Broken Glass, Bright Light: How a Lansing Disco Ball Found Its Way Home

It’s not every day you bring home a piece of local legend. But that’s exactly what happened when I picked up a disco ball from the MSU Surplus Store—and this isn’t just any disco ball.

This one has lived a life.

She once hung in the Lansing Civic Center, catching the light of a thousand concerts, dances, and moments that made our little city sparkle. Later, she graced the Wharton Center on Michigan State’s campus, spinning softly above some of the most celebrated performances in the state. But before all that glamor? She was something else entirely.

Built by a war veteran with hands skilled in both survival and artistry, this disco ball is made from broken mirrors and salvaged glass from Oldsmobile vehicles—yes, those Oldsmobiles, the ones once made right here in Lansing. It was crafted as a tribute to transformation, resilience, and maybe even joy—the kind that refuses to die, even in broken things.

When I brought her home, she came in her original Oldsmobile crate, as if waiting to tell her story to someone who’d listen. Every mirror shard on her surface has lived a past life—maybe reflecting someone’s face in a car window, maybe part of a rearview mirror that watched Michigan highways roll by. And now? She’s got a new view.

Today, she hangs proudly in my coffee shop—a space that used to be a 1960s auto repair garage in Okemos. Once filled with oil, engines, and elbow grease, the building has been transformed into a place for warmth, creativity, and caffeine. And right in the center of it all, suspended from the ceiling, is this Lansing-born disco ball made from car parts—shining her light like she always has.

It’s a full-circle moment. From car to concert hall to coffee shop. From broken glass to pure magic.

Every afternoon, as the sunlight hits just right and the walls come alive with little glimmers, I think about the hands that built her. The nights she witnessed. The joy she’s still making. And how, in her own way, she reminds us all: you can be shattered and still shine. Maybe even brighter than before.