Historically Speaking

CJ Tucker & Christmas Memories

2010-12-29T10:19:00.001-05:00

I recently had a message from a reader asking about the store of C.J. Tucker. Whose name shows on a crock they own.

Charles J. Tucker was born in November 1862 to Samuel and Abigail Tucker. He grew up in Sparta Michigan. In 1891, at the age of 29 he married his wife Frances. A few years later he opened his store on South Bridge Street.

While most stores at the time specialized in one type of merchandise, CJ Tucker offered a wide variety. He had an early example of a Department Store. He offered furniture, carpets, rugs, linoleum, china, household items and dry goods.

In 1911 he built a new home for his wife and adopted daughter Alice at 328 E. Jefferson St. Just a couple years later he retired from the mercantile business and began selling insurance and real estate. Frances died in 1917 and Charles around the same time.

* * * *

I thought I would share one of my own Christmas memories. This involves my sister Pam and her life-long friend Charisse Pryor (now Mullins). Now Pam and Charisse were quite the pair and their youthful adventures are legendary, not only in our family but I dare say in our neighborhood and beyond. Even as a child I knew they were a pair to watch out for!

Now back in about 1972 I was a young student at Neff Elementary and they both were in High School. There was apparently at that time, a service that allowed you to submit a child’s name and sometime before Christmas, Santa himself would call on the phone and speak to the child and see what gifts they really wanted.

Well, one evening I was home with my sister and the phone rang. She answered it and then told me it was for me. This was suspicious to me right away, I was only a kid and no one ever called me except my parents or grandparents. Then when I wanted to know who it was, she wouldn’t tell me. Well this put me on my guard.

So reluctantly I took the phone and on the other end I heard a merry “HO-HO-HO Merry Christmas David. Have you been a good boy?” I remember I didn’t say anything at first. I was trying to figure out what was going on. Certainly Santa would never use anything as modern as a telephone.

I remember my sister saying, “its Santa, he wants to talk to you.” It then hit me what must be going on, so I said into the phone “Is this Charisse?, Charisse I know your voice- this is you isn’t it?” Of course on the other end the confused Santa was saying “No, No, this is Santa Claus..Its Santa”. Well I was having none of it, I said “No this is Charisse!” and gave the phone back to my sister, who was looking confused and disappointed at this point, and left the room in triumph. Pam and Charisse thought they could pull one over on me—I was too smart for that!

Of course looking back years later I realized Charisse had nothing to do with it, and my sister was just trying arrange a nice call for her little brother from Santa. And poor Santa didn’t know what was going on with this strange kid. I can look back now and laugh at myself, but at the time I was so sure I had put one over on the two of them.

Bear Hunting

2010-12-05T14:36:00.001-05:00

Here is a tale if an early bear hunt in Oneida Township.

We had two kinds of bears in the woods of Oneida, the large, long-legged, brown-nosed species, and the short-legged black one. The bear, like some bipeds, is a great lover of pork; this seemed to be all of the flesh kind he cared about, and of this he was quite tenacious. My mode was to take them in traps,-that is, when I could, though I did take quite a number in that way. There was one of these fellows, however, that knew too much for me. Having killed a hog for my neighbor Lewis, in his absence, I was sent for with orders from Mrs. Lewis to go and capture him. So taking my young friend, Master George W. Nichols, with me as an assistant, I set the trap as usual. On the next morning we went for our bear. A light snow having fallen in the night, we encountered the well-known track on our way. Confident and elated with our expectations, our disappointment and chagrin were now the greater when we found the fellow had taken the trap off some twenty feet, and, as if to convince us of his superiority, turned it bottom side up, and left it there unsprung. Eating what he wanted of the bait, he had very graciously retired. We tried him again for three successive nights, but to no purpose. On the fifth night, having set two traps instead of one, we caught him good by the ball of one foot. Carrying the ponderous trap to a log some distance away, he then pounded it off, leaving within its jaws the sinews of his leg, some eight inches long, and then made his escape.
Unlike the wolf, when caught, the bear will fight to the very last breath. I have shot and trapped a large number of these animals, and have always found this to be an infallible trait. One morning, as I was proceeding in considerable haste to one of my bear-traps, I was accosted by two of my clergy neighbors as to the cause of my hurry. Answering that a bear was in my trap, they expressed a desire to go along and see the sport. After going about three miles we struck the trail. Letting my anxious dogs loose, I ran ahead of my reverend companions for the purpose of getting a shot. Giving the bear a shot in the best place for crippling him,-the region of the kidneys,-the fight began. The two elders coming up and seeing the power, endurance, and grit of the bear, even in his crippled condition, their desire seemed to evaporate, the dogs and myself having the honor of conducting the whole fight throughout.
George Jones, Philander Parmenter, William Henry, Amadon Aldrich, and others of the early settlers occasionally indulged in the luxury of a bear-hunt, and this was especially the case on one occasion, when the four men mentioned followed a bear-which had unluckily got into a wolf-trap and carried it off-nearly to the site of the present city of Lansing, and after an exciting fight with the two dogs which they had along, his bearship was finally killed by a lucky shot from Mr. Jones' rifle. The carcass-a large one-was cut up, and each carried a portion of it home, where they arrived about sunset.

Hunting Traditions

2010-12-05T14:35:00.001-05:00

Hunting the wild game of Michigan has always been our tradition. Below is an account from one of the earliest settlers of Oneida Township.

“From the first there was a panther which gave the settlement a good deal of annoyance. He could give out any noise that might be imagined. His agility was most surprising. No squirrel could leap from one tree to another like this native puss. But whether he became tired of his Canadian associates, or whether he had a ' more eligible call,' no one could guess; at any rate he made a very sudden and unexpected exit, to the inexpressible joy of us all.
Wolves were prevalent from the very beginning. Approaching the very thresholds of our frail shanties, they would almost nightly give us a full specimen of their peculiar thunder. To this gratuitous compliment they would often add that of taking a few sheep from the very thresholds of our homes. I have often been in the woods alone, surrounded by numbers of these greedy monsters, when the whole forest was made to ring with their hideous howling voices. Boldness is their characteristic when at large, but when captured, like all thieving rogues, they are both mute and indisposed to self defense.
In the years 1842, '43, and '44 deer were about as plenty as sheep are now. I have killed many of these peculiar denizens, by nature wild as the wildest though they are in their native haunts. Yet, unlike the sneaking wolf, when caught alive will fight to the bitter end. Of this trait I had some experimental proofs, particularly with an old veteran buck. Having shot him twice without killing him, he proposed to return the compliment. As soon as I found him making for me in right earnest, I managed to keep at the opposite side of a small tree. Taking my partner, not over politely, by the horns, with my arms astride the tree, I held on for dear life, knowing well my fate if I should lose my position. In this attitude the strife commenced. The aim of my heroic companion was to stab me with his huge pointed horns, my object for the most part being to prevent him. When an opportunity occurred for putting my knife into him, forgetting his head armor, he would then give me the benefit of his heels. At times he would bring me to consider myself only second best. Through loss of blood, rather than courage, he at length yielded the palm of victory, when I had the honor, I cannot say satisfaction, of taking off his head. When dressed the carcass reached the weight of two hundred and ten pounds, being the largest deer I ever killed.”

Kent Family

2010-12-05T14:34:00.001-05:00

So far I have only briefly mentioned one of the more prominent families of early Grand Ledge. Tales of the Kent Family would fill many columns, but for now I will give a brief overview.

The Kents were among the first settlers of Oneida township. Peter M. Kent settled here in 1836. He purchased 560 acres at the corner of Strange and Oneida Roads. The following year his father Isaac Kind and his siblings arrived from New York to join him. Isaac had owned a farm of eighty acres in New York, and the proceeds from the sale of this property were used to purchase the land in Oneida township.

Isaac Kind was the father of five children: Peggy, who married Peter Kiser: Lydia, who married a man named Houser; Lucy, who married Michael Krupp; Peter M. Kent, who married Eliza Hixson; and Francis (Frank) M. Kent, who married Harriet Lovell.

Peter was a millwright and carpenter by trade. He built the mill in Portland in 1836 where a street is named in his honor. In 1852, Peter with his brother Francis, along with Abram Hixson bought Grand Ledge flour and saw mills downtown. Peter however remained working on his farm. It was not until 1861 when Peter retired from farm life. He came to town and built his fine retirement home in Grand Ledge. The house still stands at 127 West Jefferson.

Peter and his wife Eliza had three children, Edwin, Eliza and Charles Albert. Edwin would inherit the home on the corner, while is brother Charles built the large brick home next door at 119 West Jefferson.

Frank Kent was a miller by trade and ran the mills downtown. He had a farm of 160 acres that he began to clear, but eventually sold and used the proceeds to purchase his interest in the mills in 1852. In 1855 he bought an 80 acre farm on the Jenne Road. It was entirely unimproved and he reclaimed about thirty acres of this farm before turning over the propterty over to his son Velorus to finish the job.

During the 1860s Frank Kent lived at the corner of Jackson and Lincoln streets in a house that still stands at 427 Jackson. He then built a new brick home on West Jefferson at Harrison. This was right across the street from his brother Peter, where the city parking lot is today.

Frank and Harriet had seven children. Velorus, Metta, Flora, Lellan, Darwin and twins Myra and Mryta. Four of the children died before reaching the age of five. Metta and Darwin would both move to Leslie, MI. Velorus remained in Grand Ledge and became famous for his tales of Grand Ledge history which ran in the Independent in the 1920s.

More Old Tales

2010-12-05T14:33:00.001-05:00

Here are some more tales from the childhood of Velorus Kent.

First Story: “The first time Forepaugh’s Show clime to Lansing I look a girl just past 13 to the show. l was just past 14. Wasn’t that starting early? I should advise mothers not to let them go quite so young . But then I was the white cow's calf you know. I once took a girl to a Sunday school picnic and there came on a big rain and we couldn't get home for two days: and no telephone.”

Second Story: “Suppose you were going along Bridge street one awful rainy day with her, carrying an umbrella over her head as I was, and you came to a place where the roots of a tree had lifted the side walk so that it sloped toward the inside as it did , and some galoot had pasted a bill for a political meeting on this place as he had , and the rain had wet the paste until it was slippery as glass as It had , and stepped on it as I did , and your feet went from under you as mine did and caught hers as they did and you let loose of the umbrella as I did and she stood on her head in the umbrella as she did? Sir, did 'that elevate your dignity?”

* * * * *

Before the railroad came. Simeon Babcock came at about the middle 1860s. He kept a team and hauled goods to and from Lansing. Everybody called him Uncle Sam and he was a joker. One awfully rainy day he went to Lansing with a load of goods; he wore a light blue soldier’s overcoat which had a large cape. Uncle Sam wore his hair long, and after being so long in the rain he said he supposed that from his looks the young fellow might have been somewhat justified in his remark.

Sam had put his horses in the barn at the hotel, and went into the bar room. There were several young fellows at the bar when he entered: one young chap spoke up and said: "And Satan came also."

This created a great laugh, the youngster supposing, of course, his joke would get the drinks for the bunch, but Uncle Sam was loaded. He said: "My young friend, if you will look a little further along in that book you will find where it says "And the ass opened his mouth and spake". This brought the house down and the youngster had to set up the drinks.

*The Great Forepaugh Show of 1867 was a traveling circus. A “white cow’s calf” means something very special and prized.

Some old Tall Tales

2010-12-05T14:32:00.001-05:00

Back in the early days of Grand Ledge, long before movies, television, radio or other entertainments, the telling of a good tale, true or not, was considered a talent. In 1922 V. Kent told of a storey from his youth to illustrate this point:

“It was considered to be quite a feat to be a good story teller. William Russell, everybody called him "Bill," was thought to be about the limit; he was the man who built the first hotel in town on E. River Street known as the Orleans house.”

One Story: One winter while Bill lived in his hotel, he was chopping wood on a farm on the northside of the river. So often had he crossed the frozen river to go to the farm, he said he had a path over the mill pond on the ice and had tramped that path so hard that when the ice went out the path remained and he went back and forth over the flowing river on that path for two weeks more!

Another one: He said that during that winter when going to work one morning he came to the bend in the river, and noticing some peculiar tracks in the snow he went back home and got his rifle and followed those tracks until nearly nightfall. When above Wacousta coming near to the Lookingglass river the tracks seemed to go up a tree; he looked and the hugest drove of Cat fish he had ever seen had gone up to roost in the tree!

“Bill later lived on the farm now owned by M.D. Sutherland, Billy Hixon, later father of Warren Hixon of Danby township and of Mrs. Ben Smith, then but a lad living at home accross the road with his parents, had a great reputation as a story te1ler. The men of the community got into a discussion; some thought Billy could beat Bill. They decided to have them pitted in a contest to see who could tell the best tale, agreeing that Billy being the younger should tell the last story,

Bill's story: "At one time I decided to make the largest fiddle in the world. I went into the woods and found a walnut tree eight feet In diameter, cut it down, and cut off a log 40 feet long from which I carved my fiddle I then found a hickory tree two feet in diameter and 60-feet long from which to make the bow, It look the whole length of a cat gut to make one string for the fiddle. I had to splice the hairs of 40 horse tails to string up the bow.

Billy's story: I at one time bought a yoke of oxen that weighed two tons each, I made a yoke out of a rock elm tree that was three feet in diameter, the yoke was eight feet long. I got a blacksmith to make a chain out of inch-round iron 14 feet long. I went into the woods and cut a white oak tree eight feet through from the but out of which I cut two cart wheels 10 inches thick. I made and axle from 12 feet more of this tree to fit the wheels and put them together thus completing my cart ready for business," He was asked what he intended to do with that outfit. He said. "I got it to haul Bill’s fiddle on." Young Billy got the prize!!

