“The Worst or Best of Times?”
The President of the United States died who guided the nation through the Great Depression and passed away before a world war ended. The government asked for more rationing. A warm spring arrived, and farm officials already were warned that a summer drought might take place. While draft numbers seemed to slow down and level off, men kept leaving for induction to the military. Young men died on the war fronts, and notices kept arriving at the homes of those who had been killed.
It was April 1945 in Gratiot County.
FDR Dies & Gratiot Reacts
News reached Gratiot County in the late afternoon of Thursday, April 12, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was dead. For many younger residents in the county, FDR was the only President they had known in their lifetime. Roosevelt, age 63, was the first President to die in office during wartime, and he had served twelve years, one month, and eight days. The President’s death seemed especially sad given that the war in Europe was headed toward its conclusion.
On the following Saturday, life in Gratiot County slowed down in respect to FDR’s funeral at Hyde Park, New York. Special memorial services took place at Alma High School on Friday and again at Alma College on Sunday. At Alma High School, Principal Ward Shults delivered a memorial address before the student body.
A naval ceremony scheduled at Alma College was now scaled back and changed to a memorial service for Roosevelt. President Roy Hamilton delivered the main address at Alma College’s chapel service with several townspeople in attendance. Regardless of where people were on that Saturday, they stopped at 4 p.m. Gratiot time for a moment of silence in honor of the President.
Several ministers in Alma spoke about the President from their pulpits on Sunday after his death. Other groups paused throughout the coming days to honor FDR. The St. Louis Rotary Club devoted time to a eulogy of the President. The Ithaca Boy Scouts assembled on the main street in Ithaca next to a flag pole for a short memorial tribute to President Roosevelt. Recently freed POW, Private Bruce Fields, offered prayer, and the group recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The city displayed the flag at half-mast.
It was hard to believe for many that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was gone. Yet, the country moved on to another chapter as it sought to conclude World War II.
Rationing
At the start of April, a nationwide crackdown took place on counterfeit ration books. The item most copied dealt with liquor stamps, so war ration book number four took effect on April 1. Rationing boards hoped that by issuing new books and new liquor stamps, everyone who wanted to purchase whiskey or gin legitimately could have one bottle throughout the summer.
In addition to alcohol, most Gratiot County residents seemed to be concerned about sugar rationing news. No canning permits were available until May 1, and housewives had to apply directly to the rationing board for sugar canning permits. Each person received no more than 20 pounds each and no more than 160 pounds per family.
A Boy Scout scrap pickup in Alma picked up 14,900 pounds of paper, along with about one ton of tin cans. Carl Shook supervised the pickup, and different businesses in Alma donated trucks. Over in St. Louis, leaders planned another tin pickup. A downtown window display showed residents the many uses and needs for tin for the war effort.
The Alma Montgomery Ward store realized that it was hard to advertise spring merchandise due to rationing and the war effort. It pledged to use its advertising space to support National Victory Garden programs and government-sponsored appeals.
One of the most extensive drives in April asked for clothing donations for the United Clothing Collection. Alma residents needed to donate 40,000 pounds of clothing and bedding for needy people in different parts of the world. Citizens were encouraged to donate clean clothing that had been washed but not ironed. There was no regulation about the size or shape of the items, and all age groups needed. Different locations for drop-offs included the Strand Theater lobby, Rademacher’s Garage, Home Fuel and Oil Company, Gratiot Farmer’s supply, the post office lobby, to name a few. All six schools in the city also operated as drop-off points. In all, Alma had fifteen depositories, and then the sorting and packing of clothes began as the next step would be to send the clothing to a central depot. As April went along, the response from Alma residents was slow. As late as April 19, the city was far from its goal of 40,000 pounds, and a week later, it was not even half, even though people only had to place the items on the curb. If you lived in Ithaca, the American Legion Auxillary and the Ithaca schools headed the drive. Residents could also leave things at the depot beneath the Gratiot County Abstract office. To help with the drive, the Student Council at Ithaca High School planned a Juke Box dance and asked for discarded clothing for admission.
