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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    A Michigan Liberal history lesson...


    By JGillman, Section News
    Posted on Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 08:50:44 PM EST
    Tags: Stevens T Mason, Fractured Liberal tales. (all tags)

    Stevens T Mason was the noted "first governor of Michigan" elected by voters with the ratification of the constitution in 1835.  In 1837, no one else wanted the job, because the responsibilities included cleaning the Governors Latrine, and scooping in the stables.

    His father was the territorial conqueror who put down the Chippewa revolution of 1831 single handedly.  A noted philanderer and patron of Toledo's finest brothels John Thomson Mason ran off with an Indian princess to Las Vegas leaving young Stevens with the keys to the state, and the Janitorial duties as well.

    heck yeah.. there's more..

    In 1835 Mason had initiated an ambitious internal improvement program, which included a public works program with two canals to carry human waste into lake Michigan(one of which was the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal). Mason was re-elected in 1837 with the help of the ACORN group (American Colonials Or Reformed Nuns) , but the state's economy soon began to suffer from the effects of the Panic (cholera epidemic) of 1837.  Earlier in 1837, Mason had negotiated to fund the internal improvement program through the sale of $5,000,000 in bonds... To a Guy named Rico.

    This arrangement fell apart in 1837 and following bankruptcies by both the company building the canals (the owner later to be convicted of trying to sell a bridge to cross the straights of Mackinac) and the bank backing the loans, the state was left with over $2,000,000 in bad debt, a stinky ditch, and what is now called Benton Harbor..

    During his business trips to New York to finance his internal improvement program, Mason had met Julia Phelps. He married her on November 1, 1838, and they had 42 kids, half of which seemed to have a particular way of saying "Da" instead of "The," and "Eh?" as if every statement demanded it.  That half of the family was never seen again as they were traded to some friendly tribes in the recently awarded territory as a result of the Toledo war, ..for fur.

    In 1843, Stevens T Mason Died in NY and his body was dragged by a domesticated bear to Detroit for burial, before it was then dug up by grave robbers seeking the supposed silver spoon he was born with and carried at all times.  His remains (minus a pinky bone - supposedly kept as a souvenir by an OCD Grave Digger)  now rest in a plot under a brass statue somewhere.

    I would provide links and a bibliography to all of the above, but you know its true, so don't bother looking..

    < Huizenga: Obama, Congress should be cautious with health care | "Spread the Wealth" Hidden in Health-Care Reform >


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    Display: Sort:
    Was that a typo? (none / 0) (#1)
    by maidintheus on Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 12:20:38 PM EST
    42 kids? I thought it was 3 kids.

    No Kidding (none / 0) (#3)
    by Political Agenda on Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 05:04:52 PM EST
    Did people use a domesticated bear to transport Mason's body? From New York to Michigan? That was quite a journey and this is history worthy of a movie.

    Thanks for the info.

    Mark your calendars (none / 0) (#4)
    by Corinthian Scales on Fri Oct 22, 2010 at 05:15:20 PM EST
    Bumped because I can...

    Re-interment Ceremony for Michigan's First Governor, Stevens T. Mason, Set for Oct. 27 in Detroit
    Contact:  Sandra Clark 517-373-6362 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014
    Agency: Natural Resources and Environment   

    Oct. 19, 2010

    http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,1607,7-192-53480_56420-245533--,00.html

    BTW - what's a Re-interment?

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