The Gratiot County hospital fund drive moves forward (from top): A set of proposed hospital plans was presented to public meetings in late January 1953. From left: Dale Misenhelder, C.L. Seeley, Paul Raycraft, and Mrs. Don Mulholland attended the presentation at the Gratiot County Courthouse; An architect’s preliminary drawing of the new Gratiot Community Hospital. The new hospital would provide care for 75 patients. Paul Raycraft of Arcada Township led meetings in two areas of Gratiot County in February 1953 to discuss the new hospital; Chairman Earle Brenneman signed the applications for federal funds for the hospital. Mrs. Robert Fandell, hospital office manager (left), and Joseph Homminga, deputy director of the Office of Hospital Survey and Construction in Lansing, look on. An architect’s drawing of the hospital is on the wall behind them.
Fundraising Ideas
After Gratiot County residents committed to building a new hospital, the real work began by obtaining a charter and starting fundraising. The newly created Board of Trustees then agreed on the name “Gratiot Community Hospital” and interviewed three architectural firms to develop the new hospital’s design. Ultimately, the trustees hired Clark R. Ackley as architect. The Board then set up the first campaign office for fundraising in Room 27 of the Merchants Building in downtown Alma.
The trustees, consisting of nine prominent citizens, had attorney Gordon Netzorg file for the official hospital charter. They also announced a goal of raising $500,000 in a fund drive planned from March 10 to April 7, 1953. The Board learned that $400,000 in matching federal funds would be available, according to the State Office of Hospital Survey, and this spurred the group on in its goal of raising the large initial sum. This new hospital would have 75 beds, more than the 29 available at Smith Memorial Hospital. Still, as trustee chairman Earle Brenneman stated to the Board, this drive would be a big challenge as it aimed “to secure the largest sum ever sought in a fundraising campaign in this area” of Michigan. Choosing the location of the new hospital also required a central location, like Alma. Before the idea of Gratiot Community Hospital, many people went to different hospitals in St. Johns, Owosso, Carson City, Mt. Pleasant, or Edmore for treatment. Having a new hospital in Alma meant that more people in the county (and even some areas outside Gratiot) would be served, resulting in more patients.
Earliest Donors and Donations
To start the fund drive, the Board hoped that the primary sources of donations would come from advance gifts from firms, foundations, and individual donors, with a focus on both commercial and rural donors. Before the drive started, the Board discussed some early ideas for approaching donors. For instance, medical professionals might give as much as $60,000 if asked. A limited residential canvas would take place later, and the Board believed people tended to offer at their workplaces. A rural campaign was also discussed, and Paul R. Raycraft suggested an introductory meeting for civic leaders in the northern half of Gratiot County on Thursday, January 29, at Alma City Hall. Another meeting for those from southern Gratiot would take place on January 30 at the Gratiot County Courthouse. In both meetings, civic leaders heard about the proposed hospital, had their questions answered, and viewed the architect’s preliminary drawings.
Just before the start of the drive, the Board of Trustees received a personal report from Miss Lou Nickerson about the current conditions at Smith Memorial Hospital. Nickerson, also a member of the new hospital trustees, had been associated with Smith Memorial since 1944. She told the group that Smith Memorial opened in 1934 with only 10 beds. Now, in February 1953, the hospital was operating with up to 39 patients a day and employed 45 full-time employees. In 1953, Michigan hospitals were considered at bed capacity when they reached 85 percent. At Smith, the average capacity in the previous year was 90 percent, and Nickerson added that “R.B. Smith was dangerously overcrowded and any minor epidemic in the county could create a serious crisis.” She also concluded her report by reminding the trustees that Smith was initially built and opened to hold only 10 beds. She also reported that Smith offered to donate $50,000 from its cash reserves as well as its most modern equipment to the new hospital. The Smith Memorial Board of Trustees proposed donating all of this to help kick off the fundraising.
Another New Hospital in St. Louis?
In late February, news about the idea of building a new hospital popped up on the front pages of the St. Louis Leader. This plan involved a 25-bed osteopathic hospital on the corner of South Main and State Street in St. Louis (the current location of the St. Louis Free Methodist Church). The plans for this new hospital began a year earlier, and attorney Alfred Fortino reported that funds were available to start construction and purchase land at the proposed site. This hillside location, measuring 275 feet of frontage on South Main and 410 feet on State Street, would be a two-story hospital staffed by osteopathic physicians. A drawing of the new hospital also appeared in the newspapers. However, over time, discussion and plans for this new hospital in St. Louis ended, apparently due to the idea and progress of a larger one in neighboring Alma.
Official Fundraising Begins
To raise funds for the new Gratiot Hospital, Gratiot County needed to know why the public should donate. Why ask the public for money? Why not require patients to pay for their own care and operate the hospital like a business? The answer came in a full-page advertisement in the Alma Record and Gratiot County Herald. First, all patients admitted to the hospital would receive treatment, regardless of their financial situation. All patients received care, and no one would be rejected. The full page ad concluded its explanations for raising money by stating that this hospital was “not a hotel. It is a house of mercy.” Second, an estimated 80% of the hospital’s costs were for patient care, and the hospital operated 24 hours a day. Unseen services, such as food, laundry, and building maintenance, also required funding.
A large donation from the work sector, a $100,000 gift from the Redman Foundation of Alma at the end of February, launched corporate contributions. Barely a week later, Leo, Joe, and Benjamin Simon’s families of Alma gave the first family gift of $3,600. The Simons announced they wished to have it put toward the new building’s entry. For those who gave gifts of $300 to $600, or bought furniture for the hospital, their names appeared on wall units or bronze tablets. In early March, rural fundraising began with a kick-off supper at Ithaca Presbyterian Church, attended by 200 people. Leaders, like FRED Raycraft, proposed that there be no rural goal and instead encouraged those in the country to pledge to semi-annual giving, starting with a minimum of $60. Those who wanted to make specific monetary gifts could also contribute toward the construction of new hospital rooms, such as $ 1,200 for a single room or $ 3,600 for a private room.
After fielding frequent questions about the exact location of the Gratiot Hospital, the Board of Trustees announced that the hospital would be located near the existing Masonic Home and the new Consumers Power Company building. Some wished that the hospital had been further east of Alma. However, this new location could draw patients from as far away as Edmore.
In early April, the drive passed the halfway point but appeared to be stalling. By April 2, $261,000 had been raised – just one half of the goal. As a result, the Board wanted to extend the drive. A week later, $294,000, or almost 59 percent of the goal, was reached. By April 16, the drive had raised $59,314, bringing the total to $356,312. As more corporate donors, such as Detroiter Coach ($4,000) and Leonard Refineries ($26,000), contributed, the goal topped $400,000. Two more corporate gifts from Michigan Chemical and Alma Piston Company improved the total, along with contributions from employees of various companies and even from the Mennonite community. All of these got the total to $440,000 in early May.
However, the drive hit a bump in early June. The Lansing office of Hospital Survey on Construction, which previously encouraged the new hospital project and anticipated Federal aid, announced that Federal aid for hospital projects had been cut by one-third after the United States House of Representatives reduced aid to all Federal projects. Apparently, the reductions and cuts came at the end of 20 years of Democratic control, as a result of the Depression and World War II. Also, a change in the White House meant a more conservative approach with the new President, Dwight Eisenhower, and the end of the Truman years. Now, the Board of Trustees and supporters of a new hospital faced the challenge of raising even more money to offset the reduction in federal aid.
Search and Confirmation for Final Hospital Site
In late July 1953, the search for the exact site of the new hospital narrowed to several choices. One of these involved a nine-acre site west of Wright Avenue and north of the Masonic Home. Smith Hospital previously purchased the area and offered it as a gift for the location of the new hospital. However, as the Board examined the possibility of this location, it realized that the area was zoned for residential use only. While pondering this problem, the Board was approached by James E. Ryan, President of Alma Trailer, who offered to trade a spot on the opposite side of Wright Avenue on 10.4 acres and approximately 400 feet east of Wright Avenue. Ryan offered to trade locations at no cost to the new hospital. A primary concern in the proposal was that the 400-foot area east of the avenue was held in a trust for a possible future park. The deal was made, and Clark Ackley, Lansing architect, went to work on preliminary plans and drawings of the new hospital, which he submitted in September.
Plans Appear Ready/Federal Funding Improves
After Ackley submitted the hospital plans and the Board approved them, the Board learned that the issue with reduced federal funding had changed and would now be available up to 48 percent of the drive, or $454 656. What caused the change in stance on Federal funding was unclear, but the availability of the previously announced aid now eased concerns of many on the Board and within the drive. However, the Board learned that, to qualify for this Federal aid, another $60,000 in pledges had to be received by January 1, 1954. The drive also had to raise its maximum number of pledges by April 1. In addition, 75 percent of the local share for the project had to be in cash before the release of Federal matching funds. With these deadline requirements, the drive now asked people to prepay their pledges. As winter approached, the main project for the new hospital involved water main construction in the north section of Alma, and the hope was that pledges would come in by the Federal aid deadline.
