The weather was surprisingly cooperative for the Albion Community Bike Program Launch on Monday, May 14, 2018. The next ride is Monday, May 28, 2018, for the Brewery Ride, starts from City Hall at 5:30 and will also tour the Albion River Trail and end up at a new destination in downtown Albion.
Future rides are scheduled for:
Monday, May 28, 2018, Memorial Day – Brewery Day 5:30 pm – Meet at Albion City Hall
Saturday, June 9, 2018 Community Ride – 10:00 am – City Hall
Saturday, June 23, 2018 Community Ride – 10:00 am – City Hall
Saturday, July 7, 2018 Community Ride – 10:00 am – City Hall
Saturday, July 21, 2018 Community Ride – 10:00 am – City Hall
Saturday, August 4, 2018 Community Ride – 10:00 am – City Hall
Saturday, August 18, 2018 Community Ride – 10:00 am – City Hall
It is a time we dream of summer, and sometimes feel a hint of it in the wind. We plan our growing season, gather our seeds and prepare the soil. The season of Spring is upon us, and extends through the Summer Solstice on June 21. The art of seasonal gardening was created for General Guide XXXI. It shows a timeline of the growing season. In the distance there is also a visual road map of the connected communities between Battle Creek and Jackson, connected by I-94 highway, and in other ways as well.
Each community has a symbol.
The Michigan Central Railroad Depot (Clara’s Restaurant) for Battle Creek.
The Heatherbrook Farm mural just west of Marshall. near Marshall, Michigan at M115 highway was once a part of Stuart Farms.
Brooks Fountain in Marshall, that is the location for several annual events.
We’ll post more about each of these community landmarks later, and also more about the gardening clubs and projects in each community.
Albion Community Gardens will hold sign-up sessions for 2018 garden plots on Friday, April 6 (5:30-7PM), Saturday, April 7 (10am-2pm, Friday, April 20 (5:30-7pm), and Saturday April 21 (10am-2pm).
Garden plots are available at three sites: Pearl and center (SW corner) Albion and Erie (NE corner) and Vision of Life (1009 N. Jefferson)
You should go to the site most convenient for you to sign up. In case of rain, the sign ups will take place at St. James Episcopal Church, 119 W. Erie St., Albion.
Plots, seeds, and plants are free if you volunteer 20 hours per year with the Community Gardens or a comparable community organization.
There are tools that you can use at each site as well as gardening information.
Sign up will be at St. James Episcopal Church, 119 W. Erie St., Albion on April 6 if there is inclement whether, as well as at the Albion Winter Farmers Market Saturday.
If you have already signed up for a plot, a member of Albion Community Gardens will be in touch with you by April 6.
For more information, contact Trisha Franzen at 517 629-5618.
It was 48 years ago, another time, but not another place.
The year was 1970, and Albion, Michigan is recognized on CBS News, national tv by our old-time favorite broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite, for its efforts to work towards a more sustainable future.
The story tells of Albion’s population being 14,000 and taking a claim to be “Manufacturing Town USA.” Albion’s population is now 8,534, and we think of ourselves more of a college town now, since much has changed.
We didn’t get Earth Day into the General Guide XXXI, but we’ll post more environment information here as we go along.
A stately Bur Oak tree, welcomes visitors who happen to exit highway I-94 at exit 124, coming into Albion from the east. This tree was here for over 100 years, and was here to welcome visitors along the old Michigan Avenue long before the highway was here. With each season are changes, and some of them are very welcome.
Here is a statement about this tree from an authority on trees from Albion College: ” It’s a bur oak, Quercusmacrocarpa . Botanists prefer a different spelling of the common name than do street-namers. I would not want to guess an age, but probably at least 100-120 years old. It’s a nice specimen tree. There are two smaller ones across the street. ”
This was the illustration for General Guide XXX (30) for March 2018.
Oak leaf and acorn illustration from General Guide XXX
True Bur Oak – notice the fringe on the acorn
There were also drawings of oak leaves and acorns, but these did not truly match the fruit and foliage of the bur oak tree.
Interesting information about Bur Oaks in Texas:
“Quercus macrocarpa, the oak with the large fruit. Even his description is a bit of an understatement considering this oak can grow to exceed 80 feet in height, have leaves longer than 10 inches, and grow acorns the size of lemons. Bur oak, which is also known as mossycup oak and is sometimes spelled with and extra “r”, gets its common name from the distinctively rough and shaggy acorn cap that can often enclose much of the acorn itself. The acorns are a highly desirable food source for wildlife, but their size alone provides a challenge for squirrels anxious to dig a hole large enough to bury them or to find the strength to hoist them to their cache. To a squirrel or other wildlife, bur oak acorns are like a huge steak dinner.”
