Is city a little twisted?
One of the commenters to the previous post said that this blog kind of shows the slimy underbelly of a snake of a city.
He or she feels the blog is a poor reflection of the town.
Another commenter said I should "pull the plug" on the blog.
It's something I've been considering for some time partly because city elections are drawing near and things will get uglier.
This blog has become a mystery to me. It began and continues to be my ramblings, more or less.
I think some of the commenters remarks have been nothing short of brilliant.
Others are as coarse and common as they come.
What I can't figure out is why there's so much venom vented here.
I would guess anyone who even bothers to post remarks here cares somewhat about their community. But it's pretty apparent that it goes beyond that. There's a lot of hate and vindictiveness.
I continue to be amazed at the Compora-Smith dialogue. Why does this matter?
Councilwoman Compora was elected to city council just like everyone else on council. Making nasty remarks about her here won't determine whether she gets re-elected. How well she represents her constituents will determine whether she has a chance at re-election.
David Smith will probably continue to comment on city issues -- heck, he has his own Web site to vent on. Bashing Smith isn't going to make him go away and, he too will be judged by his constituency.
My guess is that Compora on council is just trying to irritate and embarrass fellow councilmembers who she has little regard for in hopes of seeing them get voted off the council.
My guess is what she says at council is only a small part of what she tells voters in her neighborhood.
My guess is that her performance on city council is being both jeered and cheered by different populations. If she doesn't get re-elected, she'll probably still have a lot to say at council meetings. If she does get re-elected, she'll have even more to say.
The same probably applies to Smith.
Obviously they have some personal animosities. SO WHAT!
If people who contribute to this blog really enjoy this nonproductive bashing, maybe someone should just start a blog of their own dedicated to that topic.
As far as I can tell, this weird feud isn't helping the city and, I agree, is probably hurting it.
Having said that, let see if I can turn the topic a little.
First, someone said John Patterson was wasting taxpayer dollars by having a laser show downtown. If the tourism bureau paid for it, it's not taxpayer dollars that paid for it, it's revenue from visitors to the area who use hotels and motels in the area. It's a fee attached to their room bill.
Second, I was wondering how people feel about holding the fireworks at the state park. I've heard some some people who were at the show that they liked it better at the fairgrounds because it was easy to get in and out and they didn't have to pay a park entrance fee.
Does anyone have strong feelings about this?
He or she feels the blog is a poor reflection of the town.
Another commenter said I should "pull the plug" on the blog.
It's something I've been considering for some time partly because city elections are drawing near and things will get uglier.
This blog has become a mystery to me. It began and continues to be my ramblings, more or less.
I think some of the commenters remarks have been nothing short of brilliant.
Others are as coarse and common as they come.
What I can't figure out is why there's so much venom vented here.
I would guess anyone who even bothers to post remarks here cares somewhat about their community. But it's pretty apparent that it goes beyond that. There's a lot of hate and vindictiveness.
I continue to be amazed at the Compora-Smith dialogue. Why does this matter?
Councilwoman Compora was elected to city council just like everyone else on council. Making nasty remarks about her here won't determine whether she gets re-elected. How well she represents her constituents will determine whether she has a chance at re-election.
David Smith will probably continue to comment on city issues -- heck, he has his own Web site to vent on. Bashing Smith isn't going to make him go away and, he too will be judged by his constituency.
My guess is that Compora on council is just trying to irritate and embarrass fellow councilmembers who she has little regard for in hopes of seeing them get voted off the council.
My guess is what she says at council is only a small part of what she tells voters in her neighborhood.
My guess is that her performance on city council is being both jeered and cheered by different populations. If she doesn't get re-elected, she'll probably still have a lot to say at council meetings. If she does get re-elected, she'll have even more to say.
The same probably applies to Smith.
Obviously they have some personal animosities. SO WHAT!
If people who contribute to this blog really enjoy this nonproductive bashing, maybe someone should just start a blog of their own dedicated to that topic.
As far as I can tell, this weird feud isn't helping the city and, I agree, is probably hurting it.
Having said that, let see if I can turn the topic a little.
First, someone said John Patterson was wasting taxpayer dollars by having a laser show downtown. If the tourism bureau paid for it, it's not taxpayer dollars that paid for it, it's revenue from visitors to the area who use hotels and motels in the area. It's a fee attached to their room bill.
Second, I was wondering how people feel about holding the fireworks at the state park. I've heard some some people who were at the show that they liked it better at the fairgrounds because it was easy to get in and out and they didn't have to pay a park entrance fee.
Does anyone have strong feelings about this?
posted by The Observer at 7/08/2007 12:59:00 PM
54 Comments:
Observer,
Do you travel at all?
Do you ever stay in Motels / Hotels?
If so you probably paid for a useless John Patterson type boondoggle tax.
Recently we did a party out in Dundee at the new Splash Park. That means I paid the useless tax, so I have the right to comment.
The revolution started partially (if you believe the revisionist history text books) because of taxation without representation. Remember the storybook tale of the Boston Tea Party?
What is a hotel tax for tourism besides taxation without representation? The thing is every municipality is doing it. Go to Chicago - they rape you blind on hotel taxes.
So - you can be stupid and pretend that if you don't have to pay the tax it isn't a tax, but that is incorrect.
Linda Compora is a lying, conniving individual with no scruples. She would no longer be in public office if one of the candidates that ran against her would have had the intelligence to pull out in the last election.
I do agree that a certain segment of the population view her as their savior against the corrupt DMBN, CCC, etc.
The fact of the matter is Linda didn't give a rat’s ass about being fiscally responsible when her buddy was the Mayor. She voted for a seldom-used splash park built on someone else’s property with massive cost overruns. She never questioned a thing because her buddy was Mayor and his friend was City Manager.
This just doesn’t jive with her “you got the hot dog” and “why do taxpayers have to buy you a bottle of water” mantra.
This election is going to get nasty because that is the way Linda and some of her opponents are going to take it. I’m sure she is already trying to gather ammunition to smear her opponents as we speak. She has accused the entire city council of incompetence or ethics violations while in office. Why should we believe she will start behaving professionally now?
Larry Camper? I doubt it.
Ever been around the Cantrick Splash park? Seldom used? Get your facts straight. My daughter and her friends are there alot and it is always crowded. Where do you get your information?
How many other councilpersons voted for the park? Burkett, Edwards? Last time I knew, there was one vote per councilperson.
Better still call the Rec. Dept. see if attendance has increased before you blow off your mouth. I for one appreciate having a facility for my kid to use. It is the one place for them to cool off and enjoy the outdoors at the same time.
How do you know Compora would've lost the last election. Whose to say that everyone who voted for the third party would've voted for the other opponent. I highly doubt that everyone would've voted for Lloyd Conner's wife, Lloyd is not that well liked. I'd be afraid that if she got in we'd have to contend with him again.
You think the people here are stupid? We have eyes and we see that this council has their own agenda. You have mayor that can't run a meeting. You have the Coalition that decides everything before hand. YOu have councilmen who think they can get away with anything and we won't notice. It is their stupidity that is doing them in. Beneteau is an ass. Martin is in way over his head and Paisley is just plain stupid. Seems to me they aren't intelligent enough to get away with their shit without someone catching on.
No doubt the election will get nasty. The last election was nasty courtesy of the 3C's so why should this one be different? Don't tell me that Al ran a "clean" campaign and neither did the rest of them. They were plenty dirty. BTW aren't the posts on this blog geared to smearing just one councilperson? So who's foolin' who here!
Al should just give it up. He's should have the common sense to know he's finished. He should quit before he gets beat by a landslide.
Al and gang has done nothing! Monroe has not improved at all courtesy of Al and his goons. I think the people have seen the light on this one.
The 3C IS incompetent and we know it.
Wow!
You one dumb someb*&^%!
I suppose you get your facts from Councilmoron Compora?
Why don't you go to www.wecareaboutmonroe.com the facts are there. The 3C sucked the voters in with all there promises and did nothing they said they were gonna do! Read the facts! Look at your city, man! Look around you! Wake up outta your drug induced coma! I don't need nobody to tell me that these guys are incompetent.
Mayor Al is all washed up. Hell, he can't even function at a council meeting! Watch the TV dude.
You want another 2 years of this shit?
MONROE IS DYING!
At least with Iaco you could see some improvement. At least Iaco could answer a damn question at a council meeting and know what he was talking about and when did Iaco ever tell any citizen they couldn't talk?
BTW Burkett and Wetzel spent 2 years trying to discredit Iaco from the dias on behalf of Al, but that was OK, right?
At least the city looked good then and you could see things being done. What's the excuse for the INCOMPETENT jackasses we have now?
There is no excuse. November will tell it!
Al and Iaco have had plenty of time between the both of them to screw this city into the ground. Iaco can't keep his personel finances in order let alone the city's. Let's all agree its time for a fresh start. We can agree that the war between these two mayors has divided a city and all who work for it. Progress has suffered and our economy state wide is hurting. We need new leadership at all levels. The bickering most stop and change with action is needed. Let's clean house in November. Give some new blood a chance. I say out with Al and Iaco and let the voters decide on a new mayor and council. Change is difficult sometimes, but the status quo is killing this town. One blog stated " look in the mirror monroe your a ugly place". They were right from a political standpoint. I challenge all who read this to have the courage to make a change. I looked in the mirror and I don't like what I see. I'm going to do something about it. How about you??????
Monroe is, at times, a very sad, pathetic, polarized place. But, then again, so it Toledo (Sandy Izenbergh v. Carty - "A team / B team"), Detroit (Hey, our mayor didn't want an escalade nor did one of his body guards get accused of impropriety with a stripper) and even Bedford (So, when did Bob Shockman tell the Whitman family to sue his employer - Bedford). For anyone to think Monroe is any different than any other place is ignorant.
I think that it would be best if we had a large turn over this November - although, I see "large" as different. My thoughts for this year:
Mayor - Bill Burkett (Honest, Sincere, Hardworking). (FYI - John Icoangeneilli has pulled the paperwork to run for Mayor. Mark Worrell has not).
Pct 1. - Wait and See (I.E. Not Adam Yeager).
Pct 2. - Wait and See (I.E. Not Councilman Paisley. Some of his "justifications" simply don't sit well with me).
Pct 3. - Looks like it will be Calvin McGhee - newcomer - maybe he has some fresh ideas. Plus, the only other candidate is Willie Hall - He has ran and lost before.
Pct 4. - John Martin. (Sincere, helpful, concerned).
Pct 5. - Wait and see. (Not Councilwoman Compora - animosity needs to go).
Pct 6. - Brian Beneteau (Young, new ideas, (yes, he is a bit arrogant - but, he at least has fresh ideas).
Part of the problem, in my opinion, with Monroe is that because we have a 24 month clean slate election cycle, by the time politicians get into office and "learn" what they are doing the new election is only six months away. I wish that we could go to a four year, staggered cycle. Additionally, I find it odd that we have "precincts" but, really all of the seats are "at large" as the entire City votes on each seat. This becomes and issue because it is conceivable that the "precinct councilperson" did not even win within the precinct (and it has happened).
I think removing the blog would take the voice away from a lot of people that because of our social construct (i.e. there is some truth to the fact that many decisions are made at St. Mary's or the Knights or Monroe Club). It's sad that the lowest form take glee in calling each other names - but, that happens everyplace. Adults, can and do, decipher past this.
Maybe become more aggressive at removing accusatory or name calling replies (yes, I am talking about censorship). Maybe put out that with the elections coming up that this form could become a place to ferret out ideals. I am sure that most of the folks here remember the old "councilwatch monroe" that Jim Tishler was rumored to run. That blog was 10 - 15 times more hateful than this one.
Monroe was and can again be a wonderful place. Much of the pettiness needs to be dismissed for what it is - stupidity.
I must be a dumb son of a bitch like you say, because I don’t know understand your rant
” Why don't you go to www.wecareaboutmonroe.com the facts are there. The 3C sucked the voters in with all there promises and did nothing they said they were gonna do! Read the facts! Look at your city, man! Look around you! Wake up outta your drug induced coma! I don't need nobody to tell me that these guys are incompetent.”
This council does seem to communicate. I know I have personally talked to Burkett, Beneteau, Paisley, Mayor Al, and Martin and had good dialogue and understanding. They didn’t always vote the way I wanted them to, but they did explain their viewpoints on the issues. Often I changed my mind to their with the better understanding they gave me. On the Monroe Transfer Zoning they held many public hearings, some at the community center for better access for the affected neighborhood.
I for one can say I also communicated well with the previous administration. I enjoyed talking to Sabo, Edwards was more in charge of her faculties, Iacoangeli was always good for a discussion and he is always a great teacher about planning and different alternatives to a problem. Wetzel was always open and inquisitive, and willing to fight for a position that her constituents had. I’ve never had in the past or now difficulty in communicating with Burkett.
This council does seem to cooperate with the community and groups. I think they are all committed to making Monroe a better place. There seems to be less acrimony between the DDA and DMBN these days, more cooperation, less outright warfare. Some progress is being made. There is many good entertainment venues / restaurants downtown now. The Rendezvous Ice Cream / Coffee house is very nice. The DDA movies at the RRCA are great.
The previous Council / Mayor, on the other hand, seemed to carry out an outright war between the administration and the DMBN. I never understood why you would declare war against a group that wants to achieve the same goal as you, but clearly Iacoangeli had a personal vendetta against them and he used the city to try to eliminate them.
I can’t think of a decision that this council made that didn’t have the community in mind first. I guess you could debate whether each decision was best for the community as a whole while impacting a particular neighborhood, but that is often the case.
It would appear to me they have done what they said. They don’t spend money like drunken sailors like the last council, but this is due to the economy and some labor agreements made by past councils they are hampered by.
Please help me understand! I don’t want to be a dumb SOB anymore!
I for one liked the fireworks at the fairgrounds. I don’t have a boat, so going out onto the lake to watch it isn’t an option, though it would probably be cool. The fairgrounds gave many houses / parking areas you could watch from, and didn’t cost anything. There were more roads and better access to the site.
I always suspected Councilwoman Wetzel for running the Councilwatch Monroe site, but it certainly could have been Tischler.
Just my thoughts!
Bill Burkett and John Martin honest and sincere? Did I miss something?
When did Burkett become honest? Suddenly in the past month? Burkett has shown his true colors in the last year and a half. Not mayor material.
When did John Martin become
interested and awake? Helpful? Not according to some of the people who have called him, they talk. Monroe's small town word gets around.
Where are Beneteaus fresh ideas? To put the Ice Rink under the Recreation Dept? That's a fresh one! To let a scrapyard in the middle of a neighborhood? Real fresh! Doesn't think you have to spend $ on "eye candy" in a City? That's ignorance! Blow's his mouth off showing his massive ignorance. BTW seems to me he is not above accusing another councilwoman of things publicly at meetings I've watched so it's not all Compora doing it. But that's OK right?Seems there's plenty to go around.
Like I said, all are not dumb here in this town.
Today I took my kid for ice cream and the topic in line waiting was the city council. Some lady told all that was there that she would never vote for Al or his friends again. Reason? Monroe is in a backward spiral and Al is no longer fit to be mayor and the rest just follow along. Guess all the people have to do is watch the meetings and form their own opinion.
As in past years the council will try to paint a good picture for the public prior to election. They will suddenly come to life and pretend to care about the whole city.... only it's too late.
BTW word has it that one of our very own business owners downtown Janet Berns was the owner of the blog councilwatchmonroe and that Jim Tischler was a giant contributor to it. She along with Smith are great ambassadors for our city. Both are hate crankers!
That's my opinion on the whole screwed up mess that this group has made of our town the last year.
ALACAJUN,
Just some thoughts about your prognostications.
Mayor - Bill Burkett (Honest, Sincere, Hardworking). (FYI - John Icoangeneilli has pulled the paperwork to run for Mayor. Mark Worrell has not).
Bill Burkett wouldn’t be bad – but Mark Worrell would be a gem. He is a good communicator, understands the workings of the city and finance, and feels an intense need to further capital improvements. I can understand why he wouldn’t want to run, but he would be the best choice I can think of.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Iacoangeli run for council – and might even vote for him. I would not support him for mayor again. I don’t think we can move things forward using outright warfare. He would spend us into bankruptcy.
Did Bill Burkett pull the paperwork to run for Mayor? Has anyone else thrown in their names?
Pct 1. - Wait and See (I.E. Not Adam Yeager).
Why not Adam? He cares! Meetings would be a bit long.
How about Bob Clark? I think he lives in Precinct 1. He is on the ZBA and chairs the CPC. He is a good researcher, knows government, is well spoken.
Pct 2. - Wait and See (I.E. Not Councilman Paisley. Some of his "justifications" simply don't sit well with me).
What “Justifications” are you talking about the Councilman Paisley? Again – he has always been open and honest with me. I find him to be honest and frank. He understands finances and that is a plus.
Who else would there be from 2? Floraday? Please NO THANKS! Iaco – I would think about it. How about the guy with the pony tail from the Old Village Plat association?
Pct 3. - Looks like it will be Calvin McGhee - newcomer - maybe he has some fresh ideas. Plus, the only other candidate is Willie Hall - He has ran and lost before.
I will vote for Willie Hall given that choice. At least with Willie you know where he is coming from and what he is about. I wasn’t impressed with McGhee’s wifes flip flopping, crying, and grandstanding over the Monroe Transfer. She votes to not change the zoning at the CPC meeting, and then calls council uncaring if they don’t vote to change it. I will assume stupidity runs in the family.
Pct 4. - John Martin. (Sincere, helpful, concerned).
Agree.
Pct 5. - Wait and see. (Not Councilwoman Compora - animosity needs to go).
I hear she has two opponents – Jim Kansier and Lady Connor. I’m hoping one of them has the intelligence to pull out this time.
Pct 6. - Brian Beneteau (Young, new ideas, (yes, he is a bit arrogant - but, he at least has fresh ideas).
Brian is good. No complaints!
Do you know who has pulled petitions at this point?
Thanks for your thoughts. You sure seem to have some good contacts.
Want to run for council? What precinct would you be?
Has Brian B accused anyone of ethics violations? Has Martin been accused of taking flowers off a grave site? Has Paisely taken out a PPO against anyone? Has the Mayor broken down crying on TV. For those of you who constantly add a blog trying to defend Linda C, you better start watching the council hearings and stop reading these lie filled blogs. This women is a train wreck and has been a open sore on the back of this council. Look at her voting record. She brings nothing to the table except turmoil. I have followed this council and to be completely honest Im disgusted with her behavior. She is a black eye on Monroe. Say what you will about the quality of leadership among the rest of the councilmembers, however none of them exhibit the behavior that Linda C has shown time and time again. She deserves no respect at all and should be run out of town with her friend Mr. Smith. He's just as bad as she is. These two are the example of what not to elect or appoint. Im not attacking either of them. Their behavior speaks for itself. Informed citizens should make it a crusade to demand civility and respect from the elected officials. The circus like atmosphere that these two create needs to end now. Put them in a corner with a coloring book and some crayons and let the adults run the city. A word of advice for the person running this site. If you really wish to keep it clean then stop putting up topics that debated Smith vs Campora. Your only fueling the flames. The other comment is " the facts are the facts" Good healthy debate is wonderful when trying to decide how you feel on certain issues, however facts seem to get twisted in these spirited debates and before you know it the whole issue is off track. Lets try and research facts first and truely understand the topic before we debate these issues. The outcome would be more good information to help with the decision making process. If your only going to throw out baseline topics without providing facts then your stuck with all the idiotic comments you have seen.
Wow - let me get this straight.
First you bitch about Councilmoron Compora and David Smith, and want both of them runout of town. Next you say no one should mention them.
First, I don't know what Smith did that was so far out of line. I certainly don't think his actions are on the same plane as an elected public official accussing the entire city council of everything from open meeting act violations, stealing flowers, skunk oil gate, and ethics violations not to mention lying to a judge to get a PPO.
Mr Smith has also never cried and gotten irrational in a public meeting that I have seen. Most of his posts on this blog also seem to be more well reasoned than Compora seems capable of on her own. Like the judge said, Mr Smith seems to be well spoken and reasoned in the council meetings.
Now - I wouldn't vote for Mr Smith for council either, but lets not group him in the same category of Councilmoron Compora. The only thing I can find him guilty of is when you wrestle with a pig you may also smell like shit at the end of the day.
So, the lesson for the day is don't bring up a topic you don't want to see discussed. Understand?
Stop defending people who are clearly in the way of progress. I won't debate who's worse Linda or Mr. Smith. If you can't see the harm they do, then YOU DONT UNDERSTAND!!!!
I too am sick and tired of this Smith v. Compora thing.
Reminding that Paisley had a serious disclosure problem or lack of. Serious void of good judgment on his part. When you vote to give your client $100,000 abatement and not disclose your relationship with that person,it smacks of an ethics violation. Then be stupid enough to have the guy come to a meeting and on camera disclose he is a client of Ed's! Pretty stupid on the part of the councilman, wouldn't you say? Even though the ethics comm. did not find him in violation, he was not exonerated. He knows finances? Did the Chamber let him go? Why did the State fine him and why is he on probation? Yup,folks with someone who knows finances and has a personal standards code like Ed we should be sure and vote for him again!
I have watched council meetings and have attended some and if someone were doing to me what Smith has done to Compora I'd get a PPO out too. I know it's popular to bash Compora on this blog and the posters hate who stands up for her, but this shit is enough!
It is harassment any way you cut it and I wouldn't stand for it if she were my wife. Have you experienced harassment from a loon? Would you allow someone to do it to your wife or daughter? NO? then shut up about it.
From what I've watched Compora is being singled out because she speaks out. We all know that things aren't right with the powers that be. What's the excuse for nothing being done? Compora? Let's use her for that one. Her one vote stops progress, sounds good!
You want to crucify me now? Have at it. Here's more, who's rowing the damn boat here? This mayor and council have let this city crumble before our eyes. Animosity? of course there is, who wants your dirty deeds blabbed on tv. Personally, I'm glad there's at least one person on council who has the guts to speak out against these ineffective, incompetent assholes! Monroe is down for the count unless the people make a clean sweep in November.
I agree shame on the Observer for inciting more hate on his own blog.
You keep on believin' that Martin, Beneteau, Burkett, and Paisley are right for the job. So what great things have they done for the city except take direction from Al and Burkett? There's your train wreck!
Mark Worrell? Capital improvements? Mark Worrell stayed in office because he couldn't make a decision. It's a wonder he's not split in two from riding the fence. Capital improvements, surely you're living in another city.
Mark Worrell will not spend money on capital improvements, but will sure as hell cut your public safety he's already shooting his mouth off about that. So we'll have a fire and police hater in office and no capital improvements, life will be good!
Seems to me Mr. Worrell has a problem arriving at a solid decision but prefers to wait and see which way the wind is blowing and follow the breeze.
BTW I believe you will find that Worrell was one who voted for the Ice Rink that we're paying so dearly for now. Forward thinker! His willing to compromise will compromise Monroe right into a ghost town. As a taxpayer I want someone who can stand up to adversity and do what's right for the taxpayer, not someone who's got fence marks on his ass.
Unfortunately for us Mark talks a good game just like Al but will be just as ineffective as Al.
We'll talk about Al's worthless spending in another thread. We'll compare his to Iaco's. See which one had more benefit to us citizens. That's what it's all about isn't it, benefit to citizens for their tax dollars?
Meanwhile Smith is kept busy posting and answering his own posts to keep the shit going. Really has let Compora yank his chain. What a laugh!
Go ahead and eat each other alive now.
No, I don't know if anyone else has pulled the petitions to run for Mayor. I do think that it would be a mistake for John to run again.
In terms of Councilmen Paisley's "justifications", it's an opinion. I dislike the way he has handled himself. I felt that voting for 12 Washington to receive a tax abatement without revealing that he was a renter or the property and was the accountant of record for the property owner showed a poor lack of judgement. To follow it up with statements like, "to disclose my relationship would have been a violation of client privilege" was garbage as his business was listed in the DDA directory of being at 12 Washington and he had already disclosed his relationship to the City Manager and Patrick Lewis when he lobbied the DDA for the DDA facade grant. Understand, do I think this rises to the ethical impropriety of say, cost over runs in excess of 80,000.00 that were never reported (neh, splash park) - no. But, it sets bad with me. Plus, Councilman Paisley has failed to return e-mails and phone calls from more than one of his constituents. One of the feelings that you hear in his precinct is that he is interested in downtown but seems to forget that his precinct is more than that. Some residents seem to think that this could be he does not mesh well with the "common folk". Could be, I don't know. I have a friend who is involved in several things with him and he relates how these sentiments couldn't be further from the truth. Again, I don't know. I won't debate him being a "nice guy" or anything, I don't know him like that. I will just say that his performance has been not inspiring. In terms of financial acumen, I have no questions.
I have not heard who else may run in Pct. 2 - but, I know that it won't be Rick Floraday. My understanding is that he is staying out of it. I had heard a crazy rumor that John and Mark Worrell had made an agreement that if John ran for Mayor Mark would run for Council. If that plays out, Mark - although, I would rather have him as Mayor (gosh that's hard, I do have a soft spot for Burkett). I have also heard a couple of young girls names floated - one from the Historic District Commission and one from the Old Village Plat group. Maybe one of them might step up? Pony tail guy? Man, have not seen him at a meeting since Debbie Manns got fired.
I think Bob Clark would be great. Would he run?
I want to give Mr. McGhee a chance to stand on his own merits. He seems to be very insightful, reserved and not prone to making rash decisions - I like that. I fear that Mr. Hall may have too much baggage; past candidate, past NAACP President (chapter closed down under his tenure - why?), past member of nearly every non profit board in Monroe, past complainer who accused a sitting Mayor and City Manager of holding secret meetings with Monroe Transfer and asserted that Randy Richardville was involved in all of this - I don't know. We just need some new blood.
Jim Kansier and Mary O'Conner. I had hear Mary but not Jim. I don't know Lloyd but have been told he can be difficult to deal with (but, can't we all). I was disappointed that Mary really didn't seem to assert herself or have a voice in the last election - Maybe she will this time (assuming she runs). Jim - Ohh, Err, I just see the possibility of conflict. As a the former "fire marshall" (assuming he is retiring) will he help Sheppard the changes needed in the fire department or will he drag his feet? Is he running because of an agenda against John? (It was John that wanted to eliminate his Position wasn't it?). Nice guy but, I am not sure. I would love to hear his thoughts about Monroe's future though.
I do know that everyone I mentioned has pulled a petition to run (i.e. except Martin and Beneteau - I don't know if they have and am not sure if Burkett is running for Mayor). But, as of before the fourth this is how it looked.
I would love to run for Council but other commitments prevent it - besides crazy crumudgeons like me are not really electable. Sorry, won't tell you what precinct I live in but I will tell you that I live in the "downtown" area - close enough that I enjoy spending a great deal of time at the restaurants and (thankfully now) the ice cream parlor.
Monroe, in my estimation, is improving and can continue to. We do need to get rid of the last vestiges of the "old guard" mentality and begin moving forward.
Let me understand.
Compora = Good Councilperson, tirelessly fighting corruption, incompetence, and the good old boy network that is preventing change and improvement in this city.
Worrell = Bad, Lazy, Fence Sitter that would just cause no progress.
Man - did someone drop you on your head when you were little? Take too much acid in the 60's? What happened that you have such a skewed sense of reality?
"larry camper" aka Smith
Truth got ya a little upset?
Can't stand someone going to bat for your obsession?
Past records speak for themselves,Worrell has fence marks on his ass!
Get over it pal and give it up!
Camper/Smith
What's so baffling about it? Because people don't agree with you?
You're livin' in a vacuum,boy
but your obsession has support out there!
So sorry that you're not held in any kind of esteem only to be classified as someone who shouldn't be out in society.
You're the dumb son bitch letting a woman get to you like that, really pullin' your short hairs ain't she? Doin' the job on ol' Davey, laughin' all the while.
I'll keep supportin' ANY woman who has the guts to stand up for herself I don't care who she is. I keep waitin' for the Libel suit then I'll be laughin'.
Dumb SOB! Wants to make you bark like a dog don't it?
I'll take a woman with chutzpah any day over some mealy mouse excuse for a man that has fence marks on his ass or some stupid excuse for a mayor that's there now.
So eat yourself up over that.
Have a good time lettin' it eat you alive. Poor no esteem excuse for a human being.
Larry Camper aka Smith
Talk about wrestling with a pig? I assume you were speaking of yourself with your friends on council.
Or how about the snake laying on the sidewalk being picked up and cared for by a man, then turns around and bites him then tells the man " You knew what I was when you picked me up"
Sounds what's gonna happen to you from the 3C.
Election is rolling around, time to get rid of Dave, might cost us some votes.
Maybe the last several posters should consider that not everyone that reads or post on this board is David Smith or a Larry Camper PBR retread or a Linda Compora slappy (or hater).
Could the adults step back into the room?
I am coming to the conclusion every poster besides myself is this David Smith guy.
It is apparent he uses foul language and takes ludicrous positions in an attempt to get others to react.
Pretty sad stuff. As if anyone would actually believe that a single human being on this planet holds Compora in higher esteem than Mark Worrell.
Ludicrous.
Have at it, Smith!
Yeah, this David Smith guy is a sad example of manliness. All he has to do all day is apparently try to mask as other people in order to incite hate. Must get high doing it.
Can't believe that other people would dare to have a different opinion than him. Sick, sick brother.
How sorry that people can't post on here about different subjects without this ass interjecting Compora into everything one way or another.
A decent dialogue about community issues would be great but with him constantly trying to incite hate and throwing Compora into everything I can see now that's not possible. This ass has ruined this blog for everybody else.
What a sorry state this city has turned into. Someone made the statement that people in the South County can't believe the amount of hatred in Monroe. People like Smith give Monroe a bad name.
Thats right!
This Smith guy is responsible for all the hatred, corruption, and problems in the city!
Can't we put this guy in jail?
God - I can't believe what a moron you are. Let it go man!
I know Dave Smith can be a pain in the ass at times but I dont think he has ever been drunk or crazy enough to pork linda Compora. Not so sure about IACO...
In Houston my client was screwed into paying a stadium, tax on a rental car. I was damn proud to see it backfire on them when FEMA moved all of the creeps whores and street trash out of the ball stadium in New Orleans and into Houston. Hell, David Smith must be a FEMA consultant to screw Texas that bad because they won’t leave the state of Texas. It would be just like the low life bastard to think up a scheme to screw Texas that bad.
FYI: I think Smith and Compora are jointly responsible for global warming.
This blog is no longer worth reading. The sexual refereances posted here by an obvious deviant have brought this blog to a level that have forced me to make a decision. I will support Iocoangeli, Campora and any one else that runs against Dave Smith's friends. If I had any doubt it has been removed by this moron.
He crows about being friends with the mayor, Beneteau, Paisley, Martin and Burkett. If they have befriended such a person, says alot about them. Makes me wonder now if they put him up to targeting a woman. Makes them no better than him if they did!
It's plain that the last post is Smith not puptent.
Seeing Smith on tv the guy is repulsive in actions and appearance. I don't think any woman would give him a second look, I'm a guy and he makes ME sick!
The postings here have become vulgar and not fit to read. I had hoped for good factual debate but seems he spoils for all.
Good luck Iocoangeli, Campora and whoever else runs against Smith's friends, you have my vote in November!
After watching the pitiful act played out by Linda Compora and Rick Floraday on TV on how the DDA buys property and as Compora said that is what they do and considering she is normally a bit off the mark on her remarks a little research was done. It seems that the DDA was a temporary sink or swim measure intended to run 30 years.
Since 30 years has about elapsed, the trashy Kline’s and First National Bank is gone, isn’t it time to abolish the authority and apply the full tax on all properties in the district to running the entire city. I understand that Floraday is a power grabber and I for one do not trust him and his clique.
Likewise, we should try to figure out why our tax to help the port was raised by the last administration and a defunct furniture store purchased by IACO and his friends. The Army Corps of Engineers does a fine job of running the port.
So, Observer why don’t you run this up the flagpole and see who salutes it.
I just moved to Monroe because of my job, and so far I like it alot.
The laser show and fireworks this year were really good.
I like the State Park - we go swimming and then watch the fireworks. It is a fun day.
I like Monroe. Monroe is nice!
I don't understand the last post. Who is this Smith guy? I don't see him listed as a councilman on the city website. He does occasionnally ramble on at council meetings, but not near as much as Yeager and the other guy. Why would you not vote for someone because of him? How is he affiliated with the council? It seems strange that you would hold the actions of this guy against a city council. I really doubt there is some guy who is pulling strings from behind the scenes. That idea seems to be full of paranoid delusions.
I know who Councilwoman Compora is. She is on council. Her behavior seems to be inappropriate much of the time. Why does she attack her collegues so much? That seems strange to me. It is hard to believe that she thinks that treating her collegues like that will garner respect and cooperation. I guess she watches CNN and CSPAN too much and thinks animosity and personal attacks are correct political behavior. I hope she isn't getting her behavior modes from the democrats and republicans in DC.
