Michigan: Arts, Letters & Social Issues Quiz

Answer: Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom was born in Passaic New Jersey on May 23, 1958. for more than a decade, he's been a highly respected sportswriter and a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist for the "Detroit Free Press". Albom has won awards from AP, UPI, Headliners Club, and the National Sportswriters and Broadcasters Associations. The author of nine books, it was 1997's "Tuesdays With Morrie" that propelled the young writer to literary super stardom. Based on conversations with his Brandeis college professor, "Tuesdays With Morrie" remained on the New York Times bestseller list an astounding four years after its publication. It was adapted for television in 1999 starring Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria. Albom's latest effort is "The Five People You Meet in Heaven".

Georgia native Ernie Harwell (b. 1918) is one of the fondest memories of my formative years. Listening to him announce the Detroit Tigers' baseball games on the radio (which he did for 42 of his 55 years in the business) is a lovely memory. Famous for memorable phrases such as "He stood there like a house by the side of the road!", Ernie retired in 2003 and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Detroit-born Neal Shine (1930-2007) was a journalist and "Detroit Free Press" publisher.

Writer Ben Hamper (c. 1956), lives in Flint, Michigan, and was a writer for the "Flint Voice". His most famous work is his autobiography "Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line."

Answer: Edna Ferber

Kalamazoo-born Edna Ferber (1885-1968), began her writing career at 17 in Appleton, Wisconsin. She worked for several other newspapers and wrote a series of books about a traveling women's underskirt saleswoman Emma Chesney, that later became a play starring Ethel Barrymore (1915). Some of her most famous novels were also made into movies, including "Showboat" (1926), "Cimarron" (1929), and "Giant" (1952), which starred Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. She died of cancer in 1968 in New York.

One of my mom's favorite authors, Lilian Jackson Braun (b. 1913), is the author of a popular series known to fans as "The Cat Who..." mystery books, concerning crime-solvers James Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats KoKo and Yum Yum. She began her writing career with the "Detroit Free Press", serving as its "Good Living" editor for 30 years. Her books bring to life the flavor of life in Bad Axe, Michigan (in "the Thumb"), where she lived with her husband until the 1980s. She still uses a typewriter to write her novels and currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and, of course, two cats.

Carrie Jacobs Bond (1861-1946), a prolific songwriter lived and worked in Iron River, Michigan, with her husband, Dr. Frank Lewis Bond for many years. Probably her most famous composition was "I Love You Truly" (1901), for which she became the first woman to sell more than one million copies of a song. It was a staple at many weddings throughout the 20th century (including my parents' wedding!). She wrote dozens of other songs including "Hush a Bye" and "Jesus is Calling". Bond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Suzanne Banks is purely fictional.

Answer: George Trendle

Born in Ohio, George Washington Trendle (1884-1972), opened a law practice in Detroit and became involved in Detroit entertainment in the 1920s. Referred to as "The Miser of Motown" by author Jack French, Trendle, the owner of WXYZ radio in Detroit, produced "The Lone Ranger", even though it was primarily the creation of Fran Striker and James Jewell. Trendle proceeded to make a fortune from the hit series, while Striker and Jewell never saw a nickel of the profits. "The Lone Ranger" began broadcasting on the Michigan Regional Network in 1933. Trendle was the power behind many radio series, but "The Lone Ranger" and "The Green Hornet" (1938) were the most successful and both made the move from radio to television. George Trendle died in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, in 1972.

Dick Osgood, a Trendle employee, documented the long years of greed and glory-stealing in his book "WYXIE Wonderland".

H. Allen Campbell was an advertising "hatchet man" for Trendle who once told Earl Graser, radio voice of the Lone Ranger: "You're no radio actor. All you can do is play the Ranger. You know, I think we ought to make some changes with the Ranger. It might add interest if he was shot and then he could be in the hospital for weeks. Yeah, we might even have him die!"

Dan Reid was the real name of the Green Hornet, and nephew of the Lone Ranger.

Isn't showbiz fun? :)

Answer: Alden B. Dow

Son of Michigan industrialist Herbert H. Dow, founder of The Dow Chemical Company, Alden B. Dow (1904-1983) was born in Midland, Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan and Columbia University. Both he and his wife, Vada, studied under Frank Lloyd Wright at Talesin in Wisconsin in 1933. Among Dow's many other designs are the Midland Center for the Arts, the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library (named for his mother), both in Midland; Muskegon Community College, and the Ann Arbor City Hall, Library and Community Center. He also designed many private, highly-sought-after homes in Midland. The Alden Dow House and Studio, also in Midland, is a National Historic Landmark. Dow was awarded the Michigan Society of Architects Gold Medal in 1960 and was the first to receive the Frank Lloyd Wright Creativity Award in 1982.