Anthony Schumaker

2010-12-05T14:30:00.001-05:00

Anthony Schumaker was a druggist and community leader in early Grand Ledge. We learn more about him in these excerpts from a 1906 biography:

“HON. ANTHONY B. SCHUMAKER, one of the leading business men of the city of Grand Ledge, and ex-member of the Michigan state senate, is a native of Prussia, where he was born June 1, 1848. His father was a lieutenant in the artillery division of the Prussian army, but resigned his commission and learned the trade of ship carpenter. In 1853 he came to America, leaving his family in Prussia.

Anthony was about six years of age when he came with his mother to join his father in the United States. He attended the schools in Branch county and thereafter he worked for his board for three years while attending the high school in Coldwater. He then secured a clerical position in the drug and grocery store of E. R. Clarke & Company of Coldwater.

In 1872 he took up his residence in Grand Ledge, buying a stock of drugs and groceries, in a wooden building on South Bridge street. He took possession on the 24th of October, there maintaining his headquarters until 1875, when he sold a farm which he had previously purchased, near Coldwater, and erected the substantial brick store which he has since occupied, at 222 South Bridge street. Mr. Schumaker has built up a very large and prosperous business, carrying full and complete lines of drugs and groceries and having a representative patronage.

In 1889 was effected the organization of the Grand Ledge Sewer Pipe Company, of which Mr. Schumaker was made vice-president, and in the following year he was elected president. He is first vice-president of the Grand Ledge State Bank, and is the owner of a finely improved farm of one hundred acres, in Oneida township. It is his intention to devote a considerable portion of this land to the raising of peppermint, an important industry in a number of the counties of southern Michigan at the present time.

Mr. Schumaker is a man of progressive ideas and much initiative power; he has taken a public-spirited concern in all that touches the general welfare of his home city, county and state. He served one term as treasurer of Grand Ledge and eight years as a member of the board of aldermen. In 1900 he was elected to represent the fifteenth senatorial district in the state senate, rolling up at the polls a flattering majority of eleven thousand votes. He has passed the degrees of the blue lodge, chapter and council in the Masonic fraternity, and is also identified with the Knights of Pythias.

September 21, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Schumaker to Miss Elizabeth A. Raleigh, who was a lineal descendant of Sir Walter Raleigh. Mrs. Schumaker’s death occurred on March 5, 1888. At their home at 226 West Jefferson, they raised two children: Charles, who was drowned in the Grand river, July 8, 1898, at the age of nineteen years; he was a student in high school when he met his untimely death. He was a particularly bright youth, and gave promise of maturing into a useful member of the community; and Bertha, who remains with her father, is a graduate of St. Mary's College, at Monroe, Michigan, and is an accomplished musician.”

Greenwood School has long tradition

2010-12-05T14:29:00.001-05:00

Due to budget cuts, school reorganization will take effect this fall. It seemed academic to me, until I heard that my young cousin, Janae Imell, will not be returning to Greenwood. The idea of Greenwood closing and what they meant in the long view of history finally sunk in to me.

Can you imagine a dark, dense forest with a river cutting its way through? Smoke is rising from a handful of clearings where brave settlers are literally carving out a settlement. In the spring of 1851 some of these settlers were hard at work in one of the few clearings on the northside, building a small shack- not a home for themselves, but a home for education. The Red School was completed in May 1851 and had one room with six benches. There were nine children in the first class, taught by Mary Ann Sanders.

This was two years before any type of bridge spanned The Grand, so children had to take boats across to school, cross walking on the dam or on the frozen river in winter. Once they got to the north bank, only a winding wooded footpath lead up to the school grounds.

As the town grew, so did the number of children. In 1862 a larger building, the Stone School, was built next to the Red School. This boasted two classrooms and together the Schools served over 200 pupils.

This site on Mill Street (as it was then called) was the scholastic heart of Grand Ledge for nearly twenty years. All students attended school here until 1870 when the southside got its own small building, The White School, near where Sawdon is today.

In the 1880s big plans were made to modernize the school. Local builder George Brown was hired to design and build a new Northside School to replace the old pioneer school houses. Brown built a lovely two-storey brick Romanesque style building that opened in 1887. This housed all the northside pupils. Twelveth grade graduations were held here until the last class graduated in 1903. After that time, both sides of the river re-merged into one school district and the high school was moved to the Southside.

In the 1920s Northside School became Greenwood School and over time additions were made to enlarge the building. In 1950 the present school was built right in front of the old building. Both schools were used until 1959 when the old building was torn down and new additions were made to the new school.

This site on the Northside has been the home to our students for 159 years. I sincerely hope a new educational use can be found for Greenwood. We all understand budget cuts, but surely tradition and history must count for something too!

Front Porch Living

2010-12-05T14:24:00.001-05:00

One thing I love about Grand Ledge is the simple pleasure of sitting on the front porch. Nowadays people gather in their private back yard or stay in the house, but nothing can compare with watching your neighborhood from a comfortable front porch.

My favorite time is around dawn when you can see the town around you slowly come to life. I was recently sitting on my sister’s porch as the sun rose. Everything was so quiet and peaceful. Then you begin to hear a few cars and Jefferson Street slowly gets busier and busier. I often see rabbits scamper around the neighbor’s bushes and I love seeing and hearing all the birds in the area. Squirrels don’t seem to be as common as they once were; they were also fun to watch.

It got me thinking of how all our neighbors used to sit on their porches too. Across the street at 320 Jackson, Art and Olivia Herweyer used to sit out every night, year after year. Next to them at 312 Jackson, Ron and Betty Froehlich and their children always made use of their porch and front steps. Back then it was shaded by a huge old maple tree. Down on the corner, at 327 Jackson The Phillips’ and later the Coles’ used their porch often. Across the street at 328 Jackson Bertha Schilz and her daughter Maude Clark sat in the shade of their secluded porch. Maude told me once that when she was a girl, they used to hang canvas shades between the porch columns to keep the sun out.

Porches just used to be more important than they are today. Back before air conditioning, you went to the porch to catch the cool breezes. Porches were social places too, a place for friends and neighbors to gather. In my family we still use the front porch in this way. A couple years ago when my parents were visiting, many nights we had a porch full of family, neighbors and friends who happened to drive by and decided to stop for a while. Porches are like that, they welcome everyone.

I always feel sad for homes without a nice porch. Traditional porches often had battle-ship grey floors and robin’s-egg blue ceilings. A century ago there was a trend for wide generous wrap-around porches. Several prominent homes had these porches added at the time. Many still exists today.

Some homes also had Sleeping Porches. Our home on Jackson Street originally had one of these. They are second story screened-in porches which held a bed or couch. Here people could sleep in the cool summer breezes.

Raspberry Memories

2010-12-05T14:20:00.001-05:00

With summer here it puts me in mind of my favorite fruit, raspberries. When I was young, raspberries were a big part of my grandparents’ farm in early summer.

It all started in the 1950s I believe when a neighbor, Mrs. Mary Boyer at 1099 West Main, gave my grandma, Lorna Haueter, some of the old raspberry bushes that were growing in her yard. These were then planted in a patch near the large vegetable garden. The patch expanded over the years, until it must have been over 50 feet long and 5 feet wide. As a child it seemed to me it went on forever.

Berry picking was a family affair. My grandparents and Aunt Esther did most of the work, joined by children, grandchildren and even nieces at times. Over the years special Berry Buckets were set aside for this purpose. These consisted of any old pail or bucket that could hold a berry box. These Buckets were then tied around your waist with rope, so you could pick with both hands.

My method of picking berries, one-for-the-bucket, one-for-me, was not always well received! As children we tended to pick the easy berries, we couldn’t, or wouldn’t reach deep into the prickly patch, so someone always had to follow up behind us to pick what we missed. My cousins, who lived just down the road, helped out far more than I ever did and were thus better at it.

Once your box was full, you would remove it from the bucket at your waist and put in on the Carrier. These were made, I assume made by my grandfather, to carry many boxes of berries at once. They were square wooden trays with wooden A-frame on each side and a wooden dowel in between for the handle. They held 16 quarts at a time. Many times I have seen two or three of these trays full of berries after one picking.

Once the berries were picked, they were taken up to the farmhouse for Sorting. I remember this being done normally outside by the driveway, under the shade of white birch tree my grandma loved so much. Here at a picnic table, each quart would be sorted.

Every berry was examined by hand, checking for bugs inside and blemishes outside. The perfect berries were set aside to be sold. The slightly broken berries would be eaten by the family, and then the really broken ones were left for cooking.

Selling for $1 a quart, these very high quality berries sold out every year. My grandma kept a log book with her customers who had standing orders, year after year. Her tally of sold quarts usually ran into hundreds of quarts each year.

My aunt still tends a few of the original bushes, and there is nothing I prize more than getting to taste these incredible berries. I may be bias, but they taste better than any other raspberry I have had. Maybe it is the variety of berry, maybe it is the soil, or maybe it is the memories, but to me it is like enjoying family heritage with each berry.

Samuel Preston

2010-07-03T16:57:00.001-04:00

The second settler in Oneida Township was Samuel Preston. In 1835 he located in Lenawee County. In the fall of 1836 he paid Stephen Perkins twelve dollars to locate and purchase 160 acres of land for him in the Grand River Valley. Early in January 1837, Samuel left to visit his new purchase. Once reaching Chester Township, he stopped overnight with Robert Wheaton. At that time only nine families had settled on the route between Jackson and Mr. Wheaton, a distance of forty-five miles. The next day the two men went on to Preston’s land, which was covered with a thick growth of "gigantic trees."

The next day Samuel Preston returned to Lenawee County. Shortly thereafter on February 2^nd, he set out with his family and two ox-teams, including all his household effects, for their future home in Oneida. They followed paths previous settlers had cut through the forests. After three days they arrived in Chester Township at Asa Fuller's near Mr. Wheaton's. Aided by the two men, Preston began cutting a new roadway for his oxen through the wilderness to reach his new land. Mr. Preston would later write:
"Night coming on we clustered ourselves into a cave dug in the snow, after
giving our ox-team a supper of tree-tops. Here, in the depths of a snow-bank,
surrounded by almost interminable forest, we cooked, ate, and finally retired to
our beds. About ten o'clock of the second day from Mr. Fuller's we reached the site we were in quest of, and, after clearing away the deep snow, some logs, and underbrush, commenced the work of building a log cabin”
Cabin building was a new experience for Preston, but with the help of his new neighbors they built a fourteen-by-eighteen foot cabin; only the second one constructed in Oneida. Preston writes:

“After this feat, of course, we had the honor of its first occupation over-night. Some time during this eventful night it commenced snowing, and before two o'clock the following day we had an addition of another foot of snow. Judging it to be a matter of prudence to seek some safer asylum, and depositing our implements in the newly-made cabin, we commenced our retreat. Mr. Fuller's home was a full seven miles distant, and it was still snowing. When within about two miles of his place the snow rose so high over our floundering sled that we were compelled to abandon it altogether, and trust to our weary legs for the remainder of the way, arriving about nightfall at the house of my kind friend, Mr. Fuller”
As of yet the cabin was still in need of floors, doors, windows and a chimney. But once, after several days, the snow had settled, Fuller and Wheaton assisted Preston in moving his family into the unfinished shelter. As Preston wrote: “In this unfinished condition we all went into it-self, wife, and a brace of little ones-on the 4th day of March, 1837”

Mudges Follies

2010-07-03T16:54:00.001-04:00

It may be hard to believe, but this year will mark 30 years of Mudge’s Follies! I can well remember back in 1981 when my dad and I went to the second year’s performance down on the Island. The stage was built to resemble a steamboat, which was christened the “S.S. Neversails”. It is always fun seeing people you know performing on stage.

Mudge’s Follies has its roots back in 1978 when Shirley Bouck organized a vaudeville revue at the Ledges Playhouse for Michigan Week. This was such a hit that another show was put on for Michigan Week 1979.

These successes sparked an idea, so Shirley Bouck, Jerry Thompson and Libby Brandon began thinking how they could expand the concept. They decided Grand Ledge would benefit from a Fourth of July celebration with a musical revue as its centerpiece. Since the First weekend in July is already busy, they pushed the festival back to the last weekend in June.

I believe Libby Brandon came up with the name Mudge’s Follies. It is a cleaver name that plays off the round pagoda that J.S. Mudge built down on the Island in about 1888. The building was called Mudge’s Folly since it never served its original purpose. Of course Follies are musical shows made so famous by the Ziegfeld Follies. The Chamber of Commerce joined the effort to sponsor the newly created Yankee Doodle Days and in 1980 the fun began.

For many years Mudge’s Follies performed on a temporary stage that was built each year down on the Island. In case of really bad weather, the high school served as a backup.

About 10 years ago The Follies could not use the Island while it was under renovation. Since the high school had recently built its new auditorium, they temporarily moved the show there. However they soon found that the auditorium so well equipped, designed for performances, and the audiences enjoyed it so much more, they moved permanently to the building.

Mudge’s Follies has songs, dancing, and comedy performed in 20 or more skits, finally cumulating in a grand patriotic show stopper. After 30 years, this year’s show is sure to be something to see!

