I found this Paul Wright stamp on the east side of North Magnolia Avenue, a short distance north of Michigan. It’s only just occurred to me to observe that most contractors (based on my experience) put the date below their name, but some put the date above, as in this case.
Mr. Wright must have been at it a while, as in the April 16, 1971, Lansing State Journal classifieds, I find this advertisement: “CEMENT WORK From 6 cents a sq. ft Driveways, patios, sidewalks, etc. Ph Paul Wright, 663-4185. Free estimates.” Earlier references are uncertain. I see various advertisements from 1948 (e.g. November 29) for a Paul Wright offering to haul away rubbish and ashes, and “also trucking.” In an advertisement of December 10, 1954, close to the date of this stamp, I find Paul Wright still engaged in trucking: “PAUL WRIGHT TRUCKING Located directly north of Bancroft park on David St. Call 27123.” I am not sure whether the Paul Wright of the trucking business is the same as the cement contractor.
Looking south on North Magnolia, with Michigan in view.
Today we had our first significant snow of the season, and I suddenly realized how much harder this blog is about to get. I have been holding myself to a rule that each photo has to be taken the day of posting. I know that will have to get interrupted eventually, but it’s been such a long streak of daily updates (since day one!) that I won’t let it go easily. I set out for my walk today and immediately went to the first patch of sidewalk that was clear of snow, photographed a stamp there, and continued on my way.
The flash makes the snow-filled letters stand out in a neat way, though the date isn’t as visible.
Only when I got home did I realize that I had already photographed that stamp less than a month ago. So I threw my coat and boots back on and proceeded to walk down the sidewalk, periodically stopping and using the side of my boot to scrub snow from the ends of sidewalk slabs in well-lit spots. Fortunately it did not take too long before I found something recognizable enough, this classic Department of Public Works stamp, on the east side of Regent Street’s 500 block, between Kalamazoo and Elizabeth. I could make it visible enough with my boot, but I could not read the date that way. I was forced to bend down and run my index finger in the depressions to reveal it.
The date is a bit easier to read without the flash.
So, crisis averted: I have one more day of rigorously daily updates. How long I can keep that up into winter remains to be seen.
Looking south on Regent Street. You can see how I was trying to expose the ends of slabs, where the stamps usually are.
I noticed this one (on the west side of Horton Street, north of Jerome) during waning light on my walk this evening and made the mistake of assuming that because it was so worn it must be old and interesting. It was totally illegible to me then, but I hoped I would be able to see something in the photo. Studying it afterward I could make out a date, 1944, but not the contractor’s name.
Then I remembered something. There are a lot of 1944 DPW stamps on Horton Street. I compared this one with a previous photograph and the numbers matched exactly. It’s not definite, but I will tentatively call this a Lansing DPW stamp. So it’s only old-ish, and not very interesting (or at least not unusual).
This one is on the west side of Kipling Boulevard between Michigan and Vine. Not sure why Kipling gets to be a boulevard. Looks like a regular old street to me.
It’s another one of those cryptic stamps, made famous in a couple of past entries. Now, though, I think the first letter is a B rather than the D that I thought I saw before. That doesn’t get me any closer to figuring this one out, though.
Here’s an interesting one (another 1924 stamp, like yesterday’s) on the north side of Eureka Street between Jones and Bingham. I wish I had kicked that cigarette butt out of the way. It was getting dark and I was worried about losing the light, so I must not have noticed it. Well, it adds authenticity. The curving layout is something I notice mainly in stamps from the 1920s and earlier, though occasionally it pops up in newer ones, like one of the variations of Able Construction.
In an August 11, 1928 advertisement in the Lansing State Journal classified pages, I find this: “CEMENT WORK Of all kinds. Phone 2793. 609 N. Grand River. Wm Meister.” There is no such address as 609 N. Grand River today, but Grand River’s routing is such a mess in that part of town that the spot in question has very likely received a new address since the 1920s and might be on a different street entirely.
I also find this interesting brief news item:
In Fred Johnson and William Meister, the city park board has found a happy combination for the building and laying of a new entrance to Moores Park from Woodlawn Avenue. Johnson, fireplace builder and expert stone mason, and Meister, cement worker, volunteered for the job. Both have been employed for years in Lansing in contracting work in their line. According to Lee Bancroft, city forester, the new walk will be one of the most attractive and artistic of any in any of the municipal walks. The walk leads from Woodlawn Avenue down a grade into the east part of the park. Because of the grade several landings will be made. The whole length of the new walk is about 55 feet. Cobble, or field stones, are being used by Johnson for the sides of the walk and for ornamental purposes. Meister is laying the landings and steps. The walks wind down into the park by easy stages and nearly all of it is under fine old trees. Following the completion of the walk the park board plans to embower the walk with shrubs and ornamental bushes. An artistic approach of pergola effect is to ornament the head of the walk at Woodlawn Avenue.