Over at St. Louis, Roy Chatfield and Russell Carlson led the clothing drive and asked people to bring donations to the Red Cross rooms. The St. Louis drive anticipated ending on April 8, and Girl Scout troops in St. Louis planned on a house to house campaign to ask for clothing. St. Louis hoped to raise eight tons of apparel through all of its donations.
When it came to preparing people for the Victory Garden program, the city of Alma announced that it had provided 68 community plots in 1944. Those who wished to have a garden plot in 1945 needed to contact E.L. Mutchler at telephone 861 Red. Interested gardeners could also contact the Binkley’s, Mrs. Madeline Ross Smith, Charles O. Ward, John Luchini, or Ren Smith. The Gratiot County Agricultural Agent reminded gardeners that not all seeds were the same in terms of quality for harvest. Over twenty different vegetables and their best respective seed brands appeared in county newspapers. Tomato growers could plant Victor Early, Stokesdale Midseason, and Rutgers Lake brands. To protect the gardens, Alma dog and cat owners needed to monitor their pets and keep them from disturbing area gardens. Dogs were easier to control than cats.
At the start of April, the county board issued 98 certificates for tires. Most of these (82) went for grade 1 tires. At the end of April, another 93 permits went for more tires.
Any citizens wanting coal or coke to burn had to fill out a declaration card with their dealer before May 15. Only eighty percent of last year’s quota would be available in 1945.
The Office of Price Administration from the district office in Saginaw sent a representative to Ithaca to help merchants fill out pricing charts. The OPA stated that many Ithaca merchants filled out their charts incorrectly and needed to fix them. A similar meeting also took place at the Alma High School auditorium to address OPA order Number 580, instructing merchants on how to fill out charts to set ceiling prices for goods.
Housewives needed to try harder and contribute more household fats to help with the nation’s low fats and oils supplies. When butchering time came, housewives needed to avoid waste fats, either for hogs or cattle.
Amidst all of the rationing news that month, the government said that rationing would continue for some time after the war ended. In fact, an OPA representative from the Saginaw District, to which Gratiot County belonged, told the Ithaca Rotary Club that they should expect rationing to go for a “considerable period after the war.”
In one special case, Alma citizens were asked to help donate household items for Arthur Lee and his wife. A disabled World War I veteran, Lee, and his wife lost their home in the 600 block on Bridge Street to a fire.
Finally, newspapers noted that Miss Ethel Gould of St. Louis salvaged and prepared over 1,000 tin cans for St. Louis pickups. The Alma Record commented, “This rates her as one of the biblical Marthas, or one of the Marys and a good patriot of the U.S.A.”
Red Cross
The work of the Red Cross in Gratiot County continued in April. Miss Marian Blitz, a Red Cross representative from Grand Rapids, came to Alma to speak to the Gratiot County Nurses’ Association members. The Army had a goal of recruiting 5,000 more women as nurses by May 1, 1945. While all nurses in the county with A-1 classification had reported for war duty, Blitz told possible recruits that they could complete a home nursing course in as little as 12 hours. The training was also available at the Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek to train local groups.
The county’s recent Red Cross War Fund campaign raised $31,288.68 and surpassed its goal of $25,700. The National Chairman, Colby M. Chester, sent a letter to county chairman Dr. Stanley C. Brown of Ithaca expressing appreciation for the county’s support of the campaign. Areas like District Number 5 demonstrated how the Red Cross drive exceeded expectations. Ashley raised $571.25; Elba Township, $1113.25; Perrinton $475. 80; Middleton, $619.00; and North Shade township, $594.63. The district ended up being over $800 above its quota.
In the window of the Gratiot County Red Cross Home Service room in Ithaca, people could examine the German war trophies sent home and now were on loan. German flags, a helmet, officer’s cap, armband, money, and a propaganda paper in German signed by General Eisenhower were just some of the things on display.
