History Hounds® Lecture Series

Tue, Dec 5 2023, 12 - 1pm

Virtual

In 1961, Dr. William Randolph Lovelace II invited the nation’s best female airplane pilots to his medical facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he subjected them to physical and psychological exams designed to determine if they had “the right stuff” to fly in space. Now commonly known as the Mercury 13, that class of First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs) included twins, a senator's wife, a few mothers, and a woman who would realize their shared dream of becoming an astronaut 60 years later.

Wed, Dec 13 2023, 7 - 8pm

Virtual

Explore the layered history of the Lake Michigan shoreline near the mouth of the Kalamazoo River. This program examines the important role of forests in the history of the Saugatuck and Douglas area—touching on the lore of “Michigan’s Pompeii,” the mill town of Singapore. Additionally, attendees will delve into the cultural significance of the area’s environmental history, including the rise of West Michigan’s fruit industry and the wooden architecture of steamship and automobile tourism.

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 12 - 1pm

Virtual

The great women of Mackinac were trailblazers who established the community on Mackinac Island. They were leaders in the island’s fur trade, healthcare, literature, horse culture, and education, and their lives ran the gamut from scandal to tragedy. The personal stories of those women—including Madeline Laframboise, Agatha Biddle, Margaret Fuller, and Daisy Blodgett—reveal inventiveness and perseverance in a time when women had few rights.

Wed, Jan 3 2024, 7 - 8pm

Virtual

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, a group of cabinetmakers and entrepreneurs remade a Michigan river town  into the center of furniture production in the United States. Yet, far from a simple story of luck and perseverance, the city’s success was achieved by vision, skill, trials, and struggle—including the furniture strike of 1911. Far more than a place to buy chairs and tables, “Furniture City, U.S.A.” is the product of a community’s shared determination.