Hamtramck through the Years
Hamtramck through the Years

Author: Greg Kowalski

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2023-07

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1467153710

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Experience the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Hamtramck's past In the twentieth century, Hamtramck rapidly transformed from a gentle farming village into an industrial city. The large field at the south side of town developed into the Dodge Brothers auto plant, which became one of the biggest factories in the world. Virtually overnight, the sounds of farm animals gave way to the clanging of giant steel presses, and boards being hammered into new homes broke the silence of the countryside. The change was so dramatic and swift that it left town officials scrambling to cope and even drew national attention. Tracking these changes and others decade by decade, author Greg Kowalski brings this story to life in extreme detail.

Hamtramck
Hamtramck

Author: Greg Kowalski

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9780738523200

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Since its founding in 1798, the city of Hamtramck, Michigan has evolved from a dusty farming community on the edge of Detroit into a nationally recognized town of culture and character. The Dodge Main factory, founded in 1910, drew thousands of immigrants to the city of Hamtramck, and a vibrant, multi-cultural community began to grow. Over the course of the next 90 years, the people of Hamtramck developed a landmark educational system, a strong devotion to church and family, a fiery political scene, and labor-organizing activities with national reverberations. In this book, author Greg Kowalski uses a unique collection of historical photographs to document Hamtramck's incredible growth throughout the years, and reveal the unmatched integrity, commitment, and independence of its people.

Hamtramck
Hamtramck

Author: Greg Kowalski

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2002-07-18

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 1439613958

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Surrounded completely by the city of Detroit, Hamtramck is today home to 24,000 residents, but its small size-just 2.1 square miles-belies its expansive history and the influence this remarkable community has had far beyond its borders. Founded as a township in 1798, Hamtramck remained primarily a rural area until the early twentieth century, when auto pioneers John and Horace Dodge opened a factory on the south end of town. In just 20 years, the city's population increased by a staggering 1,600 percent. The majority of these newest residents were Polish immigrants, who brought with them a strong work ethic, a rich culture, a genuine joy for living, and an intense appreciation for democracy. Legendary to this day for its fiery politics, the solidly Democratic Hamtramck openly flaunted Prohibition, received a visit from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, strongly supported the early labor unions, and even served as a key headquarters for the Communist Party in North America. In Hamtramck: The Driven City, an engaging narrative combined with more than 100 black-and-white images will take readers on a fascinating journey into the past and breathe new life into the memorable characters and events, the conflicts and scandals that formed the city's distinctive identity.

They Drank to That
They Drank to That

Author: Greg Kowalski

Publisher: America Through Time

Published: 2017-12

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9781634990394

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For decades, the city of Hamtramck, MI, has had a legendary association with bars. Its 2.1 square miles was packed at one point with at least 200 bars, clubs and other places that served alcohol in some form. During Prohibition, there were hundreds of speakeasies that openly flaunted the law and played host to the whole metro area's leading political figures and upstanding citizens--as well as murderers and thieves--among many others. Hamtramck's bar scene seemingly was not like anywhere else. Through the decades bars in Hamtramck have served as social centers, power bases for politicians, dens of crime, and red-hot venues for cutting-edge music. With their pervasive presence, the bars became cornerstones of the community. It's a staggering thought but the vast array of bars that has flourished in the city have made a powerful contribution to its character and even its existence. Exploring the history of Hamtramck's bars is a fascinating journey that lays out the character of the community--for better and for worse.