Farming in April 1945
Problems awaited Gratiot County farmers as they looked to the upcoming farming season.
There were plenty of calls for farmers to grow more crops. Libby McNeill and Libby tried to persuade farmers to sign contracts to produce pickles in the county. The company offered a guaranteed contract for prices as well as a secure market.
Both the Alma and St. Louis sugar beet factories wanted farmers to sign more beet contracts. More than 900 farmers signed beet contracts with the St. Louis factory, and the factory’s minimum goal was 9000 Gratiot acres. The sugar companies proclaimed that a farmer could net a minimum of $20 to $30 profit per acre, which was ten times the amount made in the late 1930s. Bean storge stocks were at a very low level, and farmers were encouraged to grow soy and white pea beans. Gratiot County led the state to plant reed canary grass, which was best suited for low, wet places. A coarse grass, it made excellent pasture, average hay, and a good seed crop.
The Gratiot Dairy Herd Improvement Association made up of 360 cows, produced 276,624 pounds of milk and butterfat in March. The herd also had 13,996 pounds of butter. Kenneth McNabb of Ithaca and Arthur Parrish of Breckenridge were just a few of the farmers in the association.
Farmers heard about possible drought conditions in 1945 based on reports in Central and South America. Australia also suffered from its worst drought in history. Would these conditions ultimately reach mid-Michigan? That was a question for farmers.
Because of labor shortages in factories, a need for fertilizer occurred early in the spring. It was not clear if it paid to fertilize corn in the county, and farmers were urged to be cautious with their supplies. Concerns about adequate farm labor for 1945 also rested upon the minds of Gratiot farmers. The county agricultural agent wanted county farmers to tap all available farm help before relying on outside workers. Any farmer looking for adult or teenage workers needed to call the agent’s office for information on farm help.
Farmers were urged to do their part to help meet the county’s goal for the United Nations Clothing Collection program. While towns and villages in the county were holding drives, farm families were asked to bring clothing into Alma or other locations to contribute clothing. Hopefully, Gratiot County would do its share to give unused clothing that would benefit unfortunate people in Europe due to bombings and the loss of their homes.
Lastly, the Office of Price Administration threatened actions against anyone buying black-market meat in the county. Farmers and slaughterers in the Alma and St. Louis areas came under investigation, with both buyers and sellers of black-market meat facing severe consequences. Charles W. Colburn of Alma was one such individual named in the inquiry and Harry Burt of St. Louis. Both men faced arraignment in Bay City on May 1.
Those Who Served
Sergeant Bryant Betts of Alma served in New Guinea for several months and sent word that he was recovering from malaria. Staff Sergeant Dudley Erickson of Alma arrived in France and served with the Air Transport Command of the United States Army Forces, where his assignment dealt with the chemical warfare section. Louis Schneider of Alma started a new floor covering business and continued working hard without the three sons he sent off to serve the country. Eldest son Louis R. Schneider served as a lieutenant in the 380th Air Service Group in Karachi, India. Lieutenant Theodore J. Schneider was in the air service and served at Childress, Texas Army Airport. Youngest son Private Eugene N. Schneider, went into the Army in late 1944 and fought with the 60th Infantry in Germany. Word came to Alma that Private Fred Guild, Jr. fought at Bastogne with the 101st Airborne Division. Private Marvin Clark, a truck driver in France, entered his eighth European country in 2 ½ years of service. Lieutenant LaVern Doepker of Alma received the Bronze Star for his service during the Battle of the Bulge while fighting with the 106th Infantry Division. Corporal Charles Simonovic of St. Louis received his third Bronze Star in six months overseas. Simonovic now entered his fifth European country in Germany. Private Floyd Freed of Alma served with the 3833rd Gasoline Supply Company in France, which moved over 16, 000,000 gallons of gasoline and oil to the fighting fronts. Staff Sergeant Leslie Romine of Alma had been recently promoted and was somewhere in France with the 1246th Labor Supply Company. Lieutenant Jack Eastman completed a B-17 bombing mission over Berlin with the 15th Air Force. Clara Wolford of St. Louis, a WAC since December 1942, was promoted to Staff Sergeant. Wolford served in England and France as a chief telephone operator in a communications unit. Not yet age 25, Wolford had served overseas for twenty months.
