Two local authors will visit Monroe County Community College to share their knowledge and expertise about the region.
On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, John Hartig, Great Lakes scientist, will discuss his book, Waterfront Porch: Reclaiming Detroit's Industrial Waterfront as a Gathering Place for All, at 2 p.m. as part of the One Book One Community series of events held throughout Monroe County this month. Detroit was the epicenter of the fur trade era, an unparalleled leader of shipbuilding for one hundred years, the Silicon Valley of the industrial age, and the unquestioned leader of the arsenal of democracy. This unique history depicts Detroit as a city of innovation, resilience, and leadership in responding to change, and examines the current sustainability paradigm shift to which Detroit is responding, pivoting as the city has done in the past to redefine itself and lead the nation and world down a more sustainable path. Waterfront Porch: Reclaiming Detroit's Industrial Waterfront as a Gathering Place for All details the building of a new waterfront porch alongside the Detroit River, the Detroit RiverWalk, to help revitalize the city and region and promote sustainability practices. It is a story of one of the largest, by scale, urban waterfront redevelopment projects in the United States, and gives hope and proves that Detroit and its metropolitan region have a bright future.
Hartig has 30 years of experience in ecosystem-based management and conservation. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor. He serves as the chair of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan’s Great Lakes Way Advisory Committee and on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.
On Friday, March 31, 2023, Shawna Lynn Mazur will discuss her book, Monroe Piers and Lighthouses, at 2 p.m. Often overshadowed by its larger neighbors, Monroe County offers a rich tapestry of history for those willing to look. French Canadian settlers left behind legends of monsters, ghosts and witches. In wartime, the community answered the call to arms with more soldiers per capita than any other county in the nation and proved a suitable hometown to take refuge between gunshots from none other than George Armstrong Custer. Like most communities, its sordid past reveals crimes and tragedies, including body snatching. More recently, a partial nuclear meltdown brought the city to the brink of disaster. Monroe not only survived but also now thrives.
Mazur is a Monroe native. With a bachelor’s degree in history and literature and a love of history, research and writing, she wrote numerous articles and conducted the museum’s popular Lantern Tours for four years. She has also published in Michigan History magazine, the Little Big Horn Associates newsletter and the Monroe News. As an interpretive ranger at the River Raisin National Battlefield Park, she contributed to growing the park
and developing some of its interpretive programs, publications and curriculums. She is currently working on a book for the National Park Service.
Both events are free and open to the community, and will be held in the Library of the Campbell Academic Center on MCCC's main campus, 1555 S. Raisinville Road, Monroe, MI. For more information about these and other events at MCCC visit www.monroeccc.edu/events.
About Monroe County Community College
Founded in 1964, Monroe County Community College is a public, two-year institution supported by tax monies from Monroe County, educational funds from the State of Michigan and student tuition. The college’s mission is to enrich and transform lives by providing opportunities and excellence in higher education. The Main Campus is located at 1555 South Raisinville Road, Monroe, Mich., 48161, with easy access to Toledo and Detroit. The Whitman Center is located at 7777 Lewis Ave.,Temperance, Mich., 48182, near the Ohio-Michigan Border. Detailed information about MCCC is available at www.monroeccc.edu.