Author: Michael Hardy

Michael is the owner of Thumbwind Publications LLC. It started in 2009 covering Michigan and the Upper Thumb. Today, his Michigan Moments series has established a loyal base of 110,000 followers.

Sitting Out the Pandemic in a Michigan Cottage

Will Remote Workers Flock to Their Cottages to Sit Out the Michigan Coronavirus?

Posted on March 15, 2020September 23, 2023 by Michael Hardy

Just as the Michigan coronavirus warnings were starting, I was in line at a local market in northern Michigan. Fortunately,

Michigan’s Experience with Pandemics – Infographic

Posted on March 13, 2020November 15, 2021 by Michael Hardy

Over the past 100 years, the United States and Michigan have been hit with four influenza pandemics. Of all of these, the 1918 outbreak was the most serious in terms of mortality and the two-year duration of the epidemic.

We ask a DNR Fish Biologist; What Happened to All the Yellow Perch in Saginaw Bay?

Posted on March 6, 2020November 15, 2021 by Michael Hardy

We have a conversation with a Michigan DNR fish biologist on why we have had a decline of yellow perch on Saginaw Bay. The answer was a bit of a surprise.

Surprise! Michigan’s Best Cheeseburger is NOT in Caseville!

Posted on February 4, 2020August 21, 2023 by Michael Hardy

After a long and arduous search we deem one of the best cheeseburgers in Huron County is served at Shelley’s Bar in Grindstone City. This unassuming road house style bar & grill is a great find in the Upper Thumb.

Michigan Barn Art in the Upper Thumb

Posted on January 24, 2020June 6, 2022 by Michael Hardy

With its nearby Michigan Barn Art, Port Austin has become the acknowledged hub of artistic activity in the Upper Thumb. We show three of these creations.

The works have been featured in PBS News Hour.

Ora Labora – The Final Days of the Colony 1866 – Part 5

Posted on January 5, 2020November 18, 2021 by Michael Hardy

Ora Labora’s final viable year as a religious colony in the wilderness of the upper thumb of Michigan was 1866. We reveal the final desperate attempts to keep it going.

Plans Underway for 2 Ora Labora Cabins From the Colony to be Restored

Posted on January 2, 2020February 13, 2025 by Michael Hardy

The Pigeon Historical Society to relocate and restore two cabins that were originally located in the 1800s German religious colony called Ora Labora.

The Ora Labora Experiment by Florence McKinnon Gwinn

Posted on December 26, 2019November 18, 2021 by Michael Hardy

The Ora Labora Experiment is an excerpt from a common historical document that has been scanned and re-published numerous times

2020 Great Lakes Water Levels Could Set New Records

Posted on November 9, 2019February 3, 2022 by Michael Hardy

Lakes Huron and Michigan continue to rise in 2019 . This took it very close to breaching lake water levels records last set in May 1986. Its expected to be a record setting year in 2020.

Saginaw Bay Fishing Has Dropped Despite A Lot of Walleye

Posted on October 23, 2019April 8, 2023 by Michael Hardy

A detailed analysis Michigan Department of Natural Resources fish harvest data point toward a healthier walleye fishery. However, the number of recreational fishermen fishing in Saginaw Bay has dramatically dropped over the past 30 years.