What Were Pioneer Days Really Like in the U.P.?
The combination of mining, maritime and lumbering history created a
culture in the U.P. that is unique to the Midwest. Discover true stories
of the rough and dangerous times of the Upper Peninsula frontier that
are as enjoyable as they are educational. You'll find no conventional
romantic or whitewashed history here. Instead, you will be astonished by
the true hardships and facets of trying to settle a frontier sandwiched
among the three Great Lakes.
These pages are populated by Native Americans and the European
immigrants, looking for their personal promised land-whether to raise
families, avoid the law, start a new life or just get rich... no matter
what it took. Mineral hunters, outlaws, men of honor creating
civilization out of wilderness and the women of strength that
accompanied them, the Upper Peninsula called to all. Among the
eye-opening stories, you'll find True Tales includes:
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Dan Seavey, the infamous pirate based out of Escanaba
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Angelique Mott, who was marooned with her husband on Isle Royale for 9
months with just a handful of provisions and no weapons or tools
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Vigilantes who broke up the notorious sex trafficking rings -
protected by stockades, gunmen, and feral dogs - in Seney, Sac Bay,
Ewen, Trout Creek, Ontonagon and Bruce Crossing
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Klaus L. Hamringa, the lightkeeper hero who received a commendation of
valor for saving the crews of the Monarch and Kiowa shipwrecks
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The strange story of stagecoach robber Reimund (Black Bart) Holzhey
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The whimsical tale of how Christmas, Michigan got its moniker
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The backstories of famous pioneers, such as Peter White, George Shiras
III, Governor Chase Osborn and many others
This book is a gold mine of vacation possibilities, providing dozens of
fascinating little-known facts about many of the innumerable attractions
found in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With the aid of a near countless
parade of carefully selected historical images, Mikel paints a picture
the reader will not ever forget. -- Michael Carrier, author of Murder
on Sugar Island (Jack Handler mysteries)
"Deeply informative, but never boring, each chapter covers a different
event or person in the often dangerous and sometimes lawless Great Lakes
frontier. Maybe Michigan natives especially will be surprised by these
stories from the state's past. Claussen doesn't focus on the well-known
or the glamorous stories, but instead the odd, the little-known, and the
people who labored so hard to provide for themselves and their families
in an unforgiving and brutal environment. This is a wonderful volume to
better understand the little-understood region that is Michigan's Upper
Peninsula." -- Axie Barclay, Portland Book Review
"It's not that these stories have never been told... yet any collection
keeping stories alive seems worthy. The author delves into the darker
corners of the U.P. history, some he admits he himself had a hard time
believing. All told, the book is a nice sampler and keepsake of the
wild, weird, and wonderful things that should have given the Upper
Peninsula its own genre of 'Western'." --Konnie LeMay, Lake Superior
Magazine
Learn more at MikelBClassen.com
