Visting the MHC

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to visit the Michigan Historical Center in Lansing and listen to two presenters share their own knowledge surrounding our project. I really wish we would have had more time to explore the MHC more, being that I had never been there before. Our presenters gave us a lot of information on urban development in Lansing, construction of I 496, and exhibits in museums in general, but I also would have loved to got the opportunity to even have a walk through of the building. Of course I can do this on my own, but in the context of our class with 'finding out audience', building a potential exhibit idea, and creating a proposal I feel it would have been beneficial. Overall, we received a ton of information for continuing our project and narrowing down ideas further!

"Divided Highways" by Tom Lewis

Tom Lewis’ book "Divided Highways" gives good background knowledge on construction of highways and its impact consequently on the surrounding culture, particularly the Interstate Highways. The book jump starts in the 1950's "Golden Age", with the steadily growing car industry, post war boom, and continued expansion across the United States. Part one of this book was more in the context of the 1950's and doesn't quite seem to apply to the path we are taking in investigating I 496. Part two dives into the process of creating unification within the committees nationally, formulating plans, and Interstate 80 expansion. Part three delves into the drama certainly associated with this process of construction with conflicting ideas, even about things such as color for the signs. This book was a broader look at interstate highway construction with its impacts on society and was outcomes it created.

Acts or events or groups: Federal Aid Highway Act 1965 (121), Route Numbering Committee (136), Federal Highway Administration, Bureau of Public Roads, American Highway Users Alliance, Road Gang (220), Federal Highway Act 1972,

Main historical players mentioned in the text have been: Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Nixon, William Levitt ('father of suburbia'), Tom MacDonald (Bureau of Public Roads), Jamet Bonnema (256; for highway history specifically)

Scanning through the sources Lewis uses a variety of books, interviews, and newspaper articles from credible sources like the Washington Post and New York Times.

Something kind of off topic is the race issues brought to attention in this book subtly, "In 1956, the Bureau of Public Roads employed few African-Americans in any capacity" (132) and "Much of the failure came about because large cities, particularly older cities in the East, were in serious trouble. Lured by the siren call of suburbia, whites had long since abandoned their urban apartments and left the task of maintaining an older infrastructure to minorities" (249). I found this interesting in that our project has been on my mind, and has deep racial factors in the problem. He continues on to talk about other social/cultural factors that were specific about the Bureau of Public Roads and the highway construction itself.

My initial reaction to it was that for such a specific project that we are working on, a piece like this won't be that valuable. It is great for building background knowledge on highway construction, but the issues we are investigating dives much deeper.

Nearby history...

The David Kyvig and Myron Marty book "Nearby History" is by far my favorite class text. Although some of it may seem obvious, it is important to examine and bring attention to the basics of "nearby" history with "what had happened nearby to someone, their neighbors, ancestors, and other ordinary people had shaped their lives". His focus on historians (and civilians in general) to dig into local accounts, grassroots movements, photographs, and elements of family to get a more concrete understanding of nearby history is incredibly important. It is interesting to think about legal documents like your birth certificate or future wedding photos are part of the nearby history in your life and could be examined/interpreted to give someone a look into what your life was like. Kyvig's book also outlined appropriate uses of sources, research tips, hundreds of potential questions to ask, and how to examine sources for a project, which is beneficial for any student working on a paper/project/proposal or even a lesson plan (for all the wonderful TE people like myself haha!).

Digging into the I 496 controversy

The construction of I496 in Lansing impacted not only the commute for people heading to work, but the community, and more specifically the families whose houses got completely turned upside down. The photographs from the Lansing State Journal of the demolition of homes was devastating to see, especially when you put yourself in the perspective of that being your home being flattened. The Miller article added to the personal connection of this project to those who lived in the area, "But when he dreams about home, he still dreams of 1212 W. Main, a house long torn down, a yard where the weeping willow trees have been uprooted. And he dreams of a neighborhood cut in half to make way for Interstate 496" (Miller).

Several questions I had were from reading about the construction, seeing the maps, and viewing the pictures:

- How did they argue the benefits of the construction for the communities (particularly those being dominantly nonwhite) in jobs? Did they follow through in the hiring or work that was benefitted from this project for those people? And were they easily transitioned in to new homes?

- Now with Lansing suffering through the hard economic times that we as a country are going through, was it worth it now to ruin all the homes and businesses that the construction did?

- Did MSU have any role or opinion in the controversy of the construction of I 496?

Union Depot

Searching for historic site number 2 for this class, I wanted to pick something in the downtown area. I found a register of historic sites in lansing and selected something other than the capital area sites, since I figured a lot of people would be doing that. Upon pulling up I was confused because there was no definite sign with the address for the Union Depot, just an abandoned building, pizza shop, and a restaurant. I took some pictures of the surrounding area and headed home to look it up. Upon searching, I find that the old train station was turned in to a restaurant, so no wonder it wasn't as obvious to me (although it should have been since the restaurant area was all decored in railroad esque decorations). It now is presented as Clara's Restaurant and is reserved in a different form. While running, the train station connected Pere Marquette and Michigan Central.

Visitor questions:

- Why was this made in to a resturant?

- When did the station stop running?

Historian questions:

- What was removed/taken when the renovation happened?

- Is there any part of the railroad (or station) preserved in the restaurant?

You can do something besides teach with a history degree?

Robert Kelley's article dove deep into the path college students could take in public history and where that path leads post graduation. Obviously, there are many jobs one could take on with a degree in history, but people are quick to assume that is naturally just teaching. Kelley was very specific in outlining the masters/doctorate program that can/should be offered for those interested in public history and he emphasized team work and historical method analysis within public history. He identifies public historians as potential expert eye witnesses, researchers, consultants, and working within business/corporate to bring their expertise into these areas. So where does this leave us for our class project? Taking the simplistic points first, team work will be essential in making our proposal a meaningful and successful product when we are through. As Knupfer says, "Standing on the shoulders of others is where projects/historical works come from"; so recognizing this is not something we can accomplish (the best, anyway) alone. Collaborating with others for bouncing off ideas and being flexible to change will help make the I496 project the best it can be.

"What is or ought to be the relationship between what happened in the past and how we interpret and present history in the present?"- Thelen

The Enola Gay controversy comes from how the exhibit presented the history of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. The Enola Gay controversy debated over the script which was presented with the exhibit explaining the historical account of the bombing of Japan during the WWII era. Thelen does a great job of building some background around the controversy, and shows some of the major players in the argument such as members of Congress, WWII veterans, scholars, and the general public. I completely agree when he says that recognizing the skills and courage it took American soliders on the Enola Gay to drop that atomic bomb comes from the exhibit and the museum exhibit "has nothing to do with approving (or disapproving) Harry S. Truman's decision to drop the bomb or the consequences of the act".
Many veterans and the American Air Force Association have argued that the exhibit did not properly show their side of the event and did not portray soldiers in a positive light. The counterargument is that this is a display of history, not of heritage, so the exhibit showed the result of decisions from our government that they were to carry out. The devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a result of Truman's decision is in a hot debate in itself, weighing the number of lives actually saved versus those destroyed, and also the alternatives to the bomb that could have been utilized. The exhibit went through a huge public struggle, and ultimately ended up in December 2003 at the National Air and Space Museum.
Looking into the Enola Gay exhibit controversy made me think about our class project for the construction of I496. Granted, it is not even close to the same level of devastation and upset as dropping a bomb, but there were still consequences to the decision in building it and families suffered displacement from their homes.