Programs and Events 2023

By Peter Cook

On the morning of February 21, 1925, two Millburg State Bank employees prepared for what they thought would be a routine Saturday. However, their first customers were anything but ordinary. Dressed in trench coats, a group of armed men forced the tellers into the back closet and looted the bank. While the robbery only lasted a few minutes, the subsequent car chase, manhunt, and trial would long be remembered as one of Southwest Michigan’s most dramatic crimes of the 1920s.

Peter Cook, the Director of Programs & Outreach at the North Berrien Historical Museum in Coloma, will present the Great Millburg Bank Robbery and its aftermath in all its exciting detail. Peter holds a bachelor’s degree in Public History from Western Michigan University and has been working at the museum since 2018.

NOTE: 1:00pm On Zoom shown at the Scott Club. Or, join via Zoom from wherever you are located. Email info@scottclub.org for a Zoom link.

By Michael Nassaney, PhD

Southwest Michigan attracted freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad as abolitionists worked secretly to conduct African Americans who had escaped enslavement along the route north to free states and Canada. Learn how archaeologists uncovered evidence of this clandestine organization as Dr. Michael Nassaney discusses his investigations, research, and findings related to this fascinating operation.

Dr. Michael Nassaney is an archaeologist, author, editor, consultant, and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Western Michigan University. From 1988-2020 he served as the principal investigator of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, an interdisciplinary program in community service that focuses on the site of Fort St. Joseph in Niles, Michigan. He directed the investigations of the Underground Railroad in Cass County in 2002. Nassaney has published numerous works on the archaeology of eastern North America, including The Archaeology of the North American Fur Trade (University Press of Florida, 2015) and Fort St. Joseph Revealed (University Press of Florida, 2019).

By Roger Horton and Gary Horton

This presentation provides a historical look at South Haven as seen from the vantage point of the South Haven South Pierhead Light. Imagine all that the light has looked upon during its 120-year history. The current beacon was first lit in 1903 and continues to be used to guide people to shore and serves as a defining landmark on Lake Michigan. Roger Horton chronicles the information from his brother Gary Horton, author and narrator of the DVD “I Am the Light.”

By Sally E. Hadden, PhD

While it’s common in the current day to think of dispute resolution as the exclusive domain of judges in courtrooms, in the 17th and 18th centuries, early Americans had other options available for reaching judicial conclusions. This presentation explores a little-known realm of judicial action: decisions reached by legislative assemblies, governors, governors’ councils, and the King’s Privy Council, and how their transatlantic activities contributed to the concept we know today as judicial review.

Sally Hadden is Director of Graduate Studies and a professor of history at Western Michigan University. As a legal historian, her studies of early America led to her publication of Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas which details the white-on-black violence that pervaded American slave societies. She is currently co-authoring a study of the first Supreme Court and its forbears. Hadden is also a past officer and board member of the American Society of Legal History and serves on the editorial board of Law and History Review.

By Dr. David Benac

In the past year, climate disinformation has gained prominence as an obstacle to addressing climate change. To better understand and identify the practice it is necessary to explore its origins and evolution. This discussion traces the century of history during which the techniques of climate disinformation developed.

David Benac is an associate professor of history at Western Michigan University and teaches environmental and public history. His current major work is a forthcoming book titled Voices of Ecological Truth Tellers: The Rainforest Action Network and Grassroots Organizing.

By M. Christine Byron & Thomas R. Wilson

Join Christine and Tom for a road trip on the old West Michigan Pike, now US-31. This historic road was the first continuous, improved route between Michigan City and Mackinaw City. The road along the Lake Michigan coast opened West Michigan to automobile travel and tourism. The authors depict the adventure and romance of motoring showing vintage postcards, photographs, maps, and ephemera to illustrate this journey. Time-travel with them through the beautiful West Michigan landscape and quaint towns to hotels and cabins, tourist camps and state parks, and other stops along the road.

Christine and Tom share a love of Michigan and a fascination with its history. They are especially interested in the history of Michigan’s tourism industry. Their collection of antique postcards and tourist and travel ephemera was the inspiration for five of their books: Vintage Views Along Scenic M-22 including Sleeping Bear Dunes (2012); Vintage Views Along the West Michigan Pike (2011), Vintage Views of the Mackinac Straits Region (2007), Vintage Views of the Charlevoix – Petoskey Region (2005) and Vintage Views of Leelanau County (2002). Their sixth book, Historic Leelanau: Recognized Sites and Places of Historical Significance, is a fundraiser for the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society.

By Joyce A. R. Beedie, President, Van Buren Regional Genealogical Society.

Finding your ancestors and learning about their lives has never been easier. Joyce Beedie will talk about the resources offered by Van Buren Regional Genealogical Society and other local entities as well as highlighting how online websites enhance genealogy and local history research. She will give an overview of the society sponsored programs and the one-on-one assistance available to those trying to find their roots.

Ms. Beedie is the president of the Van Buren Regional Genealogical Society (VBRGS) and has held the position for the past 10 years. She also administrates and oversees the society’s vast collection of manuscripts, photographs and books archived at the Vanderlyn Community Center Hartford Public Library.

The VBRGS was organized in 1987 in Decatur, Michigan and in 2020 moved into the new Hartford Public Library. They have been recognized for their many years of contributions to family and local history with the naming of the library’s genealogy room as the Van Buren Regional Genealogical Society Genealogy Room.

Join the Scott Club members as we car-pool to Lansing to visit our capital with a tour by Valerie Marvin, Michigan State Capital Historian. This full day trip will include a meeting at the Lansing Women’s Club. RSVP is required. For information and to RSVP, email info@scottclub.org.