Cameron traces the history of a Michigan small town from the Potawatomi and frontier settlers who left New York and Vermont in the 1830s, through the gold rush and Civil War. It flourished as a small market town drawing remigrants from the Delaware River valley. It grew with industry, a college, and immigrants from Germany, Italy and eastern Europe. Its decline has been driven by plant closing and problems in Detroit. The story unfolds through parallel stories of local families and industries and their related kin in Chicago, Detroit and the country as they develop elsewhere, appear here, then move on. Some place names have been changed to protect the privacy of current residents....