Goodbye Mrs Lange….

Originally run June 2008

It is going to be hard for me to imagine the High School Choirs without Nancy Lange. With her retirement now eminent, I still remember when I first saw her long ago. Back in the mid 1970s, when I went to Neff Elementary, The Madrigal Singers came to perform for us. I can so clearly remember us all sitting on the floor “Indian style” in the gym and the Madrigals roaming around us and singing. It opened up a whole new world of music and song to me. The highlight of the show, and the one song I can remember, and even still sing, was “Dad’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow! (and we can stay all day)”

Years later when I entered Ninth Grade and went to Sawdon School, I again met Nancy Lange when I joined the Freshman Choir. On my first day, I couldn’t even find the choir room; it was beyond the cafeteria, tucked into a corner of the building. We had three guys in a choir of girls; needless to say we were vocally quite outnumbered. In those days, the early 1980s, we had five singing groups: Freshman Choir at Sawdon, then at the High School -Ladies Ensemble, Concert Choir, Madrigals Singers, and the Barbershop Quartet. I was lucky enough to be in Concert Choir and also later two years in Madrigals.

Nancy Lange had us do many things in those years, we recorded an album, we performed Handel’s Messiah, performed five musicals, and we took a trip to Washington D.C. to perform at the National Cathedral. Madrigals were also often in demand to perform at events around the area. One time in particular, we had to learn special lyrics someone had written to the tune of “You picked a fine time to leave us, Lucille” by Kenny Rogers. It was to honor Lucille Belen, the long time Lansing City Councilwoman. The new lyrics were all about the ins and outs of Lansing politics at the time. I can only assume they were quite clever, they meant nothing to us. Unfortunately, Ms. Belen was enjoying herself so much at her party, I don’t think she ever heard of word of the song!

Looking back now, I was certainly lucky to be in choir those four years. The old choir room became a place of calm for me in the whirl of High School and I spent all my free time there. I certainly was not a great singer, by any means, but I think Mrs. Lange understood it was the fun and interaction I really needed. When it came time for her seniors to graduate, she had a long tradition of letting us sign one of the walls in the choir room. Just a way of saying “we were here”. I don’t know how I would have gotten through High School without choir and Nancy Lange. I certainly wish her the best in her retirement.

First Flag & Fourth of July Cannon

In 1856 it was decided the village needed a proper flag and flag pole. So ladies of the town got together at the home of Frank & Harriet Kent. At the time the Kents lived in a cabin or rough shack near the corner of Madison and Front streets. Here the women sewed together a flag out of their own cloth with the 31 stars of the time. In the mean time, the men raised up a pole near the newly built store of Case & Turner at 202 Greenwood. Everyone gathered for the raising and the flag was soon flying!

In 1861, with rumblings of a Southern Rebellion being heard across the country, locals decided it would be dandy to have our very own cannon. Millwrights Kent & Hixon took a bar of iron 2 feet long and 3 inches wide, part of a mill wheel, and gave it to Reuben Wood. Wood had a machine shop and he bore a hole about 10 inches deep for a barrel. The gun was then placed on a wooded frame and cart.

Velorus Kent describes “We had a big celebration on the Fourth of July that year and Sylvester Krupp and Don Lazell took charge of the cannon…they fired that gun so much they were both deafened and so used up they had to lay around for several days to recuperate.”

About 1875 Velorus Kent himself got into the action. Along with his cousin Albert Kent, and Armon Hixon, Charles Reed and others. At about 2am on the Fourth of July morning, they congregated in between Peter Kent’s and Frank Kent’s homes. The brothers lived across from each other at the corner of Harrison and Jefferson. The Kent boys with the cannon and the rest with shot guns. Then the celebration would begin!

The cannon would be shot off several times, each time followed by a volley from the shot guns. Then the whole outfit moved down to the corner of Taylor and Jefferson and repeated the gun salute. Then it was over the bridge to the corner of Front and Bridge to let off another round. From there it was back to the corner of Harrison and Jefferson to start the circle again. And they kept this up until 8am in the morning! In the afternoon the whole performance was repeated from 5pm until 9pm.

Fifty years later Velorus Kent remembered: “The merchants always furnished all the gun powder we wanted to use. The wonder today is to me why everyone in town didn’t go insane. Talk about fun. O boy! I don’t believe the present generation knows anything of it.”

Early Fourth of July’s

The early settlers of Grand Ledge were always patriotic and willing and ready to show it.

We can even see this in our street names. They chose names from Presidents and Founding Fathers, as well as Liberty and Union.

July Fourth celebrations of the 1850s often took place at the Fair. The early settlers created a fair ground on Edmund Lampson’s land in what we consider downtown today. The Grounds ran along West Scott Street from Spring to Harrison, then over to Lincoln Street and back up to Spring and West Jefferson. The Fair Grounds included a one-third mile race track and horse racing was a common sight. The Grounds lasted a dozen or so years before the area was carved up into building lots for the growing town.

We may think war re-enactment is new, but for the July Fourth celebration of 1875 a re-enactment of the Revolutionary Battle of Bunker Hill was planned by the town. The men were divided into Colonial and British forces. A fort was constructed at the intersection of Madison and Front streets and this was base for the Colonial Force. The British Force gathered near our Masonic Temple today and marched over the wooden foot bridges that connected the islands to the Northside, then up the hill to Front Street. Once the battle began, our Colonial Boys drove the Red Coats to the fort and captured the whole bunch. Once the battle was won, both forces joined together and marched over the downtown bridge to women waiting on the Southside. Refreshments of lemonade, candy and peanuts were served.

For the Fourth of July 1899, it was decided a big show was in order. They held a re-enactment of the Cuban Navel Battle of Santiago from the Spanish-American War of the previous year. Men were divided into the Spanish Forces and the American Forces. Each side gathered boats launched into the river below the Opera House. With hundreds of spectators cheering on from the banks and the bridge, a glorious battle was fought with our American Boys winning the day!