Looking for Information

Now for something different. I am looking for information and wonder if any of our readers can give me some answers. I want to know about Jacob Hoerner or Hoerner Chair Company. I think Jacob may have been a brother to Mrs Tillie Hooker of Grand Ledge, but I am not sure. I also would like to know who built the homes on Willard Court off of West Jefferson. They were built in the early 1930s.

If anyone has information for me, I would love to hear it. Please email me at howder@aol.com.

Grain Elevators part 2

2010-05-28T17:48:00.001-04:00

Smith and Burtch eventually became friends as Smth’s health began to fail. In the 1890s Burtch even sold his elevator to Edwin Astley and took over operation of the Oat Elevator for Smith. About 1900 the Oat Elvevator caught fire in a blaze that was thought to have been ignited by the sparks from a passing train. The wooden building burned rapidly and even though the fire department responded promptly, low water pressure made it impossible to get water to the roof. The elevator was destroyed and was not rebuilt.

When Edwin Astley purchased the Burtch Elevator he built a second Bean Elevator adjacent to it. This was smaller with a capacity of only 5,000 bushels. About 1905 these elevators were sold to W.L. Ireland. Smith’s Wheat Elevator was sold as his health failed in the 1890s to John Walsh. Walsh would expand the evlevator to 16,000 bushels. In 1901 two brothers from Eagle Township purchased the elevator from Walsh and the well remembered firm of Doty & Doty was formed. The Dotys expanded the capacity of the elevator and began dealing in fuel products like wood and coals.

It is said there was a friendly competition between the two elevator companies. Farmers would bring their wagons full of grain to the corner of Clinton and Union Streets and then the Dotys and W.L Ireland would come out and bid for the wagonload. Whoever offered the best price would get the grain. This competition ended in 1921 when the two merged to form the Grand Ledge Produce Company.

Up until around 1905, all of these grain elevators relied on horse power-- from real horses. They each had one-storey wings in the back where the horses were put to work. Two to four horses we be harnessed to a wheel. As the horses walked around in a circle, the wheel would turn large gears that would pull ropes and belts to power the elevator’s machinery. Horses were eventually replaced with steam or gasoline engines.

Grain Elevators part 1

2010-05-28T17:47:00.001-04:00

For over a century, Grand Ledge was the agricultural hub for area farmers. After the arrival of the railroad in 1869, grain from area fields was brought here and shipped to far away markets.

George Smith seems to have started it all. Smith was born in 1834 in New York and came to Michigan in the early 1860s. The Smith family lived at 124 McMillan, one of the few homes on the Street at the time. He was an enterprising young farmer who decided to get into the grain business.

Between 1870 and 1873 Smith built two grain elevators. His Wheat Elevator, still standing today, was built on Clinton Street next to the rail lines. This originally had a capacity of 11,000 bushels. He also built an Oat Elevator across the road on the other side of the tracks. This was smaller with a capacity of 7,000 bushels.

In about 1885 Smith got competition from John M. Burtch. He built the Farmers Pride Elevator on Union Street a little way down from the corner of Clinton Street. This had a capacity of 12,000 bushels. John Burtch was a well known character and had the nickname “Skunk Skin John” since he also dealt in furs and pelts. He lived at this time in the brick home at 114 E. Front, which was just above the old flour mill.

In 1922 Valorus Kent wrote about the pair: “Mr Smith and John Burtch were always in strong competition in the grain line and became so antagonistic that several times they came to blows. Mr smith finally became so disgusted with John that when he would meet him he wouldn’t speak to him, but just lift his coat tails and pat his pants.”

One day when V. Kent was taking a load of grain down Bridge Street, Burtch came running along and jumped on the wagon. “John says: ‘Lo, have you heard Skunkie’s latest?’ Now John, with the rest of his accomplishments was quite a poet. He says: ‘There is Skunk Skin John lives on the hill. His hole is just over the mill. There’s old Hog Eye Smith lives over back. For 10 long years he has been on Skunkie’s track. But now he’s getting old and lame and lifts his coat tail to pat his brains’ “

The homes of Edmund Lampson

2010-05-28T17:45:00.003-04:00

Edmund Lampson, our First Permanent Settler, was famous for having three homes over the years.

In the summer of 1847 Edmund Lampson arrived here with his family. As far as the eye could see was dense virgin timber. It is said that the trees grew so close together, that the fist branches could be sixty feet from the ground or more. Out of this dark forest, Edmund built his first home, a log cabin.

Long remembered in local tales, the cabin was called “the Siamese Twins” because it looked like two cabins joined together along their length. This First Lampson home was built in a little clearing located at what is today the corner of Pleasant and Maple Streets. On the lot occupied by 428 Pleasant today, the Lampson House, facing Maple Street, stood right up against the corner curb. I can image a cabin in the woods; gradually as children and pets ran to and fro, paths begin to develop alongside its walls, just feet from the building. In later years these paths would become streets. It can truly be said that Pleasant and Maple was the first intersection in Grand Ledge.

In the mid-1860s Lampson, now a widower, married for a second time. Soon thereafter he built his Second Home. This larger two-story house was located at 406 West Jefferson. This home would later be occupied by his daughter, Mary and her husband Ephraim Wallace and family. Around 1910 they added stucco to the house. In about 1922 the home was torn down and the current house was built for Jonas Sawdon, our beloved long-time school superintendant.

Edmund Lampson, like many of his fellow pioneers, continued to prosper in farming, real estate and business enterprises. He built a large steam-power saw mill overlooking the river in the 300 block of West Jefferson, just east of his home.

By the mid-1870s Edmund Lampson was in his 70s and enjoying the fruits of his long labors. He had become prosperous and was esteemed by his neighbors. He had served as the first President of the Village and as Justice of the Peace. During this time, he moved into his Third House he had built directly across the street. This home was located in a picturesque grove at the corner of Spring and West Jefferson. It was constructed just west of a natural spring-fed pond. It was this pond that gave Spring Street its name. The home even featured a walkout basement leading down to the water’s edge. At some later time, the pond was filled in and a more extensive yard created.

This grand gothic-style house at 405 West Jefferson was one of the largest homes in town when it was new. It occupied the same block as his original log cabin. In fact at the time his old log cabin was still in use. One can only imagine the sense of pride of being able to look out from your fine new home at the humble log cabin that had started it all 30 years before. Edmund lived there until his death in 1889.

Mineral Wells

2010-05-28T17:45:00.001-04:00

From 1860 to 1890, Grand Ledge was known for its Bathing Houses. Mineral water was very popular at the time and was felt to be a curative for all manner of illness. Much like we bath in Epsom Salt today, Mineral Baths were used to ease joint pain, muscle strain and skin rashes. Grand Ledge, Eaton Rapids and other Michigan cities, offered baths for 50 cents each.

An 1880 account tells us: “During the excitement consequent upon the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania, when it was supposed probable that the wealth-producing article could be found anywhere if bored for, the wave rolled over the people of Grand Ledge, and a company was formed to sink a well at this place. The work was performed, but nothing but water of a curious taste rewarded their efforts, although it flowed in as great quantities as they could wish the oil to have done.

Finally, it was discovered that the water possessed medicinal properties, and a large bathing-house was built and Dr. A. R. Ball, now of Corunna, Shiawassee Co., a homoeopathic physician, had charge of it. This well, which is still flowing, is located near the eastern limits of the corporation, on the south side of the river. Three other wells have since been sunk, nearer the business portion of the village. One of these, on an island a short distance below the bridge, is 156 feet deep, and another, at the Mineral House, on the north side of the river, has a depth of 196 feet. The taste of the water from the island well indicates that it is principally charged with iron and sulphur; an analysis has not yet been made.”

It seems that five wells were drilled in all. The first was near the corner of E. River and Franklin Streets. It was near this that the first bathing house was established. By 1872, this enterprise was owned by George Cheney, who also ran a dairy farm and cheese factory in the area of what is today Belknap Street.

Later wells were drilled downtown. One well near the corner of S. Bridge and E. River supported a bath house that was located near where the Barn Tavern is today. C.W. Ingalls of Ionia was its proprietor. Another well could be found near the corner of W. River and Harrison. This well gave rise to a bath house and restaurant on the corner that was in operation for many years.

On the northside, a well was drilled at the corner of N. Bridge and W. Front, where the Lick-Ity Split stands today. This well accompanied a large three-story hotel and bath house known as the Dennison House and later the Mineral House.

Finally, a few years later another well was drilled on First Island for the enjoyment of the Island Resort patrons. In 1880 it was noted “There is a fine mineral spring on one of the islands, said to possess curative properties of a high order, and invalids looking for a place to spend the hot months will find the Seven Islands offer superior inducements."

Mills

2010-05-28T17:44:00.001-04:00

As construction of the Upper Dam was nearing completion in August 1849, work commenced on the adjacent saw mill. Lumber for its construction was being sawed by Charles Butler in Dela Mills as this was the closest mill in operation. Once the order was complete there was only one way to get the lumber to Grand Ledge. The wood was bundled into a raft, and an Indian named “Duck” was hired to float the raft to its destination.

With the lumber under control, the men now turned to the needed iron castings. The firm of Turner Brothers in North Lansing got the contract. Once completed they were also rafted down the river to Grand Ledge, once again most likely with the help of “Duck”. The iron work was in a raw state and still needed to be drilled and fitting together. The only man who could do the work was Robert Nixon. He lived at Canada Settlement, four miles south on what is today Hartel Road. He has his own blacksmith shop and was able to do the work. So the ironwork was put on carts and dragged through the dense forest to his farm.

By December of 1849 the mill was finally complete and local trees turned into fine quality lumber. In 1850 the mill got a large order from an eastern company. Once completed the lumber was rafted down the river to Grand Haven. The contract was for 50,000 board feet of cherry at $12 per thousand feet.

In 1851 the saw mill got an order from the firm of Wood, Allen and Taylor. These local men were to build a flour mill on the north end of the dam. The site on the river bank was clear of its trees and the two story mill was soon erected. Turner Brothers again got the contract for the mill castings, however by this time a rough road had been cut through the forest.

David Taylor and his team of oxen carried all the castings from North Lansing to the flour mill. It was arduous work. It took many trips and the castings were extremely heavy. The wagon created deep ruts in the muddy road as they went. On one trip they were hauling the large spur wheel which weighed 1,500 pounds. In this case the trip back from Lansing took two days. The oxen had to pull the wagon through all the ruts made on previous journeys, and many times fell to their knees with the strain.

Once they finally reached Grand Ledge, the iron work had to be loaded on rafts and floated across to the north bank, there was still no bridge built at this time. The mill was finished in late 1851. Warren Brown was hired as the miller. The following year a great flood did terrible damage, and the mill was not repaired and put back into operation until 1853.

Dams

2010-05-28T17:43:00.001-04:00

With the current interest in repairing or removing the dam, it is a good time to look back at the history of dams in Grand Ledge.

UPPER DAM

The first dam to span the river here in Grand Ledge was located just upstream from the bridge. In the spring of 1849 John Russell, his nephew David Taylor, and his brother-in-law Abram Smith, met in the Russell log cabin, west of town. The trio formed a company for the purpose of building a saw mill downtown and a dam to power it. They purchased 2 acres in the middle of the dense forest from Henry Trench, right below where the Opera House now stands. The parcel included a roofless, half finished shanty that the men completed. This was used as a bunk house for the men, about 30 of them, who were hired from Delta, Oneida and surround areas to do the work.

The dam was begun first. It was built of compacted stone, dirt and clay. Clay for the dam was dug from a pit in the 600 block of East Jefferson. A decade later, this clay pit would provide the material for the Loveless Pottery on Franklin Street. By August, the dam was completed.

The dam’s mill pond rose higher and flooded much of what we call JayCee Park today. This water provided power for a saw mill on the south bank and a flour mill on the northside. By 1910 the saw mill was gone, and the flour mill was torn down c1918. With the dam no longer needed, it was removed in the 1920s.

LOWER DAM

The Lower Dam or Stone Dam was begun in about 1878 by S. M.. Hewings, who owned the Seven Islands Resort downtown. He had a notion to have steamboats travel up and down The Grand for his resort. In order to get deeper water for his steamer, and for row boats he rented to the public, he built a temporary dam near the site of the present dam. This was crudely made of logs with stone fill. The top layers of the dam would be removed in the Spring to allow for the flow of ice.

In 1887 J.S. Mudge, the new owner of the Seven Islands Resort, replaced the temporary Hewings dam with a permanent Stone Dam. He also wanted to create a deep body of water for pleasure boating and swimming. Not only did this provide the water depth he wanted, but he also promoted this as the perfect fishing spot. Many anglers fished from the rocks near the shore or propped their boats right on the edge of the dam itself. The City acquired the dam when they purchased all the Resort property, including the seven river islands, in the 1930s.

A few decades after it was built, a large flat bank on the northside was dug up and replaced with the Dam Gates we see today. This allowed more control of the water level. These were originally covered by a Dam House to keep people off the gates. Sometime in the 1960s, The City wanted the House removed. My grandfather, Vic Haueter Sr, and his brother Mutt, who both owned property just above the dam, got the job of removal in exchange for keeping the building. I remember him telling me they used a tractor to pull the building up the bank. It is my suspicion that the Dam House was converted into a storage shed for my Uncle Mutt.

Whats in a name?

2010-05-28T17:42:00.001-04:00

There has been an ongoing debate about the accurate names of Grand Ledge’s first two settlers. For decades we have second guessed ourselves as to the correct spelling. Sometimes cursive writing of the past can be difficult to read. However, with careful research of the handwritten documents, I was finally able to answer the question: What’s in a name?

Lampson or Lamson?

