The Last Month of Peace took place in November 1941. From the top: A group of Ithaca merchants and businessmen pitch in to help bring in the beets. A shortage of workers and poor weather delayed the fall 1941 harvest; The Breckenridge High School football team celebrated winning the 1941 Valley C Football title; A horned doe? That was what Harry Gulick of Lafayette Township shot near Higgins Lake on the second day of the season; Rural school of the month went to the Cozy Corner School in Wheeler Township; Somehow they escaped death. Beets flew everywhere two miles north of Ithaca when drivers from Edmore and Laingsburg collided. A total of three people walked away – injured, but alive.
Fifteen young men went to Fort Custer as part of the Selective Service call for November.
Alma wanted more financial help implementing New Deal projects like roads, and the county welcomed activities for young people.
Law enforcement was busy with driving, alcohol, civil offenses, and arrests.
The invasion of hunters to the county for small game subsided, but many Gratiot men took off for deer camp.
The public was warned of the continued battle and threat of diseases like tuberculosis and diphtheria.
It was November 1941 in Gratiot County – the last “peacetime” month and holiday that the county would experience in the next four years.
War News, November 1941
The county continued moving toward war as fifteen Selective Service men were ordered to appear at Alma City Hall at 7:00 am on November 18. This group headed directly to Fort Custer for induction and included Harry Czape of Alma, Percy Delong of St. Louis, and Travers Allen of Middleton. Eleven in the group came from Gratiot County, with the rest being transferred as registrants of other draft boards. State selective service officials had already told the public to expect large draft calls for January and February. By late November, 53 men would be called for December as the nation drifted toward war. This group was expected to report on December 8. Still, an estimated 700,000 men in the Army were being told that they would be eligible for a Christmas furlough, which meant very busy train traffic home.
Army and Navy recruiters visited Gratiot County, hoping to enlist young men in their respective branches. The Army Air Corps planned to appear December 1 and 2 with a temporary recruiting station inside the Alma post office. Large advertisements appeared in local newspapers asking young men to join the naval reserve. Other notices answered potential questions for those considering enlisting in the Navy, including pay, educational requirements, and the meaning of some Navy slang.
By late November, the United States bluntly warned Japan to leave China and stop supporting the Japanese-backed ruler in Nanking. Amid the confrontation with the United States, Japan continued to demand territorial concessions in the Far East. These discussions took place against the backdrop of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Other hints of war appeared in the news. The Gratiot County Defense Council selected more men to leadership positions, with Sheriff W. H. Nestle chairing law enforcement for national defense plans. Another meeting in St. Louis hosted a spokesman from the Public Works Reserves who talked to the council about postwar plans to help the city adjust to peacetime. If only those involved that night could picture what the next four years would be like. A group of county ministers traveled to Fort Custer to see what Army life and the installation were all about. The thirteen ministers ate lunch at the service club, held a brief business meeting, then saw the eight chapels inside Custer.
Now, the Gratiot County Council of Defense asked farmers and residents to contribute any old iron. When delivered to junk dealers, iron brought 40 cents, and grey iron 70 to 75 cents (presumably per ton). The request came after scrap deliveries to local dealers had dropped sharply. December 6 was designated Waste Paper Drive Day in St. Louis, as Scout Troops 109 and 112 led the drive to collect waste paper. However, this time, the money earned went directly to the units for scouting activities.
Even though parts of the world were already at war, Gratiot County celebrated Armistice Day with parades, speakers, and World War I veterans. A total of 25 floats and 7 bands gathered in Alma for a county-sponsored celebration, which also included children on decorated bikes, Camp Fire Girls, and Legionnaires, who led the group that dotted the long parade route in Alma. The Elks Lodge, four American Legion posts, the VFW, and the Disabled American Veterans jointly sponsored the festivities. Commander Earl Rhynard of the George W. Meyers American Legion Post asked Alma merchants to display flags.
During the Armistice celebration, two war buddies, George Fuller of Alma and Fred Shattuck of Mt. Pleasant, met each other for the first time in 22 years. Both served together on the Mexican border and in France. Strangely, the two lived within nine miles of each other after their service, but had never met. Spanish War veterans also met at the Alma Masonic Home before Armistice Day, with 119 veterans from across mid-Michigan joining for dinner. Some sad news occurred when Corporal Jay Morris, 22, formerly of St. Louis, was killed in a traffic accident in Washington State. Originally from Breckenridge, Morris was stationed at Fort Lewis and had spent time in CCC camps. He had served for two years in the Army and was laid to rest in Alma’s Riverside Cemetery.
New Deal Projects
By Halloween 1940, Alma’s 14-block paving project was almost complete. The city hoped to secure federal funding for sidewalk repair in 1942, but this work could only proceed if the city could afford to cover expenses above what the WPA aid provided. Since 1939, Alma had hard-surfaced or widened approximately 50 blocks within the city.
