Return to the Frank Passic
Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
|
Morning Star, October 14, 2018, pg. 18 A new book has recently been published which is of interest to Albion-area readers. "Kalamazoo River"by Lisa M. DeChano-Cook and Mary L. Brooks is part of the popular "Images of America"pictorial series published by Arcadia Press. Yours truly authored "Albion in the 20th Century"as part of this series in 2002. "Kalamazoo River"was published in August of this year, and is available at area bookstores where Arcadia books are sold. The authors both work at Western Michigan University, have a mutual interest in the Kalamazoo River and its environmental quality, and spent several years of research in preparing this book. They were in Albion in September promoting the book at the Festival of the Forks and it was an honor to have met and spoken with them. The first chapter, entitled "Headwaters to Albion,"begins not with a scenic view of the River as it flows through farmland, but rather with a photograph of a culvert under Hanover Road in Jackson County where the River begins flowing out of Farwell Lake in Hanover Township. This is where the North Branch of the River begins. On the following page is a photograph pictures a grated pipe in a farm field near North Adams in Moscow Township in Hillsdale County, where the South Branch of the River begins. With these humble beginnings, the River (both branches) flows towards Albion, where it joins together at "The Forks"here in Victory Park. There numerous photographs of Albion scenes in the first chapter, including the Flood of 1908, the Market Place, Lloyd and Rieger Parks. Homer is also included. The introduction of the book consists of a text which gives a general overview of the geological and geography history of the River, the harnessing of water power via dams which were constructed along the route, and pollution/environmental problems which developed that are still issues today. Following chapter 1, the remaining chapters of this 128-page book are divided into the following geographic stretches of the River, with numerous photographs of the communities along the route: West to Battle Creek, West to Galesburg/Augusta, West to Kalamazoo, West to Plainwell/Otsego, and West to Lake Michigan. Readers will enjoy the historical photographs as you move through the various chapters. The final photographs show the mouth of the Kalamazoo River at Saugatuck where it flows into Lake Michigan. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of the cover of "Kalamazoo River." I encourage our readers to obtain a copy for your own library. How many of our readers have canoed the Kalamazoo River?  Kalamazoo River Book published by Arcadia 2018
All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
| |
