lansing 150th celebration

A Sesquicentennial Celebration

www.Lansing150.com

Lansing 150:Commemorative Booklet

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1790s◆April 23, 1790 was the first recorded sighting

of the future site of Lansing, by explorer and British fur trader, Hugh Heward.


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Letter from Lansing’s Mayor, Virg Bernero.

Virg BerneroMayor of Lansing

ON THE COVER: Capitol Fireworks by Catherine O Photography


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Letter from Michigan’s governor, Jennifer Granholm.

Letter from MichiganSenator,

Carl Levin.

1800s

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Letter from the President of the Lansing Sesquicentennial Foundation, Michael G. Harrison.

◆1807 Treaty of Detroit: Indians cede lands in southeast Michigan, including Ingham County east of Meridian Road.

Michael G HarrisonLansing Sesquicentennial Foundation President

Letter from Michigan Representative,

Mike Rogers.

Letter from MichiganSenator,

Debbie Stabenow.

North Washington Ave in 1922.

The founding of Lansing carries a unique history in Michigan

In 1847, in a heated race, the State Legislature in Detroit selected Lansing Township as the location for the new capital of Michigan, a move required

when the State of Michigan was established ten years earlier. Lansing Township was closer to the anticipated center of population than Detroit, farther away from the Canadian border, and sat ideally at the juncture of the Grand and Cedar Rivers. Early settlement was often determined by the availability of water power. Although a few settlers from New York had farmed in the area since 1836 when speculators had tried to establish a town, there was still no town in Lansing Township, a wilderness town originally first called “Michigan, Michigan.” Only about 90 people lived in the township, a few near the North Lansing dam. Even so, the township won the seat of government over such well-established towns as Detroit, Ann Arbor, Marshall, Owosso, and Calumet. The platting of a town in 1847 to be the new capital provided the impetus for rapid growth. Within ten months, settlers and speculators established mills, households, stores, churches, businesses, and bridges across the river, and a new Capitol building was constructed. A year later the name was changed to “Lansing” to acknowledge the earliest settlers from New York. The pioneers strongly supported education. A primary school was begun in 1847, and they funded the Michigan

Female College for young women in 1855. That same year, Michigan Agricultural College was organized (for men only) by the Legislature on land three miles east of town, designated later as the first Land Grant College

in the nation. By 1850, the population stood at 1,200. By 1859, when Lansing was incorporated as a city, the population stood at about 3,000. By 1890, it was 13,102. Within 50 years of its founding, Lansing saw great growth in civic organizations, railroads, and the production of forgings, stoves, bobsleds, carriages, and wheels. The city was ready for Ransom E. Olds, who in 1897 founded the Olds Motor Works, the first company in the United States organized to build automobiles. This company would become GM’s Oldsmobile Division. In 1904, R.E. Olds started a second company for automotive production, Reo Motors, which made both cars and trucks for 75 years. Lansing has always been a town of mixed races, and early groups of

German, Italian, and Polish immigrants added more patterns to our patchwork. All of these influences are revealed in the buildings -- commercial, religious, and residential -- that still stand. The gem is the “new” State Capitol, an 1879 Renaissance Revival stone building that was designed by Elijah E. Myers and restored in the 1990s to national acclaim. Lansing is truly Michigan’s Capital City! — Linda Peckham

RE Olds in an electric car circa 1899. By WW1 electric vehicles top speed fluctuated between 20-35 mph. On a single charge they could reliably travel 80 miles, sometimes double that range.

1810s

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◆1819 Treaty of Saginaw: Indians cede most of remaining lands in lower peninsula, including Ingham County west of Meridian Road.

Letter from Michigan Representative,

Mike Rogers.

North Washington Ave in 1922.

“Thousands of area residents have left their mark on Lansing in the past 150 years, but the capital city has also left its mark in the …

Memories of those who have called

Lansing home.”


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1820s

◆1824-1827 Lands in the Greater Lansing area surveyed.◆Oct 29, 1829 The Legislative Council of the Territory of

Michigan names Ingham County for Samuel D. Ingham, Secretary of the Treasury under President Jackson.

