Michael Lane:
CLASS OF 1969
Kelloggsville High SchoolClass of 1969
Grand rapids, MI
Michael's Story
Life
Whew, what a ride! Left KHS and headed to the Navy. Became a Navy Diver. After discharge, worked as a diver until I was injured. Then bounced around in sales. Came home around 1977. Worked construction, then started Union organizing, community organizing, & political organizing. Also began playing music, folk and Irish. Got a lot of great breaks in all areas. Politically I have worked at every level, culminating with working directly with President Clinton, Vice President Gore (was his Michigan Campaign Director), Governor Granholm, Senators Levin and Stabenow, and many others. I have travelled around the country organizing Unions. My musical career is the one I enjoy most. My band, The Conklin Ceili Band, has appeared on TV, performs around Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. We have cut a wonderful CD that has been nominated for several awards. As a solo act, I have performed Labor, Irish, and Folk music in Boston, Portsmouth, Washington DC, Baltimore and Toronto, as well as many other places. My greatest accomplishment is to be the Father of three wonderful girls, and Grandfather to two wonderful grandkids.
update as of 7/31/06. The ride continues. In February of 2005 I left Michigan and took a job in Cherry Hill, NJ bargaining contracts and setting up the Manufacturing Division of the Union. Talk about culture shock. But it is wonderful living a little less than 2 hours from NYC, a little more than 2 hours from Washington, DC, and 25 minutes from downtown Philly. The diners here are legendary as attested to by my expanding girth. Working on reversing that now. I continue to perform, and have gotten to sing with some amazing folks. One of those is a woman by the name of Jean Ritchie. Along with Pete Seeger, she may be our country's most honored folk artist. She has been feted at the Kennedy Center and has received the top honors our country can bestow on its artists. I am not sure why, but she likes my writing and invited me to her house to sit and sing on the porch. In my world, that is an amazing thing. I also had a very neat thing happen to me on one of my trips to DC. I had to perform at a venue a little north of the Capitol. So I hopped a train to Union Station, and walked over to the Library of Congress to do a little research on some songs I want to record. The Head Archivist for the Folk Arts section, a gent by the name of Joe Hickerson, sees me, says they are honored to have me there (?????where the hell did that come from????) and asks if I will do some music. I tell him, "I would love to, Joe, but I don't have my guitar with me". He asks if I would mind playing Burl Ives' guitar. Seems Burl had left it to the Library of Congress. So there I sit, on Capitol Hill, in the Library of Congress, playing Burl's guitar, and singing for these amazing folk historians and Congress folk. Go figger.
I continue to perform in the Midwest. I just returned from a gig in Cannonsburg, of all places. It was wonderful to be home. Can't wait to retire and move back to my home on Gun Lake. Drop a line, folks, if you get a chance. I would love to hear about your world.
By the way, I now have three grandkids.
update as of 5/20/2007. Life goes on. The last year has been tough. In fact, if was a litmus test for all I believe in and have worked for. The Local Union I worked for out here in New Jersey, in my opinion, turned out to be run by folks that I don't believe had the best interests of the members in mind. Without getting into all the details, let me just say that I was faced with being quiet and allowing things to happen, or (at my advanced age and late stage of my career) taking up the challenge and fighting for what I believe is right. Very scary as my whole career was at risk. Thank God, I prevailed, and now am working as an Special Assistant out of the International headquarters in Washington, DC. flying around the country organizing unions. Tough stuff, I love it.
Update as of 9/6/09 - In reading Pat Caliendo-Raczkowski's story, I realized mine is a couple of years out of date. I am not going to be able to make the reunion, due to performing and recording conflicts, and I am terribly disappointed about that. I was looking forward to seeing some old friends.
