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Did you know that Birmingham was among the first cities in Michigan to have a female mayor? In her 1960 acceptance speech, Florence “Twink” Willitt stated “I hope to do a good job. I want the women in the community to be proud of the manner in which I perform- and the men too.” And while she sought to do that good job for the city, the media often paid far more attention to her appearance, clothing and family life. Far more than they did for her male peers anyhow. The story of Florence Harris Baker Willet is the culmination of a journey started by women in Birmingham before women even had the right to vote. But its also the start of another one that led to greater representation for women on Birmingham’s city commission, various boards and leadership roles within city hall.

To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material, check out our website.

For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at museum@bhamgov.org.

Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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Last month we covered one half of the Birmingham Peabody story with Lyman Peabody and his dry goods store. This month we are diving into James and his descendants, notably Jim Peabody… he of the Peabody’s restaurant fame. If you are a long time Birmingham resident or you know one, you’ve probably heard all about the restaurant. Let's dive into the farm that became a grocery store that became a restaurant.

To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material, check out our website.

For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at museum@bhamgov.org.

Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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What's in a name? Quite a lot if you are a Peabody in Birmingham. There's been many businesses and one still standing fancy house associated with the name. In this episode, we start at the beginning of the Peabody story in Birmingham and the dry goods store that one of the Peabody brothers established in the 1870s. Just why was Lyman importing Japanese tea a big deal and did he have anything to do with Peabody's Restaurant? You'll have to listen to find out.

To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material, check out our website.

For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at museum@bhamgov.org.

Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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The near constant gloom of a Birmingham winter can be a lot for anyone. On her first winter in Birmingham in 1918, Ruth recalled “I just felt I couldn’t live-maybe I’d just die, because the winter was so hard”. But she lived, and threw herself into civic projects to keep the blues at bay. The projects she undertook changed Birmingham forever and we are still reaping the rewards.

To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material, check out our website.

For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at museum@bhamgov.org.

Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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Edward Crawford was 15 years old when he was shot and killed the evening of September 6, 1916 while walking home from a store in Birmingham after it closed with the store owner, a clerk and two of his friends. The shocking murder caused a stir in the village of Birmingham, which didn’t have a lot of violent crime. And it rippled out and caused a stir throughout both Oakland County and the whole metro Detroit area due to the store owner’s identity and possible connections to a violent extortion scheme targeting this ethnic community. Just who was Edward Crawford and did the infamous Black Hand kill him?

To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material, check out our website.

For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at museum@bhamgov.org.

Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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Mental health care in the 1800s wasn't always a hellscape of overcrowded asylums filled with patients chained to floors and beds. In the 1840s and 1850s, a new treatment paradigm called "the moral treatment movement" offered patients dignity, respect, individualized treatment plans and creative outlets. One Birmingham man, Washington Willits, was described as coming home from the premier moral treatment facility, the Utica Insane Asylum in New York, when he tragically died. Who was Washington and what might have his life and treatment at Utica looked like?
To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material, check out our website.

For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at museum@bhamgov.org.

Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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Friendship can be a very powerful thing. It can empower an individual and redirect their life and sometimes it can reshape the fabric of an entire community. Today’s podcast has two subjects because it is impossible to cover one of these individuals without talking about the other. Almeron Whitehead and George Mitchell met at work in their late teens and they were inseparable for over 60 years until they died… and even then, their burial plots at Greenwood Cemetery here in Birmingham are right next to each other.

To access a full episode transcript as well as to access additional material, check out our website.

For questions, concerns, corrections or episode suggestions please reach out to us at museum@bhamgov.org.

Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.

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What image comes to mind when I say the word “Birmingham”? I’m going to take a wild guess and say that it’s probably not Shetland Ponies. But, for a period of a few decades in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Birmingham was the premier place in the country to get a purebred Shetland Pony. And the subject of this podcast episode, Fenton Watkins, spent a great deal of his life working with those ponies, bringing joy to pony enthusiasts and the tourists on Boblo Island who rented the pony concessions that he and his uncle’s farm provided.

For photos and other documents related to the episode, check out our website

For questions, comments or episode suggestions please reach out to us at museum@bhamgov.org.

Special thanks to the Birmingham Area Cable Board for PEG grant funding that made this podcast possible. Also thanks to past and present staff of the Birmingham Museum, and our amazing volunteers.