On March 23, 1806, Lewis and Clark began their journey back from the Pacific coast to the East to report on their expedition. The winter had been brutally cold and wet. They had traveled about 4,000 miles from St. Louis and had been gone almost two years.

Lewis and Clark thought they could avoid the trip back over land by getting on a merchant ship but there were none to be found. And so, without much food or supplies, they began the trek back. In six months, they arrived in St. Louis.

collins

The Ann Arbor Police Department's first African American police officer, Clayton James Collins, died February 8, 2007. Officer Collins served from 1950 - 1955 and then worked in several departments at the University of Michigan. His obituary appeared in the Ann Arbor News, March 14, 2007. To learn more about the AAPD, visit the Ann Arbor Police Department Online History Exhibit.

Mimap

The Michigan State University libraries have mounted another stellar online history exhibit, Footpaths to Freeways: The Evolution of Michigan Roadmaps. The exhibit traces how roads have been depicted on Michigan maps from the time it was a territory to the present. In addition to maps, it includes photographs, unique short-lived route guides and artifacts. Visit the physical exhibit in the MSU Main Library, 4th Floor West Wing Exhibit Cases March - June 2007.

john glenn

Forty-five years ago today, John Glenn successfully completed the first American manned orbital mission aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962.
To celebrate the anniversary of this event, NASA has added some interactive features to their website. Visit nasa.gov to take an inside look at the Friendship 7, explore bios and a photo gallery, and conduct virtual interviews with the surviving Mercury astronauts. You can also watch a 30 minute special online on NASA TV: 45th Anniversary of Americans in Orbit, at 7pm on February 20th.

If you had an ancestor who might have served in the War of 1812 you might wish to attend the next meeting of the Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County on Sunday, February 25 at 1:30 p.m. at the Education Center Auditorium, St Joseph Mercy Hospital Campus, 5305 Elliott Drive. The program, which is open to all, will feature a lecture by Xavier Allen, a local reenactor and storyteller, speaking on 'The War of 1812: A perspective from Upper Canada.' In addition Carolyn Griffin will speak on researching War of 1812 ancestors. There have been several recent good books on the war, including A.J. Langguth's Union 1812 and Walter Borneman's 1812: The War that Forged a Nation which might also be of interest. For some online genealogical research also check the library's web site for other resources.

Don’t Waste Our Times Productions and the Adelia Cheever Program are sponsoring a Women’s History essay contest with cash prizes for the top essay writers in the following categories: Youth (grades 6-8); Young Adult (grades 9-12); and Adult (18 and up). Essays should be postmarked by Friday, March 9th, 2007.

Name a woman, not known to you personally (e.g. not a relative), whom you believe should be remembered for Women’s History Month. Explain your choice.

Include on the first page:
Entrant’s name
Age/Year in school
Address
Phone number or email address
Number of Pages
School affiliation (if any)

Include last name and page number on subsequent pages

Send entries via email to cheever@umich.edu or snail mail to DWOT Productions, PO Box 4315, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. DWOT & Cheever may reprint all or part of entered essays. Call (734) 763-6301 or email cheever@umich.edu with questions. Visit us at www.dwot.org

On June 16, 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space—during the Vostok 6 mission. It was 20 years later (almost to the day) that Sally Ride became the first American woman in space—as a crewmember on Space Shuttle Challenger for STS-7 on June 18, 1983.

In Martha Ackmann’s The Mercury 13, we are introduced to 13 women who should have been among the first in space. They included Jerrie Cobb, Wally Funk, Myrtle Cagle, and Bernice "B" Steadman, who were some of the most accomplished pilots of their time, male or female. These women passed the same rigorous tests (in 1961) that the original Mercury 7 astronauts underwent in the late 1950s. The women's testing program was eventually scrapped and women astronaut candidates weren’t selected by NASA until the 1978 class of Space Shuttle astronauts.

To find more books on women astronauts click here.

michigan

Michigan turns 170 on Friday, January 26th. It was on that date in 1837 that Michigan joined the Union as the nation's 26th state. Join in the birthday celebration at the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing on Saturday, Jan. 27, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hands-on activities, exhibits and even birthday cake for the first 100 visitors. In what city was the Frostbitten Convention held that paved the way for Michigan's admission to the Union?

ford

Former President Gerald Ford, the only non-elected chief executive, died Tuesday, December 26, 2006. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor provide exhibits, history and papers of Michigan’s only president and his family. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press have extensive coverage of the President's life.

Why pull out all the decorating stops when someone else has already done it for you? According to the Ann Arbor News, the Museum on Main Street is serving up nostalgia this holiday season—glass ornaments, aluminum trees, and even a tree made from goose feathers (!) fill the small house on the corner of Beakes and Main. The museum is open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4, and procrastinators need not fret—the exhibit runs until January 17. For the industrious at heart, the library also carries a large selection of holiday decorating books.