Sherly EllisRetired State of Michigan employeeMy family moved here in 1948 when I was a young child. We lived in a four-bedroom house on Main Street that was heated by a coal furnace. Lansing Ice and Fuel used to deliver the coal to us, and Heatherwood Farms and Sealtest brought our milk and butter by horse-drawn delivery trucks. I can’t recall schools ever closing because of snow. We always had to go to school. And we walked. Drive-theatres were always a fun family outing. We use to pop our own popcorn, boil

hotdogs, and carry a thermos of drinks from home. I remember my sisters and I, along with our parents, sitting around listening to the radio together – before TV’s came out.

Juan VelasquezCATA employeeDowntown Lansing had many businesses and theaters in the 1950s, plus one in North Lansing and one in South Lansing, and you could find Mom and Pop grocery stores in any part of the city. I also remember all the factories that once employed thousands of people in Lansing that are no longer in operation. During the summer the city would have all the parks open with various activities for the kids. Oak Park had a pool for kids to swim in. And, in the winter, the parks would be turned into skating rinks. Saturdays

we went to the show where for 50-cents you could see matinees and double features, buy popcorn, candy and ice cream, and still have a couple of pennies left over.

1830s

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◆First permanent European settlement in the boundaries of what would become Lansing.


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View looking southwest to the Capitol from the railroad switch at Saginaw near Center street,circa 1912.


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1840s

◆1847 the State Capital of Michigan moved from Detroit to Lansing Township.

◆1848 the name of the town, Michigan, is officially changed to Lansing

Lieutenant Luther Byron Baker and his horse Buckskin at the Michigan capitol steps. Both were involved in the capture of John Wilkes Booth. Upon his death Buckskin was stuffed and went to the MSU museum. Baker is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery.


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1850s

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◆1850s Lansing becomes a city.◆Feb l5, l859 the town of Lansing incorporated as a city. ◆Michigan Agricultural College, original name of Michigan State University, opens.

Merrill WybleRetired attorneyI was born in Lansing in 1928 and I remember going to watch the circus parade as it came down Michigan Avenue from the Fairgrounds, where Frandor is now. And going to the A&P Grocery Store at the corner of Regent and Michigan with my mother and bringing home the week’s groceries in my wagon. I was in the Michigan Theater the night of VJ Day. (August 1945) The movie stopped so we could all go outside and celebrate the end of the war. I also remember the football

game between Eastern and Sexton on Thanksgiving Day of 1945. It was in the stadium at Michigan State College. You couldn’t see the field in the second half because of a blizzard.

Jan Danford Corporate Education; Retired General Motors employee I lived on North Sycamore and went to Genesee Street Elementary School. One of the things I remember was going to the Gladmer Theater with my good friend Madeline Fabiano. Her parents used to have a candy store on Washington Avenue back then. Every time we went to the theater, we would stop by the store and Madeline’s father would give us all these wonderful chocolates to eat at the show. I also remember, when I was very young, walking down to the corner

grocery store at Logan Street (now MLK Blvd.) and Mt. Hope Avenue. It was just three blocks from my house. I could buy a loaf of bread for my mother for just 10-cents.

Lansing High School Girls Basketball Team in uniform circa 1895.

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1860s◆1862 the railroad reaches Lansing. Lansing doctor and Medal of Honor recipient Dr. George Ranney begins research into the cause and prevention of Typhoid fever.

Noel Copiaco Michigan Department of Transportation employee

I moved to Lansing from Manila in the summer of 1969 after college. After settling down to a new job, I made it my home and raised my family here. Downtown was still the main business and commercial district. It was actually thriving and had a life – even after 6 p.m. Lansing was less demographically diverse then, despite a sizeable African-American population. Hispanics and Asians were starting to be more visible. Filipinos, Chinese and Japanese comprised the small Asian American

community. There were no Vietnamese, Koreans, Hmong and Cambodians, yet. Some people assumed I was an American Indian or Hispanic. Not too many people could locate the Philippines on a map. We’ve come a long waysince 1969.

Lucille BelenLucille Belen has lived in Lansing for most of her 96 years. She was elected to the Lansing City Council in 1955 and kept getting re-elected for more than 37 years. She owned Belen’s Flower Shop, which was started by her mother and father, has sold it, but still helps out there when needed. Lucille’s mother, Elizabeth, was a trained nurse and also became the second woman to be elected to the Michigan legislature. Lucille, in times past, has represented the city on the Ingham County Board of Supervisors 1957-1963. She helped create the CATA bus system, the Center for the Arts, Tri-County

Aging Consortium, and many more. Lucille has chaired the City Council and the County Board of Supervisors. She also has chaired the boards of the Economic Development Commission, Ingham Medical Center, and Ingham County Board of Health. Miss Belen is beloved by the Lansing community as one of its prime leaders and supporters for many, many years.


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Noel Copiaco Michigan Department of Transportation employee

I moved to Lansing from Manila in the summer of 1969 after college. After settling down to a new job, I made it my home and raised my family here. Downtown was still the main business and commercial district. It was actually thriving and had a life – even after 6 p.m. Lansing was less demographically diverse then, despite a sizeable African-American population. Hispanics and Asians were starting to be more visible. Filipinos, Chinese and Japanese comprised the small Asian American

community. There were no Vietnamese, Koreans, Hmong and Cambodians, yet. Some people assumed I was an American Indian or Hispanic. Not too many people could locate the Philippines on a map. We’ve come a long waysince 1969.

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1870s


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◆The State Capitol building is constructed drawing many artisans and skilled workers from around the world.◆1879 First telephones in Lansing.

Alfreda SchmidtFormer Lansing City CouncilwomanI grew up in Dansville and I remember the banner across Cedar Street, at Greenlawn, that said “Welcome to Lansing.” Everything south of that banner, geographically, was outside the city. When I was in high school, in the late 1940s, my boyfriend invited me to go to a movie at the Gladmer Theater in downtown Lansing. Seeing that sign as we drove toward it made me feel as if I was entering into a big metropolitan area. It was so exciting! I also remember the old Everett Elementary School at the corner of Cedar

Street and Holmes Road. There was a tunnel that ran from east to west beneath Cedar Street. The children used it every day so they could go back and forth to school safely.

Jack GuntherFormer Lansing City CouncilmanI remember the parades in downtown Lansing every Memorial Day and Veterans Day. On Memorial Day we would always throw a wreath into the river for those who had perished in a war. Big crowds turned out for parades back then. Back in those days, no one had a cottage to go to, and folks didn’t take the big trips and vacations like they do today. We were more of a community back then. I also remember the Kerns Hotel fire in December of 1934. I was on my way to school at about 7:30 a.m. that morning and

it was an awfully cold day. Even the river was frozen. I stopped and watched for a few minutes, but the hotel was pretty well gone by then.

1880s

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◆November 13, 1883 electricity comes to Lansing.◆P F Olds & Son begins manufacturing gasoline engines. Younger brother Ransom E. Olds works there as a machinist. ◆Summer of 1887 RE Olds produces his first horseless carriage.


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Old City Hall and Post Office, circa 1900.

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1890s

◆July 1, 1890 Olds gasoline engine works incorporated. ◆1890 First electrical street car◆August 11, 1896 Ransom E. Olds and Madison F. Bates patented first gasoline engine

BUSINESSES HERITAGE SPONSORS ($50,000 and up)

PARTNER SPONSORS ($25,000 to $49,999)

DOUBLE DIAMOND SPONSORS ($10,000 to $24,999)

DIAMOND SPONSORS ($5,000 to $9,999)

SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Donors and Contributors

APCapital

MICHIGAN MILLERS MUTUAL INSURANCE

COMPANY

Rotary Club of Lansing

GrangerFoundation

1900s

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◆1903, First all automobile parade ever held. ◆May, 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt visits for 50th anniversary of Michigan State University.◆1908, First zoo opened in Belvedere Park (Moores Park)

PLATINUM SPONSORS ($1000 to $4999)

Meijer CorporationSparrowCapital Area Transportation AuthorityCauseway Bay HotelsComerica BankDart National BankDTE EnergyFoster, Swift, Collins & Smith, PCGreater Lansing Labor Council

Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLPLAFCULoomis Ewert Parsley Davis & Gotting PCMiller,Canfield, Paddock & Stone PLCNorthside ServiceParamouont Coffee CoPersonnel World Inc.RE Olds FoundationTroppo

GOLD SPONSORS ($500 to $999) AAA MichiganAmerican Medical CareersAPCO INC.Arendsen Jewelers Inc.c2aeCapitol National BankCapitol Research ServicesCommercial BlueConsumers EnergyDBI Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors BureauLansing Community PharmacyLorann Oils Inc.Lowe Law Firm PCLyle D. Hepfer & Company PCManer Costerisan

Michigan Dental AssociationMichigan State Medical SocietyMontessori Childrens House of LansingMotion Marketing & MediaNTH Consultants LTDPhysicians Health PlanPublic Sector ConsultantsRossman Public RelationsSaturn of Okemos & Grand LedgeSohn Linen ServiceStudio Intrigue ArchitectsSuCasa JewelersSummit BankTH Eifert MechanicalThe Sovereign Group @ Smith BarneyYMCA of Lansing

SILVER SPONSORS ($250 to $499) Advantage Association ManagementAll Grand EventsCommittee to Elect Gretchen WhitmerHeart Truss & EngineeringImpact SolutionsInland US ManagementJoan Bauer for State Rep

Kellogg Hotel & Conference CenterLansing Board of Water & LightMichigan Academy of Family PhysiciansMichigan Association BroadcastersMills Supplies CorpO’Leary Paint CoThe Peanut Shop

BRONZE SPONSORS ($150 to $249) American Legion Department of MichiganBanConsult, Inc.Capital Area Center for Independent LivingDr. Linda RasselFifth Third BankJalapeno’s Mexican RestauranteJoseph A YoungJP Morgan Chase

Main Street Strategies LLCMichigan Railroads AssociationMichigan Catholic ConferencePension Trend Investments AdvisorsRandall AutomotiveSoil & Materials EngineeringSutton Advisors PLCThe Knight Cap

Donor (under $150) Clark Coffee

Merten Agency Inc. Stockwell Real Estate

GrangerFoundation

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1910s


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◆April 28, 1910 Edward W. Sparrow Hospital Association incorporated.◆August 1, 1919 first regular airplane stop in Lansing.◆1919 Formation of the Lansing Branch of the National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Donors and Contributors INDIVIDUALS Gold Donors ($500 and up) Jane & Harold (Abe) Leinbach

Silver Donors ($250 to $499) Dan & Lisa AylwardIrv & Christy Nichols

John & Judi Daher Kurt & Barbra Guter

Donors (under $150) Timothy & Lori AdamsRichard B. & Gretchen M. Foster

Lee & Martha KliebertMarilyn Culpepper

Bronze Donors ($150 to $249)

Charles & Helen MickensMark & Marci Hooper

John & Sandy Grettenberger

1920s

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◆April 1921, City adopts its first building code.◆1922, Police department starts using fingerprinting

& Lansing’s first radio broadcast. ◆1924, Lansing first talking movie shown.

IN KIND CONTRIBUTORS HERITAGE SPONSORS ($50,000 and up) McSquared Technology Group PARTNER SPONSORS ($25,000 to $49,999) Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, PC Vision Creative DOUBLE DIAMOND SPONSORS ($10,000 to $24,999)Hick & Mullett, PLLC DIAMOND SPONSORS ($5,000 to $9,999) Lansing Board of Water and Light Jackson National Life PLATINUM SPONSORS ($1000 to $4,999) John Henry Co. Michigan State Employees Association Foresight Group GOLD SPONSORS ($500 to $999) Dan Henry Distributing SILVER SPONSORS ($250 to $499) Bake - N – Cakes Paper Image

MEDIA CONTRIBUTORS

HERITAGE SPONSORS ($50,000 and up) Lansing State Journal DOUBLE DIAMOND SPONSORS ($10,000 to $24,999)Citadel Broadcasting DIAMOND SPONSORS ($5,000 to $9,999) WILX TV 10 Adams Outdoor Advertising Greater Lansing Business Monthly PLATINUM SPONSORS ($1000 to $4,999) Lansing Public Schools Public Access Channel The City Pulse WKAR GOLD SPONSORS ($500 to $999) Mid-Michigan Radio Group

Also Sponsored by The City of Lansing

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1930s

◆April 7, 1931 Olds Tower completed; ◆March 20, 1932 Lansing Symphony Orchestra made debut◆April 15, 1933 Last streetcar service ends.◆December 11, 1934 Hotel Kerns fire, 35 died.

