"History &
Legends...Greece, Turkey & the Islands"
Al Eicher traveled to over 50 locations in these
countries visiting sites of the early civilizations. He also traveled to the
islands of Mykonos, Crete, Patmos, Petra and Santorini. This lecture and visual
presentation captures spectacular views of the ancient ruins, snow capped
mountains and stories of Greek mythology. Sites visited include Athens,
Corinth, Ephesus, Patmos, Rhodes, Lindos,
Knossos, Sounion, Thira, Oia, Mycenae, Mars Hill, Kalambaka, Kusadasi, Delphi,
Olympia, St. Johns Cave, St. Andrews by the Sea and more. The most incredible
panoramic views were captured at Meteora where 13 monasteries were built in the
14th and 15th centuries. Many of the monasteries are located on the high
pinnacles of the Pindos mountain range. Al shot 4 hours of documentary style
video and over 800 digital photos. The presentation has been edited into an 80
minute lecture giving the audience a front row seat, including the sights and
sounds of cruising to the islands and climbing to the Acropolis sites of many
old cities. Experience the visual history and legends of Greece and Turkey. Q
& A follows! Call 248-333-2010
"The
Early Days of Radio in Michigan"
presents the history of the
first commercial radio stations and the programs of that era. As the public
interest increased and radio set sales sky rocketed, radio soon became an "All
American past time". From the mid 1920's to the 1950's, several hundred network
radio programs were created. Some of the best shows originated from Detroit,
Chicago and New York City. This lecture will stimulate many wonderful memories
of the early days of radio.
“When
Mark Twain Came to Michigan"
is a very special presentation
developed from several years of research. The lecture covers a period in the
mid 1890's when Mark Twain and Major James Pond, his business manager, started
the author's world lecture tour. We obtained a diary of his travels in
Michigan. At that time he was also accompanied by his wife and daughter. Old
photos and scenes of hotels, steamships, train stations and the St. Clair Flats
are just a few of nearly 100 scenes depicting the days of Mark Twain in
Michigan.
"Traveling the
Inside Passage to Alaska" is
a view of the last American frontier. The lecture is a current and
historic look at the sights and sounds along the way. Al Eicher spent 11 days cruising from port to port with
television camera at the ready, to capture the days of the Klondike Gold Rush,
the glaciers, and the small villages. Experience a trip through the mountains
on the White Pass Railroad and seeing the Alaskan wildlife, plus whale watching
makes this a real eye opener to the last American frontier.
"The
History of Music Boxes in Michigan"
This lecture and
multi-media presentation was developed by Al Eicher who has been a music box
collector for many years and frequented many auctions where the collectors
gather. He and his son, David traveled throughout Michigan filming and
recording the sounds of over 100 music boxes. The lecture covers the history of
the music box starting with the early chiming watches
of the 1700 century including the early barrel organs and carillons. The first
music boxes were for the wealthy who liked to sniff snuff. The snuff box was
just the right size to hold the small music movements. Vinaigrette boxes were
also very popular. The lecture presentation follows a timeline where we find
Geneva, Switzerland and Leipzig, Germany becoming the major manufacturing
centers for the components of the cylinder, and eventually the disc music boxes
of the 18th and 19th centuries. A segment of the program is devoted to the
history of music which reveals the great music composers of the period. Music
for many years was performed only for the European nobility. The advent of the
music box would bring music of the great composers to the public. At the end of
the 19th Century, some of the European music box companies came to the United
States to set up manufacturing and distribution in the great American society.
“Ballooning,
Blimps & the Great Airships” This lecture and visual presentation covers three types of aircraft used in
man's early effort to maintain flight. We begin with the 1783 French balloonists, continuing on with the Civil War ballooning program and the Aeronautical
Division of the Union Army. Michigan's own General Custer used the balloon for
observing the Confederates. After the Civil War, ballooning became an exhibition
tool serving the circus and the Michigan County Fair circuit. The history of
blimps and rigid airships, here in America, begins in the early 1900's. Our
presentation addresses the early Army and Navy blimps of WWI and WWII, plus the
1920's classic Gordon Bennet Balloon races and the WJR Radio balloon of that
era. The rigid airship segment shows the making of the 3 great airships, the
crews at work and the interiors of these giant 850 foot dirigibles. Henry Ford
also had an interest in this aviation phenomenon. Several years of research and
a collection of over 600 photos plus many hours of historic movie footage makes
this an outstanding presentation.
"The Orphan Train in Michigan”
Did you know 12,500 orphans from New York City and the Boston area were placed
in Michigan from 1854 to 1927? Al and David Eicher, research historians and
television producers, spent a year and a half in research and searching for
photos of the Orphan Train Riders in Michigan. The lecture and visual
presentation provides in depth detail about this event in Michigan's history.
Experience the reality of the Orphan Train Rider, the placement, selection
process, and the Orphan Train Agents.
The first Orphan Train Riders arrived in Dowagiac, Michigan on a Sunday morning
in late September 1854. By 1927, 43 Michigan towns received orphans from the
“Baby Train”, as it
was sometimes called. Most of the children came from the New York, New Jersey
and the Massachusetts areas.
“Indian History of Michigan's Thumb Region…Ancient
and Current Times”
Michigan's Thumb region is rich in Native American History, dating back to
ancient times. This lecture and visual presentation was developed after several
years of research, collecting old photos, newspaper articles, and other historic
records. The Ziibiwing Cultural Center plus several Historical Societies and
area Museums were helpful in letting Program Source International use and
photograph many artifacts presented in the visual portion of this educational
program.
