The End of the Road in Michigan

Pull Over, Kids: Michigan’s Roadside Tourist Attractions

Michigan’s roadside tourism boom turned two-lane highways into stages for bear camps, tourist towers, novelty buildings, tiny chapels, diners and roadside oddities. This episode looks at how the automobile reshaped travel from the 1920s through the 1950s, using Spikehorn Meyers, Hedges Wigwam, Michigan tourist towers and other quirky stops as examples of the era when a good sign could make a family pull over. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]

Apartment 211: How the Collingwood Massacre Ended Detroit’s Purple Gang

During Prohibition, Detroit’s location across from Windsor helped turn the Detroit River into a major liquor-smuggling route. From that underworld came the Purple Gang, a violent criminal group tied to rum running, hijacking, extortion and murder. This episode follows the gang’s rise and decline through newspaper accounts, with the Collingwood Manor Massacre of 1931 as the turning point that helped break its power. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]

They Ran Like Mad: The 1908 Metz Fire and Northern Michigan’s Burning Year

In October 1908, northern Michigan burned. The Metz Fire destroyed a village, killed dozens and left hundreds homeless. At the same time, fires threatened communities near Alpena, Traverse City and Sault Ste. Marie, where ashes fell on the water “as if from a volcano.” This episode follows the fire through newspaper reports and the firsthand escape account of Mildred Swan, a Bay City teacher who ran through burning orchards and fences to survive. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]

The Day the Trolleys Stopped: Michigan’s Lost Interurban Age

Michigan once had a broad electric interurban rail network that linked Detroit, small towns, farms, factories and lake resorts. By the late 1920s and early 1930s, that system was collapsing under pressure from private automobiles, buses, rising costs and court-approved abandonments. This episode follows the decline through newspaper accounts from Saginaw, Monroe and Berrien Springs, showing how electric rail gave way to Michigan’s road age. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com] This episode includes AI-generated content.

The Men Who Didn’t Want to Leave: German POWs in Michigan

During World War II, more than 6,000 German and Italian prisoners of war were held in Michigan. They cut pulpwood in the Upper Peninsula, worked in fruit orchards, harvested crops, and helped fill wartime labor shortages. This episode follows the final days of German POWs at Fort Custer and Camp Evelyn, using 1945–46 newspaper clippings and historical records to tell the story of enemy soldiers who came to Michigan as prisoners — and, in some cases, hoped to return one day as free men. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]