My parents always taught me that you have to get along to get ahead. Attacking people is not getting along. I am baffled why anyone would support that type of behavior.
Anyway - Monroe is a great town, and a good place to raise a family. I appreciate all the nice things that happen around town.
You must be ignorant about DDA's functions. They are to enhance and rebuild downtowns. If you are in doubt about what they do take a look at Tecumseh and what it's become. People work together there.
There is no power war there and they have achieved much.
Monroe will never achieve that because of the infighting. It's been happening for years. Look at Saugatuck, South Haven, Manistee, Blissfield, Dundee, Three Rivers, Wyandotte, Traverse City and the list goes on. Except Monroe.
Certain people are obstructing the building of Monroe and they all have businesses or live downtown. They can't see the forest for the trees. They've leased or sold to offices and lawyers. There is nothing down there except Jones for Men and some restaurants.
Thanks to the property owners they've killed the place. Plus the warring factor is a big contributor to the death of the downtown.
Fact of the matter is that certain people want total control of the downtown want it their way but in reality that power grabbing mentality is killing us. Until certain people are no longer there our downtown will never be different.
It's time to put the war aside and decide what's more important, a booming downtown or total control.
Power hungry property owners have become the death of us and are so blind that they can't see that a booming downtown is a benefit to them. They all need to work together there for the same goal.
Doubt if it'll happen. Too much greed there. In doubt? Get ahold of some DDA minutes or better yet attend a meeting and see for yourself who are the ones who obstruct everything.
If the DDA is just a bunch of people on a power trip with personal agendas, why not disband it when the 30 years runs out?
Then we can let the elected city council make the calls.
Let the tax dollars go to where our elected officials believe they are needed. Floraday doesn't seem to have a clue how to spend them except on useless stuff like Altrusa Park.
Disband the DDA NOW!
This is supposed to be a government by the people for the people. In Monroe that isn't so.
Here we have a mayor that won't let people talk that tries to shut them up. Including employees.
We have a mayor that obviously doesn't know the full extent of the DDA boundaries ( check out the last council meeting )or it's workings. But he's very good at handing out proclamations and certificates. Hell, we have a mayor that just doesn't know what he's doing! Check out all the past councilmeetings!
We have councilmembers call for points of order in order to shut up the citizens and other councilpeople.
We have a mayor that can't answer a question himself because he just doesn't know after 13 and 1/2 years in office what it's all about.
We have councilmen trying to pull the wool over the public's eyes with their own agenda and the agenda doesn't include the rest of us! But we already knew that.
We the people of Monroe have reaped no benefit from this mayor and council whatsoever and it's piss poor!
We have amayor and council that have been incompetent for the past 2 years. Done nothing. Zip. Nothing for us!
And WORST OF ALL we have a mayor and his crony group thinking that we are all stupid without the ability to see what's up!
Guess we'll show them how stupid they thought we were come November and guess we'll show them there's more to Monroe than their rotting downtown!
My votes go to whoever runs against them.
Iacoangeli is the best for the job.
It will take someone with intelligence in order to sort out the mess these clowns have made for Monroe. Not someone who doesn't have the balls to stand up and do it like Worrell or Burkett or someone who talks a good game but past voting records speak for themselves, that would be Worrell and Burkett again. They are part of the reason Monroe's in the state it is in the first place.
Say what you will but I'd rather have a guy in office that builds cities for a living before I'd ever vote for Al or Mark Worrell or Burkett who are not agressive in promoting projects and improvements for Monroe but will back down amid any controversy whether it's good for the city in order not to offend anyone in order to get votes. Trading city safety and improvements for votes is dirty.
That's what's wrong here. Al did nothing and bellows how he lowered taxes 3 times. Where? Not where I live in monroe!
In the meantime he and Worrell brought us the Ice Rink and slacked in improving the infrastructure so as not to spend money or raise taxes so they could keep on getting elected.
So here we are ladies and gentlemen, we have a city that is crumbling and we have amonster on our backs in debt service for the ice rink all due to wonderful mayor Al and Mark Worrell yet people are trying like hell to throw the blame on Iacoangeli.
Don't care what you say, I'd rather have someone serious about this town in office that knows how to run it than have the likes of Al and/or Mark Worrell or Burkett in there who will slash our services and get nothing done in order to not spend $ to get reelected and have the whole thing balloon in our faces... like now.
This wasn't Iacos fault. This was coming years and years down the road, folks. Courtesy of Al and cronies like Worrell,Gartz,Edwards and Burkett.
The worst part is whadda ya want to bet Al doesn't have the balls to carry out the study because it means having to slice a crony or two that helped him get reelected. Never mind the state of the city, dirty politics first here!
Iacoangeli is intelligent and knows how to run this city, he is a successful businessman after all. Things were looking good and getting done. Now look at our city. Its a mess, all over. It's shabby and uncared for.
Houses are burning down because the hydrants and mains dont' work. Why? Apparently when Al was in office before he couldn't take the peoples complaints of rusty water when the hydrants were tested. So I hear that he and Bob Hamilton directed the Fire and Water Depts. to stop testing hydrants so it wouldn't generate complaints!
Now there's a real conscious mayor for ya! Can't take the heat from a few citizens so let the town burn down. There's forward thinking and a real leader! Put the city at risk so the people don't complain, no public controversy, everything nicey nicey, people think everythings going OK, we'll get votes!
The bottom line is Al and Worrell are reluctant to spend money on such trivial things as infrastructure and capital improements so at the end of the term they can say "Lookie, I didn't spend your dollars (only on myself) and I didn't raise your taxes, you need me again... trust me.
Meantime the city's going to hell in record time and the people don't realize it because they've been given the bill of goods by the likes of Al, Worrell, Burkett, Edwards and Gartz.
Al let vindictive get the best of him this time. Now he's up there for all to see that he's washed up, but he just had to beat Iaco one more time, bad thing is he has now traded winning for losing. He has shown he is no longer capable of being mayor. What a shame. He should've let it be and gone out on top. Now he's washed up and for all to see. At what price did he win?
Now if he runs he'll probably get beat real good because he didn't have the sense to quit while he was ahead. Now there is no question.
Now David Smith is using Rick Floraday's name for posting on this blog.
What an asshole! Hope Floraday cleans his clock in court right along with Campora. Should be quite a site, double libel suits.
How slimy and low for a person to use someone else's name for posting because he doesn't have guts to use his own. Dave Smith is no good to any one.
This blog owner should bar him from posting because eventually it will come down to the owner for allowing this crap to happen. If they got a good attorney the blog owner will also be responsible.
Would the Chairman of the DDA call for the disbanding of the DDA? I doubt it! You can tell who has written that by past postings and it isnt Floraday.
It is beyond belief that a person would use another person's name. Floraday has a case now!
“Iacoangeli is intelligent and knows how to run this city, he is a successful businessman after all.”
Which business are you talking about? Would the business be the restaurant downtown that he was a partner in and that started with a government loan that he defaulted on when it went out of business? Has anyone figured out who got the money from the liquor license yet?
If that loan were to happen today Councilwoman Compora would be demanding an ethics violation investigation to find out if he used his position in the city to get the loan. I’m not saying he did anything unethical, but our watchdog councilwoman would be all over that deal. Of course, since she is a friend with John she might overlook that little deal. Who knows!
I would agree that John Iacoangeli is intelligent and was one of the best planners Monroe ever had, and he is probably a very good consultant. Unfortunately as a Mayor he showed bad judgment on a number of occasions, carrying out vendettas against individuals and groups. Fiscal responsibility was out the window. His unqualified friend was hired as city manager – and she made a mess out of any number of things. It was convenient for John to have his friend the city manager follow his direction only – sometimes ignoring direction from council. It was convenient he had his friend to go after groups as he alone directed. That was not professional, and did not show good leadership or judgment.
We need to move forward. Its time for a new face in the Mayor’s slot. Al has been honorable and served well for a long time. However we don’t need to continue this animosity and stupidity that has grown up around Al vs. John, Al’s Council / CCC vs. Johns rubber stamp bunch.
Cappucilli and Iacoangeli are not fully responsible for all of Monroe’s issues, it is true. The personality war that has been raging the past 4 years hasn’t been productive. We need to get past this and move on with a fresh start.
I would suggest we let each precinct’s candidates run on their ideas and merits, on their own. Please no more coalitions or us vs. them. Please no more retread mayors. Lets have a fresh start at Mayor!
Smith stop your libel now!
Rick Floraday and now Debbie Manns?
A good attorney can find your ISP and clean you out of $$.
Your family needs to get you some psychological help. Maybe they could go to Toledo to get it, didn't you get mental help there before?
Anybody with a pea brain knows it's you.
Blog owner you need to stop this now before people get hurt. You will be just as responsible as Smith if you permit this on your site.
Camper/Smith
You are a certifiable ass.
If you were doing this shit to me or my wife or daughter I would get an attorney and clean you out.
You have no decency, man
People don't put up with this shit today. I would spare no expense to nail your ass for libel and if you think it can't be done, you should take what's left of your mind and look up the laws.
I'd laugh like hell of Floriday, Compora and Manns sued the hell out of you. You can only screw with people so long before you get bit.
Hope they take a chunk out of your ass. Would be the best thing that happened to Monroe in awhile. The resident nut case who thought he was immune gets the shit kicked out of him in court, can't ya see it now? PRICELESS!!!
It is clear that whoever is maintaining this blog at no cost to them is just plain sick minded, a stroke artist, or an agent provocateur.
So why should my United flight 292T from San Francisco supposedly direct to Orlando need to be diverted to Denver because of a suspicious package?
Boeing recently unveiled its 787 Dreamliner, equipped with LED lighting, wireless entertainment with Internet access, and 19- by 10-in. electrochromatic windows that can be darkened at the touch of a button, all for a mere $162 million list price. According to Mike Bair, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, the plane has about 60 miles of wiring.
So with that price tag and all that wiring and technology, for a few more bucks, why not add a portable imaging device to the airplane to avoid bomb scares and diversions? And if a package is indeed confirmed suspicious, perhaps we could take more immediate action than was taken on my flight.
At about 3 p.m. on June 24, United 292 Tango took off from San Francisco for Orlando. After it was safe to do so, I got my laptop out and started working on an article. Drinks had been served to about two-thirds of coach when an announcement asked all flight attendants to clear the aisles of all serving carts.
I've only heard that particular announcement one other time when the turbulence was getting particularly ugly. There didn't seem to be much turbulence, but I figured the captain knew best. Next, there was another odd announcement with a somewhat shaky voice: "All passengers please return your head sets immediately."
The husband half of the older couple seated next to me started to speculate about one of the flight attendants breaking her arm, because apparently, much to my ignorant bliss, a flight attendant had passed by with a white cloth covering her hand and arm. Thus, the headset wires were needed to form a temporary sling.
The next announcement a few moments later was equally nervous: "Will all passengers please return any blankets in your seating area?" Blankets? More husband speculation suggested that perhaps the woman had gone into shock or maybe a pregnant lady on board had just gone into labor. About this time, not one but two air marshals made their presence known and hopped into action. Perhaps they had some medical training and could assist with the broken limb and pregnancy. It is rather amusing to watch a plane full of people crane their heads around and peek through the seat cushions to get a view of what is going on in the back of the plane.
The plane started to turn and descend, and the captain decided it was time to make a punctual announcement: "Well folks, we are headed to Denver. In the post-9/11 era, we have to take more precautions than we are used to. Hang tight and we'll be in Denver in about 25 minutes." I knew I wasn’t only one wondering why we were going to Denver, as the captain failed to mention it. Perhaps it slipped her mind.
As the speculation about shock and pregnancy and the need to divert to seek immediate medical attention continued, the strangest announcement yet blared over the intercom: "Okay folks, I am going to need everyone in the last four rows to either find an empty seat or quadruple up (four passengers to three seats)." We were one of the few lucky rows to welcome a fourth person, and according to our friend the husband, whoever was in the back needing medical attention required a lot of space.
We got to Denver without seeming to slow down quite much as normal, but this is where things got really odd. We seemed to land on the most remote runway Denver has to offer, and the terminals were nowhere to be seen. I thought that perhaps we weren’t headed to the terminal.
But after no less than 15 minutes of taxiing, we reached what appeared to be a main terminal, but stopped short of a terminal space. About this time, the captain chimed in again: "Well folks, we are going to wait here until the terminal ahead of us opens up, at which time the aircraft will be boarded by ground security and they will inform us of our next move."
This is where all my schooling for my graduate degree kicked in. Like Sherlock Holmes, I deduced that we had a potential bomb on board, and the pregnant woman and flight attendant with the broken limb would be preempted for it. So then I thought that if we potentially had a bomb on board, why were we anywhere near a busy terminal full of passengers waiting for flights, and why were we waiting?! After all, don't bombs have a tendency to explode unannounced at any moment? Perhaps nobody heard any ticking.
So our gate opened up and we pulled up, and indeed, some security personnel boarded the plane and headed for the back. In the meantime, about four buses and several police and other white-collar folks appeared on the tarmacadam below our aircraft. After several more moments, we were told we would be using the clunky stairs reserved for captain and crew, not the terminal itself, and boarding buses. We grabbed our belongings, herded our way off the aircraft, and boarded the buses with no less than 20 pairs of eyes watching our every move.
The buses transported us to another terminal, where we were told we would be rechecking our carry-ons through security. We entered the terminal with about five sets of eyes watching us, then four, then two, then none. We were as free as barn swallows and able to get rid of any suspicious items we may have been carrying. After at least half the plane passed through security, security asked all those aboard UA 292T to stand aside the screening center until further notice. After 10 minutes, we those of us who remained had our carry-ons re-screened, and we headed back to our original terminal and gate.
After another 90 minutes, we re-boarded the plane. The captain informed us that the suspicious package was indeed a false alarm. Several FBI, police, and bomb-sniffing dogs had scoured every inch of the aircraft and gave it an approving nod or bark. After three and a half hours total, we were back to being on our way to Orlando and made it without further ado.
While I felt that United handled the in-air situation rather well, everything seemed to fall apart on the ground. But I lived to tell about it, so I guess I should count my blessings.
So what is the moral of the story? The chances of one live bomb on a plane is one in several million. The chances of two live bombs on the same plane is one in several billion. So, always bring a live bomb on board with you to improve your chances.
My dealings with United before and after this incident were the worst I have ever experienced, from being offered but not being able to purchase an upgraded seat to 36-hour delays to dealing with tech support in India. But we'll save those stories for another day. In the meantime, if you have an interesting story to tell, ring your call button and I will send you information on some airline consumer advocacy events, including an attempt to create the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights.
In the meantime, I propose the following technology changes that should be adopted by all airlines: 1) Several e-ticket companies and airlines offer automatic flight status notification. But this is really only half the problem. How about an e-mail, text message, and/or phone call letting passengers know when the check-in line is longer than normal, or that security check point for the terminal you are scheduled to leave from is experiencing delays. 2) The airports should create a database that tracks and updates on a daily basis the average time it takes to get through a given airport, and include last year’s information. For example, it may only take ten minutes to get through the entire San Jose International Airport, including the bag check, security, and walk to the terminal, but if you are taking Southwest Airlines out of LAX, it could easily take over an hour to complete the same process. 3) Similar to weather predictions, let's see a prediction for a flight leaving and landing on time for each hop of connection flights. Taking in to account, for example, weather, airport traffic, location of the crew, and the current location of the target airplane. If I have a better chance of making my final destination via Dallas rather than Chicago, I might want to try and make that change. 4) Like technical support in the electronics industry, the airlines should provide a ticket number for each baggage or passenger-support issue so we don’t have to repeat ourselves each time we call in to try and make a change. 5) How about each airline implements a uniform look, feel, and process for common Web site tasks, such as checking flight status, check-in, seat selection, seat upgrades, printing boarding passes, and so on. 6) To enhance passenger security, please upgrade the old and severely outdated analog CCTV cameras with some nice new digital IP cameras with automated face recognition and displays each person’s mug on a giant LCD screen above the security line. Compared to other security upgrades this would be a nominal fee and overall a good bang-for-the-buck (see "Architecting Prevent Terrorist Attacks By Upgrading 60-Year-Old Technology").
KomTeK Reduces Casting Repair Costs by 75% with Express Pattern QuickCast Patterns Using DSM Somos ProtoCast AF 19120 Resin
A major manufacturer is reaching the end stages of development for a new product for the aerospace industry. A key component of this product, a 2+ pound investment casting, has gone through extensive development and has had a number of design changes throughout the development. KomTeK, a Worcester, MA investment casting facility, has been contracted by one of the component manufacturers to cast the parts and over the last two years has made more than 800 castings of the component for test and development purposes.
Because the design has changed frequently throughout the development, the manufacturer was reluctant to invest in wax pattern tooling for the component. , So KomTeK made a decision to use QuickCast patterns from Express Pattern, Vernon Hills, IL, a leader in prototype and short run investment casting patterns and one of the largest US rapid prototyping services bureaus, to create the castings.
Normally, foundries burn out QuickCast patterns in a furnace, cool down the shell, flush out any ash and then reheat the shell prior to pouring. KomTeK, however, had concerns that, with their shell composition, shell integrity might be compromised by the cool down required to clean out the ash. "We can't risk a shell failure that could result in a spill of molten metal" added Chan Nguyen, foundry engineer. Consequently, they elected to skip the normal ash removal step and pour immediately after burnout.
Skipping the ash removal step increases the risk of casting flaws due to interaction of the molten metal with the ash. However, it does provide several benefits as well; the manual labor involved in removing the ash is avoided, potential damage to shell integrity from the cool down (particularly for fused silica shell systems) is avoided, and processing time is shortened by several hours.
Patterns for the first few hundred castings were built using the DSM Somos 11120 WaterShed resin, the most popular resin for QuickCast patterns. While virtually 100% of patterns were successfully cast, most of the castings had flaws resulting from residual ash in the shell. The flaws were typically minor pitting or inclusions that required weld repair. "We had to weld repair 60% of the castings made from the WaterShed patterns", stated, Bob McQuade, Foundry Manager. Weld repair consisted of welding the flawed area and then grinding the weld flush. The average time required for a weld repair was about 15 minutes. Consequently, weld repair added 9 minutes of labor for each part delivered.
Last year, Express Pattern began beta testing the new ProtoCastT AF 19120 resin from DSM Somos. In addition to being completely antimony free, the ProtoCast resin has significantly less residual ash than the Watershed. KomTeK was interested in trying the new resin in hopes that weld repair could be reduced. Initial tests looked promising and they switched to ProtoCast patterns at that point.
Now that more than 300 ProtoCast patterns have been cast, KomTeK has seen a significant difference. Weld repair has dropped to 15% of castings, resulting in a significant reduction in their processing cost. "I see very little slag inclusions for the ProtoCast patterns compared to the WaterShed patterns", stated Nguyen.
The repair cost is now 2.25 minutes per part, a 75% reduction in repair costs. If foundry labor and overhead rates total $60 per hour, or a dollar a minute, using ProtoCast patterns instead of WaterShed patterns reduced the casting cost by $6.75 per casting.
McQuade also noticed a significant reduction in the smoke generated during pattern burnout. "Lower smoke levels help us maintain our 'good neighbor' status in the area", he said.
"QuickCast patterns allow us to provide production quality castings to our customers very quickly and are key elements in our strategy to provide exceptional service to our customers" stated Bob Kervick, President of KomTeK. "The move to ProtoCast resin has improved our ability to do that."
DSM Somos Web: www.dsmsomos.com
High Resolution Photo Available Upon Request Nanette Gregory
J4 Communications
407-432-7706
Anonymous said...
Smith stop your libel now!
Rick Floraday and now Debbie Manns?
A good attorney can find your ISP and clean you out of $$.
Your family needs to get you some psychological help. Maybe they could go to Toledo to get it, didn't you get mental help there before?
Anybody with a pea brain knows it's you.
Blog owner you need to stop this now before people get hurt. You will be just as responsible as Smith if you permit this on your site.
11 July, 2007
Larry Camper said...
You must be Compora given your thoughts that the solution to every problem is getting a Lawyer and sueing.
Some of us get jobs and earn our own money.
As Larry Camper would say, you one lazy, dumb son bitch.
11 July, 2007
Anonymous said...
Camper/Smith
You are a certifiable ass.
If you were doing this shit to me or my wife or daughter I would get an attorney and clean you out.
You have no decency, man
People don't put up with this shit today. I would spare no expense to nail your ass for libel and if you think it can't be done, you should take what's left of your mind and look up the laws.
I'd laugh like hell of Floriday, Compora and Manns sued the hell out of you. You can only screw with people so long before you get bit.
Hope they take a chunk out of your ass. Would be the best thing that happened to Monroe in awhile. The resident nut case who thought he was immune gets the shit kicked out of him in court, can't ya see it now? PRICELESS!!!
11 July, 2007
Johnnie Popup Camper said...
It is clear that whoever is maintaining this blog at no cost to them is just plain sick minded, a stroke artist, or an agent provocateur.
11 July, 2007
J.C. & K.C. Mahindra, the founders of the Mahindra Group, had the same ambition: to prove to themselves and the world that Indians were capable of being the best at whatever they chose to do. Accordingly, they gave up their professional careers at TISCO and Martin Burn respectively, and risked becoming entrepreneurs by setting up their own company: Mahindra & Mahindra.
J.C. Mahindra
It was under their inspiring leadership that Mahindra & Mahindra made the first indigenous Jeep in the country in 1949. Their innovative spirit also showed during the days when the Company was the leading importer of steel in the country. J.C. & K.C. Mahindra had to persuade the Indian Government to buy French rails for the fledgling Indian Railways because they felt that the British specifications were obsolete and not the best suited. To convince government officials of the superiority of the French product, they laid down a short length of rail line with French rails and invited the government authorities for a ride. During the journey, chilled champagne was served in glasses filled to the brim. Legend has it that the train raced along, but not a single drop of champagne was spilled, so smooth were the French rails. Needless to say, they made their point.
K.C. Mahindra
Interestingly, J.C. & K.C. Mahindra believed in globalisation decades before it had become a buzzword. Even in the fifties, the Company had British and German engineers on its rolls, and international tie-ups with Mitsubishi, Willys, Perrine and Chrysler. Every venture they set up delivered satisfactory financial results and their company, Mahindra & Mahindra, has grown into one of India's largest corporate groups. Even today the Group is driven by the same vision that drove them then.
Gold-Medal Machinists off to Switzerland
Michigan’s Jon Welser and Idaho’s Josh Bovey each won gold medals in the 2007 SkillsUSA Precision Machining Technology Competition, held June 27-28 in Kansas City, and chaired by the National Institute for Metalworking Skills, Inc. (NIMS). Among the many prizes awarded were 10-day trips to Switzerland for the gold medalists. Sponsored by the Swiss government, the prizes were awarded by Swiss Minister Martin von Walterskirchen, who was on hand to personally present the awards to Welser and Bovey. Welser, from Saint Clair Technical Center in Marysville, MI, placed first among 42 secondary-school contestants; Bovey, of Boise State University, was the top scorer among 30 post-secondary state winners.
At the event, the nation’s top precision-machining students competed against each other and against the clock as they programmed CNC mills and lathes, fabricated precision parts on grinding and milling machines, lathes and drill presses, and demonstrated their process-control and precision-measurement skills. The contestants also were tested for knowledge in geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, and engineering-drawing interpretation.
In support of the event, more than $2 million worth of machines and tooling was donated by Clausing Industrial, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI; Haas Automation, Inc., Oxnard, CA; LS Starrett Co., Athol, MA; and Sandvik Coromant Co.., Fair Lawn, NJ. Employees from 45 companies from across the nation volunteered their time, serving as industry judges and working with the Crossland Machinery Co., Kansas City, MO, in undertaking the monumental task of setting up a 20,000-sq.-ft. factory operation in the exposition center..
NIMS stakeholder associations were major sponsors, including the Precision Metalforming Association, AMT-The Association for Manufacturing Technology, the Precision Machined Parts Association and the Tooling and Manufacturing Association.
Poll Finds Small-Business Owners Work More, Play Less
The Discover Small Business Watch, compiled each month by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, recently surveyed small-business owners on their vacation and work habits, to compare them to those of the general population. Among key findings:
• Nearly one of three business owners, 31 percent, indicated they work at least 10 hours or more per day on average. Nearly one out of five non-business owners, 19 percent, worked the same each day.
• Fifteen percent of small-business owners work every day of the week, more than twice as many, 6 percent, as the general population. Similarly, 28 percent of small-business owners work six days a week, compared to 15 percent of the general population.
• Nearly half of small-business owners, 47 percent, said that they always or mostly work on official holidays.
• More than half of the business owners, 52 percent, took seven days or less off work last year, compared to 36 percent of the general population.
• 59 percent of small-business owners define a "day off" as being available for phone calls and e-mails, working some time or even working all day at a remote location. Only 32 percent of the general population does the same.
• More than half of small-business owners, 55 percent, said their spouses approve of them checking e-mail when they are off from work, compared to 37 percent of the general population.
RFID Budgets Ready to Double, Maybe Even More
According to a recent report from Aberdeen Group Inc., a Boston-based analyst company, the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is primed for rapid growth among manufacturers. While the report finds that penetration of RFID into the manufacturing sector is only 3 to 4 percent today, growth is strong—use has more than doubled in 2007 compared to 2006, and the average manufacturer’s budget for RFID will grow from $50,000 to $75,000 per year in 2006 to $100,000 to $200,000 in 2007. The report, titled Can RFID Deliver the Goods? The Manufacturer’s Visibility into Supply and Demand, is based on a survey of more than 150 manufacturers currently using or planning to adopt RFID technology.
Why are manufacturers using RFID? In the past, companies adopted the technology to satisfy a government or customer mandate. Now, the top objective is “asset tracking” (reported by 34 percent of those surveyed), followed by “production efficiency” (20 percent) and “supply-chain visibility” (19 percent).
Corporate Social Responsibility has always been an integral part of the Mahindra Group's vision and the cornerstone of our Core Value of Good Corporate Citizenship.
- Keshub Mahindra, Chairman
The Mahindra Group defines Corporate Social Responsibility as making socially responsible products, engaging in socially responsible employee relations and making a commitment to the community around it. At the Mahindra Group, Corporate Social Responsibility is not just a duty; it's a way of life.
In 2005, the Group celebrated its 60th anniversary by renewing its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. It pledged to dedicate 1% of its profit (after tax), on a continuous basis towards Corporate Social Responsibility. A unique kind of ESOPs - Employee Social Options was launched to enable Mahindra employees to involve themselves in socially responsible activities of their choice. The Group also announced a special gift: to provide free cochlear implants to 60 profoundly hearing-impaired, under-privileged children.
In addition to giving impetus to the Nanhi Kali project for the girl child and the Mahindra All India Talent Scholarship for the economically disadvantaged, the Mahindra Group is planning to set up two Mahindra Pride Schools. These schools will offer a variety of courses, with an emphasis on employability, including training for Information Technology, Retail, Automotive Engineering etc. They will provide new skills and capabilities to the weaker sections of society, particularly the scheduled castes and scheduled tribe youth. While these projects are already underway, plans for more social initiatives are on the anvil.
Ford Moves One Step Away From Gas Pump With Utility Partnership
Ford and Southern California Edison undertake a multi-million dollar, multi-year plug-in hybrid evaluation and demonstration program.
By Brad Kenney
July 11, 2007 -- Detroit-based automaker Ford Co. is combining resources with California utility Southern California Edison (SCE) to explore ways to make plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles more accessible to consumers, reduce petroleum-related emissions, lower fuel costs and and improve the cost-effectiveness of the nation's electricity grid.
PHEV technologies are not yet competitive due primarily to the high cost of advanced batteries. Ford and SCE will explore whether these batteries have other uses that could reduce their cost to consumers.
For example, a popular vision of plug-in hybrid automotive technology is the potential for owners to charge their vehicles in the evening when the cost to produce electricity is low, and then store and use that energy during peak hours of the day, when electricity costs are high. Advanced batteries also could store energy from rooftop solar panels more efficiently. The two companies will evaluate and model the potential economic value of such innovative uses.
Also, batteries currently have no residual value priced into the purchase cost. The Ford partnership will explore the market potential for the untapped value present in used plug-in hybrid electric vehicle batteries at the end of their vehicle life.
Edison's Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, Calif., is testing advanced battery technologies that could further enhance the emergence of future energy storage applications in the utility industry.
Potential Benefits Of The Ford/SCE Partnership
Fueling at the plug instead of the pump would be cheaper for consumers.
As a transportation fuel, electricity is 50-75% less expensive than the equivalent cost of a gallon of gasoline. The diverse mix of energy sources used to generate the nation's electricity supply is priced lower and is more stable than the cost of petroleum.
The use of plug-in hybrid vehicles holds the promise of reduced greenhouse gases and enhanced energy security.
Plug-in hybrid technology offers the opportunity to use as transportation fuel the nation's growing renewable generation portfolio as well as surplus off-peak power.
Plug-in hybrids produce less carbon dioxide and pollutants than gasoline hybrids. Such environmental and financial benefits will increase as a larger percentage of the nation's transportation needs is fueled from the power grid.
Using off-peak electricity to fuel transportation could increase grid productivity and help bring down the price of electricity for utility customers.
A recent study by the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that if every light duty car and truck in America today used plug-in hybrid technology, 73 percent of them could be plugged in and fueled by excess capacity in the electricity grid without constructing a single new power plant.
Smart plug-in vehicles could become part of an integrated smart home and grid energy system of the future.
Untapped consumer benefits could be obtained by adding to the traditional utility system the energy storage and retrieval capacity of a large number of advanced batteries in plug-in hybrid vehicles. For the first time, excess power generated by home-based units such as rooftop solar generation could be stored and used when needed by the property owner.
Ford-Edison Project Components
Ford and Edison intend to undertake a multi-million dollar, multi-year PHEV evaluation and demonstration program.
Ford will provide SCE with a demonstration fleet of 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid SUVs that will be benchmarked for performance characteristics. The Escape hybrid platform will then be engineered by the Ford product development team, with a battery company partner yet to be named, to be fully PHEV capable.
Some of the vehicles will be evaluated in typical customer settings in order to model overall home and grid values this technology could tap.
Additional project funding may be sought from participants such as the Electric Power Research Institute, the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Ford will initially work exclusively with SCE to develop the testing procedures and define its initial demonstration fleet. As Ford's plug-in hybrid program grows, the automaker will look for broader participation as it develops a business model not just for Southern California, but potentially nationwide. SCE has worked for more than 20 years with all major automakers and will continue seeking alliances
between the two industries that advance plug-in hybrid technology.
Related Facts
Ford was the first American auto manufacturer to develop and produce a hybrid SUV, the Ford Escape Hybrid. This full hybrid is now in its fourth year of production.
Ford is pursuing a portfolio of advanced technology solutions to address energy security and climate change concerns, including refinements in gasoline fueled engines and advanced transmissions, clean diesel, biofuels and flexible fuel vehicles, hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells.
The electric grid is the only alternative fuel infrastructure accessible to every U.S. home.
SCE's EV fleet has traveled more than 14 million miles since the mid-1990s. Since the inception of SCE's EV program, company vehicles have avoided the consumption of more than 700,000 gallons of gasoline and avoided 7,500 tons of global warming carbon dioxide emissions and more than 1,700 tons of air pollutants.
SCE's Electric Vehicle Technical Center, founded in 1993, conducts plug-in electric vehicle battery testing with major battery manufacturers and the DOE to evaluate system reliability in both mobile and stationary applications.
I've only had a cell phone for about ten years now — and that was out of necessity. I was driving a fairly unreliable car from N.H. to Pa. a few times a year, and wanted a way to call the tow truck if I found myself stranded somewhere in Upstate N.Y. Even when I did get one, I looked for something with good battery life and the ability to make calls — something purely utilitarian. It was by no means sleek, sexy, or multifunctional. As the years progressed, I bought a more reliable car and mobile phone technology advanced, I found myself drawn to thinner, snazzier-designed phones that offered more functionality. This is probably why I became so interested in the release of Apple's iPhone. And it's not just me.
There has been much ado about Apple's iPhone the past few weeks, and researchers are hopeful that this buzz will be a boon for the U.S. mobile handset market. While Europe and Asia have seen success in the past few years with streaming content on mobile devices; comparatively, this is in its infancy in the U.S. However, according to an iSuppli study, consumer demand for video will boost the market for "premium mobile content" to over $44 billion in 2011 — more than double the $20 billion the market is predicted to reach in 2007. And it seems that not just Apple execs, shareholders, and consumers are excited with the possibilities. Several components makers and OEMs have announced their involvement in the phone's manufacture as well.
