Editor's Page

167 Editor's Page As Nora Faires has outlined the themes of this issue in her introduction and John Bukowczyk has highlighted important questions concerning migration in his opening essay, I will not repeat what they have said sowell. I do want especially to thank Nora Faires both for lining up an interesting combination of articles and for working with the authors to shape their contributions into such well-focused essays. And of course thanks are due to the many authors whose insightful research and writing have made these two borderlands issues special inmore than just name. Recendy we have had a sad reminder of the interdependence of the Michigan-Ontario borderland. Although the economic downturn has troubled the whole world, it has struck especially hard, and for many of the same reasons, in Michigan and Ontario?the state and province most closely linked to the Great Lakes and linked as well by migration, by shared industries, and by traditions of prudent government and strong public institutions. Even in troubled times, we can take pride in this shared heritage. Our next issues will return to a potpourri of themes, primarily concerning Michigan, but we will retain our larger focus, believing that all aspects of the history of the Great Lakes region are important and interesting. Except for our volume numbering, readers may be unaware that this journal began about thirty-four years ago at Northeastern Illinois University as The Great Lakes Review. Subtided A Journal of Midwest Culture, the new journal focused primarily on regional literature, including poetry, and the history of the Great Lakes states. In 1978 the editorship moved to Central Michigan University, but it was only in 1986 that the focus shifted exclusively to history and the tide changed to theMichigan Historical Review. At some point next year most of the back volumes under both tides should become available through JSTOR, the online service for academic journal storage. We do not know exacdy when this will occur, because JSTOR's processing facility, located as it happens inAnn Arbor, does a meticulous job of preparing the computerized images and keyword access to each journal's back files before they become available online, and this is a long process. There are two caveats for would-be users, in addition to this delay. One is that only back issues five years old and older will be available. This "moving wall" will advance in step with the calendar but always remain five years back. A second caveat is that although search engines such as Google provide references to articles in JSTOR, access to the text of those articles is available only through libraries that subscribe to JSTOR?meaning most academic libraries and 168 large public libraries. Online access tomore recent issues of theMichigan Historical Review will continue to be available to current subscribers through the History Cooperative. And of course armchair readers will be able to peruse my favorite version, the paper copy. The winner of this year's student essay contest is Thomas L. Cragg, a graduate student atWayne State University. His essay, provisionally tided "Habitu?s of the Police Court: Criminal Justice for the Poor in Antebellum Detroit," is scheduled to appear in the Spring 2009 issue. The review's Board of Editors will be meeting while this issue is in press. It iswith regret but appreciation for many years of service that I must note the resignation of Professor JoEllen Vinyard of Eastern Michigan University, who has been amember of the Board of Editors since 1988. Dr. Vinyard has judged student essays, reviewed other submissions, fostered student interest in theMHR, and provided advice and counsel during the terms of four different editors of theMichigan Historical Review. I am personally grateful for her advice and ready assistance, and allwho read this journal owe her a debt of gratitude for her service. ...