Mikel B. Classen

Mikel B. Classen

Mikel B. Classen

Mikel B. Classen has been writing about northern Michigan in newspapers and magazines for over thirty-five years, creating feature articles about the life and culture of Michigan’s north country. He’s written about Upper Peninsula history, travel, outdoors, the environ­ment and many other subjects. A journalist, historian, photographer and author with a fascination of the world around him, he enjoys researching and writing about lost stories from the past. Currently he is Managing Editor of the U.P. Reader.

Classen makes his home in the oldest city in Michigan, historic Sault Ste. Marie. He is also a collector of out-of-print history books, historical photographs and prints of Upper Michigan. At Northern Michigan University, he studied English, history, journalism and photo­graphy. He lives with his wife, Mary L. Underwood, and his Labrador retriever, Gidget.

His book, Au Sable Point Lighthouse, Beacon on Lake Superior’s Shipwreck Coast, was published in 2014 and his book, Teddy Roosevelt and the Marquette Libel Trial, was published in 2015, Both by the History Press. He has two books of fiction called Lake Superior Tales, published by Modern History Press, and Journeys into the Macabre, published by NetBound Books.

To learn more about Mikel B. Classen and to see more of his work, go to his website at www.mikelclassen.com

True Tales

SKU 978-1-61599-635-3
$18.95
The Forgotten History of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
1
Product Details
UPC: 978-1-61599-635-3
Brand: Modern History Press
Binding: Paperback
Audiobook: Audible, iTunes
Edition: 1st
Author: Mikel Classen
Pages: 162
Publication Date: 04/01/2022

What Were Pioneer Days Really Like in the U.P.?

The combination of mining, maritime and lumbering history created a culture in the U.P. that is unique to the Midwest. Discover true stories of the rough and dangerous times of the Upper Peninsula frontier that are as enjoyable as they are educational. You'll find no conventional romantic or whitewashed history here. Instead, you will be astonished by the true hardships and facets of trying to settle a frontier sandwiched among the three Great Lakes.

These pages are populated by Native Americans and the European immigrants, looking for their personal promised land-whether to raise families, avoid the law, start a new life or just get rich... no matter what it took. Mineral hunters, outlaws, men of honor creating civilization out of wilderness and the women of strength that accompanied them, the Upper Peninsula called to all. Among the eye-opening stories, you'll find True Tales includes:

  • Dan Seavey, the infamous pirate based out of Escanaba
  • Angelique Mott, who was marooned with her husband on Isle Royale for 9 months with just a handful of provisions and no weapons or tools
  • Vigilantes who broke up the notorious sex trafficking rings - protected by stockades, gunmen, and feral dogs - in Seney, Sac Bay, Ewen, Trout Creek, Ontonagon and Bruce Crossing
  • Klaus L. Hamringa, the lightkeeper hero who received a commendation of valor for saving the crews of the Monarch and Kiowa shipwrecks
  • The strange story of stagecoach robber Reimund (Black Bart) Holzhey
  • The whimsical tale of how Christmas, Michigan got its moniker
  • The backstories of famous pioneers, such as Peter White, George Shiras III, Governor Chase Osborn and many others

This book is a gold mine of vacation possibilities, providing dozens of fascinating little-known facts about many of the innumerable attractions found in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With the aid of a near countless parade of carefully selected historical images, Mikel paints a picture the reader will not ever forget. -- Michael Carrier, author of Murder on Sugar Island (Jack Handler mysteries)

Learn more at MikelBClassen.com

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True Tales

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