Private Donald Good of St.Louis continued to send home letters after he crossed the Rhine River with the 39th Infantry. He described himself as another “dirty dogface” who had just dug his third fox hole in one day. Staff Sergeant Gwendell Boyer of Ithaca received an air medal for service as an aerial gunner based in England. The Austin family of Elwell had four sons in the military: Leon (Pacific), John (Great Lakes Pacific), Ira (guarding POWs at Camp Fannin), and Laurence (Pacific). Lawrence Shively of Ithaca received a citation for his service aboard the USS President Jackson. Shively saw action at Iwo Jima. Private Opal Stead of Ithaca served as a WAC and was at Fort Custer. She had been working at the Postal Directory of the Post Office. Corporal Julius Zatik of Breckenridge was in Germany with the 182nd Field Artillery Battalion in the 6th Army Group. Zatik had been near the Maginot Line firing 155 mm. howitzers. Private John Trefil sent home a large box of mementos from Germany, including a large German flag and money, among other things.
Over in Italy, Private Leland Perry’s unit, the 88th Division, commemorated one year on the Italian war front. The division saw action starting in the Garigliano River area, and most of these men made up the first all-selective service infantry division to see action in Europe. Perry sent home an article commemorating the division’s efforts in Italy. Corporal Donald Bigler served with the 403rd Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion in Italy’s Po Valley.
In the Pacific Theatre, MM/ 3C James Wolfe of Alma received a citation for his work when his ship, the USS President Jackson, which landed the first troops on Iwo Jima from February 19 to March 6, 1945. Birdseye Ringle of Hamilton Township appeared in a photograph giving first aid to a Japanese child in Okinawa. Both Staff Sergeant Earl Hall of Alma and Private Walt Hartig of St. Louis had lived close to each other in Gratiot County. However, they finally met while fighting the Japanese in the Philippines. Hall was with the 150th Field Artillery Battalion; Hartig was in the motor section. While fighting in the Zambales Mountains, the two met and discovered that they were practically neighbors. Frank Starry of St. Louis fought alongside the Chinese against Japanese troops with the 475th Infantry. Charles Randall of Perrinton just made staff sergeant in the Philippines. Overseas for fifteen months, Randall had been injured on Luzon. Sergeant Virgil Nelson sent home a box of things from the Philippines, including a Japanese flag, watch, pen, and money.
Here at home, Paul VanAlstine of Riverdale completed his first steps at the Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, Illinois. Randall Weeks of Alma reported for duty at the Atlantic Amphibious training base at Camp Bradford, Virginia, and expected to gain training aboard the LST (landing ship, tank). Marine Sergeant Don Zinn had been discharged and sent home due to illness. Zinn enlisted in November 1940. Private Romaine Oswald was expected home very soon from New Guinea. Corporal Lloyd Eberly, the former superintendent of Fulton Schools, continued to teach at the AAF Convalescent Hospital at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. Eberly taught geography to approximately 30 to 40 men in each class at least twice a week. The former superintendent’s job was to get injured men’s minds off their injuries and think about something else for a little while.
Letters Home to Gratiot County
Letters continued to come home to Gratiot County from the war fronts. Young men in Europe hoped for a quick end to the war.
Lieutenant George Newman was with a flight training group in England. While on a pass, he got to hear the London Philharmonic play at the Royal Albert Hall in the top balcony – for all three hours of the performance. Chaplain Albert Anthony, formerly from Alma, sent home an Easter program from a service he held with a British chaplain in Italy. Anthony had a jeep and two assistants to carry out his work. Other than that, his life was similar to any soldier. He yearned for the day that all Gratiot men would be home during peacetime.
