Michigan Political History Society

We are saddened to hear of MPHS Lifetime Member, Dr. Doug Robert's passing. Doug was a valiant public servant and a great friend and mentor to many.

Douglas Roberts Obituary - East Lansing, MI Celebrate the life of Douglas Roberts, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home.

Congratulations MPHS member Larry Lee! So well deserved!

Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame to Induct Seven Members Six outstanding journalists will be inducted into the 2024 class of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees have made significant, sustained contributions to journalism in Michigan.

Thank you to all of our sponsors, ticket holders, volunteers and especially to our guest of honor, former Congressman Fred Upton for a great event!

We are saddened to hear of the recent passing of Kathy Wilbur. Kathy was a lifetime member and long-time friend and supporter of MPHS and will be sorely missed.

Kathy Wilbur, a leader at MSU and in state government, dies at age 70 Wilbur, who began her career in the Michigan Legislature, had a lengthy career in higher education, first at Central Michigan and then at MSU.

We had a great visit to Frankenmuth for our annual conference! Special thanks to John Kaczynski and Martha Zehnder for taking such good care of our group! We enjoyed hearing from Fritz Benson and Mike Ranville and their book project and The Honorable Chris Nuechterlein who walked us through the historic prohibition bust. We spent Friday afternoon touring various museums on the Golden Ticket Trolley! What a wonderful experiene!

Congratulations Governor Blanchard!

President Biden Announces Key Nominees | The White House WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration:  Senator Patrick Leahy, Nominee for Congressional Representative of the United States to the 77th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations...

We are pleased to share our latest addition to our oral history collection! Thank you, Governor Engler for your support for MPHS and for your many contributions to our State! Special thanks to Bill Ballenger for his commitment to this project and to Message Makers for producing this for us! If you would like more information on how you can support this project, please contact Linda Cleary, Executive Director at [email protected].

James J. Blanchard Living Library Of Michigan Political History | Governor John M. Enger

What a great night! Thank you to everyone who came out and showed their support. Thank you to our donors for their contribution. Most importantly, thank you to Dennis Cawthorne for an incredible presentation! MPHS continues to pursue and capture our state’s Political History and we are grateful for the support!

Tickets are still available to attend our event on Wednesday, Dec. 7th! This is a fundraising event to help us raise funds to continue our oral history project. For more information, please contact Linda Cleary, Executive Director at (517) 282-4520 or at [email protected]. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting our website at: www.mipoliticalhistory.com/events

So proud of this project and grateful to all of those who support our mission. If you would like to make a donation, please visit our website at: mipoliticalhistory.com (support our mission). Or consider attending our upcoming fundraising event on December 7th with Dennis Cawthorne (events page on our website).
http://www.jjblivinglibrary.com/

James J. Blanchard Living Library Of Michigan Political History The goals of the Living Library are to record the stories, experiences, and observations of major political figures in Michigan and to make these interviews available online, giving everyone the opportunity to learn more about Michigan's rich political history.

Great night with author G.T. Long talking about his latest book: “A Distant Rumble.” Thanks to all who attended! And thank you to the Library of Michigan for hosting us!

Come and join us on Sept. 20th!

Leadership changes here at MPHS! After serving for 4 years, Dan Papineau has stepped down in his role of President and Roberta Stanley has taken on the role after serving as Vice President for 3 years. We are also pleased to announce that John Kaczynski has accepted the role of Vice President! Many thanks to Dan for his leadership and best wishes to Roberta and John in their new roles.

We are looking forward to having GT Long with us on Tuesday, September 20th for a book discussion. MPHS members are FREE! For more information, contact us at: [email protected] and/or (517) 282-4520.

LEGENDARY DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN GURU GT LONG PUBLISHES 'HOW-TO' BOOK ON MICHIGAN POLITICS - The Ballenger Report From his beloved Horton Bay in the northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan, GT Long has penned a political memoir entitled “A Distant Rumble — The Unnoticed, Unreported World of Grassroots Politics.” It’s a hoot — an absorbing, funny page-turner of only 122 pages divided into a Prologue and ...

On Oct. 29, 1968, supporters of independent presidential candidate George C. WALLACE and hecklers battled with fists and chairs in a wild fight that broke out at a political rally for the third-party presidential candidate at Cobo Arena.

On Oct. 16, 1918, the Michigan Agriculture College (MAC)-University of Michigan football game for the coming weekend was canceled by MAC President Frank KEDZIE and Gov. Albert SLEEPER amid the mounting Spanish influenza cases that had afflicted the college campus and communities across Michigan.

Happy Birthday, Governor John Engler!

On July 18, 1938, state Sen. Anthony WILKOWSKI, in prison for being one of five ringleaders for a scheme to try to fraudulently recount ballots in the 1934 recount election, lost his "'trusty" privileges after he met for five hours offsite with the House Speaker on whether he was going to run for re-election from prison.

We really enjoyed our annual visit to Grand Hotel this week as we celebrate our 25th anniversary this year! Thank you to Dennis Cawthorne for an incredibly interesting discussion on Michigan Politics 1930-1946. His "Hoodlums to Hooper and Beyond" presentation was outstanding! Thank you too to the Grand Hotel for hosting us and always being so supportive of MPHS. Hope to see you next year!

Looking forward to seeing MPHS members on the Island in a few days for our annual trip! Excited to hear from Dennis Cawthorne on political corruption in the first few decades of the 1900's in Michigan's legislature.

Thank you to all who made our “Shared Power” event such a great success! What a great evening!

On June 15, 1948, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered three former Purple Gang members to serve prison terms for plotting the state Sen. Warren HOOPER murder, although none of the three were convicted of the killing. Myron SELIK and brothers Harry and Sam FLEISHER lost their appeal on the Calhoun County conviction that they plotted the murder in O'Larry's Bar in Detroit. Two gunmen testified that they had been offered a cut of a $15,000 pie to kill the Senator, but that they had pulled out of the deal.

On May 10, 1803, William H. HARRISON, governor of the Indiana Territory and the first future president to visit Michigan, arrived at Detroit. Harrison came to Michigan three more times before becoming president in 1841.

Thank you to everyone who came out tonight to support Hank Meijer and his new book. What a fascinating discussion about Senator Vandenberg and his many achievements. A special thanks to Mr. Meijer for being with us and to the staff at Meijer Gardens for hosting us.

Anyone ever read the book "Three Bullets Sealed His Lips"? Who do you think murdered Michigan State Senator Hooper on January 11, 1945 to keep him from testifying in front of the grand jury? For those who haven't read this book, it gives interesting perspective on the bribery and corruption in the Michigan legislature before campaign finance laws.

With all the recent talks about the Governor's "Marshall Plan" I thought it was interesting to note that on March 1, 1948, U.S. Sen. Arthur VanderBERG (R-Grand Rapids) urged for the speedy approval of the Marshall Plan to "help stop World War III before it starts."

A portrait of William Webb Ferguson, the first African-American to serve in the Michigan Legislature, was unveiled in the Capitol yesterday by the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus.

On Feb. 26, 1948, Gov. Kim SIGLER ordered a statewide investigation into sports gambling and "hoodlumism" led by Police Commissioner Harry TOY at the request of National Hockey League President Clarence CAMPBELL.

MPHS Annual Meeting 02/05/18

MPHS is pleased to announce our new officers: Dan Papineau (President), Jean Doss (Vice President) and Dan Stump (Secretary/Treasurer)! Thank you to Kerry Ebersole Singh (Past President) and Scott Bean (Past Vice President) for their many years of serving MPHS and keeping us going strong!