The former Washington School building was converted into a recreation room with table tennis and space for evening dances. Guests attending these dances were asked to contribute a small fee to help pay for the orchestra. As of November 5, 14 boys and 41 girls were engaged in NYA projects throughout the county. In a positive development related to WPA work, county director Miss Mary Frost announced that Lester Hoard was now in charge of the Salvation Army craft shop.
The Long Arm of the Law – November 1941
Activity related to law enforcement appeared relatively quiet until the holiday season approached, when a wave of lawbreaking swept through Gratiot County. Illegal hunting and alcohol-related offenses were at the heart of many cases. In October, the county prosecutor reported 67 convictions in county courts, most of which involved traffic violations (47). The imposed fines generated $346.85 in revenue for the court, while costs totaled $300.76.
Several hunting violations made headlines. Ralph Davidson of Alma shot a hen pheasant but denied responsibility, claiming he did not shoot the bird. A conservation officer witnessed Davidson pick up the hen and give it to a small boy who was following him. Things did not go well for Davidson. Jerry Sabota from North Star was cited for hunting without permission on the Thibaudeau farm; he paid a $10 fine and $5.35 in costs, although the judge suspended $5 of the fine. Another blockade north of Alma resulted in state conservation officers and deputy sheriffs stopping cars to check for illegal game, leading to 18 people being ticketed for having venison without properly identifying the sex.
A number of other notable offenses came to light. Orville Wakely of Seville Township was arrested for failing to ensure his children attended school. Wakely, who had five children, was fined $8.35 and threatened with ten days in jail if the fine wasn’t paid. A stranger wandered into the Gratiot County jail one night, claiming amnesia and ignorance of his identity; Richard J. Bunous, address unknown, was suspected to be linked to a murder in Saginaw County. Walter Burns, a field worker from Detroit, became involved in a fight in a beet workers’ cabin with two Mexican workers and another man. Deputies found Burns in a violent state, threatening the others with a beet knife, which resulted in his arrest. Meanwhile, Mexican worker Hilario Vilalareal of Alma faced charges related to the illegitimacy of a girl from Middleton. Charles Santos was also arrested in Breckenridge and transferred to Muskegon police, although the reason was not reported.
Other stories were both humorous and sad. A well-dressed “young buckaroo” drew a .32 caliber gun inside the Simi Restaurant in Alma and fired four shots into the ceiling, shattering the bulbs of two fluorescent lights before making a getaway in a speeding car. It appeared the “buckaroo” had been denied further beer servings and warned others not to follow him. Unfortunately for him, a woman outside the bar noted the license plate and reported it to the police. In St. Louis, Douglas Coffman was arrested and given a 75-day jail term or faced $78 in fines and costs for stealing from the boys’ locker room at St. Louis High School during a football game. In another incident, chicken thieves in northeast Gratiot stole fifty chickens from Ernest McKenzie outside of Breckenridge. Fred Thrush also reported losing one hundred chickens in a separate theft. The authorities had not yet apprehended the culprits.
In the Dewey Glinke embezzlement case in Ithaca, a New Jersey surety company sought to hold William Federspiel personally responsible for Dewey’s theft of $3,169.65 from the county. Federspiel’s attorney argued against a final and personal judgment. Both sides had 15 days to prepare their arguments. Glinke still was on the run and had been since December 1940. Finally, there was some good news concerning the character of one young man in St. Louis. Bud Cummings of Alma found a purse belonging to Mavis Harrison of St. Louis and returned it, along with the $25 inside, to its owner. The young Cummings was offered a reward but refused it. The young boy’s story made the front page of the St. Louis Leader.
Farming and Hunting in November
Farm life was tied to the start of deer firearm season, and county farmers worried about how hunters would treat their land. Many farmers (and non-farmers) also prepared for the opening of deer firearm season.
With poor fall weather in the county, farmers were urged to wait until the ground froze to harvest beans. Threshed wet beans invited spoilage and brought heavy losses. Bad rains in November nearly forced the Alma sugar plant to close. Pauses in the rains meant more trucks brought in more beets and slicing continued. Still, the U.S. Department of Agriculture encouraged soybeans in the county by announcing more AAA loans to help farmers market their soybean crop.
The biggest farm news in November probably centered on how local business people helped farmers by going out to the fields to help harvest crops. On November 14 and 17, a group of Ithaca businessmen left their jobs and businesses to work in the fields. Some of these men could only work a half day; others worked a full day or even two. Part of the issue involved volunteers who were in shape and could do the farm labor. If a farmer needed volunteer help, then they needed to call Ithaca No. 76 or No. 189 and tell C.P. Milham, county agricultural agent. Photographs of the Ithaca volunteers made the front page of the Gratiot County Herald.
