Steve Arseneau, Author at Leader Publications

Columns

When ‘This Is The Army’ came to Dowagiac

We recently opened a new exhibit at the Dowagiac Area History Museum that looks at wartime stories of Cass County residents and, of course, it ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Monday, August 7, 2017 10:44 am

Columns

P.D. Beckwith’s impact on Dowagiac

When P.D. Beckwith started manufacturing stoves in the late 1860s, he had four regular employees. By 1879, he had 40 employees, with the July 30, ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Monday, July 10, 2017 10:48 am

Columns

P.D. Beckwith and Round Oak’s growth

Last month, I looked at Philo D. Beckwith’s early years in Dowagiac. While his manufacturing of the roller grain drill created a regular product, the ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Monday, June 12, 2017 11:34 am

Columns

P.D. Beckwith’s early years in Dowagiac

My late friend Grif Cook always said that without P.D. Beckwith, Dowagiac would have been like Pokagon. No offense to Pokagon — after all, he ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Monday, May 8, 2017 10:01 am

Columns

The Orphan Train and The Grand Old City

The Orphan Train and Dowagiac’s connection to it will be fully explored in 2017, through a series of projects being undertaken by the museum, the ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Monday, April 10, 2017 10:42 am

Columns

Dowagiac’s favorite barber

One of my favorite characters in Dowagiac history is Thomas Jefferson Martin, one of the city’s first African American settlers. Martin led an interesting life ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Monday, March 6, 2017 8:26 am

News

The rocky birth of the Rockery

When the museum gets out-of-town visitors, they sometimes ask what else they “need to see” in town. I frequently point them to the two field ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, February 16, 2017 8:27 am

Columns

The rocky birth of the Rockery

When the museum gets out-of-town visitors, they sometimes ask what else they “need to see” in town. I frequently point them to the two field ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Wednesday, February 15, 2017 6:20 pm

Columns

Museum director shares favorite photographs

Photographs help document our lives, and technology has made it easier for us to take photographs today than at any other point in history. For ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Monday, January 9, 2017 9:59 am

Columns

Born to fly

I recently read that the NASA set a goal for sending a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s and entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, October 20, 2016 10:01 am

Columns

A presidential stop in Dowagiac

Every four years, we go through a Presidential election cycle and we get tired of the negative advertising and hope the next cycle will be ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, September 8, 2016 10:31 am

Columns

Recreational activities have changed in Dowagiac

We have all seen them in recent weeks — the walking zombies looking at their phones, trying to catch an elusive Pokemon. Without trying to ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Friday, August 12, 2016 11:25 am

Columns

Around the world adventure, part two

From the moment four American pilots took off from Seattle in April 1924 on their mission to be the first pilots to fly across the ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, July 14, 2016 10:02 am

Columns

Looking back in time at an around-the-world adventure

The museum has a permanent exhibit I call Small Town, Big World: Locals Who Made History. As the name implies, it explores the efforts of ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Friday, June 10, 2016 9:29 am

Columns

Around the world adventure

The museum has a permanent exhibit I call Small Town, Big World: Locals Who Made History. As the name implies, it explores the efforts of ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, June 9, 2016 9:38 am

Columns

A man, a bet and a wheelbarrow

Publicity stunts have been around since at least the days of P.T. Barnum’s carnivals and sideshows — interesting marketing campaigns that try to gain the ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, May 12, 2016 10:18 am

Columns

Victorian marketing at its finest

We take marketing for granted today as we are inundated with commercials on television, radio, websites and billboards. Advertising likely goes back to the competing ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, April 14, 2016 9:19 am

Columns

Dowagiac Eats: Examining the history of local food

The temporary exhibit at the Dowagiac Area History Museum, “Michigan Eats: Regional Culture Through Food,” makes the point that there are few foods that are ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, March 10, 2016 10:06 am

Columns

Dowagiac Eats: The agricultural side

You have probably read about Michigan Eats: Regional Culture Through Food at the museum in the past week or so. The MSU exhibit explores Michigan ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, February 11, 2016 10:19 am

Columns

Common sense to mufflers

The view from the Dowagiac Area History Museum has changed dramatically in the past month. The tearing down of Round Oak Warehouse No. 9 changes ... Read more

by Steve Arseneau, Thursday, January 14, 2016 10:07 am

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