As 1954 approached, those involved in fundraising for a new hospital in Gratiot County hoped that the dream of the first county hospital would soon enter its construction phase.
Gratiot County, through December 1940, pictures from the top: How to balance Christmas expectations with a growing defense movement? Alma Record cartoon; A Home Lighting contest in Ithaca urged the public to dress up their houses for the Christmas holiday – and win some prizes; Window Night in St. Louis officially kicked off the Christmas shopping season in town; The Mazel Ellsworth arson incident occupied the newspapers and Ithaca as she faced examination. Ellsworth (left) and matron, Mrs. William Nestle, head to the courthouse from the jail; Ithaca farmer, Sherman Edgar, appeared in the news with his homemade airplane, which he flew regularly.
In December, the trickle of young men volunteering to join the Army grew. Still, the Gratiot County Draft Board warned that more men would soon be called to meet the needs of Selective Service.
As winter began, New Deal social programs expanded to employ more Gratiot residents wanting work. The pay wasn’t the highest, but these jobs still drew many applicants.
Farmers attended meetings to learn how to address problems such as the European corn borer and farm plans for 1941. The Strand Theatre hosted some of these farmer programs.
It was Christmas in Gratiot County. However, no one knew that it would be the last peacetime Christmas season the county would experience for over years.
More Preparations for War
To many in Gratiot County and across the nation, being drafted meant a step toward involvement in the European war. Readers of the Gratiot County Herald found the names and order of those drafted on four pages of its December 5 issue. Despite the number called, an estimated fifteen percent of the 14,500 men in Michigan were deemed unfit because they failed a physical. In anticipation of the second call for selectees, eighteen Gratiot volunteers said they were ready to go, but two failed their physicals.
Lyle Whittier, head of the Gratiot Draft Board, stated that some registrants had failed to complete their draft questionnaires, and he expected the number of Gratiot men with incomplete questionnaires to almost quadruple in January. As a result, the Draft Board examined an average of 2 young men daily at Alma City Hall to meet the January quota. Another problem with the Draft Board concerned married men and exemptions. One of the early questions asked if the wife relied on the husband for a “normal source of support.” There were also a few challenges with those who appeared to evade the selection process. This problem involved two men: one who could not be found and another who failed to provide the specific information required for the draft. Still, by the end of December, the Board announced that Gratiot County now had 33 volunteers. One member of the group was married with a small child, but he still met with the Board and said he and his wife agreed that he should volunteer.
Just before Christmas, nineteen volunteers needed for the second draft quota planned to leave Alma for Saginaw on January 7 at 5:35 pm. They arrived in Saginaw at 7:30 that evening. The group spent their last night as civilians at the Franklin Hotel, then reported for duty early the next morning for testing and induction. Wyomah Vick, one of the first four Gratiot volunteers to leave in November, wrote a letter to the Gratiot Draft Board stating that he was in the 25th Infantry in Arizona and had trained in a machine gun company. Vick wrote that he was grateful for the experience he was having in the Army. The War Department proved generous with holiday leave during December, allowing many men to travel home by suspending training from December 21 to January 2. Furloughs often went up to fifteen percent of the enlisted strength in a unit. They were limited to those who enlisted before November 1, 1940.
Despite the drafting of young men, there were plenty of voices warning that the United States should not go to war with Nazi Germany. The National Observer, a forecaster of political and war events, believed the United States would be in the war by June 1941. Critics of those against American men in the draft made comparisons and warnings about the men lost in the last World War of 1917-18. The Alma Record-Alma Journal even ran a lengthy editorial on December 12 entitled “Keeping America Out of War.” It urged America to stay out of foreign wars and for foreign wars to keep out of America.
One veteran of the World War, Albert Johnson of Alma, received a federal summons to report to Detroit to inspect manufactured trucks for the Army. Johnson served in Europe during the last war. The remainder of Battery B, 177 Field Artillery (the former Battery B, 106th Michigan Cavalry), moved from the back of the Wright Hotel to the cavalry barn. These men awaited an anticipated April 1941 call-up. Yet, who would replace those National Guard troops once they left the county? Some argued for the need to form “Home Guard Units” by calling on veterans of the World War of 1917-1918 to serve in that capacity.
Help for Greek Families
Alma men of Greek ancestry organized a fund as part of a national movement to help families of Greek soldiers who fought against Fascist Italy. James Stavros, James Stamas, and George Goutis solicited funds in Alma to help Greek families disrupted by the war between Greece and Italy. In a short time, $700 had been raised for food, medicine, and clothing to be sent overseas. Coney Island Restaurant (donating $200), the State Sweet Shop ($100), and the Main Café ($100) were among a long list of donors. The Greek War Relief Association continued to run national advertisements across America to ask for help during December. Lists of even more Alma donors for the cause followed later that month.
Depression and the New Deal
Several New Deal programs continued to function in Gratiot County during December 1940. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) announced a new project to improve M-57 by installing drain tile, culverts, and fences; surfacing; replacing bridges; and cutting brush. The work done on M-57 west to the Montcalm County line preceded a plan for hard surfacing and completion of the highway. Two-thirds of a St. Louis sidewalk project, also sponsored by the WPA, was halted for the winter, and men working on it were transferred to the M-57 work. Twenty-five men continued working on the construction of six tennis courts at Wright Park. Also, the WPA sponsored a school lunch program for fifty children, a growing library project in three communities, and an active recreation division in Alma, Ithaca, and St. Louis. In 1940, the WPA spent $260,685 in Gratiot County and provided work for 261 people, the majority of whom were over 40.
The National Youth Administration (NYA) remained active in Gratiot County. NYA workers raked leaves and cut wood for the Gratiot County Conservation League, further improving the appearance of the Alma park. Dean Carter, the county director, announced that 50 more Gratiot youths could join the NYA, tripling the NYA workforce. Some of the new projects they could be part of included a Breckenridge school board project, Ithaca clerical work, a public works project for the St. Louis city government, and a new program in Riverdale. All of these members were between the ages of 16 and 24, worked 60 hours a month, and received $18 in pay.
Other public programs included the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which offered first-aid training at the St. Louis Seventh-day Adventist Church. Darrell Milstead and Lester Fillhard led the classes. The WPA also planned a city-wide table tennis tournament at the Republic and Wright Park recreation centers. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) sent a call for enrollment for young men, ages 17 to 23 ½, at the Gratiot County Department of Social Welfare in the basement of the courthouse. A Social Security representative planned to be at Alma City Hall on December 18 to assist with claims and provide additional information.
In other news, a group of 35 civic leaders in the county sought to receive aid from the state board of vocational education to hire a supervisor to oversee technical training for young people. The principal goal was to reduce waste caused by young people’s idleness. Gratiot was one of six counties to experience this grant. Donald L. Baker, the county school commissioner, issued a call for donations of footwear and clothing for students in need. Baker stated that some students in the county were absent from school because they lacked shoes. Finally, a Progressive Townsend Club No. 2 special meeting at the Ithaca village hall had good attendance and prepared for a Christmas program. It now had over 200 members.
Farming, Hunting, and the Outdoors
Even though it was December, the topic of sugar beets remained on farmers’ minds. In early December, Gratiot beet growers received their initial payment of $5 per ton of sugar beets, less the cost of field labor and seed. Another sugar beet payment would be available in the spring, with the final payment coming in October. After a two-month run of beets at the St. Louis Lake Shore Company plant, work started to close down around December 16. This closure meant the end of work for 325 men at the plant. In all, St. Louis believed it had sliced 72,000 tons of beets during the 1940 harvest.
The fourth annual Farmers’ Institute took place at the Strand Theatre in Alma on December 12 and drew 700 farmers. Sponsored by the Alma Chamber of Commerce, the program included talks on various agricultural issues, motion pictures, musical entertainment, and a free noon meal at one of three churches in town. In Ithaca, a large group of 40 community committee members involved in the agricultural conservation program met to discuss the ongoing threat posed by the European corn borer. The pest first appeared in the county in the 1920s, but returned in 1940, causing an estimated $400,000 in damage to Gratiot crops. The committee decided to ask farmers to sign an agreement to follow specific practices to prevent the spread of the corn borer in 1941. However, all farmers needed to come together to end the scourge. Some of the ideas included plowing all cut corn under by May 15, and shredding or hauling away all fodder in shocks and stalks. All farmers had to pay attention to the program, as if one farmer in a section did not, the insect could still move to a new location miles away.