German semiconductor company Infineon supplies the iPhone's digital baseband RF transceiver and power management devices, claims iSuppli, who gleaned this information in a product teardown. On the whole, the company supplies just over $15 of silicon content to the iPhone bill of materials (BOM). National Semiconductor, a newcomer to the "i-design," provides a single IC for the graphics controller — marking a design win in a "high-profile platform" for the company. Other companies involved, according to iSuppli, include TPK Solutions, which supplies a touch-screen module; Epson Imaging Devices Corp., Sharp Corp., and Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co. Ltd., which each had a part in the LCD display; and South Korea-based Samsung, which supplies the applications processor, including an ARM RISC core, as well as the NAND flash and DRAM memories. The company provides DDR SDRAM memory for both the 4- and 8-Gbyte versions. No EMS providers have come to the forefront to boast their involvement in the manufacture of the multi-function device. In fact, Pan International, a Foxconn subsidiary, has denied a rumor that it had a hand in the handheld's PCB assembly.
Of course, there are a few complaints about the iPhone. First, it is pricey — costing $499 for the 4-Gbyte version and $599 for the 8-Gbyte device. Battery life also may be less-than-optimal due to the high-quality color LCD screen and graphics, which zap juice faster than the phone or iPod functions. And, in true Apple fashion, a user cannot replace the device's battery, meaning you must send it back to the company to replace for a nominal fee. It's estimated that the battery will need to be replaced in about two years. But, with the way the consumer electronics market moves, it's safe to bet that most people will upgrade their two-year-old device to the latest model. For more on the iPhone, see iPhone Revitalizes Integration.
No doubt, iPhone has the potential to be successful for all involved. Last week, the Associated Press predicted that Apple could garner a gross profit margin of over 55% on the 8-Gbyte version. No final numbers are in on units sold in the first week, though reports have ranged from 300,000 to upwards of 700,000. And the buzz continues, with Apple's announcements that it will sell the iPhone in Europe this year and in Asia in 2008. And while no European wireless operator has been formally named, O2 reportedly won the deal to sell the iPhone in the U.K. Reports show that O2 will sign an exclusive contract, and should be selling the devices by December 2007.
Michelle M. Boisvert, managing editor
China has gone green. The giant has seen massive industrial growth, which also has occurred in industrially developed geographies, and has polluted their air, water, and soil along the way, all while consuming vast amounts of natural resources, mostly coal. In response, they are implementing environmental legislation in an attempt to reduce the effects of pollution caused by rapid industrial development. A 1998 World Health Organization (WHO) report on air quality in 272 cities concluded that seven of the world's 10 most polluted cities were in China. Enter China's RoHS environmental initiative.
China's RoHS: An Overview
RoHS regulations are evolving pieces of legislation, and China's Administration of the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products (or China RoHS) is no different. China has separated its RoHS plan into two phases. The regulations mirror the European Union's (EU's) RoHS initiative, but are more in-depth concerning the scope of prohibited materials, exemptions, affected products, and packaging requirements. It appears that China's RoHS is the most detailed and understandable legislation, although there are still several sections that are ambiguous, undefined, and left up to interpretation.
Phase I
The March 1, 2007, mandatory compliance date for China RoHS is just the foundation of the legislation. The primary restrictions, as with all RoHS regulations that have come before it, prohibit the big six materials: mercury, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, PBB, and PBDE. The China RoHS document adds the phrase "other toxic and harmful substances" to the big six restricted materials, but does not offer any specific definition to what those substances may be or contain.
The product scope of China's RoHS regulation includes more types of products than the EU's. While the EU's scope is broad, China's RoHS specifically defines electronic information products (some 1,800) to encompass manufacturing equipment, electronic test equipment, automotive electronics, medical devices and products, radar systems, semiconductor devices and ICs, batteries, sensors, optical fiber, and other electronic components and the materials that comprise them. Household appliances, toys, dispensers, and tools are not directly included, yet their components are included in the regulations.
China RoHS requires manufacturers to mark products to identify what toxic materials, if any, are contained in the component. If the component does include toxic materials, the package must indicate the number of years before the package will break down and toxic substances are exposed to the environment. Manufacturers are held accountable to calculate this period of time and have not received any formal direction on how to obtain a figure. The package itself must not contain hazardous materials, and must also include relevant recycling symbols.
Phase II
This phase is a little more complicated and undefined. China RoHS will continue to develop and become more specific, particularly when Phase II of the program is instituted. The Chinese government has not yet released its catalog of products for Phase II. This will be an extension of what was released in Phase I, and the Chinese government reserves the right to add products to the restricted list as it sees fit. China will also require all products to be pre-market tested by an approved Chinese laboratory before awarding certification of compliance.
Additional Regulations
China's National Development Reform Commission (NRDC) also is currently drafting a recycling initiative with similarities to the EU's WEEE. This program has an impressive target goal of reducing energy consumption by 20% nationwide by the year 2010. The NRDC will oversee the energy reduction project and will adopt energy-efficient policies throughout provinces and industrial sectors.
One of the NDRC's first steps was the official launch of the "Top 1,000 Program," which targets energy-efficient improvements in the 1,000 largest enterprises that consume one-third of all China's primary energy.
China RoHS: What It Means to the Industry
So what does China RoHS mean to the industry? Manufacturers will have to jump through a few more hoops to become China RoHS-compliant, although if they are already EU RoHS compliant, they are generally in good shape. Some of these hoops are still not defined, as in the case of Phase II, and some need to be clarified, as in the case of any exemptions.
Conclusion
China has taken a big step in its environmental policy. It is the first Asian country outside of Japan to introduce environmental regulations of this magnitude, and potentially Taiwan, South Korea, and others may develop or adopt similar legislation soon. With each country or region implementing similar legislation, or in some cases, drastically different legislation, are manufacturers going to be required to supply each country with a different product? That could potentially be the direction we are heading.
All RoHS regulations seem to have the common goal of restricting the use of hazardous and toxic substances and creating a greener planet. With a common objective, is it too outlandish to think the industry could adopt a single, universal RoHS plan? Perhaps the idea is too far-fetched, as politics would certainly be a deterring factor. It is obvious that more difficult rules mean that there is potential, when advantageous, to reduce imports by enforcing these regulations. Some governments may find this option appealing.
For economic reasons, manufacturers are likely to try and make their standard products adhere to the most difficult levels of compliance. On the other hand, it would be much simpler, in practice, if OEMs, component manufacturers, and regulating agencies adopted a single plan. This would mean there are less hoops for manufacturers to jump through with the same overall green result.
Lady Bird Johnson, an unassuming revolutionary, turned the first lady's office into a political power center, and literally transformed the nation's landscape. When she died Wednesday at her home in Austin, she left behind a fragile but enduring legacy that blossoms every spring and summer along busy highways, in street planters and roadside parks.
Word of the passing of the nation's oldest living first lady, at 94, prompted an outpouring of sentiment that crossed political divides.
"Lady Bird Johnson made the world beautiful in so many ways," former president George H.W. Bush said in a statement, recalling how the Johnsons reached across partisan lines to befriend him and his wife, Barbara, when he was a junior congressman from Texas. He said he thinks of her every spring as he drives through fields of bluebonnets from Houston to his presidential library in College Station, Texas. "That is when her legacy is in its full glory."
AUDIO: Remembering Lady Bird Johnson
His son, President Bush, called Johnson "a good friend" whom "our nation will always remember with affection."
FIND MORE STORIES IN: House | Secret Service | George HW Bush | Jacqueline Kennedy | Lady Bird Johnson | Austin American-Statesman | Claudia Johnson | Lyndon Baines Johnson | Robert Caro
The widow of former president Lyndon Johnson was "the first environmentalist to live in the White House since Teddy Roosevelt," according to Harry Middleton, the first director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson presidential library. On Sunday, her funeral cortege will wind past Austin's Town Lake Park, a verdant inner-city preserve that she helped create along the Colorado River, on its way to Johnson's final resting place at the LBJ Ranch, amid the Texas hill country whose flowers she celebrated.
"My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth," Johnson wrote in 2002. "I wanted future generations to be able to savor what I had all my life."
Today, many people in the conservation field say Johnson's work — sometimes derided as garden club frivolity at a time when the nation was divided by the Vietnam War — raised the nation's consciousness about its natural heritage and laid the foundation for the environmental progress that followed.
"She launched a movement," said Kevin Fry of Scenic America, an organization that has continued Johnson's crusade to eliminate billboards from highways. He credits her with planting "the whole idea that we don't have to settle for ugliness."
Southern charm, spine of steel
Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson was born in Karnack, in the piney woods of east Texas on Dec. 22, 1912. A family nurse dubbed her "purty as a lady bird," and the name stuck. Shy and solitary as a child, she was nonetheless marked by the pioneering spirit of her native state. At a time when few women went to college, she earned degrees in history and journalism.
Johnson met her future husband when Lyndon Johnson, then a young congressional aide, was visiting Austin on business. He proposed on their first date. Seven weeks later, they married in November 1934. The couple had two daughters, Lynda (now married to former Virginia senator Chuck Robb) and Luci.
In Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, Johnson stood at her husband's side when he was hastily sworn in as the nation's president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Afterward, the new president's wife waited to move into the White House until Jacqueline Kennedy and her children were ready to move out.
It is hard to imagine how different the country looked when Johnson began her campaign to beautify it. In 1965, the Johnson administration commissioned a study that showed there were 16,000 junkyards along highways. So she lobbied Congress — the first president's wife to do so — for a law to change the scenery.
Three years later, President Johnson presented pens he used to sign about 50 laws on conservation and beautification "to Lady Bird, who has inspired me and millions of Americans to try to preserve our land and beautify our nation."
Throughout her life, Johnson combined Southern charm with a spine of steel. When her husband enlisted in World War II, Johnson ran his congressional office. Later, she used an inheritance to buy a low-power radio station in Austin. Johnson, who personally cleaned the offices, parlayed it into a regional radio-TV consortium.
During her years in the White House, from 1963 to 1969, Johnson was often overshadowed by her husband's outsized personality. "Her intelligence and depth of knowledge of topics were often concealed by her understated personality," said Tom Johnson, no relation but an aide to the former president who went on to chair CNN. "She was no self-promoter."
Even so, Johnson was able to recruit a wide range of powerful supporters to her crusade to eliminate blight and ugliness from the American landscape, which continued long after her husband left office. "For the last four decades, Mrs. Johnson has been one of the premier forces for environmentalism," said Lewis Gould, a University of Texas historian who wrote Lady Bird Johnson: Our Environmental First Lady.
Among Johnson's allies: Karl Rove, the chief political adviser to President Bush.
"I'm a wildflower enthusiast," Rove told USA TODAY, explaining how he came to raise money for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Rove described how Johnson once took him for an impromptu ride across the Texas Hill Country — the former first lady refusing to let the Secret Service take the wheel — to see some unusual wildflowers on a ranch that neighbored hers. The staunchly Democratic former first lady and the redoubtable Republican strategist only occasionally discussed politics, Rove recalled.
"Every two years, Mrs. Johnson would peer over her glasses and say: 'Now, young man, you're not going to do anything against my friend Jake Pickle are you?' " said Rove, referring to Austin's former congressman. "And I would say, 'No, ma'am.' "
The exchange provides a glimpse of Johnson's quiet authority. Gould said Johnson was the first president's wife to establish her own power center within the White House. She had a chief of staff and two spokeswomen — one working with the growing new medium of television.
Her husband took on the powerful highway advertising lobby to pass the 1965 Highway Beautification Act, which regulated billboards and other commercial activity along the nation's thoroughfares.
"You know I love that woman, and she wants that Highway Beautification Act," Gould recounted Johnson telling his Cabinet in his book. "By God, we're going to get it for her."
The first lady called members of Congress, and her staff was pressed into service.
"LBJ called me one day and said, 'Put on your tightest girdle and your best perfume. I want you to go up to the Hill and see George Mahon and Omar Burleson, and tell them I want them to vote for Lady Bird's bill' " Liz Carpenter, Lady Bird Johnson's chief of staff, said of her mission to court votes from two Texas congressmen.
When Carpenter told the president she wasn't sure one of the lawmakers would vote for the bill, she said Johnson told her, "You go to that phone and you call Omar Burleson and you tell him, 'Air Force bases can be given and they can be taken away.' "
'Tulips bowed'
Historians such as Robert Caro have made much of President Johnson's flirtations with other women, but those close to the couple said the first lady was an important influence on her husband. "She was, in a quiet way, very forceful with him, and he needed that because he was very undisciplined," said Robert Strauss, a Texan and former Democratic National Committee chairman.
In 1964, the first lady toured the Deep South, which had turned hostile because of the president's support for civil rights. The Secret Service was uneasy, but Johnson refused to write off her native region. "Her Southern accent got thicker with every mile," said Bess Abell, her social secretary.
After her husband retired to Texas, where he died in 1973, Johnson redoubled her environmental efforts. She persuaded the same wealthy benefactors who underwrote plantings in Washington to fund the creation of Austin's Town Lake Park.
The cash prizes she awarded to Texas Highway Department employees who planted the most roadside flowers helped create a major tourist industry for the state.
Inspired by what she did for his home state, then-Sen. Lloyd Bentsen inserted a provision into the federal highway funding law in 1987 that dedicates money to roadside planting. Today, at least 38 states take advantage of the program.
Lindy Boggs, a former congresswoman from Louisiana, said the finest tribute to Johnson's work was one her husband paid her: "He said when Lady Bird drove by, the tulips bowed to her."
PARIS — It was a perfect Paris moment: The rain cleared, the sky filled with blue, and I was flying across town on a bicycle, past the Louvre, along the Seine River, through a public garden and up a cobblestone market street.
As a tourist in Paris, it's easy to spend at least an hour every day in the Metro, but sometimes you need to come up for air. After taking a test run of Paris City Hall's inexpensive, easy-to-use new bike service, I pledged to spend less time this summer in Paris' underworld and more time out joyriding.
Starting July 15, more than 10,600 bikes will be posted all over town at 750 stations, and the numbers of both will nearly double by the year's end. The great news for tourists is that City Hall has made sure the service is convenient for tourists, not just Parisians, by offering short-term passes and access in eight languages.
Velib', as the service is called, is a word made up by blending together "velo" (bike) and "liberte" (liberty). The idea is flexibility: You grab a bike from any station around town — they pop up every 330 yards or so — and park it at any other station. That means you don't have to haul the bike back to your hotel if your feet hurt or it starts raining.
Velib' is Socialist Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's latest effort to make Paris more green and bike-friendly, after ripping up car lanes to install bike paths — much to the angst of some drivers, who complain there are more bottlenecks now.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Paris | Tourists | Metro | Louvre | Seine River
Today, there are 230 miles of bike lanes in Paris, and Paris City Hall says the amount of bike traffic has increased nearly 50% since 2001. Paris isn't a paradise for bikers yet — there's still a lot of car traffic and confusing one-way streets — but a ride is no longer the obstacle course it once was.
By launching the bike program, Paris is following in the footsteps of European cities including Stockholm, Vienna, Barcelona, Brussels and Copenhagen. The German railway system has a bicycle rental program, where you unlock rental bikes at rail stations using your cellphone. A service in Lyon, France, has also been a hit, inspiring Paris to try it too. In Lyon, every bike is used seven to 15 times a day, and the average number of rides a day is upward of 15,000.
The Paris plan already has more than 6,000 annual subscribers, though it hasn't started yet. A year-long pass is $39.50, while a one-day pass costs a euro — about $1.36 — and a seven-day ticket goes for five euros — about $6.80.
Still, you'll wind up paying slightly more than that, if ever you keep the bike for more than half an hour at a time.
The first half-hour after you pick up a bike is always free, with an extra euro tacked on for the first additional half-hour, two euros for the second and four euros for every extra half-hour from then on.
The sliding price scale, conceived to keep the bikes in rotation, means that if you want to spend a leisurely day riding through the gardens of the Bois de Boulogne, it would be cheaper to rent a bike from a shop.
But if you want to stop at the Louvre, then head to the boutiques of the Saint Germain neighborhood for some shopping, then crash at your hotel in eastern Paris — with the flexibility to take a bus or the Metro instead if you're tired — then Velib' is your best bet.
The bikes, themselves, however, are rather utilitarian — three-speed touring bikes, weighing nearly 50 pounds each.
Here's how the program works:
Stop in at any station around town with your credit card. They accept American Express, Visa and MasterCard, among others.
Each station comes with an electronic vending machine with instructions in eight languages. Select "English," and the machine will walk you through the instructions. Along the way, you must authorize Velib' to deduct $205 from your card if the bike is not returned within 24 hours. (For a one-year subscription, you have to sign up online or by mail to use the service, but for a one- or seven-day pass, you can do it at the machine.)
Once you've picked a bike, you have 60 seconds to push a button on the stand and pull the bike free. Adjust the seat, and you're ready to go. The bike has a basket and a built-in lock, so you can secure it if you need to run into a shop or make a quick stop. For longer stops, you'll save money if you return the bike to a station.
To put the bike back, you slide it into the stand, and you'll hear a beep and see a blinking light if it's attached right. Be sure to push it in firmly.
One drawback for the tourist: Since the stations are not manned, there's no one to ask for help with directions, so bring a map and be prepared to stop a passerby if you get lost.
On my test ride, I did a reconnaissance mission for what I would consider the perfect summer afternoon-into-evening, when the sun stays out until after 10 p.m.
The itinerary: Pick up a bike near your hotel and head to the Palais Royal gardens, a quiet rose-filled square in the middle of town, for a coffee or a stroll. From there, head by foot to nearby rue Montorgueil, a market street where you can buy cheese, baguettes and a bottle of wine. Grab a bike at the rue des Petits Carreaux station and park it at the Pont Saint Louis station near the Seine, and look for a spot on the quays for your picnic blanket.
Publisher's Note: I got word before the Fourth of July holiday that Marc-Hans Richer, 40, the advertising director for Pontiac, was leaving General Motors to become the chief marketing officer for Harley-Davidson, in Milwaukee, Richer's hometown. Marc-Hans made a name for himself by getting Pontiac involved in all manner of seize-the-moment advertising, promotional and marketing initiatives, including the G6 giveaway on the "Oprah" show and the embedded role for Pontiac on Donald Trump's relentless sleaze-fest, "The Apprentice." Richer also placed Pontiac into the virtual Second Life world, figuring that if Pontiac couldn't make any headway in the real world with its scatter-shot product lineup, he could at least gain some notoriety for the brand (and himself) in the virtual world. Richer, a smart and personable guy in my limited contact with him, is one of the new wave of marketers that have emerged in the last half-decade or so - people long on "buzz" marketing and media-savvy, attention-grabbing promotions that garner flashy industry awards - but short on real feel for the product or the tactical nuances necessary to really make a lasting impact in the market. In the self-congratulatory, back-slapping world that the advertising business has become, Richer was definitely a star, however, and to some at GM that's all that mattered, apparently. To be fair, Richer didn't have the luxury of a concentrated financial push from GM that the other GM divisions were getting, and Pontiac was woefully bereft of product hits during his brief tenure, so perhaps his focus on "smoke-and-mirrors" marketing for Pontiac was understandable. But in the end, Richer didn't reestablish the classic positioning for the Pontiac brand that was so desperately needed - and Pontiac sales in the first half of this year were down 14 percent compared to a year ago. Whether Richer can have an impact on Harley-Davidson remains to be seen, because the meteoric rise and endless sales record era for Harley is over. Now, the company finds itself trying to maintain its image while attracting younger buyers, though it teeters on having too much manufacturing capacity, too many models, too many dealers, etc., etc. Sound familiar? Pontiac, meanwhile, has replaced Richer with Craig Bierley. Does he actually "get" it. We'll see. In honor of the True Believers who know what Pontiac once stood for, I reprise an earlier column today that explains just exactly what Pontiac did mean and what it could mean again to GM.
Soul Survivor or just Dust in the Wind?
Detroit. The legendary Pontiac names alone could power a rollcall from Detroit's golden era - Bonneville, Catalina, Tempest, Le Mans, GTO, "The Judge," Grand Prix, Firebird and Trans-Am. The rich additions to the automotive lexicon were legendary too - "389," "421," "455SD," "Tri-Power," "eight-lug" aluminum wheels, Royal Bobcats, "Endura" front bumpers, hood-mounted tachs, and on and on. And the marketing and advertising hooks were equally memorable - with the famous "Wide Track" campaign still resonating to this day. But Pontiac has suffered from neglect and abuse for years, and now GM's maverick division is on the edge of oblivion.
When the recently returned GTO (which suffered from so many built-in handicaps I lost count) faded into the woodwork, Pontiac was left with only one car that even remotely resembled their swashbuckling cars of the past - the Solstice two-seat roadster. The G6 is far too tame to carry Pontiac forward on its own - GXP guise or no - and everything else Pontiac has to offer - the Torrent (which is a badge-engineered Chevy Equinox), the Vibe (shared with the Matrix from Toyota) and the G5 (the badge-engineered version of the Chevy Cobalt) - is too mundane to even ponder. Now Pontiac dealers find themselves anticipating the new G8 performance sedan, the first car on GM's new rear-wheel-drive architecture and the latest and greatest "new" Pontiac designed to "wake up the echoes" for the once proud brand. We'll see.
Pontiac has suffered mightily from the bureaucratic gravitational force field that has churned and stirred the traditional GM divisional structure over the years. While GM marketers scrambled to prop up seven other brands, Pontiac always seemed to be left out on the fringe with product initiatives that often fell woefully short of what the brand deserved. After resurrecting Cadillac to the tune of $5 billion, GM marketers launched Hummer. After dumping a boatload of money in a desperate attempt to save Saturn a few years ago, GM finally got around to worrying about Chevrolet. While GM is trying to pump life into Saab and Buick, Pontiac is left to fight over crumbs for its product plans. Now, GM's launching the most aggressive new product push in Saturn's history - and Pontiac finds itself left out in the cold again.
For every dollar that was thrown at Saturn, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, GMC and Saab over the years - Pontiac got short changed and got further and further removed from its core strengths. GM's maverick division had now been reduced to picking up scraps from Chevy's product lineup and wallowing in such "smoke-and-mirrors" marketing exercises like the dismally tedious "Apprentice" TV show, featuring America's poster boy for vacuous vapidity - Donald Trump. Or underwriting Jimmy Kimmel's show while it was here during the Super Bowl, which provided a real boost to the Pontiac image. Not. Where did GM go wrong with Pontiac? I could fill a dozen issues of Autoextremist.com delineating the division's downfall, but as someone who was intimately familiar with Pontiac's last brief fling with positive notoriety during its "Excitement" years (I was a writer at Pontiac's ad agency for five-and-one-half years in the early '80s), it pains me to see the downward spiral of one of America's most compelling automotive brand names.
It's clear to me that GM's struggle to apportion product and marketing attention to all of its divisions is killing the company - and unfortunately, Pontiac finds itself closest to the door at this point. Until GM's "too many models, too many divisions" situation is somehow mitigated (which I doubt will ever happen unless GM blows itself up and starts over), I fear for the long-term viability of Pontiac.
To understand the travesty of Pontiac's current state you have to go back and understand the impact Pontiac once had on the U.S. market. It's hard to believe this now but at one point during its glory days in the '60s Pontiac was the hottest car company in the country, breathing down Ford's neck in third place in sales. If ever a car company defined "swagger" - Pontiac was it. Pontiac was GM's "pirate" division, and if they could have raised a "skull and crossbones" flag over its headquarters in its heyday, they would have. On any given day, Pontiac was always pissing someone off down at GM headquarters because they just couldn't help themselves from bitch-slapping Chevrolet and sending Chevy executives whining to the 14th floor like little school girls over some perceived transgression.
Starting with Bunkie Knudsen, Pontiac pushed the envelope and marched to a different drummer. Pontiac tweaked their cars to the point that they didn't even seem like they were part of the GM family. More than any other American car company, Pontiac delivered cars to the market bristling with a maverick, rebel attitude, edgy appeal and genuine soul - a commodity so far removed from most of Detroit's products today it's appalling. The street "buzz" around Pontiac was undeniable - and it was fueled by some of the most memorable advertising ever done for an automobile. For one fleeting moment in time, product and advertising came together in such a way that it created an American sensation. If you drove a Pontiac, it definitely said something about you. You were different from the crowd and you went your own way. And the aura that was created around the brand translated into gold in the marketplace, sending Pontiac sales soaring.
Now, Pontiac is a mere shadow of its once glorious self. Except for the Solstice, it has been relegated to cribbing seconds from Chevrolet - a revolting development that must have Bunkie Knudsen and John DeLorean spinning in their graves. To top it off, even the Solstice wasn't exclusively left to Pontiac, because the Saturn Sky added to the confusion and left Pontiac grasping for footing in the market again. The fact that Pontiac's most recent downward spiral was hastened by famed product guru Bob Lutz might be a surprise to some people, but that's exactly what happened. Maximum Bob always fancied Pontiac as GM's "euro" division, a cut-rate BMW for the people who couldn't afford BMWs. And that simply couldn't be further removed from what Pontiac was and should be. That might more closely describe where Saturn is going, but it certainly isn't Pontiac. If any car appealed to the all-American maverick spirit and to the wide-open American attitude, Pontiac was it - and confusing the whole thing with European driving sensibilities is a monumental waste of time. The pure essence of Pontiac was there for all to see, but the current stewards of the brand either forgot it - or never did have a clue to begin with.
Pontiac is on thin ice right now. With a next-generation "authentic" GTO slated for sometime in 2010 as a 2011 model (if GM's new fuel-economy push doesn't kill it), what the hell are they going to do in the meantime? How many different variations of the Solstice and the G6 can they do? Who's going to notice the G5? And the upcoming G8 could be good, but it's far too early to really tell. At any rate, I'm looking at my watch and right now the 2009-2010-2011 time frame sounds like an eternity in this market, especially for Pontiac.
GM can go two ways with Pontiac at this critical juncture. They can keep starving it to death with brand engineering and clone cars, or they can start over with an all-new mission that adheres to the core essence of what a Pontiac was - and should be. It shouldn't be hard. All it would take is a total commitment from GM and the right people in place to make it all happen. But then again, those two key ingredients are the two things necessary in bringing focused, desirable products to the street no matter which company we're talking about.
Back in '81, I did a print ad for the Firebird Trans-Am that had the headline, "Soul Survivor." That ad set the tone for the "excitement" era that followed and started Pontiac on its way back. But Pontiac has unfortunately careened in and out of relevance ever since.
The time is now for Pontiac. The division deserves better. Much better. GM needs to get in touch with the essence and soul of Pontiac and put it on a plan not only for survival - but for revival. If done exactly right, Pontiac's marching to a different drummer persona could have tremendous appeal today in this market of bland-tastic Asian transportation appliances and German techno-wonders.
But if GM can't muster the will to do the right thing with one of America's most famous automotive nameplates, then they might as well just take it out back and put it out of its misery.
I'd rather see that than watch it fade away like dust in the wind.
Thanks for listening, see you next Wednesday.
ON THE TABLE
GM. Taking a page from Toyota's playbook, GM is considering eating some of the cost of its upcoming two-mode hybrid transmission system in its full-sized trucks to make the technology affordable to consumers, Bob Lutz told Automotive News. With a cost rumored to be running near $10,000, GM probably has no choice. Toyota has regularly lost thousands of dollars on its hybrid cars in order to gain their acceptance in the market (even though they've repeatedly denied it). They consider it a worthy trade-off and part of taking the long view of things. Something heretofore anathema in Detroit. It's not the first time Toyota has taken the long view to make inroads in the U.S. market, either. They did the same thing when they launched the Lexus brand here in 1989, pricing it $15,000 below its competition from Mercedes and BMW and taking a huge hit on each one just to get a toehold in the luxury segment. With Toyota having pulled the environmental leadership positioning right out from under GM (and the rest of Detroit) over the last five years, GM is going to have to suck it up and play hardball the Toyota Way if it wants to have a shot.
GM. It was probably an impossible task to begin with, but GM's quest to keep the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro hot for three years after its unveiling at Cobo Hall in January 2006 is proving to be even harder than that. For one thing, to say that the car has been overexposed already is an understatement. From magazine cover stories and "exclusive" low-speed test drives to giveaway posters and models, the new Camaro seems to be everywhere. And Chevy marketeers actually believed they were doling out info about the Camaro in measured bits and bites, walking a fine line between maintaining interest for enthusiasts and not having the "buzz" die down completely. That is until the movie "Transformers" came out last week. Suddenly, the new Camaro is one of the stars of one of this summer's biggest action blockbusters, and the car became exposed to a whole new group of consumers who hadn't seen it before. Which is great, except for the fact that as these interested consumers are finding out, the car won't be available until the first quarter of 2009, which means it won't be available in any quantity at Chevy dealers across the country until two years from right now. And to make matters even worse, the convertible version won't be available until one year after that. Although we sympathize with GM's (and the rest of Detroit's) plight in that they feel it necessary to show-off their best stuff early so that they can generate positive "buzz" from an openly anti-Detroit media at the major auto shows, Chevrolet and GM marketeers should have gone "dark" with the new Camaro immediately after showing it the first time. Even better, they shouldn't have shown the car at all except to dole out some tease photos intermittently. That would have been the way to keep the "buzz" and the interest in the new Camaro going. Instead, Chevrolet and its dealers are faced with the reality that upon its arrival in showrooms across America in 2009, it will be a four-year-old car to a lot of people. Will the Camaro sell in that time frame? Of course it will. But will it be a sustainable hit for Chevy like the recently revived Mustang has been for Ford? It's way too early to tell. There is something to be said, however, for subtlety and restraint when it comes to handling the launch of a hot new car or truck. So for now, we'll refer to the "non"-launch of the next-gen Camaro as one giant missed opportunity.
The Smart car. More than 20,000 people have put down $99.00 deposits to be on the list to buy the new Smart car from Daimler's Mercedes-Benz when it arrives in January, far beyond the expectations of the Penske Automotive Group, which has the exclusive distribution rights in the U.S. How many of those people will follow-through and buy remains to be seen. The launch of the Smart will be one of the most interesting marketing challenges in years. On the one hand, the 40 mpg (average) Smart car is a natural for everyone from urban hipsters to empty nesters - and even the Greenies looking for "What's Next" as far as making a political statement about the environment - and it could be the car-of-the-moment by next January, especially since it will make its national debut in the now permanent $3.00 per gallon gasoline world we're living in. On the other, the Smart's price point (around $15,000+ for a well-equipped model) runs right up against some outstanding competitors like the red-hot Honda Fit (33 mpg in the city), which is a much more substantial car in terms of its size for the money. Will hipness overrule more car for the money? Or will the Smart car have a nickel-rocket trajectory in the market after the first-on-the-block kids get their fill? We're betting the Smart will be a success for the first model year, but after that, things could get dicey.
Ford. Perennially late to the advanced technology party over the last several years, Ford plans to rectify that by creating a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric Fusion, which will attempt to set a land speed record for a production-based hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle during Bonneville Speed Week in August at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Dubbed the Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999, the car is powered completely by hydrogen fuel cells and is a product of a year-long collaborative effort between Ford's fuel cell team, Roush Racing, Ballard Power Systems and Ohio State University. Ford's goal is to become the world's first Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) fuel cell car to travel 200 mph. The Fusion hydrogen racer is dubbed "999" in honor of Henry Ford's original 999 racer, which set a land speed record at 91.37 mph in 1904 on a frozen-over Lake St. Clair, with Henry himself at the wheel.
Monroe:
Where We Came From, Who We Are,
and How We Arrived at Today
From 600-to-230 million years ago, Monroe was on the bottom of a large shallow sea that covered much of central North America. Today a peek back to that time can be seen in the limestone rocks that form layers along the sides of the North Dixie Highway Underpass. These limestone rocks are the remains of that ancient sea. From about 500-250-million years ago, Monroe's climate was probably much warmer than it is today because it was located father south. The seas eventually retreated and about a million years ago the first glaciers began advancing into the Midwest from Canada. Matter of fact, a little bit of Canada is under the feet of all Monroe residents.
Glaciers advanced into the Monroe area from Canada and carried sand, silt, clay, and boulders. These materials were left here permanently when the last of the glaciers retreated north and left the upper Midwest about 10,000 years ago. Geologists say glaciers that covered Monroe were up to a mile-high. The glaciers' bulldozing power was so intense as they moved south that they gouged deep depressions and basins in the land. As the glaciers receded north from the Midwest, enormous amounts of meltwater from the glaciers filled the deep depressions --- eventually forming Lake Erie and the four-other Great Lakes.1, 2, 12
After the warming climate melted the glaciers, archeologists say small bands of Paleo-Indians (20-40 people) may have traveled back and forth through Monroe as they searched for large animals to hunt (barren-ground caribou) and gathered food from plants.13 Archeologists and historians say it is impossible to determine specific Native American tribal identities from this period forward until sometime after French explorer Rene Robert Cavalier Sieur de LaSalle opened the region of New France (an area today that includes much of Eastern Canada, Michigan, and land extending south to the Louisiana) to French missionaries and fur trappers (beaver pelts) after his expedition of 1679. That year LaSalle sailed east-to-west across Lake Erie aboard the first sailing vessel on the Great Lakes, the Griffon.
