Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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PIONEER HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY

Cedar and Grand rivers. That old institution, now long since
burned and nearly forgotten, is a story in itself.
The Grand river in the days when boating was popular upon it
was not the thick, green, scum-encrusted affair it is to day. Then
it did not receive the filth of a big city or scarcely any at all.
REAL WINTERS.
The boating was not the only feature of attractiveness then. In
winter (winters were winters then, they say) skating was a pastime that engaged the attention of practically the whole city.
There perhaps are quite a number of Lansing residents with
thinning or graying hair who might not be with us today had not
their grandfather put on their grandmothers' skates down on the
banks of the Grand.
Ice skating was not the only pastime either. Harness racing
of as good nags as ever leaned against a breast strap went up and
down the ice at a 40-clip while fur robes sailed out behind, in the
breeze, from "swell box" cutters. Lansing got its liking for fast
horses in those days which did not entirely die out until after the
advent of the automobile. Mr. Edmonds says that if anyone
wishes to talk of harness racing in the old days to take W. K.
Prudden aside for a quiet little chat, when in a reminiscent mood.State Journal.
INTERESTING CHAPTER OF PIONEER BUSINESS
HISTORY.
"My father sold ox yokes to your grandfather."
This bit of information which gives one an idea of the business
history of a single Lansing family, is imparted on the show windows of the Robson Auto Sales Company, 408 North Washington
Avenue. Old-timers who read it turn back the pages of memory
and on these dusty pages read something of the business history
of the John Robson family.
Mr. Robson, who died four years ago at a ripe old age, was the
father of Dwight Robson, owner and manager of the Robson Auto
Sales Company, and also of A. M. Robson, owner of the Peninsular