“Albion, like many other midwestern cities, has a ‘Burr Oak Street’ named after this tree. The middle English spelling variant ‘bur’ has been used traditionally and more or less adopted by botanists as the spelling for the common name of this species.
The bur oak has relatively long, fuzzy bracts on the acorn cap that make the acorn look a little like a burr that could stick to clothing or fur. It’s also known as a mossycup oak. At Albion College, biology students and their professor refer to the bur oak as the ‘T. rex’ of oak trees. The trunks may be massive, but they often sprout wimpy branches near the base, not unlike the relatively tiny forelimbs of a massive tyrannosaur.”
Albionites have invented quite a few different traditions and events. One of them is Walk for Warmth, where volunteers get pledges to raise money for local residents struggling to pay the cost of heating their home.
On Saturday, February 24th, 2018, the home of Walk for Warmth celebrated the 33rd annual fundraising event for Community Action. Each year, Community Action of South Central Michigan raises money to help keep the heat on for families, the elderly, and people with disabilities in Barry, Branch, Calhoun, and St. Joseph counties.
Pictured below are the participants of Albion’s 2018 Walk for Warmth, outside of the First United Methodist Church on Michigan Avenue.
Walk for Warmth 2018 – Tenant Hall – Albion, MI
In Albion during February 1983, Pastor Tim Kurtz, then Community Action Coordinator, held a 24-hour walk to raise funds and awareness of the need for heating assistance. “Helping the Poor in 24” was his motto. Pastor Kurtz’s dedication to supporting the most vulnerable in a critical way has made a tremendous impact.
Over the years, the event has grown to provide household utility relief across the nation, ranging from Lexington, KY to Willimantic, CT. The funds generated through this event provide assistance in the form of deliverable fuel, metered gas or electric.
2018 Walkers Begin Their Trek
In 2017, 19 families and 57 family members from the Albion, Marshall, and Homer region were helped from the funds raised during Walk for Warmth that year. 52% of the households assisted last year had children and 31% had seniors. The average assistance provided by Community Action was $275.84.
The contestants from the Cardboard Classic 2018 ranged from families including two-year olds to adults who were as happy as youngsters to have a successful race.
The Cardboard Classic Sled Race began in Albion Michigan in 1990 and was created by the Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce. The event was originally sponsored by World Corrugated.
In 2018, the race was held the day after a Winter Emergency, and there was 10 inches of fresh powder snow, and brisk 18 degree temperatures.
This photo/video essay is divided into four sections:
The Location
The Racers and their Sleds
The Crowd and Dignitaries Viewing the Race
The Races
The Location: Victory Park in Albion
The Contestants
The Crowd and the Local Dignitaries Viewing the Race
Local dignitaries at Albion’s Cardboard Classic – an annual event that takes place at the sledding hill in Victory Park. The event was started by the Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce in 1990, and has taken place most years since that time.
Local dignitaries at Albion’s Cardboard Classic
From the left – back row: Matthew Saxton, Calhoun County Sherriff, Gary Thompkins, Calhoun County Commissioner, Andrew French, City Council, Mayor Garrett Brown; Front row – City Council: Lenn Reid and Marcola Lawler, City Manager’s office: Stacey Levin, Sheryl Mitchell.
Click the image below to see a very fun one minute video of the most exciting race.
Most exciting video from the Cardboard Classic 2018 – click the image to see it
Warming Stations for the Cardboard Classic
See more about the Cardboard classic including a gallery of the contestants by clicking the image above.
More about the location, the contestants, the crowd and other videos also!
The Cardboard Classic Sled Race began in Albion Michigan in 1990 and was created by the Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce. The event was originally sponsored by World Corrugated.
In 2018, the race was held the day after a Winter Emergency, and there was 10 inches of fresh powder snow, and brisk 18 degree temperatures.
Preview of the Cardboard Contestants 2018 page below.
The Sledding Hill in Victory Park Albion is already a destination for those who love to race on a snowy hill, but once a year it is the host to hundreds of people for the Cardboard Classic Sledding Race. In 2018 the date is Saturday February 9. The date was carefully chosen to coincide with the winter storm that arrived earlier in the week and just ended the day of the race for the a foot of the finest powder for the sport.
The sledding hill in Victory Park Albion is a popular destination in the area. There are straw bales on either side, and a light at night so sledders can enjoy the lovely trees and view in Victory Park.
The sledding hill is home to the Cardboard Classic Annual Sledding contest, with prizes for the fastest, and most uniquely designed sleds made of Corrugated Cardboard. The event usually happens in January or February, weather allowing.
This view of the sledding hill is part of a 56-foot long mural in the drive thru of First Merit bank in downtown Albion. The mural is called the Albion River of Time because it shows a linear scene depicting things happening in all four seasons in Albion, along with the river, brick streets, river trail, and parks.
