Michigan Minute

Pinball Ban & Gwen Frostic Day| May 23

On this day in 1939, the Detroit City Council voted to ban pinball machines from being played outside on the streets, concerned they were being used for gambling. While Los Angeles banned them completely, Detroit opted for a more moderate approach. And today is Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan, as proclaimed by Governor William Milliken in 1978. Born in the Michigan Thumb, Frostic’s art studio near Sleeping Bear Dunes became a nature lover's attraction. She wrote her own epitaph: “Here lies one doubly blessed. She was happy and she knew it.”

Underwater Stonehenge & Ferguson's Birth| May 22

On this day in 2015, divers discovered Michigan’s underwater Stonehenge on the bed of Lake Michigan. The ring of stones, resembling the British Isles' Stonehenge, features carvings of animals like mastodons and is believed to date back to the last ice age, around 14,000 years ago. Also today in 1857, Michigan’s first Black legislator, William Ferguson, was born in Detroit. After winning a racial discrimination case, Ferguson became prominent and was elected as Michigan’s first Black Representative in the 1890s. His portrait was placed in the Michigan State Capitol in 2018.

Olds' Export & Michigan's State Song| May 21

On this day in 1892, Ransom E. Olds sold the first American car for export. His steam-powered car, featured in Scientific American, was bought by a company in London, making it the first American car sold overseas. And in 1937, “My Michigan” was adopted as the official state song, chosen for expressing the hopes and pride of Michigan's people. However, it’s rarely sung due to copyright issues, with royalties required until the copyright expires in 2031.

Lindbergh's Flight & MSU Student Strike| May 20

On this day in 1927, Detroit native Charles Lindbergh completed the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight, leaving Long Island’s Roosevelt Field and landing in Paris 33.5 hours later, becoming an international celebrity. And in 1970, Michigan State University President Clifton Wharton called in the state police to end a student strike protesting the Vietnam War. With the Kent State Massacre fresh in mind, Wharton and Governor Milliken aimed to avoid incidents, leading to the arrest of 127 students and the strike's end.

Buick's Incorporation & Quadruplets' Birth| May 19

On this day in 1903, Buick, now a division of GM, was incorporated in Detroit. David Dunbar Buick and Walter L. Marr built the first automobile to be called a Buick just before the turn of the century, but the company wasn’t incorporated until three years later. And in 1930, the world’s first recorded identical quadruplets were born at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. Named Edna A., Wilma B., Sarah C., and Helen D., after Edward W. Sparrow Hospital, the sisters became local celebrities. Their father, Carl Morlok, was hired as Lansing city constable and won reelection by a landslide in 1931.