Another letter from Germany came from Private Lyle Goward, who formerly worked at Leonard Refineries. Goward told his parents that he could now tell them what Army he was in and what battles he faced. Recently he had been in the Colmar Pocket, and he had served in the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies. Of particular interest was spearheading a drive and fighting alongside French Moroccans and the Free French Army. The Free French Army was not afraid of driving up to the front lines with their lights on, yelling, and leaving on their flashlights. French Moroccan soldiers also took their wives with them, and wore turbans and goatees. Supposedly, they fought for 100 francs to do work for American soldiers. They also brought back the ears of the Nazis that they killed when in action. Private LeRoy Brice of Alma sent home propaganda leaflets that had dropped behind the German lines near Dusseldorf, Germany. The message from the 84 U.S. Infantry Division told the Germans how to surrender and concluded with “THE RAILSPLITTERS”-BETTER BE CAPTURED THAN KILLED.”
Staff Sergeant Earle Trudgen of Ithaca, a former music teacher, told about handling German prisoners of war with the Ninth Army in Germany. His current location offered enough area to control and watch the prisoners properly. One of his most moving moments occurred when a German woman and her small child came to the fence to look for her older son. The mother begged the office to visit with her son for a few moments, and Trudgen observed how the “son,” barely fifteen years old, shook hands with his mother and how the trio quickly broke into tears upon their reunion. Trudgen had to turn away from the sight. This meeting was also a memorable event as it was the same day he learned of President Roosevelt’s death. Private Gerald Clark of Wheeler wrote home that he suffered wounds on April 3 in Germany. Writing from a French hospital, Clark told his sister of his leg wound, which required an immediate tourniquet – and how he also had to place one on a fellow soldier who was also wounded in the same location and same battle. Private Clark closed by telling his family that there was no way they could know what war was like in Germany – and that he did not want his family to know either. Only a battle could teach a person what war indeed was.
More mail kept coming in from the Pacific fronts. Lieutenant Jack Redman wrote from Burma to tell his wife and parents that he had arrived in India after being in Casablanca and Cairo. Redman intensely disliked Casablanca as it was one of the dirtiest cities he had ever visited. He was often surrounded by native boys who tried to sell him countless items, and they begged for cigarettes and gum. Cairo was cleaner, had more cars, but still had many beggars. The nights in both places were freezing, and Redman wore his winter clothes. Private Wallace Thayer wrote home from a hospital in Hawaii after being on Iwo Jima. He had five pieces of shrapnel in his leg, one below the knee and three in the ankle. While on crutches, he said he was lucky as others on Iwo had lost their legs. Fighting somewhere in the Pacific, Charles Keck, Jr. of Ithaca wrote about jungle fighting against the Japanese. Sometimes it took hours only to advance a few yards and had been injured by a bayonet. Constant rain, wet clothes, and the vain hope for the weather to change were all things he mentioned. Somewhere in the Dutch East Indies, Corporal Delbert Welch told his mother that he sincerely appreciated the fruit cake package he received. Somehow Welch and other men received ice cream, which seldom happened. An absence of air attacks and fighting meant that things were going well for Welch.
The Dreaded Initials: POW, MIA, WIA, KIA
Prisoners of War
As the war in Europe seemed to be headed toward its final stages, more and more news arrived about those Gratiot County men who had been prisoners of war. A few of them either came home or were headed home. Still, many families anxiously awaited news about the status of their POW.
Private Bruce Mead was one of the first POWs formerly held by the Germans who made it home. He had been a chaplain in a camp and now spoke to different groups and families about the POW experience. Speaking engagements seemed to keep Mead busy while he was home on a sixty-day furlough. At one meeting, people from 27 different Gratiot County families attended a “Next of Kin” meeting in Ithaca to ask questions and learn about POWs held by Germany or Japan, many of whom were sons or husbands.
Lois Barden of Ithaca went to Selfridge Air Force Base to receive an Oak Leaf Cluster in honor of her husband, Lieutenant John Barden, who had been a POW for almost one year.
