This was taken at night with a flash, so it’s a bit washed out, but I found it interesting enough to share anyway. It can be found on the south side of Jerome Street between Clemens and Fairview. It’s very worn and craggy, and I could just make it out.

I haven’t yet run across any other Joe White slabs. Trying to find anything out about the company was rough because, well, just try Googling “Joe White.” Even in combination with “Lansing” and “concrete” I had trouble, but eventually I turned up several newspapers.com hits from the Lansing State Journal, ads from the 1950s. I don’t have a newspapers.com subscription and I haven’t yet decided whether I should get one for the sake of cataloguing sidewalk slabs, but I have the patience to pick through the OCR text and from that I have mined out this advertisement, from 1957:

“Basement Seepage Is Specialty / If you are troubled with water seepage in your basement, Joe White, 501 N. Walnut St., offers a special water-proofing service guaranteed to eliminate the seepage. Mr. White features an ‘Ever-Dry’ installation of drain tile inside the foundation and block walls which carries water seepage. He says it completely eliminates dampness and the problem of wet basements. Mr. White, who has been in the water-proofing business here for the past 14 years, has served the needs of more than 1,000 residences in the Lansing area. An average installation takes about three to four days. All work is backed by a bonded guarantee. Free estimates will be provided upon request. / Out of State Rates Are Not the Same / For Free Estimates Phone 5-5807.”

501 N. Walnut St. is several blocks north, roughly, of the Capitol building. It is still an office building, built 1907 according to the city property records. According to other ads from 1954 and 1959, Joe White Co. was located at 1208 N. Pine., which is a pleasantly old-fashioned little house, built in 1914, and not looking much like it has ever been a business location. I’m not sure how to account for the 501 Walnut address given in the 1957 ad. In 1965, the LSJ carried an ad for “Ever-Dry Co., formerly Joe White Co.” There is no longer an EverDry location in Lansing, so I don’t know what became of Joe White’s company.