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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, September 9, 2001, pg. 3 This week we’ll devote our column to some contemporary issues, with an historical perspective. We note in passing an historical aspect of downtown Albion’s Historic District which will soon be gone. The bricks on W. Erie St. will be removed and replaced with asphalt as part of this falls paving of the street. The bricks date back to World War I, and have actually held up quite well, giving us our moneys worth. The lack of an adequate base however has caused numerous dips and uneveness in the street. When Superior St. was repaved with brick in 1993, Erie St. was not included in the project. Today there are no local funds for new bricks and the concrete base that would have to be laid to support them. Next year the bricks on E. Erie St. will be removed also. They have not held up well however, and have crumbled in recent decades. Thus history will bow to economic realities. We wish our city officials success as they try and s-t-r-e-t-c-h our street millage dollars to try and get as many streets repaved as possible. I want my street paved first... My annual Riverside Cemetery Tour will be held on Sunday, October 14 at 1:30 p.m. A recent advertisment erroneously stated October 7. My theme this year will be "The German Hill Tour of Riverside Cemetery." More about this next week, but mark your calendars and spread the word. Are you hungry? Forget the turkey sandwiches. Please stay in Albion this time and support our Festival of the Forks this coming Saturday, September 15. There’ll be plenty of food and things to do here within our own city borders. Our Festival committee has worked hard to make this year’s Festival a big success, and your participation is needed. Yours truly will have his Albion History booth at its usual location in front of Citizens Bank. I’ll have my Albion history books and materials there, ethnic coins from around the world, as well as some displays. Stop by and see me. Finally, let us briefly remember our early heritage this week as we approach the Festival of the Forks. Our town was largely developed because of the efforts of Jesse Crowell (1797-1872), who came here in 1835. He laid the plat for our village in 1836, brought the post office here and served as our first postmaster, donated land for and brought Albion College here, gave land for our cemetery and parks, operated his Stone Mill on S. Superior St. (the building which now houses Citizens Bank), and "gave generously of his time, energy, and money for the upbuilding of Albion and her institiutions (Milestones, page 7)." Albion was named after the township he was from in Oswego County, N.Y. Today we have Crowell School, Crowell Park, and yes, even a Crowell Street. This week in our Historical Notebook we present a drawing of "Albion’s Greatest Benefactor," Jesse Crowell.  Jesse Crowell Next: POMERANIA All text copyright, 2024 © all rights reserved Frank Passic
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