Ice Sculptures on the

SQUAREAs if on cue, overnight snowfall greeted the thousands

attending Ice Scultpures on the Square held on Saturday, Feb. 14. More than 20 ice sculptures lined

two blocks of Washington Avenue between Michigan and Washtenaw Avenues during the city of Lansing’s first winter ice sculpting festival. Crafted by Ice Guru / Ice Sculptures Ltd., the carvings, measuring up to 6 feet tall, included a diamond ring, MSU football helmets, a snowflake, the Michigan mitten, and interlocking hearts in keeping with Valentine’s Day. Carvings also included the logos of event sponsors such as NuUnion Credit Union and the law offices of Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith. The logo of the Lansing Rotary Club, the lead organizer of this and upcoming sesquicentennial events, was also represented. The festival coincided with an open house at the Michigan Historical Museum and a full weekend of activities called “Hats off to Lansing.” The weekend is the first of several signature events to take place in 2009 recognizing Lansing’s sesquicentennial celebration. “It’s been thrilling to see all of the effort being put into place to celebrate Lansing and the Sesquicentennial,” said Kirsten McNelly, an attorney at Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith, and a co-organizer of Ice Sculptures on the Square. “From the planting of flowers in the summer to our first outdoor winter festival, Lansing is a place we can proudly call home.” — Trent W. Wakenight

PHOTOS BY: Jerod Karam, RedGroove Photography


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1940s

◆February 5, 1942 Last Olds rolls off line, company re-tooled for war. ◆1945, Lansing received “America’s Safest City” award. ◆1946, First policewoman hired & former Lansing

Police Chief, arrested.

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on the SQUARE

1950s

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◆1950 First commercial TV broadcast (WJIM) ◆1956 First McDonalds Restaurant in Lansing and state.◆September 30, 1957 Lansing Community College opens.◆May 24-June 28, 1959 City Centennial Celebration held.


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1960s◆1965, Voters approve fluoridation of water by 3/4 vote. ◆1967, Construction begins on I-496.◆July 1, 1968 City of Lansing income tax began.


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1970s

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◆1971 CATA; Capital Area Transportation Authority formed. .◆1975, Federal Judge Fox rules Lansing created and

maintained a segregated school system and ordering integration by September 1976.

Artists come together to celebrate

Lansing’s 150 birthdayA rtists from across Lansing celebrated the city’s 150th anniversary by submitting their

work to a juried art exhibition February 14-15 at the Michigan Historical Museum. The showing, which attracted more than 200 inspiring artists from

kindergarten students to adults, was organized by the Lansing Sesquicentennial Foundation. The extraordinary art represented a number of different mediums including clay sculpture, watercolor, crayon and colored paper. It was a difficult task narrowing down the best in each of the six categories. In addition, exhibit visitors had the chance to vote for their favorite artist and pick a People’s Choice winner. The Dart Foundation was the primary sponsor of the Art Exhibition, which awarded $10,000 (of which $8,000 of the monetary awards went to schools in the Lansing area schools). Special guests at the award ceremony were Jerry Ambrose representing Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, Michael Harrison from the Sesquicentennial Foundation, Claudia Deschaine from The Dart Foundation and City Council President Derrick Quinney. Many of the award-winning pieces will be on display at various locations throughout 2009. Visit www.Lansing150.com for more pictures. Special thanks and appreciation to Art Exhibition Volunteer Committee members: Sandy Grettenberger, Diana Romsek, Catherine Babcock, Patricia Reynolds, Bob Hoffman, Leslie Donaldson, Andrea Ragan and Kathy Gaskin. —John Grettenberger Jr. and Sandy Grettenberger

1980s

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◆1980, Ingham Medical Center opens world’s first arthroscopic surgery center.

