Sadly, one of these institutions is being threatened with closure and the dismantling of its collection. The Library of Michigan may be a victim of cost-cutting measures recently outlined by the Governor’s Executive Order No. 2009-36. If this takes effect, much of the Library’s holdings may end up at Michigan State University and the non-Michigan genealogy materials will be eliminated or dispersed to other institutions. Over the years, I have heard that the genealogy collection at the Library of Michigan is one of the ten largest collections in the country and it would be a tragedy to see it dispersed. However, genealogists are not letting it go without a fight. On August 5th genealogists from around Michigan (and probably other states) are assembling in Lansing to support the Library of Michigan and to show “legislators and fellow citizens that [they] care about our state's past.” They plan to meet at 9:45 at the State Capitol and later march over to the Michigan Historical Center to form “Hands Around the Library.” The event is being planned by the Michigan Genealogical Council and they invite all interested individuals to join them.
REMEMBER…what you are given is a citation. You will need to come to the Library and look at the Gazette on microfilm which can be found in the Tech Center.
If you need to find an article or obituary from a recent issue of the Gazette, talk to the staff in the Local History Room who will be more than happy to assist you.
There also is a book that deals with the subject of women lighthouse keepers:
Women Who Kept the Lights by Mary Clifford (H 627.9 C638)
Along with all of these there are many fine websites on this subject:
So, if you plan on traveling around Michigan this summer, visit a lighthouse or two, or three…
If you missed this great series, don’t despair. Each program was video recorded along with brief interviews with the presenters, and will soon appear on our website. Additionally, Julie DeLuca has offered a tour of the Rose Place Historic District which will take place on Thursday, June 4 at 7:00 pm. There is still one more opportunity to celebrate Vine. Lynn Houghton will conduct a tour of the Vine Historic District as part of her 2009 Gazelle Historic Walk series. The tour will begin at the corner of Vine and Westnedge at 8:00 am on August 28.
Meanwhile, if you are curious about how such communities as Battle Creek, Otsego and Gun Lake got their names, look for the book, Michigan Place Names by Walter Romig (H 917.74 R765) in the Local History Room. There also are copies on the regular shelving if you want to check the book out. Mr. Romig spent ten years compiling information about the origins of the names of villages, towns, townships and cities that are still here and those that are gone forever, like Singapore which had been located at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River at Lake Michigan.
Obviously dates Mr. Romig gives need to be verified for their accuracy. Kalamazoo became a village in 1843, not 1838, and a city in 1884.
As far as who is celebrating anniversaries this year, so far we have the Kalamazoo Mall which turns 50, the Kalamazoo Country Club which turns 100, the City of Kalamazoo which turns 125, and Kalamazoo Central High School which turns 150. Happy Anniversary to them and others who will be celebrating in 2009.
Another book on the subject is Minor League Baseball Towns of Michigan: Adrian to Ypsilanti (H 917.74 O414) which looks at minor league teams in the state in communities ranging from Adrian to Ypsilanti as the cover states. Kalamazoo has great photographs and information on the teams and the sites where you could find professional baseball in this community during the last half of the 19th and into the 20th centuries. You will be amazed.
http://www.kpl.gov/local-history/yearbooks-catalogs.aspx
We always are interested in receiving additional copies. If you have any questions, please contact the Local History Room.
The volumes are arranged in alphabetical order but you also can access them if you go to www.kpl.gov and click on “Catalog” then click on “Local Information” and then “All Local Databases” which will bring up a search box. To search this way you will have to have a name or organization you want to find. Also, the books are on microfilm if you would like to view them that way.
If you don’t have anyone particular you need to find, just go to the shelf and choose a volume to look at and be introduced to some of the people who lived in Kalamazoo not that long ago.
You never know what unique and unusual place you might find…remember Mystery Spot? It’s still there.
Sharon Ferraro, the city’s historic preservation coordinator, was the presenter. She discussed the history of the tower, what has been happening with it recently, and its possible future. The audience was particularly thrilled with the slide show which took them on a virtual tour around, inside, and on top of the tower.
If you enjoy reading books of this nature describing life in communities such as Beaver Island, North Manitou Island and others which are no longer in existence, come take a look at what the history room offers!
In the summer of 1915, a celebration was held in Chicago to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 13th amendment which abolished slavery. The State of Michigan dedicated $5,000 for an exhibit during the festivities in Chicago which would highlight contributions African-Americans in Michigan had made in several different fields including science, art and manufacturing.
A statewide committee, composed of fifty-seven people, also put together a manual which covered the history and contributions of African-American residents in Michigan. This book, reprinted in 1968, contains a variety of information including brief biographical sketches of individuals and organizations in the state, a list of soldiers who fought in the Civil War, and even home and property owners. The book also is peppered with many black and white photographs, a name index and a list of materials that were in Michigan’s exhibit.
You don’t have to have a specific topic to research. Just open them up and start reading. Sue Husband who worked at the Archives and Regional History Collections at Western Michigan University was reading these books one volume at a time. I don’t know if she ever finished them but I admired her for her persistence.
Tickets are $5.00 and will be sold at the door. For further information you can go to the Old House Network’s website at http://www.oldhousenetwork.org/index.php
The original cards he did from the Kalamazoo Gazette reside at Western Michigan University’s Archives and Regional History Collections. Now you can view the cards here at the Kalamazoo Public Library which is reproduced on 33 rolls of microfilm. The information is arranged in alphabetical order, with wonderful cross-references.
You never know what you can find in this resource. Once I was researching baseball in Kalamazoo and found a great deal of information in these cards going all the way back to the 1850s when the first hardball games were played in Bronson Park. The village council was concerned most about the damage this sport might do to the trees.
Look at the Coller Collection and see what gems you discover.
Unfortunately, cemetery wandering is a seasonal activity so at this time of year I have to be content with virtual strolls. Two sites that provide images of tombstones in Kalamazoo area cemeteries are Kalamazoo County Cemeteries on the Web and the Cemeteries section of KalamazooGenealogy.org. Both sites contain burial/tombstone information for thousands of people and many are accompanied by images of the stones. These sites are wonderful resources for genealogists, as well as taphophiles, and are growing all the time. Links to these and other great sites for genealogists can be found on our Genealogy Topic Guide.
These maps are some of my favorite resources. They are the Sanborn Insurance Maps which were produced by the Sanborn Map Company originally for fire departments so that they could know the composition of the buildings signified by different colors. They also were used by insurance companies. As a researcher, they are a great resource to illustrate the history of a building and all the changes it went through. The two massive volumes on the top of the shelf are from 1908 and 1932. In addition, there is a two-volume set from the 1950s in that area. There also are additional maps on microfilm dating all the way back to 1887, the first map for the city.
Take a look at these maps. Not only are they fun to look at, you never know what you will learn.
Now you can search for a whole host of images typing in general search words like “education” or specific search words like “Kalamazoo Public Schools.” Once you get a list, you will notice there is a small icon in the lower right hand corner for each entry. Click on that and the image will appear. If you would like to make the image larger, just click on it. This also includes some images from the Kalamazoo Valley Museum and the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collection.
This is a treat…enjoy!
Take a look at this year’s list and those which made previous lists at www.michigan.gov/notablebooks. Hopefully, you will be tempted to pick a few of them up to read many of which are both in the local history room and in the general circulating collection.
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