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This is the place for readers to find the stories about both Jonathan Raines, a tough detective in Detroit during the 1930s, and equally rugged West Texas lawman Johnny Madrid, plus other memorable characters in novels featuring a variety of historical settings.

This also is the place for Just Yesterday, a column devoted to interesting local historical tales, and little known facts about the people who settled Bay City and the State of Michigan. There also is My Times, a column with comments on current news events with a historical perspectives. You can stop at the Writer’s Desk for helpful tips on writing that paper, newsletter, article, or even the great American novel.

The latest Tim Younkman novels published for tablets and other e-readers are available for purchase and downloading through most major distribution sites including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. You also can read the first few chapters for free and I’m sure you’ll want to find out what happens next! Just click on the book cover for a look.

Thanks again, and happy reading!

My Times

Tim Younkman, ‘quintessential’ Bay City Times reporter, dies at 71

By Andrew Dodson adodson@mlive.com BAY CITY, MI — Tim Younkman, a longtime crime reporter for The Bay City Times whose passion for history and knack to tell a good tale kept him crafting words well after retirement, died Saturday. He was 71. His death was confirmed by his daughter Laicy Madrid. The cause was complications from a […]

The tents have come down

article coming soon

WAR WITH MEXICO

The dispute with Mexico over a “great wall” that will keep pesky foreigner out of our country is only the latest in a historical contest between the two. Are we ready to cede land to Mexico? We will if a wall is built because one cannot build such a thing on any land but one […]

“THE ONLY GOOD ONE’S A DEAD ONE”

Here’s a comment made by a certain public official: “I don’t want any of them here. They are a dangerous element. There is no way to determine their loyalty. It makes no different whether he is an American citizen…” One might think this was a quote from Donald Trump as he frothed at the mouth […]

Catching Up With Chuck

I never met Chuck Berry but, like all kids from the Fifties and Sixties, I knew him through his hit songs. His music was brought to mind after hearing that Berry died at the age of 90 in his Missouri home. His funeral is planned for April 9 in St. Louis. A few years ago, I […]

Local Man Fought Napoleon

Over the years we have found all sort of interesting life stories of local residents, although sadly the public only learns of their feats in an obituary notice. That was the case of West Bay City resident Louis Reip, who was most likely the oldest man in the Saginaw Bay region at 105 years, who […]

FEAR OF FLAMES

(This column includes corrected information from its earlier publication on construction of the ships.) Fire was the ever-present fear for those who owned or worked in the scores of sawmills up and down the Saginaw River in the 19th century. With thousands of machines and saw blades whirling and whining, any spark could ignite the […]

ANOTHER SHIPBUILDING PIONEER

Shipbuilding had been one of Bay City’s most lucrative industries next to the lumbering business, and local residents certainly have heard the names Davidson, Wheeler, and Defoe. While these were major local shipbuilding magnates, another name of a pioneer some might not recognize is George F. Williams. According to an 1893 biographical sketch in a […]