There were other winter meetings for area farmers in December. Dairy manufacturers from the area attended a dairy meeting at the Park Hotel on December 16. This meeting was one of 12 held across the state, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Farmers received a free meal and then listened to a series of presentations on the manufacture of dairy products and the latest developments to improve them. Alma Production Credit Association held its annual meeting at the Strand Theatre earlier in the month. It drew 492 men and women who farmed in Gratiot, Montcalm, Isabella, Mecosta, and Clare counties, who listened to reports, elected officers, and enjoyed music. Losses from bad debts and loans in 1940 amounted to only 1% of total loans.
The federal government again warned aliens to register at their local post office. As of December 1, a total of 301 aliens were registered at the Ithaca post office. Across the county, 860 individuals had registered by the December 26 deadline.
Other things, good and bad, happened on the farms and in the outdoors in Gratiot County. Frank Nelson of Ashley suffered a serious facial injury when a horse kicked him, knocking him unconscious. Nelson went to Smith Memorial Hospital with injuries to the face, forehead, and limbs. No one knew why the horse, a non-kicker, reacted as it did. Because some dog owners failed to pay their licenses by June 1, they faced fines. More than 500 dogs in the county had been disposed of because of unpaid taxes, disease, or being strays. Ithaca native Parks Allen, a Central State student, was in the news as he gave talks, wrote articles, and appeared on radio programs in mid-Michigan about nature conservation. Allen graduated from Ithaca in 1931. A pair of hunting accidents ended badly for two young men in Gratiot County. Lester Billings, 16, of St. Louis, died instantly while hunting rabbits near Carson City when his gun discharged while going over a fence. Another Wheeler youth, Alton Tryon, 18, was shot through the leg while hunting near Wheeler. Tryon’s hunting companion was holding the gun when it accidentally went off while hunting sparrows. Dr. A.H. Rotermund of Wheeler treated Tryon’s wounds.
The Long Arm of the Law in Gratiot
A total of 53 people were convicted in court in November, with 29 for traffic law violations—some of the other convictions dealt with game law violations, drunk and disorderly, and illicit cohabitation. Two men who were part of a gang of four from outside Gratiot County faced arrest for two local robberies at Ithaca gas stations in late November. The pair participated in 29 break-ins across central and southern Michigan. The name of Cornelius Eichorn again continued to be in the news for drunken driving arrests earlier in the fall. He had to pay $50 fine, costs, and serve 15 days in jail. James Brogan of Stockbridge went before the judge for reckless driving north of Ithaca, after striking a wagon drawn by horses driven by Daniel Fisher. Fisher lost both horses and received a wrecked wagon. Brogan got a $63.60 fine and costs, or jail time, for the incident.
The most bizarre news in the courts during December dealt with a case involving Mrs. Glen Ellsworth, age 34, of Ithaca. Ellsworth was arrested for setting part of her house on fire after claiming it was an accident. Strangely, the sheriff found Ellsworth’s furniture and belongings in the center of one room, and there was a strong kerosene odor. The sheriff was not so sure it was an accident and had her put in jail on a $3,000 bond. Ellsworth soon went on a hunger strike while proclaiming her innocence. News came out that the contents of her father-in-law’s house had been insured for $300, and the dwelling for $800. Also, after starting the incident, Ellsworth went back inside the house to check on the fire and took along one daughter.
Claiming that she had a weak stomach and was unable to eat anything, Ellsworth went on a 12-day fast at one point. Ellsworth even failed a lie detector test in Lansing, even though she claimed the results were inaccurate. Whenever she talked about her four children and the fire incident, Ellsworth broke into uncontrollable tears and shaking. In response to her self-imposed hunger strike, the judge appointed matrons to observe Ellsworth and to try to get her to sip broth. When that failed, the judge placed her in solitary confinement and cut off visitation from family members. At the end of December, Ellsworth broke her fast. Eventually, she became well enough to attend her examination, even though it was without a lawyer.
Health News
Christmas Seals sales took place in the county. However, children did not participate in house-to-house campaigns as they did last Christmas. Anyone wishing to buy Christmas Seals only had to contact their local school to obtain seals, which helped sponsor what turned out to be the sixth TB clinic in the last five years. Doctor C.F. Dubois of Alma announced that of 215 TB tests given recently at Alma High School, 10 percent returned positive. Most of those tests included juniors and seniors. Herman Berg, age 45 of Alma, who worked as traffic manager for Michigan Oil Refineries, died after spending several months at Ingham County sanitarium, from tuberculosis. In addition to all of this news, the Michigan health department warned Gratiot County that a potential flu epidemic could soon hit the area. Influenza had been detected on the West Coast and was headed this direction, and cough, fever, and back and leg pain were all symptoms.
Christmas Season 1940
“Window Night,” where area merchants displayed items for sale in their front windows, kicked off the Christmas season. Alma, St. Louis, and Alma each chose a night to open for Christmas officially, and each made it a big celebration. A total of 25 businesses in St. Louis participated in the program. Later in the month, a “Santa Claus Skills Contest” was sponsored in St. Louis with participating merchants leaving clues in their windows. G.E. Marr also opened the GEM Theater two days before Christmas to offer a free children’s movie.
On Friday, November 29, Alma welcomed Santa Claus to town in a parade that started at 7 o’clock, going one way down East Superior Street, then turning around and repeating the procession in the opposite direction. Both the Alma High School and city bands led the parade as children left the sidewalks and jumped onto Santa’s float. On December 17, the Strand Theater offered a free Tuesday matinee to young people who wanted to see a movie if they contributed one canned good. Manager Victor Jaeckel announced that a crowd of 900 children donated 51 baskets of canned goods and foodstuffs. To top off the night, the city of Alma again lit up a large white cross on the top of the city hall tower. On Christmas Eve, Santa appeared again in the town, this time at the Tourist Park, where he oversaw the distribution of 1,800 sacks of candy and peanuts. The Alma Police and WPA Recreation Department helped Santa hand out the goodies.
In Ithaca, a Home Lighting Contest encouraged residents to create a community holiday spirit by decorating their homes. Three prizes went to the top homes that would be judged between December 23 and New Year’s. Each home in Ithaca had to have its lights displayed between seven and ten o’clock each evening. On Saturday, December 14, the Ithaca Chamber of Commerce sponsored Santa’s arrival at the Ithaca High School gymnasium, complete with Santa coming down a chimney. Santa also encouraged Ithaca youth to write him letters addressed to the North Pole. The American Legion helped the Chamber ensure that each child in attendance received a sack of candy.
St. Louis held a Home Decorating Contest offering prizes of $1 to $5 for the homes that best symbolized Christmas. Alma also had a similar contest with awards of $5 to $10 in two categories: individual homes and businesses. The Garden Club in Breckenridge offered a contest for those who registered before December 21. Early in December, the Breckenridge school held a Christmas program for the community.
As Christmas events went on across the county, there were calls to remember those families and young people who needed help in St. Louis. Both the Nonpareil and Emergency committees of the Community Council called for donations of 100 girls’ dresses. The Community Christmas League in Alma planned to help 200 families and organized a Christmas party for up to 534 students in the community who needed to experience a nice Christmas. The Knights of Pythias Lodge 49 of St. Louis provided a turkey dinner for 100 children who had been invited. The Alma Elks Club had a program for 149 boys and girls, ages 5 to 13. The party offered candy, nuts, and ice cream. A group of 150 Girl Scouts in the Alma Council presented Santa with a $26.50 check to be used by the Alma Community Christmas League for those in need in Alma. The Girl Scouts raised the money on their own, and this was the third year that the program took place. A total of 25 Alma organizations helped create 200 food baskets and a program that entertained an estimated 500 young people and adults at the Alma High School gymnasium. The program had a large Christmas tree at the front of the gym, and an appearance by Santa (played by George Urtel, Alma city treasurer) to entertain the audience. Workers handed out neatly packaged gifts of sweaters for boys and dresses for girls as each family left the gym.
