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The ethnographer argues that the loss of the paper mill, a symbol of its industrial past should be read through the lens of how people lived with and experienced such infrastructure. The mill and the industrial past helps her think about a past that has never been "pure"--what does pure mean for the pure Muskegon campaign and how is the ethnographer's story about living with industrial infrastructure as a part of the landscape pushing against the campaign's definitions of purity? Is this to say that the industrial past was never "pure" nature?

This seems to be a found image. It is a striking image of change, which prompts questions about the history and future of the area inside and outside the frame of the image.

 Told through the story of her own experience of the past, the ethnographer argues that the temporalities of the industrialization are tied to other stories of immigration, toxicity and even suggests that there are personal lived experiences that don't define the industrial past primarily as a toxic one. What are the different meanings of toxicity at work here--racial, environmental, aesthetic?

The image shows the demolition of a mill that has been present for a long time in the region. The ethnographer argues that the image shows the loss of a building which represents the industrial past. Told through the story of her own experience of the past, the ethnographer argues that the temporalities of the industrialization are tied to other stories of immigration, toxicity and even suggests that there are personal lived experiences that don't define the industrial past primarily as a toxic one. I am curious about what she says about the demolition as a nod to the future.

Need to think about this more as well, but in terms of recent downtown infrastructure projects it’s been consistent with other cities like Detroit.. Refurbishing old factories, mills, etc. into shops, breweries, restaurants. After the fall of the Sappi smokestacks, though, the infrastructure focus is on how that real estate, budded up against Muskegon Lake, will develop in the years to come.Muskegon County also has five commercial docking facilities that receive and deliver national and international goods.

The “border” of Seaway drive, dividing Norton Shores from the city of Muskegon and Muskegon Heights; The literal horizon of Lake Michigan; Smokestacks in horizon’s periphery 

I need to think about this a little bit more, but I think it has something to do with post-2008 economic crisis… how are cities in Michigan, especially ones where companies moved away, unemployment rates skyrocketed, etc. are narrativizing their turnaround? 

My place for this project--Muskegon, Mi--is spoke about and imagined in a variety of ways, especially when it is placed in larger imaginaries of Michigan more broadly. These imaginations are often contradictory. In one imaginary, constructed from within to spread outside, Michigan is a pure and timeless beauty. An enchanted land awaiting your next grand adventure.

SWING politics. Different representations. 91s state district (Norton Shores) is now represented by a Republican, though it’s always a close election and has been represented by a Democrat in the last decade. The 92nd district, including the city of Muskegon and Muskegon Heights, has consistently been represented by a Democratic, usually a big primary race in this district. The state senate level, however, has consistently gone conservative, as well as the U.S House representative for the area.

Government (County Commissioners), city manager, big money players in town (corporations, small business owners, affluent individuals on community boards), health care sector (growing in Muskegon and strong lobby in Lansing)