Edmund Lampson arrived in 1848, our First Permanent Settler. He owned over 160 acres along West Jefferson and the West side of town. Even during his lifetime, there was confusion over his last name. He was born Lampson, and used that name for many years. Early census records confirm this usage. However, as he got older, he began to switch to the Lamson spelling. In the directory of 1873, the editor hedged his bet by listing him as “Edmund S. Lampson (Lamson)”. Likewise, a decade later, a biographer described him as Edmund Lamson, the son of E. Lampson.

However in legal and official papers, he remained Lampson. In 1867 when he added several blocks to the city, it was under the name of The Lampson Addition. The centerpiece of this development was Lampson Street. After his death in 1889, much of his farm became neighborhoods off of West Jefferson Street. These were sold by the “Estate of E. Lampson”. Yet at the same time, his gravestone reads “Lamson”

Over the years, both versions of his name have been used. In a final ironic twist, the street that bares his name has in recent decades come to be re-spelled “Lamson Street”.

Trench or French?

Henry A. Trench was the first to settle, in c.1843, at what would become Grand Ledge. He was a highly educated man, but also restless and looking for solitude. He finally left Michigan in the 1860s, when he felt the area was too crowded. He was born Henry French in c1817. After completing college, he journeyed into the wild frontier of Michigan with only his wife, leaving not only his education, but also his name, behind him.

Although the Censuses of 1840 & 1850 list him as Henry French, to his Michigan neighbors he was always known as Henry Trench. We have several accounts written by men who knew him personally, and they all agree on this. Henry even wrote essays for the newspaper and signed them “H.A.T.”

Beginning with the Census of 1860, he was listed as Henry Trench. Even after he left Michigan and returned to Connecticut with his family, he remained Trench in all the records. Of his four children, some eventually retuned their last name to French, however Henry and his son Ira, kept using the name Trench for the rest of their lives.

When I refer to these two prominent pioneers, I use Lampson and Trench. Edmund Lampson used this name when he added neighborhoods to the city, so that is what I choose to use. Henry Trench used this name among his fellow settlers, and indeed for his life thereafter.

As a side note – While researching, I shared some of the information in this column with Lorabeth Fitzgerald last year, just weeks before her death. I am sorry she never got to read the final version.

School Transportation

2010-02-09T17:09:00.001-05:00

School transportation is hot topic these days, but in general it is expected that students will be provided transportation to school from wherever they live. This was certainly not always the case. I often think about what students used to have to go through to get an education.

For 8-year-old Loa Lampson going to school in the autumn of 1851 was a not an easy endeavor. She lived in a double log cabin called “the Siamese Twins” which her father Edmund had built three years earlier in a clearing off of West Jefferson Street. Loa and her brother Romulus, age 11, would have to follow an old Indian trail along the river-- the only path through the woods. This would lead them, along what is today W. River Street, to a flat plain on the south river bank, below Bridge Street today. Here they would find a beehive of activity in the middle of the forest. A dam had been built across the river with a saw mill on the southern end. No bridge yet spanned the Grand, so the children had to carefully walk along the top of the stone dam to reach the north bank, taking great care not to fall into the icy river. During the winter they would be able to cross on the frozen river, while in the spring, they would have to be ferried across during the spring floods.

Once they reached the north bank, they would have to climb up a steep gully beside a small wandering creek. At the top (what is now the corner of Bridge and Front Streets) they would follow another footpath through the woods until they reached another clearing. In the center sat the newly built Red School with its fresh coat of paint (near greenwood school today). It had one room and six benches for the students. Miss Mary Ann Sanders was their teacher.

Even some eighty years later in the 1930s, when the city schools provided high school education for 39 rural districts, getting to school was still a problem. Families living in the country could not bring children to school daily. During this time country children who wished to attend High School had to find city families who would let them board in their home. In return the children were expected to do chores for the family and help around the house. Then on Fridays, the children would return to their family farm until Sunday afternoon.

My own grandparents, Bernie and Alice Hershoren, were one such host family. They had two young children at the time and in return for help around the house, let a few young students board with them. One of these girls, Minnie Wolodko would later marry Jack Kingsley and become our neighbor for many decades.

Doty’s: A long Tradition

2010-01-17T09:59:00.001-05:00

With the passing of the first decade of this century, we also see the demise of one of Grand Ledge’s oldest firms. Sadly, Doty Floral closed at the end of 2009. The Doty’s have been in the area from the beginning and part of the Grand Ledge business community for over a hundred years.

It all started in the 1830s, when Lazarus Doty came to Eagle Township from New York and entered a large tract of land for each of his three sons: Oliver in section 26 on State Road, Philo in section 14 along the Looking Glass River, and Charles in section 34 on State Road.

The Doty Brothers were successful and well respected farmers. A journalist in the 1880’s noted "The three are residents of the township, and still occupy the land entered for them by their father. The family has been one of the most substantial and enterprising in the township.” Philo Doty operated the second saw mill in the township on his farm, using the waters of the Looking Glass to power it.

At the turn of the last century, it was Philo’s decedents that came to Grand Ledge to find their way in the business community. Two of Philo’s sons, Ellis and Sanford, bought a thirty-year-old grain elevator in Grand Ledge in 1901. The new firm of Doty & Doty operated their elevator next to the railroad tracks on N. Clinton Street and offered Grain, Beans, Wood, Coal and more. In 1921 Doty & Doty merged with the Ireland Elevator and the Grand Ledge Produce Company was born. Sanford’s son Roy was the general manager for the next 20 years.

Ellis’s son Mark opened Doty & Huggert Greenhouse on Spring Street in 1913. The business has been known over the years as Doty’s Greenhouse, Doty’s Greenhouse and Flower Shop, and finally Doty Floral. They used to advertise as “Flowers that Satisfy – It’s always springtime at our house” Mark’s son Dean ran the business for many years and Dean’s daughter Joanne continued on after him. After Joanne passing, another Doty descendant carried on with the business. It was one of Grand Ledge’s oldest firms and maybe the only one to be in the same family for so many years.

The Doty name has not left our business community however. Doty Agency continues to carry on the family name. Roy Doty’s son Stuart Doty began selling insurance in the 1940s. He worked out of the Loan & Deposit Building downtown early on but later had the Doty Building at 400 S. Bridge before moving to the new Doty Insurance Building on Saginaw Hwy.

Everything old is new again

2009-12-14T17:47:00.001-05:00

With the on going financial trouble of Michigan school districts, talk of consolidations and the announced cuts and building closings in Grand Ledge, it is interesting to look back at some of the history of our district. As you can see, some ideas are not new after all. It reminds me of the old song, “everything old is new again”.

After the end WWII, the district started to plan for expected enrollment growth, and they began to acquire land for future expansion. They purchased the 80 acre Kent Farm on Jenne Street. Twelve acres off Jones street was purchased as well as a large parcel across Jenne Street, now called Marsh Field. An 80-acre farm was also purchased on Willow Highway in Delta Township.

The Kent farm came along with the brick Kent farmhouse which stood at the corner of Jenne and Lovell Streets, where the Neff playground is now. Union and Old Greenwood schools were always short of space, so the house was used as the Kent Kindergarten for all the children in the district for several years.

By the 1950's the Grand Ledge Schools served not only local students but also 39 Affiliated Rural Districts. A 1954 study recommended consolidation of most of the 40 districts into one regional School District. Superintendent Kenneth T. Beagle oversaw this expansion of the district and closing of the country school buildings.

Parents wanted to keep younger children as close to their homes as possible instead of sending children to a few centralized schools. A new Greenwood School was built in 1950 next to Old Greenwood, which was later torn down. In 1953 West Elementary was built on the Jones Street parcel. This was later renamed for T. Carl Holbrook, a long-time school board president. In 1954 Clarence W. Neff School was built on Jenne Street next to the Kent Kindergarten and named in honor of the benefactor who gave $160,000 to the schools. Mulliken came into the school district in 1956 with their school which had been built in 1951. In 1958 the Delta Mills School was built. In 1959 Delta Center School was completed.

During this time a new high school was also needed. Originally Marsh Field was the proposed site for the school, but instead the larger parcel behind Neff at the corner of Spring and Kent was chosen. The new Grand Ledge High School was dedicated in 1959. The old high school was renamed in honor of Jonas Sawdon as the Sawdon Junior High School.

In 1967 the Hayes School was built on the Willow Highway property. Nixon Road was extended from the corner of Saginaw Road through to Willow Highway at this time. The Hayes School housed both a middle school and an elementary school and was named in honor of Leon Hayes, a school board member for many years.

In 1975 two new schools, a new Wacousta Elementary and the Beagle Middle School, were completed. Beagle School was also built on the old Kent farm at the end of South Street. It was named in honor of Kenneth Beagle who had recently retired as Superintendent.

Spencer & Tabor

2009-11-15T07:40:00.001-05:00

Two men were vital in the development of the local tile factories. They also were business partners and friends for over forty years.

James Spencer was born in 1845 in New York and at the age of 21 came to the wilderness of Michigan. Four years later he married Nancy Jones and they farmed in Eagle Township until coming to Grand Ledge in 1874. He then joined in a men’s clothing store called Capwell & Spencer. During this time he and Nancy became friends of Frank and Anne Tabor.

The year of 1877 was exciting for the couple. They built a new home at 622 Jenne Street and James left the clothing business and bought out the interest of Chester Benton in the Taber & Benton meat market. The new Tabor & Spencer meat market soon moved one door south to 223 South Bridge; a new brick building that was built especially for them by S.B. Granger.

The business and friendship both prospered. So much so that within a few years the Spencers left Jenne Street and moved to the corner of Scott and Jackson Streets, right across from the Tabors who lived at 327 Jackson.

At about this same time the partners became instrumental in the promotion of the business opportunities the local clay deposits could offer. In 1886 they were among the founding partners in the Grand Ledge Sewer Pipe Co. Frank Tabor became Secretary-Treasurer of the new firm.

In 1890 the partners sold the meat market and with the profits James Spencer soon moved his frame house to a side lot on Scott Street and built a fine new brick home on the corner at 328 Jackson, where his old house had been.

In 1901, after raising the value of the firm by 400%, the clay factory was sold to an Ohio company. By contract the founders were barred from engaging in any clay related activities for four years. However as soon as the time limit expired Spencer and Tabor began recruiting local businessmen for the formation of a new clay works. In 1906 Grand Ledge Clay Products was born. Again both men took management roles in the company, positions they would hold the rest of their lives.

As stated previously, Clay Products was initially formed to produce clay conduit tile. Aside from its intended use to burry electric lines, it was also used as a building material, substituting for brick. Many utilitarian buildings and even some homes used the less expensive clay conduit. Several of the factory workers used the material to build their own homes near the factories. James Spencer built his carriage barn behind his home from the conduit tile. This can still be seen at 312 Jackson Street, although now painted white.

James Spencer passed away in 1919 and Frank Tabor died in 1924. The Tabor legacy did not end however. Management of the company would pass to his son-in-law Fred Decke and then on to grandson George Decke and finally his great-grandson Brian Decke who would have the sad task of wrapping up at the end when the factory finally closed in 1986.

The Grand Ledge Clay Lion

2009-11-15T07:38:00.001-05:00

One fascinating aspect of the clay tile factories was the tradition of clay folk art. In their spare time, workers would use excess bits of clay to create works of art for themselves. The most common and best known are the Grand Ledge Lions. These were made using molds to get the basic form, and then the worker would add his own touches to make it unique. Long-time Clay Products worker, Harry Poole described the process:

“Just before noon some fellows would take some clay and pack the molds tightly. We would then set the molds aside until the next day when we would take the lion out of the mold and smooth it all over by licking your thumb. Some guys put tongues in their lions by using a knife to make the mouth open and then rolling molding clay. The paws, tail and mane were fixed by using a knife or pencil. Then the lion was placed on a sand-covered board and put in the kiln with the tile.”

Each worker would add his own touches to the basic lion shape. Some were left simple, while others had tongues or textured manes. The bases were often decorated with flutes or the makers name or initials and a date. Some lions were turned into banks or bookends.

Beyond lions, a wide variety of other animals were also made. The Historical Society has a wonderful collection of these. Snakes, alligators, lambs, mice, dogs, bears, turtles and frogs all show the creativity of the worker-artisans.

Sometimes we see practical items like ash trays or match stick holders. Indian Heads and Egyptian motifs were also seen. Every now and then, a worker took an entire wet clay tile and embellished it. These tiles were most often turned into umbrella stands made to look like tree trunks with the addition of wonderful bark and even small creepy crawly creatures.

Clay was so important in the lives of these workers, that some made large clay urns or other objects to be used as grave markers. These can still be seen in Oakwood Cemetery today.

Grand Ledge Lions and all of these objects are treasured and collected today. If any of these items are found for sale they bring good prices. Lions that once sold for 50 cents can sell for hundreds of dollars today.

The Clay Process

2009-11-15T07:35:00.001-05:00

The clay factories in Grand Ledge all used a similar process to produce their tiles and bricks as noted in The State Journal in 1912:

“The American Sewer Pipe Co. is one of the largest of its kind in the country, and the largest in Michigan. It regularly employs 100 men. The Clay Products Company is almost as large and it gives employment to 90 men. The clay used for the manufacture of the tile by these two factories abounds in large quantities about Grand Ledge, and it is a most interesting sight to visit the pits and watch the fire clay being dug out by the men, loaded on miniature cars and drawn to the mixing machines over a narrow gauge railway. Each of these concerns have 12 large kilns in which the tiles are burned, and the completed product is shipped to all parts of the country.”