Lansing State Journal, July 7, 1927
Today I learned that “embower” is a word. I am not very familiar with Moores Park, so I don’t know what the walk in question looks like today. I will have to go over there and look for it sometime.
Looking east on Eureka St.
I can find a William Meister buried in Hillside Cemetery in Delta Mills. He lived 1872 to 1935. This could be our Mr. Meister. Then again, it could well have been a common name at the time, or this could be a relative. And sadly, that’s all I can tell you about William Meister.
I turned down a block I don’t usually visit on my walks because there were some Christmas lights I wanted to see. I was rewarded twice, with the lights and with this very well preserved Department of Public Works stamp. This is the east side of Allen Street, just south of Elizabeth (the last block before I-496).
This is from that period after they stopped stamping the exact date but before they dropped the month too.
Looking north on Allen Street, with Elizabeth in sight.
This one caught my eye during my evening walk. (I have been walking after dark a lot lately, partly because I enjoy finding new Christmas lights to look at, and partly because it’s hard not to with the days so short.) It’s on the west side of Shepard Street between Marcus and Elizabeth. The flash photo got it really well, with a bit of help from the wet pavement; there was a misting rain. There were neighbors out on their porch. I keep wondering when I’m going to get the police called on me.
Anyway, this one grabbed my attention because it looked old, so I took a photo despite not usually doing driveway aprons. (I actually thought this was my first driveway apron stamp, but checking my spreadsheet I found that I had done one once before.) The “LANSING MICH” especially connects it with older stamps I have found. The house it is in front of was built in 1924, so I would guess this was poured then.
I had a hard time finding out anything about E.M. Vannocker. Searching Find A Grave, I found an Everett M. Vannocker who lived 1872-1938, probably the correct time frame, but he was buried in Six Lakes, Michigan (a town I previously did not know existed, though it is fairly close to Mount Pleasant, where I work). Because of that I almost ruled him out, but then I found a couple of references in the Lansing State Journal society pages of the 1930s to a Mrs. Everett Vannocker, one of which also gives the name of a daughter, Elsie. The Find A Grave record also gives Mr. Vannocker a daughter named Elsie. From this I infer that Everett M. Vannocker probably did live in Lansing at least during the 1930s, and may have been the E.M. Vannocker of this stamp.
An overview of the driveway apron. As you can see, it’s suffered some damage over the years.
I had been planning to do this one for a while and finally decided to do it this evening, though I got to it in waning light. It’s on the west side of North Magnolia Avenue, just north of Michigan in front of the Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
This stamp is quite small and located in the lower right corner.
Based on viewing it in better light I believe the year is 1950, which would make it roughly contemporary with (and possibly related to) the building of the church. I am not completely sure about the name. It’s certainly “Gordon” but the first initial could be B or E. In some light it looks more like B.
The Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
I haven’t had any luck finding out anything about the contractor. I thought I had a lead when I found some 1920s advertisements for the Brown-Gordon Co., but they were advertising delivery of gravel and sand. They show u p again in the October 1, 1955 State Highway Department publication, Compilation of Design and Construction Data for Concrete Pavement on the State Trunkline System.The date was promising, and I was hoping this would reveal them to also be concrete contractors, but no, they are listed only under “Fine Aggregate” and “Course Aggregate.” I suppose it is just a red herring after all.
The stamp in context, near the steps of the church.
I’ve had my eye on this Regent Street Department of Public Works stamp (on the east side, 400 block, between Elizabeth and Kalamazoo). I previously posted it as having an illegible date, Periodically, it has almost become legible, due to the right lighting or a bit of water pooling in the indentations. Recently, I had decided it was possibly a 4 after the 19, but still could not read the final number at all. Then, suddenly, as I walked the block this evening…
Plain as day, thanks to fall rains washing away the right amount of mud and leaving the right amount of silt behind.
This is another DPS stamp, on the east side of South Clemens Avenue between Prospect and Michigan. I don’t have much to say about it. I’m trying to figure out the time period for these, but this is only the second one I’ve found.
Looking north on South Clemens. The stamp is right at the bottom edge.