◆1984, Olds becomes sales and marketing division of Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Group.

Level 1 Grades K-21st place 1,000, Marie Cannons - Grand River Magnet 2nd place $500, Athena Straw - Cumberland Elementary Level 2 Grades 3 – 5 1st place $1,000, Trista Garza - Wainwright Elementary2nd place $500, Melodee Bryan-Metzmaker, North Elem Level 3 Grades 6 – 8 1st place $1,000, My Phong Lai - Wexford Montessori2nd place $500, Pleasant View Magnet Middle School

Level 4 Grades 9 – 12 1st place $1,000, Danielle Thom - Eastern High School2nd place $500, Virginia Bernero - Lansing Catholic HS

Level 5 Adult (Includes college students) 1st place $1,000, Catherine Huddy2nd place $500, Fredrick Maidlow People’s Choice Award 1st place $2,000, Brittney Lotridge – REO Elementary School 2nd place $500, Joshua Moore (Adult)

Lansing 150 Artist EXHIBITION

WINNERS

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1990s


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◆April 3, 1996 Oldsmobile Park opened.◆1997 Olds Centennial celebrated in Lansing.◆March 27, 1999 MSU defeated by Duke; as many

as 10,000 riot in East Lansing

Lansing organizations invited to participate in Lansing 150’s

“Celebrate Health Week,” April 18th through 27th

L ansing’s 150 year celebration of its incorporation will include a Health Week celebration from April 18th through 27th. All Lansing area organizations are invited to sponsor their own health events to make Health Week a community wide success.

Health Week events will emphasize a healthy life style for Lansing’s residents, especially its low income population. They will include health clinics, health screenings and information and referral activities at numerous sites through-out Lansing, including community centers, schools, public and private buildings and churches. To date, participating organizations include: The MSU Colleges of Human Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Nursing and Veterinary Medicine, Lansing Community College, Ingham County Health Department, Michigan Department of Community Health, Ingham Regional Medical Center, Impression 5 museum, Sparrow Hospital, Lansing Ophthalmology Center and Delta Dental. Your organization can help by hosting its own Health Week activities – big or small – from April 18th through April 27th, anywhere in the Lansing area. Activities could include health, vision, dental and hearing screenings, blood pressure checks, healthy living brochures, home health and dental “kits,” exercise and fitness events, health education classes, tours of health facilities, healthy diets, healthy meals or snacks, spiritual health and how, and where, to obtain appropriate health treatment or counseling. One such scheduled event is the CATA, Tri-County Office on Aging and MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Health Fair to be held Friday, April 24th at the CATA Transportation Center. You can participate in additional Health Week events by completing the form found at http://www.lansing150.com/. Or you may request a paper form by calling the Lansing 150 office at (517) 908-0185. All “Health Week” events will be published on-line at the Lansing 150 Celebration web-site: http://www.lansing150.com/ and listed in a Lansing State Journal special insert scheduled to be published Thursday, April 18th.

2000s

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◆April 29, 2004 The last Oldsmobile rolls of the line. The nation’s oldest automotive manufacturer closes its doors at 106.

◆2009 Lansing Celebrates 150 years of incorporation.

Lansing 150 Celebration to hold a

“Parade of the Decades” on May, 16th, 2009. Everyone is invited!

D ancing clowns, ancient steam engines and threshers, old farm tractors, historical floats, armor-plated humvees, hook-and-ladder fire trucks and marching bands; all of these will be in the Lansing 150 Celebration’s

Parade of the Decades, which steps off at 11:30 am, on Saturday, May 16th, rain or shine. The Parade of the Decades will show-case much of Lansing’s 150 year history, culture, ethnic diversity, music, food and entertainment, famous people and events, military traditions, schools, religious organizations, medical providers, businesses and government services and accomplishments. It will be fun for children of all ages. The Lansing 150 Celebration invites all Lansing organizations and individuals who would like to participate in the Parade of the Decades to submit an application to do so. Applications are on the Lansing 150 Website (http://www.lansing150.com/. ) or may be obtained by calling the Lansing 150 office, telephone # 517 - 908-0185 or picking up the application from the office itself at 412 North Walnut, Lansing, MI 48933. Applications should be submitted before April 1st of this year. For more information contact: Martha Kliebert, Executive Director of the Lansing 150 Celebration at the above website or telephone number.