And So We Do Not Forget
Residents observed a beautiful white swan on the upper pond north of Sumner. Rumors stated that one of its legs had been shot off by hunters. Still, viewers watched as the bird played and dove for food…Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, and Hedy Lamarr starred in “Boom Town” at Ithaca’s Ideal Theatre. Tickets cost ten cents, but “Boom” only appeared for one night on December 5…Gratiot residents prepared to view the “Cunningham Comet,” the largest comet appearance since Haley’s Comet in 1910. Best to view the comet with the naked eye, newspapers warned, even though it was 90 million miles away…The history of the Christmas Card in America appeared in the St. Louis Leader. The note recorded that Christmas cards go back to 1846…St Louis Cooperative Creamery sold Milkmaker Dairy Concentrate, which contained 34 percent protein. Phone 131 in St. Louis…Interdenominational Revival Services began on December 8 at the Sumner Community Church for two weeks. Evangelist Reverend T.A. Harris of Mt. Pleasant led the services each night except Saturday…Fulton Seniors visited the Pompeii Bank for four hours, learning about its departments, the inner workings of the bank, and modern electrical machinery. Students asked questions about burglary systems, the operation of the vault’s time lock, and safety deposit boxes.
Hall Lumber Company in St. Louis paid a Christmas bonus of $650 to its employees; those who had been with the company for one year or longer received $100. One person who worked for 6 months received $50…Reverend Floyd Drake of Breckenridge’s Methodist Church fell and broke his upper left arm while arranging Christmas decorations in the church. Drake found himself at Smith Memorial Hospital, and doctors worked on the fractures. He soon returned home to rest and heal…Riverdale received a new postmistress. Miss Helen Young took over the job her father held after serving as an assistant for many years. She had been in charge of the office since her father’s death…A tremendous ten-hour snowstorm hit Gratiot County beginning early Saturday morning, November 30, enabling residents to start the month of December with a foot of snow. Blowing winds continued to cause problems as workers in Alma worked on Sunday to reopen the city to traffic. It took 22 hours of labor in St. Louis to clear the snow with 27 men and six trucks. The Alma Record stated it might take workers two weeks to get the county back to completely safe travel….The Gratiot County Herald advertised on Christmas Eve for the New Year Baby Contest, now in its eleventh year. The contest opened midnight on New Year’s Eve and closed on midnight January 11…Revival services at the North Star Church of the Nazarene closed after bringing 35 people to the altar on the last night. Sunday School attendance reached 195 pupils. Reverend L.G. Wright from Geneva, Indiana, led the meetings.
The Nummer-Giles Company moved from an office in the Wright House Hotel in Alma to new headquarters at 109 Mill Street in St. Louis. The company has sold fluorescent light bulbs since March 1939…Construction started on a new oil pipeline from Ithaca to North Star to carry gas from Cook No. 1 well in section four of North Star Township, along with gas from other wells in that area…Pung Motor Sales in Alma offered new Buick automobiles starting at $935 for the Business Coupe. See Pung at 315-317 East Superior Street…Apolonio Gonzales, 26, and Norma Swift, 18, both of Wheeler, became the latest of Cupid’s victims, along with Leo Davis, 22, of Hamilton Township, and Annabelle Wenzel, 18, of Lafayette Township…Order your roses and poinsettias early for Christmas, especially if you want them sent telegraph. Townsend’s of Alma and St. Louis offered free delivery for local orders… Clapp’s Hardware in St. Louis established a new appliance department in its basement. Now, interested buyers could see the new R.C.A. radios and A.B.C. washer models…The St. Louis High School senior class presented the comedy “What a Life” under the direction of Mrs. Grace Niggeman. The play previously had a large Broadway run… Dick’s Wholesale Station held its grand opening in December. Midwest three-star gas sold for fourteen cents a gallon.
Trappers may sell hides and fur to Michigan Fur Company, located in the Berman Building in Ithaca. “Make it a habit” – sell your furs to Berman…The annual Red Cross drive in Alma started November 11 and, so far, has raised $790 in memberships for 1941… C.G. Larry’s Hardware in Ithaca sold Sunbeam Mixmaster food mixers for $23.75. Too big? Buy an “Eskimo” mixer for only $12.95 – in large size…Chemistry teacher Marion Woodford from Fulton Schools took two busloads of students to the St. Louis sugar beet plant. He had help chaperoning from agriculture teacher Don McCormick. The students received a complete tour of the plant…The First Bank of Ashley invited people to join the 1941 Christmas Club so that next Christmas, families would have less financial stress…Dick Plankenhorn and Jay Stahl led the Ithaca basketball team as it started its season in December. Plankenhorn could only play through December as he was in his eighth semester of eligibility. Stahl led the team in scoring through his four years on the team.
And that was December 1940, during the Depression and War in Gratiot County.
November 1940 in Gratiot County from the top: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt loses Gratiot County for the first time in his three elections, but wins the Presidency in the rest of the nation; John Giles of St. Louis, Vice President and General Manager of Michigan Salt Company, wheels George Hart down Mill Street from Washington Avenue. Giles bet on Wendell Willkie for President, and had to wheel Hart through downtown St. Louis. George Hart, as manager of Hart Brothers Elevator, prepares Gratiot’s first Selective Service Group to leave Alma for the military. Grant Angelus, Forest Proctor, Roy Bigler, and Wyomah Vick made up the group. They received their draft notices early – all near Coleman, Michigan. Derwerd Cary, Charles Van Deventer, and George Cary showcase their successwith a Thanksgiving poem and prayer as it appeared in a local newspaper near the Holiday.
The Nazi Luftwaffe increasingly bombed and decimated English cities as the air war over Great Britain continued.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was nominated and ran for an unprecedented third term as President of the United States. The prelude to the national draft began as several thousand Gratiot men registered in each township.
A terrible November storm struck Gratiot County as the holidays appeared on the horizon.
It was November 1940 in Gratiot County.
The World at War
As the war raged in the battle over Great Britain, foreign correspondent Orin W. Kaye, Jr. of Lansing, told members of the Alma Rotary and Lions Clubs that he believed England would not be dismembered or conquered by the Nazis. Kaye had been in Paris when the Germans invaded and stated that he believed that morale would be the deciding factor in the war. Before and after the dinner, the group sang patriotic songs and other popular numbers. The program came on the heels of German bombings on Birmingham and Coventry. The Nazis boasted that the attack on Coventry was the “greatest air attack in the history of aerial warfare” as it laid waste to the city and resulted in over 1,000 casualties.
In other news, state budget director Gus Hartman announced that he rejected any plans to build new armories in Michigan in 1941 due to the war. The state military establishment requested $3.5 million to develop and improve armories across the state. To commemorate Armistice Day, students at St. Louis High School held a program in the high school gymnasium with help from the William Fields American Legion Post. Commander Milton Townsend was one of two speakers. The program concluded with the playing of Taps. Over at Alma, plans for an Armistice parade with floats, bands, and American Legion members had to be changed due to the weather, even though the Alma City Band and Alma High School Band marched downtown and arrived at East Superior Christian Church, where a service was held.
With the war continuing in Europe, Sheriff William Nestle set out for Washington, D.C., where a national defense conference took place. Much of the conference centered on how police and sheriff’s departments would step in to cover duties previously performed by the National Guard in their areas. William B. Kyes, formerly of Elwell, left for the Officers Training Corps of the Air Division of the United States Army at Parks Air College in East St. Louis. Kyes took a three-month course, then would go to either Texas, Alabama, or California to finish his training. Since June, Kyes had taught at Freeport High School.
Alien registration continued in Gratiot County, with 601 aliens registered as of November 21. All aliens age fourteen and older had to register in person. Those under the age had to be registered by their parents or guardians. Any change of address needed to be reported to one of three post offices in the county.
New Deal Life During the Depression
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) announced that the Stillwell Junior High gymnasium opened on Monday evenings to boys and girls not attending Alma schools. While NYA boys and girls were encouraged to use the gym, the facilities remained open to other students from 7 pm to 8 pm for girls and 8 pm to 9 pm for boys. Lester Fillhard, WPA recreation director, served as supervisor.
Foreman and timekeepers from WPA projects met at Alma’s city hall to form a national defense council. Organized by the federal government, the councils were formed mainly “for the purpose of detecting and nipping any subversive activities” within federal aid groups. Even though some WPA workers faced layoffs for a week, upon returning to work, they continued preparing the grounds in Wright Park for new tennis courts. The group removed trees and stumps, then waited for the excavation and grading of the ground to be completed before installing the courts.
The NYA (National Youth Administration) role in Gratiot increased by 100 people to carry out new projects, such as rehabilitating used toys for Christmas gifts for needy children and expanding girls’ sewing and home economics projects. Project workers earned $18 a month, and some foremen, aged 17 to 24, received as much as $24 for 60 hours of work. The NYA program provided young people with practical experience through useful work and aimed to encourage good work habits. Jack Acker, WPA recreation leader at Alma’s Republic Recreation Center, oversaw a new club called the “East End Canaries.” Eighteen boys and girls participated in the first meeting that promoted recreational activities of a “wholesome nature.” Benie Simons served as president of the newly formed club, and its first project was to host a Christmas party. In November, fifty NYA workers received Red Cross first-aid training, and a notice went out that any youth over the age of seventeen could receive instruction.