Paratrooper Bernard Marrin of Alma was returned to military control on April 1. Marrin had been missing and a POW since February 7, had spent time in prison and a hospital. Staff Sergeant Joseph Thomas surprised his parents and arrived home in Alma after being taken prisoner September 1, 1944, in France. The Russians had liberated Thomas. The mother of Lieutenant John Mix received a surprise letter from her son, who had been missing since January 2 in Belgium. The letter broke months of silence about the whereabouts of Lieutenant Mix. Lieutenant Philip Hanson, formerly of Alma, also got a letter home to his parents in Ionia. While he was alive and had been in a POW hospital, Hanson lost his right foot after being captured when his tank had been knocked out, and he was unable to retreat in battle. Hanson had been a POW since early December 1944, but he stated that he was being treated relatively well in a Luftwaffe hospital.
News also came to Private Gale Ludwick’s family in Alma regarding their son, who had been a Japanese prisoner since the spring of 1942. Ludwick was captured either on Corregidor or Bataan. An Air Corps electrical engineer, news about him came from a letter from a buddy who made it back to Springfield, Missouri. Staff Sergeant Clean Dewey had been liberated and told how he met Ludwick in Cabanatuan prison camp in 1942. The two worked together in the camp’s mess, fixing watches for tobacco and extra food. The Ludwick family anxiously awaited more news about their son.
Those Missing in Action
Sergeant Herbert Whittaker remained missing in action. His family still held out hope that he had survived a plane crash as two others from his crew did. Both of those men were POWs in Germany. Whittaker’s B-17 was on a mission to Dresden on February 14 when it went down. Foster Girvin of Elm Hall was missing on December 4, 1944. His wife finally received a letter from him that he was a POW. Private Melvin Thrush was believed to be alive after being reported MIA. A friend sent a letter from Italy to Thrush’s wife in St. Louis. Supposedly Thrush’s outpost had been overrun in early March, and he disappeared. Two other Gratiot County men who were missing included Clyde Daymon of Riverdale and Private Merlin Lewis of Wheeler.
Wounded in Action
It seemed that even with the war drawing toward a close, reports continued of more and more casualties. Lieutenant Mark Anderson of St. Louis suffered a broken shoulder blade and shrapnel wounds in his leg on March 26 in Germany. He had to be flown to a hospital in England. Private Walter Stadlberger, Jr., formerly of Alma, was believed to be a casualty at the Remagen Bridge. Stadlberger fought with the 15th Infantry Division of the Eighth Army. Lieutenant Steve Keglovitz of Ithaca, a former teacher, had to be treated for head injuries, concussions, and shrapnel wounds. Keglovitz was going to spend some time in a French hospital. Private Vincent Wright of Alma was wounded in Germany while fighting with the 329th Regiment, one of two groups to cross the Rhine River. Wright was in an English hospital too. Private Arlo Gould from Ithaca received the Purple Heart for injuries in combat he received with the 36th Division. Gould was surprised when a chaplain told him that another Ithaca man, Max Eicher, was wounded and recovering in the same hospital. Sergeant Merton Peacock of St. Louis continued to recover in an English hospital from being wounded in Belgium on January 17. Private Joseph Preston Nixon suffered a bullet wound to his left forearm on March 15. Nixon fought with the Seventh Army and 103rd Division in Southern France. He was an Alma High School graduate and had briefly attended Alma College before entering the service in 1943. Staff Sergeant Carlton Jones experienced severe wounds on March 15 and had to be sent to a hospital in England. Serving with Patton’s Third Army, Jones discovered he was close to his brother, who also had been injured and hospitalized only a few miles from him. Private Charles Bennett of Alma was now in Vaughn General Hospital in Hines, Illinois. Bennett, who served with the armored infantry as a cook and rifleman, suffered broken legs from a booby trap. Upon admission, Bennett received penicillin and blood plasma for treatment. Private Robert Hornacek was one of four men to survive an attack in his company while in Germany. The result? Hornacek was wounded on his 19th birthday and was sent to a hospital in Germany.
