The Search for the Kirtland Warbler Part II

 After catching the Munson, there weren't any other ships to catch, so I decided to head up to the Mio area again.  My search last time was cut short by a brake problem.

First I headed to the spot where I thought I saw a warbler last time.  I didn't see a warbler but I saw this scarlet tanager again.  Apparently, people consider seeing one of these lucky.  I will have to admit, it is a stunning bird.

I went to another spot where there were smaller jack pine trees.  I think I heard a couple.  I even think I saw a couple but I couldn't get a picture of them.  I did see the signs that said, "Kirtland warbler area", so I knew I was closer this time.  My mom said I might have better luck in the morning, so I might have to find a hotel in the area and do just that.

Anyway, I figured I could do the second best thing.  This statue was in Mio.  It is dedicated to the Kirtland warbler.

The kirtland warbler is also known as the jack pine warbler.  It is named after John Potter Kirtland who was an amateur birdwatcher and doctor.  It is a small songbird that prefers the jack pines.  Because the jack pine was nearly deforested, the warbler was almost extinct 50 years ago.  Through careful management of the forest, the bird has come off the extinct list.  It's not quite thriving yet, but it is getting there.

Because it almost exclusively lives in Michigan, some people think it should be the state bird instead of the robin.

The Alpheus Williams Statue From the Air

 On Sunday, I decided to head over to Belle Isle.  I had a little time to kill before my ship arrived.  I decided to get some pictures of this statue with my drone.

This is a statue of a man named Alpheus Williams.

He was trained as a lawyer in the early 1800s and then he moved to Detroit.

He joined the Michigan Militia (national guard effectively, not the crazy one).

He found himself serving in the Mexican War.

He would end up training the early Michigan units that were sent to fight in the Civil War.

He played a key role at Gettysburg.

After the war, he would serve as a Congressman.

Stopping at the Sojourner Truth Monument

This week has been an interesting week in race relations to say the least.  First a video surfaces of a white woman trying to call the police on a black man.  He was an avid birder and was telling her that she needed to have her dog on a leash.  Of course, as she made the call, she had to turn her threatening voice on.  Fortunately, the police did not come because it could have turned ugly.  People found out who she was and got her fired.  I'm not sure I agree with that part but I guess actions like that should have consequences, although I think they should have legal consequences.

The next day, a video emerges of a man named George Floyd getting choked by a Minneapolis police man.  The policeman had George on the ground and was kneeling over his throat and was choking him.  He had him down for close to nine minutes.  Riots ensued and then the policemen involved in this were arrested and are now charged.

Events like this make you think about events from the past.

 The Sojourner Truth Monument is in Battle Creek.   She was born into slavery but escaped with her daughter in 1826.  She sued and won the freedom of her son in 1828.  She of course became a voice in the abolitionist movement.

During the Civil War, she helped recruit black troops to the Union Army.  Her grandson fought in the famed 54th Massachusetts Regiment.  She was employed by the National Freedmen's Association.

 In 1870, she tried to secure land grands for the now freed slaves.

 She was also an early advocate for the women's right to vote.

 Apparently there was a demonstration in Battle Creek yesterday.  People left candles at the foot of the statue.

She is also buried in Battle Creek but I didn't want to go seek out her grave again.

The Ulysses S. Grant Monument

This statue was also near where we parked.

 It was a statue of General Ulysses S. Grant.  He was the commander of the Union Army after McClellan was fired by Lincoln.  After realizing the advantage of the North in population, he pretty much fought the Civil War as a war of attrition.  Eventually, he wore the Confederate Army down.  Apparently, Grant named one of his horses Jeff Davis after the Confederate President.  I don't know if this horse was that one though.

 Given all the controversy over Confederate statues, I have no problem with statutes of Union soldiers.  In my eyes, they were on the right side.

The statue was built by Louis T. Rebisso who was an Italian immigrant from Cincinnati.   The monument was dedicated in 1891.

The Armed Forces Memorial at Algonac

It was pretty windy on Sunday and as I was heading back to the car, I caught this.

 I liked the fact that the flag was almost straight out.

 As I was taking a picture of the flag, I noticed the statues underneath it.  I don't remember if I've ever taken pictures of these statues but anyway here they are.  I think it may have started as a Civil War memorial but over time it has become an Armed Forces memorial.

 Looking up at the Civil War statue.  I liked the way the flag looked behind it.

There is a Vietnam War memorial at the base of the statue.

The Search for Truth

Well Sojourner Truth anyway.  With all the recent hub bub lately, my mom wanted to go see the gravesite of Sojourner Truth.  As we were heading to the graveyard, we saw a memorial to her.

 Sojourner Truth was born sometime in 1797 as Isabella Baumfree.  Her parents were John and Isabella Baumfree and they were slaves owned by a Colonel Hardenbergh in Swartekill, New York which is about 95 miles north of New York City.  In 1815, Sojourner fell in love with a slave that was owned by another man.  That owner forbade their love because any babies that might emerge from that relationship would not be owned by him.    Sojourner eventually married another man and had five children with him.

 In 1799, the State of New York started to free the slaves there, however that process would not be complete until 1827.  Her owner promised her freedom before that but reneged on the deal.  In 1826, she decided to escape with her daughter (the other children would prove difficult to escape with).  She made it to the house of another person, who ended up buying her services until the end of the year.  She found out that one of her sons was sold to a man in Alabama (but illegally).  She took the issue to court and won.  She would become the first black woman to win a case like that against a white man.