The raw material for clay was rock shale quarried from the local clay pits. This was loaded into small rail cars and transferred to the factories. In the early days, the tile plants used mules or horses to pull the cars, while the brick factory used a locomotive. The chunks of shale, some as big as a man, were ground into powder. This was put into a hopper and mixed with water to form clay.

The soft clay was then forced through casting dies to form long clay tubes. These were then sliced by thin wires into individual tile sections or bricks. The fragile wet clay or “green wares” were stacked in drying kilns to remove most of the moisture. If special shapes like “Y” branching tiles were needed, specialist workers called “Branchers” were employed. There job was to cut and paste tiles together by hand to form all special shapes and forms.

Once dried, the tile or bricks were then transferred to the kilns for final firing. Men called “Setters” specialized in stacking the kilns in certain ways to get the best firing of the products. Firing took 50 to 140 hours. For many years, salt was added during firing to create a glass-like glaze on the tiles that made them less permeable to water. After the conversion to gas firing, salt glazing was no longer needed. However, personally I think salt-glazed tile are the most beautiful; the glaze brings out the natural coloring in the clay.

Once the firing was over and the kiln has cooled, gangs of “Pullers” came along to empty the kiln. The tiles or bricks were then stacked in the yard until they were sold. Anything that broke, twisted or fired wrong in the kiln was considered a “clunker” and was removed as unsellable. Clunker tile was often crushed and sold as ground cover, while clunker bricks were thrown into heaps on the edge of the property, where they still remain today. Such deformed bricks would be seen as special “art” bricks today and sold at a premium price.

Grand Ledge Face Brick Co. 1914-1947

2009-09-04T12:17:00.001-04:00

The third and final clay factory to form in Grand Ledge was the Baker Clay Company begun in 1914. Mr Baker was from Ohio, but recruited local businessmen to fund the enterprise.

The company purchased 50 acres of land from the John Walker farm at the corner of West Main and Tallman Road. A lane at the corner wound back along the river by the dam and continued on to the factory behind the farm. At the other end of the farm, a rail line was laid along the county line to reach the plant. The clay pit was located just beyond the dam, right across the river from the quarries of American Vitrified and Clay Products.

The plant featured a new kiln design called a “continuous kiln”. The first of its kind built in the United States; it was based on a Canadian design. Unlike the bee-hive style, this design featured a series of tunnel kilns built adjoining side-by-side. This allowed heat from one kiln to be used to preheat the next adjoining kiln. It was found to be a more efficient and cost effective.

Baker Clay was founded to produce glazed tile for farm silos. Many silos in Michigan and Ohio were made from these tiles. Examples can still be seen in the area. The Wynalda farm on Saginaw has a beautiful example. Another silo can be seen on Saginaw across from A & W. However cement silos replaced the tiles in popularity.

The plant soon switched to brick production and became The Grand Ledge Face Brick Company. Although their product was excellent, financing always seemed a problem for the firm and some years saw little production. Eventually the factory was sold to one of its major clients, the Briggs Company in Lansing. Many may well remember the company’s headquarters on Michigan Avenue in downtown Lansing. Located where Museum Drive is today, the tall building was built of Grand Ledge brick and had BRIGGS in tall brickwork in the façade. An additional 40 acres was purchased adjoining the plant in Clinton County for future expansion, although this never materialized.

In the mid-1940s the plant was sold to the Lincoln Brick Company who quickly closed the factory in 1947 to consolidate production in their Grand Rapids location. The factory lay idle and eventually the 90 acre parcel was sold to Eaton County in 1975 and is now the site of Lincoln Brick Park.

Grand Ledge Face Brick produced bricks of high quality and wide variety. Bricks were available in finishes from smooth to rough and from light tan to deep rich reds. Grand Ledge Brick was shipped far and wide. Many buildings at MSU were built using them, including Beaumont Tower. Our own important City buildings used our local bricks. The original Grand Ledge Library, The Grand Ledge Post Office, Grand Ledge City Hall (built as the Catholic Church) and Sawdon School all use the local bricks. Sawdon is made from a blend of bricks called "Old Rose Mission" that was extremely popular. Local bricks can sometimes be identified from behind as the back of the brick was often impressed with “GRAND LEDGE”.

Grand Ledge Clay Products 1906-1986

2009-08-25T18:28:00.001-04:00

After the success of the Sewer Pipe Company and its eventual sale, many of the same local investors again decided to band together and form a second clay factory. In 1906 these businessmen, among them were John Fitzgerald and R.E. Olds of Oldsmobile fame, formed the Grand Ledge Clay Products Company.

They purchased a fine parcel of land at the corner of West Jefferson and Lawson Road which showed excellent prospects for rich deposits of shale. Over the years, the factory mined several clay pits, all of them along the river on Lawson Road. The new factory’s land was also right next to the Sewer Pipe Company’s parcel (today’s Fitzgerald Park).

At the time the Vitrified Sewer Pipe Company was going great guns in producing its clay pipe, but interestingly, the new factory was not planned as competition. At this time in history many large urban areas were rebelling against the forest of telephone poles and vines of electric wires that darkened their streets. As part of the new urban planning, such eye soars were going to be buried underground. Today we use plastic conduit pipe to run wires underground, but in those days they used clay conduit tiles. Grand Ledge Clay Products specialized in this new product and eventually shipped tons of clay conduits all over the nation. Chicago was a major market. The clay conduit was a tube, about a foot long and 3inches square. It was made in single tubes, or could be fused together into bundles of two, four or six. Ironically, in spite of local editorials calling for their use to bury our power lines, Grand Ledge was not one of the cities to use them.

Clay Products was one of the larger employers in town with around 90 men. They prospered making clay conduit until the 1930’s. During the Great Depression production slowed along with the nationally economy. Then in 1937 a great fire destroyed the factory and the dies used to extrude the conduit forms. The factory was rebuilt and the company used the opportunity to shift production to sewer tile, drainage tile and chimney flues.

By the late 1970s the work force shrank as competition from plastic pipes increased. In the 1980s the company tried to expand into floor tiles and other products. The efforts seemed to come too late however, and the Plant was closed in 1986. Sadly if the company had lasted a couple more years they might have been able to capitalize on the wave of historic restorations and the need for specialty products. For me, I will remember Clay Products as it was, with the large kilns huddled around the tall chimneys and the yard full of rows and rows of clay tile ready for shipment.

Grand Ledge Sewer Pipe Co. 1886-1966

2009-08-14T17:28:00.001-04:00

For many decades, Grand Ledge was known around the country for its clay industry. Grand Ledge was the clay products capital of Michigan and some years produced more clay products than any city in the nation. The large industrial pottery factories began here in the 1880s.

Local investors decided to capitalize on Grand Ledge’s rich clay deposits found in the area. They purchased 40 acres on the south side of West Jefferson Street and founded the Grand Ledge Sewer Pipe Company in 1886. Shale was quarried in a pit on the site behind the factory. The clay was fired in 12 large bee-hive kilns to produce a wide range of sewer and drainage tile. After just a few years, with the clay pit was being exhausted, the plant was sold in 1898 to the Ohio-based American Sewer Pipe Company.

Ohio companies were the main competition to the Grand Ledge industry. Ohio workers also came along with the purchased and settled in the area. During this time 61 acres were purchased across Jefferson, along the River. A new quarry was begun near what is today the water treatment plant. Shale was put into small rail cars and pulled by mules along narrow tracks to the factory across the road.

The company became American Vitrified Products in 1912. It was the largest factory of its type in Michigan and one of the largest in the United States, employing about 100 men. Working with the hot kilns, fire was always a danger. The plant caught fire and burned in 1923 and was rebuilt larger in 1924. The Great Depression forced the closure of the plant from 1930-1937. “Vitrified”, as it was known, reopened and was in operation until 1966.

The following year the land was sold to the City. The 61 acres north of Jefferson were added to Fitzgerald Park. A few years later the 40 acres south of Jefferson were developed into the Ravines Mobile Home Park. The name “ravines” referees to the old clay pit on the property. Most of this pit was filled in during the construction process. The area of Valley Ridge Street was the storage yard for tile waiting for delivery. Fiddler’s Cove Street now occupies the site of the old factory.

Fitzgerald Family’s Long History

2009-08-10T18:26:00.001-04:00

With the passing of Lorabeth Fitzgerald I thought I would repost my history of the Fitzgerald Family.

(Read More about Lorabeth)

With recent elections, it put me in mind of our own local political dynasty, The Fitzgerald Family. Four generations have served our state in public office, this week I will discuss Governor Fitzgerald.

Frank Dwight Fitzgerald was born January 27, 1885, the son of John W and Carrie Fitzgerald. On June 28, 1909, Frank married Queena Warner. It was about 1913 when he served as clerk in the State Legislature. From 1919 to 1923 He was deputy Secretary of State. He served various positions with the Michigan Republican Party. In 1932 he was a delegate at the Republican National Convention and helped nominate President Hoover for another term.

In 1931, Frank was elected Secretary of State of Michigan. In 1934, Fitzgerald left his office to run for Governor of Michigan. He was elected Michigan’s 34^th Governor and served 1935-1936, a full two year term. As Governor he promoted a balanced budget, smaller more efficient government and the civil service system for State employees. Michigan did not have a governor’s residence at the time, so the Fitzgerald home at 521 E. Jefferson served as the official Governors Residence during most of his term.

In 1936 he campaigned for re-election against democrat Frank Murphy, but he was defeated. During this campaigned the family moved to 219 W. Jefferson. This stately home was built by the sister to Ransom E. Olds, of Oldsmobile fame. The house has remained the Fitzgerald Family Home ever since.

Two years later, the home’s dining room became campaign headquarters when he again ran for re-election against Frank Murphy who was running for his own second term. Fitzgerald won the election and became one of only two Michigan Governors to serve two non-consecutive terms in office.

As Michigan’s 36^th Governor he took office on January 1, 1939. Sadly within just a few weeks he became ill and the dining room went from campaign headquarters to a sick bed for the ailing Governor. It was there that he died on March 16, 1939. The only Governor of Michigan to die in office.

If you look round our town there is much to remind you of our Governor. His portrait prominently overlooks all City Council Meetings in the Council Chambers. Saginaw Highway from Grand Ledge to Lansing was dedicated as the Frank D. Fitzgerald Memorial Highway. His home on West Jefferson is a State Historic Site. During his first term in office the City dedicated the ball field down by the bridge as Fitzgerald Field. In 1940 after his death, the City renamed Riverside Park as Fitzgerald Park. Finally his gravestone, a tall white obelisk, towers over others in Oakwood Cemetery.

* * * *

1930s Campaign Advertisement

YOUR GOVERNOR – He kept his word. No new taxes, no new debts, and a balanced budget in two years. He converted a $6 million deficit into an $8 million balance, taking the State definitely out of the red and into the black. He did all this, without losing sight of the human side of government.

* * * * *

As I mentioned last time, The Fitzgerald Family has long been involved in public service.

John Wesley Fitzgerald started it all. He was born in 1850 to Irish parents. He later married Carrie Foreman. John W. Fitzgerald lived at 220 E. Jefferson and was elected to the State House of Representatives for 1895-1896. He also served as Postmaster for Grand Ledge. His son, the future Governor worked with him as a mail clerk before joining politics.

John Warner Fitzgerald was the grandson of John W. and son of the Governor. John had his own long and esteemed public service career. He was born November 14, 1924. When just a freshman at Grand Ledge High School, his father died. John graduated in 1942 and went on to MSU for two terms before joining the Army during World War II. After the Army he returned to get a bachelors degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

After passing the bar, John return to Grand Ledge and opened his own law practice in 1955. That same year he also became the Legal Counsel to the State Senate. In 1957 John ran for State Senator for his district and was elected. He began serving in the State Senate in 1958. The Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1963 created the Michigan Court of Appeals and John Fitzgerald was elected as one of the first nine judges in 1964 and was named Chief Justice Pro-Tem of the Court. Justice Fitzgerald left the Court in 1974 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Michigan Supreme Court. He ran for re-election for his own term in the fall of that same year. He won the election for an eight year term. In 1982, the final year of his tern, he was elected Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.

Even beyond his work in the court system, John left his mark on Cooley Law School. In 1973 he taught the very first class in the new school. He also was a founding member of the Cooley Board of Directors. Justice Fitzgerald remained part of the School for 34 years. The graduating class of 2006 was even named in his honor.

While John was at MSU he met and married Lorabeth Moore. They had three children: Frank, Eric and Adam. Justice Fitzgerald pass away in 2006.

The fourth generation of the family to serve was Frank Moore Fitzgerald, son of John and Lorabeth. Frank was elected to the State House in 1987 and served until 1998. Governor Engler appointed him State Insurance Commissioner in 1999. From 2000-2003 Frank served as the State Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner. In 2003 Frank became a Managing Partner in the Clark Hill law firm. Sadly Frank died suddenly in 2004.

The Loveless Pottery & Brickmakers

2009-08-05T17:40:00.001-04:00

Shortly after the closing of the Harrington Pottery, a new family came to town to mine the rich deposits of the area. The Loveless family were potters near Warren, OH. Their son, George, left the family pottery business when he heard about the clay deposits to be found here in Grand Ledge. George Loveless and his family settled on 12 acres at the corner of West Jefferson and Gulf Streets.