Because of the area's abundance of food and easy transport found along the River Raisin and Lake Erie, there probably were people who used Monroe as either a crossroads, camp site, or village for many hundreds of years before the first European explorers visited the area. But so far the earliest documented presence in Monroe that archaeologists have found are artifacts they have unearthed at the northwest corner of North Dixie Highway and East Elm Avenue under the first of several excavations commissioned by the City of Monroe that took place 1999-2003. Those objects document Native American Indian presence circa 1550-1650 A.D.
The geologic sculpting that left behind Lake Erie also shaped the founding of Monroe. Much of the western end of Lake Erie was marshland, which made the land subject to flooding and an area to be avoided for building a settlement. A prior history of Monroe states "The presence of the marsh barrier between the City and Lake Erie was probably the single greatest influence upon Monroe's development."14 In 1784 American forces Colonel and Frenchman Francois (Francis) Navarre was the first known European to come to Monroe. On June 3, 1785 Potawatomi Native American Indian chiefs signed a deed giving Colonel Navarre land on the south bank of the River Raisin. Navarre's homestead was located where the present day Sawyer Homestead stands. Sometime shortly after that date, French colonizers built a settlement called Frenchtown on the north bank of the River Raisin just a couple hundred yards northeast of the present Winchester Street Bridge.17
The Frenchtown settlement continued to grow and later gained prominence as the interests of British Empire clashed with its former colony that had only gained its independence from Great Britain a short time earlier. By 1810 the Frenchtown settlement along the north bank of the River Raisin had grown to about 20-buildings surrounded by a puncheon fence.4, 17 The small settlement found itself geographically between forces that were trying to shape the destinies of two nations through the War of 1812. Frenchtown laid in the middle between the British Army (including Canadian forces) based in Detroit and the U.S. forces from the Kentucky Volunteer Militia led by William Henry Harrison that were garrisoned at Fort Meigs (near present-day Perrysburg, Ohio). On January 18, 1813, the Kentucky Militia attacked British soldiers who controlled Frenchtown and sent them retreating across Lake Erie to Fort Malden in Amherstburg, Canada. Four-days later the British Army counterattacked and repelled the Kentucky Militia south to the safety of Fort Meigs.4, 17, 18, 19
More than 300-Americans died during the British counterattack --- making the Battle of the River Raisin the single most deadly battle for the U.S. during the war. The day after the British counterattacked, Indian allies of the British Army killed another 100-injured Kentucky Militia soldiers who were unable to march to Amherstburg. Volunteers seeking revenge flocked to recruiting stations after learning about the Battle of the River Raisin and the slaughter of the injured Kentucky Militia members. These additions to the U.S. Army eventually helped eject the British Army from Ohio, moving them back across the River Raisin during the summer of 1813. Along with the decisive U.S. Naval victory by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie, the British were pushed back to the Thames River near present-day London, Canada where the remaining Kentucky Militiamen engaged the combined British Army/Native Indian force, defeating them to shouts of "Remember the Raisin!" The defeat of the British Army at London, Ontario ended the Northwest Campaign of the War of 1812. The River Raisin Battlefield was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.4, 17, 18, 19
After the war, a feeling of safety motivated settlers to move to the western frontier, including communities like Frenchtown. The life-sustaining River Raisin (Indians referred to the river as the River of Sturgeon) continued attracting people of French descent and others, with the population outgrowing the safe boundaries within the puncheon fence. Population estimates of Frenchtown range between 1,200-1,500 people by 1834. James Monroe served as both Secretary of State and Secretary of War during the War of 1812. To honor Monroe's service and his help in the area's recovery from the devastation brought by the war, on July 14, 1817 Michigan Governor Lewis Cass named a newly created county in Southeast Michigan --- Monroe County.15,16 Less than two-months later the City of Monroe was officially established on September 4, 1817.15 Circa May 1824 Frenchtown Postmaster Charles Noble asked the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C. to consider several possible name changes for Frenchtown. In July 1824 the Post Office Department notified Frenchtown Postmaster Noble that the Post Office Department officially changed the name of his post office to "Monroe in Michigan Territory."9
Monroe is Michigan's only Lake Erie commercial port. And just as the French Explorer LaSalle made his way west across Lake Erie, later so to did farmer and laborers who help build what was then 'the West.' From about 1826-1843 an existing but inadequate harbor was in use on LaPlaisance Bay (today Bolles Harbor) that disembarked people, goods, and materials from the East. In 1834 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Captain Henry Smith submitted plans to the chief of engineers a plan for straightening the River Raisin so that the river would directly connect to Lake Erie. Captain Smith's plan called for digging a canal about 4,000' long by 100' wide. Work began in 1835 on what would be called the United States Canal. Congress appropriated money intermittently for the canal building project . The construction of all piers and revetments, and dredging was finished some time around 1888.15
In 1838 the City of Monroe held an election to ask property owners if money should be raised for the City to take responsibility for shortening and straightening the River Raisin by building a 1,300' City Canal that would connect to the United States Canal. The money would either be raised through a either a special real estate tax levied on property owners or through a loan. In August 1838 property owners voted overwhelmingly in favor of securing a loan to finance the project. It was alleged that the vote may have been skewed by those who supported the project and those who wanted employment working on the canal. It was reported that some property owners transferred small parcels of their land to non property owners, which qualified them to vote. To pay for construction, the City issued $25,000 in bonds that were to be paid in 20-years. The City Canal was completed in 1843 to a depth of eleven-feet.15 Voters again played another important role in the life of the Port. The entire City of Monroe was designated as a port district for development purposes when a special election was held and voters approved the official creation of the Port of Monroe on 12 May 1932.30 In contemporary times, the Port of Monroe has seen shipments of armor stone, asphalt, cement, coal, limestone, lumber, industrial equipment, petroleum coke, sand, and Renault cars.
Monroe's geographic location continued to play a role in its development when, in 1837, the Michigan Legislature appropriated money for the construction of three-railroads that would cross the width of the State east to west. To capitalize on the movement of people from the East Coast who were hoping to find their fortunes in the West and their need for supplies, the Michigan Southern Railroad was finished in 1841. The Michigan Southern Railroad was the southernmost of the three State-financed railroads and connected Monroe to New Buffalo on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.14
Just as the Potawatomi Indians chose Monroe for its superior location as a crossroads for food, transportation, and communication; many years later Monroe's prominence as a crossroads would once again make it attractive for an emerging form of transportation. City of Monroe Custer Airport's tradition of public service started circa 1929 when the U.S. Commerce Department appropriated $12,000 to create the Monroe Airfield. The Monroe Airfield was designed so it could be a stopover along the flyway of a transcontinental air mail route. World War II gave the airport a military mission when the U.S. Navy leased it for several years for use as a landing and dive-bombing training site for pilots flying training missions from NAS Grosse Ile. The airport's tradition of public service has continued with airplanes and helicopters using the airport from the Michigan State Police, Michigan National Guard, and Monroe County Sheriff's Office.31, 32 Today Monroe Custer Airport (TTF, FAA identifier) has a paved asphalt runway that is 5,000' x 100', with a full-length parallel taxiway. The airport also has a full service fix based operator that offers a flight school, maintenance, and charters. The designation as a Reliever Airport for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport means air traffic controllers encourage smaller, private aircraft to land at Monroe's airport instead of adding to the congestion at the Detroit airport.
Civil War Major General George Armstrong Custer first came to Monroe with his half sister Lydia in 1849 when he was ten-years-old to attend school two-years at the New Dublin primary school. He went back to his parents in New Rumley, Ohio. In 1853, at the age of 14, George Custer returned to Monroe for two-years of study at the Stebbins Academy. While in Monroe this second time he met a young Elizabeth (Libbie) Bacon. His impression of Ms. Bacon was lasting enough for him to return eleven-years later, during the height of the Civil War, in 1864 and marry her. Custer graduated as a second lieutenant from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1861. During the Civil War the young Custer fought as a cavalry officer at the Battle of Bull Run, Gettysburg, and numerous other battles, drilled new recruits and helped defend the nation's capital, and served in the Army of the Potomac. After the War Between the States, Lieutenant Colonel Custer carried out War Department policy in regard to the various Native American tribes in the West as settlers began a massive migration west that would put them in direct competition for land and food that sustained wandering Indian tribes.5, 6
The result of competing and sometimes confusing government policies toward the Indians clashed with native way of life on a grassy ridge next to the valley of Montana's Little Bighorn River. On June 25-26, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel Custer led 262-U.S. Army cavalry soldiers and scouts in battle against a force of more than 1,500 warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. The Indian confederation killed all in Custer's attacking detachment.5, 6 Custer has been remembered in a number of ways. While many books have been written about the Ohio native, Custer was immortalized in popular culture when actor Errol Flynn portrayed Custer in the 1941 film "They Died With Their Boots On."
Another man who lived in Monroe for part of his childhood was J. (Julius) Sterling Morton --- founder of internationally-observed Arbor Day. Morton lived in Monroe 1834 – 1854 and developed a lasting appreciation for nature generally, and trees specifically. Two-year-old J. Sterling Morton arrived in Monroe with his parents from Adams, New York. They lived in a house at the southeast corner of Fourth and Harrison Streets. While growing up, Morton spent a lot of his time hanging out at his uncle Edward Morton's Monroe Advocate newspaper offices. Uncle Edward was editor of the newspaper and the young nephew greatly admired his uncle and became interested in journalism and newspaper publishing. Young Morton attended Albion College in Albion, Michigan during the winter term of 1847 – 1848, and through the summer of 1848. In the autumn of 1850 Morton began attending the University of Michigan. Morton was a senior in May, 1854 and was one-month away from graduating when he was expelled from the university for his strong opposition to the firing of a physician on the medical school's faculty. The university later awarded a bachelor's degree to Morton in 1858. Morton's parents moved from Monroe to Detroit in 1854. Also in 1854, the 22-year-old Morton and his new bride Caroline moved to the Nebraska Territory where he began his own career in journalism and newspaper publishing when he began publishing The Nebraska City News in 1855.
As was permitted at the time, during the Civil War Morton hired a substitute to take his place to serve in the Union Army. During the war Morton formed a Nebraska City Cavalry Company to keep Nebraska Territory residents safe from Indian attacks. In addition to starting a newspaper in 1855, that same year also saw Morton begin pursuit of another interest that would eventually take him to Washington: politics. In 1855 the young newspaper publisher was elected a representative in the Nebraska Territorial Legislature at the age of 23. Through writing and publishing stories in his The Nebraska City News, Morton encouraged farmers to improve their farming techniques, plant better crops, and plant trees on the largely treeless Nebraska plains. Morton promoted the many benefits
trees could give farmers: reduce soil erosion, provide wood for heating and cooking, and protect farm families from the blistering Nebraska summer sun. To help promote the many beneficial uses of wood, Morton proposed a tree-planting holiday in Nebraska, called Arbor Day. A day dedicated to trees would be his legacy. In 1872 Morton submitted a resolution to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture designating April 10 as Arbor Day. To encourage participation of this new day to promote the benefits of trees, Morton offered prizes to farmers who planted the most trees. Since then the popularity of the tree holiday has spread and is now celebrated around the planet, usually on the last Friday of April.
Later, Morton's interests in agriculture and politics brought him to the attention of President Grover Cleveland, who appointed Morton Agriculture Secretary in 1893. During Morton's tenure over the Agriculture Department, he achieved a nearly 20% savings in the cost of operating the department, operated the department with ten-percent fewer staff, improved and expanded the Weather Bureau, and introduced the widespread use of a civil service merit system instead of relying on political patronage. Morton was even a Democratic Party presidential candidate in 1896. The one-time Monroe resident, newspaper publisher, public servant, and founder of Arbor Day died in 1902 at the age of 70.
Cardboard boxes, newsprint, wrapping paper, binder cardboard, liner board, fiber board, cereal cartons, recycled fiber; and most recently roofing shingles, once made Monroe a manufacturing center or paper and paper-related products. The first of the community's many paper mills began in 1834 when the Raisinville Mill was built several miles west of the city on the south bank of the River Raisin. Other paper mills followed: Monroe Paper Company (circa 1866), Lake Erie Pulp and Paper Company (circa early 1880's), Richardson Paper Company, Waldorf Paper Mill (circa 1888), Monroe Folding Box Company (circa 1903), Monroe Binder Board Company (circa 1906), River Raisin Paper Company (circa 1911), Monroe Corrugated Box Company (circa 1917), Monroe Paper Products Company (circa 1921), Consolidated Paper Company (circa 1921), Ace Paper Products Company (circa 1953), Jefferson Smurfitt Corporation (circa 1982), and roofing shingles from IKO Monroe Incorporated (2000).8
Monroe entrepreneurs have given the world a smoother ride and a more comfortable place to sit and relax. In 1916 August Meyer started Brisk Blast in Monroe, which produced as many as 5,000 tire pumps a week. In 1919 the business changed its name to Monroe Auto Equipment Company and eventually evolved into a worldwide manufacturer of automotive shock absorbers. The company built the first shock absorbers for railroad passenger cars in 1938. In early 1974 Monroe Auto Equipment Company moved its world headquarters from the city to Monroe Charter Township. In 1977 the company merged with the large multinational automotive supplier Tenneco, Inc. Tenneco continues to manufacture Monroe Shocks and Struts.20
Two Monroe cousins taught the world the joys of reclining! In 1927 cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker pooled their money and started a furniture-making business in the garage Edward Knabusch's father. The Kna-Shoe Manufacturing Company was born and in 1928 the cousins designed a wood-slat folding reclining chair (which the company still makes). In 1929 the company made its first upholstered reclining chair --- the chair that went on to become the signature product of the small garage-based furniture company that eventually grew to become LA-Z-BOY Incorporated. With its corporate headquarters still in Monroe, today LA-Z-BOY has retail stores and manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia.21
Two successful figures from the literary world called Monroe their long-time home: Elizabeth Upham McWebb (Aunt Bett) and Vern J. Sneider. Elizabeth Upham McWebb was lovingly known as Aunt Bett by untold numbers of children and adults who enjoyed reading her children's stories. The character she is most famous for is Little Brown Bear. Little Brown Bear originally appeared as a central character in short stories Aunt Bett wrote that were first published in children's magazines in 1938. Little Brown Bear was published in 1942 and was the first of seven books that chronicled the many adventures of the curious bear.
Besides being an accomplished author, Aunt Bett was also a prolific story teller. Through the years area children enjoyed listening to her read and tell stories at the library and at the Monroe County Fair. Aunt Bett graduated from Monroe High School in 1923 and later lived for many years in the house at 304 Tremont Street. On October 6, 2002 a statue dedication ceremony took place at the Dorsch Branch of the Monroe County Library System at Loranger Square in Downtown Monroe. On that day, just a few feet from the library's entrance, a 600-pound bronze statue was dedicated of Little Brown Bear sitting on a log. The statue was paid for by donations. Elizabeth Upham McWebb died at the age of 99 in 2004.22, 23
Author Vern J. Sneider was born in 1916 and was a lifelong Monroe resident. Mr. Sneider served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1946. After World War Two ended, Mr. Sneider was assigned to the Japanese island of Okinawa during the occupation. Mr. Sneider wrote five books, numerous television scripts, and contributed to numerous periodicals, including the Saturday Evening Post and The New York Times Book Review. But it was his experience working in the Okinawan village of Tobaru that would lead him to write the work he is most known for and for which he won the highest form of literary recognition. Mr. Sneider published Teahouse of the August Moon in 1951 and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for that novel in 1954.
During Mr. Sneider's service in the Army immediately after the end World War Two, he is credited with reopening 550 schools in Kyong Province, Korea. Teahouse of the August Moon is set in immediate Post World War Two occupied Japan on the island of Okinawa. It is a satirical look at the humorous results of what happened when the U.S. Army tried to teach representative democracy and capitalism to Japanese villagers who put their own unique spin on those two concepts that were new to them. The novel was later adapted into a Broadway production that debuted in 1953 and ran for 1,032 performances. In 1956 Mr. Sneider's novel was produced as a film. The film starred Marlon Brando, Glen Ford, Eddie Albert, and Paul Ford. From 1961 until his death in 1981, Mr. Sneider lived at 426 North Macomb Street. The Monroe author died in 1981 and his obituary was published in The Washington Post and The New York Times.24, 25
While the paper industry dominated much of Monroe's industrial life, a steel factory was the center of a confrontation that put Monroe in the national news. Monroe City officials and the Monroe Industrial Commission recruited a steel business to Monroe from Newton Falls, Ohio. The Newton Steel plant opened in Monroe in 1929 and employed about 1,300 workers, with as many 90% of its employees who followed the steel factory from Newton Falls to Monroe. Newtown's largely immigrant workforce did not assimilate well into Monroe's social fabric, with many of them originally emigrating from Eastern and Southern Europe. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) formed the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC). In 1935 Republic Steel bought Newton Steel. Republic's president was anti union and maintained a practice of not signing labor contracts with his company's employees. National SWOC organizers sent a representative to Monroe to create an organized union workforce at the Newton Steel plant. The SWOC representative in Monroe also was to try to recruit Newton's employees to join a national SWOC strike against the so-called Little Steel companies that began on May 26, 1937. The SWOC presence in Monroe was part of a larger attempt nationally by the CIO to unionize the Little Steel companies of Republic Steel, Bethlehem Steel, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, and Inland Steel. The national SWOC labor activist sent to Monroe was able to convince Monroe SWOC members to join the strike on May 28, 1937 when a vote was held at a morning and evening meeting. Out of a workforce of 1,300 employees at the Newton Steel Monroe plant, only about 10-15% of Newton workers voted to strike. Attendance was small at both strike meetings.
Republic Steel did nothing to dispel rumors that the Soviet Union and the Communist Party were linked to the CIO'S. Picket lines went up around the plant. The City of Monroe seemed to be more sympathetic to Newton's officials than to the SWOC's position. That sympathy may have been born of familiarity. Mr. Orren Barron was both an advisor to the Newton workers who disagreed with the vote to strike and he was also City Attorney to the administration of Monroe Mayor Daniel Knaggs. Also, Monroe's Police Chief, Jesse Fischer, had formerly been director of Newton's company police force from 1930-1934. At the company's request, Monroe County Sheriff Joseph Bairley gave county-wide deputization authority to seven members of the Newton company police force. By the end of the strike, the City of Monroe had deputized at least 383 civilians to join the ranks of its police department. Mayor Knaggs intervened in the strike and organized a vote to determine if employees wanted to go back to work. The election was not approved by the National Labor Relations Board. Results of the election showed that 782 workers voted against the strike while only 30 supported it.
The first violence in the strike came when a SWOC union leader was assaulted in Monroe's post office by a mob and by deputized special police that had been created by the City. The special deputized police left the City Commission offices and marched toward Newton Steel. At this point in time, with the possibility of violence increasing, Michigan Governor Frank Murphy unsuccessfully attempted to mediate the strike by telephone, making calls to strike leaders, City officials, and Newton officials. Chief Fischer ordered the strikers to open their picket lines. Strikers refused and apparently company police lobbed a tear gas bomb from behind the picket lines. A melee ensued and the special deputized police launched tear gas canisters at the strikers. Cars were overturned and dumped into the River Raisin. The strikers were outnumbered and out equipped, they ran and special deputized police chased and beat them. During the riot ,eleven people were injured. Within one-week after the violent picket line clash, Newton Steel was operating again at full capacity.7
Another industrial milestone in Monroe's life, and for that matter, all of Southeast Michigan, came in 1971 when DTE Energy began operating the Monroe Power Plant. The coal-fire electrical generating station is located on the River Raisin and Lake Erie shore where it uses that water to generate steam, which turns the turbines, which turns generators that make electricity. The Monroe plant burns about eight-million tons of coal per year. It burns a mixture of low-sulfur Western coal and mid-sulfur Eastern coal. About one-million tons of coal is unloaded by freighters which dock on the River Raisin, and the remaining seven-million tons by train. Freighters typically unload anywhere between 28,000 tons to 42,000 tons of coal, taking them six to ten hours respectively. An average train has 115-rail cars, each carrying 100 tons of coal. One of the most noticeable features of the Monroe Power Plant are its twin 800' tall concrete smoke stacks, which are Monroe landmarks and can easily be seen for 10-15 miles on a clear day. The Boiler Building is 13-stories tall. The plant and equipment that sit on DTE Energy's 1,200-acre site makes the Monroe Power Plant the city's largest taxpayer, comprising about 39% of the city's tax base.26
Few communities are fortunate enough to experience the drama, excitement, and notoriety generated by a presidential visit. Monroe has experienced the honor during visits by four presidents through its history.
Monroe's first presidential visit occurred on September 4 , 1866 when President Andrew Johnson's (1865-1869) train route brought him to the city. Hoping to influence November's Congressional elections and promote a more conciliatory reunification of the South with the North after the Civil War, the nation's 17th President boarded a train in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1866 for a trip that would take him to the Midwest. President Johnson's train trip became known as the Swing Around the Circle, a term Tennessee politicians (like Johnson) were familiar with when they wanted to campaign face-to-face with the public.
President Johnson felt strongly that the former Confederate States of America should be reintegrated into the Republic as quickly as possible and without any of the vindictiveness and retribution that many members of Congress advocated. So President Johnson decided to plead his case directly to the people and ask them to elect a Congress that would favor his policy of a quick and forgiving reunification of the Confederacy into the Union. A number of dignitaries joined President Johnson on his Swing Around the Circle tour of the Midwest. Among the invited guests were: Secretary of State William Seward (organizer of the train trip), Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, Admiral David Farragut, General Ulysses Grant (18th President, 1869-1877), Ambassador from Mexico Don Mateos Romero, and Major General George Armstrong Custer.10
With the ultimate destination being Chicago for a monument dedication, the presidential train left Toledo, Ohio after a short stop there and headed north to Monroe where it arrived at 4:45 p.m. on September 4, 1866. While it is not known with certainty why the presidential train made an unscheduled stop in Monroe, it is possible President Johnson wanted to let General Custer visit with friends and others who knew him from his adopted home town. It is reported that a crowd gave General Custer "three cheers when he appeared." Residents built a platform in the public square near the Monroe County Courthouse where the President spoke from. President Andrew Johnson would become the first of three presidents to address audiences gathered in Loranger Square. Secretary of State Seward also spoke to the audience. It is reported that some people were disappointed because they did not get to see General Grant, who had left the presidential train in Cleveland. After Secretary Seward spoke, the presidential party boarded the train and left for Detroit.10, 11
Monroe's second presidential visit also involved Major General George Armstrong Custer --- or more specifically, honoring him. Circa 1908 a group of local residents banded together and formed the Michigan Custer Memorial Association. The Michigan Legislature appropriated $25,000 and commissioned Edward Potter to be the monument's sculpture. The bronze sculpture of Custer seated on a horse, and mounted on a pedestal, was ready for a dedication ceremony fitting the enthusiasm and affection local residents felt for the fallen lieutenant colonel. The statue's dedication ceremony was given a national audience when it was learned that the 27th President of the United States, President William Howard Taft (1909-1913), would attend, since he would already be in Michigan on other business.
On June 4, 1910 a very large crowd packed Loranger Square to listen to President Taft speak from a dais that was built on the front lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse. While President Taft praised Custer for his leadership during the Civil War, the president said Custer's decade of military service after the Civil War was more noteworthy "He (Custer) was one of that small band of twenty-five thousand men constituting the regular army of the United States, without whose service, whose exposure to danger, whose loss of life and whose hardships and trials, it would not have been possible for us to have settled the great west." Mrs. Elizabeth Custer unveiled the statue, which stood in the center of Loranger Square.16 The statue was later moved to its present location at the southwest corner of Elm Avenue and Monroe Street.
Monroe's next presidential visit also came on a summer day, 80-years later when the 42nd president of the United States stood and delivered a speech within 30' of where President Taft stood and spoke. On August 15, 2000 under a blazing sun that saw the heat index reach 101-degrees, at least 17,000 people jammed Loranger Square in downtown Monroe to listen to President William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001). In a rare joint appearance, Vice President Al Gore joined the president. Vice President Gore was campaigning for the presidency and the presidential visit was designed to symbolically pass the political mace of leadership from the president to the vice president. Besides the rareness of a joint presidential/vice presidential visit, the two executive branch officials were joined by their wives: First Lady Hillary Clinton (along with daughter Chelsea) and Tipper Gore. The event was well documented, with more than 200-news representatives were credentialed for the visit, including Japanese t-v network NHK.
The tightly packed crowd stood shoulder to shoulder north up Washington Street to Front Street, and west to Monroe Street. President Clinton told the crowd that the views he saw driving into Monroe reminded him of the scenes they saw and the people they met during the bus tour he, his wife Hillary and then Senator Gore and his wife Tipper took as they campaigned for the presidency in 1992. While in a mood to reminisce, President Clinton stood on the dais on the front lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse and summarized his nearly two-terms in office "Miraculously for us the people of Michigan and the people of Ohio twice gave us the chance to serve. Al Gore and I have worked for nearly eight-years now to put you first, never to forget about you. To get the economy going again and to get our society moving in the right direction. To make us a more united nation, a stronger, a better nation."27
Three-years later Monroe again added to its distinguished legacy by hosting a fourth presidential visit. On September 15, 2003, President George W. Bush (2001-2009) came to the city to tour the coal-burning Monroe Power Plant on the shore of Lake Erie. The 43rd president was given a tour of what Detroit Edison says is one of the largest coal-fired electrical generating plants in the world. The president spoke to several hundred employees and invited guests about his administration's proposed changes to air pollution laws. The commander-in-chief also reminded those gathered of his conviction to keep the nation's security a top priority "The only way to win the war on terror is to stay on the offensive. But the best way to make sure the homeland is secure, is to hunt these killers down one by one and bring them to justice, which the United States of America will do."28, 29
The president linked job security and economic prosperity with peoples' and business' ability to have confidence in having reliable sources of energy. President Bush praised the Monroe Power Plant's employees for playing a significant role in maintaining a healthy economy in Southeast Michigan "For all the workers who work here. I want you to know that you're providing an important service. Creating the conditions so people can find a job. You're working hard to make sure somebody can turn on a light switch and they can realize the comforts of modern life. Thanks for what you do."29
On December 21, 2001 President George W. Bush signed legislation authored by U.S. Representative John Dingell that established the first international wildlife refuge in North America: the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge has grown from its initial size of 304 acres to its current size of approximately 5,000 acres. Habitats that are part of the 48-mile length of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge include: islands, coastal wetlands, marshes, shoals, and waterfront lands. The Refuge's length spans the Lower Detroit River, south to the western shore of Lake Erie. The Refuge is intended to protect and restore habitat for 29 species of waterfowl, 65 kinds of fish, and 300 species of migratory birds in Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
A series of negotiations took place to expand the Refuge to include marshes from Monroe. The negotiations were initiated and lead by Representative John Dingell, and took place between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Automotive Components Holdings (ACH), a division of Ford Motor Company. Those negotiations successfully led to the creation of the 240 acre Eagle Island Marsh unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The two Refuge parcels that make up the 240 acres of the Eagle Island Marsh are located on the east and west sides of the property owned by Automotive Components Holding, 3200 East Elm Avenue. Employees of ACH thought of the name for the Marsh. On October 31, 2005 a dedication ceremony was held at the ACH plant that formally celebrated the management agreement whereby the 240 acre site is under the protection and stewardship of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 240 acre marshland protects coastal wetlands and provides habitat for American Lotus Blossoms and for Bald Eagles.
The initiative and determined legislative efforts of Michigan Congressman John D. Dingell (D) circulated Monroe's name through the halls of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. during 2006. The City, collaborating with other local organizations and groups, had been working for a number of years to acquire property where the Battle of the River Raisin was fought. A major step forward in the lengthy process came on December 30, 2005 when Mayor John Iacoangeli introduced two agreements at a Special City Council meeting. City Council adopted both agreements. One agreement transferred the 35.5-acre Battlefield property from a private owner to the Port of Monroe.33 The second agreement was the River Raisin Battlefield Development Agreement, which created the nonprofit River Raisin Battlefield National Foundation.34 The Foundation will promote public education of the site along with conducting fund-raising for the Battlefield's preservation.
The River Raisin Battlefield site was on the legislative fast track in 2006. On April 6, 2006, Congressman John Dingell introduced two bills in the House of Representatives: the River Raisin National Battlefield Study Act (H.R. 5132) and the River Raisin Battlefield Acquisition Act. H.R. 5132 quickly became the legislative priority among the two bills. It directed the National Park Service to study the Battlefield and to make a recommendation whether the site should be included within the National Park System. Congressman Dingell's persistence was responsible for getting a Congressional hearing scheduled on July 13, 2006 to consider the River Raisin National Battlefield Study Act. In what may be a first in Monroe's history, Mayor C.D. Cappuccilli joined Congressman Dingell at the table in Room 1324 of the Longworth House Office Building to provide oral and written testimony before members of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Committee on Resources.
Mayor Cappuccilli was not only well prepared for his Congressional testimony, but he also had brought plenty of support with him from Monroe to the Capitol. The Mayor had organized an endorsement letter-writing campaign as evidence that there was broad local support for seeking Federal protection for the Battlefield site. Nearly 60-letters of support accompanied the Mayor to Washington. Community leaders in business, academia, government, nonprofits, and ordinary residents throughout Monroe County and the State wrote letters in support of Congressman Dingell's Battlefield legislation. The coordinated effort paid off when the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5132 on September 26, 2006.35
Michigan's two Senators, and a Senator from Kentucky, were also promoting Monroe's Battlefield interests on the Senate side of the Capitol. Michigan Senators Carl Levin (D) and Debbie Stabenow (D), along with co-sponsor Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning (R), introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate on August 8, 2006. Four months later, almost to the day, on December 7, 2006 the U.S. Senate passed the bill.36 The bill was then forwarded to the White House for signing by President George W. Bush. On December 20, 2006 White House Press Secretary Tony Snow released a Statement on Bill Signings that announced "On Wednesday, December 20, 2006 the President signed into law … H.R. 5132."37 On that day the River Raisin National Battlefield Study Act became Public Law 109-429. Congressman Dingell was optimistic the new law will lead to greater Federal recognition and protection of the site "We are now on our way to bringing a wonderful monument honoring people who sacrificed their lives to secure America’s sovereignty."38
The speed at which the bill moved through Congress to get to the White House astonished those who are familiar with the normally glacially slow, and often obscure journey a bill can take once it is introduced in Congress. Most bills that get introduced never make it beyond their early stage in life and end up being held in committee where the bill dies for lack of action. The fact that this piece of legislation was a stand-alone bill and was of local interest only, without attracting the kind of national attention something like a social security bill might, made its light speed journey from bill into law even more of an amazing peculiarity.
These are just a few of the people and events that have formed the legacy that Monroe's residents continue to build upon each day. It is likely that the confluence of geography and the ingenuity of its residents will continue to keep Monroe at the crossroads of opportunity.
Ryan Solomon,
Assistant City Manager
Editor's Note: More information about these and other events in Monroe's past can be found at the Monroe County Historical Museum, 126 South Monroe Street, Monroe, Michigan 48161 (734) 240-7780.
Sources:
1 Environment Canada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book. C 1995.
2 U.S. Department of Agriculture with Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, Soil Survey of Monroe County, Michigan. C 1981.
3 City of Monroe and Haley and Aldrich of Michigan, Inc., Former Jefferson Smurfitt Corporation East Mill Properties. 10 May 2002.
4 Keefer, Kathryn. The Bloody Stream: An Archival Excavation of the Battles and Massacre of the River Raisin. 19 June 2003.
5 Chamberlin, Dr. Kathleen. Professor of History, Eastern Michigan University.
6 National Park Service Internet site, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana.
7 Turrini, Joseph M. "The Newton Steel Strike: A Watershed in the CIO's Failure to Organize "Little Steel." Labor History. Spring-Summer 1997.
8 "Monroe Paper Industry Has Deep Roots," The Monroe Evening News. 7 May 1964.
9 Correspondence from U.S. Post Office Department Official John McLean. 1 May 1824 and 1 July 1824.
10 Phifer, Gregg. (Courtesy Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, Greeneville, Tennessee, National Park Service), "The Last Stand of Presidential Reconstruction, 1866: Andrew Johnson's Persuasive Efforts on His Swing Around the Circle." 1947.
11 "The President in Monroe," The Monroe Commercial. 6 September 1866, p. 3.
12 Scarpelli, Lisa. Instructor of Geoscience, Monroe County Community College.
13 Halsey, John R. State Archaeologist, Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries, "Prehistory of Michigan Gallery."
14 City of Monroe and Beckett, Raeder, Rankin, Inc., Lake Erie Gateway Development Plan. August 1980.
15 Wing, Talcott E. History of Monroe County, Michigan. 1890.
16 Bulkley, John McClelland. History of Monroe County, Michigan. 1913.
17 City of Monroe and Haley and Aldrich of Michigan. Inc., "Former Jefferson Smurfitt Corporation East Mill Properties, Monroe, Michigan/Historic Significance of the Frenchtown Settlement and River Raisin Battlefield." May 2002.
