May 14, 2021
Good evening everyone,
We had to make an emergency change to the contact page. Despite our best efforts, we experienced more foreign spam being sent to the page, ranging from "maid now making $100,000" to advertising for Elon Musk. These have been coming in spurts of five and usually two minutes apart, coming from different computers. Rather than attempt to discipline those responsible, we have decided to use the email only for future correspondence.
We also received an offer from Mr. John Rodrigue of The History Press regarding a potential book deal surrounding this website. The offer seems exciting on the surface, although such a project would undoubtedly take some time with further research and translation, which to this point is still not readily possible given our COVID-19 world. It is our hope we can still keep in contact with Mr. Rodrigue and keep the possible book deal alive. We will keep you informed in this space.
All the best,
KEVIN HARRISON
Webmaster
We had to make an emergency change to the contact page. Despite our best efforts, we experienced more foreign spam being sent to the page, ranging from "maid now making $100,000" to advertising for Elon Musk. These have been coming in spurts of five and usually two minutes apart, coming from different computers. Rather than attempt to discipline those responsible, we have decided to use the email only for future correspondence.
We also received an offer from Mr. John Rodrigue of The History Press regarding a potential book deal surrounding this website. The offer seems exciting on the surface, although such a project would undoubtedly take some time with further research and translation, which to this point is still not readily possible given our COVID-19 world. It is our hope we can still keep in contact with Mr. Rodrigue and keep the possible book deal alive. We will keep you informed in this space.
All the best,
KEVIN HARRISON
Webmaster
April 8, 2021
Hello everyone,
I sincerely hope everyone is doing their best to get through these unbelievable times with the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly raging on to no conclusion. Each time we seem to loosen the strings on the restrictions we face, the numbers go up again, and the process repeats itself.
History may well end up documenting this the way it initially documented life after 9/11. Experts will claim we were never the same again after that travesty. I like to think we did go in several directions, but ended up stronger than ever. Yet, I felt it first-hand, landing a job at Detroit Metropolitan Airport a mere three weeks before that day. What resulted was a seven-week layoff as operations were significantly reduced, and things did not go back to what they were before. Look at the increased security clearances required to fly, the smaller number of families greeting each other at the gate, and an increased tenseness as examples of how we are still affected there today.
The pandemic has been going on for 13 months now with no end in sight, thanks to the countless new variants being discovered on an all-too-common basis. At the time of this writing, restaurant capacity has been increased to 50%, and sporting events are now allowing some fans into the stands.
But for history buffs like myself, one thing has remained consistent: the inability to do original research. Bacon Memorial District Library in Wyandotte has had their research facility closed ever since the pandemic first hit. They are slowly reopening the library in phases, but the research room has no timetable for such an opening yet. The library is the place for me to obtain microfilm copies of the News-Herald, Times-Herald, Wyandotte Independent, and other newspapers in order to gain information for the website and accompanying Facebook group. Keep in mind also that the newspaper digitization project, which we have supported for quite some time, has also hit a snag due to COVID. Time does not stand still in the present tense; never has. But the past has seemingly stood still for a year.
What to do? There certainly isn't much. Work has been undergone to expand the photo opportunities, as some great researchers have contributed gems in recent months. We just eclipsed the 3,500 mark in photos accessible through this site. We also are trying to update the modern-day timeline, although there has been no bigger story in the papers and online than what we have heard and, quite frankly, have grown a spite groggy to.
All we know is, when this pandemic is eased further and the facilities open up, you can bet we will be there to gain more knowledge of our area's rich history. See the sidebar page in this particular group, Future Research Needs, to see what we will tackle next.
Patience in slow motion has been the end result of all this, and is a key to getting back to some sort of normalcy. For that, I wish to thank all viewers of the website and Facebook group for providing much of the patience necessary in order to move forward. I can say with certainty that we will be looking to expand the Taylor offerings by a boatload thanks to one of our contacts! With so much to look forward to, let's keep looking that direction, except when reading the pages contained herein, of course!
