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Showing posts from December, 2021

Christmas A Century Ago

Here's something I haven't done in a long time:  A deep-dive into the Holland City News archive on the Hope.edu website!  Let's take a gander at Christmas time in 1921: "The Christmas Season of 1921 comes to a world which I think we all realize has now set its feet fairly and firmly in the way of rehabilitation and of return to the safe ways of progress and construction. Our own country may well regard itself as peculiarly fortunate both in its own bounteous resources and by reason of the opportunity which it has enjoyed of making its own good fortune and means to help others. At this Christmas Season, I hope and am very sure that our people will return devout thanks for the blessings that have been bestowed upon them, and renew their pledges of service and usefulness of earnest effort and safe advancement in behalf of the best things in life"  The front page of the December 22, 1921 issue of the Holland City News opens with this writing from President Warren G. H

Road Construction

 Michigan is a punchline for the poor quality of roads.  The state has harsh weather, yeah, but that doesn't excuse the horrible state that our roads get in to.  Governor Whitmer won on her promise to "Fix The Damn Roads," and meanwhile, there's a fillable form to recoup damages from potholes on the State Department of Transportation (hereforth known as MDOT)'s website. My expertise comes from working in a MDOT-certified soils and aggregate laboratory shortly after I graduated college:  In the summer of 2012, part of my responsibilities were to drive around the State of Michigan to various field offices and collect asphalt samples from whatever roads were being paved at the time.  Some of the more notable projects I had my fingers in that summer were M-46/Apple Avenue in Downtown Muskegon, Oakes and Grandville Avenue in Downtown Grand Rapids, Interstate 96 east of Muskegon/US-31, M-231 between Nunica and M-45, M-37 around Brohman, and I-196 between Holland and Sa