Wide-ranging oral histories from Grand Valley, Capital Area District Library, and Michigan State that capture the perspective of citizens and veterans across the state.
Guest speaker Carmen Benavides, long-time resident of North Lansing, member of the local Hispanic community, and retired principal from the Lansing School District, talks about her life experiences at the Turner-Dodge House and Heritage Center on March 6, 2003.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An interview of William J. Van Hoesen, conducted by Bill Dansby in the Forest Parke Library and Archives, Capital Area District Libraries, in 2009. Mr. Van Hoesen was involved in the savings and loan industry, and lived in Lansing all of his life except for a few years in military service. No transcript has been produced. No summary appears in the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An oral history from Gerald W. Graves, a former mayor of the City of Lansing. He was born in Alpena (Mich.), attended Michigan State University and the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy, and at age 24 was the youngest sea captain in U. S. history. He was elected to the Michigan State Legislature in 1950 and served as Lansing's mayor from 1969 to 1981. He was interviewed by Joanne Jager at the Lansing Public Library Local History Room on October 30, with a follow-up interview on November 12, 1990. A transcript for this recording has not been completed.
Date Created:
1990-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An oral history from Muriel G. "Peg" Stoffer. She was born in Unadilla. The interview includes memories of her life growing up on a farm in that area, raising her own family, and activities during retirement. She was interviewed by Frances Laird of the Stockbridge Area Genealogical and Historical Society. The interview took place on March 25, 2016, in Gregory, Michigan. Technical assistance and photography was provided by Laura Walsh, then-CADL staff and a member of the Stockbridge Area Genealogical and Historical Society. Audio editing was done by CADL librarian Sean Lyons.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An oral history from Walter Neller, a major contributor to real estate and property development in greater Lansing. Mr. Neller was interviewed at his apartment in the Lansing Towers by Robert Baxter, on March 15, 1990. A transcript for this recording has not been completed.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An oral history from Robert "Bob" Huxtable. He grew up on a family farm in the Delta Mills area of greater Lansing in the early 20th century, attended MSU, and spent most of his career in the paper and printing industry. He had a strong interest in automobiles and was the owner of a Curved Dash Oldsmobile, to which he made some modifications. He also liked inventing things and was working on a soda machine at the time of this interview. Bob Huxtable was interviewed by James Walkinshaw and Helen Jones Earley on August 11, 1988 at the Oldsmobile History Center in the Oldsmobile Education and Development Center, North. The original audio recording of this interview has several instances of distortion and other problems that were not able to be corrected during the digitization process. A transcript for this recording is linked below with the audio file.
Date Created:
1990-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An oral history from Ralph Crego, a former mayor of Lansing. The interview was recorded on June 20, 1988, as part of the "Voices of Lansing" oral history project. Ralph Crego was interviewed by Joanne Jager of the Lansing Public Library. Rights release forms for this interview were never completed. A second interview, also with no release form, was made on July 18, 1988 (see 1991-05-001.005). For that interview, a transcript is on file. The oral history recordings and transcript may be accessed within the library only at this time.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
April 2003: Olivia Letts shares her memories of Lansing in the 1950s and 1960s, with special focus on her role as a leader in the Lansing School District and the local African-American community, at the Turner-Dodge House and Heritage Center.