The presentation covers the ancient and modern times” of Indians living during
the Paleo Indian era to the coming of the Anishanabe. The 1600's bring the
French traders and the Missionaries. The Eicher's, with their television cameras,
went to many Indian Village sites, Indian Mission locations and burial mounds.
The presentation covers a visit to the Petroglyphs in Sanilac County. They
traveled to the “Great White Rock” in Lake Huron and walked the river banks
where treaties were signed. Michigan has a fascinating and active Native
American Culture.
“Michigan's Lumbering Days and Camp Life”
Two hundred years ago, the early pioneers of the Michigan territory wrote about
the majestic forests, the tall white pines, and the great oaks. Our lecture
series on the history of lumbering in Michigan covers the first settlements and
earliest forms of lumber harvesting. We use an
historic outline to progress from hand hewn logs to finished lumber...from water
powered mills to the 1883 steam engines which powered most of the sawmills
throughout lower Michigan.
By the mid 1850's, most of the people in Michigan lived south of line from Grand
Rapids to Port Huron. At this time, 600 lumber camps employed a wonderful mix of
humanity. Our video portion of the lecture shows historic movie footage and
photos of this period in Michigan's history. We also bring along, for display, the historic tools that
these lumberjacks used in their quest for harvesting the big trees!
“The History of Michigan's Largest Commercial
Fishery”
This presentation documents the history of Michigan's largest commercial fishery
on Saginaw Bay from the 1850's to current times. Early records indicate Lower
Saginaw, now known as Bay City, had the first fisheries. The fishing industry
also developed at Bay Port, Essexville, East Tawas, Au Sable, Caseville, Oscoda,
and Sebewaing. This 150 year history includes salt well operations, ice
harvesting, archival photos plus rare film footage from fisheries around Saginaw
Bay. Two years of research, on location shooting, underwater photography and
first hand interviews gives proof Saginaw Bay was the world's largest freshwater
fishery and is still a viable fishery today.
"History &
Legends...Greece, Turkey & the Islands"
Al Eicher traveled to over 50 locations in these
countries visiting sites of the early civilizations. He also traveled to the
islands of Mykonos, Crete, Patmos, Petra and Santorini. This lecture and visual
presentation captures spectacular views of the ancient ruins, snow capped
mountains and stories of Greek mythology. Sites visited include Athens,
Corinth, Ephesus, Patmos, Rhodes, Lindos,
Knossos, Sounion, Thira, Oia, Mycenae, Mars Hill, Kalambaka, Kusadasi, Delphi,
Olympia, St. Johns Cave, St. Andrews by the Sea and more. The most incredible
panoramic views were captured at Meteora where 13 monasteries were built in the
14th and 15th centuries. Many of the monasteries are located on the high
pinnacles of the Pindos mountain range. Al shot 4 hours of documentary style
video and over 800 digital photos. The presentation has been edited into an 80
minute lecture giving the audience a front row seat, including the sights and
sounds of cruising to the islands and climbing to the Acropolis sites of many
old cities. Experience the visual history and legends of Greece and Turkey. Q
& A follows! Call 248-333-2010
"The
Early Days of Radio in Michigan"
presents the history of the
first commercial radio stations and the programs of that era. As the public
interest increased and radio set sales sky rocketed, radio soon became an "All
American past time". From the mid 1920's to the 1950's, several hundred network
radio programs were created. Some of the best shows originated from Detroit,
Chicago and New York City. This lecture will stimulate many wonderful memories
of the early days of radio.
"Traveling the
Inside Passage to Alaska" 
"The
History of Music Boxes in Michigan"
This lecture and
multi-media presentation was developed by Al Eicher who has been a music box
collector for many years and frequented many auctions where the collectors
gather. He and his son, David traveled throughout Michigan filming and
recording the sounds of over 100 music boxes. The lecture covers the history of
the music box starting with the early chiming watches
of the 1700 century including the early barrel organs and carillons. The first
music boxes were for the wealthy who liked to sniff snuff. The snuff box was
just the right size to hold the small music movements. Vinaigrette boxes were
also very popular. The lecture presentation follows a timeline where we find
Geneva, Switzerland and Leipzig, Germany becoming the major manufacturing
centers for the components of the cylinder, and eventually the disc music boxes
of the 18th and 19th centuries. A segment of the program is devoted to the
history of music which reveals the great music composers of the period. Music
for many years was performed only for the European nobility. The advent of the
music box would bring music of the great composers to the public. At the end of
the 19th Century, some of the European music box companies came to the United
States to set up manufacturing and distribution in the great American society.
“Ballooning,
Blimps & the Great Airships” This lecture and visual presentation covers three types of aircraft used in
man's early effort to maintain flight. We begin with the 1783 French balloonists, continuing on with the Civil War ballooning program and the Aeronautical
Division of the Union Army. Michigan's own General Custer used the balloon for
observing the Confederates. After the Civil War, ballooning became an exhibition
tool serving the circus and the Michigan County Fair circuit. The history of
blimps and rigid airships, here in America, begins in the early 1900's. Our
presentation addresses the early Army and Navy blimps of WWI and WWII, plus the
1920's classic Gordon Bennet Balloon races and the WJR Radio balloon of that
era. The rigid airship segment shows the making of the 3 great airships, the
crews at work and the interiors of these giant 850 foot dirigibles. Henry Ford
also had an interest in this aviation phenomenon. Several years of research and
a collection of over 600 photos plus many hours of historic movie footage makes
this an outstanding presentation. 
“Indian History of Michigan's Thumb Region…Ancient
and Current Times”
“Michigan's Lumbering Days and Camp Life”
“The History of Michigan's Largest Commercial
Fishery”