18 Ottawa County Tourism Bureau, Monroe County Tourism Bureau, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Windsor, Essex County and Pelee Island, "1812 – The Pursuit of Peace."
19 Zeisler, Karl. Monroe Evening News, A Brief History of Monroe. 1960.
20 Tenneco Automotive, "Monroe Shock and Struts: A Heritage of Innovation, Quality and Performance."
21 LA-Z-BOY Incorporated, LA-Z-BOY: Celebrating 75 Years of Comfort.
22 Dorsch Branch, Monroe County Library System.
23 Monroe Art and Beautification Fund Committee brochure.
24 The Monroe Evening News. 2 May 1981.
25 Thomson Gale. Contemporary Authors Online. 2005.
26 DTE Energy.
27 Solomon, Ryan S. "Passing the Torch," City of Monroe Newsletter The City, Fall 2000, with quotations from videotape of visit.
28 Slat, Charles. "Bush in Monroe" and "Bush Pushes Pollution Rule Changes," The Monroe Evening News. 15 September 2003.
29 Quotations from President George W. Bush from videotape supplied by DTE Energy.
30 City of Monroe Council Meeting Minutes. 1932, pp. 1,297, 1,300.
31 "City to Be Given Many Advantages Because of Field," The Monroe Evening News. 31 December 1928.
32 "Custer Airfield Will Be Surplus," The Monroe Evening News. 22 September 1945.
33 City of Monroe. "Conveyance Agreement." 2005.
34 City of Monroe. "River Raisin Battlefield Development Agreement." 2005.
35 Dingell, John D. "Dingell Praises Passage of River Raisin National Battlefield Legislation." News Release. 26 September 2006.
36 Library of Congress. Chronology of H.R. 5132. From Thomas database.
37 Snow, Tony. "Statement by the Press Secretary on Bill Signings." 20 December 2006.
38 Dingell, John D. "Dingell Praises Levin and Stabenow for Getting River Raisin Battlefield Study Act Through U.S. Senate." 8 December 2006.
CHAPTER 1261
CONSTRUCTION OF LANGUAGE AND DEFINITIONS
1261.01 Definitions.
For the purpose of this Ordinance, certain words and terms are herewith defined.
Access Management. A technique to improve traffic operations and safety along a major roadway through the control of driveway locations and design; consideration of the relationship of traffic activity for properties adjacent to, and across from, one another; and the promotion of alternatives to direct access.
Accessory Building or Structure. An unattached building or structure, or a portion thereof, that is supplementary and/or subordinate to a principal building or structure on the same lot and that is occupied or devoted exclusively to an accessory use.
Accessory Use. A use which is clearly incidental to, customarily found in connection with, and (except in the case of accessory off-street parking or loading spaces) located on, the same zoning lot as the principal use to which it is related. When the word accessory is used in this text, it shall have the same meaning as accessory use. Accessory use shall include, but it is not limited to, uses such as those that follow:
(a) Residential accommodations for servants and/or caretakers within the principal building.
(b) Swimming pools for the use of the occupants of a residence or their guests.
(c) Domestic storage in a barn, shed, tool room or similar accessory building or other structure.
(d) Storage of merchandise normally carried in stock in connection with a business or industrial use, unless such storage is excluded in the applicable district regulations.
(e) Storage of goods used in, or produced by, industrial uses or related activities, unless such storage is excluded in the applicable district regulations.
(f) Accessory off-street parking spaces, open or enclosed, subject to the accessory off-street parking regulations for the district in which the zoning lot is located.
(g) Uses clearly incidental to a principal use such as offices of an industrial or commercial use within an industrial or commercial building, or a small area devoted to accessory sales or display in an office or industrial use.
(h) Accessory signs, subject to the sign regulations for the district in which the zoning lot is located.
Addition. An extension or increase in the floor area or the height of a building or structure, such as a parking lot.
Administrative Site Plan Review Committee. A group of individuals designated by the City Manager and/or Zoning Administrator who shall conduct administrative reviews of site plans. [MODIFIED]
Adult Regulated Use. An establishment which is required to exclude, and/or does exclude, minors by virtue of age and are further defined as follows: [MODIFIED]
(a) Adult Book or Supply Store. An establishment having twenty percent (20) or more of its stock-in-trade or its sales devoted to the distribution, display, or storage of books, magazines, and other periodicals and/or photographs, drawings, slides, films, video tapes, recording tapes, and/or novelty items which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
(b) Adult Motion Picture Theater, Adult Live Stage Performing Theater. An enclosed building with a capacity of fifty (50) or more persons used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, for observation by patrons therein. Such establishment is customarily not open to the public generally, but only to one (1) or more classes of the public, excluding any minor by reason of age.
(c) Adult Cabaret. An establishment which features any of the following: topless dancers and/or bottomless dancers, go-go dancers, strippers, male and/or female impersonators or similar entertainers, or topless and/or bottomless waitpersons or employees, or any other form of nude or partially nude service or entertainment.
(d) Adult Physical Culture Establishment. An "Adult Physical Culture Establishment" is any establishment club or business by whatever name designated, which offers or advertises, or is equipped or arranged so as to provide as part of its services, massages, body rubs, alcohol rubs, physical stimulation, baths, or other similar treatment by any person. The following uses shall not be included with the definition of any adult physical culture establishment:
(1) Establishments which routinely provide such services by a licensed physician, a licensed chiropractor, a licensed osteopath, a licensed physical therapist, a licensed practical nurse, or any other similarly licensed medical professional;
(2) Electrolysis treatment by a licensed operator of electrolysis equipment;
(3) Continuing instruction in material or performing arts or in organized athletic activities;
(4) Hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics or medical offices; and
(5) Barber shops or beauty parlors and/or salons that offer massage to the scalp, the face, or the neck and shoulders only.
(e) Body-Piercing. Body-piercing means the perforation of human tissue other than an ear for a non-medical purpose.
(f) Body-Piercing Establishment. An establishment where the perforation of human tissue other than an ear for a non-medical purpose is performed, whether or not it is in exchange for compensation or any form of consideration.
(g) Brand or Branding. The creation of a permanent mark made on human tissue by burning with a hot iron or other instrument.
(h) Specified Anatomical Areas. Specified anatomical areas means and includes any one (1) or more of the following: (a) less than completely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus, or female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola; or (b) human male genitals in a discernible turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
(i) Specified Sexual Activities. Specified sexual activities means and includes any one (1) or more of the following: (a) the fondling or erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or female breasts; (b) human sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including but not limited to intercourse, oral copulation, and sodomy; (c) human masturbation, actual or simulated; (d) human excretory functions as part of, or as related to, any one of the activities described above, and (e) physical violence, bondage, mutilation, or rape, actual or simulated, as part of, or as related to, any of the activities described above.
(j) Tattoo Parlor. An establishment where persons are tattooed for consideration, other than by a licensed medical practitioner or cosmetologist; or any place where tattooing is regularly conducted whether or not it is in exchange for compensation.
(k) Tattoo, Tattooed, Tattooing. Any method of placing permanent designs, letters, scrolls, figures, symbols or any other marks upon or under the skin with ink or any other substance, by the aide of needles or any other instruments designed to touch or puncture the skin, resulting in either the coloration of the skin, or the production of scars or scarring, other than by branding.
Alley. A dedicated public way which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property and which is not intended for general traffic circulation.
Alteration. Any change, addition or modification in construction or type of occupancy, any change in the structural members of a building, such as walls, partitions, columns, beams or girders, or any change which is referred to herein as altered or reconstructed. This definition excludes aesthetic changes to the building façade.
Animal. Any live being of the kingdom animalia, other than humans.
Animal, Domestic. A traditionally North American animal that has traditionally, through a long association with humans, lived in a state of dependence upon humans and have been traditionally kept as a tame, household pet such as dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, mice, nonbreeding (under human control) rabbits, parakeets, parrots, canaries, love birds, finches, noncarnivorous fish, nonpoisonous and nonconstricting reptiles (under three (3) feet in length) and nonpoisonous spiders.
Animal Hospital. A self-enclosed building wherein animals including domestic household pets and farm animals are given medical or surgical treatment and use as a boarding place for such animals limited to short-time boarding incidental to hospital use. Such hospitals include only those under direction of a licensed veterinarian registered in the State. Such animal hospitals shall be constructed in such a manner that noise and odor are not discernible beyond the property upon which it is located. [NEW]
Animal Shelter. A building supported by a governmental unit or agency or by a nonprofit corporation where domestic pets or other animals are kept because of requirements of public health officials, loss by owner, neglect or violation of a public law or ordinance. [NEW]
Animal, Wild or Exotic. Any animal not domesticated or tamed which is incapable, by its feral nature, of being completely domesticated and which is normally found in the wild, including, but not limited to, alligators, badgers, bears, beavers, bobcats, chinchilla, chipmunks, cougars, coyotes, crows, deer, doves, dog-wolves, eagles, elk, ferrets, foxes, gophers, grouse, hares, hawks, jaguars, kangaroos, lions, lynx, mink, muskrats, opossums, owls, partridges, peacocks, pheasants, porcupines, prairie dogs, quails, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, tigers, weasels, wild turkeys, wolverines, wolves and woodchucks, or any animal that has been bred to a wild animal. Poisonous, predatory animals and endangered species are included as well.
Antenna. Any exterior transmitting or receiving devise mounted on a tower, building or structure and used in communications that radiate or capture electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals, radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), wireless telecommunications signals or other communication signals, but excluding facilities considered to be essential public services or facilities pre-empted from City regulation by applicable State, Federal Communication Commission (FCC) or other Federal laws or regulations.
Antenna Support Structure or Tower. Any structure that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas for telephone, radio and similar communication purposes, including self-supporting lattice towers, guyed towers, or monopole towers. The term includes radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular telephone towers, alternative tower structures and the like. The term includes the structures and any support thereto. All such structures may be attached to the ground, attached to a roof or otherwise attached to a building.
Apartments. The dwelling units in a multiple dwelling as defined herein: [MODIFIED]
(a) Efficiency Unit. A dwelling unit consisting of not more than one (1) room, in addition to kitchen, dining and necessary sanitary facilities, and for the purpose of computing density, shall be considered as a one-room unit.
(b) One-Bedroom Unit. A dwelling unit consisting of not more than two (2) rooms, in addition to kitchen, dining and necessary sanitary facilities, and for the purpose of computing density, shall be considered as a two-room unit.
(c) Two-Bedroom Unit. A dwelling unit consisting of not more than three (3) rooms, in addition to kitchen, dining and necessary sanitary facilities, and for the purpose of computing density, shall be considered as a three-room unit.
(d) Three- or More Bedroom Unit. A dwelling unit wherein for each room in addition to the three (3) rooms permitted in a two-bedroom unit, and for the purpose of computing density, such three-bedroom unit shall be considered a four-room unit, and each increase in a bedroom over three (3) shall be an increase in the room count by one (1) over the four (4).
Appeal. To request a variance or waiver from the regulations of this Ordinance. [NEW]
Applicant (Petitioner or Developer). A natural person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, government agency or combination of any of them which may hold any recorded or unrecorded ownership interest in land and which divides land so as to constitute a subdivision as defined herein. This definition shall be construed to include any agent of the subdivider. The proprietor is also commonly referred to as the owner.
Arcade. Any place, premises, establishment, or room within a structure within which are located three (3) or more amusement devices. For purposes of this section, amusement devices shall mean any device, machine or apparatus operated by a patron who plays, exhibits, emits, produces or displays, entertainment or amusement in the form of a game, motion picture, music, performances or similar entertainment. The term does not include vending machines used to dispense foodstuffs, toys or other products for use and consumption, kiddy rides, jukeboxes, bowling alleys, or pool tables. [NEW]
Architectural Features. Architectural features of a building shall include but not be limited to cornices, eaves, gutters, belt courses, sills, lintels, bay windows, chimneys, and decorative ornaments. [NEW]
As-Built Plans. Revised construction plans in accordance with all approved field changes.
Assembly or Banquet or Dance Hall. A structure which provides rental space for such functions as, but not limited to: wedding parties, conferences, service club meetings and other similar gatherings, along with the catering of food services off the premises.
Automobile. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, automobile shall mean any vehicle including, by way of example, cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, and the like. [NEW]
Automobile Convenience Mart. A place where gasoline, motor oil, lubricants, or other minor accessories are retailed directly to the public on the premises or in combination with the retailing of items typically found in a convenience market, carry-out restaurant or supermarket. [NEW]
Automobile Dealership. A building or premises used primarily for the sale of new or used automobiles. [NEW]
Automobile Filling Station. A place used for the retail sale and dispensing of fuel or lubricants together with the fixed equipment from which the fuel is dispensed directly into motor vehicles. Automobile filling stations may also incorporate additional uses as permitted and regulated by this Ordinance. [MODIFIED]
Automobile Repair Establishment, Major. An automotive repair establishment which may conduct activities defined herein as minor repairs and one (1) or more of the following: general repair, engine rebuilding, rebuilding or reconditioning of motor vehicles, collision service, such as body, frame or fender straightening and repair, overall painting and undercoating of automobiles, major overhauling of engines requiring removal of the cylinder-head or crank case pan, recapping or retreading of tires, steam cleaning and similar activities.
Automobile Repair Establishment, Minor. A building or premises used primarily to provide general maintenance on automobiles such as oil changes and lubrication; servicing and repair or replacement of spark plugs, batteries, pumps, belts, hoses, air filters, windshield wipers and distributors; detailing; replacement of mufflers and exhaust systems, brakes and shock absorbers; radiator cleaning and flushing; sale and installation of automobile accessories such as tires, radios and air conditioners; and wheel alignment, balancing and undercoating; but excluding any major mechanical repairs, collision work or painting. An automobile maintenance establishment may also sell gasoline, but is distinct from an automobile gasoline station (i.e. gas station without repair). [NEW]
Automobile Service Station. Building and premises where gasoline, oil, grease, batteries, tires, and automobile accessories are dispensed at retail cost and minor maintenance services and minor repairs may be provided.
Automobile Wash. Any building, structure or portion thereof, either as a principal or an accessory use, containing facilities for washing motor vehicles using production-line methods with a conveyor, blower, steam-cleaning device or other mechanical washing devices, and shall also include coin and attendant operated drive-through, automatic self-serve, track-mounted units and similar high-volume washing establishments, but shall not include hand-washing operations. An automobile wash may include accessory automobile detailing, upholstery cleaning or vacuuming.
[NEW]
(a) Automatic Wash. Any facility, its structures, accessory uses, or paved areas used wholly or partly to wash, clean and dry the exterior of automobiles, using conveyors to move the vehicle, or equipment that moved over or around the vehicle, or other automated equipment intended to mechanically wash such vehicles.
(b) Self-Service Wash. Any facility, its structures, accessory uses or paved areas used wholly or partly to wash, clean or dry the exterior of automobiles using hand-held equipment.
Basement. The portion of a building located partly below grade, but so located that the vertical distance from the average grade to the floor is greater than the vertical distance from the average grade to the ceiling, provided, however, that if the vertical distance from the average grade to the ceiling is five (5) feet or more, such basement shall be considered as a story.
[MODIFIED]
DETERMINING A BASEMENT
Bed-and-Breakfast Inn. A single family dwelling which is owner occupied or maintained by a resident manager and provides, for compensation, eight (8) or fewer sleeping rooms for transient guests for stays of short duration, and which provides breakfast for its guests at no additional cost.
Billiard (Pool) Hall. An establishment wherein the substantial or significant portion of all useable floor area is devoted to the use of pool or billiard tables. Such establishment may also include accessory food and drinking service.
Block. Property abutting one side of a street and lying between the two nearest intersecting streets, or between one intersecting street and a railroad right of way, unsubdivided acreage, a river or live stream, or between any of the foregoing and any other barrier to the continuity of development, or the corporate boundary lines of the City.
Boarding House. A dwelling where meals, or lodging and meals, are provided for compensation to three (3) or more persons by prearrangement for definite periods of not less than one week. A boarding house is to be distinguished from a hotel, motel, bed-and-breakfast inn or a nursing home.
Buildable Area. The space remaining on a lot after compliance with the minimum required setbacks of this Zoning Ordinance.
Building. Any structure, either temporary or permanent, having a roof supported by columns, walls or any other supports which is used for the purpose of housing, sheltering, storing or enclosing persons, animals or personal property, or carrying on business activities. This definition shall include tents, awnings, mobile homes or vehicles used for such purposes. When any portion of a building is completely separated from every other part of the building by division walls having no openings, each portion of such building shall be deemed a separate building.
If the average of A is equal to or less than ½ of B, or is less than 5’, then C is a basement.
If the average of A is greater than ½ of B, or A is 5’ or greater, than C is a story.
Building Code. The latest edition of the Michigan Building Code, or any other code adopted by the municipality.
Building Component. Any sub-system, sub-assembly or other system designed for use in, or as part of, a structure, which may include structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire protection systems and other systems affecting health and safety.
Building Envelope. The area of a lot which is defined by minimum setback and spacing requirements and within which building construction is permitted by this Zoning Ordinance. For condominium developments, the building envelope shall be illustrated on a site plan.
Building Height. The vertical distance from the average grade of the center of the front of the building to the highest point of the roof surface of a flat roof, to the deck line for a mansard roof, and to the mean height level between the eaves and ridge for hip, gabled and gambrel roofs.
[MODIFIED]
DETERMINING BUILDING HEIGHT
Building Line. A horizontal line generally parallel to a front, side or rear lot line which is located at the point of the principal building foundation nearest the front, side or rear lot line.
[MODIFIED]
DETERMINING BUILDING LINE
Building Official. The Building Official of the City of Monroe, as designated by Council, or his or her authorized representative.
Building Permit. The written authority issued by the Building Official permitting the construction, removal, moving, alteration or use of a building in conformity with the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance.
Building, Principal. A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is situated.
Building Setback Line. The line established by the minimum required setbacks forming the area within a lot in which a building may be located.
[MODIFIED]
BUILDING SETBACKS
Building System. Plans, specifications and documentation for a system of pre-manufactured units or for a type or system of building components, which may include structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire protection systems and other systems affecting health and safety, including variations which are submitted as part of a building system.
Business Center. A grouping of two (2) or more business establishments on one or more parcels of property which may share parking and access and are linked architecturally or which otherwise present the appearance of a unified grouping of businesses. [MODIFIED]
Caliper. The diameter of a tree trunk measured as follows:
(a) Existing trees shall be measured at four and one-half (4.5) feet above the average surrounding grade;
(b) New trees shall be measured twelve (12) inches above the average surrounding grade after planting if the tree caliper is more than four (4) inches; and
(c) New trees measured six inches above the average surrounding grade, after planting, if the tree caliper is less than four (4) inches.
Carport. An automobile shelter with at least two sides open which may be either free-standing (detached) or formed by the extension of the roof from the side or rear of a dwelling. A detached carport shall conform to the setback requirements for a garage.
Change of Façade. A change of façade shall include but not be limited to architectural modifications to the exterior of a building such as building materials, bay windows, and decorative ornaments. This definition excludes any change, addition or modification in construction or change in the structural members of a building (i.e. alteration). [MODIFIED]
Children’s Institution. An orphanage, boarding home or other establishment for children wherein care, food and lodging are furnished, with or without charge, for five or more children under fifteen years of age living apart from their parents or guardians, excepting any home approved as a foster home, any home maintained by a person whom the children are related by blood or marriage and excepting hospitals and child care facilities.
Church or Temple. Any structure wherein persons regularly assemble for religious activity.
Citizens Planning Commission. The Citizens Planning Commission of the City of Monroe, appointed by Council.
Clear Vision Area. The clear vision area (sometimes called the "sight triangle") is a triangular-shaped area on corner lots. Objects shall not be allowed between the heights of three (3) feet and ten (10) feet above the road grade level so that drivers stopped at an intersection can see oncoming traffic. [NEW]
CLEAR VISION AREA
Clinic. An establishment where patients are examined and treated by physicians, dentists, veterinarians or members of similar professions. A clinic shall not include overnight boarding facilities. [MODIFIED]
Club. An organization of persons for the promulgation of an activity, but not for profit.
Columbarium. A structure designed for the purpose of storing the ashes of human remains that have been cremated. [NEW]
Commercial Vehicle. Any vehicle possessing commercial license plates, used for commercial purposes and in excess of one ton in gross vehicle weight, or having a length in excess of twenty-two (22) feet, excluding recreational vehicles, but including vehicles such as truck tractors, semitrailers (which include flat beds, stake beds, roll-off containers, tanker bodies, dump bodies and full or partial box-type enclosures), vending trucks such as ice cream, milk, bread, fruit or vending supply trucks, tow trucks, commercial hauling trucks, vehicle repair service trucks, and snow plowing trucks.
Community Garden. A community environmental education program operated by a non-profit society, and including the following features: a piece of land utilized by the society to produce food and flowers for the personal use of society members, and a community education program in place that encourages the involvement of schools, youth groups and citizens who do not have an assigned plot in gardening activities. [NEW]
Composting, Commercial. A business activity the primary function of which is to receive organic matter (such as leaves or food processing wastes) from multiple sources and to degrade such matter using microorganisms. Commercial composting involves breaking down organic matter to reduce, in volume, the wastes received, to alter the form of the waste to a less objectional form and to create compost products which can subsequently be sold or used for other purposes. Commercial composting businesses, when eligible for consideration within a zoning district, shall be considered only if they are proposed to be operated out-of-doors.
Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan of the City of Monroe, adopted by the Citizens Planning Commission, which provides the City's long-range goals and objectives and provides a future land use map. The Comprehensive Plan includes any downtown, river corridor, roadway corridor, coastal zone or subarea plans, adopted by the Citizens Planning Commission as part of the Comprehensive Plan. [NEW]
Condominium. The following condominium terms shall apply in the application of this Ordinance: [MODIFIED]
(a) Condominium Documents. The master deed, as defined, and any other instrument referred to in the master deed or bylaws that affect the rights and obligations of a co-owner in the condominium.
(b) Condominium Lot. The condominium unit and the contiguous limited common element surrounding the condominium unit, which shall be the counterpart of "lot" as used in connection with a project developed under the Subdivision Control Act, Act 288 of the Public Acts of 1967, as amended.
(c) Condominium Unit. The portion of a condominium project designed and intended for separate ownership and use, as described in the master deed.
(d) General Common Elements. A portion of the comment elements reserved in the master deed for the use of all of the co-owners.
(e) Limited Common Elements. A portion of the common elements reserved in the master deed for the exclusive use of less than all of the co-owners.
(f) Master Deed. The condominium document recording the condominium project to which are attached as exhibits and incorporated by reference, the bylaws for the project and the condominium subdivision plan for the project, and all other information required by Section 8 of the Condominium Act.
(g) Site Condominium. A condominium development containing residential, commercial, office, industrial, or other structures or improvements for uses permitted in the zoning district in which the condominium development is located, in which each co-owner owns the exclusive right to a volume of space within which each co-owner may construct a structure or structures.
Court. An open space, other than a yard, on the same lot with, and bounded on two or more sides by, a building or group of buildings.
Crematorium. A building fitted with the proper appliances for the purposes of the cremation of human remains and includes everything incidental or ancillary thereto. [MODIFIED]
Deck. A structure without a roof having a foundation to hold it erect, and attached to or abutting one or more walls of a building or constructed separately from a building, with or without direct access to the ground, the floor of which is above finished grade, and intended for use as an outdoor living area. [MODIFIED]
Density, Gross. The number of dwelling units built on, or to be built on, a specified area of land (expressed in dwelling units per acre).
Density, Net. The number of dwelling units built on, or to be built on a specified area of land (expressed in dwelling units per acre) exclusive of land devoted to streets, alleys, public open space and 75% of the acreage comprised of open water, land within the 100-year flood plain elevation and/or wetlands protected by the Goemaere-Anderson Wetland Protection Act, being Act 203 of the Public Acts of 1979, as amended.
Development. The construction of a new building on a zoning lot that is appropriately zoned the relocation of an existing building on another zoning lot an appropriately zoned lot, or the utilization of open land that is appropriately zoned for a new use. [NEW]
District. A specified area of land, as titled and shown on the City of Monroe Zoning Map within which, on a uniform basis, certain uses of land and buildings are either permitted or prohibited and within which a specified set of development regulations applies.
Drinking Place. A business or building designed or used for sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, including such businesses as cocktail lounges, bars, taverns, saloons and social clubs.
Drive-in Establishment. A business establishment so developed that its principal retail or service character is dependent on providing a driveway approach or parking spaces for motor vehicles so as to serve patrons while in the motor vehicle (e.g. restaurants, cleaners, banks, theaters, etc.).
Drive-Through Establishment. An establishment that dispenses products or services to patrons who remain in vehicles. [NEW]
Driveway. A passageway (primarily for the use of vehicles) over private property, leading from a street to other public way to a garage or parking area. A horseshoe shape drive or a “T” shape drive located within a front yard is included within the definition. [NEW]
Dry-Cleaners, Coin Operated. A building or part of a building where the services of coin operated dry cleaning machines, using only non-combustible and non-flammable solvents, is made available to the public for the purpose of dry cleaning. [NEW]
Dry Cleaners, Distribution Station. A building or part of a building used only for the purpose of collection and distribution of articles to be subjected to the process of dry cleaning, washing, dry dyeing, cleaning and spotting and stain removing, and for the pressing of any such articles or goods which have been subjected to any such process elsewhere at a dry cleaners' plant. [NEW]
Dry Cleaning or Laundry Outlet. A building or part of a building used for the purpose of receiving articles or goods of fabric to be subjected to a process, carried out on-site, of cleaning or dyeing. Such establishment may also be used for pressing and/or distributing any articles or goods of fabric that have been received therein. [NEW]
Dwelling. A building or portion thereof designed for occupancy by one family for residential purposes and having single cooking and bath facilities for each. In no case shall a recreational vehicle, automobile, tent or other portable building, garage or accessory building be considered a dwelling unit. In the case of mixed occupancy, where a building is occupied in part as a dwelling unit, the part so occupied shall be deemed a dwelling unit for the purpose of this Zoning Ordinance. The following additional definitions are provided: [MODIFIED]
(a) Dwelling, Multiple-Family. A building designed exclusively for and containing three or more dwelling units. Multiple-family dwellings are typically of two basic styles as follows:
(1) Apartment style (garden style). A building containing dwelling units which have common walls and which are typically accessed by a common hallway and/or stairwell, served by a central hearing plant and leased.
(2) Attached single-family (townhouse). Three or more attached single-family dwelling units typically having the following characteristics: the presence of one or two common walls and the provision that each unit in a building has its own front and rear door, its own front and rear yard, its own heating plant and utility connection and its own basement.
(b) Dwelling, Single-Family Attached. Means three (3) or more attached single-family dwelling units typically having the following characteristics: the presence of one (1) or two (2) common walls and the provision that each unit in a building has its own front and rear door, its own front and rear yard, its own heating plant and utility connection and its own basement.
(c) Dwelling, Single-Family Detached. A detached building designed exclusively for and containing one (1) dwelling unit only.
(d) Dwelling, Two-Family. A detached building designed exclusively for and containing two (2) dwelling units only (also known as a duplex).
(e) Site-Built Dwelling. A structure constructed in accordance with the State Construction Code, in which elementary building materials and parts are transported to the building site where they are used to construct the total dwelling unit including its major individual components and systems.
(f) Manufactured Dwelling. A dwelling unit fabricated in an off-site manufacturing facility for installation or assembly at the building site and bearing the seal that it is built in compliance with the National Manufactured Housing and Construction Standards Code or the State of Michigan Construction Code. Mobile homes shall not be included in this definition.
(g) Mobile Home. A dwelling unit fabricated in an off-site manufacturing facility for installation in a mobile home park and bearing the seal that it is built in compliance with the National Manufactured Housing and Construction Standards Code or the State of Michigan Construction Code.
Dwelling Unit. A dwelling unit is any building or portion thereof having cooking facilities, which is occupied wholly as the home, residence or sleeping place of one (1) family, either permanently or transiently, but in no case shall a travel trailer, motor home, mobile home, trailer coach, automobile chassis, tent or other portable building be considered a dwelling in single-, multiple-, or two-family residential areas. In cases of mixed occupancy where a building is occupied in part as a dwelling unit, the part so occupied shall be deemed a dwelling unit for the purpose of this Chapter and shall comply with the provisions thereof relative to dwellings.
Easement. The right of an owner of property by reason of such ownership, to use the property of another for purposes of ingress, egress, utilities, drainage and similar uses. [NEW]
Equipment Rental. A building or part of a building where residential, industrial and commercial equipment is kept for rental to the general public and includes such things as lawn and garden tools, floor cleaning equipment, masonry tools, painting and decorating equipment, moving tools, plumbing tools and power tools. [NEW]
Erected. Means built, constructed, reconstructed or moved upon, or any physical operations on premises required for construction, excavation, fill, drainage and the like.
Essential Services. The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utilities or Municipal departments or commissions of underground, surface or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission or distribution systems, or collection, public or franchised communication, supply or disposal systems, including mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, wires, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants, towers, poles, antennas and other similar equipment and accessories. Main rail lines are included in this definition, but classification yards are excluded from this definition. Buildings shall not be considered an essential service unless they are necessary to house or protect an essential service/utility. Telecommunications towers and antennas are not defined as an essential service.
Excavating. The removal of sand, stone, gravel or fill dirt below the average grade of the surrounding land and/or road grade, whichever shall be higher. Excavating does not include normal garden or lawn maintenance.
Exception. An exclusion from the normal Zoning Code rules and regulations for the purposes of permitting particular uses or structures which are considered essential or appropriate in certain locations or under certain conditions as may be approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals. A variance is not required for uses or structures which are permitted because of an exception.
Façade. That portion of any exterior elevation on the building extending from grade to top of the parapet, wall, or eaves and the entire width of the building elevation. [NEW]
Family. A single individual or a number of individuals domiciled together whose relationship is of a continuing non-transient, domestic character and who are cooking and living together as a single, nonprofit housekeeping unit. This shall not include any society, club, fraternity, sorority, association, lodge, coterie, organization, or group of students or other individuals whose relationship is of a transitory or seasonal nature or for anticipated limited duration of school terms or other similar determinable period. [MODIFIED]
Fence. An artificially constructed structure of definite height and location constructed of wood, wire, metal, bollard or poles linked by chains, or any other material or combination of materials intended as a screening device, physical barrier or enclosure.
Fence, Decorative. An artificially constructed structure of definite height and location constructed of wrought iron, brick, masonry, stone or other non-traditional materials. Solid masonry walls are considered to be a wall, not a decorative fence. [NEW]
Filling. The depositing or dumping of any matter onto, or into, the ground, except common household gardening.
Fitness Center. A facility which provides indoor exercise facilities, such as exercise machines and weight-lifting equipment, usually in a structured physical activity program supervised by professional physical fitness instructors or specialists in sports medicine. As defined herein, personal fitness center shall not include spectator seating for sports events. A personal fitness center may or may not be enclosed within a gym.
Floodplain. The relatively flat area or low lands adjoining the channel or watercourse or a body of water, which may be periodically covered by floodwater when high amounts of precipitation are experienced. These areas are defined as flood hazard zoned by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) based upon the following: [MODIFIED]
(a) Contiguous areas paralleling major rivers or streams that constitute at their maximum edge the highest flood levels experienced in a period of one hundred (100) years.
(b) Principal wetland areas that are part of the river flow system.
(c) Contiguous areas paralleling major rivers or streams that exhibit unstable soil conditions for development.
Floodway. The channel of any watercourse and those portions of the flood plain adjoining the channel which are reasonably required to carry and discharge flood water. [NEW]
Floor Area. The area included within the surrounding exterior walls of a building or portion thereof, exclusive of vent shafts and courts. For the purpose of computing the minimum allowable floor area in a residential dwelling unit, the sum of the horizontal areas of each story of the building shall be measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating two dwellings. The floor area measurement is exclusive of areas of basements, unfinished attics, attached garages, breezeways, utility rooms and enclosed and unenclosed porches.
Floor Area, Gross. For the purpose of computing parking, the area that is the sum of the horizontal areas of each story of the building, measured from the interior surfaces of the exterior walls. Gross floor area shall include hallways, stairways, interior lobbies and similar areas; but shall exclude exterior porches, attached garages and attics and basements which cannot accommodate commercial or office operations other than storage. [NEW]
Floor Area, Usable. For the purpose of computing parking, that area used for or intended to be used for the sale of merchandise or services or for use to serve patrons, clients or customers. Such floor area which is used or intended to be used principally for the storage or processing of merchandise, or for utilities, shall be excluded from this computation of usable floor area. Measurement of floor area shall be the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of the building, measured from the interior faces of the exterior walls. For the purpose of computing parking for those uses not enclosed within a building, the area used for the sale or display of merchandise and/or the area used to serve patrons or clients shall be measured to determine necessary parking spaces. A figure of eighty (80) percent of gross floor area shall be permitted for useable floor area in instances where determining useable floor area by measurement is not possible. [NEW]
USEABLE FLOOR AREA
Frontage. The linear dimension measured along the public street right-of-way line.
