The Michigan State Fair – Gone But Not Forgotten? – 8/31/10 – Photography by Bob Vigiletti

The Michigan State Fair, proclaimed to be the oldest state fair in the United States, was first held at its permanent home at Woodward and 8 Mile Road in 1905. Prior to that the first official Michigan State Fair was held in 1849 at a different location in Detroit.  An effort to give the Fair a permanent home was started by Joseph L. Hudson. Mr. Hudson and three of his associates purchased 135 acres of land east of Woodward between 7 1/2 and 8 Mile Roads. Having no interest in running the fair, Hudson sold the land to the Michigan State Agricultural Society for one dollar in April 1905. Subsequently, additional land was bought to bring the size of the fairgrounds to its present 164 acres.

Over time, attendance at the Michigan State Fair declined from a peak of 1.2 million in 1966 to 217,000 in 2009. On October 30, 2009, Governor Jennifer Granholm cut all funding to the Michigan State Fair.  Because of declining attendance, lack of other sponsors, and no state funding, 2009 was destined to be the last year for the historic Michigan State Fair. It is only through our thoughts and photographs that we preserve and cherish memories of the past.

Roadside Ramblings – 6/30/10 – Photography by Mark F. O’Brien

Michigan is a state criss-crossed with highways. As the home state for the auto industry, the roads have played an important part in connecting communities, bringing in tourism, as well as being the main thoroughfare for commerce. Exploring Michigan’s roads, whether the major highways or the gravel backroads, has become one of my photographic pursuits. I often shoot with a “toy camera” — simply a plastic camera with a cheap plastic lens, limited exposure control, and infinite possibilities for photography. While I use all kinds of really nice cameras, it’s the Holgas, Dianas, and thrift-shop wonders that produce many of my most memorable and endearing photographs.

A full tank of gas, some maps, and a few cameras inevitably leads to a long day traversing some part of the state. If one is curious enough, just traveling all of the roads in a single county can take a long time to complete. Driving around and letting serendipity take its course is one way of learning about my state, as well as coming back with some photographs that sometimes offer a surreal aspect of what’s off the side of the road.

The Bay View Portfolio – 6/1/10 – Photography by Robert Cleveland

The community of summer homes and cottages at Bay View had its beginning in a conversation that took place in Jackson, Michigan in September, 1875. A group of Methodists had met to plan a Camp Meeting, which was a popular form of summer gathering where people convened for cultural, social, and religious purposes. Today, Bay View is a community of some 470 summer homes, cottages, and public buildings, most of them constructed in the Victorian style within 25 years of the association’s founding. Photographer Robert Cleveland began his visual documentation of Bay View in 2004, and we present a series of his color photographs from this northern Michigan community.

So I Come to America: Detroit Pre-World War I Immigrants – 3/22/10 – Photography by Robert Gordon

Between 1980 and 1983 Robert Gordon interviewed and photographed 50 Detroit area immigrants who came to the United States prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. What had been a steady influx of immigrants throughout the 19th century exploded in the period immediately prior to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. From 1901 to 1910, a total of 8.8 million people immigrated to the United States. In the following decade, despite the First World War, another 5.8 million came to our shores.

When Dr. Gordon was working on this project in the early 1980s, he was aware that the world these immigrants left when they came to the United States was gone. Thirty years later the world they came to and the world they made are also gone. Now, these immigrants themselves are gone.

Michigan’s Automobile Factories, 1900-1961 – 3/8/10 – Edited by Doug Aikenhead

The industrial adventurers and entrepreneurs who launched Michigan’s automobile industry came from various backgrounds. Some of them began as carriage makers, like William C. Durant who would go on to found General Motors in 1908. The earliest automobiles, like their horse-drawn predecessors, were constructed largely from wood and were built individually until the assembly line evolved to accelerate production and incorporate standardized, mass-produced parts. As automobile manufacturing progressed, the role of the worker changed from traditional craftsman to skilled assembly line specialist. This series of historical photographs traces the evolution of Michigan automobile factories from 1900 until 1961.

The Deli Guy – 1/26/10 – Photos and audio by Roy Feldman

Reasons why Alex Yushkovsky left the Ukraine were to avoid violent anti-Semitism and his father’s refusal to join the Communist party. Alex is now part owner of a delicatessen in Royal Oak, from which he imparts to us some deli lore and a little philosophy in his quest to find the American dream.

Early Automobile Photography – 1/11/10 – Automotive photography by Walter Farnyk. Classroom photography by Doug Aikenhead. Audio/video production by Eric Smith

In the early 1950s, General Motors photographer Walter Farynk and colleagues in other studios pioneered techniques that helped feed the American appetite for automobiles. In the 1970s, Walter began his second career, educating the next generation of commercial and fine art photographers. Jim Secreto narrates a sampling of Walter Farynk’s professional work and pictures of him in action as a teacher.

The Horse Doctor – 1/5/10 – Photos and audio by Roy Feldman

Dr. Roland Thaler and his wife Bonnie run a successful equine veterinary practice based in Metamora, Michigan’s Horse Country.

WPA Art in Michigan – 12/21/09 – Photos by Dirk Bakker

Roosevelt’s “Public Works of Art Project” began in 1933 and was responsible for the painting of dozens of murals in Michigan’s post offices and other government buildings. Dirk Bakker began photographing “WPA” art in Michigan in 1978, eventually documenting over 50 WPA projects across the state.

The Artist: Stephen Magsig – 12/3/09 – Photos and audio by Roy Feldman

Everyday Stephen Magsig creates an oil painting of urban Detroit, and soon he will have completed his 800th painting.

Parade in Waiting – 11/19/09 – Photos by Eric Smith

The Thanksgiving Parade that fills Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit for several hours every year is actually an ongoing work in progress that has delighted spectators for decades.

Home – 11/9/09 – Photos by Austin R. Hermann

A pictographic examination of Michigan’s current economic housing crisis, with interviews from each participating member.

What We Eat: It’s Your Choice – 10/5/09 – Photos by Eric Smith

A look at the obesity crisis in Michigan.