Albert Kahn (1869-1942) was a German-born industrial architect whose designs can be see throughout Detroit and around the state, including the General Motors Building, the Art Deco-style Fisher Building, and the Edsel and Eleanor Ford Home in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), emigrated to the U.S. from Finland in 1922 and studied at the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, with Charles and Ray Eames. According to "Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future", a November 2007-March 2008 Cranbrook exhibition of Saarinen's work: "... [he] was one of the most prolific, unorthodox, and controversial masters of 20th-century architecture. Although his career was cut short by death at age 51 in 1961, Eero Saarinen was one of the most celebrated architects of his time, both at home and abroad."

Julia Morgan (1872-1957) was one of the first women to study at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-arts in Paris. A prolific designer, her most famous work is, arguably, San Simeon, also known as the Hearst Palace, in California.

Answer: Fannie Richards

In 1869, Fannie Richards (1840-1922), a teacher at Detroit's Colored School No. 2, sat patiently while the Michigan Supreme Court argued whether segregating students was legal in Detroit public schools. Richards and Michigan's Republican Governor John Bagley had filed suit claiming that segregation was unconstitutional. When word came that the Supreme Court had decided in their favor, teacher Richards and her students cheered. Richards retired in 1915 after more than 50 years in teaching.

"I am as strong as any man," said Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), a freed slave whose travels and stories of her life and faith in God, collected in her 1850 "Narrative of Sojourner Truth" made her a respected national figure. She moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1857, where she died in 1883.

Alabama born Cora Mae Brown (1914-1972) moved to Detroit at age eight. She graduated from Detroit's Cass Technical High School, Fisk University (Tennessee), and the Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. In 1952, she became the first African-American woman to serve in the Michigan State Senate.

Martha W. Griffiths (b. 1912) of Armada, Michigan, reintroduced the Equal Rights Amendment in 1973, 50 years after its first appearance. She also was the first woman appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee and served as Michigan's Lieutenant Governor from 1982-1990.

Answer: Mary Chase Perry Stratton

According to the "Pewabic Pottery" entry on the Michigan Arts and Sciences website, Pewabic Pottery was built in Detroit in 1907-08 by William Stratton for his future wife, Mary Chase Perry (1867-1861). Her interest in china painting soon led to teaching classes in the art and building a solid reputation as a skilled artisan. She loved experimenting with different glazes. When she discovered her neighbor, Horace Caulkins, had invented a new high-heat furnace for dental products, a new glazing process was born. Stratton worked at the pottery until her death at age 91. Today, Pewabic Pottery tiles are found in distinguished buildings throughout Michigan and the United States.

Gwen Frostic (1906-2001), a Sandusky, Michigan, native, honed her considerable artistic talents despite suffering from symptoms of cerebral palsy. She began working in metals but, because of World War II, moved on to linoleum block carving and eventually to her own printing shop, Presscraft Papers in Benzonia, Michigan, where she worked until her death. Frostic was granted several honorary doctorates and May 23 is Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan. I had the honor of interviewing Ms. Frostic for a feature several years ago and she truly was a friendly, talented, life-loving individual.

Edward Q. Wagner (b. 1855, Germany - d. 1922, Detroit) sculpted the Anthony Wayne pediment at the Wayne County Building, Detroit. Wagner worked generating architectural sculpture at both the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and the St. Louis Exposition in St. Louis in 1904.

Answer: Gabriel Richard

According to a 1997 article by Kay Hughes in "The Detroit News", Father Gabriel Richard (1767-1832), born in La Ville de Saintes, France, came to Detroit in 1804 to serve as assistant pastor for St. Anne's Church and to open a school (which was destroyed by fire--along with most of the city--in 1805). This fire prompted Fr. Richard to write Detroit's motto: "Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus" ("We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes.") Fr. Richard also ministered to the local Native Americans and was greatly respected by them. He died of cholera in 1832.

Antoine de la Mothe le Sieur de Cadillac (1658-1730), was stationed for a period in Canada as a captain in the French army. In 1694 he was appointed commander of the French post at Mackinac (now part of Mackinac Co., Mich.). In 1697 he presented to King Louis XIV of France (the "Sun King") a plan for a permanent trading post in the American Northwest. With royal approval, he founded Pontchartrain d'Étroit (now Detroit) in 1701.

Fr. Jacques Marquette (1637-1675) founded missions in Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace, Michigan, before setting off with Louis Joliet to be the first white men to map the northern Mississippi River. He died and is buried in St. Ignace.

