History is the "Glue" That Holds Together Community, Gives People Identity
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William L. Clements, one of Bay City's greatest tycoons, had another passion besides business:
BOOKS!
Not only was Mr. Clements a book collector, his collection formed the basis of one of the greatest libraries of American history.
The William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, states its new director, Dr. J. Kevin Graffagnino, "is absolutely unique in its collection of handwritten documents of the American Revolution."
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
The Clements "is as good as four or five research libraries of Americana on the planet," he said, including those at Harvard, Yale and Brown universities and the Newberry in Chicago.
Dr. Graffagnino, making his first visit to Bay City, spoke Thursday evening to the annual meeting of local U-M alumni at the DoubleTree Hotel-Bay City Riverfront on the topic "Why History Matters." He also toured the city and viewed sites related to the library's founder.
Why does history matter? Says Dr. Graffagnino: "A sense of the past is vital so we can build a much better future. History provides the glue for a community." He urged the audience to "get involved in your heritage at the local level," noting that people need to have a sense of tradition to underpin their identity.
He quoted the Tom Joad character from John Steinbeck's book The Grapes of Wrath about the Okies moving to California: "Without our history how would we know it's us."
The more than 60 people alumni and friends in attendance had a rare treat. Shirley and Dave Roberts, who live in the former Clements mansion at Center Avenue and Johnson Street, showed papers and books purchased from the estate of a former secretary of Clements' who lived on the west side of Bay City.
Among the papers from the estate sale was a letter from a rare book agent in London, England, advising Mr. Clements that estates of British generals were up for sale since the heirs were in financial straits. He should act quickly to buy up the original letters, the agent wrote.
And that Clements did, buying the rarest manuscripts of the American Revolution, handwritten letters and reports of British generals leading the war against the colonists in this country.
At the Clements you can find the actual coded letter written by Gen. Benedict Arnold to British agent Major John Andre, offering to turn over West Point to the enemy for 20,000 pounds, said Dr. Graffagnino.
The letter was in the collection of papers of Sir Henry Clinton, acquired by the Clements. For the first time the world learned details of Arnold's treachery through a 1951 book by Carl Van Doren, "The Secret History of the American Revolution." The book was based largely on the Clinton papers housed in the Clements Library.
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
"Not another Big Ten university has anything like this," exclaimed the speaker. "David McCullough has researched some of his books here. The Revolutionary War manuscripts leap us to the top of the Mt. Everest of research libraries."
The collections of the Clements are not yet on Google as the digital archiving work is still proceeding at the other U-M libraries, said Dr. Graffagnino, concluding: "We are willing to work with Google and Gale to make available to the public our great collection of pamphlets written in England and the U.S. about the coming of the Revolution."
Mr. Clements, the founder and president of the Industrial Works, later Industrial BrownHoist, made his fortune, substantial by small town standards, constructing cranes and other heavy equipment.
He was not as wealthy as many prominent book collectors but he spent more of his income on books, up to 75 percent in some years, said Dr. Graffagnino. He was a regent of U-M for 19 years and donated his books and built the library in Ann Arbor in 1923. Part of the original collection was from Aaron Cooke, a Bay City merchant and bibliophile.
The original collection was only 20 percent as large as that of today, said Dr. Graffagnino. He is raising money to build a two story addition to allow an increase in the size and scope of the collection. Memberships are available in the Clements Library Associates that provide the funds to make new acquisitions annually, he said.
The U-M Club directors are Keith Birchler, Dave Huiskens, Vaughn Begick, Bob Cierzniewski, Don Massnick, John Hebert, Jim King, Jeff Mayes, and Marge Marchlewicz.
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