Please join us for one of these upcoming virtual events (or please share with your community)! All registration is required through our website's event calendar in order to receive the zoom link and passcode to join.

This Wednesday, August 11 at 6:30pm, Laura Keyes will present on the Hershey Chocolate Factory. 

Event description: Today the name Hershey is synonymous with quality milk chocolate. But that wasn't always the case. Milton S. Hershey worked hard and failed often before his chocolate company was finally successful. And when he did become a household name and had earned a vast fortune, Milton and his wife Catherine decided to give it all away. Because of their generosity, tens of thousands of orphans have been saved, protected, and educated.

Presented by Laura F. Keyes, a librarian in Illinois who also portrays historic women and gives lectures (since 2008). Laura enjoys researching literary symbolism and has been contracted to write a book on that subject! Since 1999, Laura has been active in community theatre in Illinois and Wisconsin, serving on the Board of Directors for Pec Playhouse Theatre more than once. And in her non-existent spare time, she is an avid baker and cat enthusiast!

Originally a Native American trail, Grand River Avenue has been a westbound route from the Straits of Detroit to the eastern shores of Lake Michigan for more than a thousand years. Over time, it has served as a stagecoach route, a plank road, and ultimately, one of America’s first two-lane highways. Let co-authors Jon Milan and Gail Offen, “Grand River Avenue: From Detroit to Lake Michigan” (Arcadia Press, 2014), take you on a visual tour along one of Michigan’s true “Blue Highways,” sharing an hour of important stops, interesting people, architectural finds and the lively history of this amazing treasure. They’ll even solve a few mysteries, like how Redford got its name, whether one of its most famous cross streets is pronounced ‘Lasher’ or ‘Lahser” and how the town of Novi got its name (careful – it’s not what you think!)

Register here: https://lyon.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/virtual-tbd-gail-offen-and-jon-milan-history-talk/

Gail Offen is an adjunct professor of advertising at Lawrence Technological University, and an award-winning creative director, writer and branding specialist. She’s a frequent lecturer on Michigan-related subjects and co-author of several books: Grand River Avenue: From Detroit to Lake Michigan, Arcadia, 2014; Iconic Restaurants of Ann Arbor, Arcadia, 2016 and Michigan Haunts: Public Places and Eerie Spaces, Arcadia, 2019.

Jon Milan is a Detroit-based freelance author, pianist and music historian. He frequently lectures and performs on Michigan-related subjects and has written five books, three co-authored with Gail Offen, as well as “Detroit: Ragtime and the Jazz Age,” Arcadia, 2009; and“Old Chicago Road.” Arcadia, 2011. He has written for many Michigan-based periodicals and spent his professional career as a corporate communications manager.

Thank you! 

Have a great day,

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