On brick streets, time passages and a changing of the guard

Take your pick: "What goes around, comes around;" or "Everything old is new again."

Both sayings came to mind this past week as construction crews positioned the new, brick pavers on the corner of Clinton Avenue and Railroad Street in St. Johns. The attractive brick arrangement that is part of the streetscape project will be a focal point at each of the intersections in the downtown business district when the project is completed this fall.

Several local history buffs were quick to point out that this most recent transformation of the downtown business district was not the first time that brick was a predominant feature on Clinton Avenue. In fact, up until 68 years ago, the entire avenue looked like a "red brick road."

A quick perusal of the 1980 Clinton County History produced the following information from 1937 – when folks were very happy to see those bricks removed and replaced by "a fine, new concrete pavement."

"By the time warm weather arrives, Clinton Avenue in St. Johns will boast a fine new concrete pavement. Workers are now removing the old brick pavement laid more than 30 years ago. There are more than 300,000 bricks which will be stored and then sold. In a comparatively short time the old street will be transformed, GLORY BE!"

Subsequent entries in the 1980 History about the street project from that era are equally fun to read today:

"P. VanderVeen & Son of Grand Rapids will build the new Clinton Avenue pavement in St. Johns. Their bid of $24,894.42 was lowest among the 11 opened April 20 by the city commission. Specifications call for a pavement 68-feet wide with a two-foot curb and gutter on each side."

"A big crowd thronged St. Johns June 23 for the celebration that marked the opening of new pavement on Clinton Avenue."

Wonder what kind of a crowd will gather this October – 68 years later – when all the new bricks are in place and downtown looks spiffy once again?

Looking through the 1980 History always leads to lots of interesting finds that are not associated with whatever topic was the original object of the search. In this case, I started in 1935, not knowing for sure what year the old bricks were torn up – and ended up continuing into 1937.

It appears that time period was particularly noteworthy, both for a variety of construction projects – most of which were linked in some way to WPA funds – and for the passing of several individuals who figured prominently in the early history of the city.

The following news briefs provide a quick snapshot of St. Johns at a turning point in the country’s own history – after the Great Depression and before the entry of the United States into World War II.

1935

• New post office under construction to be finished no later than Aug. 20.

1936

• Coleman C. Vaughn, 78, highly respected St. Johns man and former Michigan Secretary of State for six years, died at his home March 5, 1936. From 1889 until 1923, Mr. Vaughn was owner-publisher of the Clinton Republican.
• Work was resumed this week on the St. Johns City Park athletic field by WPA workers. Grading the baseball field, building bleachers and dugouts and doing grading for the new tennis courts north of the pavilion.
• The WPA project calling for the construction of 12-inch sanitary sewer on Clinton Avenue was completed July 1.
• The new bridge over the Grand Trunk tracks on Whittemore Street will be open to traffic July 7.

1937

• A new Barre granite gateway has just been completed at Mt. Rest Cemetery in St. Johns. According to L.D. Parr, president of the St. Johns Cemetery Association, it is part of a $2,000 project that includes fencing 14 acres of unplotted land and other improvements.
• Dr. S.R. Russell of St. Johns moved May 24 into his newly remodeled offices and residence from his former location on Maple Avenue and is now located at the corner of Walker and Oakland streets. The home is commonly known to residents as the Kneeland home.
• Three thousand people witnessed the dedication of the new St. Johns City Park June 18.

• The new high school gridiron at the St. Johns City Park will be dedicated Oct. 8 to Frank P. Buck.

It’s interesting to view all these sites today – the post office, football field, city park – from the perspective of the period in which they were constructed. In 2073, what buildings and places that have been recently constructed will our children and grandchildren visit and gain enjoyment from – maybe a rail-trail system from Ovid to Ionia, or an expanded park near the current Clinton County Fairgrounds?

Perhaps.

Time will tell.