Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund

by Frank Boles

On October 19, The Clarke Library sponsored two programs celebrating the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF)’s 35th anniversary. Perhaps one of the best kept secret in state government, over the past 35 years the Fund has pumped over $816 million to acquire and improve Michigan public recreation and environmentally sensitive properties across the state.

At 2:00 p.m., four panelists, Michigan Oil and Gas Association (MOGA) President Frank L. Mortl, Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board Chairman Bob Garner, Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) Executive Director Erin McDonough, and Michigan Chapter of the Nature Conservancy Director Helen Taylor, spoke about the Fund’s founding, history, and impact.

Their collective presentations drew a portrait of one of the most successful political compromises made in the last generation. The Trust was born out of political compromise. A major discovery of natural gas in the northeast corner of the Lower Peninsula made oil companies very anxious to begin widespread drilling, while environmentalists fought vigorously to keep development away from what was a largely wilderness area.

As the battle raged on, the senior representatives of the two communities, Frank Mortl of MOGA and Tom Washington of the MUCC cut a deal. MUCC would support drilling – MOGA would support creating a Trust Fund into which all revenue received by the state as a result of oil and gas production would be set aside to fund outdoor recreational activity and the purchase of environmentally-sensitive land. Both men took their share of grief for the compromise, but with the support of each organization the enabling legislation became law.

The results have proved a huge benefit to the people of the state. Vast tracts of land have either been protected or developed into or benefited from improvements made to outdoor recreational sites. Fishing piers and marinas have been built or rehabilitated. Environmentally fragile land has been protected.

The panelists gave a fascinating insight into both the process of political compromise and the benefits that can accrue to society when groups with seemingly unresolvable conflicts think creatively about how to find common ground. Then as now, compromise was not necessarily popular, but it worked, and worked very well to serve the long-term interests of the public.

An added, an unexpected feature of the program was an unplanned set of comments made by special guest Howard A Tanner. Tanner, now 87 years of age, as then director of the Department of Natural Resources, had played a key role in implementing the MNRTF. Tanner talked primarily about what he saw as the essential breakthrough represented by the Trust: that funds received by the state as a result of the depletion of a state-owned, non-renewable resource, should be used to acquire for the public’s benefit additional non-renewable resources – primarily prime recreation land and land of special environmental sensitivity. Like any compromise the MNRTF was a trade-off, but one that replaced a non-renewable asset underneath state-owned land with a new asset, prime recreation land and the protection of the environment, that would benefit the public for generations to come.

This wonderful panel that brought together some of the most influential people, past and present, in the state’s environmental history, was followed Thursday evening by author Jack Westbrook discussing his recently published book, Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, 1976-2011.While the panel dealt with the general good accomplished by the Trust Fund, Westbrook brought home the true impact of the Fund by looking at many of the projects it has funded. From funds spent to acquire the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula for public use to funds spent to improve recreational facilities on Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, residents throughout the state have personally benefitted from projects made possible by the Trust. As Westbrook noted, the Trust has become a model other states have attempted to emulate; a solution “made in Michigan” to resolve one of the most vexing problems of our time.

image from American Oil and Gas Historical Society

John Fierst on John Tanner’s Narrative

Next Monday John Fierst will be talking about the editing of John Tanner’s Narrative, a project he and his co-editor John Nichols have undertaken to produce a scholarly edition of Tanner’s 1830 Anishinaabe account. The presentation is entitled: “The Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner: Editing an Anishinaabe Text.” It will take place on campus in the Terrace Rooms of the Bovee Center at noon, November 21st. Part of the Office for Institutional Diversity’s Soup and Substance series, it is being given in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.

A Circus in Town

By Marian Matyn

A large circus collection recently donated by Rev. James Challancin is being processed this term. Published materials, such as books, programs, and serials have been cataloged. Posters and scrapbooks have been processed and now thousands of clippings (all of which have to be photocopied), tickets, advertisements, and other miscellaneous items remain to be processed.

Here is a digitized image of a damaged poster. This Adams Bros. and Seils Bros Circus poster was printed by Neal Walters Posters Corp. of Eureka Springs, Ark., and advertised the circus performance in Caspian, MI (Iron County) in 1960.

The collection has issues. A lot of it has a strong mildew smell, which is not good, and some of it has water or mold stains. Being around this smell is unpleasant even with an air filter and air freshners going full strength. Mold can spread throughout stored collections and cause health problems in people. Because we cannot expose staff or patrons to mold, we have to withdraw moldy materials from the collection. Fortunately, with modern equipment we have some options and can preserve a scanned copy of the poster so we could preserve a nice, colorful part of circus history without causing contamination throughout the collection or health issues to staff, students, or the public.