Date Created:
2003-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
One of two interviews of Gladys Beckwith, who helped to found the MSU Women's Studies program and ran the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame for over 25 years. Dr. Beckwith is interviewed by Marilyn Culpepper at an unidentified location, on July 24, 2008, as part of the "Lansing 150" Sesquicentennial project. She was interviewed again on February 6, 2009 (<http://cadl.pastperfectonline.com/archive/2DF11401-ECC0-4EDC-BE26-315264504700">link</a>). For both interviews, no transcript has been produced. A summary appears on pages 7-8 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An interview with Dr. Eva Evans, a long-time leader in the Lansing School District and a member and former national president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha African-American sorority. She was interviewed by Polly Schwendener on April 27, 2009. No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on page 14 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An oral history from Marjorie "Marge" Shelden, who served as village treasurer in Mulliken, Michigan, in the 1950s and 1960s, served as office manager at the Lansing Chamber of Commerce, and was involved in the creation of the women's Athena Awards program. She was interviewed by Joyce Moffett at the Lansing Civic Center on Washtenaw Street, on May 8, 1990. A transcript for this recording has not been completed.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
In a spirited oral history interview, Michigan State University Professor Emerita Pauline Adams, widow of MSU economics professor and university president Walter Adams, reminisces about her husband, coming to Michigan State College in 1947, living in faculty housing, and building a home in the faculty developed Lantern Hill neighborhood in East Lansing. Adams also talks about conducting interviews for the MSU Faculty Emeriti Association Oral History Project, teaching in the Department of American Thought and Language as tenure track professor and having James P. Hoffa, son of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, as a student at about the time his father disappeared. Adams says that the ATL curriculum did more for the faculty than the students because it forced faculty to broaden themselves beyond their field of expertise. Interview conducted by MSU Professor John Revitte. Ends abruptly.
An interview of Jim Vlahakis, conducted by Mary Jane Wilson in the Forest Parke Library and Archives, Capital Area District Libraries, in 2009. Mr. Vlahakis was the son of restaurant owners and himself went into the restaurant business in Lansing. No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on pages 36-37 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An interview of Mary Jane Wilson, conducted by David Votta in the Forest Parke Library and Archives, Capital Area District Libraries. Ms. Wilson came from a family of automobile dealers in Lansing. This is the second of two interviews. She was previously interviewed in November 2008 (<a href="http://cadl.pastperfectonline.com/archive/DFAA0308-80C3-4308-A9AD-745808296219">link</a>). No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on pages 38-39 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An interview of Mary Jane Wilson, conducted by Marilyn Culpepper in the Forest Parke Library and Archives, Capital Area District Libraries, in 2008. Ms. Wilson came from a family of automobile dealers in Lansing. This is the first of two interviews. She was interviewed again on a later date (<a href="http://cadl.pastperfectonline.com/archive/1F7543F9-D133-41E0-B942-016506022230">link</a>). No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on pages 38-39 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An interview of Dorothy Silk, conducted by Christy Nichols in the Forest Parke Library and Archives, Capital Area District Libraries, in 2009. Mrs. Silk and her husband Leonard moved to Lansing in the 1950s. She was involved in local education and they were both leaders in the Lansing area's Jewish community. No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on page 33 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
In spring 2008, a committee of Lansing Rotary Club members and community leaders convened to plan Lansing's sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary celebrations. One of the many projects was an oral history initiative spearheaded by retired MSU Arts and Letters professor and author Marilyn Culpepper. Students in MSU's American Studies 881 course assisted in the creation, transcription, and editing of the recordings. The purpose of the project was to provide historical context for the year-long celebrations. About 20 interviews were done, and have been digitized by the Forest Parke Library & Archvies at CADL in 2015 and 2016. Any interview for which there is a signed release on file is available for access online; those without releases may be accessed in the Local History Room at CADL. All interviews have been transcribed and are available in the Lansing 150 booklet that is linked in each record.
Date Created:
[2008 TO 2009]
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An interview of John Lorenz conducted by Mary Jane Wilson at the Forest Parke Library and Archives, Capital Area District Libraries, as part of the Lansing 150 Oral History Project. The Lorenz family operated a Buick dealership in Lansing for many years. No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on page 24 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An interview of Jean Chamberlain by Christy Nichols in the Local History Room at Capital Area District Libraries, on April 3, 2009, as part of the "Lansing 150" Sesquicentennial project. Mrs. Chamberlain shares her memories about her childhood, the Bijou Theater, the toy department at Stahl's Hardware, the streetcar, and Waverly Park. No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on pages 11-13 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
An interview of Olivia Letts by Christy Nichols at an unidentified location, 2009, as part of the "Lansing 150" Sesquicentennial project. Mrs. Letts was a teacher and then a principal in the Lansing Public Schools. No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on page 22 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:
Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives