Welcome Home, {{first_name|default:Michigander}}!
You’ll now find our full MI Moments in the newsletter, along with links to our videos on each of our social pages, and bonus history. Our MI Photo section is here to stay, along with fan favorite MI Trivia. And the MI Spotlight will rotate to feature a mix of social comments, local spotlights, and exciting updates.
I hope you enjoy the updated Michigan History Digest! If you have any feedback after checking things out, simply reply to this email or include it after making your trivia selection.
🎬 MI Moments
Most watched in August!
Mackinac Bridge Driver Assistance Program
The Mackinac Bridge has a dedicated service where employees will personally drive nervous drivers and their vehicles across the 5-mile-long span for $10 (plus toll).
Launched in the 1980s, the Mackinac Bridge Driver Assistance Program offers peace of mind for those that do not feel comfortable driving their vehicle across the bridge.
In 2019 alone, staff members steered over 2,500 vehicles across the 200-foot-high suspension span, which can slowly sway up to 35 feet in high winds.
Operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the program is the only state-run bridge driving assistance service in the U.S.
Please Note: People who use this service must sign a liability waiver form and be 18 years of age or older, and wear a mask.
Bonus History: Workers complete a liability checklist, adjust mirrors, and record every 5-mile trip using an internal dash camera.
The Mackinac Bridge Authority suspended the driver assistance program on March 13, 2020, due to COVID-19 safety precautions, before reinstating it on November 1, 2021.
Upon its return, officials added a mandatory $10 fee to offset annual program expenses that averaged nearly $33 per driven vehicle.
New this week!
Oakland University was a branch of MSU
Did you know Oakland University was originally Michigan State University-Oakland?
In 1957, Dodge heiress Matilda Dodge Wilson and her husband Alfred donated their 1,400-acre Meadow Brook estate and $2 million to establish MSU-O.
The curriculum was so rigorous that only 22% of the inaugural 1959 class graduated in 1963, the same year administrators renamed the institution Oakland University.
At their graduation dance inside Meadow Brook Hall, Matilda surprised every member of that 1st class with a gold class ring featuring an embedded diamond.
Bonus History: Matilda secretly had the class rings redesigned to include the inscription “Charter Class” and swapped the gemstone for a diamond.
Although Oakland University altered its name in 1963 to establish a distinct regional identity for its inaugural graduates, the campus remained under the governance of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees until 1970.
Full institutional autonomy was officially established when the university gained its own independent, governor-appointed board of trustees.
📸 MI Photo
1st Awarded Oakland University Charter Class Ring
Shared by Lynne Anderson Ruth’s daughter. Her mother was the very first student admitted. Her student number was 000001 - circa 1963
🔎 MI Spotlight
Belle Isle Aquarium
Designed by famed Detroit architect Albert Kahn and opened in 1904, Belle Isle Aquarium is the country's oldest original public aquarium.
It features a soaring arched ceiling clad in vibrant green glass tile, created to give guests the feeling of walking along an underwater riverbed.
Today, visitors can wander through its restored 10,000-square-foot historic building featuring freshwater species native to the Great Lakes alongside aquatic life from across the globe. Admission is free, but a $5 donation encouraged.
Location: Detroit
Plan your visit: belleisleconservancy.org
🤔 MI Trivia
Tip: Click or tap on your guess to see if you got it right!
P.S. You can leave us any feedback you may have after making your guess or by replying to this email.
Until next week, thank you for reading Michigan History Digest.
— Zac, Creator of Welcome Home History
