Archive: Around Town

The Lansing Community Council announced Wednesday that two fundraising efforts to benefit Lansing's historic North Log Cabin and the Myers Park Playground have started out more successfully than anticipated.  Community Council President Ed LaVigne says that the 'Bucks for Bricks' campaign at the Lansing Tops Market raised two and a half times the dollars the effort had set as a goal.  And a mailing campaign to benefit the cabin has already raised a quarter of its $10,000 goal.

"Tops' goal was only $2,000," LaVigne says.  "But they pushed forward to $3,000, to $4,000, and finally to $5,000.  In ten days the log letter cabin campaign reached $2,300.  We are one quarter of the way to our goal for the cabin."

Tops has been asking customers to pay a dollar for a 'brick' when paying for their groceries.  The 'bricks' are paper drwaings that are pasted to the market's wall to show how well the campaign is progressing.  The money will help fund the rebuilding of the popular playground at Myers Park.  Most of the features of the current playground are beyond their useful life, and some have had to be removed.


With the $5,000 from Tops, a donation for another $5,000 from Scott Pinney, and smaller donations, the playground fund is actually up to $12,000 so far.  To fully rebuild the playground could cost as much a $160,000, but a proposed design shows it in three phases, which could be completed independently.  Park Superintendent Steve Colt says that while he would love to replace the whole thing, he will use what money he can to provide a safe and fun facility for Lansing kids.  He will be meeting shortly with two Lansing firms that specialize in playground construction, Parkhitects, and Leathers Associates.

"In these tough economic times people have looked into their hearts and said this is a worthy project," LaVigne says.  "They believe in community.  They believe in helping each other.  They believe in looking beyond themselves."

The cabin was rescued through the efforts of Lansing Councilman Bud Shattuck when the Cayuga Museum decided they did not want it any more.  It had been used for exhibits and then storage during the 50 years it was in Auburn.  It was originally built in 1791 by Thomas North near the corner of Colon and Searles Roads in Lansing.  North's grandsons moved to Michigan and named that Lansing after their New York home town.

LaVigne spearheaded a fund raising campaign this summer that raised $16,000 to reassemble the cabin near the entrance to Myers Park.  That included a concrete slab to protect the historic building in an area that is below the flood plane, reassembly of the original logs, new logs to replace those that had rotted over the years, and a new roof and half-loft.  Boy Scout Martin Keefe is constructing a kiosk as part of his Eagle Scout requirement that will display a sign that tells the history of the cabin.  The additional $10,000 will finish paying for the roof, as well as chinking that will be applied in the gaps between the logs next Spring, and period doors and windows.

LaVigne has invited descendants of North to come as guests of next Summer's Lansing Harbor Festival next August 14th.  The cabin is expected to be completed by that time, and celebrating it and Lansing's place in American history will be a theme of the festival.

More letters are now being sent to raise the remaining money for the cabin, and Community Council members are planning new campaigns to continue raising funds for the playground.

----
v5i49