Two WPA recreational leaders from Alma went to Flint for a special recreational training institute. Lester Fillhard and Jack Acker represented Alma at the meetings. Darrell Milstead, county WPA leader, announced that NYA workers continued repairing Christmas toys in the basement of the Salvation Army (toy shop). The NYA and the Salvation Army hoped that every child in Alma would have a toy for Christmas.
At the Gratiot County Courthouse, the Bureau of Social Aid moved to make way for the Community Welfare Department. Both had new locations due to changes in the courthouse basement. The bureau had two NYA workers.
The Election of 1940 – No Third Term?
In November 1940, Gratiot County and the rest of the nation faced an unprecedented situation. Should the United States re-elect the President of the United States to a third term in office? The United States Constitution then did not bar Presidents from a third term. However, by tradition, two terms of office had been the maximum that any then-sitting President held. Now, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been called by his fellow Democrats to run again for office – and Gratiot County was floored.
Roosevelt won convincingly in the county in 1932, and then by a much narrower margin in 1936. Now, Republicans everywhere warned people of the threat of a Democratic “dictatorship” with mounted signs and advertisements in Gratiot County that read “No Third Term!”. Another issue bantered by Republican opponents centered on the continued deficit that Michigan and the nation ran in operating Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Republicans asked, why was the deficit as high in 1940 as it had been in 1932? The answer was the Great Depression—an economic nightmare the nation had never experienced before. Unfortunately for Roosevelt opponents in Gratiot County (which elected Republican Wendel Willkie), FDR won a third term in office.
The Draft
Following the national draft lottery in Washington, D.C., 155 Gratiot men were among the first called to military service. The public found out who these men were by reading the long lists printed in the Alma Record-Alma Journal. Three men from Alma headed the list: Russell Swinson, Joe Prahin, and Louis DeRosia. However, before any of the list were officially called, at least a half dozen men volunteered. Soon, four men stepped forward as the first volunteers from Gratiot County. The four included Grant Angelus and Roy Bigler of Alma; Forest Proctor of Ithaca; and Wyomah Vick of Alma, who recently moved to Edmore. A special program at the George W. Myers Post of the Alma American Legion recognized the volunteers, and each received a gift package from the Alma Community Christmas League. Inside were things like writing paper, a fountain pen, candy, and two packages of cigarettes. The Salvation Army chaplain also gave each volunteer a small testament. On this wet, snowy day in Alma, a parade assembled at Alma City Hall, then made its way down to the bus station on East Superior Street. The four volunteers rode in an automobile with signs on the side that read “Gratiot’s First Volunteers” along with their individual names. It was not long after this that another 12 men requested that the Gratiot County Draft Board accept them as Gratiot County’s following volunteers.
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas
Over in St. Louis, 500 children drank nearly 40 gallons of cider and ate 100 dozen doughnuts. Just before the Halloween festivities, someone threw a cabbage head through Colonel J.M. Thrasher’s large front window on Main Street. Police continued to investigate who the culprit might be. New Deal programs like the NYA and WPA helped sponsor a Halloween gathering in Alma, where 500 children also turned out for a parade from the Tourist Park to Rademacher Motor Sales garage starting at 7:30 pm. Helpers inserted toy balloons with prize slips into the balloons, then let them loose from the tops of several downtown businesses. A bonfire back at the Tourist Park concluded the night.
A Woman’s Page Editor in the Alma Record-Alma Journal suggested an ideal Thanksgiving menu with four types of dishes. Just how many were realistic for most people’s Thanksgiving dinners was a matter of conjecture. Turkey, duck, and chicken were the main choices. Gilmore’s Grocery in St. Louis (“Where Values are Quality”) urged shoppers not to forget that they could get all their Thanksgiving trimmings at Gilmore’s. For Thanksgiving, the Gratiot County Herald published a copy of “The First Thanksgiving Proclamation” by President George Washington.
By golly, Christmas was just around the corner in Gratiot County, and the Santa Claus Club held its first meeting in Ithaca’s village hall to plan the community programs. Alma led all the festivities with its Window Night on November 29, featuring new flashing lights on the main street, a parade, and the debut of Christmas trees along light poles. The Strand Theatre offered a free matinee to children who donated a canned good. St. Louis planned to kick off the official Christmas shopping season on December 6 with Window Night. At 7:15 on that Friday night, the fire siren would sound and Santa would appear on the streets. The St. Louis Lions Club and the GEM Theater planned to sponsor a free children’s movie. Merchants with the best decorated windows also received prizes, and the St. Louis Trade Association expected visitors from throughout Gratiot and Midland counties. St. Louis also planned a home lighting contest for the best-decorated homes in the city. Ithaca planned its Window Night with Santa on December 14. Breckenridge sponsored its annual Christmas lighting contest sponsored by the Breckenridge Garden Club.
November Storms and Farming
On Monday, November 11, 1940, a storm with cyclone-level winds descended across parts of the United States. Gratiot County was one of the places that bore the full brunt of this 50-60 mph storm. In St. Louis, Mary Hoffman was sent to Smith Memorial Hospital after a gust of wind shoved her against the wall of a building with enough force to break her arm. Telephones, signs, and poles across the city were seriously damaged. The storm toppled the brick chimney of Alma’s First Baptist Church, sending it crashing through the roof of the church’s east room. The Beebe store in Emerson Township had its entire roof torn off by the weather. High winds also attacked the farm of Valois and Paul Todd, outside of Middleton, which also had the roof ripped off of their east barn. Other county farmers who lost their barns included John Wilk (northwest of Alma) and Fred Flegel (Sickles). The first estimates placed the damages in the county at tens of thousands of dollars, and according to the Gratiot County Herald, “hardly a single community escaped without some damage.”
Michigan Sugar estimated that 40,000 tons of beets sliced so far only accounted for one-half of the expected yield in the Alma region. Beet fields yielded an average of 8 ½ to 9 tons per acre, which was then considered average production. A freeze-up resulting from the hurricane storm that hit Gratiot delayed the harvest by about a week; however, warmer temperatures allowed farmers to complete the remaining 2,000 to 3,000 acres left in the Gratiot area. In other harvest news, Herman Hoffer of Ashley had a tremendous corn yield of 60 bushels per acre. Reports said that Hoffer’s yield from five acres of ground was as much as the average American farmer received from ten acres. Hoffer planted and harvested DeKalb 204 on his farm. When it came to milk production, the Gratiot Dairy Herd Improvement Association recognized Ralph Densmore and his Holsteins of Elwell for leading the area with an average production of 1569 pounds of milk and 48.79 pounds of fat. A.J. Neitzke of Breckenridge was second with his Brown Swiss yielding 1040 pounds of milk and 41.66 pounds of milk fat.
Newspapers highlighted other farming news in November. Evart Denney, a recent graduate of Ohio University, took over the duties as manager of the 700-acre Balmoral Farms. He replaced Peter McClelland, who had managed the farm since 1925. Instructors prepared for a ten-week night class at St. Louis High School sponsored by the Smith-Hughes Agricultural Program. The program prepared teachers at the area high schools to teach students with help from the Michigan State College extension department. The Future Farmers of America Chapter at St. Louis High School also held its fifth annual community fair on November 28-29. The Breckenridge FFA also helped provide the program of free movies, corn husking contests, music by their bands, a style show, and ended with a school judging contest. At least 65 boys and girls participated in the fair.
Alma Production Credit Association prepared for its sixth annual meeting at the Strand Theatre. The meeting gave members updates on the organization’s business and financial reports. It featured a free noon-day luncheon for several hundred farmers and their wives. In some unfortunate news, Harzey Fisher of Crystal was seriously injured while working on the Henry Tompson farm near Sumner. Fisher got his coveralls caught in the drive shaft of a corn picker as it went around a tree. Harzey held onto the lever until the shaft stopped; however, the force of the shaft stripped off the coveralls, pants, and underwear, and heavily lacerated his leg. Fisher was transported to Edmore Hospital for observation and treatment.
If it is November, the Nimrods are Here
As the nimrods descended upon Gratiot County to hunt pheasants, so did the game warden. However, overall pheasant hunting was considered poor in Gratiot County. Still, George Howe and Robert Lee of Alma were arrested for stalking on lands northeast of St. Louis without permission. They each paid a fine of $14.85. On the last day of pheasant season, Gus Claerhout and Claude Taylor jumped a fox on the Jack Dicken farm south of Ithaca. The male fox fought the collie the pair had with them until Taylor shot the nice male. Some of those from the county who went deer hunting came home with a buck. Leo Podgoresek led a group of successful hunters from Riverdale, including Vera Johnson, who shot her first buck five times to make sure he dropped. Charles Smith of Elm Hall brought in a very nice 16-point buck. A group of 16 game wardens enforced a blockade at the intersection of M-46 and US-27, northwest of Alma, to monitor illegal hunting. The wardens did a car check on each vehicle and found eight violators that day. Violations included carrying a loaded weapon in the car, removal of the sex of a deer, hunting without a proper license, and possession of birds shot out of season. Fines ranged from $10.85 to $50.00, depending on the case.