 In 1843, she would become a Methodist and would campaign for abolition.  In 1857, she moved to Battle Creek, MI where she would meet up with other abolitionists.  During the Civil War, she would help recruit black men for the Union.  She would later speak about women's rights, prison rights and she preached against the Michigan legislature against capital punishment.  She would also try to get land grants for former slaves.

She died on November 26, 1883 at her home in Battle Creek.  She would be buried Oak Hill Cemetery there.

Weighing in on the Confederate Statue Issue

I don't normally delve into political issues on this blog as I feel there are enough forums to do this.  Every so often an issue pops that I feel that I need to state my piece about it and this is one of those.

Before I get too far into this, I am a Yankee.  I think the Northern cause of the Civil War was a good one even if for the most part that cause was just to preserve the Union.  I don't think that our country would be nearly as powerful and bountiful today if the Union had been allowed to break up.  There are some issues that are just fine for the states to deal with but there are many things that need a national backing.  That being said, here goes.

On April 12, 1861, the Confederacy opens fire on Fort Sumter and thus began the Civil War.  Almost four years later when General Lee surrendered to the Union at Appomattox, the war portion of the Civil War would be concluded but many of the issues leading to the Civil War were not.  Shortly after, the states of the North would began the program of reconstruction.  In many ways, this was a punishment of the South for attempting to break away even though it was supposed to be a process of reconciliation.  This period ended in 1877.

Starting in the 1890's, many of the states that fought on the side of the Confederacy started to enact what were known as Jim Crow Laws.  It was also during this period that many of the statues to Confederate heroes were starting to be constructed.  The Jim Crow laws were the legal forms of segregation (versus the cultural segregation that was prevalent in the North).   It was also during this time that the Ku Klux Klan started to emerge in an effort to segregate another race of people.

With the passing of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act in 1965 (almost 100 years after the conclusion of the Civil War), the laws of Jim Crow would end but many of the attitudes that led towards them would continue.  It was in the decade (or so) prior to the passing of the Civil Rights Act that saw another wave of the South remembering their Confederate heroes.

Recently there has been a movement to remove these statues from public places.  In many ways, I can agree with that.  I can't imagine having to view people that tried to keep your ancestors as property.   However, these statues are a representation of our history.

I guess I would fine with the removal of these statues as long as they are put in a museum or some sort of memorial park where they are out of the way but can be remembered.  If people want to keep them in the public square, there should also be memorials to what they were fighting to preserve.

I guess as a corollary to this, it is really time for this country to have an honest discussion about race and race relations.  We have made great strides towards racial harmony but as evidenced by recent events we aren't quite there yet.  Above, I was pretty critical of the South but we in the North don't have much room to talk.  While the South was very overt in its treatment of different ethnicities, the North was more covert about it.  If you are a certain race and you go to certain towns, you would have a police car following you almost immediately.  If you tried to buy a house or rent an apartment in certain towns, you would be denied.  I mentioned the Ku Klux Klan above, some of the bigger groups were actually in the North.  It is for these reasons that I do not like the song "Southern Man" because we in the North are neck deep in it too.

I would love to live in a time when we can move past these issues and deal with other issues that are facing this country.

A Brief Stop in Lansing

Last week I headed up to Engineer's Day in Sault Ste Marie, MI.  This is where they open up the center part of the locks so that people can look at them.  It is also the weekend when many of the boatnerds meet up, so it makes for a pretty fun weekend.  Per the tradition of heading up there, I picked up my dad on the way up.  He lives near Lansing, so I try to take the opportunity to get pictures of the capitol building and what not.

 Probably my favorite statue here is the one dedicated to the First Michigan Sharpshooters.  I like the way it looks like a sniper in his den somewhere.

 Almost next to it is a statue dedicated to the men who fought in the Spanish-American War.

 I really love the look of most Capital Buildings.  I just wish the occupants of them would live up to the buildings they are in.

 A statue of Austin Blair.  He was Michigan's Governor during the Civil War.  He was a Republican but he was quite progressive for his time.

 A closeup of that statue.

 I'm not sure why they have cannons around the property but they do.

One more shot of the capital building before moving on.

Detroit After Dark

I wanted to try to get some aircraft pictures before the sun went down.  Sadly, I didn't make it to the airport in time for that.

 I did try to get a dusk shot of the Airport itself.  Just wish I didn't have this fence in the way.  I kind of like it though.

 Then I decided to head to downtown Detroit.  I ended up going after the Tigers game so I didn't have to deal with too much traffic.  The One Woodward Building looked pretty cool.

 I'll admit, it has been way too long since I last took pictures of the Spirit of Detroit.

 Another angle.

 Looking up at the Guardian Building.

 Looking up at what used to be the Comerica Tower.

 the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

 Another angle of the Spirit of Detroit.

 Probably my favorite angle of the Spirit of Detroit.

 Looking down Jefferson towards the Renaissance Center.

 Looking up Woodward towards the Fox Theatre and stuff.

 Looking down Woodward towards the Guardian Building.

 From the edge of Campus Martius.

 This Fountain was pretty neat, but I couldn't catch it at the right time.

 Another angle of the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial.

 Looking down Woodward from the other end of Campus Martius.

 Another angle.

 Looking out towards Michigan Avenue.  As I was taking this picture, a police car came by.

 Another look up Woodward Avenue.  To the right you can see the new rail line for the street rail car that is going to be installed.  I think it is going to look like the one I saw in Norfolk.

The Kern's Sign.  If you look closely, you can see a selfie of sorts.