Journalist, writer, photographer, historian Rob Alway tells the stories of the history of the Great Lakes region, from water and land. Great Lakes History Log is presented by Sable Points Media, a 501(c)(3) non-profit news and information organization, in partnership with Media Group 31, publisher of Mason County Press, Oceana County Press, and Great Lakes Boat Blog.
Send us a text On Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1940, the weather in the Great Lakes region started with temperatures in the mid-60s. But, a "weather bomb" was about to strike. By afternoon, a deadly storm, that started on the West Coast, was making its way up Lake Michigan, killing dozens of sailors and sinking five vessels. It was one of the deadliest storms to strike Lake Michigan. Support the show Thank you for following Great Lakes History Log, a production of Sable Points Media, a non-profit ...
14 Nov 2025
Recalling the day the Edmund Fitzgerald sank, a Lake Michigan persepctive
Send us a text On November 10, 1975, Vans Stevenson and Todd Reed were reporters for the Ludington Daily News in Ludington, Michigan on the east shore of Lake Michigan. Both young reporters covered the storm that struck Mason County, Michigan that day. Later that day, the storm made its way up Lake Michigan, over the Upper Peninsula and collided with two other storm fronts at White Fish POINT, causing the loss of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. It was the second worst storm on record at Ludington...
22 Oct 2025
Ida Anderson - Ludington's Titanic Connection
Send us a text A small and shiny marker sits at the corner of a family plot at Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington, Michigan. There actually is no grave for this person, instead the marker serves as a memorial for a woman who lost her life in what is the most famous shipwreck in history, the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic. MY APOLOGIES TO ALL THOSE WHO KEEP TRACK, I INADVERTENTLY SAID "HMS" RATHER THAN "RMS" IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS PODCAST. Support the show Thank you for following Great La...
16 Sept 2025
Murder on Crystal Lake
Send us a text A bizarre murder took place along the shores of Crystal Lake near Scottville, Michigan, in 1934. The victim was 62-year-old Bertha Bean, also known as Bertha Comley. The sole suspect was Bean’s commonwealth husband, 68-year-old Charles Comley,. Support the show Thank you for following Great Lakes History Log, a production of Sable Points Media, a non-profit news and information service, in partnership with Media Group 31 and Mason County Press. Please also check out our YouTu...
8 Sept 2025
The Sinking of the Pere Marquette 18, Sept. 9, 1910
Send us a text On Sept. 9, 1910, the worst disaster to strike the Pere Marquette Railway's carferry fleet occurred. The Pere Marquette 18, the company's flagship while under way between Ludington, Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the first carferry sinking to occur in Lake Michigan but wouldn't be the last. Support the show Thank you for following Great Lakes History Log, a production of Sable Points Media, a non-profit news and information service, in partnership with Media Gr...
2 Sept 2025
The Communists of Mason County, Michigan and the 1934 Custer Farmers' Riot
Send us a text The Great Depression was especially harsh on the farming community. In Mason County, Michigan, George Casper latched on the communist cause by first running for state representative and then later trying to get farmers to join his political movement. His efforts backfired in 1934 with a riot in the village of Custer. Support the show Thank you for following Great Lakes History Log, a production of Sable Points Media, a non-profit news and information service, in partnersh...
24 Aug 2025
The Rescue of the Rutter After It Lost Its Rudder
Send us a text In 1879, Capt. Frederick Kendrick was awarded the United States Gold Lifesaving Medal for his heroic act of saving 44 men from the schooner J.H. Rutter off the shore of Ludington, Michigan near what is now the north end of Stearns Park. This podcast is a presentation of Filer Credit Union and the Mason County Historical Society. It is a production of Sable Points Media in partnership with Mason County Press. Support the show Thank you for following Great Lakes Histo...
14 Aug 2025
The 1993 Unsolved Murder of Melissa Simmons
Send us a text In 1993, 15-year-old Melissa Simmons was found, murdered, in the Pere Marquette River in Mason County, Michigan. Since that time, the unsolved murder has haunted the small town of Scottville and the surrounding area. Support the show Thank you for following Great Lakes History Log, a production of Sable Points Media, a non-profit news and information service, in partnership with Media Group 31 and Mason County Press. Please also check out our YouTube channel.
8 Aug 2025
Audrey Robertson Boals - First Daughter of the S.S. Badger
Send us a text Audrey Robertson Boals comes from Great Lakes shipping royalty. Her father, Bernard "Bunny" Robertson was the first captain of the carferry S.S. Badger, commanding the ship from 1953 until he retired in 1969. Her grandfather, Charles Robertson, was the first skipper of the S.S. City of Midland 41 carferry. Other relatives also served in the merchant marines on the Great Lakes. In this episode of Great Lakes History Log she talks about growing up on the Badger. Support the...
30 Jul 2025
Did Ernest Hemingway Spend the Night in Scottville?
Send us a text In 1917, the Hemingway took the family Ford Model T north from their home in Oak Park, Illinois to their family cottage on Walloon Lake near Petoskey, Michigan. The road trip took four nights. One of those stops was in my hometown, Scottville, east of Ludington. Here's the story of that road trip. Support the show Please be sure to visit our website, www.greatlakesboatblog.com and our social media pages: Facebok, Instagram, X, and YouTube.
24 Jul 2025
The Killing of Ludington Lumber Baron Luther Foster
Send us a text The 1876 killing of Luther Foster is Mason County, Michigan's oldest unsolved murder. Support the show Please be sure to visit our website, www.greatlakesboatblog.com and our social media pages: Facebok, Instagram, X, and YouTube.
15 Jul 2025
The 1898 Free Soil, Michigan Triple Murder/Suicide
In 1898, the most vicious crime in the history of Mason County, Michigan took place in Free Soil Township. A man killed his his sister, brother-in-law, and a teenaged boy, then killed himself. But, he spared a sleeping baby. Support the show Please be sure to visit our website, www.greatlakesboatblog.com and our social media pages: Facebok, Instagram, X, and YouTube.
8 Jul 2025
The Pere Marquette 16, the PM Railway's Only Wooden Car Ferry
The service of the SS Pere Marquette 16, the only wooden car ferry to operate in the Pere Marquette Railway's fleet, based in Ludington, Michigan, was a mixture of historical significance -- both good and bad. Support the show Please be sure to visit our website, www.greatlakesboatblog.com and our social media pages: Facebok, Instagram, X, and YouTube.
4 Jul 2025
Goodrich Transportation Company's SS City of Ludington
In 1874, the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway reached Ludington on the shores of Lake Michigan. In anticipation of a lucrative contract the railroad, which had plans to transport freight across the Lake, the Goodrich Transportation Company of Chicago ordered a new ship to be built in 1880 which would be named in honor of the town it would operated out of. Please be sure to visit our website, www.greatlakesboatblog.com and our social media pages: Facebok, Instagram, X, and YouTube.
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