The Loveless Pottery was founded in the late 1850s .Although his farm was located near the clay deposits of Fitzgerald Park, the pottery was located on the east side of town in a hollow at about 205 Franklin Street. The clay was excavated from the large gully behind the shop in the 600 block of East Jefferson and fired in kilns on the property. The Loveless Pottery made household wares such as jugs, crocks and butter churns. They also were the first here to make clay tile which was used to line water wells. His son, George B. Loveless, was a peddler who sold his wares door to door.

In 1887 the railroad was building the trestle and laying the line to Grand Rapids. George Loveless had allowed the railroad graders to work on his property along Gulf Street but no agreement had yet been reached for the right of way. When the workmen were nearing the new trestle, they reached the Loveless property. They found the way blocked by a pile of railroad ties and George Loveless sitting on top with a shotgun. He threatened any that crossed onto his property. The Railroad soon settled payment to him. He was at the time 80 years old.

The first industrial clay products made in Grand Ledge were bricks. Although they were each made by hand, the quantities produced were on a larger scale then the wares produced by the family pottery shops. Due to fires, Grand Ledge underwent a boom of brick construction in the 1870s and local brick certainly helped the effort. Many of stores in the 200 Block of South Bridge date from this time.

The Tinkham Brickyard opened in the late 1860s. This was located on the J.C. Tinkham farm, where Burt Avenue is today. J.C.’s cousin Justice Campbell was a brick maker at the time and likely ran the business.

The Derbyshire Brickyard was opened in the early 1870s. Charles Derbyshire was a retired farmer from Eagle. His brickyard was located on the Harrington Pottery property. It is likely we still see his handmade bricks today. Derbyshire built his own very prominent brick house at 207 East Jefferson (the former Smith Bros Law Office, today the Davis Building.)

Herrinton Pottery

2009-08-01T15:51:00.002-04:00

Grand Ledge has a long and illustrious history in the clay industry. Over my next several columns I will give a history of this important historic industry that lasted well over a century and shaped so much of our town.

Grand Ledge is blessed with rich natural deposits of high quality clay and shale. Scientific examinations have determined that deposits found here are of the best quality for making brick, tile and other baked clay items. Natural outcroppings along the river have made the minerals available for thousands of years. Yet most of the shale can be found sixty feet or more below the surface. Once quarried, the shale is crushed, blended into clay, shaped and then fired in kilns. Firing the local clays produces fine quality products infused with attractive natural iron spotting.

Settlers were not the first to be attracted to the clay deposits. Native Americans recognized the value of the clay that is so abundant in the area. The first settlers reported finding the remains of “ash kilns” left behind by the Native American potters. Such kilns were reported in the gully where the Log Jam parking lot is today, near the corner of West Main and Tallman Road, and near Fitzgerald Park.

With ash kilns, native pottery was stacked on the ground and covered with leaves, husks, twigs, straw, etc. After all these layers, a final thick blanket of ash covers the mound to insulate the kiln and keep the heat in. Once the fire is started, the straw burns away, letting the ash fall between the pottery wares, keeping the heat in and letting them bake. After several days, the firing process is complete. The ash remaining is then saved for the next batch of pottery to be fired.

Information about the first potteries in Grand Ledge is scant. However, from pioneer recollections, maps, and census records I have been able to put their story together.

Lewis Herrinton was a potter from Scipio, New York. In the 1840s he came with his family west and along with this partner Timothy Wellman, opened one of the first known potteries in Michigan in Springfield Township, Oakland County.

In the 1850s, hearing of the clay deposits to found in Grand Ledge, Lewis Herrinton moved here and purchased 10 acres off Lawson Road that ran down to where the dam is today. The Herrinton Pottery was born. In the kilns on the site he made practical household items like jugs, crocks, bowls and churns. It is distinguished as being the first pottery in Grand Ledge, and one of the very earliest in Michigan, however it was short lived. Lewis Herrinton died in the late 1850s. His widow, Sophia, would become a teacher and his son Edward a well known local painter.

Goodbye Mrs Lange….

2009-07-25T04:31:00.001-04:00

Originally run June 2008

It is going to be hard for me to imagine the High School Choirs without Nancy Lange. With her retirement now eminent, I still remember when I first saw her long ago. Back in the mid 1970s, when I went to Neff Elementary, The Madrigal Singers came to perform for us. I can so clearly remember us all sitting on the floor “Indian style” in the gym and the Madrigals roaming around us and singing. It opened up a whole new world of music and song to me. The highlight of the show, and the one song I can remember, and even still sing, was “Dad’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow! (and we can stay all day)”

Years later when I entered Ninth Grade and went to Sawdon School, I again met Nancy Lange when I joined the Freshman Choir. On my first day, I couldn’t even find the choir room; it was beyond the cafeteria, tucked into a corner of the building. We had three guys in a choir of girls; needless to say we were vocally quite outnumbered. In those days, the early 1980s, we had five singing groups: Freshman Choir at Sawdon, then at the High School -Ladies Ensemble, Concert Choir, Madrigals Singers, and the Barbershop Quartet. I was lucky enough to be in Concert Choir and also later two years in Madrigals.

Nancy Lange had us do many things in those years, we recorded an album, we performed Handel’s Messiah, performed five musicals, and we took a trip to Washington D.C. to perform at the National Cathedral. Madrigals were also often in demand to perform at events around the area. One time in particular, we had to learn special lyrics someone had written to the tune of “You picked a fine time to leave us, Lucille” by Kenny Rogers. It was to honor Lucille Belen, the long time Lansing City Councilwoman. The new lyrics were all about the ins and outs of Lansing politics at the time. I can only assume they were quite clever, they meant nothing to us. Unfortunately, Ms. Belen was enjoying herself so much at her party, I don’t think she ever heard of word of the song!

Looking back now, I was certainly lucky to be in choir those four years. The old choir room became a place of calm for me in the whirl of High School and I spent all my free time there. I certainly was not a great singer, by any means, but I think Mrs. Lange understood it was the fun and interaction I really needed. When it came time for her seniors to graduate, she had a long tradition of letting us sign one of the walls in the choir room. Just a way of saying “we were here”. I don’t know how I would have gotten through High School without choir and Nancy Lange. I certainly wish her the best in her retirement.

First Flag & Fourth of July Cannon

2009-07-19T05:26:00.001-04:00

In 1856 it was decided the village needed a proper flag and flag pole. So ladies of the town got together at the home of Frank & Harriet Kent. At the time the Kents lived in a cabin or rough shack near the corner of Madison and Front streets. Here the women sewed together a flag out of their own cloth with the 31 stars of the time. In the mean time, the men raised up a pole near the newly built store of Case & Turner at 202 Greenwood. Everyone gathered for the raising and the flag was soon flying!

In 1861, with rumblings of a Southern Rebellion being heard across the country, locals decided it would be dandy to have our very own cannon. Millwrights Kent & Hixon took a bar of iron 2 feet long and 3 inches wide, part of a mill wheel, and gave it to Reuben Wood. Wood had a machine shop and he bore a hole about 10 inches deep for a barrel. The gun was then placed on a wooded frame and cart.

Velorus Kent describes “We had a big celebration on the Fourth of July that year and Sylvester Krupp and Don Lazell took charge of the cannon…they fired that gun so much they were both deafened and so used up they had to lay around for several days to recuperate.”

About 1875 Velorus Kent himself got into the action. Along with his cousin Albert Kent, and Armon Hixon, Charles Reed and others. At about 2am on the Fourth of July morning, they congregated in between Peter Kent’s and Frank Kent’s homes. The brothers lived across from each other at the corner of Harrison and Jefferson. The Kent boys with the cannon and the rest with shot guns. Then the celebration would begin!

The cannon would be shot off several times, each time followed by a volley from the shot guns. Then the whole outfit moved down to the corner of Taylor and Jefferson and repeated the gun salute. Then it was over the bridge to the corner of Front and Bridge to let off another round. From there it was back to the corner of Harrison and Jefferson to start the circle again. And they kept this up until 8am in the morning! In the afternoon the whole performance was repeated from 5pm until 9pm.

Fifty years later Velorus Kent remembered: “The merchants always furnished all the gun powder we wanted to use. The wonder today is to me why everyone in town didn’t go insane. Talk about fun. O boy! I don’t believe the present generation knows anything of it.”

Early Fourth of July’s

2009-07-04T18:41:00.001-04:00

The early settlers of Grand Ledge were always patriotic and willing and ready to show it.

We can even see this in our street names. They chose names from Presidents and Founding Fathers, as well as Liberty and Union.

July Fourth celebrations of the 1850s often took place at the Fair. The early settlers created a fair ground on Edmund Lampson’s land in what we consider downtown today. The Grounds ran along West Scott Street from Spring to Harrison, then over to Lincoln Street and back up to Spring and West Jefferson. The Fair Grounds included a one-third mile race track and horse racing was a common sight. The Grounds lasted a dozen or so years before the area was carved up into building lots for the growing town.

We may think war re-enactment is new, but for the July Fourth celebration of 1875 a re-enactment of the Revolutionary Battle of Bunker Hill was planned by the town. The men were divided into Colonial and British forces. A fort was constructed at the intersection of Madison and Front streets and this was base for the Colonial Force. The British Force gathered near our Masonic Temple today and marched over the wooden foot bridges that connected the islands to the Northside, then up the hill to Front Street. Once the battle began, our Colonial Boys drove the Red Coats to the fort and captured the whole bunch. Once the battle was won, both forces joined together and marched over the downtown bridge to women waiting on the Southside. Refreshments of lemonade, candy and peanuts were served.

For the Fourth of July 1899, it was decided a big show was in order. They held a re-enactment of the Cuban Navel Battle of Santiago from the Spanish-American War of the previous year. Men were divided into the Spanish Forces and the American Forces. Each side gathered boats launched into the river below the Opera House. With hundreds of spectators cheering on from the banks and the bridge, a glorious battle was fought with our American Boys winning the day!

Moving Depot

2009-06-20T11:10:00.001-04:00

In researching the past, sometimes you come across information that you think can not possibly be correct. Memories can fade over time, so I am always somewhat skeptical and like to get contemporary references when I can. Once in awhile, I come across stories that seemingly just do not fit with what we know of the past.

One such story was of a train depot on the Southside. Over the years, while researching other things, I had come across brief references to a depot behind the Chair Co. off Perry Street. Frankly, I never believed them. First, we all knew where the depots were: one on Union Street and one on Washington Street. Second, the railroad didn’t even cross the river until 1887.

However, my conclusions were proven to be totally false when I purchased a copy of an amazing old photograph that actually shows the train depot being moved over the trestle. I was very excited but had many questions. Whenever I need advice on anything railroad related, I turn to my cousin Mark Hershoren for assistance. Mark, who makes trains his hobby, is very familiar with the trains that once served the Grand Ledge area. Together we have pieced together this history.

It is important to note that railroads changed names and ownership very frequently.

The Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan RR, The Ionia and Lansing RR, The Detroit, Lansing and Northern RR, and The Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit RR all served the area and eventually all became the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western RR. This railroad itself would be merged with several others in 1900 to form the Pere Marquette RR.

In 1887 the trestle or High Bridge was completed. Also that same year the new passenger depot, designed by Ionia architect Claire Allen, was built on the Southside. If we look at maps today, there is still a triangular parcel of land own by the railroad between Gulf Street and Perry Street that once housed the building. There were disadvantages to having the depot in this location. It was out of the way and far from downtown and the popular Resort. Also it could only service trains on the new line that crossed the river, but not the original 1869 line on the Northside.

Both of these issues were solved in 1890 when the building was moved. Using two DL & N flat cars and pulled by locomotive #3 over the trestle, the passenger depot was placed at its new home on Washington Street. In its new location it was only a few blocks from Bridge Street and could handle trains from all the tracks that came into the village.

The Berry Corner

2009-06-09T16:36:00.001-04:00

The corner of East Jefferson and Taylor Streets has been one of the most prominent corners in the City for over 140 years.

In 1867 George N. Berry built his large home on the site. George Berry had come to Grand Ledge in 1865 at the age of 22 to visit relatives and friends from New York. The following year he returned with his new bride, Jennie, and they decided to make the town their home. George entered in the mercantile business and purchased several fashionable lots on East Jefferson. He chose the best lot on the corner for this own house.

In about 1871 Berry founded the Loan and Deposit Bank. At first this was run out of the back of his store, but eventually the bank grew until he became a full time banker. After the Great Fire of 1876, he built the Berry Block at 212-214 S. Bridge to house the bank

In 1888 Berry remodeled his own home, adding a front hall and dramatic four storey tower to the corner. About this time, he also began to sell some of his lots on Jefferson, giving way too many of the fine homes we see today. He was a great financier in the town, and in his later years became philanthropic. He donated land for both the Library and the Trinity Episcopal Church. Jennie Berry died in 1917 and George followed her in 1924. Their son Fred had his own grand home at 315 East Jefferson, so the Berry home was vacant for some time.

On February 20, 1930 St. Michael’s Catholic Church acquired the property. The building, with some remodeling was used for church services for the next ten years. In 1940 the fine house was demolished and a new church was built on the corner. To match the neighboring library and post office, the same brick was used from the local Grand Ledge Face Brick Co. After nearly 40 years on the corner, the Church moved to its current location on Edwards Street.

Looking for more space, the City purchased this visible corner in 1970. To make it look less like a church, the metal siding was added to cover up most of the church windows, including a large rose window that faced Jefferson Street. The front entrance was altered and the awning added.

In recent years the City Hall has expanded into 319 Taylor Street. This cottage was built in about 1880 and was home to the Brunger family for nearly 30 years. Russell Tinkham began his long tenure when he moved into the dwelling in 1936 after selling his much grander home on West Jefferson to Governor Fitzgerald.