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Lansing YMCA Basketball Champions circa 1930.


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Michigan State Employees Association:

Proud Builders of Lansing’s Time Capsule

On November 30, 1973, a striking stainless steel sculpture with moving parts by the renowned artist Jose de Rivera, was dedicated in Lansing.

The sculpture was named “Construction #150” and had been given to the city by the Metropolitan Lansing Fine Arts Council (now the Arts Council of Greater Lansing). They received a matching grant and raised funds from the community – total cost of the sculpture was $90,000 (in 2002, it was valued at approximately $300,000). The sculpture sat in front of 100 N. Washington Square Mall for some years, but was eventually dismantled and disappeared into storage. But that’s not the end of the story. Bob Ford, ASLA, Landscape Architects & Planners in Lansing, recently made it his personal mission to locate and rescue the sculpture. “We found it packed into a crate and sitting in the middle of a field behind the Lansing wastewater treatment plant,” marveled Ford. “It was packed quite well, but when we opened the crate, a nest of bees flew out and stung my co-worker.” Bees notwithstanding, the sculpture was transported to Schiffer Mason Contractors, Inc., in Holt where MikeEllsworth, Vice President/Chief Project Manager, supervised its renovation. “It was in pretty good shape, considering that it

had been setting out in the open,” said Ellsworth. His team went to work, repairing the sculpture’s motor and cleaning it up. Meanwhile, as a participant in the Lansing 150 celebration, MSEA suggested a time capsule and volunteered to construct it for the city. The Lansing 150 History Committee discussed the idea of placing the time capsule inside the base of the newly-discovered sculpture. Enter Mike Bingham, chairperson of MSEA’s Strategic Planning Committee and an adjunct faculty member at Lansing Community College (LCC) whose expertise in construction and HVAC systems is translating into the building of a time capsule. “First, we had to actually look at the sculpture’s construction to make sure that a time capsule could fit inside the base without disturbing anything,” said Bingham. After viewing the sculpture and discussing it with Ford and Ellsworth, Mike decided that the project could be accomplished. “The time capsule will be placed inside the base of the sculpture where it will rest inside a protective box about a foot or so below the motor,” said Bingham. “It will be suspended by a labeled stainless steel cable in order to pull it up when the sculpture is opened.” Bingham plans to use a durable material called “Lexon” for the actual construction of the time capsule.


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Internal dimensions of the time capsule will correspond with the contents--possibilities being discussed at History Committee meetings include oral histories on microfiche, proclamations, newspapers, photos, flags and seeds. “The time capsule will be airtight and have specially made compartments for the contents, similar to an egg carton,” said Bingham. “There will be a groove in the front cover with arecessed rubber seal so the time capsule doesn’t have to be cut open to access the contents.”

Although the time capsule will be featured on an MSEA-sponsored float in the Lansing 150 “Parade of the Decades,” the actual dedication ceremony is planned for 2010. This is so all the material that was gathered during the 2009 Lansing 150 celebration can be placed in the time capsule. “It will take a couple of hours for us to remove the top of the sculpture to access the base where the time capsule will be placed,” said Ellsworth, “but no damage

to the scupture is anticipated.” An identifying plaque will be placed at the base of the sculpture, indicating that the time capsule is inside. In addition, the time capsule will be registered with the International Time Capsule Society (ITCS) which has organized a registry database of time capsule projects worldwide. The ITCS is the home of the Crypt of civilization, located at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia. The ITCS recommends that a time capsule project be listed with them or with the British Museum in London, England. Historically, 80 percent of time capsules are never found. And when will the time capsule be opened? In 150years, of course, just like the sculpture’s name says.


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