By Devan Mighton
The Detroit River runs deep between the Rose City and the Motor City. As Chris Edwards and Elaine Weeks embarked on their tenth book, A River Runs Between Us, they did so with the knowledge that the story of Windsor and Detroit is inseparable. It’s a special relationship that is sometimes forgotten in the fog of cross-border politics. The history of the area is deeply entwined. Whether it be our modern economic and social ties to each other, living under British rule, the era of French explorers and the fur trade, or the precolonial era with its pristine landscape upon the traditional lands of the Three Fires Confederacy, these lands and the people that traverse the Detroit River will always have an indelible link and a shared history.
“This is our tenth local history book, and every time we wrote about Windsor or Detroit, the other side of the river was always part of the story,” explains Weeks. “It just seemed like there was this amazing situation that was unique to this area, so we thought, why not devote an entire book to that relationship?”
The new illustrated, full-colour hardcover book is the culmination of over two decades of experience and research by the award-winning duo of urban historians, and it is as much a monument to the Windsor-Detroit dynamic as a love letter to the region.
“We wanted this book to act as a time capsule—a reminder of how things were,” she states. Weeks adds that instead of learning something new about the region, their research reinforced what they had already sensed about the deep interdependence of the Border Cities. “Looking at the history didn’t shift my perspective—it cemented it,” she says. “For a long time, the river wasn’t really a barrier—it was simply something that had to be crossed. People crossed because their work was there, their family was there, their lives were there. The border was blurred for generations, and that shaped how this region developed.”
The book, which features over 1,200 archival photos, many respectfully colourized in Photoshop, tells the story of the two cities and the river that runs between them, acting as a connector rather than a dividing line.
“We try to make our books reader-friendly—something people can pick up anywhere and enjoy,” explains Weeks. “The photographs aren’t just illustrations; they help people understand the stories.”
A River Runs Between Us tells stories from a time when you could cross by canoe, the old ferry boats, over the Ambassador Bridge with only a library card or a note from your mom, to the post-9/11 world of passport-controlled crossings and COVID-19 restrictions. In the end, sensing a change in the wind, the story concludes in 2024—fittingly—avoiding modern political tensions.
Ultimately, the story tells the story of an interconnected and inseparable people, and their history, that is only, truly divided by a river.
Discover this richly illustrated exploration of the Windsor-Detroit story at Indigo and independent bookstores throughout the region. Readers can also order directly from Walkerville Publishing for signed and personalized copies. Visit www.walkerville.com for a full list of retailers and ordering options across Canada.