The Long Arm of the Law, Health Matters
During the previous month, Gratiot courts reported 91 convictions, including 20 for game violations. Some of the less common offenses included possession and sale of adulterated food, failure to send a child to school, and failure to pay a dog license. Fines and total costs brought in $287.55 to the county. Daniel Fisher, age 70 of Ithaca, suffered a concussion and lost both of his horses when his wagon was hit by a Stockbridge driver on a hill just north of Ithaca. While the wagon was unlit, the driver was cited for driving too fast and for causing the accident. Edward Vela, age 18, Mexican beet worker, and Geraldine Pego, of Indian descent and age 19, were arraigned on a morals charge. Vela got four months, and Vela received sixty days in the county jail. St. Louis police picked up a trio of violators on a drunken driving spree in a car with small children. Jessie Joseph (Fisher), Joseph Williams, and Edwin Burr, all of Mt. Pleasant, were arrested and served thirty days each for failure to pay fines of $25 to $35 each. Joseph (Fisher) and Williams were identified as being Indians. On a more positive note, Mrs. J.H. Keep, janitress at the Strand Theatre, turned over to management a wallet containing $106. A light cable and aisle seat kept the wallet out of sight until Keep found it. It turned out that the wallet had been lost by a Detroit salesman who watched a movie at the theatre some ten days earlier. Mrs. Keep was commended for honesty in turning in the wallet to Strand manager V.A. Jaeckel.
One of the most critical health issues in the county remained the battle against tuberculosis, and the Michigan Tuberculosis Association held a clinic at Alma High School. Tuberculin tests were given, and the Vollmer patch test was used for the first time. A total of 215 students at both the middle and high schools took the tests conducted by Dr. Charles DuBois. After examinations, anyone who tested positive had to undergo an X-ray. At Smith Memorial Hospital in Alma, the R.B. Smith Auxiliary purchased a modern incubator for premature babies. The incubator, engineered by the Ford Hospital, allowed the hospital to transport babies 20 miles without changing the incubator’s internal temperature. The device had an automatic thermostat, humidity control, and oxygen intake controls.
And So We Do Not Forget
Murray Brown of Kalamazoo moved to Alma to open a photographic studio in the southeast corner room of the Wright Hotel. Go to the first floor to find his studio…Henry Fonda and Jackie Cooper starred in “The Return of Frank James” at the Strand Theatre in Alma. Tickets were ten and twenty cents – all for a movie, news, and cartoon…Mrs. Reid Brazell served as chairperson of the Alma Red Cross. Brazell urged the Gratiot community to support the Red Cross as it helped with disasters across the country…A new brick covering went up over the office entrance to Carney-Wilcox Hospital. With the latest addition, the staff could now keep the area clear of snow and slush during the winter…Alma Iron and Metal Company solicited muskrat, mink, and skunk hides. Highest prices paid.
More window-soaping in St. Louis prompted Mayor Sumner to warn that repeat offenders would face harsh punishment if caught. While Halloween had been fun, the continued soaping of windows was too much, and Sumner asked the St. Louis police force to apprehend all “soapers”…The Brice Store in North Shade Township burned to the ground on November 13. Owner Henry Fockler was awakened by his dog at 3:00 am and called the Perrinton and Carson City fire departments for help. Unfortunately, a strong west wind quickly fanned the flames, resulting in a total loss. Fockler had some insurance on the building, which was a landmark in North Shade Township.
The Alma First Presbyterian Church held its annual bazaar on November 7. A roast chicken dinner costs fifty cents for adults, twenty-five cents for children twelve and under…Denver Hole of 412 Ely Street in Alma announced that he was returning to the blacksmith trade. Following training with his father in the old Charles Fishbeck shop, and after trying another job, Hole opened a shop in the back of the Consumers Power Company and was turning out trailer hitches for motorists…Tex Ritter starred in “Rhythm of the Rio Grande” at the Alma Theatre. Shows cost only ten and fifteen cents—and it was air-conditioned…Art Farnsworth of Alma moved his used car headquarters to a new location on East Superior at the Bridge Street approach. He advertised nine vehicles, including a 1940 Plymouth 2-door…Mrs. Fred Bennett filled in for her husband as a truck driver for the St. Louis Fire Department while he went on a hunting trip. Mrs. Bennett was the only known fire truck driver in the United States.
Professor Arpyal Toth wrote from Budapest, Hungary, to the Alma Chamber of Commerce requesting copies of local newspapers. The card came written in legible English…Mr and Mrs. P.H. Deal of Elwood, Indiana, arrived in Alma to take over the running of the kitchen at the Wright Hotel. Vern Daymon of Elwell was hired as the new night clerk..Oliver Haight of Alma celebrated his 87th birthday by going deer hunting with his grandson near Oil City. The pair brought home a buck on the second day of hunting…New Christmas toys started to appear in Alma as Santa and “Window Night” on November 29 approached…The sale of deer licenses in Alma was up by approximately two-thirds from a year ago. Dick’s Package Shop sold 285 licenses, with Mapes Hardware close behind at 225.
Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette starred in “Carolina Moon” at Ithaca’s Ideal Theatre…An estimated 300 volunteers for the Gratiot County Red Cross fanned out across the county in an attempt to increase membership in a drive from November 11-30…The Ithaca Methodist Church invited the community on Thanksgiving Night to see the new motion pictures, “Life of Christ” and “Passion Play.” The film was produced in Europe, the Holy Land, and Egypt…The McCormack Store in Ithaca had a new, modern black-and-white glass front. New modern lettering was added to the top of the entrance in black on a white background. The owners stated that the new glass brick admitted 74 percent natural light. Also, dry goods and vegetables would now be placed on one side of the display window…Stovall Studio and Camera Shop of Alma advertised itself as “The Old Reliable Studio of Central Michigan.” Photographs made great Christmas gifts…The Ithaca Yellow Jackets finished their season 5-0-2 and did not give up a single point.
The Alma Theatre wanted patrons to know that a new seating plan included only one aisle through the center of the theatre, replacing the old two-aisle pattern. This allowed for closer seating to the screen, which raised seating capacity to 324 people… Redman Trailer planned to build a new building on East Superior Street that would cost $6000. Made of cinder blocks, it would measure 70×90 feet and stand 10 to 14 feet high…After 20 years of planning and wishing, a new Gratiot County Road Commission building opened in Ithaca, and an estimated 1,000 people attended a two-day open house. Music and dancing were provided, along with tours.
And that was Depression and War in Gratiot County during November 1940.
October 1940 photographs and events in Gratiot County from the top: “Dictators Take Notice” promoted the idea of registering for the first national draft since 1917; Walter O. Brown, a World War I veteran and Ithaca tailor, helps Roy Stewart register for the selective service draft in Ithaca; Wendell Willkie for President advertisements seemed to be everywhere as was the theme “No Third Term” for FDR; “Aladdin” the magician appeared at Ithaca High School auditorium for Halloween night.
Gratiot Steps Toward War
As Hitler continued his bombings of England, several newspapers wondered how long the British Isles could hold out until the Nazis invaded. Mr. and Mrs. H. Abbey of Ithaca received a letter from a relative living in London, who described life under the bombings. Despite rationing, Londoners were not starving. Sometimes, there were two or three air raids per day, often continuing throughout the night. Still, the British were downing about fifty German airplanes daily. In fact, W.A. Hobson wrote that “If their air men come down alive they say it’s heaven, and are thankful to get here.”
Here in Gratiot County, young men slowly moved toward voluntary enlistments. Millard Morton and Don Freeman, both of Alma, joined up and were sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for field artillery training. Paul Long of St. Louis enlisted in the United States Army. After being stationed at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, Long went to the Panama Canal Zone. James Seitner, also of St. Louis, enlisted with the 210th Coast Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Unit, in Detroit. He was drilling several nights a week and expected to be sent to the South in early 1941. William C. Bainbridge, Jr. of Alma, was also selected for Army Air Corps primary training in Lansing. On a lighter side, Alfonse (Dutch) Collins, an officer in the Michigan National Guard, was in the news for failing to quell a riot on Alma’s north side. Collins was called to River Avenue to help with the noise caused by scores of starlings. Collins went to the site with his shotgun and Number 4 shot, took aim a half dozen times, and missed every time. In fact, the result was the existence of more starlings than ever. Collins was chided in the neighborhood for his inability to hit more birds and for how he would ever shoot down enemy airplanes.