Functional Equivalent of a Family. Instances where members of a household may not be related in a conventional nuclear family (See definition for Family). [NEW]
Garage, Private. An accessory building or portion of a main building that is designed or used primarily for the storage of motor-driven vehicles, boats and similar vehicles owned and used by the occupants of the building to which it is accessory.
Garage, Public. Any building used for the storage or care of motor-driven vehicles, or where any such vehicles are equipped for operation, repaired or kept for remuneration, hire or sale.
Garden Center. An establishment with retail sales of trees, fruits, vegetables, shrubbery, plants, landscaping supplies, lawn furniture, playground equipment and other home garden supplies and equipment.
Governmental Use. Any use by the Federal, State, County or City government necessary to carry out the functions of government.
Grade. The degree of rise or descent of a sloping surface. [NEW]
Grade, Average. The arithmetic average of the lowest and highest grade elevations in an area within five (5) feet of the foundation line of a building or structure, or in the area between the foundation line and the lot line, where the foundation line is less then five (5) feet from the lot line. Average grade shall be used in determining building height and number of stories.
Grade, Finished. The final elevation of the ground surface after development. [NEW]
Grade, Road. The elevation of the curb at the mid-point of the front of the lot. Where no curb exists, the grade shall be the average elevation of the road adjacent to the property line.
Habitable Space. Space in a structure for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage or utility space, and similar areas, are not considered habitable space.
Hazardous Substances. Hazardous substances include hazardous chemicals as defined by the Michigan Department of Public Health and the Michigan Department of Labors; flammable and combustible liquids as defined by the Michigan Department of State Police, Fire Marshal Division; hazardous materials as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation; critical materials, polluting materials, and hazardous waste as defined by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and hazardous substances as defined in Michigan Public Act 307 of 1982, as amended, and the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Utility Act of 1980, Public Act 96-510, 94 STAT 2767, as amended. [MODIFIED]
Helicopter. A type of aircraft whose aerodynamic support is obtained from propellers rotating on a more or less vertical access and which is capable of rising and descending vertically. [MODIFIED]
Heliport. An area of land, water or a fixed structure used or intended to be used for the landing and take of off of helicopters or other rotary wing aircrafts. [MODIFIED]
Helistop. A landing area for occasional and infrequent use by rotary wing aircraft not exceeding a gross weight of 10,000 pounds and not for regularly scheduled stops. [MODIFIED]
Home Improvement Center. A facility of more than 30,000 square feet of gross floor area, engaged in the retail of sale of various basic hardware lines, such as tools, builder’s hardware, paint and glass, house wares and household appliances, garden supplies, etc. [MODIFIED]
Home Occupation. An occupation, profession, activity, or use by a resident that is clearly a customary, incidental, and secondary use of a residential dwelling unit and which does not alter the exterior of the property or affect the residential character of the neighborhood. Valid agricultural enterprises are not included with this definition.
Hospital, General. A facility for inpatient care and services for observation, diagnosis and active treatment of patients with a medical, surgical, obstetric or chronic condition requiring daily care and supervision by physicians and by a professional medical support staff. A hospital includes 24 hour emergency care services, inpatient/outpatient diagnostic and therapeutic services and medical clinics.
Hospital, Psychiatric. A facility offering inpatient and outpatient mental health services that is licensed to provide such services by the Michigan Department of Mental Health.
Hospital, Specialty. A facility offering health care services to a specific group of patients classified by disease or patient category, such as eye, rehabilitation, cardiac care, ear, nose, throat, pediatric, oncology, orthopedic, skin, cancer, burn centers, neo-natal care, children's hospitals, ophthalmology centers and similar specialized care services. Psychiatric hospitals and substance abuse centers are considered to be a distinct use. (see Substance Abuse Center).
Hotel. A building or group of buildings with a common entrance or entrances, containing rooms designed to provide transient lodging for compensation for periods of thirty (30) days or less, and in which one or more of the following services are offered: maid service, furnishing of linen, telephone, secretarial or desk service and bellhop service. A hotel may include a restaurant or cocktail lounge, public banquet hall, ballroom or meeting room. [MODIFIED]
Housing for the Elderly. A building or group of buildings containing dwellings intended for, and solely occupied by, elderly persons as defined by the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. Housing for the elderly may include independent and/or assisted living arrangements but shall not include convalescent or nursing facilities regulated by the State of Michigan. [MODIFIED]
Independent Living Facility. A building providing care up to 24 hours a day for five (5) to eleven (11) children, minors or adults who are unattended by a parent or guardian.
Indoor Recreation Centers. This use includes, but is not limited to, indoor recreation facilities, community centers, senior centers, gymnasiums, indoor tennis or other racquet courts, indoor sports arenas, swimming pools, or similar uses which are enclosed in buildings and are open to all community residents or those living within certain developments or neighborhoods. “Indoor Recreation Centers” shall include any accessory uses, such as snack bars, pro shops, accessory office and locker rooms, which are designed and intended primarily for the use of patrons of the principal recreational use. [MODIFIED]
Junk Yard. A lot and any accessory buildings where waste, used or secondhand materials including, but not limited to, automobiles, scrap iron, and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires, wood, and bottles, are stored, baled, packed, disassembled, or handled for the purpose of purchase, sale, or exchange. [MODIFIED]
Kennel, Commercial. Any building and/or land used, designed, or arranged for the boarding, breeding, or care of more than five (5) dogs, cats, or other domestic animals for profit, but shall not include those animals raised for agricultural purposes. [MODIFIED]
Kennel, Private. Any building and/or land used, designed or arranged for the boarding, breeding, or care of dogs, cats, or other domestic animals belonging to the owner thereof and kept for purposes of show, hunting, or as pets (but not to include riding stables, or animals raised for agricultural purposes), provided that no more than three (3) such animals six (6) months old or older are kept on the premises either permanently or temporarily. The keeping of such animals shall be strictly incidental to the principal use of the premises and shall not be for the purposes of remuneration or sale. [MODIFIED]
Laboratory. An establishment devoted to research and experimental studies, including testing and analyzing, but not including manufacturing (with the exception of prototype development).
Land Division. The dividing, portioning, or splitting of a parcel or tract of land.
Landscaping. The treatment of the ground surface with live plant materials such as, but not limited to, grass ground cover, trees, shrubs, vines and other live plant material. In addition, a landscape design may include other decorative man-made materials, such as wood chips, crushed stone, boulders or mulch. Structural features such as fountains, pools, statues and benches shall also be considered a part of landscaping if provided in combination with live plant material. Various landscaping related terms are defined in Section 1270.02 Landscaping, Greenbelts and Buffers, and Screening. [MODIFIED]
Large Scale Retail Establishment. A retail establishment commonly referred to as a “big box” store, which exceeds sixty-five thousand (65,000) square feet in gross floor area for a single tenant. [NEW]
Level of Service. A qualitative measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream, generally described in terms of such factors as speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort and convenience, and safety.
Loading Space. An off-street space on the same lot with a building or groups of buildings, that is used for temporary parking of a commercial vehicle while loading or unloading merchandise or materials.
Lot. A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by plat or subdivision, or as otherwise permitted by law, to be separately owned, used, developed or built upon. A lot shall have frontage on a dedicated road. The following additional definitions are provided: [MODIFIED]
(a) Lot, Corner. A lot where the interior angle of two adjacent sides at the intersection of two (2) streets is less than 135 degrees. A lot abutting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot, for the purposes of this Zoning Ordinance, if the arc is of less radius than 150 degrees and the tangents to the curve, at the two (2) points where the lot lines meet the curve or the straight street line extended, form an interior angle of less than 135 degrees.
(b) Lot, Flag. A lot, located behind other lots or parcels, having access to a public street by means of a narrow strip of land (with drive) which does not meet the minimum width for a lot at the front lot line. Flag lots are not permitted in the City.
(c) Lot, Interior. Any lot other than a corner lot.
(d) Lot, Through or Double Frontage. An interior lot having frontages on two parallel streets as distinguished from a corner lot. In the case of a row of double frontage lots, one street will be designated as the front street for all lots in the plat and in the request for a building permit.
LOT EXAMPLES
Lot Area. The total horizontal area within the lot lines of the lot, exclusive of any abutting public street or alley right of way, private road easements or the area of any body of water. A State regulated wetland can be included in a minimum lot area if a building envelope, meeting all required setbacks and minimum floor area, can be provided exclusive of the wetland area. (see also Density, Gross and Density, Net).
Lot, Conforming. Any lot or parcel of record which meets the minimum required size and dimensional standards for lots as contained in this Zoning Ordinance.
Lot Coverage. The percent of the lot permitted to be occupied by buildings or structures, including accessory buildings and structures.
Lot Depth. The horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines, measured along the median between the side lot lines.
Lot Lines. Any line dividing one (1) lot from another or from a public right-of-way, and thus constitutes the property lines bounding a lot. The property lines bounding a lot are defined as follows:
(a) Front Lot Line. In the case of an interior lot, a front lot line is that line separating said lot from the street. In the case of corner or double frontage lot, the front lot line shall be that line separating said lot from that street which is designated as the front street in the plat, in the application, or if necessary, as designated by the Zoning Administrator.
(b) Rear Lot Line. A rear lot line is that lot line which is opposite from the front lot line of the lot. In the case of an irregular, triangular or gore-shaped lot, a line ten (10) feet in length, entirely within the lot parallel to and at the maximum distance from the front lot line of the lot, shall be considered as the rear lot line for the purpose of determining the depth of the rear yard. In cases where none of these definitions is applicable, the Zoning Administrator shall designate the rear lot line.
(c) Side Lot Line. A side lot line is any lot line other than a front or a rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street is a side street lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from another lot or lots is an interior side lot line.
(d) Street or Alley Lot Line. A street or alley lot line is a lot line separating the lot from the right-of-way of a street or an alley.
Lot of Record. A lot which exists in a subdivision plat as shown on the records of the County Register of Deeds.
Lot, Waterfront. A lot having frontage directly upon a lake, river, or other reasonably sized impoundment of water. The portion adjacent to the water shall be designated as the water frontage of the lot, and the opposite side shall be designated the street frontage of the lot. [NEW]
Lot Width. The horizontal distance between side lot lines, measured parallel to the front lot line at the minimum required front yard setback line.
Lumber Yard. A building or structure used for the storage of timber sawed into beams, planks or boards of convenient size that are for sale with other related retail items and services for construction purposes. [NEW]
Manufacturing. The use of land, buildings or structures for the principal purpose of manufacturing, assembling making, preparing, inspecting, finishing, treatment, altering, repairing, fabricating or adapting for sale of any goods, substance, articles, thing or service. [NEW]
Manufacturing, Fabrication and Light. Manufacturing shops employing low intensity methods, including small tool and die shops, food products, pharmaceutical or jewelry manufacturing, dental, surgical and optical goods manufacturing and fabrication of paper products from raw materials produced elsewhere, but not including pressing or stamping operations. [NEW]
Manufactured Home Sales. Business establishments engaged in the display and sale of factory built, single-family structures that are manufactured under the authority of the National Manufactured Housing and Construction Standards Code. For the purposes of this definition, mobile homes are considered a type of manufactured housing. Recreational vehicles, travel trailers and motor homes are not considered manufactured homes for the purposes of this ordinance and definition. [NEW]
Marina. A marina is a private or publicly-owned facility extending into or over the River Raisin or any other watercourse and offering services to the public or members of the marina for launching, docking, loading or other services for recreational watercraft. [NEW]
Mausoleum. A building or other structure used as a place for the interment of the dead in sealed crypts or compartments. [NEW]
Mezzanine. An intermediate floor in any story occupying not to exceed one third (1/3) of the floor area of such story. A mezzanine shall be deemed a full story when it covers more than fifty (50) percent of the area of the story underneath said mezzanine, or if the vertical distance from the floor next below it to the floor next above it is twenty-four (24) feet or more.
[MODIFIED]
MEZZANINE
Mobile Home. A structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which is built on a chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without permanent foundation, when connected to the required facilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical system contained in the structure. Mobile home does not include a recreational vehicle. [MODIFIED]
Mobile Home Condominium Project: A condominium project where mobile homes are intended to be located upon separate sites which constitute individual condominium units pursuant to M.C.L.A. 559.101 et. seq. [NEW]
Mobile Home Pad. That part of a mobile home site designed and constructed for the placement of a mobile home, appurtenant structures, or additions including expandable rooms, enclosed patios, garages, or structural additions. [NEW]
Mobile Home Park. A parcel or tract of land under the control of a person, upon which three (3) or more mobile homes are located on a continual non-recreational basis, and which is offered to the public for that purpose, regardless of whether a charge is made, together with any building, structure, enclosure, street, equipment or facility used or intended for use incident to the occupancy of a mobile home, and which is not intended for use as a seasonal trailer park pursuant to M.C.L.A. 125.2301 et. seq.
Mobile Home Site. The entire area, which is designated for use by a specific mobile home. [NEW]
Mobile Home Subdivision. A mobile home park, except that the mobile home lots are subdivided, surveyed, recorded and sold in accordance with the Michigan Subdivision Control Act of 1967, M.C.L.A. 560.101 et. seq. [NEW]
Mortuary/Morgue. A place where dead bodies are stored and prepared before cremation or burial. [NEW]
Motel. A building or group of buildings of rental units, in which each rental unit contains a bedroom and a bathroom, designed to provide transient lodging for compensation for periods of thirty (30) days or less. [MODIFIED]
Nature Preserves / Natural Areas. An area containing important natural features, such as woodlands, wetlands, floodplain and open space. [NEW]
Neighborhood Commercial. Small scale retail or service uses permitted within selective mixed use/residential areas. [NEW]
New Construction. The erection of, addition to, or extension of, any building or structure, and the excavation or grading of land in preparation for such erection, addition or extension.
Night Club. A place of entertainment, open at night for eating, drinking, and dancing, and usually having live entertainment. [NEW]
Non-Conforming Lot. A lot, created prior to the effective date of this ordinance, or amendments thereto, and which does not conform to the lot area regulations for the district in which it is located. [MODIFIED]
Non-Conforming Structure. A structure or part of a structure constructed and existing at the effective date of this ordinance, or amendments thereto, that does not conform to the Area, Placement, Height Regulations, Off-Street Parking and Loading requirements, and/or other applicable requirements of the district in which it is located.
Non-Conforming Use. A structure, building, lot, or other parcel of land occupied by a use at the effective date of this ordinance, or amendments thereto, and which does not conform to the Use Regulations of the district in which it is located.
Nursery, Plant Material. A space, building or structure, or a combination thereof, for the storage of live trees, shrubs or plants offered for retail sale on the premises, including products used for gardening or landscaping. The definition of nursery, within the meaning of this Zoning Ordinance, does not include any space, building or structure used for the sale of fruits, vegetables or Christmas trees.
Nursing Home or Convalescent Home. A State-licensed home for the care of the aged, infirm or those who need a wide range of health and support services, wherein two (2) or more persons are housed and furnished with personal nursing care.
Occupancy Permit. A required permit, issued by the Building Official, allowing the use of a building or structure, after it has been determined that all the requirements of applicable ordinances have been met.
Occupied. The residing of an individual or individuals overnight in a dwelling unit or the storage or use of equipment, merchandise or machinery in any public, commercial, institutional or industrial building.
Offset. The distance between the centerlines of driveways or streets across the street from one another.
Off-Street Loading Space. An off-street space on the same lot with a building, or group of buildings, for the temporary parking of a commercial vehicle while loading and unloading merchandise or materials there from. [NEW]
Off-Street Parking Lot. A vehicular parking area, together with access aisles and drives, which is located outside of street rights of way and which provides parking accommodation for two or more vehicles. Off-street parking areas may also include loading areas and associated maneuvering space.
Open Air Businesses. Businesses operated on a seasonal or year-round basis which are not conducted from a wholly enclosed building and which include, but are not limited to:
(a) Product sales or rentals;
(b) Outdoor product display;
(c) Fruit and vegetable markets;
(d) Nurseries and garden supply and equipment; and
(e) Commercial recreation businesses.
Open Construction. A method of constructing units, buildings, building components, assemblies or systems in such a manner that all portions can be readily inspected at the building site without disassembly, damage or destruction.
Open Space. An area that is intended to provide light and air and that is designed for environmental, scenic or recreational purposes. Open space may include, but is not limited to, lawns, decorative planting, walkways, active and passive recreation areas, playgrounds, fountains, swimming pools, living plant materials, wetlands and watercourses. Open space shall not be deemed to include driveways, parking lots or other surfaces designed or intended for vehicular travel.
Open Storage. All outdoor storage of building materials, sand, gravel, stone, lumber, equipment, construction vehicles and other supplies. [NEW]
Outdoor Recreation Centers. Active recreation facilities, which are not enclosed in buildings, and are open to the public or operated on a commercial or membership basis for the use of persons not residing on the same lot on which the recreation use is located. It includes golf courses, driving ranges, swimming pools, tennis courts, playing fields or courts, and other similar facilities as well as accessory uses such as concession stands, equipment rental or storage, pro shops and clubhouses used primarily by the patrons of the principal recreational use. [NEW]
Parcel of Record. An area of land described by a metes and bounds description and which is not necessarily a lot of record in a subdivision plat as recorded at the County Register of Deeds.
Park, Public. Any open space or recreational area, owned or controlled by a Corporation or by any Board, Commission or other Authority established under any statute of the State and may include therein neighborhood, community, regional and special parks or areas and may include one (1) or more athletic fields, field houses, community centers, bleachers, swimming pools, greenhouses, botanical gardens, zoological gardens, bandstands, skating rinks, tennis courts, bowling greens, bathing stations, curling rinks, refreshment rooms, fairgrounds, arenas or similar uses. [NEW]
Parking Space. An area of definite length and width, exclusive of drives, aisles or entrances giving access thereto, which shall be fully accessible for the parking of permitted vehicles.
Parking Lot, Accessory. A tract of land other than a street, designed and used for the parking or storage of motor vehicles, for the use of occupants, employees and patrons of the building or premises to which it is accessory. [NEW]
Parking Lot, Public. A tract of land, other than an accessory parking lot or a street, used for the parking or storage of motor vehicles for general public use, either free or for remuneration. [NEW]
Paved Surface Area. An area covered with cobblestone, clay-fired bricks, concrete precast paver units (including, but not limited to, grasscrete), poured concrete with or without decorative surface materials, blacktop, or other asphaltic or rubber mixture which may include sand or gravel as an ingredient and which creates a hard surface. A graded natural surface or one covered with rolled stone or overlaid with loose gravel is not considered a paved surface. [NEW]
Pawnbroker. Any person whose business or occupation includes the taking or receiving, by way of pledge or pawn, of any article of personal property as security for the payment or repayment of money. [NEW]
Pawn Shop or Collateral Loan and/or Exchange Establishments. Any business that loans money on deposit of personal property or deals in the purchase or possession of personal property on condition of selling the same back again to the pledger or depositor, or loans or advances money on personal property by taking chattel mortgage security thereon, and takes or receives such personal property. [NEW]
Peak Hour. A one-hour period representing the highest hourly volume of traffic flow on the adjacent street system during the morning (a.m. peak hour) during the afternoon or evening (p.m. peak hour), or representing the hour of highest volume of traffic entering or exiting a site (peak hour of generator).
Performance Guarantee. A financial guarantee to ensure that all improvements, facilities or work required by this Zoning Ordinance will be completed in compliance with this Zoning Ordinance, other City ordinances and regulations and the approved plans and specifications of a development.
Permitted Use. Any use allowed by right in a zoning district and subject to the restrictions applicable to that zoning district. [NEW]
Person. Person shall include any individual, corporation, or partnership. [NEW]
Personal Inventory Facility. An enclosed storage facility containing independent, fully enclosed bays that are leased to individuals. [NEW]
Personal Service Establishment. A business where personal services are provided for profit and where the sale, of goods is only accessory to the provisions of such services, including but not limited to the following: barber shops, beauty shops, tailor shops, laundry or dry cleaning shops, shoe repair shops, licensed by the State of Michigan where applicable. [NEW]
Personal Service Establishment, Associated. Area set aside for the provision of services relating to the main product or service of the establishment, including those of an office, showroom or workshop nature which are occupied by an electrician, decorator, dressmaker, tailor, baker, painter or upholsterer, or which are for the purpose of radio or home appliance repair, plumbing, heating and cooling, glass or photographic reproduction, and similar establishments. [NEW]
Planned Unit Development (PUD). A form of development usually characterized by the flexible application of zoning district regulations and unified site design for a number of housing units, clustering buildings, providing common open space, and a mix of building types and land uses. It permits the planning of a project and the calculation of densities over the entire development, rather than on an individual lot-by-lot basis. It also refers to a process, mainly revolving around site-plan review, in which the City will have considerable involvement in determining the nature of the development. [MODIFIED]
Plant Nursery. A place where young trees or other plants are raised for experimentation, transplantation, or for sale. [NEW]
Playground. An area of landscaped open space equipped with children’s play equipment such as slides, swings, wading pools or similar equipment and game areas. [NEW]
Porch, Enclosed. A covered entrance to a building or structure that is totally enclosed, and projects out from the main wall of said building or structure and has a separate roof or an integral roof with the principal building or structure to which it is attached. [NEW]
Porch, Open. A covered entrance to a building or structure that is unenclosed except for columns supporting the porch roof, and projects out from the main wall of said building or structure and has a separate roof or an integral roof with the principal building or structure to which it is attached. [NEW]
Premise. A unit of contiguous property under common ownership. [NEW]
Principal Use. The primary or most predominant use of a parcel. [NEW]
Private Medical Practice. Businesses for the purpose of providing direct patient care to the local community and not to sell medical devices as a primary purpose. [NEW]
Private Clubs, Fraternal Halls, and Union Halls. An organization catering exclusively to members and their guests; or premises and buildings for recreational, artistic, political or social purposes, which are not conducted primarily for gain. [NEW]
Professional Office. Office facilities for doctors, lawyers, architects, financial managers or other disciplines. [NEW]
Public Utility. Any Municipal department, public entity or franchised corporation, duly authorized to furnish and furnishing, under Federal, State or Municipal regulations, to the public, electricity, gas, steam, communications, telegraph, transportation, water and other similar services. Telecommunications towers and antennas are not defined as a public utility.
Quarry Excavation. The removal of any soil or rock from a site for the purpose of resource extraction. (see Excavating).
Reasonable Access. An access management term defined as ensuring that a motorist can enter or exit a parcel in an uncomplicated manner that will not significantly prevent his or her visiting an establishment. Reasonable access may not always be the most direct access, but may involve use of a shared driveway or service drive.
Recreational Equipment. One (1) or more of the following, or modifications thereof: travel trailer, camp trailer, tent trailer, camper, pickup camper, folding tent trailer, utility trailer, boat, boat trailer, personal water craft, float and/or raft, including transportation equipment, manufactured motorized home, manufactured motor bus, all designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational and vacation use or periodical and occasional family recreational and vacation use. [NEW]
Recreational Vehicle. These uses shall be defined as follows:
(a) Boats and Boat Trailers. Includes boats, floats, rafts, canoes, plus the normal equipment to transport them on the highway.
(b) Folding Tent Trailer. A canvas folding structure mounted on wheels and designed for travel and vacation use.
(c) Motor Home. A recreational vehicle intended for temporary human habitation, sleeping and/or eating, mounted upon a chassis with wheels and capable of being moved from place-to-place under its own power. Motor homes generally contain sanitary, water, and electrical facilities.
(d) Other Recreational Equipment. Includes snowmobiles, all-terrain or special terrain vehicles, utility trailers, plus the normal equipment to transport them on the highway.
(e) Pickup Camper. A structure designed to be mounted on a pickup or truck chassis with sufficient equipment to render it suitable for use as a temporary dwelling during the process of travel, recreational, and vacation uses.
(f) Travel Trailer. A portable vehicle on a chassis, not exceeding thirty-six (36) feet in length or nine (9) feet in width, which is designed to be used as a temporary dwelling during travel, recreational, and vacation uses, and which may be identified as a "travel trailer" by the manufacturer. Travel trailers generally contain sanitary, water, and electrical facilities.
Recycling Center. A lot or parcel of land, with or without buildings, upon which wastes are recovered in a process designed to provide an acceptable re-use of all or part of the waste. A recycling center does not include storage containers or processing activity which is located on the premises of a residential, commercial or manufacturing use and which is used solely for the recycling of material generated by that residential property, business or manufacturer.
Refuse. All rubbish, refuse, waste material, and garbage, including, but not limited to, the following: waste composed of animal, fish, fowl, fruit or vegetable matter, dead animals, putrescible and solid waste (except body wastes), ashes, glass, cans, bottles, discarded or abandoned machinery, household appliances, industrial wastes, discarded, inoperative, dismantled or partially dismantled motorized vehicles or parts thereof. This shall not preclude home composting for on-site use. [NEW]
Resource Recovery Center. A building, and all associated structures thereof, designed and operated for the purpose of processing or collecting wastes in such a way as to produce materials or energy which may be used in manufacturing, agriculture, heat production, power production or other productive processes or for any purpose designed to re-use materials or products or to conserve natural resources.
Restaurant. Any establishment whose principal business is the sale of food and beverages to the customer in a ready-to-consume state and whose method of operation is characteristic of a carry-out, drive-in, drive-through, fast food, standard restaurant or bar/lounge/tavern, or a combination thereof, as defined below.
(a) Bar/Lounge/Tavern. A bar, lounge or tavern is a type of restaurant which is operated primarily for the dispensing of alcoholic beverages, but in which the sale of prepared food or snacks may also be permitted. If a bar, lounge or tavern is part of a larger dining facility, it shall be defined as that part of the structure so designated or operated.
(b) Carry-Out. A carry-out restaurant is a business establishment whose method of operation involves the sale of food, beverages and/or frozen desserts in disposable or edible containers or wrappers, in a ready-to-consume state and for consumption primarily off the premises, but in which seating for up to thirty (30) persons may be provided.
(c) Drive-In. A drive-in restaurant is a business establishment whose method of operation involves delivery of prepared food so as to allow its consumption in a motor vehicle or elsewhere on the premises, but outside of an enclosed building. A drive-in restaurant may also have interior seating.
(d) Drive-Through. A drive-through restaurant is a business establishment whose method of operation involves the delivery of prepared food to a customer in a motor vehicle, typically through a drive-through window, for consumption off the premises.
(e) Sidewalk Cafe. An area adjacent to and directly in front of a street-level eating or drinking establishment located within the sidewalk area of the public right-of-way exclusively for dining, drinking, and pedestrian circulation. The encroachment area of a sidewalk cafe may be separated from the remainder of the sidewalk by railings, fencing, or landscaping planter boxes or a combination thereof. [NEW]
(f) Standard Restaurant. A standard restaurant is a business establishment whose method of operation involves either the delivery of prepared food by waiters and waitresses to customers seated at tables within a completely enclosed building or the acquisition of prepared food by customers at a cafeteria line which food is subsequently consumed by the customers at tables within a completely enclosed building.
Retail Establishment. A building where merchandise is offered or kept for retail sale, including storage of limited quantities of such merchandise sufficient only to service such store. [NEW]
Retail Establishment, Convenience and Specialty. A retail establishment including a specialty or more limited scope of goods, including art/office supplies, computer equipment and supplies, beverages (including liquor outlets), confections, delicatessen, drugs, dry goods, flowers, food stores (grocery and specialty food), bakeries, gifts, hardware, major appliances, jewelry, leather goods, music, notions, paint, periodicals, household and electrical appliances, sewing machines (noncommercial), sporting goods, stamps or coins, stationery, sundry, small household articles, tobacco and wearing apparel. [NEW]
Retaining Wall. A wall designed and constructed to hold back a mass of earth. [NEW]
Right-of-Way. A legal right of passage over real property typically associated with roads, utilities and railroads. [NEW]
Roadside Stand. A temporary or permanent building which is used to sell agricultural products, craft goods or similar goods which have been grown on the premises on which the stand is located. Such stands shall not be considered a commercial activity and shall not be considered justification for establishment of a Commercial District.
Seasonal Events. A temporary use intended for limited duration during certain times of the year including Christmas tree sales, flower sales, festivals, etc. [NEW]
Seasonal Structure. A seasonal structure includes any type of dock, boat hoist, ramp, raft or other recreational structure which is placed into an inland lake or stream and removed at the end of the boating season. [NEW]
Secondhand Store. Any building, structure, premises, or part thereof used solely or partially for the sale of secondhand clothing, furniture, books, or household goods, or solely or primarily for the sale of secondhand household appliances. [NEW]
Self-Storage/Mini-Storage Facility. A building or group of buildings in a controlled-access compound, each of which consists of several individual storage units, each with a separate door and lock and which can be leased on an individual basis. [NEW]
Senior Housing. Housing constructed for the exclusive use of an individual fifty-five (55) years of age or older or for a couple of which at least one of the individuals is over the age of fifty-five (55). Senior housing may include one or more of the following types of units: senior apartments, independent-living senior housing complexes (one or more buildings where the occupancy is restricted by age) and congregate housing (a type of semi-independent housing facility containing congregate kitchen, dining and living areas and some special support services, but with separate sleeping rooms). (See Nursing Home).
Setback. The distance required to obtain the minimum required distance between the front, side or rear lot lines and the building line or parking lot. Setbacks from a public street or private road shall be measured from the right-of-way line or easement. Front setbacks along curvilinear streets shall be established along a line connecting points along the side lot lines meeting the required front yard setbacks. Driveways and pedestrian walkways may be located within the setback, but the remainder of the area shall be deemed open space.
SETBACKS
Shopping Center. A grouping of two (2) or more business establishments developed in accordance with an overall plan and designed and built as an interrelated project. Buildings constructed on outlots shall not be considered part of the shopping center unless access and parking easements are provided.
Shopping Mall, Enclosed. A shopping center in which access by the general public to each individual store, premises or commercial establishment is obtained from the outside through a common entrance or entrances and from the inside through a covered common mall or aisle. [NEW]
Sign. Any object, device, display or structure, or part thereof, situated outdoors or indoors, which is used to advertise, identify, display, direct or attract attention to an object, person, institution, organization, business, product, service, event or location by any means, including words, letters, figures, design, symbols, fixtures, colors, illumination or projected images. (See Section 1272.02 Sign Definitions for specific definitions). [MODIFIED]
Site Condominium. (see Condominium)
Special Land Use. A use of land for an activity which, under usual circumstances, could be detrimental to other land uses permitted within the same district or to the City overall, but which may be permitted when the particular character of the location or site design allows the use to be developed in a manner comparable with surrounding uses and infrastructure.
State Construction Code. The latest edition of the Michigan Building Code adopted by the State of Michigan in R408.30401 of the Michigan Administrative Code. [NEW]
State Licensed Day Care Facilities. [MODIFIED]
(a) Adult Day Care Facility. Includes the following definitions:
(1) Adult Family Day Care Home. A private home in which six (6) or less adults eighteen (18) years of age or older, receive care for periods of less than twenty-four (24) hours a day. It includes facilities for adults who are aged, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or physically handicapped that require supervision on an ongoing basis. An adult day care home does not include alcohol or substance abuse rehabilitation centers, residential centers for persons released from or assigned to a correctional facility, or any other facilities which do not meet the definition of adult day care center.
(2) Adult Group Day Care Home. A private home in which more than six (6) but not more than twelve (12) adults eighteen (18) years of age or older, receive care for periods of less than twenty-four (24) hours a day. It includes facilities for adults who are aged, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or physically handicapped that require supervision on an ongoing basis. An adult day care home does not include alcohol or substance abuse rehabilitation centers, residential centers for persons released from or assigned to a correctional facility, or any other facilities which do not meet the definition of adult day care center.
(3) Adult Day Care Center. A facility, other than a private residence, receiving one or more persons, eighteen (18) years of age or older, for care for periods of less than twenty-four (24) hours a day. It includes facilities for adults who are aged, mentally ill, developmentally disabled or physically handicapped that require supervision on an ongoing basis. An adult day-care center does not include alcohol or substance abuse rehabilitation centers, residential centers for persons released from or assigned to a correctional facility, or any other facilities which do not meet the definition of adult day-care center.
(b) Child Day Care Facilities. Includes the following definitions as defined and regulated by Public Act No. 116 of the Public Acts of 1973 as amended:
(1) Child Family Day Care Home. A state-licensed, owner-occupied private residence in which one (1) but not more than six (6) minor children are received for care and supervision for periods less than twenty-four (24) hours a day unattended by a parent or legal guardian, excepting children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage or adoption. It includes a home that gives care to an unrelated child for more than four (4) weeks in a calendar year.
