Michigan
Phil Porter named Michigan History Hero in 2024 Upper Peninsula History Awards
UPPER PENINSULA — The winners of the 2024 Upper Peninsula History Awards have been announced ahead of the annual Upper Peninsula History Conference on June 22.
At the 75th annual conference, the Historical Society of Michigan will present three awards to recognize individuals and organizations that have made contributions to the preservation of U.P. history.
The Historical Society of Michigan History Hero Award was established in 2017 to recognize individuals who have made contributions to preserving history not just in the Upper Peninsula but across the state.
Phil Porter of Cheboygan is receiving the award this year for his contributions to the Mackinac State Historic Parks.
Porter worked with Mackinac State Historic Parks for 49 years, serving as a tour guide at Fort Mackinac, curator of collections and other positions, before eventually becoming the director of the parks. He retired in 2020.
More: Phil Porter to retire from Mackinac State Historic Parks
The next individual award is the Charles Follow award, named after an Escanaba schoolteacher who established multiple historical societies to promote U.P. history preservation.
The Charles Follow Award will be presented to Diedre Stevens of Sault Ste. Marie for her volunteer work at the Chippewa County Historical Society.
In her work, Stevens has helped create searchable databases and physical collections of local newspapers going back decades. She has cataloged the historical society’s photographs and other research materials for years and has contributed to the creation of several articles, books and other materials in the city.
Visitors to Sault Ste. Marie might also recognize her as the narrator for the history of the Soo Locks at the Famous Soo Locks Boat Tours company.
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More: The quest for Lake Superior shipwrecks
The Superior Award, established in 2006, is meant to recognize organizations that have played a role in preservation. This year, the award is going to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Society.
The society formed in 1978. The group maintains the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, which is home to the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. The museum is also home to Great Lakes shipwreck artifacts and the group searches the Great Lakes each year for undiscovered wrecks.
The society also helps support other historical organizations, such as the old U.S. Weather Bureau building in Soo Locks Park, and has contributed to video documentaries in collaboration with the National Geographic Society and the Discovery Channel.
The awards will be handed out at the 75th annual Upper Peninsula History Conference, which takes place June 21-23 at the Historical Society of Michigan. The event will feature a keynote presentation about Michigan’s first female chief of staff Mary Hadrich and more, including a history of the Soo Locks and the impact Jesuits had on the development of the Upper Peninsula.
The weekend long event will feature presentations, content sessions, educational workshops, an exhibit hall and more.
For more information, visit hsmichigan.org.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
Before-and-after images of homes on Black Lake near Onaway provide perspectives on how the community was affected by April flooding.
Snowmelt and rain have stressed dams and caused lakes to flood in northern Michigan.
The Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office shared on social media photos and videos that the agency captured of Cheboygan County floods on Friday, April 17 from both the ground and air.
Deputies “observed a level of destruction that simply cannot be understood from ground level,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.
Google Maps images taken from two locations on Black Lake in 2024, compared with the Friday images, show how the floodwater has changed the landscape.
On North Black River Road and Taylor Road, the water has overflowed to North Black River Road.
In the 400 block of South Black River Road, water has also flooded homes and lakeside property.
“Black Lake, Black River, Cheboygan River, Burt Lake, Mullet Lake, the Sturgeon River − and nearly every waterway in the county have overflowed beyond their banks, swallowing docks, roads, yards, and in far too many cases, homes,” the sheriff’s office post said. “What should be familiar shorelines are now unrecognizable expanses of water.”
“Our hearts are with every family affected by this flooding,” Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd Ross said in the post. “We know many of you are facing significant damage to your homes and property, and the emotional toll that comes with it. Please know you are not alone. We are working around the clock with our partners to ensure safety, provide support, and begin the process of recovery. Stay strong, stay connected, and don’t hesitate to reach out for help, we will get through this together.”
Nearby, the UAW Black Lake Conference Center shared images on social media of floodwater threatening its Old Lodge.
The conference center is located at 2000 Maxon Road in Waverly Township.
The Cheboygan County Road Commission and the Cheboygan County Office of Emergency Management closed the bridge at Five Mile Point Road on Saturday, April 18 due to significant road washout in the area of South Black River Road and Red Bridge Road.
The sheriff’s office had encouraged residents in parts of the area to evacuate earlier in the week and said Saturday it had completed evacuation efforts on the west side of the lake.
TEXAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 20-year-old Kalamazoo man is dead after crashing his vehicle into a tree Friday evening in Texas Township, according to Michigan State Police (MSP).
It happened on South 3rd Street and West PQ Avenue around 6:50 p.m., troopers said.
While he was driving in a no-passing zone, the Kalamazoo man swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle and subsequently crashed into the tree, according to MSP.
The 20-year-old died at the scene. A passenger was hurt, but police said their injuries were non-life threatening.
Troopers do not believe alcohol or drugs were a factor, and the two were reportedly wearing seatbelts.
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This incident remains under investigation by MSP.
A Southfield man has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing driver’s licenses, Social Security cards and equipment to create fake documents, federal prosecutors said.
Jerome Antwan Andrews, 41, pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing the driver’s license information and Social Security numbers of more than 250 people in a scheme that caused more than $550,000 in fraud losses, U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said.
As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors say Andrews admitted to having an embosser, a laminator, a card cutter and an ID card printer and admitted that his business model was aimed at creating and selling fake Social Security cards and driver’s licenses in the names of real people.
“Jerome Antwan Andrews and his criminal associates stole more than $1.5 million by submitting hundreds of fraudulent claims to a pandemic program intended to help unemployed American workers. Today’s conviction of Andrews represents yet another attack in our war against fraud. It sends a stern warning that my office will relentlessly investigate those bad actors greedily lining their pockets with U.S. taxpayer funds,” said Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Andrews faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary gain or loss, according to prosecutors. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Labor investigated Andrews’ case.
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