Locations

R. E. Olds' industrial reach in the Lansing area did not stop with the manufacture of automobiles. With the incorporation in 1903 of National Coil Co (Olds President, Cooley V.P.) he began a series of independent shops that could produce technologies on which he already held patents or was in the process of developing. The first National Coil shop was at 420-422 E. Michigan Ave, and then moved to the old Maud S. Windmill and Pump site, at 221-223 N. Cedar.

The New-Way Motor Co was incorporated January 1, 1905A.C. Stebbins-- the man who was once Secretary of OMVW, Secretary and Manager of Lansing Wheelbarrow, then Lansing Co, a founder of Clarkmobile, and V.P of W.K. Prudden Co (later Motor Wheel)--was President of the new motor manufacturer. Early city directories listed the interests of company executives as "gasoline engines and spraying equipments," and the address as 706 Sheridan.

For some reason the management of the brand-new New-Way Motor Co thought they could succeed with the where Lansing's Clarkmobile had already failed. Using leftover bodies New-Way installed its own air-cooled motors and, it seems, sold off the remaining models. Whether or not this was a serious attempt at starting an automobile company is unknown, but is good demonstration of the maverick nature of the automobile industry in its early days. New Way survived automotive failure by continuing to produce gasoline engines of various kinds until going out of business in 1938.

Olds was President and E.F. Cooley V.P. of The Original Gas Engine Co - a return for Olds to a company like his first on River Street. The company was short lived, though, becoming Ideal Engine Co, and then Ideal Power Lawn Co (Cooley was V.P. throughout). In 1913 Olds was President of REO, REO Truck, Capital National Bank, Atlas Drop Forge, Michigan Screw, and R.E. Olds Co (bonds and mortgages at time, though this would last for years as the managers of all Olds' interests). This was also a time at which Olds was beginning to be interested in ventures in other parts of the country.

Incorporated after the coming of the automobile, this plant at 701 May moved to the 700 block of East Saginaw to become one of the titans of local industry. It was started as Michigan Wheel, then W.K. Prudden Co, and is today commonly referred to as Motor Wheel. Eventually conglomerating Lansing Spoke and Auto Body, Prudden was of the city's premier businesses at the turn of the twentieth century, and because of its adaptability was one of the most successful after the coming of the automobile. The company began as a manufacture of wooden-spoked wheels and by the time of Motor Wheel was producing a line of automobile and truck wheels, hubs and flanges, brake drums and disks, rims, and "stampings of all kinds," and boasted "largest exclusive manufactures of wheels for motor driven vehicles in the world."

Ransom E. Olds founded a machine shop in Lansing that produced small engines, carriages, windmills, and other equipment used by farmers and and businesses. The Olds Motor Vehicle Company became Michigan's first automobile company. 

After leaving the Oldsmobile company, Ransom E. Olds decided to form a new company around his initials "Reo". Several workers migrated toward this new company and the surrounding area, which was nicknamed "Reo City" by those who enjoyed it's perks. 

Marvel at one of the nation's best surviving displays of the Victorian painted decorative arts. Home to the state Legislature and staff, the Michigan State Capitol Building stands as one of the state's magnificent architectural landmarks where many automotive-related matters have been deliberated.

Whether you prefer sports or science, this university campus has the stars for you!

Feast your senses on the clanging of bells in the 104-foot-tall Beaumont Tower, rainbows of perfume in Beal Botanical Gardens and the slash of steel blades on cold ice at Munn Ice Arena.  MSU's huge country-like campus offers a lovely setting for running, biking or just hanging out at spots like Sanford Natural Area, the 70,000-capacity Spartan football stadium, an art center, planetarium and, of course, the MSU Dairy Store.

Home to the strange but tasty chocolate cheese, the MSU Dairy Store is a great pit-stop for everyone.  Learn first hand how cheese, ice cream and other dairy products are made, then sample the freshest ice cream you'll ever taste.

Check website for activities, hours and admissions

The Labor and Industrial Relations library at Michigan State University is a non-circulating reference collection with access to the printed and electronic information in the rest of the University Libraries' system. Areas of strength include labor and employment law, published grievance arbitration decisions, and labor history. Unique among its holdings are Michigan public sector collections.