Thanks to everyone who is helping in some way with this collection: Bronwyn, Tressa, Tanya, Sandy, Pat, Hayleigh, and me. Once the processing, inventorying, and rehousing is completed, I will edit the final copy of the finding aid, create the catalog record, and encode the finding aid making it Google searchable and linking it to the catalog record. A collection of this size and various formats is a group effort, led by yours truly, Marian Matyn, Archivist and Assistant Professor, Clarke Historical Library, CMU. For more information check out my blog at http://archivistrising.blogspot.com

Autumn - The Perfect Season

By Tanya Fox

Those of us who are lucky enough to live in Michigan know that autumn is a beautiful season. Leaves turn so many vibrant colors. The air turns crisp. Harvests of small personal gardens to big farms begin in earnest. Life starts to slow down after the busy summer months and autumn sets the tone for the coming winter months. Autumn is a transition time. Autumn is the perfect season to take stock of our lives, too, and what better way to get started and set the mood than to read a good book.

The Clarke Historical Library has many items with an autumn theme. Some are by Michigan authors such as Three Sonnets of the Northland Autumn by Ethel E. Mann or Leaves of Life’s Autumn by Lillian Wright Melville. In her poem “Woodland Memories of the North”, Ms. Melville writes of the fall season with the words “Have you ever walked on woodland paths when autumn’s tinged with gold, And watched its wondrous beauty so magically unfold?” Some titles evoke the whole feeling of autumn with just a few words such as Autumn Hours and Fireside Reading by another Michigan author C.M. Kirkland. Other books in the Clarke include Autumn Leaves Gathered in an Indian Summer: Sermons, Addresses and Lectures by Howard A.M. Henderson and a book of poetry dedicated to the season called Autumn Leaves by Mildred M. North.

We have children’s books with the autumn theme, also. Take a photographic journey into the autumn woods with the book First Snow in the Woods: a Photographic Fantasy by Carl R. Sams. First Snow includes beautiful and engaging photographs of wild life preparing for winter. The Juvenile Naturalist: or, Walks in the Country by B.H. Draper is a children’s book from 1842. Seedtime and Harvest: Tales includes stories translated from the German language circa the late 1850’s.

The Fruits of the Harvest: a Collection of More Than Three Hundred and Seventy-five Tested Recipes is a cookbook from the women of the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church that will help utilize the garden and farm produce found in abundance in Michigan’s fall season. Leslie A. Loveless has a book called A Bountiful Harvest : the Midwestern Farm Photographs of Pete Wettach, 1925-1965 for anyone who has an interest in the pictorial history of farms and farm life. The Library even has a video called The Northern Fall which allows the viewer to tour the Great Lakes Region in the autumn.

Whether you want to read a few sonnets or other poems, peruse photographs, find a mouth-watering recipe, or spend some quiet, thoughtful time in the autumn - the Clarke Library has something for you. George Eliot said of the season “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” Autumn is a time for reflection and appreciation of nature’s beauty and bounty. Let the Clarke be a part of your season.

CMU History Minute: In 1958, This Joint Was Jumpin'

By Frank Boles

Preparing for an exhibit that opens this fall discussing student life and learning, I sometimes come across wonderful, unanticipated discoveries. A few weeks ago a copy of the publication “Louis Armstrong and His Concert Group,” autographed by Armstrong and the vocalist who accompanied the group, Velma Middleton, was lent to us for the exhibit.  Louis Armstrong at CMU?  No jive!

In May, 1958 the Panhellenic Inter-Fraternity Council was planning “a jammed packed week” to celebrate the first campus “Greek Week.”  The planned activities included many old standbys like a tug-of-war between fraternities and a push cart derby. Also included were a few more conservative events, such as a revised Greek Sing competition. 

The previous year’s sing had been something of a disappointment. In 1957 each of the ten contesting groups were required to sing the hymn, “Now on Land and Sea Descending,” written in 1859 to a tune first documented in 1818. The audience was apparently unenthusiastic about listening to ten renditions of the song despite the hymn’s heartfelt advice to “jubilate, jubilate, jubilate.” In 1958, each group was simply given ten minutes onstage, without a requirement that the performance include a “song of a religious nature.”  

Perhaps still worried that the Greek Sing might not be a musical high note, the organizing committee also booked Louis Armstrong “to blow,” as the headline read, on Friday May 16. Armstrong had two performances that evening, first at an “all-college” jam session from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and then at a dance from 9:00 p.m. until midnight for Greek week participants.  Louis Armstrong came and blew. Velma Middleton came and sang. And it appears that the campus really was jumpin’ that night, at least when the Satchmo and Velma weren’t busy signing autographs for happy fans.