In other news, the Farm Bureau adopted the theme “The American Farmer in This Changing World” as its study theme. The fifth annual Farmers’ Institute took place at the Strand Theater on November 27. The Alma Chamber of Commerce sponsored the program that ran from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Hundreds of farmers were also expected to attend the Alma Production Credit Association’s third annual meeting – also at the Strand Theater on December 5. The organization planned to entertain somewhere between 500 and 700 farmers and their wives. Participants would receive a free fish dinner at one of two churches in the city.
The Emerson Township Farm Bureau met every second d Tuesday at the Beebe Township hall. Sherman Edgar served as president and Walter Martin as vice-president. Adrian Elliott of Alma shot a banded Canadian goose on November 2. The goose’s band read that it came from the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary, Kingsville, Ontario, Canada, and weighed 8 ½ pounds. Harry Gulick of Lafayette Township returned from Higgins Lake where he shot a 193-pound deer – which turned out to be an antlered doe! After checking in at the Roscommon conservation headquarters on the way home, officers looked at the deer and agreed it was a doe. The deer had six-point set antlers. Anthony Grosskopf, 24, of Alma, narrowly escaped serious injury when grazed by a bullet near his lower back. Grosskopf prepared to shoot a deer when he himself was shot, leaving a small furrow near his spine. Upon crying out for help, another hunter took Grosskopf to a doctor where he received several stitches. The other shooter was never identified.
Lewis Forquer of Riverdale fell out of an apple tree while picking apples. Forquer injured his back and was taken to the Carson City hospital by ambulance, where he was recovering from numbness in his arms. William Granda of Elwell was sent to Smith Memorial Hospital after he fell from a tractor he operated on the Nelson farm. Doctors continued to check his condition. Gratiot County agricultural agent announced that Gratiot dairy herds would soon be tested for tuberculosis by both state and federal supervisors. At the same time, TB testing had been contentious for many county farmers in the past; most now welcomed testing their herds.
Swift and Company of Alma warned dairy farmers to remember that just because the weather got cold did not mean that farmers could let up on the production and handling of cream. Cleanliness, sanitation, and an awareness that cream could break down in cold weather still mattered. Ithaca farm markets for November 12 quoted dark red kidney beans selling at $10 a bushel. Ithaca High School’s gymnasium planned to host Achievement Day for 4-H summer projects on December 2.
Health Issues in November 1941
Doctor F.J. Graham, who had served as M.D. in Sumner beginning in 1891 and who retired in 1940, received honors from the Michigan State Medical Society. Graham had operated an office in Alma beginning in 1917 before his retirement. Another wounded hunter entered Smith Memorial Hospital on November 10, when Buhl Billsby of Shepherd was shot in the right foot and ankle by another hunter. After an X-ray and treatment, Billsby was released. Christmas Seals for 1941 featured a lighthouse against a blue winter sky. Fight against tuberculosis by purchasing Christmas Seals.
The state health department warned the public about the spread of diphtheria among older boys and girls who had been injected years earlier. The health department warned parents to have their children receive a second dose to promote immunity. A second-shot diphtheria clinic was planned for Alma on December 1-2 at Lincoln, Hillcrest, Republic, and Wright Avenue schools. In a sad note, George Baxter, 49, and employed by the Gratiot County Herald of Ithaca for 28 years, took his own life from a dose of chloroform. Doctor Aldrich tried to pump Baxter’s stomach and appeared to be winning at first, but Baxter’s condition grew worse. He had appeared very despondent lately. Services were held at the Barden Funeral Home in Ithaca.
And So We Do Not Forget
To receive state funding, all schools now had to be open for nine months of the year, according to the state superintendent and a new Michigan law…For Thanksgiving Day 1941, the weather was expected to drop from the mid-70s to below freezing, with some snow…Judge Kelley Searl ruled that Pompeii School Number 2 had to remain part of the Fulton School District, turn over all books, records, and assets belonging to the school, and refrain from attempting to join the Pompeii School District. This seemed to end Pompeii 2’s attempt to annex itself to Pompeii…Glendon Swarthout and his wife continued to write reports about their life in South America. They published them in the Gratiot County Herald. One report came from the S.S. Cuba while they were on their way to the Dominican Republic from Cuba…The Ashley High School boys’ basketball team played and defeated a group of alumni on Thanksgiving night, 20-17…The Alma Methodist Church planned to host a book fair on December 3, sponsored by the University of Women’s Alma Branch…The Gratiot County Road Commission purchased two eight-ton truck chassis with scrapers and snowplows. It used truck bodies, pronouncing the road commission ready for the oncoming winter… The Gratiot County Santa Claus Club, chaired by Georgiana Peet of Ithaca, announced that the club prepared for needy children at Christmas by calling for gently used clothing and toys. Peet asked for the names of children who deserved help at Christmas…Orson Welles appeared in “Citizen Kane” at the Strand Theatre for three nights beginning November 25. How many viewers realized that “Kane” would be one of America’s greatest movies? Admission was only 11 cents (including tax).