Muslim American City
Muslim American City

Author: Alisa Perkins

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2020-07-07

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 1479892017

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Explores how Muslim Americans test the boundaries of American pluralism In 2004, the al-Islah Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, set off a contentious controversy when it requested permission to use loudspeakers to broadcast the adhān, or Islamic call to prayer. The issue gained international notoriety when media outlets from around the world flocked to the city to report on what had become a civil battle between religious tolerance and Islamophobic sentiment. The Hamtramck council voted unanimously to allow mosques to broadcast the adhān, making it one of the few US cities to officially permit it through specific legislation. Muslim American City explores how debates over Muslim Americans’ use of both public and political space have challenged and ultimately reshaped the boundaries of urban belonging. Drawing on more than ten years of ethnographic research in Hamtramck, which boasts one of the largest concentrations of Muslim residents of any American city, Alisa Perkins shows how the Muslim American population has grown and asserted itself in public life. She explores, for example, the efforts of Muslim American women to maintain gender norms in neighborhoods, mosques, and schools, as well as Muslim Americans’ efforts to organize public responses to municipal initiatives. Her in-depth fieldwork incorporates the perspectives of both Muslims and non-Muslims, including Polish Catholics, African American Protestants, and other city residents. Drawing particular attention to Muslim American expressions of religious and cultural identity in civil life—particularly in response to discrimination and stereotyping—Perkins questions the popular assumption that the religiosity of Muslim minorities hinders their capacity for full citizenship in secular societies. She shows how Muslims and non-Muslims have, through their negotiations over the issues over the use of space, together invested Muslim practice with new forms of social capital and challenged nationalist and secularist notions of belonging.

Hamtramck
Hamtramck

Author: Greg Kowalski

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015-03-23

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1439650470

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Fueled by a massive immigrant influx in the early 20th century, Hamtramck went from being a small farming village to a major industrial town in the space of 10 years. This phenomenal growth attracted national attention and set the city on a sometimes precarious path toward the future. Despite often teetering on financial ruin, the city has always managed to right itself. Once predominantly Polish, Hamtramck has recently turned in a new direction to become one of the most diverse cities in the nation. This human tapestry--intertwining memorable people, places, and events of the past and present--is woven with the many colors that are so richly evident on these pages.

Legendary Locals of Hamtramck, Michigan
Legendary Locals of Hamtramck, Michigan

Author: Greg Kowalski

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 146710017X

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Fueled by phenomenal growth in the early part of the 20th century, Hamtramck went from being a farming community to a major industrial city in the space of a decade. Thousands of immigrants flooded into the city to work in the new auto factories. Each one had a special story to tell, but some stood above the rest. Maurice Keyworth developed a public school code in 1927 that was so innovative it was copied by schools across the nation. Gail Kobe acted in and produced popular TV shows, and Rudy Tomjanovich thrilled crowds around the basketball court. Still others made their mark in more modest, yet meaningful ways, like business owner Dave Stober, who sent local kids to camp. Their stories, and those of many more who made Hamtramck what it is today, are here. Each made a special contribution to the story of Hamtramck.

Murder in Hamtramck
Murder in Hamtramck

Author: Greg Kowalski

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2021-02-15

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1439672040

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Founded in 1798, Hamtramck shrank in size even as it grew in population. Stuffing tens of thousands of people in 2.1 square miles is bound to breed conflict, and many of those conflicts boiled over into murder. Sunday, September 7, 1884, was supposed to be a day of joy for Fritz Krum, whose child was being christened. Instead, it ended in a fatal stabbing. The 1930 killing of police officer Barney Roth in a reputed mob hit drew national attention. The murder of Hamtramck teen Bernice Onisko remains an open case today, more than eighty years after it occurred. Gathering cases from the late nineteenth century to more recent times, prolific local historian Greg Kowalski takes readers on a journey through Hamtramck homicide.

Wicked Hamtramck
Wicked Hamtramck

Author: Greg Kowalski

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2010-07-23

Total Pages: 134

ISBN-13: 1614232040

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Hamtramck's population bulged to 56,000 from a mere 3,500 in the early twentieth century, a sixteen-fold increase that created the perfect environment for crime and corruption to flourish. Post-Prohibition, bars sprang up in quick order, until there were at least two hundred within this wide-open town's 2.1 square miles, giving it more bars per capita than any other city in America; even the Dodge brothers served barrels of beer to their workers. Follow local historian Greg Kowalski through the underbelly of Hamtramck, from the "painted women openly flaunting their tainted charms from undraped windows" to the nefarious plots crafted behind the walls of the International Workers Home on Yemens Street. Welcome to the height of Hamtramck's infamy, where anything could happen--for a price.