New book released showcasing both sides of Detroit River

Co-author Chris Edwards and River Bookshop lead bookseller Meghan Desjardins display a copy of “A River Runs Between Us.”

A new book has been released showcasing history on both sides of the Detroit River.

And that history includes Amherstburg.

Elaine Weeks and Chris Edwards from Walkerville Publishing have released “A River Runs Between Us,” a coffee table book featuring stories and tons of photos, roughly 1,200 according to Edwards, regarding not only the history of Windsor and Detroit, but other municipalities along the way. Amherstburg is included with just some of the topics being Stoney Island, the Canada South Railroad, the Underground Railroad, Belle Vue, the ship Tashmoo and Boblo Island.

“The book grew out of a photo exhibit we did,” Edwards explained. “There are a lot of Amherstburg stories in here.”

Other stories include Detroit Red Wings legends Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay living in Windsor, Howe training with the Detroit Tigers, shipbuilding in the area, background on the automotive industry, Hiram Walker, local culture, the Red Wings’ first season in Windsor, wartime efforts and much more.

There is even a story of how a hippopotamus once ended up in the Detroit River.

That exhibit took place at the Arts Council in Windsor in 2018 where one wall was devoted to the Canadian side and the other to the U.S. side. They had published “500 Ways You Know You’re From Windsor” and “5,000 Ways You Know You’re From Detroit” and some of the photos came from that.

“We called the exhibit ‘A River Runs Between Us’,” said Edwards. “We wanted to show how connected Windsor and Detroit are.”

At that point, not even for the concept for a book had been devised. That changed, after repeated requests.

“Everyone kept asking where the book was,” said Edwards.

The project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but picked up at the pandemic’s conclusion. “A River Runs Between Us” is the tenth local history book Walkerville Publishing has put out, with one of their other titles being “Heritage Buildings of Amherstburg,” by Meg Reiner.

“This one took the longest,” he said. “All of our books are very well received.”

In addition to newspaper archives for the latest book, Reiner and her workplace, the Marsh Historical Collection, were another of the sources of information.

The new book also features mostly colour photos, with some being colourized in Photoshop. He also worked with Mike Chase from Windsor Aerial Drone Photography on capturing shots from the air.

“The river is what makes us separate. It divides us but also unifies us,” said Edwards.

The authors will conduct a presentation Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. at the River Bookshop, with a signing also part of the afternoon. Lead bookseller Meghan Desjardins said the bookshop anticipates “A River Runs Between Us” to be a top seller during the holiday season. 

Desjardins noted the full-colour book is not commonly seen when it comes to history books. The new book is $50 and is 400 pages.

New book released showcasing both sides of Detroit River

By Ron Giofu