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Happy Belated Bum Walks Day

My husband recently wished me a “happy Bum Walks Day,” reminding me that August 11, 1914 was the anniversary of the publication of my all-time favorite State Journal article, the city council meeting report in which Alderman Oscar McKinley accused Alderman McKale of having laid “a lot of ‘bum’ walk in the city.” It was McKinley’s accusation that McKale had “violated the ordinance, undoubtedly, and failed to put [his] name upon the walks” that led me to canonize McKinley as the patron saint of Capital City Sidewalks. It is his picture that currently serves as the banner image for the blog.

I like the idea of making “Bum Walks Day” the official holiday of the blog, but I want to choose the correct date. Since August 11, 1914 was a Tuesday, and the article refers to “Monday night’s session of the city council,” it seems somewhat ambiguous what the date of the Council meeting actually was. I tend to think it was August 10, though it seems odd to me not to write “yesterday” in that case. On the other hand, if it was a week ago from yesterday, wouldn’t it say “last week’s meeting”? Anyway, I’m going to tentatively set Bum Walks Day as August 10 unless I find information contradicting that.

How should one celebrate Bum Walks Day? My husband thinks it should be celebrated by pointing at sidewalks and declaring that someone’s name is not upon the walk. I was thinking it should be celebrated by casting disapproving looks at bum walks. Perhaps there are other celebratory traditions that will emerge organically over time.

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“Condemn Walk to School” clipping, 1917

Between the heat and other interruptions, I still haven’t had a chance to collect any more sidewalk stamps lately, so here’s another old State Journal clipping. The front page (!) of the September 25, 1917, State Journal contains this report from City Council, quoted in its entirety:

Condemn Walk to School. Ald. Bovee denounced the condition of sidewalks leading to Columbia Park school across Michigan Ave. as disgraceful, saying that the lives of school children who were obliged to cross at these places were endangered. Eighth ward citizens were called upon and they declared that the conditions should be remedied. Ald. McKinley then remarked that all that was necessary to do was to circulate petitions and said that If Ald. Bovee was not able to start the petitions that he would try to do it for the eighth ward alderman.

I was surprised to discover that Columbia Park School was a previous name for Foster Avenue School. It joined the Lansing school district in 1916 and received the new name (which is in keeping with the normal Lansing scheme for elementary school names) in 1917 when it was remodeled, according to Capital Area District Library’s local history collection. The new name must have happened rather late in 1917 since it is still known as Columbia Park in this article from September. I’m not sure what the original name refers to.

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Our Role Model: Oscar L. McKinley

A photo of O.L. McKinley
Oscar L. McKinley

This blog is adopting Oscar L. McKinley (1866-1923) as its symbol (“mascot” sounds undignified). McKinley is best known to regular readers as the alderman who spoke these famous words to Alderman McKale during a “wordy tilt” about sidewalks: “You violated the ordinance, undoubtedly, and failed to put your name upon the walks. Your name is not upon the walk in the photograph.” Often when I see a new sidewalk laid without being properly stamped, I shake my head in disapproval and say, “Your name is not upon the walk!”

According to a report of his death in the State Journal of July 28, 1923, in addition to being the second ward alderman for 16 years, McKinley was also the manager of the Lansing branch of the Wynkoop, Hallenbeck & Crawford printing concern for 25 years, and for more than 30 years was involved with the Lansing City Directory.

The Capital Area District Library’s local history collection online has a booklet titled Pictorial Souvenir of the Police and Fire Departments (well worth perusing in full for the vintage ads) from which I have drawn the photo of Alderman McKinley that now decorates the blog. I am reproducing the pictures of the entire City Council below. The booklet dates from 1913, and the “wordy tilt” happened in 1914, so now you can picture the City Council as it was then. The two aldermen called out by McKinley for laying “bum walk” were McKale and Young.