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RECYCLED SIDEWALK
Morning Star, September 14, 2008, pg. 6
I’ll be looking forward to seeing you this Saturday, September 20 at my Albion History Booth at the Festival of the Forks, in front of Citizens Bank. I’ll have my Albion history materials available. Be sure and stop by. A reminder: My Riverside Cemetery tour will be Sunday, October 12 at 1:30 pm. We will meet at the new Veteran’s Memorial Stage on the south side of the cemetery.
Soon some of the most deteriorated sidewalks in the City of Albion will be replaced as part of the benefits of the specially designated millage passed last year. There was a suggestion that some of the millage money should be spent on conducting classes on how to use a sidewalk, with “feet on” practice to some residents who should find this class helpful.
The work projected this fall includes the 1901-laid stretch on the west side of S. Superior St. Many of Albion’s original sidewalks were laid in 1901 by contractor George Dean, a few years before he purchased Union Steel Products. It was George Dean who also poured our present Victory Park waterfall dam.
During 1966, the historic David Peabody home on the southwest corner of W. Erie and S. Eaton Sts. was demolished as part of an Urban Renewal project. The Peabody Place apartments were subsequently erected on the site. As part of the demolition project, the original 1901-laid sidewalk around the block was removed, and a new sidewalk installed.
On the same property on the northwest corner of W. Ash and S. Eaton Sts. were some pine trees with large root systems which were exposed on the hillside which was adjacent to the sidewalk. As children we used to play in the roots while walking to Dalrymple School. You could hang on to one root, and pull yourself along in and out to the next one.
When the Peabody Place project commenced, the contractor salvaged full slabs of original 1901 sidewalk. They carefully stacked and cemented them together on the aforementioned corner, to make a permanent decorative wall. If you have driven by this corner and wondered what the wall was constructed of, that is it: old sidewalk slabs! Keep in mind that this was done in the days before recycling was “in.”
From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of the old-sidewalk corner “wall” by Peabody Place.
The Old-Sidewalk Corner “Wall” by Peabody Place
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All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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Frank Passic — Albion Historian
An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page.
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Michigan Prints by Maggie LaNoue
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AlbionMich.net is a hub for community life in the greater Albion area, featuring current news, city council updates, river restoration stories, parks and trails. See Albion's beautiful Kalamazoo River waterfall as it looks today — and follow the story of its future restoration. Includes news from The Recorder and stories about Albion's 17 parks.
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AlbionMich.net offers two General Guides to the Albion area — one covering community life including city council, veterans, history, youth and wellness resources, and one covering the outdoors including roads, rivers, parks, trails and downtown. Both guides feature stories by local writers including contributors to The Recorder, sorted by topic for easy reference.
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Robin James — Indices Unlimited
Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine.
For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited.
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