who had adopted him as a brother, in Henry's book, Alexander Henry's Travels and adventures in the years 1760 - 1776. Please ask someone at the desk for help if you are having trouble finding a book, many of our best resources are kept in our locked valuable collection and we would be happy to show them to you.

The Making of Modern Michigan is a digitization project funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services and although their collection will be available soon, many of the participating libraries have online resources available, such as at the University of Michigan's Michigan County Histories site.

The Open Library is a non-profit Internet archive, partially funded by the California State Library, with the goal of creating one web page for every book ever published and is a great resource for viewing out of copyright books online as well as information about newer books you may want to look for. Google Books is also another place to look for great materials about Michigan history.

Keep in Mind

When studying Michigan history, like any history, it is a good idea to look for multiple sources of information, both primary and secondary. All history is told from the perspective of the person telling the story and contains both personal bias and a bias of the time period when it is being told. Primary sources may be more accurate as the source is from the time being studied and has direct personal knowledge of the event. However a secondary source may provide analysis and evaluation of the original material, supplying additional facts that may not have been known to the primary source. Alexander Henry would be a primary source as he writes about an event that he witnessed. Secondary sources have since created controversy over Henry's claims in regards to cannibalism, so in order to get a complete view it is important to look at both primary and secondary sources. If you are new to Michigan history, a tertiary source that provides an analysis with a broad overview may be the place to start. Historical fiction is also an enjoyable way to become familiar with the history and spark your interest and curiosity. We have many great works of historical fiction set in Michigan both online and in the library.

Closing Notes

From the time when my Chippewa ancestors lived off the land to present day, my family has been a part of Michigan history. Even if you are new to Michigan, you are now a part of Michigan history. If you don't know much about the history of Michigan please stop in to the library or take a look at our online resources and find out about the rich history of our state.