Main Street Mt. Pleasant holds annual Friendsgiving event

Sounds of laughter floated down the stairs as smells of delicious food filled the room. People were gathered in various parts of the room, giving hugs and enjoying each other as they sampled hors d'oeuvres. It was plain to see Main Street Mt. Pleasant's first annual Friendsgiving event was a success the minute guests walked in the door.

Main Street Mt. Pleasant Director, Lisa Oetken, was in charge of the kitchen at Thursday night's event held at Union Block. She and her family had been cooking for the past three days and prepared for more than 120 people.

'I think it's important for them to see the kind of space you have because the space is unique and there's nothing really that compares to this historical site,” she said.

Part of that unique history is that both Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth spoke at Union Block and Arabella B. Mansfield took her bar exam in 1859 in the room, effectively becoming the first female lawyer in the United States.

Oetken said hosting this event was important for Mt. Pleasant because it acted as a fundraiser for the Union Block building. She said the renovations to the building that lasted from 2011-2014 cost $3.6 million and carries a $400,000 mortgage.

She feels that bringing people in to appreciate the building will help keep it running.

'The more people that see it, the more people will appreciate it,” she said.

City administrator and Main Street Mt. Pleasant board member, Brent Schleisman, said the building was the perfect venue for an event that celebrated friends and Thanksgiving. He said that preserving the building is important because it has a unique history that is important to all people of Mt. Pleasant and by bringing people in to celebrate that, the town can only grow stronger.

'It gives our community a sense of place. This is one of the unique buildings in the town square and we need to keep that character alive,” he said. 'We need to preserve it and this is a fun way to do it.”