Although born in New Hampshire, Zachariah Chandler (1813-79), was Mayor of Detroit (1851-52), a four-term U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan (1857-75), and Secretary of the Interior under U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant (1875-77). He may be best known leader of the Radical Republicans during the American Civil War.

Answer: Bruce Catton

James Bruce Catton (1899-1978) studied at Oberlin College and, from 1942-48, held various posts with the World War II Production Board and the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1954, he became an editor of "American Heritage", a magazine about Americana, and in 1959 was named senior editor of the American Heritage Publishing Company. His book "A Stillness at Appomattox" won both a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in 1954.

Ringgold (Ring) Wilmer Lardner (1885-1933), a Niles, Michigan, native, was a highly respected writer in the 1920s and '30s. He was best known for his sardonic sports writing, including: "Treat 'em Rough", "The Young Immigrunts" [sic], and "Gullible's Travels".

While not native to Michigan, renowned author Ernest Hemingway (1899-1960), spent many happy summers in and around Walloon Lake, Michigan. Many of his Nick Adams stories are based on those times.

Stewart Edward White (1873-1946), was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and made his name as a multi-genre writer with many travel, historical, children's, metaphysical and motivational publications to his credit. He wrote the "Betty Book" (1937), about messages received from beyond by his wife, Betty, a medium. In 1940, he published "The Unobstructed Universe" based on messages received from Betty, herself, who had died in 1939.

Answer: Annie Klobuchar

Known as "Big Annie" because of her statuesque 6'2" height, Annie Klobuchar (1888-1956) was born in Calumet, Michigan. In 1913, the miners and their families went on strike, as wages were shamefully low and many had been injured or killed by substandard equipment. Each morning at 6 a.m. "Big Annie" (and the large American flag she customarily carried) led the group of marchers on the seven mile march to the mines. The strike continued for a year, despite the hiring of "Waddies" (toughs hired from New York tenements), local deputies, the Citizens' Alliance, and a Christmas Party organized by Annie that became known as the Italian Hall Disaster when someone (believed to be from the Citizens' Alliance) yelled "Fire!". In the frenzy to escape the non-existent flames, 74 people died, 11 of them children. Finally, in April 1914, the miners went back to work, their pay raised from $2.50 to $3.00 per day, but with no changes in working conditions.

South Haven, Michigan's Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954), was an American botanist and educator whose study of cultivated plants significantly influenced the development of plant genetics, plant pathology, and modern agricultural techniques.

Marie Dye (1891-1974), was the first woman with a Ph.D. to be appointed to the Michigan State University faculty. She went on to become the first female full professor in the Division of Home Economics in 1930, and later was appointed Dean of the Division. Her career ultimately spanned thirty-four years (1922-1956).

Michigan's first female governor, Jennifer M. Granholm was born in 1959. An attorney, she first made history in 1999 by being sworn in as Michigan's first female Attorney General. She is a devoted advocate of child development and education and created Project Great Start to increase childhood literacy and educational programs.

Answer: Emily Helen Butterfield

Born in Algonac, Michigan, Emily Butterfield (1884-1958), began her art career at age seven and opened Butterfield and Butterfield with her father in 1917. The Butterfields were pioneers in the transformation of church architecture from a Sunday meeting hall to a center of daily community and social activity. They planned 26 churches throughout the state, as well as factories, homes and stores. She also contributed to the women's movement and was a co-founder of the Detroit Business Women's Club in 1912.

Ella Kellogg (1853-1920), born in Alfred Center, New York, created a new field that continues to make an indelible mark on modern society: dietics. She established a reputation in Michigan as a dietian, writer (she edited "Good Health" magazine from 1877-1920), and child advocate. As well as assisting her husband, John Kellogg (yes, the cereal maker) improve his health food recipes, Ella made her own mark by founding The School of Home Economics (later Battle Creek College), published "Science in the Kitchen", which looked at chemicals in cooking, and was an active member of the Women's Temperance Union. Although unable to have children of their own, the Kelloggs founded the Haskell Home for Orphans in Battle Creek.

Lillian Mellen Genser, (1920 - 2006), was a pioneer for peace and human rights. While teaching in the Detroit public schools, Genser realized a need for programs that helped children of different racial, religious, national and social backgrounds interact and increase diversity awareness and tolerance. According to the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame: "Ms. Genser is dedicated to her belief that if children are taught the skills of nonviolent conflict resolution during their formative years, they will carry those values with them throughout their lives." She served a long tenure as the director for the Wayne State University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, and introduced the Humanity in the Arts Award.