November 4:

Smoltz leads Waverly to title

All John Smoltz wanted was an opportunity. He got it, and on June 6, 1985, his Waverly High School baseball team was the champion of the 23rd Capital Diamond Classic.
Smoltz, the Mr. "Do Everything" for the Warriors, laced a fast ball onto the Red Cedar Golf Course over left field leading off the bottom of the eighth inning as Waverly trimmed Sexton, 4-3, before a crowd of 2,500 at Municipal Park.
Smoltz has played in Major League Baseball for 21 years, 19 of them for the Atlanta Braves, with whom he won a World Series ring during the 1995 season. Source: Lansing State Journal. Compiled by Timothy Bowman.

November 5:

Berner fire chief

Gottlieb Berner built the first brick building in Lansing but seems to have acquired more fame as one of the city’s first fire chiefs. According to the State Republican, when Lansing’s only fire fighting equipment consisted of a bucket brigade, Mr. Berner joined the north side company. When the city bought a hose cart and hand pump and installed reservoirs about the town, Mr. Berner was made a captain of the north side company. Later he became chief.
While running his contracting business, he also held the office of constable of Lansing township for 24 years, boasting that he had never made an arrest. He died in 1916 at 80 years, and was interred in Mt. Hope cemetery. Source: Christine Hitchcock, great-granddaughter of Gottlieb Berner.

November 6:

Only cut glass factory in Michigan

Lansing had the only cut glass factory in Michigan, according to a 1907 State Republican newspaper article.
"Lansing employs a twenty-fifth of all the expert glass cutters in the country at the American Cut Glass company of this city. The pieces for cutting come to Lansing in the rough. The glass is of the highest possible type and is made only from sand thus far found only in one little spot in New England," the Republican said.
"William C. Anderson, president and manager of the company, is known throughout the world of cut glass. He was in charge of the exhibit at the Colombian exposition and it was his designs that took down all the first place medals." Source: The State Republican, Oct. 30, 1907. Compiled by Timothy Bowman.

November 7:

Magic has AIDS virus

Lansing native Magic Johnson announced Nov. 7 that he had tested positive for the AIDS virus and was retiring from the Los Angeles Lakers where he had played basketball for 12 seasons. The Everett High School graduate said he did not have AIDS but had the virus that leads to it. He did not say how he contracted the virus but said he would campaign for safe sex. The team physician said Johnson was initially tested for an insurance policy. “It’s unreal what happened,” said George Fox, Johnson’s coach at Everett. “He was a dream come true…just a beautiful person that bettered everyone that came in contact with him.” Source: Lansing State Journal. Compiled by Timothy Bowman.

November 8:

CATA started in 1972

The Lansing region's bus system, the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA), was born in 1972 by an act of the state legislature. Legislators referred to fuel shortages, air pollution, and traffic congestion that public transportation systems would alleviate as an important community service.
CATA purchased the Tranter Manufacturing Company building, remodeled it, and in 1978 moved its operations there.
An $8 million CATA Transportation Center opened downtown in November, 1997 to meet our city's growing needs. In addition, Greyhound and Indian Trails headquarters were moved to the center.
Sources: "Out of a Wilderness," by Justin L. Kestenbaum; and Lansing State Journal, Nov. 17, 1997. Compiled by Timothy Bowman.

November 9:

(November 9,) 1989 – Jack Breslin Student Events Center Opens at MSU
The world-class student events center was later named as one of the “Top 10 Michigan Construction Projects of the 20th Century” by Construction Association of Michigan’s CAM Magazine. Designed by architects Giffels/Hoem-Basso and built by local construction firm The Christman Company of Lansing in association with Gilbane Building Company, the 16,000-seat, 270,000 square-foot arena not only serves as home to the Michigan State Spartans mens and womens basketball teams, it hosts major concerts and other entertainment events. Its locker rooms received a major upgrade in 2007 when, among other amenities, the ceilings were raised to accommodate today’s taller players, many of whom are approaching 7’ and up.
(photo: Breslin Center) Compiled by Angela Bailey