On this day in 1783, Britain held onto Fort Detroit. In 1859, Grand Rapids saw its first hot air balloon flight, and in 1969, Mackinac Island hosted its first stone skipping contest.
TRANSCRIPT
It’s the fourth of July Independence Day, and this is your Michigan Minute. Today in 1783, even though the Revolutionary war was decided, the British still refused to hand over Fort Detroit in the Michigan Territory to the Americans. It would remain in their hands for another 13 years.
But in 1859, a strange notice hit the Grand Rapids Eagle newspaper to be careful when shooting rifles and fireworks into the air, because as part of the Holiday celebrations, Professor William D. Bannister launched the city’s first Hot Air Balloon, which traveled a leisurely 3 miles west during the celebratory flight.
A different flight began at Mackinac Island today in 1969, as the first Skipping stone contest began with the now traditional cry: “Let he who is without Frisbee cast the first stone.”