Michigan Was the Territory We Didn’t Want – Listen to This Classic Paul Harvey Tale

There was a time when the great state of Michigan was essentially a red-headed step-child; a territory that nobody wanted. Paul Harvey shares 'The Rest of the Story.'

SEE ALSO:  Michigan Cold Case - Police ID Man Found in Saginaw River Nearly 50 Years Ago

About Paul Harvey

People of a certain age need no explanation as to who Paul Harvey was. His daily radio broadcasts were 'appointment listening' before the term was even defined. For many of us, his mellifluous delivery is like comfort food, bringing back memories of spending time with our parents who tuned in religiously to hear his take on the day's events.

For anyone not old enough to remember Paul Harvey, he delivered a daily 15-minute newscast that was (for lack of a better term) thought-provoking. He was folksy. His political stance may have leaned a little to the right, but he was mostly no-nonsense and intolerant of anyone lacking common sense.

His daily segment called 'The Rest of the Story' dug a little deeper and often paid off by uncovering a little-known fact that gave listeners insight that they likely had never been exposed to before.

His broadcasts reached about 24 million people each week up until his retirement in 2008. He passed away months later in 2009 at the age of 90.

Michigan - The Rest of the Story

The audio featured below is from one of Harvey's 'The Rest of the Story' broadcasts in 1987.

I wish you could 'unlearn' that this piece is about The Mitten State before listening to it, as hearing Paul's dramatic reveal at the end of the segment was always what made the feature so special.

Here's a brief excerpt from the story about the territory that nobody wanted.

"This poor little territory was stranded, rejected, homeless," Harvey says. The early settlers who were wilderness shopping for a land to settle called it 'a pest hole.' Now a popular saying of that era warned others to avoid the territory 'The land of ills, the word means fever, ague, and chills.'"

Mr. Harvey goes on to talk about Michigan's transformation into one of the most beautiful and (at that time) most populous and economically sound states in the country.

And now you know ... The Rest of the Story.