Bay City, Michigan 48706
Front Page 03/29/2024 02:24 About us
www.mybaycity.com July 18, 2014
(Prior Story)   Arts/Theater ArTicle 9207   (Next Story)


Widder's book is one of the newest best-told Michigan tales recounting the old story of how Chief Pontiac and his warriors captured Fort Michilimackinac from the British in 1763.

FORT CAPTURED: State's Hottest New Book Recounts Indian Raid 251 Years Ago

July 18, 2014       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

Printer Friendly Story View

Michigan author Keith R. Widder will visit Saginaw Valley State University in September to receive an award for a new book published by Michigan State University Press.

Widder's is one of the newest best-told Michigan tales recounting the old story of how Chief Pontiac and his warriors captured Fort Michilimackinac from the British in 1763.

Widder will receive SVSU's 2014 Stuart D. and Vernice M. Gross Award for Literature that includes a $1,000 prize for "Beyond Pontiac's Shadow: Michilimackinac and the Anglo-Indian War of 1763."

The former curator of history at the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, Widder dissects a key moment in the political and cultural history of Michigan and the Great Lakes.

In a move reminiscent of the Greek's hollow wooden Trojan Horse of antiquity, a group of Native Americans used the cover of a lacrosse-like game to set up a surprise attack on British forces occupying the fort.

Ojibwe warriors from villages on Mackinac Island and along the Cheboygan River surprised the unsuspecting garrison while playing a game of baggatiway.

Widder explores Native American and French-Canadian communities in the region at the time, as well as the negotiations and interactions among the Native American tribes -- Ojibwe, Odawa and Menominee -- and the British as well as key aspects of the fur trade.

SVSU's award notice indicated the book has received strong reviews and was 'highly recommended' by Choice, a magazine covering academic libraries.

Widder also is the author of "Battle for the Soul: Metis Children Encounter Evangelical Protestants at Mackinaw Mission, 1823-1837," and "Michigan Agricultural College: The Evolution of a Land-Grant Philosophy 1855-1925."

Established by the late Stuart D. Gross and his wife, Vernice, of Saginaw, the Gross Award for Literature is administered by SVSU. Winners are selected of by a panel of judges from SVSU's staff and faculty. Judges this year were M. Patricia Cavanaugh, professor of English; Eric Gardner, associate dean of Arts and Behavioral Sciences; John Mauch, reference librarian; and Anne Menard, catalog librarian.

The group praised Widder's book for its "lively and accessible style, compelling analysis, rich research and lush production."

A longtime journalist with The Saginaw News, Gross joined the SVSU staff in the school's early years and served in a variety of public affairs positions.

He was a regional historian and published several books, including "Saginaw: A History of the Land and City," "When Timber was King," and "Where There is a Will."

After retirement from SVSU, Gross wrote and produced a play, "Let's Have Lunch Sometime." He died in 1996, Vernice Gross in 2001.

###

Printer Friendly Story View
Prior Article

February 10, 2020
by: Rachel Reh
Family Winter Fun Fest is BACC Hot Spot for 2/10/2020
Next Article

February 2, 2020
by: Kathy Rupert-Mathews
MOVIE REVIEW: "Just Mercy" ... You Will Shed Tears, or at Least You Should
Agree? or Disagree?


Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

More from Dave Rogers

Send This Story to a Friend!       Letter to the editor       Link to this Story
Printer-Friendly Story View


--- Advertisments ---
     


0200 Nd: 03-25-2024 d 4 cpr 0






12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm

SPONSORED LINKS



12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm


Designed at OJ Advertising, Inc. (V3) (v3) Software by Mid-Michigan Computer Consultants
Bay City, Michigan USA
All Photographs and Content Copyright © 1998 - 2024 by OJA/MMCC. They may be used by permission only.
P3V3-0200 (1) 0   ID:Default   UserID:Default   Type:reader   R:x   PubID:mbC   NewspaperID:noPaperID
  pid:1560   pd:11-18-2012   nd:2024-03-25   ax:2024-03-29   Site:5   ArticleID:9207   MaxA: 999999   MaxAA: 999999
claudebot