Manufactured History: Memories of Chase Manufacturing

About the Event

Cost: Free

Many people remember 200 Blue Star Highway in Douglas as the site of the former Haworth factory. But fewer people recall that a plating company named Chase Manufacturing operated there. In 1965, a large multinational conglomerate, Gulf + Western Industries purchased the plant. In the mid-1980s, local and state officials discovered contamination in the city’s municipal wells, and toxic waste behind the elementary school. Ultimately, the state traced the contamination back to Gulf + Western’s operation in Douglas, though seldom is their name mentioned when discussing this still-contaminated site. For this Tuesday talk, Kate Levy, Artist in Residence at GVSU, will present a historical and poetic lecture about what she has learned about this site through historical research and conversations with various people in the community.