Michigan - Day 15 - Lansing

Camp Dearborn
Monday, 15 July 2019

When the dogs and I were out on one of our early walks, we saw several very tiny birds.  I couldn't see them very well because it was still just beginning to be dawn, but I could see they had dark all over their topsides and white all underneath from chin down to their bottoms.  And they were tiny.  Much smaller than a sparrow.  Not a bird I'm familiar with.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

So the bird book and I had a heart-to-heart discussion, and I finally narrowed it down to a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  That's the only bird that was small (4¼" tip-to-tail end), that had an underside that was entirely light-colored, and that was supposed to be in Michigan.

The bird book I've been using, by the way, is the 7th Edition of National Geographic's Field Guide to the Birds.  I've used several different bird books over the years, and so far this is my favorite.

I'm devoting today to a few sights in Lansing, Michigan's capital.

today's route

The drive west
As I went down the road toward the interstate, I passed a Dairy Queen with the sign "Happy Sweet 16th Birthday, Rachel, We Love You."  Very sweet.  And I suddenly wondered if businesses in foreign countries put up signs like this.  I don't remember seeing even one anywhere in Mexico or Canada, and I couldn't read the languages of the other countries I've been in.  Just a thought.  Because I'm not listening to the radio any more (trying to preserve some sense of equilibrium), I've got a lot more thought room in my brain (though not a lot of thoughts to put in it).

I passed through Livingston County, where there was a regulation highway sign saying it's An Automation Alley County.  I looked it up and found this website:   https://answers.yahoo.com  This part of the state is fairly rural, so I imagine this program is a help for them.

I passed an official highway sign, saying this section of the highway has been designated the Mitchel A Kiefer Distracted Driving Awareness Memorial Highway.  The name is fairly self-explanatory, but the details of his death and the response of his family were a little unusual, which is why I've included this link.   www.mlive.com/news/teen_who_died_in_crash

I've heard people comment on the unusual pride Texans have in their state, not that it's odd to be proud of the state, but that Texans use outlines of the state everywhere.  Everywhere.  And since I've been in Michigan, I've seen some of the same kind of pride here, such that I see an outline of the state on cars and clothes and yard signs and all kinds of things all the time.  It's true Michigan is the only state both to consist only of 2 peninsulas and to abut 4 of the 5 Great Lakes.  But it's not something I've seen in other states, or certainly not to this degree.  Michigan is the first I've run across since I left Texas.

Lansing
I went to two places in Lansing, the Michigan History Museum and the State Capitol.

The Michigan History Museum covers two floors of a building that also houses the state library and the state archives.  Big building.

Their parking lot has no attendant and admission is only by swiping a credit card.  Swiping is exactly what I can't do with mine because it doesn't work.  Everybody who's tried it finds I'm telling the truth and they either need to type in the numbers themselves or use the chip.  So when I saw this on their website, I called up to see both whether they could let me in and I'd come in and pay for it inside and whether they'd even let my RV park there at all.  They were very nice about it, told me I should pretend I'm a school bus which can get in the gate for free using the sensor, and park where the buses park because they don't have any school kids coming this time of year.  So I did.  One of the few times I paid less to park than if I had a car.

genuine wampum beads

This museum, of course, is focused on Michigan's history and begins with a section on the indigenous people who were living here 10,000-14,000 years ago, and the mastodons and mammoths that were in the area.  Quite a few centuries later, fur traders from Europe arrived, followed by soldiers and then settlers.

The British won claim to the area over the French, and even after the 1783 settlement of the American Revolution they stayed in Detroit and Mackinac.  They finally moved the last of their forces up to Canada in 1796.

The graphic on the left shows the gradual transition from part of the Northwest Territory through separation into states.  Michigan became a state in 1837 after the Toledo Strip war was settled.

The Toledo Strip was a narrow band of land along now-southern Michigan, including the city of Toledo.  Both Ohio and Michigan fought over it, but Congress wouldn't grant Michigan statehood unless it gave Ohio the land.  To compensate, Congress added on the land in what's now known as the Upper Peninsula - land that was soon found to be rich with copper and iron ore.  Michigan actually made out pretty well on that deal.

The 1787 Northwest Ordinance specifically prohibited slavery, and anti-slavery sentiment in the area was high.  In 1855, in response to the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the Michigan legislature passed the Personal Liberty Law, which helped local officials block the return of escapees to the South.

leg iron to stop escapes

In 1861 at the start of the Civil War, Michigan's Infantry was the first western regiment to reach DC, supposedly causing Pres. Lincoln to say, "Thank God for Michigan."

Also in 1861, a Michigan woman named Sarah Emma Edmonds disguised herself as a man, enlisted, and fought in several battles.  She became ill in 1863 and deserted so she could find medical care as a woman.  Twenty years later she applied for a pension, documenting her service record as Franklin Thompson.  Given the circumstances, she was granted the pension and an honorable discharge, and is the only woman granted full membership in the Grand Army of the Republic.

In 1840, settlers discovered what the Natives had always known: seriously rich copper deposits in the Upper Peninsula.  From 1847-1887, Michigan was the primary copper producer in the US, finally being surpassed by New Mexico and Arizona.  One particularly productive mine eventually went 1¼ miles deep and had 91 levels.

In 1844, huge iron ore deposits were also discovered in the Upper Peninsula (Michigan really did do well from that Toledo Strip war).  Mines in the Marquette Range, which are still in production more than 170 years later, produced some deposits that were 88% pure iron oxide.  Michigan's production wasn't surpassed until Minnesota pulled ahead in 1900.