(2) Child Group Day Care Home. A state-licensed, owner-occupied private residence in which seven (7) but not more than twelve (12) minor children are received for care and supervision for periods less than twenty-four (24) hours a day unattended by a parent or legal guardian, excepting children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage or adoption. It includes a home that gives care to an unrelated child for more than four (4) weeks in a calendar year.
(3) Child Care Center. Also known as “day care center”, a state-licensed facility, other than a private residence, receiving one (1) or more minor children for care and supervision for periods less than twenty-four (24) hours, and where the parents or guardians are not immediately available to the child.
State Licensed Foster Care Facilities. [MODIFIED]
(a) Adult Foster Care Facility. A state-licensed establishment that provides foster care to adults. It includes facilities and foster care homes for adults who are aged, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or physically handicapped who require supervision on an ongoing basis but who do not require continuous nursing care. An adult foster care facility does not include convalescent or nursing homes, homes for the aged, hospitals, alcohol or substance abuse rehabilitation centers, residential centers for persons released from or assigned to a correctional facility, or any other facilities which have been exempted from the definition of adult foster care facility by the Adult Foster Care Facility Licensing Act, Public Act No. 218 of the Public Acts of 1979 as amended. The following additional definitions shall apply in the application of this Ordinance:
(1) Adult Foster Care Small Group Home. A facility with the approved capacity to receive twelve (12) or fewer adults who are provided supervision, personal care, and protection in addition to room and board, for twenty-four (24) hours a day, five (5) or more days a week, and for two (2) or more consecutive weeks for compensation.
(2) Adult Foster Care Large Group Home. A facility with approved capacity to receive at least thirteen (13) but not more than twenty (20) adults who are provided supervision, personal care, and protection in addition to room and board, for twenty-four (24) hours a day, five (5) or more days a week, and for two (2) or more consecutive weeks for compensation.
(3) Adult Foster Care Family Home. A private residence with the approved capacity to receive six (6) or fewer adults who are provided supervision, personal care, and protection in addition to room and board, for twenty-four (24) hours a day, five (5) or more days a week and for two (2) or more consecutive weeks for compensation. The adult foster care family home licensee must be a member of the household and an occupant of the residence.
(4) Adult Foster Care Congregate Facility. An adult foster care facility with the approved capacity to receive more than twenty (20) adults who are provided supervision, personal care, and protection in addition to room and board, for twenty-four (24) hours a day, five (5) or more days a week and for two (2) or more consecutive weeks for compensation.
(b) Child Foster Care Facility. A state-licensed establishment that provides foster care to minor children. The following additional definitions shall apply in the application of this Ordinance:
(1) Child Foster Family Home. A private home in which one (1) but not more than four (4) minor children, who are not related to an adult member of the household by blood, marriage, or who are not placed in the household pursuant to the adoption code, Chapter X of Act No. 288 of the Public Acts of 1939, being sections 710.21 to 710.70 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, are given care and supervision for twenty-four (24) hours a day, for four (4) or more days a week, for two (2) or more consecutive weeks, unattended by a parent or legal guardian.
(2) Child Foster Family Group Home. A private home in which more than four (4) but fewer than seven (7) minor children, who are not related to an adult member of the household by blood, marriage, or who are not placed in the household pursuant to Chapter X of Act No. 288 of Public Acts of 1939, are provided care for twenty-four (24) hours a day, for four (4) or more days a week, for two (2) or more consecutive weeks, unattended by a parent or legal guardian.
Story. That part of a building (except a mezzanine or basement as defined herein) included between the surface of one floor and the surface of the next floor, or, if there is no floor above, then the ceiling next above.
[MODIFIED]
DETERMINING A STORY
Story, Half. An uppermost story lying under a sloping roof, having an area of at least two hundred (200) square feet with a clear height of seven (7) feet, six (6) inches. For the purposes of this Zoning Ordinance, the usable floor area is only that area having at least four (4) feet clear height between floor and ceiling.
Street. A public thoroughfare, or approved private thoroughfare, which provides for traffic circulation and the principal means of access to abutting property, including an avenue, place, way, drive, lane, boulevard, highway, road and any other public thoroughfare, except an alley.
(a) Boulevard. A street developed to two two-lane, one-way pavements, separated by a median. [NEW]
(b) Collector Street. A street used primarily to carry traffic from minor streets to major thoroughfares. [NEW]
(c) Cul-de-Sac. A cul-de-sac street means a minor street of short length, having one end open to traffic and being permanently terminated at the other end by a vehicular turn-around.
(d) Dead-End. A dead-end is a street with only one access point.
(e) Loop Street. A minor street of short length with two openings to traffic beginning from the same street, projecting parallel to each other and connecting at their termination by a loop. [NEW]
(f) Major Street. Major streets are as defined on the Act 51 Map for the City of Monroe.
(g) Marginal Access Street. A minor street, parallel and adjacent to a major thoroughfare, which provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic. [NEW]
(h) Minor or Local Street. Local streets are as defined on the Act 51 Map for the City of Monroe.
(i) Private Drive. A private drive is a privately constructed and maintained drive within an approved condominium project. (Note: Private roads are not permitted in the City).
(j) Turn-Around. A short boulevard street permanently terminated by a vehicular turn-around. [NEW]
Structure. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a permanent location on the ground or an attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground. [MODIFIED]
Structure, Historic. [NEW]
(a) Significant Historic Structures. Those structures which are identified by any study conducted by the City and/or the National Register to determine the historic values of those buildings which contribute significantly to the character of the City. All such structures retain a basic integrity of architectural design, setting, materials and workmanship. Such structures are identified with important persons, events or types of service, or embody the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural specimen, inherently valuable as a representation of a period, style or method of construction.
(b) Contributing Historic Structures. Those buildings which, while not possessing the importance of significant historic structures, make a positive contribution to the purpose of this Zoning Ordinance due to age or physical integrity. With appropriate repairs and restoration, such buildings may be designated significant at the request of the owners.
(c) Noncontributing Structures. A noncontributing structure means all structures not identified as significant or contributing.
Structural Alteration. Any change in the supporting members of a building or structure, such as bearing walls, partitions, columns, beams or girders; any change in the number of exits; any substantial roof change; or any expansion to the structure.
Subdivision. The partitioning or dividing of a parcel or tract of land by the proprietor thereof, or by his or her heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors or assigns, for the purpose of sale, lease of more than one (1) year, or building development, where the act of division creates five (5) or more parcels of land, each of which is ten (10) acres or less in area; or where five (5) or more parcels of land, each of which is ten (10) acres or less in area, are created by successive divisions within a period of ten (10) years. [NEW]
Subdivision Act. The Subdivision Control Act, being Act 288 of the Public Acts of 1967, as amended. [NEW]
Substance Abuse Center or Treatment Facility. A facility offering counseling, care and treatment for individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol, which is licensed by the Michigan Department of Mental Health, Office of Substance Abuse Services. A treatment facility may include detoxification services. A generally recognized pharmacy or a licensed hospital dispensing prescription medicines shall not be considered a substance abuse treatment facility.
Swimming Pool. Any structure or container, permanent or temporary, portable or nonportable, storable or nonstorable and capable of holding water to a depth of twenty-four (24) inches or more located above or below grade. This definition excludes structures with a surface area of fifty (50) square feet or less, such as a spa or hot tub.
Temporary Building or Structure. A building which is not permanently affixed to the property and which is permitted to exist for a specific reason for a period of time specified by the Administrative Site Plan Review Committee, or other applicable review board. A temporary structure shall include tents, manufactured units and similar structures.
Temporary Uses. Uses intended for limited duration within any zoning district. A temporary use shall not be interpreted to be a continuance of a nonconforming use. Temporary uses may include carnivals, circuses, art fairs, craft shows, sidewalk sales, antique sales, estate sales, auctions and similar events.
Theater. A place, either indoor or outdoor, where plays, operas or motion pictures are presented. [NEW]
Transition House. A residential dwelling used exclusively for the rehabilitation, supervision, guidance and counseling, or for programs designed for short-term residency, by the participant, where lodging and meals are provided by prearrangement for definite periods of not less than one week.
Transparent Glass. A type of glass which is clear or allows viewing through windows or doors. [NEW]
Use. The purpose for which land or premises or a building thereon is designed, arranged or intended or is for which it is occupied or maintained, let or leased.
Use, Change in. The transformation from one type of use to another. This transition may occur between permitted and special uses, and shall be regulated according to Section 1264 Site Plan Approval. [NEW]
Variance. A variance is a relaxation of regulations of this ordinance with respect to a specific lot, granted by the Board of Appeals. The variance shall not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of actions of the applicant, a literal enforcement of this ordinance would result in unnecessary hardship or practical difficulty. [NEW]
Veterinary Clinic. A facility providing diagnosis, treatment, surgery and similar veterinary care for small domestic animals, with no overnight outdoor boarding, but which may have overnight indoor boarding up to a maximum of three animals at any one time.
Wall, Obscuring. A structure constructed of masonry or brick, of definite height and location, to serve as an obscuring screen in carrying out the requirements of this Zoning Ordinance.
Warehouse. A building used primarily for the storage of goods and materials. [NEW]
Watercourse. Any waterway or other body of water having well defined banks, including rivers, streams, creeks and brooks, whether continually or intermittently flowing, and lakes and ponds. [NEW]
Wetland (State or Federal Regulated). Land characterized by the presence of water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, wetland vegetation or aquatic life, commonly referred to as a bog, swamp or marsh and which is any of the following:
(a) Contiguous to the Great Lakes or to an inland lake, pond, river or stream.
(b) Not contiguous to the Great Lakes or to an inland lake, pond, river or stream and more than five (5) acres in size.
(c) Not contiguous to the Great Lakes or to an inland lake, pond, river or stream, and more than five (5) acres in size, if the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) determines that protection of the area is essential to the preservation of the natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment or destruction and if the MDNR has so notified the owner.
Wireless Communication Facilities. All structures and accessory facilities relating to the use of the radio frequency spectrum for the purpose of transmitting or receiving radio signals shall be Wireless Communication Facilities. This may include, but shall not be limited to, radio towers, television towers, telephone devices and exchanges, microwave relay towers, telephone transmission equipment building, and commercial mobile radio service facilities. Not included within this definition are citizen band radio facilities, short wave facilities, ham, amateur radio facilities, satellite dishes, and governmental facilities which are subject to state or federal law or regulations which preempt municipal regulatory authority. For purposes of this Ordinance, the following additional terms are defined: [MODIFIED]
(a) Attached Wireless Communications Facilities. Wireless communication facilities that are affixed to existing structures, such as existing buildings, towers, water tanks, utility poles, and the like. A wireless communication support structure proposed to be newly established shall not be included within this definition.
(b) Wireless Communication Support Structures. Structures erected or modified to support wireless communication antennas. Support structures within this definition include, but shall not be limited to, monopoles, lattice towers, light poles, wood poles and guyed towers, or other structures which appear to be something other than a mere support structure.
(c) Collocation. The location by two (2) or more wireless communication providers of wireless communication facilities on a common structure, tower, or building, with the view toward reducing the overall number of structures required to support wireless communication antennas within the community.
Yard. An open space of prescribed width or depth on the same land with a building or group of buildings, which open space lies between the building or group of buildings and the nearest lot line and is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein.
(a) Yard, Front. The area extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the front line of the lot and the nearest line of the principal building or group of principal buildings, except on corner lots.
(b) Yard, Rear. The area extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the rear lot line and the nearest line of the principal building or group of principal buildings nearest the rear lot line, except on corner lots.
(c) Yard, Side. The area between the side line of the lot and the nearest line of the principal building and extending from the front yard to the rear yard.
(d) Yard, Street Side. The area located between the side street lot line and a line drawn parallel from the nearest point of a principal building or group of principal buildings from the front line of the property to the rear line of the property.
Yard Measurement. In measuring a yard the line of a building shall be deemed to mean a line parallel to the nearest lot line, drawn through the point of the building or the point of a group of buildings nearest to such lot line.
Yard, Required, Front/Side/Rear. An open space of prescribed width or depth adjacent to a lot or property line on the same land with a building or group of buildings, which open space lies in the area between the building or group of buildings and the nearest lot line and is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein. [MODIFIED]
Zoning Administrator. The Building Official or his or her designee shall act as the zoning administrator and shall be responsible for administering this Zoning Ordinance.
Zoning Board of Appeals. Means the Zoning Board of Appeals as provided under provisions of the City or Village Zoning Act, being Act 207 of the Public Acts of 1921, as amended, with powers and duties as defined in those statutes, except as modified herein.
Zoning District. A section of the City for which the regulations governing the height, area, use, structure, or size of buildings and premises are the same. [NEW]
CHAPTER 5: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT
Introduction
Revitalizing the urban environment is a complex problem. The process requires solutions designed to attract new businesses, retain jobs, build a stronger tax base and continue to make the City an attractive place to live and work. Initiating change requires cooperation by stakeholders: citizens, government, businesses, institutions and various groups working together to improve the City’s economic vitality.
Southeast Michigan Trends
Development trends throughout Southeast Michigan have seen a shift of business centers from older urban areas to adjacent suburban and rural areas often called “greenfields”. Outlying greenfields have gradually increased in attractiveness because of the availability of large, relatively inexpensive tracts of vacant land and subsidization of infrastructure. This land typically has lower taxes, access to growing residential populations is easier to assemble and may have better access to expressways. Development of urban parcels, in contrast, can be complicated with demolition, smaller lots, aging infrastructure and in some cases, contaminated soils. Urban redevelopment sites have recently been streamlined with several state, federal and local programs to make such sites more competitive.
Southeast Michigan’s economy produced moderate growth in jobs from the late ‘60s to the early ‘80s. A strong job market characterized growth in the ‘90s. Forecasts indicate that this growth will continue to 2010, but then level off. Older workers will stay in the labor force as a result of their improved health as well as economic demand. The prime working age population (ages 18-54) will grow only slightly, before beginning to shrink in size from 2010 through 2025. This should help keep the numbers of jobs stable from 2010 to 2025.
The mixture of jobs in Southeast Michigan’s economy has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. In 1965 the three largest groups of jobs included manufacturing, services and retail, with manufacturing accounting for 35% of all jobs. Forecasters predict that this mix of jobs will shift by 2025, and manufacturing jobs will decrease to 13% and service sector jobs will continue to grow. The automotive industry and its suppliers will still continue to power the region’s economy, although older factories may be upgraded or replaced.
Economists believe the region will remain economically strong, though periodic recessions may occur. Manufacturing industries must continue to improve efficiency to remain globally competitive. The service sector is expected to grow substantially larger. As a result of aging population, it will be difficult for the labor force to grow after 2010. There will, however, be opportunities that will spur labor force participation of workers over age 55.
Monroe County Trends
Demographics and statistics depicted for Southeastern Michigan generally reflect the current and anticipated conditions for Monroe County. Many of the economic opportunities in Southeastern Michigan are located within Monroe County. For example, the County had an unemployment rate in 2000 of 3.2%, which was lower than Michigan’s 3.6% rate and the nation’s rate of 4.0%. With the natural rate of unemployment at approximately 5.5%, Monroe County is characterized as having a ‘tight’ labor market. As such, Michigan rate has been lower for the past several years. Also similar to the overall region, the County has had a recent increase in the number of residential units and building permits.
Advantages. Monroe County’s strategic location and physical characteristics are advantageous for its economy. Location between the metropolitan areas of Detroit and Toledo and accessibility to major transportation routes for highway, water, rail and air travel create economic opportunities. Both Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Toledo Express Airport are located within an hour of the County. With Interstates 75 and 275, Monroe County is easily accessible by most major cities in the Midwest. The County also has an abundance of rail lines, and freight traffic, providing further economic advantages.
Industry. Both Table 10 and Table 11 provide a breakdown of the industry in Monroe County. This region has been ideally located for industries that use water for transportation, processing, or cooling operations due to adjoining Lake Erie and its connections to the St. Lawrence River, Detroit River, and Lake Huron. At present, improvements are needed to the Port of Monroe to adequately support increased economic development. Despite current trends of downsizing in a tighter economy, one of the larger automotive industries in the County, Visteon, announced in 2000 plans for a $100 million investment to its Monroe Plant.
From Milan to Bedford to Frenchtown, industrial uses have been and continue to be a large part of the County’s economy. In the early part of 2001, the Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation indicated that its efforts would be focused on ensuring that existing businesses can remain competitive and can grow in the years ahead. But in order for new businesses to be attracted to the area, more industrial parks will need to have state certification. Currently, there are only a few sites that are State certified industrial parks, and many other sites ideal in many respects for industrial development are lacking in sufficient infrastructure.
Along with industrial uses, Monroe County has a key role in the services industry. Table 10 provides a more detailed breakdown of the types of service jobs offered in the county. Some of the top ranking services includes healthcare, business services and membership organizations.
Finally, Monroe County’s 1985 Comprehensive Plan stressed the significance of the County’s agricultural lands. The 1997 Census of Agriculture stated that 57% of the total land in Monroe County was agricultural land. This land is used for production of corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and tomatoes. Thus, Monroe County is an ideal location for food processing industries. This also means as a general policy, that industrial uses should be directed to locations with infrastructure and expressway access rather than to more important farmland.
Future Trends. The County’s labor force is a strong indication of the strength of its economy. SEMCOG projects employment to increase 10.6% through 2020, with most increases occurring in the service category, which will increase 21% by 2020. Manufacturing, Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate are anticipated to lose jobs over this period as the Service industry grows to account for 50% of all jobs in the County.
Table 10:
Service Industry Employment March 1997 (Monroe County)
Industry
Total Number Establishments
Number of Employees
Hotels
18
177
Personal Services
69
342
Business Services
82
1454
Auto Repair, Services and Parking
74
348
Misc. Repair Services
25
302
Motion Pictures
12
96
Amusement and Recreation
47
520
Health Services
165
2899
Legal Services
37
128
Education Services
7
154
Social Services
58
751
Table 11:
City of Monroe Employment by Industrial Class
Industrial Class
1990
2000
90-00 % Change
2010
00-10 % Change
2020
10-20 % Change
2030
20-30 % Change
Agriculture/Natural Resources
40
(0.2%)
75
(0.5%)
87.5%
98
(0.6%)
30.7%
133
(0.7%)
35.7%
184
(0.9%)
38.3%
Manufacturing
4,412 (26.1%)
3,913
(25.9%)
-11.3%
3,472
(21.0%)
-11.3%
3,647
(20.0%)
5.0%
4,473
(22.2%)
22.6%
Telecommunication, Utilities
1,741 (10.3%)
757
(5.0%)
-56.5%
610
(3.7%)
-19.4%
328
(1.8%)
-46.2%
35
(0.2%)
-89.3%
Wholesale Trade
528
(3.1%)
499
(3.3%)
-5.5%
622
(3.8%)
24.6%
743
(4.1%)
19.5%
842
(4.2%)
13.3%
Retail Trade
3,513 (20.8%)
3,092
(20.5%)
-12.0%
3,347
(20.2%)
8.2%
3,684
(20.2%)
10.1%
3,833
(19.0%)
4.0%
Financial, Real Estate
626
(3.7%)
610
(4.0%)
-2.6%
747
(4.5%)
22.5%
887
(4.9%)
18.7%
1,034
(5.1%)
16.6%
Services
5,324 (31.5%)
5,266
(34.9%)
-1.1%
6,683
(40.3%)
26.9%
7,744
(42.4%)
15.9%
8,553
(42.5%)
10.4%
Public Administration
710
(4.3%)
880
(5.8)
23.9%
985
(5.9%)
11.9%
1,096
(6.0%)
11.3%
1,181
(5.9%)
7.8%
Total Jobs
16,894
15,092
-10.7%
16,564
9.8%
18262
10.3%
20,133
10.2%
Source: SEMCOG, 2030 Regional Development Forecast, U.S. Census 1990:2000
City of Monroe Trends
The City’s economy is closely related to the characteristics of its population, household, and more directly, by its employment characteristics, job forecasts and decisions by developers and lending institutions. These factors provide valuable insight to future economic development.
Employment Characteristics. Two important factors to consider when evaluating the employment characteristics of the City are characteristics of jobs available compared with the labor force. To begin, it is important to review the employment by industry that identifies the types of jobs available in the City. Second, it is important to know the occupation breakdown of the population in order to establish the experience and employment specialization of City residents.
Table 11 provides information relative to the types of employment available in the City. In 2000, SEMCOG estimated a total of 15,092 jobs in the City of Monroe. While manufacturing jobs have historically been the employment base in Monroe, recent estimates indicate the leading job class is ‘services.’ This typifies the nationwide trend over the last 20 years as the US evolved into a service-oriented economy. Service jobs are forecasted to continue to dominate the market, while manufacturing jobs are on the decline. This is primarily attributed to the downsizing of companies that are more reliant upon technology than manpower. This is also due to the trend that companies are trying to be more cost effective with fewer employees. SEMCOG estimates that the job market peaked in 2000 and the number of jobs in the City will decrease by 2020.
Table 12:
Occupation of City Residents by Sector, 2000
Occupation
Percent
Managerial & Professional
26.4%
Sales Workers
23.6%
Production, Transportation, and Material Moving
22.5%
Service Workers
18.3%
Construction, Extraction and Maintenance
9.0%
Farming, Forestry & Fishing
0.3%
Source: U.S. Census, 2000
The occupational breakdown for the City provides insight into the skills, expertise and training of its residents. This can be useful in developing economic development programs because these strategies can draw upon the training of citizens. The highest-ranking categories are Managerial & Professional, Sales Workers and Production, Transportation and Material Moving. This is an important indicator the City has a healthy balance of both skilled laborers and professionals.
Job Forecasts. The job market forecasts for the City follow that of Monroe County, with the City able to attract a significant percentage of the growth in the Service Industry. The industrial economy has been strong in the City, but Monroe has recently been experiencing an increase in employment in the downtown area and along other major corridors. While at the current time, commercial development is growing; its largest sectors for employment include services, transportation, communication, and utility.
Brownfield Redevelopment
Monroe’s Brownfield History. Brownfield sites have figured prominently in both historical and present development of the City. Those most prominent are located in the eastern portion of the City near the River Raisin and Lake Erie.
Once the primary manufacturing and income generating sites in the City, they now fall under the definition of “brownfield” – abandoned, underutilized, and potentially contaminated lands. While classified as ‘prime’ in infrastructure amenities and market access, they have a severe economic effect upon the community and continue to affect development in Monroe because of liability and due care issues.
Successful marketing of these sites for new construction is more difficult because investors often avoid brownfield locations because of liability and due care requirements for unknown contamination. Although community institutions have pioneered techniques for protection of investment in developing these sites, their marketability requires a sophisticated approach.
In recent years, the State of Michigan adopted two laws that provide a significant incentive for brownfield projects. Public Act 381 provides for establishment of brownfield tax increment finance authorities, which may fund assessment and remediation activities via the value of the redevelopment project. In addition, Public Act 382 provides for a 10% Michigan Single Business Tax credit for those parties who invest in a brownfield site designated by a Brownfield TIF Authority.
Monroe Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. Because of geographic and economic considerations, the City of Monroe has targeted brownfield redevelopment as the primary component of its development policy. Only through redevelopment of brownfields can the City and other taxing jurisdictions maintain the ability to provide effective services to its residents.
Monroe City Council created a Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA) authorized by P.A. 381 of 1996 in January 1997. Since then, the City has engaged in a number of brownfield projects using all elements of the Michigan Brownfield Program – MDEQ liability protection via baseline environmental assessments, grant and loan programs, and BRA tax increment financing coupled with the State Single Business Tax Credit for private investment. Most of these projects are financed through Act 381 BRA work/brownfield plans, approved by MDEQ for school tax capture.
Many individuals and agencies have recognized the City of Monroe as one of Michigan’s municipal leaders in the development of brownfield sites. The site-based reimbursement brownfield plan model currently used by most local units and recommended by MDEQ was developed by the Monroe BRA. Based upon its substantial experience, the City was actively involved and referenced in the drafting, review, and recommendation on provisions of the 2000 and 2002 State Brownfield Program amendments.
Other Public Agency Support
The Port of Monroe and its draft master plan discussed in Chapter Two is also an important economic development opportunity for which the City should focus. Future plans for infrastructure improvements will accommodate 240 or more acres of new development sites for industrial businesses. Additional railroad, dock and warehousing improvements are also important implementation plans that will support multiple transportation modes for moving commerce into and out of the City. Diversifying the City’s transportation system will be key to offering a solid foundation for its future economic growth.
Much of the Port’s acreage is classified as brownfield. Since 1975, the Port has committed more than $10,000,000 to conduct remedial investigation on its property, and has developed valued expertise in the arena of brownfield redevelopment. The Port Commission has set a precedent by marketing and preparing its brownfield sites for development - examples include remedial measures such as construction of a containment dike on the southern edge of its property adjacent to Plum Creek, and innovations such as securing one of the first non-bankruptcy covenants-not-to-sue (CNTS) for a prospective firm to build a facility without fear of liability for previous contamination.
The Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation (MCIDC) has also become involved in marketing the City’s brownfields. Their assistance, along with help from local utility companies, has resulted in inquiries from industrial firms interested in a possible site location on Port property. The MCIDC also supports the inclusion of Monroe brownfield site redevelopment in the Monroe County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), a planning document which lends credibility for public financing through both federal and state sources.
Potential Development Areas SITS
Ternes/Homrich Industrial Area •
Location. The site is bound by the I-75 to the east, Noble to the south, the Conrail RR to the west and Dixie Highway to the north.
•
Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. The site is primarily industrial with several commercial uses along Dixie Highway. Additional industrial uses occur to the east and south. Two streets with residential are surrounded by the development area.
•
Zoning. The area is zoned I-1 Light Industrial, I-2 General Industrial, and C-2 General Commercial.
•
Ownership. Private.
•
Site Factors. Non-residential impacts on adjacent neighborhoods, such as service and delivery areas, parking, glare and noise need to be controlled.
Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SSIHM)
•
Location. The site is the northerly portion of the SSIHM campus located on Elm Avenue.
Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. The site is primarily an agricultural area with open space. The Immaculate Heart of Mary campus is located to the south and moderate-density residential homes lie to the east and west of the development site. The existing campus has been declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (see Chapter 6 – Historic Resources).
•
Zoning. The site is currently zoned as R-1B, Single Family Residential.
•
Ownership. Private.
•
Site Factors. Natural features should be preserved. Development should not impact adjacent residential neighborhoods. The SSIHM are currently evaluating future development options.
Potential Redevelopment Areas
Mason Run Neighborhood
•
Location. The Mason Run site is bound by Michigan Avenue to the west, the NS Railroad to the east, city limits to the north and Elm Street to the south.
Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. The site is being developed as a traditional neighborhood. Expansion of this neighborhood will continue to the north city limits. The south edge of the site abuts Elm Avenue and the River Raisin. An existing residential neighborhood is located to the west, vacant land to the north and the Monroe Multi-sports Complex and vacant lands to the east.
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Zoning. The site is currently zoned as PUD, Planned Unit Development.
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Ownership. Private/Public.
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Site Factors. The site is designated as a brownfield redevelopment site. Environmental remediation is ongoing and development activity continues. There is limited access to Dixie Highway, noise and odor from railroads and nearby intensive commercial uses.
Dixie Highway
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Location. The Dixie Highway site is bound by the NS Railroad to the west, Noble Avenue to the south, CN Railroad to the east and Dixie Highway to the north.
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. The Mason Run PUD site is located west of the site, industrial/commercial uses are located to the north, a former paper plant to the east and the Monroe Multi-Sports Complex and several commercial businesses to the south.
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Zoning. The area is zoned I-1 Light Industrial District.
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Ownership. Private.
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Site Factors. Site access may be limited due to the intersection of Elm and Dixie and the N&S railroad.
Riverfront Mixed-Use
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Location. This site is located along the River Raisin, east of Dixie Highway, south of Mill Street and on both sides of I-75.
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. Much of the site is parks and open space, small marina and commercial uses along the River Raisin and the former landfill.
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Zoning. The site is currently zoned PUD, Planned Unit Development and I-2. General Industrial District.
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Ownership. Private/Public.
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Site Factors. Noise and odor from railroad lines and the River Raisin water quality also pose constraints.
South East Neighborhood
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Location. This neighborhood is bound by the N&S Railroad to the west, the River Raisin to the north, Norwood to the east and the Port West Industrial Park.
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. The neighborhood consists of primarily residential uses. Light industrial uses exist along the railroad. The South East neighborhood is surrounded by open space areas, former industrial sites and residential neighborhoods.
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Zoning. The site is zoned R-1C, Single Family Residential, I-1 Light Industrial District and I-2, General Industrial District.
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Ownership. Private/Public.
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Site Factors. Noise and odor from the railroad lines and associated rail yards pose constraints and will need to be mitigated for the neighborhood to regain its strength and reach its potential.
South Consolidated Site
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Location. The South Consolidated Site is located north of the South East Neighborhood, south of the River Raisin and west of I-75.
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. Currently, an industrial warehouse is located on the site. It is surrounded by residential uses to the south and the River Raisin and other industrial uses to the north.
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Zoning. The site is zoned I-2, General Industrial District.
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Ownership. Public.
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Site Factors. The site is a designated brownfield redevelopment site. Environmental due care is necessary because of the former use as a paper manufacturing plant and related activities.
Port West Industrial Park
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Location. This site is located south of the South East neighborhood, bounded by Wood Street to the north, the City limits to the south and I-75 to the east.
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. This 153-acre vacant parcel is surrounded by moderate-density residential to the north, Port East Industrial Park to the east, environmentally sensitive lands to the south, and industrial uses to the west.
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Zoning. This site is currently zoned I-2, General Industrial District.
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Ownership. Public.
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Site Factors. Environmental due care is necessary because the past use as a landfill. The site has limited access except through the local residential streets of the South East Neighborhood. A connection is proposed from Borchert Park Drive that will improve this condition. Environmentally sensitive areas south of the site need to be protected.
Port East Industrial Park
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Location. This site is located south of the South East neighborhood. It is bounded by Plum Creek Bay on the south, Front Street on the north, I-75 to the west and North Star to the east.
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. This 80-acre vacant parcel is bounded Plum Creek Bay to the south and I-75 to the west.
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Zoning. This site is currently zoned I-2, General Industrial District.
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Ownership. Public.
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Site Factors. Environmental due care is necessary because the past use as a landfill.
Winchester Neighborhood Commercial District
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Location. Winchester Street frontage from Third to First.
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. Residential and commercial uses exist along the length of Winchester. Moderate density residential uses occur to the east, south and west. Light industrial uses occur to the north.
Zoning. The district is zoned C-2, General Commercial District.
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Ownership. Private.
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Site Factors. Non-residential impacts on adjacent neighborhoods, such as service and delivery areas, parking, glare and noise need to be limited.
North Monroe Mixed Use District
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Location. North Monroe Street frontage from the River Raisin to Lorain Street.
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. Residential and commercial uses are located within the district. Moderate density residential uses are located to the east and west. The Central Business District is located to the south.
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Zoning. The District is partially zoned C-1, Local Commercial District, C-2, General Commercial District and RM, Multiple Family Residential.
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Ownership. Private.
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Site Factors. Non-residential impacts on adjacent neighborhoods, such as service and delivery areas, parking, glare and noise need to be controlled.
South Monroe Commercial District
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Location. South Monroe Street frontage from Third Street south to City Limits
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Existing and Surrounding Land Uses. Commercial uses are located within the district. Moderate and low density residential uses are located to the east and west. The Central Business District is located to the north.
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Zoning. The District is primarily zoned C-2, General Commercial District. One block in the district is zoned RM, Multiple Family Residential.
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Ownership. Private.
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Site Factors. Non-residential impacts on adjacent neighborhoods, such as service and delivery areas, parking, glare and noise need to be controlled. Guidelines for building and site design should be developed that promote the desired character.
Downtown Sites
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Location. Several redevelopment sites have been identified within the Central Business District. The CBD is bound by the River Raisin to the north, Macomb Street to the east and Third Street to the south and Smith Street to the west.
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Zoning. The area is zoned CBD, Central Business District.
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Ownership. Private/Public.
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Site Factors. More detail is provided in Chapter 7: Downtown Monroe.
Economic Development and Redevelopment Goals and Objectives
In work sessions with business leaders, property owners, and community representatives, goals for the future economic development of the city were discussed. These economic development goals form the basis for the Comprehensive Plan land use policies related to economic development.
POLICY STATEMENT
Build an awareness of the City of Monroe as an outstanding place to live, work and visit through promoting a positive business environment; encourage new development in industrial parks, support redevelopment of brownfield sites, broaden and strengthen the tourism sector, and facilitate economic diversification and business growth.
Goal #1 Encourage economic diversity and job creation that are compatible with Monroe’s physical character.
a. Rezone vacant or underutilized property in and near neighborhoods to encourage redevelopment that is compatible in use and intensity with the existing neighborhood.
b. Support and encourage efforts to diversify the economic base of Monroe.
c. Facilitate economic development activities that will strengthen neighborhoods, provide educational training and employment opportunities and provide necessary support systems.
d. Diversify the City’s transportation network to support multiple methods to transport commerce.
e. Additional policies regarding redevelopment of various downtown sites are included in Chapter 7.
