Eighty years ago this month as WWII came to an end Lansing area manufacturers were scrambling to return to normalcy and production of civilian goods including automobiles.

Michael Rodriguez, author of R.E. Olds and Industrial Lansing (Arcadia, 2004), and the producer of the film R.E. Olds and the First Auto City (Films on Demand, 2019) will present a program on WWII manufacturing in Lansing, 6:30 p.m., Thursday, September 11 at the Rogers Carrier House, 528 N. Capitol on the campus of Lansing Community College. At 6:00 p.m. an election of HSGL Trustees and Officers will be held.

Rodruguez, who is also a Librarian at MSU, is the curator of an exhibit on WWII manufacturing that will open at the RE Olds Transportation Museum in 2025.

His presentation is a preview of that exhibit and topics include the amount of production in terms of government contracts, subcontracting, the role of women, “E” awards from the government and  labor/management relations, the unexpected “heroes” of production, housing issues, transportation, the questioning of capitalism, and reconversion to civilian production.

The event is free and open to the public and sponsored by the MSU Federal Credit Union.