LA Dave

I wish -- but twasn't moi.

Well, there are state fairs held in largest, non-capital cities. Wisconsin's state fair is held in West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee, and Pennsylvania's is held in Philadelphia. And, given that Michigan's agricultural sector is, compared to sisters states to the south and west, not relatively as important, Detroit is probably as good a place as any to hold the shindig. It is interesting, though, that the state's population center has moved so far north and west from where it was formerly. At present population trends, I wonder when Oakland County will be larger than Wayne County.

I guess that when 50% of the folks in Michigan lived within 12 miles of the Ambassador Bridge, having the state fair in Detroit was the right call. And if you lived in the Detroit area, great. But given that most of the competitive activities at a state fair (animal raising and judging, pie baking, etc. etc.) are essentially rural in character, the Michigan State Fair always seemed like an anamoly, and not in the same class as state fairs in sister states like Ohio or Illinois. My family never went to the state fair, and my Dad was a wannabe farmer and my Mom a farmer's daughter. By the way, not all counties have county fairs. Kent County, for example, does not.

State fair grounds site? Now that is interesting. I, for one, could never understand why the state fair is held in Detroit. State fairs are for the farm folks, not sophisticated urbanites. Most people in West Michigan went to the Ionia Free Fair and ignored the shindig on 8 Mile Road. It would be nice if Lansing could reclaim the state fair for itself. State fairs in other Midwest states are held in capital cities (i.e., Ohio in Columbus, Illinois in Springfield).

Well, Midwest might be a possibility, but it is really tough getting back to the West Coast at a decent hour. And the FRJs are even smaller than the Embraers on the competition. Given these issues, why is the airport building a new 4800 car parking ramp? At this rate, everyone will be flying out of Kalamazoo, ORD and DTW.

I am getting really tired of trying to fly into GRR, only to find that the little RJs are totally booked. I wanted to fly into GR on MLK weekend, only to find out that most of the flights on UAL or American from ORD, or on NWA from Minneapolis, were totally full. Maybe I am spoiled living in a big city, but even our smaller airports (Burbank, Long Beach) feature 737s or Airbus 319s or 320s on most flights. Airlines may love RJs, and they can be fun, but give me capacity any day.

Now that's tasteful!

I grew up a huge Spartan fan (it was the first and just about only college campus that I visited as a kid) and didn't even consider U-M until high school. I still remember working as a Boy Scout usher at Spartan Stadium during the "Kill, Bubba, Kill!" days. Boy, that was a team.

Very nice! A real addition to downtown. Kudos to State. (And that ugly "S" definitely had to go.) So saith LA Dave, University of Michigan A.B., J.D. (I don't think our Med school has a wolverine as its logo. On the other hand, I'm not sure that anyone knows what a wolverine looks like. Sort of like a badger from hell, I guess.)

Interesting statue of a great man. A few facts of interest about John Hannah: He was a native of Grand Rapids (my hometown) attended Grand Rapids Junior College and the University of Michigan before receiving a BS from Michigan Agricultural College. (His doctorates were all honorary). He married the daughter of the president of MSC immediately before him (don't think that got him the job.) He became president of MSC at the age of 39. I cannot imagine a president of a major university today not having advanced degrees or taking office in his 30s. Yet, John Hannah accomplished perhaps more than any president of any university in the State of Michigan, including Presidents Tappan and Angell of U-M.

This is a potentially big problem. I am flying back to GR in a week, and have to take a little Canadair RJ between ORD and GRR on United. I remember when the little plane for United on that route was a 737, and 727s were fairly common. Now, a 737-500, the smallest version of that jet, is the biggest UAL aircraft on the route and American is flying RJs.

They are sand dunes, at least in part. Much of Grand Rapids is built on sandy soil. I remember when my parents tried to start their garden, my Dad had to build up the soil for years with grass clippings, leaves, etc. When the GRCC buildings to the east of the Main Building were being built in the 1970s, and the hill was opened up for the excavation, I remember being struck at seeing what looked like yellow beach sand. This may be one reason why there are relatively fewer brick homes in GR -- there wasn't a lot of local clay deposits (and wood was relatively cheap).

"ugly" Boy, you can say that again. Unless, of course, its stands are full of cheering blue and yellow-clad Wolverine fans.

Yeah, back in the 70s, there was a River Raft race on the Grand that ran around Riverside Park. I think that it was sponsored by WLAV. I recall that a colleague's wife was part of a "Mary Free Bed" raft (she was a nurse there, I think) and the number of drunk guys who decided a "free bed" was an invitation, not part of a hospital's name, made it very unpleasant for her.

Well, to misquote the late, great, Senator Everett Dirksen, "a million here, a million there, you're starting to talk real money."

Wow, great find! I love the comment under a picture of a young Dutch kid getting his hair cut, and the remark that folks would wash their cars on Saturday and not touch them again until Monday. When I was a kid, my non-Dutch father would always make us do all the yard work on Saturday so that the Dutch neighbors would not be offended by the sound of a lawn mower on the Sabbath. At the same time, the practice of holding two Sunday evening church services in Christian Reformed and Reformed churches was a real benefit -- by about 4:30 p.m., we had the beach to ourselves.

I haven't been following this thread until recently. Before 1935 or so, a streetcar line ran up Plainfield as far as Knapp Street. If you visit that intersection today, you will see a small triangular piece of property on the southwest corner. According to old timers (former teachers of mine), that's where the street cars were turned for the trip south toward downtown. Just a bit of historical trivia.

I was just in GR this weekend and was amazed at the philanthropy at every corner. Not just pill hill, but in the GVSU campus on the West Side, the St. Cecilia Auditorium, etc. etc. My brother told me that a colleague said that in terms of charitable giving, Grand Rapids is second only to Salt Lake City among American metropolitan areas. I am not surprised.

Thanks, GRDad. I completely agree with your thoughts on the logo. The first is very tasteful. The second is boorish. My hope is that taste will out. My fear is that it won't.