Author: Dane Skorup (Dane Skorup)

1835 – About five years old, Hillsdale County is granted legal and political jurisdiction “by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan” (Michigan did not acquire statehood until 1837). In the same week in 1831, Jonesville had been declared the county seat—a privilege that only lasted until 1843. 1892 – Ezra L. Koon (pictured...

1996 – Craig L. Howe, a Hillsdale alumnus, submits a letter detailing a youthful exploit from 1968: some members of Alpha Tau Omega snuck downtown to the railroad tracks and boarded one of the idling train engines. They were led by one David Plagman, who knew how to operate the controls. The brothers first took...

Bowen is the Christian Educator at Hillsdale First United Methodist Church. This past September, she helped her church begin a new after-school program for youth in the community. She is now the director of the program, which she calls “That After-School Place,” which meets on Thursday nights.   Why did you decide to start this...

1853 —  Citizens of Spring Arbor, Mich., fight to keep then-called Michigan Central College from changing its location, declaring the attempt “an act of gross injustice and ingratitude.” Other choices of city included Adrian, Marshall, Jackson, Coldwater, and Hillsdale. Jackson, which remains the largest of the five, was ruled out by the committee of the...

1870 — Christopher Dickerson, a general (and prisoner) of the Civil War, purchases Cedar Island on Lake Baw Beese. Following his death two years later, his son would give a man named Bud Sellars, later known as the famous “Hermit of Cedar Island,” permission to take up residence there. Though not truly a hermit, Sellars...