Anyone familiar with Plymouth history probably knows that our town is known for b-b gun manufacturing. The Red Ryder gun of A Christmas Story (maybe the best Christmas comedy ever) fame was made here in Plymouth. The Plymouth Historical Museum will be honoring that history, tying it into other themes from the movie, in an [...]
Archive for the ‘Plymouth history’ Category
Plymouth Historical Museum’s new exhibit, “A Red Ryder Christmas Story” opens Nov. 18
Posted in Daisy Air Rifle, Plymouth Historical Museum, Plymouth history, downtown Plymouth, film, tagged A Christmas Story, air rifle, b-b gun, Christmas, Daisy Air Rifle, downtown Plymouth, events, film, history, holidays, movie, Plymouth Historical Museum, Plymouth MI, Plymouth Michigan, Red Ryder gun on November 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Rock me Amadeus
Posted in Plymouth history, tagged Academy Awards, acting, actor, Amadeus, Animal House, art, Best Actor, Best Picture, Joanne Winkelman Hulce Center for the Arts, movies, Oscar, Parenthood, Plymouth MI, Plymouth Michigan, Sheldon Road, Tom Hulce on May 29, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Last night my wife, daughter and I watched Amadeus. It was the 3rd time my wife and I saw this brilliant film; my daughter’s first.
Toward the end of the movie it came rushing back to me that the movie’s star, Tom Hulce, grew up right here in Plymouth. The Joanne Winkelman Hulce Center for [...]
Kindle not a fire that you cannot extinguish – Proverb
Posted in Plymouth history, downtown Plymouth, tagged Plymouth history, homes, downtown Plymouth, Penniman-Allen Theater, fire, historic buildings, theaters, destroyed on April 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday I checked three excellent books on Plymouth history from the library (more about the books later.) In just thumbing through them I was surprised at how many historical buildings in Plymouth have burned to the ground over the years.
We all know that homes and buildings in the past weren’t built or maintained with the [...]
The Bonafide Garage
Posted in Old Village, Plymouth history, tagged Plymouth history, downtown Plymouth, Plymouth Furniture Refinishing, Markham Building, Bonafide Garage on April 21, 2009 | 5 Comments »
I’m no historian but I was recently asked to identify the location of a business that was once known as the Bonafide Garage, which was at one point (early 1900s) owned by a W. J. Beyer. (The question was raised in the “About” section of my blog, if you wish to look.) Here is a [...]
Fundraiser to save the historic Veterans Memorial Park Wall — “Tea and Scones to Save the Stones”
Posted in Plymouth District Library, Plymouth history, downtown Plymouth, fundraising, tagged Plymouth history, Plymouth Community Veteran's Memorial Park, stone wall, history, Plymouth District Library, park wall, Veterans Park Wall, fundraiser, World War I, veterans on April 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve written about this issue several times in the past, so no need to rehash the background.
By way of update, I received an email today regarding a fundraiser to save the Veterans Memorial Park wall, the original stone and mortar wall erected shortly after World War I. If you are interested in this issue, please [...]
Fun with youtube: a short tour of Old Village
Posted in Plymouth history, downtown Plymouth, trains, tagged Plymouth MI, Plymouth history, Daisy Air Rifles, Old Village, cigars on March 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Youtube has a little bit of everything. Everything! Knowing that, I figured I would go there and search “plymouth mi” just to see what might pop up. The first search result was a little “tour” (stretch to call it that) of Old Village by a local realtor, Russ Ravary. He tell some very interesting historical [...]
The Plymouth Historical Museum celebrates Honest Abe’s 200th Birthday
Posted in Plymouth Historical Museum, Plymouth history, downtown Plymouth, tagged history, Plymouth Historical Museum, Abraham Lincoln, 200th Birthday, President's Day on February 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Next week is President’s Day, our national holiday which honors the births of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln, if he were alive today, would be 200 years old on February 12.
The Plymouth Historical Museum, which is known for its fascinating Lincoln collection, is currently exhibiting “In the Presence of Lincoln.” Here’s a link [...]
Update on action to save the original Veterans Memorial Park wall
Posted in Plymouth history, downtown Plymouth, tagged Plymouth Community Veteran's Memorial Park on January 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s the latest from the group trying to save the original Veterans Memorial Park stone wall. It appears that basic repairs can be done very cheaply (especially compared to the $100,000 the committee is willing to spend for a new wall)
We have selected Salem Farms to repair the stone wall. The mason’s
name is Pat Cahill [...]
The wrong side of the tracks
Posted in Plymouth history, dining, downtown Plymouth, events, restaurant, trains, tagged Crawford's Kitchen, downtown Plymouth, Old Village, railroad on January 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Saturday morning, we had breakfast at Crawford’s Kitchen. Mrs. Crawford greeted us with brand new menus, the covers which feature historic photos of Old Village. She proceeded to tell us some very fascinating Plymouth history that she learned while designing the new menus. She moved to another table and began sharing information with a gentleman [...]
“I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!”
Posted in A Christmas Story, Daisy Air Rifle, Plymouth history, Uncategorized, tagged A Christmas Story, air rifle, b-b guns, Christmas, Daisy Air Rifles, history, Plymouth history, You'll shoot your eye out on December 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
If you’ve seen the movie, A Christmas Story, you’ll know that line. If you’ve been around Plymouth very long, you’ll also know that air rifle used to be made right here in town.
Michigan History Online has a great brief history of Daisy (and the air rifle industry more generally)
http://www.michiganhistorymag.com/extra/2008/marapr/its_a_daisy.html
Red Ryder was a character created by [...]