Those Who Paid the Ultimate Price – Killed in Action
Hard news came to Private Raymond L. Myers’ family in Wheeler. Myers died April 11, 1945, while in Germany. A member of the 29th Division, 224th Field Artillery, it was not clear how he died. Newspapers commented how sad it was that Myers never got to have a furlough home during his 22 months in the Army. Private Volney Loomis’ nearly three-year-old son claimed his father’s Purple Heart. Loomis died in Belgium on January 4, 1945, and was buried in Eastern France. The Perrinton Methodist Church held a memorial service for Private Henry Iler, who died in France on January 3. Iler left behind a wife and two children. Private Howard Sheldon of Breckenridge was killed in action in Germany on March 22, 1945. Sheldon arrived in Europe in October 1944, and he served with the Seventh Army. News arrived in Ithaca that Corporal Robert Ebright was killed off China’s coast on March 15 while attacking Japanese shipping. Ebright had been overseas only a few months. He also worked in the Gratiot County Herald office before his service. Staff Sergeant William Gorsuch died March 2 aboard a B-17 when his plane collided with another one over the English Channel. Gorsuch’s body was never found. The family of Lieutenant Vern Salden of Breckenridge received more news about his death earlier in October 1944. Upon trying to take off for his mission, his plane left altitude, crashed, and he was killed. Two observers stated that the plane’s descent happened quickly, and Salden probably did not fear the crash. Private Frederick Davis of St. Louis died at the Marine Hospital in Detroit. Davis was injured during training at Selfridge Field and was discharged in October 1943. He had been sick for eight weeks, and the funeral took place at St. Louis Baptist Church.
And So We Do Not Forget
Alma police pledged to be part of a nationwide six-week program to check brakes on all cars involved in traffic violations and accidents…Two Gratiot men ended their lives one weekend due to discouragement. Carl Martin of St. Louis took his own life as a result of drinking anti-freeze and a knife. Martin’s wife recently died. Durward Iler ended his life on his father’s farm in Newark Township with a shotgun. Iler and took had recently been classified 1-A for selective service and was going to leave his wife…Ronald Horton of Ithaca set a high school record for hopping on his left foot for 40 minutes. Horton was in the eighth grade…The Riverdale Senior Class presented the play “Hullabaloo” in the high school gymnasium. The event raised $63.00…The Ithaca High School baseball team opened its eight-game season at Fulton. Both teams were very inexperienced due to draft calls. However, Vernon Hirschman of Ithaca was a returning letter winner at first base at Ithaca…Miss Kate Leininger, a missionary in China for 25 years, spoke at the Ithaca Free Methodist Church. Leininger had been interned in a Japanese camp in China and returned to America aboard the SS Gripsholm…Mrs. Chester Bolyard of Middleton suffered severe burns when her housecoat caught on fire while standing near a small heater. Luckily her husband helped her to tear off the coat after he just entered the house for breakfast. She suffered burns on her back…The Ithaca Ministerial Association sponsored a periodic Union service each Wednesday before Easter…Forest fires in an area covering 500 acres burned the game area east of Ithaca. The fire spread into Saginaw County and took twelve hours to contain. Another fire broke out on the Jay Borough farm in Hamilton Township. Local newspapers called for the need for a fire tower in the county to monitor future blazes…The Rathbone School had 22 pupils enrolled. The boys started playing softball on February 27, and the school raised $48.20 for Defense Stamps so far, although sales had slowed…”Woodie and Randall flew over Crystal” from Johnson’s Airport in another report from “Hangar Tales” in the Gratiot County Herald.
