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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 12, 2025, pg. 5 Coming up a week from now on Saturday, September 20 will be our annual Festival of the Forks. Yours truly will be there with my Albion history booth in front of the old City Bank, so make plans to stop by and see what I've got. I'm always looking for historical Albion items including yearbooks, city directories, photographs, etc. I'll see you there! As we've learned in recent months, plans are moving ahead for the removal of our dams located in the Kalamazoo River through Albion. That includes the Victory Park waterfall. It's just a matter of time and funding at this point. The Kalamazoo River has been the basis for our Festival of the Forks each year. It was because of the potential of water power that Albion was settled back in the 1830s and dams were built to harness that power. Those dams have seen the history of Albion itself. Albion won't be the same when these are removed. The recent River clean-up through town where branches, logs and trees were cleared, as well as debris removed, reminded me of my high school days when I was on the Kalamazoo River Clean-Up Committee. There were clean-ups held as the emphasis on ecology was in vogue. Growing up in Albion, I remember the emphasis the River had with one of our citizen volunteers during the 1960s and 1970s, and that was Truman L. Barnes (1916 -1991). It was Truman who focused on raising funds for the dredging of the millpond by Riverside Cemetery, a feat that was accomplished in 1978 and 1979. Beginning in 1972, Truman served as director of the Albion Recycling Center, which opened in 1970. It was located in the building which once housed the Albion Water Works in the early 20th century at 113 E. Cass St. This place recycled all sorts of materials, from glass and newspapers, to metal, and to wood used to make mulch. Funds raised went towards not only the dredging, but to other clean-up projects along the River. The Recycling Center closed on March 27, 1993. The Recycling Center was one of the civic activities, thanks to Truman, that helped Albion to become named an "All-America City" by the National Municipal League in 1973. Another project Truman was involved with was the cleaning of the river bank along Water Street, which used to contain debris like concrete sidewalk pieces, and limbs. This site was turned into a park, which included a boat launch and benches. The Park was renamed as Barnes Park in 1993 in honor of Truman and his wife Norma, the latter of whom gave music lessons, including the accordion. Truman was a Gleaner, a fraternal insurance society with headquarters in Adrian, Michigan. He was a Gleaner agent and also a district manager for the organization, and the Arbor Chief Gleaner. The Gleaners sponsored a local Boy Scout Troop here in Albion, No. 128, and Truman involved his scouts in various clean-up projects. Yours truly was a member of that troop, and I distinctly remember Truman mentioning the Gleaners numerous times. The latest Summer, 2025 issue of Forum, the official magazine of the Gleaner Life Insurance Society, features a three-page article entitled "Remembering Truman Barnes and the Potential for Change," on pages 14-16. It's a really nice tribute to Truman and the accomplishments he made here in Albion during his lifetime. Contact the magazine at: forum@gleanerlife.org for information about obtaining a copy. There is also a digital version of this article available. Finally, as you approach Adrian driving along U.S. 223, you'll notice the Gleaner national headquarters on the left, with a beautiful fountain out front. That fountain was donated in 1988 by Truman and his wife Norma. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a June 11, 1966 photo of former Albion Mayor Hugo Rieger on the left, and Truman Barnes on the right, both from the Albion Beautification Committee, cleaning up the Water Street river frontage area across the River from Riverside Cemetery. Members of the Gleaner Boy Scout troop No. 128 are shown hard at work. How many of our readers remember Truman Barnes?  June 11, 1966, Albion Beautification Committee members Hugo Rieger and Truman Barnes
All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic
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