Nov. 20, 2006

America's first spaceman, an award-winning author who loved the Lake Michigan dunes and a city whose Indian name means "the place where the water boils" are featured in the November/December 2006 issue of Michigan History magazine.

• On Sept. 7, 1956, U.S. Air Force captain Iven Kincheloe of Cassopolis, Mich., became the first man to fly into outer space (as it was defined at the time) when his X-2 supersonic plane reached a record altitude of 126,200 feet. Upon his return to Earth, the press called Kincheloe "the first of America's spacemen."
   
• For nearly two decades, author Carl Sandburg and his family enjoyed life in the Lake Michigan dunes near Harbert (Berrien County). During these years, he produced some of his best-known and highly regarded writings, including Abraham Lincoln: The War Years for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1940.
   
• Boasting a mixture of transplanted New England culture and unflappable pioneer optimism, the city of Kalamazoo has produced a host of people, products and institutions that has earned it worldwide fame.

For more information or to order a subscription to Michigan History, call (800) 366-3703 or visit www.michiganhistorymagazine.com.  Individual copies can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton and Borders bookstores throughout the state.

Michigan History is published by the Michigan Historical Center, an agency of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Dedicated to enriching quality of life and strengthening the economy, the department also includes the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Michigan Film Office and the Library of Michigan.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).