In 1926 a mine caved in, killing 51 workers, and only one was able to escape.  The exhibit at right tells about his story.

Despite grueling working conditions, miners were never able to organize effectively, and strikes were put down harshly.  Miners used hand drilling and blasting with dangerous black powder until the 1880s produced dynamite and drilling machines.

Upper Peninsula miners developed a regional dish, the Cornish pasty - stew wrapped in pastry that could be reheated on a "Cornish stove" - a shovel held over a candle.

Michigan has many other natural resources, as the drawing on the left illustrates.

But farming has always been important in the state.  Sugar beets especially were developed, but Michigan also has always had a substantial fruit production.  From 1900 to 1930, Michigan led the country in the diversity of vegetable, fruit and grain crops it produced.

train ferry

Of course, none of this success would have been possible without the railroad.  Transport by boat was seasonal because waterways froze in the winter.  Rail transport allowed shipping all year long.  Getting trains to the islands and the Upper Peninsula was possible with development of a train ferry.  I wouldn't have thought such a thing possible if it weren't for the photograph on the left of a train getting off a boat.

In 1820, 90% of the state's population was rural.  By 1900, it was still 60% rural.  But by that time, 25% of those who were employed, worked in factories.

The museum of course had a large section devoted to the automobile industry, which developed in many parts of the state but primarily in Detroit, where immigrants poured in to work in the factories.

In 1914, the Ford Motor Co. began a school to teach its workers English.  They said it was important both for safety in the factory and so the workers could do their jobs better.  What Ford wanted was a stable workforce that wasn't interested in unionizing, and he paid them $5 for an 8-hour day, twice the going rate.

a blast from the past

S&H Green Stamps were created in 1896 and first used in Jackson, MI, a city due south of Lansing.  And anyone who lived during the 1950s and '60s knows that they became quite popular around the country.

Looking at that exhibit on the left, I'm grateful that my parents either couldn't afford that style or preferred a different style.  That furniture is making a comeback recently, and I still find it uncomfortable both to look at and to use.  But that's just me.

Detroit riots of 1967

The museum had an entire section on Motown music, which was great (we were allowed to choose some of the tunes to listen to while we looked at things).  But the display on the right is all the explanation they gave for the 1967 riots in Detroit that lasted for days.  No real discussion of the conditions that led up to this situation - they almost presented it as if it were all about closing an illegal booze shop, possibly contributed to by poor housing conditions.  I'm not buying that as a reason, and I had so hoped I could learn more about the riots here.  I'll have to look elsewhere.

There were other sections on the Depression, WWI, Michigan's importance during WWII when its factories converted to making equipment for war, a display on the 1957 Detroit Auto Show (great cars) - like that.

But my time was running short, I'd left the critters in the RV (with all the windows open, but it was still pretty warm) and I wanted to get down the street to the capitol.  I walked the 3 long blocks, which wouldn't have been a big deal except I was double-timing it so I wouldn't keep the critters waiting longer than I had to.  I'm not used to walking on concrete any more, and that seemed like quite a distance.  But worth it.

Michigan State Capitol

This building isn't the tallest among the state capitols, or the oldest, or the most expensive, or any other the other mosts.  But it is a lovely and unusual building that Michiganders are rightly proud of.  Built in 1879, maintenance was for some reason neglected and, by 1989, it was in dire need of the restoration they started.  By 1992, workers had discovered unusual features that had been covered over in lousy remodels over the years, and recreated the grandeur it started with.

One of its wonderful features is the dome.

view from the 1st floor

view from the 3rd floor

Those are stars in the blue field, with muses from Greek and Roman mythology painted on the level below.

A unique feature of the Capitol building is the glass floor on the first floor.

view from the 1st floor

view from the 3rd floor

The floor is lighted from underneath in such a way that it looks like a bowl from above, as shown in the photo on the right.  Those are 976 pieces of glass, and the floor is 44½' in diameter.

You have no idea what it cost me to get that photo from the 3rd floor.  It wasn't just the looking down part, because I could get a quick glimpse without too much angst.  But the idea of holding my camera over the edge and snapping a picture was very nearly too much for me.  I was almost ready to ask one of the children taking a tour if they'd do it for me.  I finally wrapped both hands around everything but the lens, held it over the railing and took a shot without looking at it.  I felt seriously dizzy and weak-kneed for a while, and even thinking about it now gives me the willies.  I sure wasn't like this when I was younger.  Maybe an inner ear problem?  But I got the shot.

In the exterior shot of the building, you might have noticed the crane and the construction fences.  The capitol is once again undergoing some renovation, this time of the innards - electric and plumbing lines and so forth.  They're installing a geothermal system and say it will be the largest such project for a state capitol yet.

The critters were all happy to see me when I got back.  I walked the dogs for a bit and then we had some lunch.  But by then it was so warm I started the generator so I could put on the AC for a bit.  That RV turns into a hotbox in this kind of weather.  And we still have August to go.

The drive back
Part of the route back was new to me.  I saw many more acres of corn, some it 4' high.

I passed a horse nursery: 5 mares and 5 very young colts in a smallish fenced field.

The campground is located on General Motors Road, which (surprise!) ends at the General Motors Proving Ground.  After passing it a couple of times, I got curious and looked it up and found General Motors is very proud of their facility.   gmauthority.com/milford-proving-ground/