The Nature of History

During this public history class, I was able to take a different look at history than I have normally done in all of my other histroy classes. I never thought about how long until the U.S.S. Constitution is no longer the U.S.S. Constitution. I enjoyed thinking about this question because it is a question that really doesn't have an answer and people will always be willing to fight over. Before this class, if someone would have asked me How Long until the U.S.S. Constitution is no longer the U.S.S. constitution I would have probably said forever. I don't believe that holding certain historical artifacts in a high regard is a bad thing but when I went and visited my historical sight in Haslett I was left a little dumb founded when I found literally a park, thats all it was. I can't imagine that anyone would go to this run-of-the-mill park to gain some sort of historical perspective or to commemorate anything.

I also think that I may have become a little cynical towards history after taking this class. I will look at some piece of clutter that a friend has laying around and wonder why he is keeping an old ticket stub to a women's gymnastic meet from 1997. When I asked him why he kept it, he said, "I'll never be able to get another one." This argument wasn't very compelling to me and I truthfully couldn't bring myself to believe that this gymnastics meet had that much impact on my friends life. Often, I now look at people who collect things that are historical to them as people who have a horders tendency.

My view on the nature of history has changed. Before this class I assumed that everything had some historical significance without really putting much thought into how I came to that conclusion, but I now take a different approach. Thinking back to the question about the U.S.S. Constitution, makes me stop and wonder when have we gone to far in preserving things. Like when Scott spoke about that two mile strip of road in Detroit that is being preserved as historical and I wonder when I-75, I-96, and I-69 will become historical landmarks that nobody is allowed to drive on anymore.

I-496

When reading the articles regarding the building of I-496, I find myself wondering how I would feel if I were forced to leave the home that I had been raised in and told that I would no longer be able to live there. The neighborhood and the people that I grew up with would soon be taken from me and it would be just as hard for them as it is for myself. I also see that in order for Lansing and the outside areas to flourish and grow I-496 was crucial for that to take place. Some questions that I would like to have answered for anyone coming to see a museum exhibit are:

-What was the driving force behind the construction of I-496?

-Where did the people that were forced to move end up going?

-When did the people who were going to be relocated realize that they were going to have to leave their homes? What was their reaction?

Historical Site: The Haslett Commemorative Designation

HASLETT Settlement on Pine Lake, now Lake Lansing, began in the 1830s, but real growth came after the opening of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in 1877. Easy access prompted the Nemoka Spiritual Association to begin in 1883 the first of a long series of summer camp meetings. James H. Haslett was a leader of this group, and in 1895 the village was renamed in his honor. In the early part of the twentieth century the Lake Lansing area became Lansing's summer vacation and entertainment haven.

I went to this location expecting to see something more than a plaque that read what is stated above but I wasn't even able to find that. It is just a park, with a boat launch into Lake Lansing. I'm not trying to say that this area may not have significance but if it does I'm not sure that I was able to pull the significance from what I saw. I don't know if anyone would miss this area if it were not labeled as a Michigan Historic Site tomorrow.

The History Channel

After flipping back and forth from the history channel to TV Land trying to decide which one was more in touch with history I was finally able to catch a show other than Ax Men, American Pickers, and Pawn Stars. The history channel managed to throw me a curve ball with a show detailing the rise of organized crime in America. The majority of the show focused on Al Capone declaring him the king of Chicago during Prohibition Era America. I was interested but I got the impression from the show that Al Capone inhereted a gang rather than built a gang from the ground up. It appeared to me that Johnny Torrio seemed to be the brains behind the gang that Al Capone eventually took over after Torrio "retired" from the organized crime life. The romanticized gang life that is portrayed on TV and in movies doesn't seem very realistic and I can't imagine that many of the foot soldiers got the same perks that the more well known gangsters received.

Getting Started

Wow, I finally was able to get this done. I should have done this much sooner and I would have had I realized how easy it was. I've been busy trying to keep up with the confusion of the beginning of a new semester and procrastinated a little too long... Not gonna happen again.