EDITOR’S NOTE: Superiorland Yesterdays is prepared by the reference desk staff at Peter White Public Library.

30 years ago

SAWYER — A group of Detroit-area developers want to establish a private military-style training school at Sawyer Air Force Base for troubled kids. But the group needs help from the Sawyer Base Conversion Authority, Gwinn Community Schools, and the State Department of Social Services, said Craig Farrand, a consultant for the Downriver Mutual Aid and the Downriver Community conference, the private, non-profit groups proposing the concept. “A number of components must come together for this to get off the ground, no question,” he said. “We’ve recognized that from the beginning.”

60 years ago

MARQUETTE — A 26-year-old convict serving time at the Marquette State Prison has helped open up the whole world to thousands who must live forever behind walls of darkness. Charles Hanna, convicted of second degree murder following a tavern brawl downstate, spearheaded a prison program to provide books in Braille for blind persons. After 8 months of studying, Hanna was certified as a Braille instructor by the Library of Congress. He also researched the needs of the blind for books and found them staggering, this led him to begin his work at transcribing literature into Braille.