Housing city government for nearly 40 years, City Hall makes this still one of the most important corners in Grand Ledge

Post Office and Naming Town

2009-06-02T20:01:00.001-04:00

To any fledgling pioneering community, the establishment of a post office is a proud moment signifying your settlement is here to stay. That is how local pioneers felt when Grand Ledge was awarded its Post Office on July 20, 1850. It had only been a few short years since the first daring families came to the dense forest of the area. Now the handful of settlers, still living in log cabins, had their own official Post Office.

As part of petitioning the government for the Office, a name had to be decided on for the hamlet. Edmund Lampson, Henry Trench and John Russell met at the log cabin of George Jones west of the village, at the corner of Oneida Road and Grand Ledge Hwy. Several names had been suggested by the town folk – Lampsonville, Woodville, Russellville, Rockville, and Ledgeville among them. . It was George Jones who declared “let us have a local name” and Russell agreed with him. They convinced the men that “Grand Ledge” would make a fine name for the new settlement.

Henry Trench was appointed the first Post Master and the first Post Office was an Official Mail Bag hanging in his log shanty near where the Opera House now stands. Mail had to be picked up in Lansing. The journey to Lansing was a long trek through the dense, untamed forest and no one made a regular trip of it. The Mail Bag was given to whoever happened to be going to Lansing, and the Lansing Office knew that who ever showed up with the Bag was authorized to carry the mail.

After a few years, Trench gave up the job and it passed to a series of local shopkeepers. Thus there was no permanent Post Office Building, just a Post Office Counter in which ever store was run by the Post Master.

J.S. Holmes was appointed as Post Master in 1872. Originally he ran the Office out of his wooden grocery store on South Bridge Street until the Great Fire of 1876. He then partnered with Michael McMullen to build the Union Block at 208-210 S. Bridge. The newspaper noted “Postmaster Holmes removed the Office into his new brick block on Monday last. The boxes are very conveniently arranged, both for the accommodation of the P.M. and clerks and the public. We now have as good an Office as there is in the county, and as near fire and burglar proof as could be expected.”

Wanting to concentrate his efforts as Post Master and Express Agent, J.S. Holmes sold his stationary and bookstore business to B.S. Pratt in 1884. The Post Office no longer needed to share space with any store goods. In 1891 J.S. Homes built the Holmes Block directly across the street at 211-213 S. Bridge and moved the Office there. About 1905 The Post Office moved again to the newly built Alexander Block at 108 E. Jefferson, where the bank drive-thu is today. The Post Office remained there until our current Office was erected in 1938.

My Mentors

2009-05-13T17:00:00.001-04:00

Many people have asked how I got involved in exploring in local history. I did not do it alone; I had mentors along the way.

Back when I was in high school the Historical Society ran a yearly essay contest. Students would research a topic of local history and write about it. I entered twice and one first prize both years. It was a wonderful program which I hope can be revived.

For both projects I had to learn how to do research in the historical achieves and old copies of The Independent. Most importantly I also learned to interview people who still had memories I could rely on. I started interviewing my own grandparents, who knew a good deal about the subjects I was working on. This helped build my confidence and then I was able to interview other people around town.

Once I had pulled my research notes together, I was lucky enough to have the assistance of Janna Page. Janna was a long-time member of the Historical Society, but more importantly she lived next door to my grandparents on West Jefferson, so I had known her for several years. She was able to show me how I could take my research and put it into a narrative. She guided me when I got stuck, pointing out where I needed more research, etc. She was a wonderful person, who helped me a great deal.

I also learned much from Lynda Trinklein. Lynda was a long-time fixture in Grand Ledge, serving on the City Council and even became our first female Mayor. For a few years, I helped her research the homes for the annual Holiday Home Tour. I learned not only by working directly with her, but by also reading the many home histories she had produced over the years.

Although we have somewhat different styles, Lynda’s writing taught me my most important lesson. Histories that just list dates and bland facts mean nothing. It is boring reading. History is all about people. What were their lives like? How did they live? What were their traditions, past-times, jobs, and social events? That is what makes historical stories interesting to me. Letting the reader look back and get a glimpse into their lives and how they lived.

Of course, my list of influences would not be complete without Marilyn Smith. For decades, Marilyn has been a community advocate. I can’t imagine what Grand Ledge would be like now without all the hard work she has put in over the years. When I was still in high school she saw my interest in local history and took me under her wing. She helped me volunteer with the Society and included me in all aspects, from the archives, to the museum, to the Home Tour, and whatever else needed doing. Marilyn always encouraged me to pursue researching history.

It just shows you that mentors can be found all over our town. We can encourage students today and develop our community leaders for tomorrow.

The Candy Lady

2009-05-01T18:21:00.002-04:00

Do you remember the Candy Lady? The D & C Store’s candy counter was a frequent stop for kids and their parents for decades and one face was always there to serve them. If you said you saw the “Candy Lady”, everyone in town would know you meant Esther Haueter.

She was hired in 1944 at the age of twenty-one. She and her sister Ethel Peabody had worked together at Beedle Brothers, another dime store down the street at 308 S. Bridge, where Ethel was the manager. Both sisters left that store and went to work for D & C, but Ethel would soon leave to become an upholsterer at the Chair Co.

Esther remained working at the candy counter where most of the candy sold was in bulk. Customers would come to the glass counter and look over the wide selection. They sold wonderful candy like: chocolate stars, chocolate chunks, chocolate bridge mix, chocolate party mix, chocolate covered peanuts, jelly beans, sweet tarts, roasted peanuts, robins eggs, butterscotch and many more. When customers decided on what they wanted, the Candy Lady would scoop out the candy, and then very carefully drop the candy piece by piece into a scale. If you wanted 25 cents worth of chocolate stars, she would weight them out perfectly until it reached 25 cents worth. Your candy would go into a small wax paper bag and you would take it up to cashier to pay.

Employees at the Dime Store got a discount; she would buy yarn and crochet baby blankets and afghans for family, friends and VFW veterans. She worked Saturdays but had Tuesdays off. As kids we always knew we could count on her on Tuesdays to take us to appointments or drive us to Lansing. Esther remained with D & C until she turned 65 years old. She retired after 44 years of service as the town’s Candy Lady. At the time of her retirement, the State Legislature in Lansing passed a resolution honoring her for her years of service.

Esther Haueter, my great-aunt, was born just north of Grand Ledge on State Road in Eagle Township. When she was thirteen, her father Fred bought a farm on Tallman Road at the end of West Main Street. She would continue to live there for the next fifty years. She passed away in 2004 and would have been 86 years old this year on March 16^th.

Babcock Coal Mine

2009-04-29T18:38:00.001-04:00

W.J. Babcock was a farmer, businessman and local entrepreneur. He owned land on both sides of the river, including parts of today’s Fitzgerald Park and Lincoln Brick Park. He also operated what may have been the largest coal mine in the area. The Babcock Mine was one of the largest and longest in operation.

A historian in 1880 wrote: “A fine quality of soft coal for use as fuel is mined near Grand Ledge. The vein averages from eighteen inches to two and a half feet in thickness, and on the farm of W.J. Babcock, north of Grand Ledge, near the county line; it has been found three feet in thickness. Mr. Babcock has mined more extensively than any other person in the vicinity, and at one time shipped large quantities to Detroit, Ionia, and Grand Rapids. He says it will yield 6000 tons per acre on his farm. The coal on his place is about sixty feet below the surface, yet he does not have to shaft to reach it and a natural drainage is obtained to the river.”

W.J. Babcock owned 100 acres at the end of West Main Street on Tallman Road. Begun in the 1870’s, the Babcock Mine’s design was typical of most mines in the area. A cave-like entrance was begun at the river bank and quarried into the rock Ledge until the coal seam was reached. The mine shaft snaked back and forth, following the coal.

The entrance to the Babcock Mine is believed to have been near the north end of the dam. The coal was removed and put in small wooden carts on miniature rail track. It was then hauled up the river bank. Here the coal was stored until ready for sale.

The mining operation stretched far under the farm above. Eventually the coal being mined was so far from the river bank it became necessary to find a more efficient way to bring the coal out. A second shaft was opened to replace the river entrance. This new shaft was vertical and went straight down sixty feet to reach the mine below. The new mine opening was located near the barnyard, in the middle of the apple orchard. A hoist house was built over the shaft with a pulley to bring up the coal. A pump was used to help keep the mine dry as it was prone to flooding.

A dirt lane ran from the corner of West Main and Tallman Road along the river back to the dam and the mining shack and operation. This lane was extended in 1916 to access the newly built brick factory nearby. Later, a second road branched off and ran through the orchard to the barnyard and the new shaft and miners shack.

By 1936 when the farm was bought by Fred Haueter, the mine was owned and operated by a Grand Rapids firm. They continued working the mine until about 1943. Thus the Babcock Mine was in operation for around 70 years and was likely the longest running mine in the area.

Coal Mines

2009-04-21T17:25:00.001-04:00

The same geological forces that produced our wonderful Ledges also left behind coal seams in our area. Eaton County is on the southern edge of Michigan’s coal basin which lies under Central Michigan. The coal is soft and of a lower quality, but being found locally was a cheap source for fuel.

It did not take the early settlers of Grand Ledge long to notice the coal outcropping as they explored the Ledges. By the 1870s coal mining operations were well underway here. The mines in Grand Ledge were found on both sides of the river, starting downtown and extending out past Lawson Road. From the 1870s to 1940s it is believed that as many as 30 coal mines operated in this stretch of the river.

Grand Ledge's mines included slope and vertical mines. Most mines were a slope mine along the river bank where the miners entered openings dug into the river bank and crawled into the mine to the coal seam. Some of the mines that were not near the river were entered down vertical shafts. When these shafts were later abandoned some filled with water and remain today as ponds with very deep centers.

Once the men were underground they lit lamps and followed the mine as it snaked haphazardly back and forth, following the largest deposits of coal. It was not a pleasant working environment- water pooled under their feet, the air smelled and was full of dust, despite attempts at ventilation. Miners had to walk stooped over or even crawl to the coal seam. Reaching the coal, they chipped and hammered it from the surrounding rock. Many times miners chipped away at the coal seam while laying on their bellies in wet mud that made up the floors of the mines. Timbers helped reinforce the mine as coal was removed.

One well remembered mine was the Tinkham Mine. This was located on the Northside near the Trestle. This often provided coal to local residents. One memorable photograph shows a teenage Bill Pearson Sr. hauling a bag of coal from the Tinkham Mine on a sled during the coal shortage in the winter of 1918. Young Bill was delivering the coal to his father’s Barbershop on North Bridge Street.

Old Grange Hall

2009-04-14T17:07:00.001-04:00

One of the oldest buildings in the downtown area may not be apparent at first. If fact you may not even notice it at all. But the old building has seen a lot of changes in our town since it was built.

It was back in late 1870s when local farmers joined together to form a local chapter of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, or simply The Grange. Local chapters began to be formed all over the Midwest in the late 1860s and many continue their work today. The Grange was a fraternal order of farmers aimed at bettering their lives through social, economic and political goals. By the 1870s their organizations had become widespread and today we can thank The Grange for such improvements as Rural Free Mail Delivery, Cooperative Extension Services and Farm Credit Systems among many others.

The local Grangers leased a parcel of land from Mrs. Alice Reed. The property was at the corner of Scott and Franklin Streets at what is today approximately 602 E. Scott Street. It is interesting to note that at the time this parcel was on the very edge of the town and was surrounded by farmland. After leasing the property, the farmers set about building their Grange Hall on the site. This was a two story building facing Scott Street with a one story extension at the side along Franklin Street. At the time, Franklin Street was a dead end and did not curve around to join Lincoln Street. The area behind the Hall sloped down to a dairy farm where Belknap Street is today and was known as Grange Hill. Sometime in the early 1880s The Grand Ledge Grange either disbanded or merged with another chapter and left their Hall behind.

In 1886, local entrepreneur Peter Blake purchased the building. Blake owned farms in the area and among his business interests ran a Cheese Factory. Blake had just purchased the Riverside Rink downtown and was in the process of converting it into an opera house for local entertainments. Once he acquired “Old Grange Hall”, he removed the single story extension and moved the two story building downtown and placed it on a new foundation adjacent to the back of Blake’s Opera House.

Over the years the first floor was used for storage and the second floor was a residence. In the early 1900’s when Burr Sackett purchased the Opera House, he and his family lived in the upper floor of Grange Hall. Later the area was used for storage until it was remodeled in the 1990 for use by the Chamber of Commerce.

Next time your downtown, take a look at the Old Grange Hall. One of the oldest buildings downtown that still has a lot of life left in it.

Funeral Home long tradition

2009-04-12T11:57:00.002-04:00

With the recent passing of my Uncle Bob Haueter, I was reminded again of the important work Peters & Murray does and how they have served local families in our community for over 85 years.

The funeral home can trace its history back to Russell Smith. Beginning in 1922, Russell Smith offered mortician services to local families. At the time, funerals were held in the home, and morticians were called in to perform their services.

In the 1930s the idea of having a community “home” just for the holding of funerals led to the creation of three local funeral homes, including the forerunner of Peters & Murray.. In the early 1930s Smith partnered with Mr. Hoag and purchased the old Samuel Chadwick House at 301 E. Jefferson. At the time it had been most recently used as a fraternal lodge hall. The Smith & Hoag Funeral Home remolded it for their own use.