A wave of concern began to sweep through the United States regarding Fifth Column activity. Lieutenant Harold Mulbar of the Michigan State Police visited St. Louis and spoke to the St. Louis Rotary Club about potential subversive activity in the state.
The ongoing talk of war continued to promote the idea of a new armory in Alma. If Alma could raise $15,000, the federal government could provide an additional $45,000 through a WPA Project, according to Alma City Manager W.E. Reynolds. Plans also proceeded for the 1941 Tulip Festival in Holland, as fall planting of bulbs was underway. The planting continued, even though about ninety percent of the annual importation of tulip bulbs from the Netherlands had been halted due to the war.
What about complaints in Gratiot County newspapers about the President? The issue of Lend-Lease of old ships to England in exchange for locations in the Caribbean had editors up in arms. “America’s first dictator” (President Roosevelt) took a significant step toward involvement in the war by trading aging ships with England, thus demonstrating that the United States was taking sides. According to one editorial, FDR was deemed a sucker in the trade, as who would want interests in the Caribbean? Time and war would eventually prove the critics wrong. However, that was not the most significant concern about President Roosevelt’s actions, as another issue soon arose.
The Draft
On Tuesday, October 2, County Clerk Charles L. Hicks received instructions for the registration of all Gratiot County men aged 21 to 35. Hicks estimated that about 4,500 men in the county were subject to the draft. To prepare for the draft, the Selective Service Headquarters in Lansing sent 6,280 registration cards, 5,230 registration certificates, 290 registration placards, and 29 instruction sheets for each precinct in the county. In St. Louis, City Clerk Frank L. Housel asked the public for volunteers to help with the registration process as the city hall expected 500 St. Louis young men to appear. Alma expected 1,000 men and asked for 35 workers.
Registration took place on Wednesday, October 16, and each man was required to answer eleven questions, ranging from his name and address to his place of employment. As each man made his way to the election booths to register, he saw a large placard displaying an enlarged registration card along with instructions. Lines were congested early in the morning, at noon, and at night; however, in most cases, little waiting actually took place, as the lines tended to move along. Each man received a serial number, which was sent to Washington to be drawn in a lottery. The Gratiot County Herald published a list of registrants, organized by their order number and serial number. Russell Hazen Swinson of Alma had the first number.
When the registration process ended, a total of 3,716 men were available for the draft, and 187 men were expected to be called to service by June 1, 1941. The county draft board, which was located in Alma’s City Hall, was composed of A.D. Smedberg, C.R. Murphy, and Robert V. Reed. At the same time that the draft board was created, members were appointed to the district appeals board. Lawyers J. David Sullivan, Kenneth Montigel, Merrill Hendershot, and Charles Goggin were appointed to that board. One of the primary reasons for granting deferments was to address the needs of men with dependents. The draft board showed leniency in this regard. Occupational deferments soon became another issue and had to be dealt with on an individual basis. One of the first complaints recorded in the Alma Record concerning registration for the draft involved President Roosevelt’s son, Elliot Roosevelt, who joined the Air Corps as a captain. The younger Roosevelt received higher pay and allowances than most young men who would be drafted. Editors argued that Elliott Roosevelt should be drafted like all other young men.
And who made up the most considerable loss of Army aid from Alma? The group of thirty-one cavalry horses left Alma with the help of Private William Meredith from Troop B, 106th Cavalry, Michigan National Guard. The horses went to the remount station at Fort Reno, Oklahoma, and thus came the end of the long history of horse soldiers in Gratiot County.
Now, the nation awaited the first draft call planned for November 18.
Politics & Election of 1940
Politicians big and small appeared in Gratiot County, campaigning for election or re-election for their respective offices. Both sides of the candidates for governor appeared in the county beginning in early October. Murray D. Van Wagoner, Democratic candidate for governor, addressed an audience of 150 at the IOOF Hall in Alma. His speech focused on his plan to reduce the state’s deficit, and he stated that if he failed to do so, he should not be re-elected in two years. Republicans organized meetings in places like Robinson Auditorium in St. Louis, and 75 Young Republicans of Gratiot County held a meeting at the Wright Hotel in Alma. Governor Luren Dickinson even had a campaign rally at the St. Louis High School Gymnasium, alongside O.L. Smith, a noted Gratiot Republican who ran for governor in the state primary. The St. Louis High School band provided music for the program.
A “Willkie-For-President” headquarters appeared in downtown St. Louis, which was decked out in red, white, and blue colors. The headquarters was billed as one of the most attractive Wendell Wilkie campaign headquarters in mid-Michigan. Willkie supporters organized a reception committee to welcome visitors each week; among the first to do so were Charles S. Huntley, Mrs. Rolland Baum, and Mrs. Frank Housel. Heavy campaigning for Willkie for President could be seen in county newspapers, which asked readers if they wanted an inauguration (for Willkie) or a coronation (for another Roosevelt term). The main arguments for Willkie manifested themselves in the phrases “Vote No Third Term” or “Anti-Third Term.” Near election night, the headquarters offered free doughnuts to anyone who stopped in to show support for Wendell Willkie.
Life in the Depression and New Deal Projects
In a big affair, Gratiot County celebrated the dedication of Gratiot County Conservation League Park in early October. On a crisp, clear day, southwest of Alma, a large crowd of people turned out to celebrate the work done on the 53-acre park that the Gratiot County Conservation League purchased in 1937. Fifteen minutes before the program started, Alma city manager William E. Reynolds, Howard C. Riggle, benefactor of the park, and Dean Carter, NYA county director, were interviewed on the air by Saginaw’s WSAM station. A flag-raising ceremony then started the program, emceed by Dr. Thomas Carney, who introduced a series of speakers. The National Youth Administration (NYA) was recognized for having done much of the work over the previous two years with the help of federal aid, such as constructing the one-hundred-foot suspension bridge and working on the park’s landscaping. Even as winter approached, NYA boys continued to rake leaves and cut dead wood, planning to complete a lawn bowling green before the winter weather arrived.
The NYA also continued to benefit area high school students by allotting $2,268 to eleven high schools in the county. Approximately 65 students earned $3 to $6 a month during the school year for their work with NYA. The money earned by students went toward lunches, carfare, and school supplies.
WPA (Works Progress Administration) project work also continued in the county. A group of twenty-five men worked excavating six cement tennis courts at Wright Park. Another group of seventy-five WPA workers labored on street paving jobs on streets like Orchard, Walnut, Downie, and Wright Avenue. A shortage of summer labor and the oncoming winter season meant that some projects in Alma would have to wait until 1941. The WPA also suggested creating a possible skating pond, a roller skating project, and even a swimming pool in St. Louis. For the summer daily project, there were 587 young people in attendance, according to Coach Oldt. WPA projects also involved grading and widening different roads in the county. A bridge at Bridgeville was being repaired, and a new bridge was created over Beaver Creek at Lafayette Township, all with WPA labor.
The Gratiot County board of supervisors appointed a committee to explore the possibility of creating a future traveling library for the county with WPA labor by converting a traveling bus into a library. A $2,000 federal government funding to buy new books, along with book donations from Alma, St. Louis, and Ithaca libraries, would supply the necessary reading material for rural students.
Ten youths from Gratiot County took their examinations to serve in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The group was expected to work at Camp Axim in Cadillac. The ten included: Alger Anters, Wallace Cratsenburg, Donald and Lester Dunn, Victor Hall, Clyde LaVoy, Nile Liscomb, Cecil Skutt, Murl Smith, and Denver Welsh.
Other news involved a settlement between creditors of the late Bank of Elwell after a dozen possible suits. Assets would soon be divided among the creditors to bring the issue to a close. For the week ending August 31, 1940, the Alma Welfare Office processed compensation claims for $6,519. The Social Security representative for old age security will be late in appearing in Alma because of attendance at a conference in Cleveland, Ohio. Manager Joseph W. Ramsey of the Saginaw field office would be back on October 23.
Farming and Farm Issues
An early frost hit the county just as weigh stations for sugar plants opened during the second week of October for the estimated 2,260 sugar beet growers in Gratiot County. On Tuesday, October 8, both the St. Louis and Alma plants started taking beets from farmers. At the end of October, farmers received one of three types of payments for their sugar beets. First, there was payment on actual tonnage if it exceeded eighty percent of the normal yield of the farm. A deficiency payment was the second type paid if tonnage was less than eighty percent of the normal yield. A third payment was made for abandoning 1/3 of the normal yield if beets had been abandoned.
