Nestled between the Spring Lake District Library and Spring Lake Township Hall off Exchange Street is a small area marked by a solitary picnic table and sections of the former Union School foundation still peeking above the green grass.
It was there in the late 19th century that famed illustrator-cartoonist-animator Winsor McCay went to school as a boy. It was there that one of America's pioneers of animation first began to draw. And it is there that Spring Lake city officials hope to create a memorial or statue commemorating Spring Lake's most famous, albeit forgotten, citizen.
"We can truly say he was the first artist who started a type of animation that Disney would do later -- personality animation where they want you to believe the characters they have created are real," said Oscar-winning animator John Canemaker, author of "Winsor McCay: His Life and Art." "Disney did not try that until 20 years after Winsor McCay."
McCay eventually migrated to New York City to pen highly acclaimed cartoons for such newspapers as the New York Herald and The American.
His comics included Little Sammy Sneeze, Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend and Little Nemo in Slumberland. All were intricately drawn with startling detail and daring use of black ink and color.
He later designed cartoons with characters that had true personalities, like "Gertie the Dinosaur," which recently was ranked by 1,000 professional animators as the sixth greatest cartoon. Other animated shorts by McCay include "How a Mosquito Operates" and the chillingly detailed "The Sinking of the Lusitania."
Famed animators Walt Disney and Walter Lantz have credited McCay with influencing their careers. McCay's legacy is so highly regarded that the ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film D'Animation) -- Hollywood: The International Animated Film Society named its top Annie Award for lifetime achievement after Winsor McCay.
But in Spring Lake, there is nothing to recognize McCay -- no plaque, no statue, no historic marker.
Now, 73 years after his death, there is an effort to change that.
Spurred by area illustrators Kevin Collier and Aaron Zenz, the Spring Lake District Library is spearheading a movement to create some sort of tribute to McCay, perhaps at the former Union School site.
A committee organized through the library and chaired by Mark Miller has met several times. McCay's legacy has been shared with Spring Lake township and village officials who support some sort of tribute. A McCay memorial will be discussed Friday at 4 p.m. at the district library. The public is invited.
Zenz, a local illustrator of children's books who first became acquainted with McCay's works several years ago, said the lack of a tribute to McCay in Spring Lake would be akin to Dayton, Ohio ignoring the Wright brothers.
"This is not like having some aviator from Spring Lake. This is like having someone who invented manned flight," Zenz said. "Winsor McCay isn't just some animator. He's the guy who invented animation as we know it.
"Toy Story, Disney, The Cartoon Network, all of that goes back to Winsor McCay. He's beyond some animator; he founded all animation."
Collier, a children's book artist who works at The Grand Haven Tribune, said he first learned of McCay's Spring Lake roots when he was asked to make a presentation on animation in the 1980s.
"What struck me is there was nothing in this town to commemorate him," Collier recalled. "It was pretty clear to me there was nothing. The district library had one book on him. For the most part, Spring Lake had no idea the guy existed."
Collier said he periodically tried to drum up interest in McCay but with little results until he made a presentation on McCay at the library earlier this year.
Library Director Claire Sheridan and Chris Davis, library network administrator, were impressed by what they heard and conducted some research.
"Frankly, I had not heard of him," Davis said. "When I did a bit of digging, I was shocked."
Davis learned that McCay was the first cartoonist to have his work displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris and that he was a renowned vaudeville entertainer during his time.
"One of the things that really surprised us about him is he is so preeminent in his field that you can go to practically any illustrator any place in the world, and ask 'Who is Winsor McCay?' and he will be able to tell you," he said. "But you walk down the street in Spring Lake and nobody will be able to tell you."
Collier said he believes Spring Lake Village has missed a wonderful opportunity for decades by not honoring its most famous citizen.
"Winsor McCay is the most significant thing local officials can pull out of a a hat to put Spring Lake on the map," he said. "The reason I'm so passionate about this is not just to get Winsor McCay famous, it's the missed opportunity to put Spring Lake on the map. Nothing would be more locally significant than calling Spring Lake the birthplace of animation."
It might be a bit of a stretch to call Spring Lake the birthplace of animation, Canemaker said, because there were other animators before him. But it would be appropriate to call Spring Lake the birthplace of American character animation, he said.
"Early animation focused on the joy of movement; to bring something to life," Canemaker said from his home in New York City. "The unique thing about Winsor McCay was he was the first to inject particular mannerisms and personalities into the character," Canemaker said from his home in New York City. "He made his characters truly alive."
"We can truly say he was the first artist who started a type of animation that Disney would do later -- personality animation where they want you to believe the characters they have created are real. Disney did not try that until 20 years after Winsor McCay."
Canemaker said McCay's early cartoons were beautifully executed and have fluid motion because McCay insisted on doing at least one drawing per frame.
Although there is no question that McCay spent his formative years in Spring Lake, there is a debate whether he was born in Spring Lake or in Canada in 1869 while his mother was on a trip. Canemaker said McCay as an adult would write that he was born in Spring Lake on Sept. 26, 1871.
While attending Union School, McCay impressed locals by drawing a detailed sketch on the blackboard of the sinking of the S.S. Alpena. The drawing was so good, it was photographed and copies were sold.
McCay's first animated film in 1909, Little Nemo, required 4,000 drawings. How a Mosquito Operates required 6,000 drawings.
Gertie the Dinosaur, released in 1914, is perhaps his most famous animation. The cartoon was shown on stage by McCay, who would bark out scripted orders to make Gertie perform like a circus elephant.
"Gertie was the ultimate example of character development," Canemaker said. "She had a petulant personality, just like a little girl. She would disobey her master. She would snap at him and she would cry when he admonished her."
McCay's creativity waned as he jumped from the Herald to the Hearst's The American in 1911, where he was restricted to drawing editorial cartoons.
"I'm glad people are trying to push this forward," said Canemaker. "Winsor McCay was a great pioneer of character or personality animation.