Soon after, in 1936, they hired Leslie Peters, a recent graduate of Worsham Collage, to join them as a mortician. Leslie and his wife Florence lived above the funeral home.

In 1939 Peters partnered with Joseph Otto to form Peters & Otto Funeral Home and together they purchased the business. The partnership was short lived however, and soon it became Peters Funeral Home. Like many funeral homes, Peters also used their hearse to offered ambulance services to the area.

In 1960 more parking was needed. The Peters purchased an empty lot at 319 E. Jefferson from Robert and Marian Hamill which was used as a large ornamental garden. The home next to Peters at 309 E. Jefferson, which they owned, was moved down the street to the 319 lot. Leslie and Florence Peters soon moved into the home.

At about this time Tom Murray came to Grand Ledge to serve his apprenticeship with Leslie Peters A few years later, after graduating from Worsham Collage, Tom became a partner in 1965 and Peters & Murray was established. In 1984 Tom’s son John joined the business and in 1993 became the principal partner. The Murray family continues a tradition started back in 1922 to serve local families in their time of need.

The Grand Ledge Times

2009-04-09T18:11:00.004-04:00

Newspapers have often been used to support one political party or theory over another. Papers tended to change ownership and philosophies rapidly as each new owner promoted their own views.

Such was the case in 1884 when local Grand Ledge businessmen began to publish a new weekly newspaper, “The Vidette.” (Vidette is an old military term meaning to be on watch or to observe and report) James Winnie, owner of Winnie Hardware, was the political editor. The newspaper was formed to support the Greenback Party. The Greenbacks supported sound fiscal policy (hence the term “greenback”), an income tax, an eight hour workday, and allowing women the right to vote. Such radical ideas were not well tolerated and the national Party soon disbanded.

In 1886, the newspaper was sold to Charles Warner, who changed the name to “The Graphic.” Newspapers of this name were often filled with illustrations. M.L. Phares soon partnered with Warner, and eventually bought the entire enterprise. About 1889 M.H. Gunsenhouser purchased the paper and with his own political leanings he changed the name to “The Republican” and championed the causes of that Party.

July 1, 1902 the newspaper was purchased by C.W. Waring who changed the name again to “The Grand Ledge Times” and it became independent in its political views. The Times prospered and was later owned by W.H. Housman.

In about 1923 Charles Clarke purchased the paper. He and his brother William had owned the Grand Ledge Independent from 1900-1921. Then due to failing health, they sold the business. After recovering his health, Charles decided to return to journalism and he purchased The Times. His health caught up with him however and in 1925 Clarke sold the newspaper to F.A. Bryce, owner of The Grand Ledge Independent, who merged the two newspapers.

Hinman early pioneer

2009-04-08T19:35:00.000-04:00

The Hinman Family was one of the pioneers of Eagle Township. They farmed near the Looking Glass River on Hinman Road. The biography below comes from the 1880s:

The name of Joseph Hinman is closely associated with official service in Eagle Township and as a representative of farming interests he is also well known. He was born in McKane County, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1834, and is a son of Curtis and Almira S. (De Witt) Hinman, who were natives of the Empire state.

In 1838 our subject's parents came to Michigan, settling in Oakland County, but the following year removed to Eagle Township, and the father began farming on section 15 in what is known as the Grand River country. He there bought eighty acres of land, to which he added until at his death he owned a large estate. In the early days he frequently made trips to Pontiac to mill and then marketed his grain at Detroit. He passed away at the age of sixty years, while his wife died previously at the age of forty-seven years.

Joseph Hinman received limited educational privileges, pursuing his studies in a log schoolhouse on the Eagle frontier, where the methods of instruction were very primitive. He early began work on a farm. His father was a carpenter but Joseph Hinman preferred the labor of the fields and at the age of twenty one years he started out in life on his own account. Attracted by the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak he went west to Colorado, and afterward to Oregon, where he remained for two years. He then returned to Eagle Township purchasing eighty acres of his present farm. He has added to the place until he now owns two hundred and seventy acres, the greater part of which has been brought to a high state of cultivation. He has erected modern buildings and has one of the finest farms in Clinton County. He has assisted in clearing much land in this locality and in his own business operations has displayed the unfaltering energy and determination which always constitute a safe basis for success.

With the family he shared in all of the hardships and privations of pioneer life as well as its pleasures and can remember when Clinton County was largely an unsettled district and was but eleven years of age when he killed his first bear. On the 17th of May, 1862, Mr. Hinman was married to Miss Sarah Goss, a daughter of David Goss, of Westphalia Township, and they now have three children: Maud, John C.,and Ada He is one of the pioneer settlers of the county and his memory carries with it many pictures of the early days when the forests were uncut and land unclaimed.

In his political views Mr. Hinman is independent. He has served as supervisor for two terms, as township treasurer for three terms and in other minor offices, the duties of which he has discharged with capability and promptness. He is a man of sound judgment and his utilization of opportunity and carefully directed labors have made him one of the substantial agriculturists of his community.

Abstracts tell history

2009-04-08T19:17:00.009-04:00

For those who own their home, you know that when you purchased it you had to get title insurance to ensure your deed was free and clear and that no one else had any rights to any part of the property. In years past, this was done using an Abstract of Title for each property.

Abstracts are really wonderful documents. Physically, they are printed on several sheets of legal sized paper, bound together at the top. Starting on the bottom page, it will list every owner of your parcel of land. For the Grand Ledge area, Abstracts should all begin about 1836 when the first land was purchased by speculators from the Federal Government.

The Abstract will then trace every legal event of the property through out its history. It will list every owner, property descriptions, easements etc. It will often include details from wills and how heirs divided and inherited property.

The document does not trace homes or other buildings on the property. It can not tell you when your house was built. But sometimes you get clues. Older entries will include the purchase price and if you see a sudden jump in the price of a property, it is likely to include a home. This does not always work however, in later years they would tend to list the price as “$1 and other valuable property” so you really never know how much the lot cost.

In addition to the property history, Abstracts are valuable in other ways. They are great sources of information for genealogical research. They often detail family members and relationships. They can also shed light on other historical points. For instance I have seen an Abstract that had an old property description that included “in a line running past the old abandoned Ash Kiln.”; thus giving us more clues to our area history.

In spite of their historical usefulness, Abstracts are no longer used in real estate. Title Insurance has replaced them. Sadly many people simply toss them out in spite of the wealth of information they hold. If anyone has an Abstract to their property, I would encourage them to donate it to the Historical Society to put in their archives. If you do not want to part with it, the Society would be happy to make a copy for them to keep. Such a wealth of information can be gathered from these old documents.

Whislte while you work

2009-04-04T13:55:00.000-04:00

While watching the recent Academy Awards on TV, I liked the moment when Kate Winslet, during her acceptance speech, was looking for her parents in the audience and asked her father to whistle for her. Her father did and in a split second she turned and knew exactly where her parents were sitting. Watching this I thought to myself, she must have been raised in the country.

I myself come from a family of whistlers. My grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and some of my Cousins were all able to give a good whistle. Not the type of whistling you see on The Andy Griffith Show as music, but whistles as calls. I was always told you can hear a good strong whistle much farther then a shout or a yell. In the field or garden, a whistle carries a long distance.

Never being able to whistle myself, I was always amazed by how loud they could be. It seems most of the Haueters could whistle, yet everyone had their own technique. Some used only their lips, tucking them in just right to produce a loud sound. Others would add a pinky finger inside one corner of the mouth. Yet others would place a thumb at one corner and the first finger at the other corner.

However they produced the whistle, we were all taught to respond as soon as we heard it. It meant they needed you, and you had to go and find out why.

News of 1936
Stuart Brunger was honor guest at a family dinner at his home last Thursday, the occasion being his birthday. The young man expressed a wish for pumpkin pie, rather then birthday cake and his wish was granted. In the evening the group made a theatre party to see Shirley Temple in “Poor Little Rich Girl”. He received a number of nice gifts.

Forrest Spencer, of Spencer’s Shoe Store at 226 S. Bridge, reports that last month’s gross sales were twenty percent higher then those of the corresponding month last year and that hosiery sales were 38% higher.

The two dugouts for the New Fitzgerald Field have been completed and a dressing room 12 x 14 feet is being erected. This building will contain a stove and will be a place to put on skates in winter, don baseball suites in summer by players so desiring and for general utility purposes. All of the fine acquisitions are donations by Fitzgerald friends.

Ralph, youngest son of Mr.& Mrs. Floyd Merritt, fell from his tricycle recently, cutting a bad gash under his chin, which required several stitches. The little lad is getting alone nicely.

Auction Notice – Ernest Jones at the Jones Homestead. This farm has been in the Jones family for ninety-three years, his father settling there in 1843. He is no longer able to work the farm and will sell at public auction at his place, 1 ½ mile west of Grand Ledge on M-39 (now M-43). Items include 2 work mares, 2 jersey cows, 19 breeding ewes, 2 lambs as well as household items. Terms – Cash Only.

Raymond A. Latting

2009-04-03T20:05:00.000-04:00

Attorney R.A. Latting was a prominent member of the City for decades. He lived in a grand home at 304 West Jefferson. In 1913 he built the Latting-Porter House for his daughter in his own side yard. This lovely home at 238 W. River Street has sweeping views of the river below. We learn more about Latting from his 1936 obituary:

“All of Grand Ledge was shocked and saddened when the word went out Monday afternoon that Raymond A. Latting, a leading citizen, had passed on. Mr. Latting, one of Michigan’s outstanding attorneys and one of the best known men in this locality had conducted legal business from Lakes to the Gulf and from coast to coast. Raymond A. Latting was born near St Johns in Clinton County Nov 1, 1873 and passed away Monday afternoon (10/05/1936) at St Lawrence Hospital.

He was of early American stock, his Quaker ancestors having arrived in this country soon after the landing of the Mayflower and settled in Oyster Bay, near which is a town bearing the name, Lattingtown. As a boy he attended school at St Johns, after which he spent a year at what was then Michigan Agricultural Collage (MSU). He then took his law course at the University of Michigan and it is much to his credit that he worked his way through and was graduated in 1896, in a class that has furnished a number of Michigan’s outstanding men.

After a year in Grand Rapids he came to Grand Ledge and entered into partnership with W.R. Clarke, which continued for twelve and one half years after which Mr Latting continued the business alone. He was a leader in civic affairs, president of the Chamber of Commerce during the term just passed, was president of the Grand Ledge Face Brick Co, and president of the Eaton County Bar Association.

The funeral was held at the Smith and Hoag Funeral Home, Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock, with Rev. Ray W Caldwell of Lansing officiating. The body was buried in the Latting crypt of the Mausoleum at Oakwood Cemetery.

The funeral address given by Rev Caldwell was most beautiful and appropriate and the great banks of flowers looked as if heaven had fairly opened up and strewed the path to the beyond with the choicest of floral beauty. Those who bore the remains to their final resting place in the mausoleum were: Lem Dunkin, Howell Bouck, Frank Thoman, W.R. Clarke, Wayne Robinson and Floyd Bair.

A Great Civic Loss
If we take a picture of the last third of the century, and see what has been accomplished in Grand Ledge along civic lines, we will see the figure of R.A. Latting in the important promotion roll. The responsibility of putting over every project of any size has always fallen into his lap! Grand Ledge has suffered a bigger loss then we at first realize in the demise of Raymond A. Latting.”

Goodrich Block a Gem

2009-04-02T17:16:00.000-04:00

One of the architectural gems of Grand Ledge had an unfortunately short life, but remains of it can still be seen today. The ornate Goodrich Block was the pride of the town during its short life.

It was most likely Chauncey Goodrich who was responsible for building the Goodrich Block. Chauncey was born in New York about 1808. He moved his wife Lydia and children to Michigan in about 1856. They first settled on a farm in Delhi Township. In the 1860s the family moved to a larger farm in Oneida Township.

At about this same time, Goodrich bought a double parcel at the corner of Bridge and River Streets. During this early stage in the development of downtown all other stores were built of wood, some little more the plank shacks. Goodrich decided to construct his new block of brick. When a structure was one storefront wide it was called a “Building” when it was two or more storefronts wide it was called a “Block”- as in a block of stores.

The Goodrich Block was easily the most magnificent structure in town. It was approximately 50 feet square and three stories tall. Built in the Second Empire Style, the third storey featured a wonderful mansard roof covered in patterned slate tiles and cast iron cresting. Mansard roofs have always been rare in Grand Ledge, and this was the first and most grand.

In addition to the two storefronts (at 200 and 202 S. Bridge) the building housed many offices on the second floor and a community meeting hall on the third floor. The Masons, Oddfellows, and Grangers all held meetings here. The building was in such demand that within just a few years of opening a two-storey addition was added to the rear of the building, doubling it in size.

Tragically the Goodrich Block met its end in December 1876. Flames were discovered in the grocery store of George Coryell at 202 S. Bridge around midnight. Although the fire station was nearby, the fire engine was useless. The fire brigade had been practicing that afternoon and left water in the fire hose causing it to freeze solid. The fire raged on and destroyed not only the Goodrich Block but most of the wooden buildings on that side of the street in the block. While trying to remove goods from the Hixon Grocery Store, Benny Smith was trapped and killed in the conflagration.

Within a few months merchants began to rebuild the area with the brick stores that stand today. The cellars of the Goodrich Block were left behind after the fire and were boarded over for a time. Within a couple years a new building was built on the corner. This was later followed by its twin next door at 202 S. Bridge. The stone basement under 200-202 S. Bridge is still in use today and is all that remains of the magnificent Goodrich Block that it once supported.