For Episode 13, curators Mark Bowden and Romie Minor share six of their favorite treasures from the Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historical Collection, celebrating its 100th year this fall.
Clarence Burton
The Detroit Public Library under construction in 1915.
Mark shares the story of Clarence Burton, a Detroit attorney whose passion for history sent him into attics, cellars and even chicken coops to save the heritage of his town.
Thomas J. Reed, Mark Bowden, Romie Minor and Pete Kalinski after wrap-up take 3.
Mark and Romie’s treasures include:
The wampum belt that was the deed of sale for Belle Isle
Grace Bedell’s letter to candidate Abraham Lincoln recommending he grow whiskers
A city directory that not only gives Ty Cobb and Henry Ford’s addresses but also is a genealogist’s dream-come-true
The abolitionist newspaper “The Voice of the Fugitive,” written 10 years before the Civil War by a former slave
A diary from inside Fort Detroit as Chief Pontiac lay siege for seven months
A rare picture of Elvis Presley backstage at his only concert at Olympia stadium
Hosts: Pete Kalinski and Thomas J. Reed, Jr.
Camera/Editing: Kevin Walsh
Crew: Kit Lindamood, Yvette Reed and Lily Reed
Images courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library
Copyright 2015
Digging Detroit Productions
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