Learn about the War of 1812 and the importance of the Great Lakes in this short film. The fall of Detroit on August 16, 1812 and the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 were two important moments in the War of 1812. The British Navy’s defeat in the Battle of Lake Erie gave us the famous quote from Oliver Hazard Perry, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”

Bringing you a smattering of some of the top news stories in Michigan headlines today, April 11, 2011.

This Michigan Civil War Veteran was actually a woman –
Michigan Civil War veteran, Frank Thompson, was actually Emma Edmonds who may or may not have deserted the Union Army due to an alleged affair with a married officer.

Michigan toddler gets an alcoholic drink at Applebee’s -
A mother ordered her son an apple juice and he received margarita mix instead.

War of 1812 road gets historical designation -
Remnants of a hastily built road to Detroit during the War of 1812 received the honor of being named to the National Register of Historic Places this past January.

Skateboarders in Marquette set a new Guinness World Record –
When 341 skatboarders participated in a parade on Sunday, they set a new Guinness World Record for most skateboarders in a parade.

Northern Michigan and the Civil War –
Part one of a three part series chronicles the role that Northern Michigan’s isolated residents played in the Civil War.

When you think of Michigan, what do you picture in your mind’s eye? The Mackinac Bridge? One of more than one hundred of Michigan’s lighthouses? The simple, yet familial silhouette of the Upper and Lower peninsula?

Vote in the poll below and if you don’t see an ideal choice, feel free to add it to the comments for this post.

Major League postseason play kicks off today and my beloved Tigers didn’t make it (again) this year. Here is a look back at some footage of the Tigers 1945 World Series victory over the Chicago Cubs. Hank Greenberg made his triumphant return from WWII after his discharge in June of 1945 to lead the Tigers to the championship.

Although his legs weren’t the same as when he left the game when drafted into service in 1941, Hammerin’ Hank’s bat was still crushing the ball. A grand slam in the final game of the 1945 season clinched the pennant for the Tigers. They would go on to win the 1945 World Series against the Cubs 4 games to 3.

At the end of the clip below you will see Hank Greenberg smash a grand slam home run in Game 7. It was part of a five-run first inning that propelled the Tigers to the victory, 9-3.

On a side note, the 1945 World Series is also the start of the famed “Billy Goat Curse” when Billy Sianis brought his goat to Wrigley Field for Game 4 of the series. He and his goat were denied admission to the game so he put a ‘hex’ on the team.

The Michigan E-Store has a black and white print of the Mackinac Bridge (30″ by 12″) available for $6 (which includes shipping and handling). This was one of the four posters designed to commemorate the bridge’s 50th anniversary back in 2007. The original four posters sold out rather quickly so I don’t expect this one to be available for long.

Purchase the Mackinac Bridge poster

Johnny Knoxville (yeah this Johnny Knoxville) is exploring Detroit beyond the ruins in search of positives about Detroit. Watch the documentary below and see for yourself if he was successful or not.

There are a number of great tributes around the blogosphere for Ernie Harwell. I spent quite a bit of time reading rememberances from not only Tigers fans, but baseball fans in general.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Samara at Roar of the Tigers created a beautiful tribute to Ernie
• Ian Casselbury has a nice article at the Cutoff Man on Mlive
• I still love Bill Ferris’ poignant reflections from when Ernie addressed the fans at Comerica Park last September over at the Detroit Tigers Weblog
• Joe Posnanski with another wonderful tribute
• Curtis Granderson shares his thoughts on Ernie’s passing
• Scott over at Box Seats at Comerica Park remembers the time he got to share the booth with Ernie and Paul Carey

This Tuesday, March 2nd, the Detroit Pistons versus Boston Celtics represents the 3rd Annual Pistons Care Telethon benefiting the Food Bank Council of Michigan. Faithful readers of our blog and customers of Gift Baskets From Michigan LLC know that the Food Bank Council of Michigan’s efforts are near and dear to our hearts. We donate 1% of each and every sale to the Food Bank Council.

There are four ways you can support the Detroit Pistons in their efforts to raise funds for the Food Bank Council of Michigan –

1. Buy a 200-level ticket for $20 will provide 50 meals for Michigan families
2. Buy a 100-level ticket for $50 and provide 125 meals for Michigan families
3. Donate directly at www.fbcmich.org/pistonscare
4. Mail your donation with check payable to Food Bank Council of Michigan to: The Palace of Auburn Hills Attn: Accounting – 6 Championship Drive, Auburn HIlls, MI 48326

Lets see how much money can be raised to help feed Michigan families.

Well another page has been turned on the calendar and it finds us in a new year; a new decade even. I know things are tough in Michigan. I have friends who have been searching for work for nearly a year. I have friends who have moved because of the bad job market. I’m sure that is no different than a lot of Michigan residents.

With that said, I’m going to to my darnedest to do my part (however small or insignificant it may seem) to help make my local community and on up to the State of Michigan a better place. Maybe it means donating my time, money, talents, or all three to local charities or organizations. I’m not sure, but my goal for 2010 is to make Michigan better.

I appreciate everyone’s business in 2009 and look forward to serving you again in 2010. Lets all do our part to make Michigan better.

~ Andrew Norton, Owner
Gift Baskets From Michigan LLC

We donate 1% of every sale to the Food Bank Council of Michigan. The Food Bank then uses its buying power in addition to various alliances and resources to distribute food to food banks across the state of Michigan. Now more than ever, the Food Bank Council of Michigan needs our help.

From the Food Bank Council’s website –

Last year, FBCM food programs procured and distributed 50.2 million pounds of food for food banks to feed people in Michigan—up 25% over the previous year. And this year, we’re on track to do even more as the need for emergency food has increased, on average, over 30% across the state.

To illustrate the Food Bank Council’s buying power head over to their website and play “Fill the Fridge.” It is a great way to illustrate to both kids and adults just how far their donations can go.

For instance, I plugged in a donation of $200 and it would feed a family of 4 for 17 weeks (just over 4 months)! That’s calculated out to 1,400 meals, 2,000 pounds of food at a value of $3,000. If only investment bankers and the stock market could turn $200 into $3,000 as easily!

Learn more about what you can do to help feed Michigan’s hungry at the Food Bank Council of Michigan website. In addition to money, you can give of your time – which we all can scrounge for some time to spare.

So please, remember that when you buy a gift basket from us that a portion of that money goes to the Food Bank Council of Michigan to help feed the hungry. That’s why we like to say that with Gift Baskets From Michigan, you can give a gift that gives back.