DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac Area History Museum has hosted its fall lecture series for the past 25 years. This year, the fall lecture series will kick off with a program at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4 on the history of Caruso’s Candy Kitchen presented by Caruso’s owner, Julie Johnson.

“I think we have a good slate of programs on tap,” Arseneau said. “We are hoping to draw good crowds, add a little culture to the community and teach some folks about history.”

Arseneau begins the planning for the fall lecture series once the spring series is scheduled. He sometimes has specific topics in mind and usually tries locating someone to fit that topic. He also tries to focus on timely events. This year, the state of Michigan celebrates the centennial of women’s suffrage. For a while, Arseneau had been trying to find somebody to lead a program about the celebration and the history of women’s suffrage in the state.

Ruth Stevens ended up seeking out the Dowagiac Area History Museum first. Stevens, a retired professor at Grand Valley State University, reached out to Arseneau as she was doing research for a program on women’s suffrage for the Historical Society of Michigan’s 144th Annual Meeting and Conference hosted in Sturgis. Arseneau supplied Stevens with a photo of a suffragette parade in Dowagiac that took place in 1912. Arseneau also gave Stevens information on locals who were leaders in the suffragette movement. 

“We kind of stayed in touch,” he said. “She was really happy to be able to come down here.”

Another lecture will feature Lyons Industries. Donald Lyons approached Arseneau about doing a program. Lyons had previously presented a program to the Dowagiac Rotary Club, which was well received, Lyons told Arseneau. The program will allow attendees to get an inside look at the manufacturing process, as Lyons Industries has cameras stationed on the factory floors that are able to be remoted into and controlled by a second shift operator.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize the history of Lyons Industries and how it started,” Arseneau said. “It was Don’s dad, Dale, who really got the ball rolling on the industry. Now, they are now on the third generation with Lance running the show. I think it is going to be a really good historical look and wide look into the factory.”

Wrapping up the fall lecture series will be a program on the 1884 Chapin Mansion. Arseneau’s wife, Christina is the director at the Niles Historical Society and spearheaded the raising of the funds and renovations that they done over the summer and spring at the mansion.

“A lot of people have been asking me about it,” Arseneau said. “I thought that this was a great way to get a look inside there and hopefully draw them down to go visit the Niles History Center to see what they’ve done with that mansion.”

Arseneau said each lecture attracts a crowd of about 60 to 100 people from mostly Dowagiac, sometimes Niles and other areas in southwest Michigan. On occasion, Arseneau said, the history museum could have visitors from St. Joseph or New Buffalo.

“It definitely has a fair amount of reach depending on the topic,” he said.

All Dowagiac Area History Museum 2019 fall lectures will begin at 6:30 p.m. and are free admission for museum members. The cost is $5 for non-members.