The Ithaca Fox and Gun Club planned to hold a fish supper at the Muscott Hall…The State Highway Department completed its final survey for widening M-46 from the east city limit west to US-27…The Thompson Home Library in Ithaca was the site on one Friday night for a Boy Scout Court of Honor Ceremony. Ronald Sadler of Troop 101 of Alma received the Eagle Badge…Alice Bishop of Bannister was confirmed to a postmastership by the Michigan senate…News reached Gratiot County that famous reporter Ernie Pyle died from a Japanese sniper’s bullet while on a small island off of Okinawa…”Mr. Skellington,” starring Bette Davis and Claud Rains, appeared at Ithaca’s Ideal theatre…The Ithaca Methodist Church prepared to honor its 75th anniversary in Ithaca. Dr. Alfred Way, a pastor there from 1909-1913, would give the main address…Little interest appeared in township elections with only two tickets in the field. Only one democrat was elected to office – Walter Dayringer…Ithaca decided to proceed with a plan to build a community building in the village. One assistant lady staff member was going to be hired to help Coach Hi Becker with the recreational program…Dr. Thomas Carney of Alma lost in his attempt to “three-peat” as Alma’s city mayor. He would be replaced by Dr. Emory Remsberg even thought it had been a fairly close race…The counselor for Gratiot County Council of Veterans Affairs, Chester Robinson, spoke to the Ithaca Rotary Club about “The Returning Veteran.” Robinson highlighted the issues facing Americans faced with the return of 15 million men and women when the war ends…
The Ionia Free Fair planned to open again this summer. It had last operated in 1942.
Alma city commissioners planned on closing the east side library. Librarian Lucille Wright believed that the city could move to one library if it pledged to keep the 1945 budget on a level to the previous year…Gratiot County Agricultural Agent C.P. Milham warned that Gratiot County could face a drought in 1945. The soil in the county was already dry at a level reaching down eight inches below the topsoil…Juvenile delinquency raised its head in Gratiot County. Seven boys ranging in age from seven to fifteen appeared in juvenile court for frequenting pool rooms, window peeping, and breaking and entering private buildings. Judge Mildred Taft was very busy dealing with a current “crime wave” of adolescent behavior…A Sox Shuffle was scheduled at the Alma Community Center where young people may only wear socks on the dance floor. Almost 300 junior and senior high students recently attended activities at the center…Alma Commissioners continued to hear complaints about student misbehavior in the city’s pool rooms. What should be done?…A 60 mile per hour gale hit Gratiot County in mid-April. Temperatures dropped below freezing, but most damage seemed to be limited to power lines in Alma. A barn on the Jennie Fisher Farm east of Ithaca collapsed, as did one on the Simcox Farm. Wayne Hull lost a chicken coop in Hamilton Township. Wayne Hull also lost his garage. …The Reynolds B. Smith Hospital in Alma had a staff of fifteen doctors, a superintendent, three registered nurses, nine nurse aides, two cooks, a housekeeper, tray girl, janitor, and a laundress…Teachers across Gratiot County were expected to administer achievement tests to students in all rural schools. The Thursday and Friday prior to closing for summer was the targeted date for the tests. It would cost each student twelve cents for the supplies and tests…A total of 301 property descriptions for tax sales were listed in the Alma Record. These sales involved properties whose taxes had not been paid before 1942.
A total of 27 Gratiot County students were among the 3,641 students at Michigan State College…Alma Girl Scouts planned to go house to house for their annual finance campaign. A goal of raising $1,250 had been set…The sale of milk at the Perrinton Borden Milk Plant did well in 1944. Borden plants at Perrinton, Mt. Pleasant, and West Branch took in 97,000,000 pounds of milk and paid farmers $2,755,321.37. Business was good…Detroit car factories said that 250,000 new cars would be made starting in October…Former Alma basketball player Sam Fortino was honored at an Alma Lions Club meeting as winner of the Detroit Free Press best collegiate player award for Michigan…Ken Catlin and Neil Fulton pitched Alma to a 9-8 win over Fulton in baseball…And news reached the county that the Edmore Coliseum experienced a fire that caused $10,000 in damages. The movie theatre first opened in 1922.
And that was Gratiot County’s Finest Hour in April 1945
Copyright 2021 James M Goodspeed
Goodspeed's Gratiot County Historical Blog 