Cordially moving forward,
KEVIN HARRISON, webmaster
downriverthings.com 4/8/2021
I sincerely hope everyone is doing their best to get through these unbelievable times with the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly raging on to no conclusion. Each time we seem to loosen the strings on the restrictions we face, the numbers go up again, and the process repeats itself.
History may well end up documenting this the way it initially documented life after 9/11. Experts will claim we were never the same again after that travesty. I like to think we did go in several directions, but ended up stronger than ever. Yet, I felt it first-hand, landing a job at Detroit Metropolitan Airport a mere three weeks before that day. What resulted was a seven-week layoff as operations were significantly reduced, and things did not go back to what they were before. Look at the increased security clearances required to fly, the smaller number of families greeting each other at the gate, and an increased tenseness as examples of how we are still affected there today.
The pandemic has been going on for 13 months now with no end in sight, thanks to the countless new variants being discovered on an all-too-common basis. At the time of this writing, restaurant capacity has been increased to 50%, and sporting events are now allowing some fans into the stands.
But for history buffs like myself, one thing has remained consistent: the inability to do original research. Bacon Memorial District Library in Wyandotte has had their research facility closed ever since the pandemic first hit. They are slowly reopening the library in phases, but the research room has no timetable for such an opening yet. The library is the place for me to obtain microfilm copies of the News-Herald, Times-Herald, Wyandotte Independent, and other newspapers in order to gain information for the website and accompanying Facebook group. Keep in mind also that the newspaper digitization project, which we have supported for quite some time, has also hit a snag due to COVID. Time does not stand still in the present tense; never has. But the past has seemingly stood still for a year.
What to do? There certainly isn't much. Work has been undergone to expand the photo opportunities, as some great researchers have contributed gems in recent months. We just eclipsed the 3,500 mark in photos accessible through this site. We also are trying to update the modern-day timeline, although there has been no bigger story in the papers and online than what we have heard and, quite frankly, have grown a spite groggy to.
All we know is, when this pandemic is eased further and the facilities open up, you can bet we will be there to gain more knowledge of our area's rich history. See the sidebar page in this particular group, Future Research Needs, to see what we will tackle next.
Patience in slow motion has been the end result of all this, and is a key to getting back to some sort of normalcy. For that, I wish to thank all viewers of the website and Facebook group for providing much of the patience necessary in order to move forward. I can say with certainty that we will be looking to expand the Taylor offerings by a boatload thanks to one of our contacts! With so much to look forward to, let's keep looking that direction, except when reading the pages contained herein, of course!
Cordially moving forward,
KEVIN HARRISON, webmaster
downriverthings.com 4/8/2021
April 7, 2021
Greetings to all.
This particular note is rather late in coming, but it has been decided to revert back to the downriverthings.com domain name permanently. For some reason, the application I use no longer supports re-directs, and that may cause some concern for those attempting to access the site.
I must also mention that, somehow, I received the domain renewal for free this year. It was due to expire two days ago, but that has not been the case. I will continue to monitor every so often just to be sure. For a budget-minded person such as myself, this is a true bonus.
And for those interested: We have acquired some new facts on Lang Water Park (as we advertised atop the homepage last month) but have not heard back from the original poster because of an invalid email address sent through our Contact page. Your submissions are more than welcome, but to allow for me to respond in a timely manner, please be sure to have a working email address handy. Communication is key!
Many thanks,
KEVIN HARRISON
Webmaster
This particular note is rather late in coming, but it has been decided to revert back to the downriverthings.com domain name permanently. For some reason, the application I use no longer supports re-directs, and that may cause some concern for those attempting to access the site.
I must also mention that, somehow, I received the domain renewal for free this year. It was due to expire two days ago, but that has not been the case. I will continue to monitor every so often just to be sure. For a budget-minded person such as myself, this is a true bonus.
And for those interested: We have acquired some new facts on Lang Water Park (as we advertised atop the homepage last month) but have not heard back from the original poster because of an invalid email address sent through our Contact page. Your submissions are more than welcome, but to allow for me to respond in a timely manner, please be sure to have a working email address handy. Communication is key!
Many thanks,
KEVIN HARRISON
Webmaster