Goal #2 Promote a business-labor-government relationship that addresses the needs of businesses to operate in a positive and mutually beneficial environment.
a. Develop new and enhance existing partnership programs that promote cooperation among public agencies, industry, labor and community to enhance economic growth throughout the city.
b. Facilitate communication between businesses, neighborhoods, development interests, neighborhood associations, community-based groups and other interested parties with respect to economic development and redevelopment.
c. Provide information and briefings on economic development tools, incentives and grants to business groups, community groups, neighborhood groups, and other interested parties.
Goal #3 Provide economic opportunities in certain development and redevelopment areas.
a. Place a priority on infrastructure and transportation improvements and pursue alternative methods of funding.
b. Develop specific policies for certain development and redevelopment areas as part of the City’s economic development program.
c. Develop public and private initiatives to support and finance small business and economic growth.
Improvement and Redevelopment Strategies
City Wide Strategies
a. Encourage a diversity of business sizes and types, including retention of existing businesses and attracting new businesses.
b. Identify vacant and underutilized areas and plan to maximize their development.
c. Cluster similar sizes and types of businesses within smaller districts where appropriate, so synergistic effects may result.
d. Reinforce existing business investment and provide for retention and expansion.
e. Provide for local infrastructure development, where needed, to support economic development efforts.
f. Continue downtown revitalization efforts by encouraging a mix of housing and complementary retail and services.
g. Promote tourism through the development of tourist related facilities and services.
h. Promote expansion of the successful brownfield redevelopment efforts.
i. Encourage public-private partnerships to demonstrate innovative approaches to environmental due care leading to economic development.
j. Encourage businesses to reuse infrastructure rather than relocating out of the city or state and thereby increase future public capital and operating costs.
k. Target redevelopment initiatives by providing funding assistance for environmental assessment to investigate properties with redevelopment potential.
Ternes/Homrich Industrial Area Strategies
a. Encourage development that will not negatively affect the adjacent residential neighborhood.
b. Develop an alternate circulation system that will avoid routing traffic through the existing adjacent neighborhoods.
c. Require new development to maintain an attractive façade along the I-75 frontage.
d. Promote the site as a gateway to the city at Dixie and the I-75.
Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Strategies
a. Link East and West Lorain and extend Hendricks Drive to Monroe Street to make the interior portions of the parcel accessible.
b. Ensure sidewalks, street lighting, street trees and recreation opportunities are provided.
c. Encourage development that is compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhood and is complementary to the Immaculate Heart of Mary campus.
d. Integrate the circulation system with the existing adjacent neighborhoods.
Mason Run Neighborhood Strategies
a. Promote continued development of a moderate density traditional residential neighborhood into northern areas.
b. Ensure sidewalks, street lighting, street trees, recreation opportunities and infrastructure such as water, sewer and electricity are provided.
c. Increase access and visibility to the site by extending Greenwood and Maywood to Dixie Highway/Spaulding Road.
d. Encourage development to be compatible with the adjacent residential neighborhood.
e. Incorporate with adjacent residential neighborhood and multiple family uses to the west.
Dixie Highway Site Strategies
a. Encourage the traditional design of new commercial development that will complement the Mason Run Neighborhood and link with the adjacent residential neighborhoods.
b. Maintain infrastructure and improve rights-of-way and streetscape to encourage connections to northern and eastern neighborhoods.
c. Promote the site as a gateway to the City along Dixie Highway at Spaulding, Noble and Elm Avenue.
d. Develop a strong connection to the River Raisin Recreation District.
e. Consider support uses to the historic and cultural development opportunities on the east side of Dixie Highway at the War of 1812 Settlement and Battlefield site.
Riverfront Mixed-Use Strategies
a. Take advantage of grants and financial incentives to enhance the interpretive potential of the Frenchtown Settlement and River Raisin Battlefield (listed on the National Register).
b. Investigate the former paper industrial plant site for redevelopment into a historical and cultural display of the War of 1812 and the Frenchtown Settlement.
c. Consider adaptive reuse of the former paper mill’s administrative building as an interpretive center or complementary land use.
d. Develop work/study programs in archeology at the River Raisin Battlefield and Frenchtown Settlement sites.
e. Redevelop the former Jefferson Smurfit Corporation East Mill Landfill.
f. Develop a branded mixed use-district that combines waterfront residential, with specialty retail, entertainment uses and marina uses.
g. Promote the use of the River Raisin frontage for waterfront commercial marinas, marina supply shops and entertainment uses.
h. Promote a safe and inviting pedestrian activity area with wide sidewalks, river overlooks, pedestrian plazas, landscaped medians and recreation opportunities.
i. Increase access and visibility to the site by extending Noble to Mill.
j. Develop a strong connection to the Dixie Highway Area.
k. Expand the existing Waterfront Commercial District zoning designation to include potential uses such as entertainment, residential, and specialty retail and eliminate warehouse and industrial uses.
South East Neighborhood Strategies
a. Revitalize and enhance the existing South East Neighborhood.
b. Ensure sidewalks, street lighting, street trees and recreation opportunities are provided.
c. Promote infill residential development throughout the neighborhood.
d. Ensure new residential development maintains a consistent density as existing residential uses.
e. Increase pedestrian access and visibility to the River Raisin.
f. Develop public recreation uses along the river’s frontage within the neighborhood in accordance with the Greenway Plan.
g. Develop a pedestrian bridge to link the South East Neighborhood with the River Raisin Recreation District and Settlement/Battlefield site.
h. Encourage the development of a neighborhood organization that will promote the redevelopment and revitalization efforts for the neighborhood.
South Consolidated Site Strategies
a. Increase access and visibility to the River Raisin.
b. Develop an attractive gateway entry at Front and I-75.
c. Ensure all negative impacts from the I-75 are buffered from any residential development.
Port West Industrial Park Strategies
a. Ensure new development respects the existing sensitive flood plain and wetland areas that are located in the southern portion of the site.
b. Investigate funding and grant opportunities offered by the MDNR and the EPA for protection and/or enhancement of sensitive floodplain and wetland area.
c. Seek funds from MDOT and MEDC for infrastructure improvements.
d. Require new development to maintain an attractive façade along the I-75 frontage.
Port East Industrial Park Strategies
a. Ensure new development respects the existing sensitive flood plain and wetland areas that are located in the southern portion of the site.
b. Investigate funding and grant opportunities offered by the MDNR and the EPA for protection and/or enhancement of sensitive floodplain and wetland area.
c. Seek funds from MDOT and MEDC for infrastructure improvements.
d. Require new development to maintain an attractive façade along the I-75 frontage.
e. Promote the site as a gateway to the city at Front Street and the I-75.
Winchester Neighborhood Commercial District Strategies
a. Re-orient land uses along Winchester to provide for retail development at the neighborhood level. Neighborhood retail is recommended as a node development between First and Third.
b. Limit non-residential impacts on adjacent neighborhoods, such as service and delivery areas, parking, glare and noise.
c. Encourage residential uses above neighborhood retail uses.
d. Enhance Winchester as a neighborhood center through linkages to Arthur Lesow Community Center and improvements at Labor Park.
e. Develop and implement a streetscape program that emphasizes pedestrian activity such as buildings lining the street front, street trees, wide sidewalks, lighting, and parking in the rear.
North Monroe Mixed Use District Strategies
a. Encourage mixed-use development (residential, retail and office) on North Monroe Street, where density and mix of uses can establish a strong district that does not necessarily compete with the Central Business District.
b. Limit non-residential impacts on adjacent neighborhoods, such as service and delivery areas, parking, glare and noise.
c. Develop and implement a streetscape program that celebrates the East Elm – North Monroe historic district.
d. Assist property owners in understanding historic rehabilitation tax credits, grants and other similar programs.
e. Create a separate zoning district tailored to the desired uses and responds to the unique site design needs of this area.
South Monroe Commercial District Strategies
a. Adopt the proposed design overlay for the South Monroe Street Corridor to preserve the established character of the district and ensure that future development activities are compatible with this character.
b. Encourage mixed-use development (retail and office) on South Monroe Street, where density and mix of uses can establish a strong district that does not necessarily compete with the Central Business District.
c. Limit non-residential impacts on adjacent neighborhoods, such as service and delivery areas, parking, glare and noise.
d. Assist property owners in understanding historic rehabilitation tax credits, grants and other similar programs.
Downtown Sites Strategies
a. Encourage mixed-use development (parking, residential and retail) to enhance and increase the vitality of the Central Business District.
b. Ensure development does not have a detrimental effect on the River Raisin.
c. Promote development that assists in reestablishing retail and service uses and generates new business in the Downtown.
d. Enforce site design guidelines to ensure that the character of the development is complementary to the historic Downtown.
e. Ensure public pedestrian access is provided along the River Raisin, along with a pedestrian connection from the riverwalk to Monroe Street.
Frequently Asked Media Law Questions
Note that these answers are based on general principles of United States law. But laws vary from state to state within the United States, and the law in non-U.S. jurisdictions is likely to be very different from the statements below.
The material on this page is NOT legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client or any other relationship between the user and the Media Law Resource Center. Users should contact an attorney in their jurisdiction for legal advice applicable to their particular situation.
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What is Libel?
What is Slander?
What are the Top Awards in Cases Against the Media?
Help! I've Been Sued for Libel!
Can I Be Sued for Something I Put on the Internet?
What is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation?
I Want to Sue Someone for Libel
Where Can I Find a First Amendment Lawyer?
How I Can Access MLRC Resources?
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What is Libel?
Libel and slander are legal claims for false statements of fact about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken or otherwise communicated to others. Libel generally refers to statements or visual depictions in written or other permanent form, while slander refers to verbal statements and gestures. The term defamation is often used to encompass both libel and slander.
In order for the person about whom a statement is made to recover for libel, the false statement must be defamatory, meaning that it actually harms the reputation of the other person, as opposed to being merely insulting or offensive.
The statement(s) alleged to be defamatory must also have been published to at least one other person (other than the subject of the statement) and must be "of and concerning" the plaintiff. That is, those hearing or reading the statement must identify it specifically with the plaintiff.
The statement(s) alleged to be defamatory must also be a false statement of fact. That which is name-calling, hyperbole, or, however characterized, cannot be proven true or false, cannot be the subject of a libel or slander claim.
The defamatory statement must also have been made with fault. The extent of the fault depends primarily on the status of the plaintiff. Public figures, such as government officials, celebrities, well-known individuals, and people involved in specific public controversies, are required to prove actual malice, a legal term which means the defendant knew his statement was false or recklessly disregarded the truth or falsity of his statement. In most jurisdictions, private individuals must show only that the defendant was negligent: that he failed to act with due care in the situation.
A defamation claim -- at least one based upon statements about issues that are matters of public interest -- will likely fail if any of these elements are not met.
While on many of these issues the burden of proof is on the plaintiff, the primary defenses to a defamation claim are that the statements are true, are not statements of fact, or are privileged. Some defamatory statements may be protected by privilege, meaning that in certain circumstances the interest in communicating a statement outweighs the interest in protecting reputation. For example, most, if not all, jurisdictions recognize a privilege for fair reports of what is said, done, or published out of government and judicial proceedings, and for reports of misconduct to the proper authorities or to those who share a common interest (such as within a family or an association). Privileges do vary somewhat from state to state in their scope and requirements. They generally apply to non-media defendants to the same degree as to media defendants.
A successful defamation plaintiff may be entitled to a jury award of money damages. In some instances, the plaintiff may also be awarded punitive damages for particularly reprehensible conduct. The parties to the claim are entitled to appeal and cases are carefully scrutinized on review to protect the defendant’s First Amendment rights.
Defamation claims can be brought by living persons and entities that are considered "persons" under the law such as corporations, unincorporated businesses, associations and unions. Governmental entities cannot maintain actions for libel or slander, although a government official can bring suit for statements about the official individually.
Libel and slander are civil claims, but a handful of the states recognize an action for criminal defamation. Prosecutions are rare, especially against the media.
Under the American federal law system, defamation claims are largely governed by state law, subject to the limitations imposed by the free speech and press provisions of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as interpreted and applied by the Supreme Court and other courts. While the elements of defamation are largely identical throughout the country, because defamation is a matter of state law there can be important differences on substantive and procedural details of the claim in the separate jurisdictions. And as a result of the application of First Amendment requirements to the claims, the specific elements as well as the burdens of proof with respect to those elements may be different depending upon whether the plaintiff is a public or private figure, whether the defendant is media or non-media, and the character of the statement(s) at issue.
More detailed information on libel and slander in each American jurisdiction, and in Canada and England, is available in our 50-State Survey of Media Libel Law. We also publish a 50-State Survey of Media Privacy and Related Law. Our 50-State Survey of Employment Libel and Privacy Law discusses these issues in the context of the workplace.
What is Slander?
Slander is a defamatory statement made verbally or by gesture. The same rules generally apply to both libel and slander, which are often grouped together under the term "defamation." In some jurisdictions, the statute of limitations for slander is shorter than for libel. See What is Libel?
What are the Top Awards in Cases Against the Media?
The updated list is available here. MLRC publishes an updated list in its annual Report on Trials and Damages. The annual report is summarized in press releases, and is available for purchase here.
Help! I've Been Sued for Libel!
If you have been named as a defendant in a libel suit, you should not ignore it. Your failure to act may have severe legal and financial consequences. You should find a lawyer who is well-versed in First Amendment issues to advise you. See Where Can I Find a First Amendment Lawyer?
Can I Be Sued for Something I Put on the Internet?
Yes. The laws regarding defamation apply to Internet as they do to more traditional media. However, federal law protects Internet service providers (ISPs) and other interactive computer services from many lawsuits.
What is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation?
A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation or a "SLAPP suit," is a retaliatory lawsuit, usually but not always based on a libel claim, against discussion on a public issue or controversy. Because participation by the public and press in public discussion is highly valued in the United States, and it is feared that SLAPP lawsuits deter that participation, some states have adopted anti-SLAPP laws to facilitate quick dismissal of such cases.
I Want to Sue Someone for Libel
The Media Law Resource Center is focused on assisting defendants in lawsuits involving media law issues. We cannot assist plaintiffs in such cases.
Where Can I Find a First Amendment Lawyer?
The Media Law Resource Center does not provide legal advice.
If you have been named as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit, you may want to contact one of our law firm members. You also may consult your local bar association's lawyer referral service.
Working press may also contact your state or local press association.
Can I Access MLRC Resources?
While MLRC can sometimes assist defendants in libel and privacy litigation, especially media defendants, with litigation support resources, membership in MLRC will give you more familiarity and better access to these resources. For more information on MLRC membership, click here.
Issues of the MLRC Bulletin and our 50-State Surveys are available for sale to the general
NAACP Organizes in Response to Supreme Court Decisions that Strike Down Public School Diversity Plans
June 28, 2007
Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions striking down student assignment plans designed to promote racially diverse schools. In a pair of cases involving challenges to voluntary desegregation plans in Seattle and Louisville school districts, the court declared that school board plans in each district were unconstitutional, further restricting how public school systems may attain racial diversity. In its 5-4 split decision the court did, however, uphold diversity as compelling interest in kindergarten through 12th grade public education.
“At a time when school segregation is increasing, in the half-century since the Brown decision, a plurality of the current court has condemned minority children to a back seat in the race for life’s chances,” said NAACP National Board of Directors Chairman Julian Bond. “There is hope that the two affected districts and others can find ways to alter their plans and overcome the court’s decision. School districts nationwide—particularly those who have yet to acknowledge their responsibilities to provide an equal education for every child--should embrace the court’s challenge and find ways to make the promise of Brown a present day reality.”
The court split, 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts announcing the court's judgment. Justice Stephen Breyer announced the dissenting opinion, which was joined by justices Stephens, Souter and Ginsberg.
”We are asking NAACP units across the country to be vigilant in reviewing school integration plans to ensure that there is equal treatment without regard to race and make recommendations that would withstand constitutional challenge,” said NAACP Interim President and CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes. “We can learn from the opinions and work to develop and implement plans across the country that pass constitutional muster. We will continue to pursue tools of integration.”
The NAACP has a plan to address institutional racism in public school systems despite the disappointing court decisions and will unveil those details in coming days, Hayes said.
“This decision reflects a deep ideological division among the justices concerning race and how it may be considered in diversity plans for K-12 public education,” said NAACP Interim General Counsel Angela Ciccolo. ”Voluntary integration has long been embraced by the courts for remedial education and civic purposes. Race may still be considered depending on the circumstances.”
The NAACP, other civil rights organizations and sociologists will be studying the court’s opinion over the summer.
“This split decision is a mixed bag in that it has both negative and positive components,” said Barbara R. Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights Under Law that collaborated with the NAACP and others in the cases. “The Lawyers’ Committee is committed to working with local communities and school districts across the country to ensure that they continue to promote diversity in manner that is in compliance with this new opinion.”
As the NAACP and others interpret the 185-page opinion, it appears that race-conscious plans may still be permissible under the right circumstances, e.g., districts must first try race-neutral approaches and cannot use race alone as a factor.
“It is undisputed that racially integrated schools enhance learning environments and prepare children for our increasingly diverse society,” said John Brittain, Chief Counsel at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Despite striking down the two local school plans, the Lawyers’ Committee is pleased that a majority of the Court still recognizes the importance of diversity and race conscious measures as a tool to combat on-going school segregation.”
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
Genesis
1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
2:6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
2:11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 2:12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
2:13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
2:14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
4:13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
4:14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
4:15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
4:17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
4:18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
4:19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
4:20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
4:21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
4:22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
4:23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
4:24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
4:25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth: 5:4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
5:6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: 5:7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: 5:8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
5:9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: 5:10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: 5:11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
5:12 And Cainan lived seventy years and begat Mahalaleel: 5:13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: 5:14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
5:15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: 5:16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: 5:17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
5:18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: 5:19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
5:21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 5:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 5:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
5:25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech.
5:26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: 5:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
5:28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
5:30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: 5:31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
6:10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
6:15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
6:18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
6:20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
6:21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
7:6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7:7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
7:10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
7:12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; 7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
7:17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
7:18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
7:20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
7:21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: 7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
8:1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; 8:2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; 8:3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
8:5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
8:6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 8:7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8:8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 8:9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
8:10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 8:11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
8:12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
8:14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
8:15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 8:16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
8:17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
8:18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 8:19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
9:5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
9:7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
9:8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9:9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 9:10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
9:12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
9:14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 9:15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
9:16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
9:17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
9:18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
9:19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
9:24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
9:25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
9:26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
9:27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
9:28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
9:29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
10:1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
10:3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
10:4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
10:7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
10:11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 10:12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
10:13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 10:14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
10:15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth, 10:16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, 10:17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, 10:18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
10:19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
10:20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
10:21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
10:22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
10:23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
10:24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
10:25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
10:26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 10:27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, 10:28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 10:29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
10:30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
10:31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
11:10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: 11:11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah: 11:13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: 11:15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: 11:17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: 11:19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: 11:21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: 11:23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: 11:25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
11:27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
11:28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
11:29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
11:31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
11:32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
12:6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
12:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
12:9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
12:11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: 12:12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
12:14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
12:15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
12:16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
12:17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
12:18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 12:19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
12:20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
13:3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 13:4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
13:5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
13:9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
13:12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
14:1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 14:2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
14:3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
14:4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
14:5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emins in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.
14:7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.
14:8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; 14:9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
14:10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
14:11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
14:12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
14:14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
14:15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
14:16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
14:21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 14:23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: 14:24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
15:2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
15:7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
15:8 And he said, LORD God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
15:10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their's, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 15:20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 15:21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
16:3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
16:7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
16:8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
16:9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
16:10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
16:11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
16:13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? 16:14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
16:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16:16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
17:3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
17:6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
17:9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
17:11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
17:12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
17:13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
17:16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
17:22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
17:23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
17:24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
17:25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
17:26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
17:27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 18:3 And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 18:5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
18:6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
18:7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
18:8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
18:9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 18:13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
18:15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
18:16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
18:17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18:18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 18:21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
18:22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 18:24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes: 18:28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
18:29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
18:30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
18:31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.
18:32 And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
18:33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
19:1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
19:3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
19:6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, 19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
19:9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
19:10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
19:11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 19:13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
19:14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
19:15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
19:16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
19:18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my LORD: 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 19:20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
19:21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
19:27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: 19:28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 19:32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
19:33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
19:34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
19:35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
19:36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
19:37 And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
19:38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
20:1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 20:5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
20:6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
20:7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
20:8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
20:10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? 20:11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
20:12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
20:13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
20:14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
20:15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
20:16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
20:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
20:18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.
21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
21:3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
21:5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
21:6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
21:7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
21:10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
21:11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
21:15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
21:16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
21:20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21:21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
21:22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: 21:23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
21:24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
21:25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
21:26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
21:27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
21:28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
21:29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? 21:30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
21:31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
21:32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
21:33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
21:34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.
22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
22:19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
22:20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; 22:21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, 22:22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
22:23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
22:24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
23:1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
23:2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
23:3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, 23:4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
23:5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, 23:6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
23:7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
23:8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, 23:9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.
23:10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, 23:11 Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
23:12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
23:13 And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
23:14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, 23:15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
23:16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
23:17 And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure 23:18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
23:19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
23:20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
24:1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
24:2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: 24:4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
24:5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? 24:6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
24:7 The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.
24:8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.
24:9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
24:10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
24:11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
24:12 And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
24:13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: 24:14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
24:15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
24:16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
24:17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
24:18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
24:19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
24:20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
24:21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
24:22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; 24:23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? 24:24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
24:25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
24:26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
24:27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.
24:28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.
24:29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
24:30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
24:31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
24:32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.
24:33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.
24:34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.
24:35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
24:36 And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
24:37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: 24:38 But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
24:39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.
24:40 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: 24:41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.
24:42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: 24:43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; 24:44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.
24:45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
24:46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
24:47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
24:48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.
24:49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
24:51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.
24:52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
24:53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
24:54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.
24:55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.
24:56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
24:57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.
24:58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
24:59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
24:60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
24:61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
24:62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.
24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
24:64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.
24:65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.
24:66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
24:67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
25:1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
25:2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
25:3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
25:4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
25:5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
25:6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
25:7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.
25:8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
25:9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; 25:10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
25:11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.
25:12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham: 25:13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 25:14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, 25:15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
25:17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.
25:18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
25:19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac: 25:20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
25:21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25:25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
25:28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
25:29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 25:30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
26:2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 26:4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
26:6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 26:7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
26:8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
26:9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
26:10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
26:11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
26:13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 26:14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
26:15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
26:16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
26:17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
26:18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
26:19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
26:20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
26:21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
26:22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
26:23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.
26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
26:25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
26:26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
26:27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? 26:28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 26:29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.
26:30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
26:31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
26:32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
26:33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
26:34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 26:35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
27:1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.
27:2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 27:3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 27:4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
27:5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
27:6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 27:7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
27:8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
27:9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 27:10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
27:11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 27:12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
27:13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
27:14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.
27:15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 27:16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 27:17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
27:18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 27:19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
27:20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.
27:21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
27:22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
27:23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.
27:24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
27:25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine and he drank.
27:26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
27:27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 27:29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
27:30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
27:31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.
27:32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
27:33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
27:34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
27:35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
27:36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? 27:37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? 27:38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
27:39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; 27:40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
27:41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
27:42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
27:43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 27:44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; 27:45 Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? 27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? 28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
28:2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughers of Laban thy mother's brother.
28:3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 28:4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
28:5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
28:6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughers of Canaan; 28:7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; 28:8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 28:9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
28:10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
28:11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
28:12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
28:13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
28:17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
28:19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 28:21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 28:22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
29:1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
29:2 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth.
29:3 And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place.
29:4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.
29:5 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him.
29:6 And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.
29:7 And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them.
29:8 And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep.
29:9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she kept them.
29:10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
29:11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
29:12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father.
29:13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.
29:14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.
29:15 And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? 29:16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
29:17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.
29:18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
29:19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.
29:20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
29:21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
29:22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
29:23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
29:24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.
29:25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? 29:26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
29:27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
29:28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29:29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
29:30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
29:33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.
29:34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.
29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
30:1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
30:2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? 30:3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
30:4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
30:5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
30:6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.
30:7 And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
30:8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
30:9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
30:10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
30:11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
30:12 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
30:13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
30:14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
30:15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
30:18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
30:19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
30:20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
30:21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
30:22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
30:23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: 30:24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
30:25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
30:26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
30:27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
30:28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
30:29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
30:30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? 30:31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.
30:32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.
30:33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
30:34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
30:35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
30:36 And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
30:37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
30:38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
30:39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
30:40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.
30:41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
30:42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
30:43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
31:1 And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory.
31:2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
31:3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
31:4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, 31:5 And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.
31:6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.
31:7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
31:8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.
31:9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
31:10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.
31:11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
31:12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
31:14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? 31:15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
31:16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
31:17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; 31:18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
31:19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.
31:20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.
31:21 So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.
31:22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.
31:23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
31:24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
31:25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
31:26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? 31:27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? 31:28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.
31:29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
31:30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? 31:31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.
31:32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
31:33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.
31:34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
31:35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched but found not the images.
31:36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me? 31:37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.
31:38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
31:39 That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
31:40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
31:41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
31:42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
31:43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? 31:44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
31:45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
31:46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.
31:47 And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
31:48 And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day.
Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; 31:49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
31:50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
31:51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee: 31:52 This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.
31:53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
31:54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.
31:55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.
32:1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
32:2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
32:3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
32:4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: 32:5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
32:6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
32:7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; 32:8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
32:9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
32:11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
32:12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
32:13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; 32:14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 32:15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
32:16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
32:17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? 32:18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
32:19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.
32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
32:21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
32:22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
32:23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
32:27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
32:29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
32:31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
32:32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.
33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
33:2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
33:3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
33:4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
33:5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
33:6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
33:7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
33:8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
33:9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
33:11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
33:12 And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
33:13 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
33:14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.
33:15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.
33:16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
33:17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
33:18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
33:19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
33:20 And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.
34:1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
34:2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
34:3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
34:4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
34:5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.
34:6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.
34:7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter: which thing ought not to be done.
34:8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
34:9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
34:10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.
34:11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
34:12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.
34:13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: 34:14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: 34:15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; 34:16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
34:17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
34:18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
34:19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.
34:20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, 34:21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
34:22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
34:23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of their's be our's? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.
34:24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
34:25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
34:26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.
34:27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
34:28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, 34:29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
34:30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
34:31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot? 35:1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
35:2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: 35:3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
35:5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
35:6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
35:7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
35:8 But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.
35:9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
35:10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
35:11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 35:12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
35:13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
35:15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
35:16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
35:17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
35:19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
35:20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
35:21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 35:23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: 35:24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: 35:25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: 35:26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.
35:27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
35:28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
35:29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
36:1 Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.
36:2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 36:3 And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.
36:4 And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; 36:5 And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.
36:6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.
36:7 For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.
36:8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
36:9 And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: 36:10 These are the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau.
36:11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
36:12 And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife.
36:13 And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.
36:14 And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.
36:15 These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, 36:16 Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.
36:17 And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.
36:18 And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.
36:19 These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.
36:20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, 36:21 And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.
36:22 And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.
36:23 And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
36:24 And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
36:25 And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.
36:26 And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.
36:27 The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.
36:28 The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran.
36:29 These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, 36:30 Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.
36:31 And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
36:32 And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
36:33 And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
36:34 And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.
36:35 And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith.
36:36 And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.
36:37 And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.
36:38 And Saul died, and Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.
36:39 And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
36:40 And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth, 36:41 Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, 36:42 Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, 36:43 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.
37:1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
37:2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
37:6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 37:7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
37:9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
37:10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 37:11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
37:12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
37:13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
37:14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
37:15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? 37:16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
37:17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
37:18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
37:19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
37:20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
37:21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
37:22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
37:23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; 37:24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
37:25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
37:26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 37:27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
37:29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
37:30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? 37:31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; 37:32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
37:33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
37:36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
38:1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
38:2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
38:3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
38:4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
38:5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
38:6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
38:7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
38:8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
38:9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
38:10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.
38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
38:12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
38:13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
38:14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
38:16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? 38:17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? 38:18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
38:19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
38:20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.
38:21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
38:22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
38:23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
38:25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
38:26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
38:27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
38:28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
38:29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
38:30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.
39:1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
39:2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
39:3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
39:4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
39:5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
39:6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
39:7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
39:8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 39:10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
39:11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
39:12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
39:13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 39:14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 39:15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
39:16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
39:17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 39:18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
39:19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
39:20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
39:22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
39:23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
40:1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
40:2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
40:3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
40:4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
40:5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
40:6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
40:7 And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? 40:8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
40:9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; 40:10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: 40:11 And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
40:12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: 40:13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.
40:14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: 40:15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: 40:17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
40:18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: 40:19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
40:20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
40:21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: 40:22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
40:23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
41:1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
41:2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
41:3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
41:4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
41:5 And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
41:6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
41:7 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
41:8 And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
41:9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: 41:10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker: 41:11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
41:12 And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
41:13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
41:15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
41:16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
41:17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: 41:18 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow: 41:19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: 41:20 And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: 41:21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
41:22 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: 41:23 And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: 41:24 And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
41:26 The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
41:27 And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
41:28 This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
41:29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: 41:30 And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; 41:31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
41:32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
41:33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
41:34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.
41:35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
41:36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
41:37 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
41:38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? 41:39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41:41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
41:42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 41:43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
41:44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
41:45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
41:46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
41:47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
41:48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.
41:49 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.
41:50 And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
41:51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
41:52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
41:53 And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.
41:54 And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
41:55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.
41:56 And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.
41:57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
42:1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? 42:2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
42:3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
42:4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
42:5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
42:6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
42:7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
42:10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
42:11 We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
42:12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
42:13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
42:14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: 42:15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
42:16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
42:17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
42:18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: 42:19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: 42:20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
42:21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
42:23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
42:24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
42:25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
42:26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
42:27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.
42:28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? 42:29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying, 42:30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
42:31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies: 42:32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
42:33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone: 42:34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.
42:35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
42:36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
42:37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
42:38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
43:1 And the famine was sore in the land.
43:2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.
43:3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
43:4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: 43:5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
43:6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? 43:7 And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? 43:8 And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
43:9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: 43:10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
43:11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: 43:12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: 43:13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: 43:14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
43:15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
43:16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
43:17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
43:18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.
43:19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, 43:20 And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: 43:21 And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
43:22 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
43:23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
43:24 And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
43:25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
43:26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
43:27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? 43:28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
43:29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
43:30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
43:31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
43:32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
43:33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
43:34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.
44:1 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
44:2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
44:3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.
44:4 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? 44:5 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
44:6 And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
44:7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: 44:8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? 44:9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.
44:10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.
44:11 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.
44:12 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
44:13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
44:14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
44:15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? 44:16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
44:17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
44:18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
44:19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? 44:20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.
44:21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
44:22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
44:23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
44:24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
44:25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.
44:26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
44:27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: 44:28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: 44:29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
44:30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; 44:31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
44:32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.
44:33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
44:34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
45:1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
45:2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
45:3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
45:9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: 45:10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: 45:11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
45:12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
45:13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
45:14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
45:15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
45:16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
45:17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; 45:18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
45:19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
45:20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is your's.
45:21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
45:22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
45:23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
45:24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
45:25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, 45:26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
45:27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: 45:28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
46:1 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
46:2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
46:3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 46:4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
46:5 And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
46:6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: 46:7 His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
46:8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.
46:9 And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
46:10 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
46:11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
46:12 And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
46:13 And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
46:14 And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.
46:15 These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
46:16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
46:17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.
46:18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
46:19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.
46:20 And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
46:21 And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
46:22 These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
46:23 And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
46:24 And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
46:25 These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.
46:26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six; 46:27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
46:28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
46:29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
46:30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
46:31 And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; 46:32 And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
46:33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? 46:34 That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
47:1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
47:2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
47:3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
47:4 They said morever unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
47:5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 47:6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
47:7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
47:8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
47:10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
47:11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
47:12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
47:13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
47:14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
47:15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
47:16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
47:17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
47:18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: 47:19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
47:20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
47:21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
47:22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
47:23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
47:24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
47:25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
47:26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
47:27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
47:29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 47:30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
47:31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
48:2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
48:6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
48:7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
48:8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 48:9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see.
And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
48:11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.
48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
49:14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 49:15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
49:21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 49:23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) 49:25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
49:27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 49:30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
49:32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
50:1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
50:2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
50:3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
50:4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 50:5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
50:6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
50:7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 50:8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
50:11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
50:12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them: 50:13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
50:14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
50:15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
50:16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, 50:17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
50:18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
50:21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones.
And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
50:22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
50:23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
50:25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
50:26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
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