Whereas, Born in Iceland to the notorious Eric the Red, Leif Erikson as a teenager visited the Norwegian King Olaf Tryggvason and served among his retainers and in the late 990’s, the King sent Erikson, then 21, to undertake a mission to spread Christianity in Greenland, then a part of the Norse Kingdom; and,  

Whereas, In 1001, Erikson sailed his ship through the unknown northern seas where a violent storm threw his vessel off course, landing him on unfamiliar land; and,

Whereas, Erikson and his sailors surveyed the land and set up camp for the winter where the new area proved to be one of great beauty and abundant natural resources; and,

Whereas, This new land yielded wild grapes so plentiful that Erikson named the region “Vinland – Land of Meadows”; and,

Whereas, Once the winter thaw broke, Erikson and his crew set sail for home with a full cargo and exciting tales of their new discovery, which historians have long debated the location of, with possible suggested sites being present day Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, and Newfoundland; and now therefore be it,

Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby proclaim October 9, 2004, as Leif Erikson Day in Michigan.