Since that last update, I spent a number of months flying six legs a week. I worked all over the country, and my language skills got quite a workout. Finally, at Christmas in 2007, I found myself wondering why I was still living in hotel ...Expand for more
rooms away from family and friends. So I decided to retire and just play music. I had planned well for this moment, and secured my income and health insurance. The voice is starting to show its age, and I thought that the time was right to sing the songs and tell the stories of 25+ years of social, union, and political organizing, and the people who touched my life. So here we are starting another adventure. One of those people was a man by the name of Utah Phillips. He was a hobo, raconteur, union organizer, state archivist, and folk singer. He touched my life deeply with his music and song, and I decided to give him a hand when he got hit with congestive heart failure. I set up a couple of fundraising concerts. The first one was at The Ark in Ann Arbor and featured Garnet Rogers, Claudia Schmidt, Peter "Madcat" Ruth (Grammy winner), Matt Watroba, Chris Buhalis, Len Wallace, Eleni Kerakos, and myself. In between this concert and the next one (Wealthy Theater, Grand Rapids) Utah passed away. So the next one became a memorial concert to help the family. A folksinger friend of mine from the Philadelphia area called me and asked me to participate in a tribute CD for Utah. It is called Singing Through The Hard Times, and it is on Righteous Babe records (Ani Difranco's label)and some of the artists that appeared on it in addition to myself were Pete Seeger, Jean Ritchie, Tom Paxton, Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, John McCutchion and a host of others. You can see/order the cd from Righteous Babe Records, which is Ani Difranco's label. Just Google "righteous babe records" and it will be there. Here is a portion of one review: <i>Ten classic folk tunes by other songwriters featured on the album include Or Else! (One-a These Days), contributed by folk icon Pete Seeger, Hallelujah! I’m a Bum, added by Mick Lane and a French Quarter-inspired instrumental of The Internationale, courtesy of DiFranco. I tried to give links, but Classmates won't allow that. If you Google "Tribute to Utah Phillips McClatchy-Tribune" you can read the whole review. I feel tremendously honored to be in this company. My Irish band is headed for the studio at the end of the month, and then I am off to Toronto to mixdown,overdub, and master the new CD. Then it is on to Washington, DC and Connecticut to sing and play, and lay to rest a folk music icon, Mr. Sandy Paton. He was one of the founders of Folk Legacy Records, but more importantly, he was a giant of a friend, and a mentor I shall never be able to replace.
UPDATE as of February 6, 2019: So much has happened since the last update. Music continues to dominate my life, second only to family. I try to sneak some hunting, fishing, and woodworking in, but it’s tough. I’m going to get in touch with some of my old political contacts to see about adding 12 hours to the day! ***chuckle*** In the last 3 + months our gigs included concerts in Scotland and Ireland, also a series of gigs in Florida, in addition to our normal gigs and work on two new CD’s. I got the most wonderful surprise at two of our Florida gigs. ‘69 Classmate Gail Harris came out to surprise me at one of our gigs. I was elated to see her! Also, my Orleans Avenue growing up neighbor, and his wife Ginny came out to two of our gigs, another wonderful surprise!
Since the last update, I also lost my dear friend, the legendary “Mother of Folk Music”, Jean Ritchie. I dearly loved this woman. Along with my buddies, Charlie Pilzer and Dan Schatz, I produced a tribute CD about her. Worked with folks like Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Janice Ian, Wendell Berry, Tim O’Brien, John McCutcheon, Kathy Mattea, and Suzy Boggus. We got Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, and Fiona Ritchie involved as well. We managed to get it done and have a release concert with our Dear Jean present in Berea Kentucky. McCutcheon and Mattea joined us at that sold out concert. I give thanks to the Great Whatever that we managed to do that with her before she passed. We also lost Pete Seeger since last I wrote. Ralston Bowles and I spent some lovely time with Pete and Toshi, at their mountain top home in Beacon, NY breaking bread and sharing tales of the road together. Pete won that contest hands down!
There is so much more I could share, but I might wear y’all out. Next time, eh . WAIT ...... I forgot something ........ CLASS OF ‘69 folks, the 50th anniversary is this year. Maureen Kathan-Pawloski and Elfrieda Bucholtz (can’t remember her married name) are planning it. Please contact them with your contact info.
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