Fifty Years of Journalism with Berl Schwarz, Lansing City Pulse

50 Years of Journalism with Berl Schwartz

Thursday, September 29, 2016 - 7:00 p.m.

Capital Area District Library, 401 S. Capitol Ave.

 Berl Schwartz, publisher of the Lansing City Pulse, will discuss his 50-year career in journalism with HSGL. In his newspaper career, Schwartz has interviewed hundreds of newsmakers and entertainers, including the late Muhammed Ali and John Lennon. He will weave into his stories how journalism has changed dramatically over 50 years. This fall, the Lansing City Pulse will also reach a milestone celebrating 15 years of publishing.

Schwartz started as a copy boy at the The Blade (Toledo); was the executive editor of the York (Pa.) Daily Record; managing editor of The Knoxville (Tenn.); and a Washington correspondent for several other publications and news services. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.

Read more about Schwarz's career in this week's Lansing City Pulse.

Riverside Cemetery Tour

Riverside Cemetery Tour

Sunday, September 17, 2016 - 2:00 p.m.

Riverside Cemetery, 2389 Hamilton Rd., Okemos

Dead men (and women) do talk.

The names of those emblazoned on tombstones at Riverside Cemetery in Meridian Township are a roll call of the area’s pioneer settlers.

Williams, Burcham, Marsh, Gretttenberger, Proctor, Bray, Hamilton and Gibson are among the families who are buried in this forlorn, but historically important cemetery.

The Historical Society of Greater Lansing is hosting a walking tour of Riverside Cemetery 2 p.m., Sunday September 18. The Cemetery is located on Hamilton Rd. just off the south side of Grand River, over the viaduct and right before Baryames Tuxedo Shop and Playmakers. Park at Playmakers and bring/wear bug spray. 

Tucked between Hamilton Rd. and the Grand River, the Cemetery is mostly forgotten since very few burials have occurred since 1935. The earliest grave in the Cemetery is 1842. Many of the gravestones have toppled or are unreadable, but those left leave a history of hard work and dedication to building a successful community.

The Riverside Cemetery, once called Riverbend, is located on a 2.8 acre site surrounded by quaint fieldstone and iron fences. A number of the graves are marked with white bronze (zinc) markers which were ordered from a catalog.

September Events

An Evening with Scrabble World Champion Peter Morris

Thursday, September 8, 2016 - 7:00 p.m.

Lansing City Hall, 124 W. Michigan Ave.

Twenty-five years ago this fall, young gamer and MSU graduate student Peter Morris was on the lookout for just the right word on his way to win the first ever World Scrabble Championship in London.

Morris, who is considered one of the best writers on the history of baseball, will kick off the HSGL's fall lecture and event series on September 8 in the lobby of Lansing City Hall when he talks about how he won the Championship. Artifacts from that championship match, including the world championship trophy, are among the items on display in the HSGL exhibit "Lansing Has Fun" which looks at what Lansing residents did to have fun over the last 100 years.

Riverside Cemetery Tour

Sunday, September 18, 2016 - 2:00 p.m.

Riverside Cemetery, 2389 Hamilton Road, Okemos

*Plan to park in the nearby Baryames Tuxedo in Okemos

HSGL's annual cemetery tour will be at Riverside Cemetery in Okemos.

Riverside Cemetery can be called a “forgotten “cemetery as it is tucked between Grand River Ave and the Red Cedar River. It sits on 2.9 acres and approximately 411 burials marked by headstones along with about 100 graves that are not marked are present representing some of Okemos’ early families including Hamilton, Grettenberger, and Bennett.

There are six Civil War veterans, one Spanish American War veteran and two WWI veterans buried in the cemetery. The earliest burial is 1842 with very few burials after 1935. The cemetery has a quaint field stone wall and its original iron fences.

Riverside Cemetery is located just over the viaduct on Grand River Ave (going east) and is located on the south side. Parking is available at Baryames Tuxedo Shop or Playmakers.

50 Years of Journalism with Berl Schwarz

Thursday, September 30, 2016 - 7:00 p.m.

Capital Area District Library, 401 S. Capitol Ave.

Another man who has a way with words, Berl Schwartz, publisher of the Lansing City Pulse, will discuss his 50-year career in journalism. In his newspaper career, Schwartz has interviewed hundreds of newsmakers and entertainers, including the late Muhammed Ali and John Lennon. He will weave into his stories how journalism has changed dramatically over 50 years. This fall, the Lansing City Pulse will also reach a milestone celebrating 15 years of publishing.

Schwartz started as a copy boy at the The Blade (Toledo); was the executive editor of the York (Pa.) Daily Record; managing editor of The Knoxville (Tenn.); and a Washington correspondent for several other publications and news services. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.