Are you ready for cold weather? The Ithaca Elevator Company sold fine-quality stoker coal. Ithaca Elevator – the home of Betty Jane Four and Wayne Feeds…A Middleton clerk announced that he had sold 99 deer licenses as of November 20. Nearly all of the sales went to hunters from Middleton and the nearby vicinity…Breckenridge High School football team celebrated its Valley C Football title at a special football banquet to end the year. Members of the 1936-38 team roasted the team, and the mothers of the team members provided a great chicken dinner….Norman Roth of Breckenridge appeared in a feature, “Gratiot Men at Work,” on the front page of the Gratiot County Herald. Roth first became an automobile apprentice in 1911 and worked his way up to becoming a car dealer in Breckenridge… An estimated 600 people attended the annual Fulton Book Fair in the Perrinton schoolhouse.
J.L. Barden and Sons opened a new funeral home in Ithaca. Dedication services took place on the afternoon of November 16…Skunks continued to cause problems in Alma. Ray Eurich of 512 Park Avenue called the police to remove the skunks under his home, but none were found, and police advised him to set a trap to catch the culprits…Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour appeared in “Caught in the Draft” at the Ithaca Ideal Theatre for three nights beginning November 16. Tickets were 11 and 21 cents, depending on whether you saw a matinee or evening show…License plates for 1942 went on sale in Alma and Ithaca. The first number sold was MG-1001… The Alma Hatchery, located on the site of the old Alma Hotel on State Street, has undergone more remodeling since opening a year earlier…Stanley Rodenbo, a stout six-foot-tall, 200-pound, 27-year-old man, was hired by the Alma Police Force. Rodenbo was hired temporarily to fill in for Mike Slowinski, who had been seriously ill…Gittleman’s of Alma celebrated its second anniversary of being in business. To celebrate, the store gave away five tons of Michigan Pure Sugar Company sugar. In a short time, people in Alma and Gratiot County would value the availability of sugar due to the war.
Santa Claus planned to be in Alma starting the evening of December 5…Six Alma hunters brought home deer shot outside of Gratiot County. S.J. Upham of 1022 Eastward Street led the group who got their deer at Melstrand in the Upper Peninsula…The Alma High School basketball team prepared for its season opener on December 5 at Owosso. Coach Floyd Lear had 13 games with 30 trying out for the team…The Breckenridge Methodist Church dedicated memorial chimes with two numbers performed by violinist Nicholas Blinoff, a Russian violinist from Lansing…A relatively new feature in the Alma Record-Alma Leader featured a column dedicated solely to local obituaries. Five obituaries appeared in the November 27 issue…Charles Bickford, 55, of Ithaca, who operated a shoe repair, died suddenly from a heart attack accompanied by a battle with rheumatic fever. Bickford had just returned from a hunting trip… The Alma Library celebrated National Book Week by holding its weekly Story Hour, led by librarian Miss Elsa Struble. National Book Week was November 3-8…A group of 35 Midland and Gratiot families finally received money released from the Porter Oil Pool case, which had been going on for years. A Supreme Court decision released $787,993 to the families. Anyone challenging the decision faced a $10,000 penalty…McCormacks of Ithaca sold hunters’ supplies. Get felt gaiters for $2.75 and wool socks for only 59 cents. Red hunting shirts cost $1.50….President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed Thursday, November 20, as Thanksgiving Day. This was the last Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated this early in the month, as next year it would fall on the last Thursday of the month. The early date went back three years – in part to encourage more shopping between the holidays.
Speaking of an early Thanksgiving, the Ithaca Presbyterian Church planned a union service in the community for the night of November 16. Reverend W.W. Slee of the Methodist Church would speak… The Elwell 4-H Club held its carnival on Wednesday, October 29, and drew a large crowd. One of the largest attractions was the “fishing pond,” which drew many youngsters…Want a new oil-burning heater? Buy a new 1942 Norge with powerful, circulating heat at Sawkins Music House in Alma. Prices started at $39.95…Sumner District No. 6 (the Welford School) planned to have a box social on October 31, with a prize going to the best-decorated box…Ray King of St. Louis announced that he was now the sole owner of the former Harrison and King service station at the corner of North Pine and Washington Avenue. The business would now be known as King’s Service Center…Music meetings for Gratiot rural school teachers would be held on three dates in November at Ashley, St. Louis, and Ithaca schools. Get students ready for Christmas season by learning new songs…A final notice went out to all St. Louis residents that the new St. Louis telephone directory closed for changes on November 15. If you want a new telephone and to be listed in the new directory, then contact the telephone company at once. Call Number 171 to reach the Union Telephone Company.
And that was Depression and War in November 1941.
Copyright 2026 James M. Goodspeed