Other, more serious problems still faced Gratiot County farmers, such as the battle against the corn borer. One hybrid corn plot in Emerson Township, belonging to the Grover Brothers, showed that their corn, planted on June 2, had sixteen corn borers in just one stalk. With 40,000 acres of corn planted in Gratiot County during the year, it was estimated that the pest caused $400,000 worth of damage to the crop. Concerns over the seriousness of corn borer damage came out in a Gratiot County editorial urging farmers to take the issue seriously as they prepared for 1941.
Miss Helen White of St. Louis, Missouri, met with the executive board of the Gratiot Council of Churches. White, Regional Director for the Council of Women for Home Missions, gave final reports about the Mexican center that operated during the summer and revealed plans for Mexican migrant workers in 1941. Miss White also spoke to the annual convention of Gratiot County churches on “Michigan Migrants.” Much of the financial support for the Mexican center in Alma came from churches in the county, as well as Leonard Refineries, Michigan Sugar Company, Lake Shore Sugar Company, and Michigan Sugar Company Workers Association. Reverend Floyd Drake of Breckenridge was recognized for his tireless work for the Mexican school.
A variety of news items dealt with Gratiot farming. The People’s Elevator Company moved into new offices in Elwell in what had been known as the Bina Slingluff home. To make the mill more efficient, the building had been moved back 150 feet. Ward Bronson served as manager. In early October, the county announced that 4-H interest had peaked at 500 enrollments, and 61 schools asked for winter clubs. Country schools from Hetzman in Emerson Townships to Sunnylawn in Wheeler Township all wanted to join the growing 4-H enlistments. On October 1, the Farm Bureau held meetings in places like the Beebe Hall, where Sherman Edgar served as chairman. An egg grading demonstration, a discussion about the corn borer crisis, and the call to create a community scrapbook about life under a democracy all took place.
October meant pheasant season, and many farmers in the county dreaded the appearance of hunters on their farmlands. Before the start of pheasant season, fourteen hunting clubs restricted hunters by ordering that they obtain a pass from the farm owner before hunting his land. Sunday hunting was closed, mainly, and Gratiot County petitioned the state for a statewide hunting ban on Sundays. On opening day, “nimrods” could be seen on many wooded tracts and farms, taking their share of birds. However, a few were caught hunting too early and paid fines of up to $12.00. To warn hunters, a sunrise timetable had appeared in local papers to indicate when hunters could start shooting on the first day. Unfortunately, toward the end of October, surveys of pheasant and rabbit hunters suggested fewer of them were taken, possibly due to the cold, wet spring. A statewide dog quarantine to contain a rabies outbreak officially ended in late September in 42 counties. Gratiot County was one of the counties where the ban ended.
The holidays were not that far off, and a county-wide turkey tour to see 15,000 turkeys in Gratiot County took place on October 23. The success and importance of turkey farms in the county were evident as the tour members visited at least fifteen different turkey farms. On a sad note, Lawrence Nemcik of Bannister lost his barn and hay. A kerosene lantern was believed to be the cause of the fire.
The Long Arm of the Law in Gratiot County
The law doled out justice as October arrived. On the court docket, nineteen law cases, four chancery cases, and six chancery divorce cases awaited Judge Kelly Searl. During September, the court ruled on sixty convictions: 39 were for traffic law violations, and 21 were for other general offenses. The court collected a total of $448.85 in fines and costs. One person failed to pay the dog license fee and paid $6.85 in fines and costs. Judge Searl dismissed one case of bastardy when the couple agreed to marry. In some good news regarding dogs in Gratiot County, dog license fees generated $1,417.48 more than the amount paid to farmers who lost livestock to dogs from October 1939 through September 1940. The profit was attributed to owners keeping their dogs confined during a rabies outbreak and purchasing licenses.
Warren Glaser, 26, of Saginaw, was arrested for larceny of a diamond ring valued at $500 from a well-known Ithaca lady. The ring turned up at Wolverine Billard Hall in Saginaw after Glaser pawned it for $25. Upon arrival at the county jail, Glaser claimed he experienced severe stomach aches and had to be transferred to Smith Memorial Hospital. Doctors could find nothing wrong with Glaser, and he was handcuffed to his bed for another day. A pair of cattle thieves, Charles Vanatter of Eaton Rapids and Ashley Eaton of Detroit, awaited extradition to Gratiot County for trial on their crimes. Both men were serving 90-day jail sentences in Ingham County. Two St. Louis dentists’ offices were investigated by police when thieves stole gold fillings valued at $250. One dentist also claimed that over $200 in other filling material was also stolen.
The story of the troubled Cornelius Eichorn again appeared in circuit court. Eichorn had been arrested and convicted for repeated driving violations, resulting in his license being suspended. He recently wrecked his car a year earlier by smashing it into a large tree. Now, his wife, Effie Smith Eichorn, appeared in court to contest her divorce from Cornelius, desiring a settlement for herself and her young son. Cornelius Eichorn owned 120 acres of land in Emerson Township, and the hearing for the case lasted nearly an entire Monday in court. Mrs. Nellie Ranchun, poultry and egg buyer from Detroit, appeared in court for swindling Harry Bolyard of Middleton. Ranchun first agreed to buy eggs at 15 ½ cents a dozen from Bolyard. When Harry wasn’t around, Ranchun managed to negotiate a deal with his son for 13 cents. The younger Bolyard, unaware of the prior agreement, was a victim of Ranchun’s shrewd tactics. Justice Potter did not see it that way and awarded Harry Bolyard the full amount, as well as damages of $25.75.
A series of Ashley businesses experienced break-ins and robberies by at least two men. Joe Liska’s grocery, Ashley State Bank, and Martella’s beer garden were all broken into, with slightly less than $50 taken from each place. The thieves also made off with cigarettes and other goods, even though one robber was seen walking in front of a house in the village. A getaway car quickly scooped him up and sped out of town, and the search for the robbers continued. Other news about Martella’s beer garden was also not very good. Three men (Mike Minarik and Nicholas Vanatter of Ashley and Dennis Wingle of Ithaca) were arrested as a result of a drunken brawl. Minarik and Wight paid fines; Vanatter, along with his brother, awaited trial on assault and battery charges.
Over in Seville Township, Dewey Parks, 62, got into a fight with his tenant farmer, Hiram De Camp. Parks, who had only one arm, picked up DeCamp and took him from his car during an altercation. Parks was severely beaten and suffered broken ribs. Problems related to family affairs were cited as the cause of the fight. With the arrival of pheasant season in the county, Conservation Officer C.B. Smith found himself very busy checking and arresting hunters for illegal hunting. On opening day near Ashley, six hunters were arrested for hunting before the 7:00 a.m. start time. Each paid $11.85 in fines and costs.
More news about the Dewey Glinkie embezzlement case continued. A surety company reimbursed Gratiot County for $3,169.55, the amount Glinkie stole from the county. The ongoing search for Dewey Glinkie continued in an effort to bring him to justice.
Over at the Gratiot Circuit Court chamber on one Tuesday, a tax-reverted land sale took place. Bidders purchased a total of 148 out of 388 available land parcels, including 150 vacant lots in Alma, significantly contributing to the sales, especially in five Alma subdivisions. Two hundred eighty acres of land for sale around Half Moon Lake in Seville Township were also purchased by interested parties.
As remodeling continued in the basement of the courthouse, Mrs. Fred Hunter reached an agreement with the board of supervisors to operate a detention home for children in her house in Ithaca. Hunter agreed to offer two barred rooms, one for boys and one for girls. The county would furnish the rooms, and the rent would cost $2 per week. The county agreed to pay $1 per day for each child and fees for extra care.
Gratiot County’s Health Issues and Concerns
The Gratiot County summer dental program informed the public that the twelve-week clinic, held in Ithaca, Alma, and St. Louis, had 805 initial visits from children, with an additional 116 appointments. Over 1,000 teeth were extracted, and over 600 fillings were performed on patients. A total of 49 students refused treatment. Doctor Gerald Barrow served as the dentist in charge.
The State Health Commissioner urged parents across Michigan to be on guard against infantile paralysis. In October, over fifty cases were reported in just three days, and through October 16, the 1,022 reported cases exceeded last year’s total of 904. Fifty-eight Michigan counties reported incidences of poliomyelitis. Symptoms included fever, nausea, irritability, leg stiffness, pain, and tenderness in the arms and legs. Doctors urged parents to have their children diagnosed and treated if suspected of contracting the disease. Only one out of three or four cases was believed actually to turn into paralysis.
Mental health issues also confronted Gratiot County. Roy Foote, age 56 and a former resident of Lafayette Township, was found dead at his home in Lansing Township, a victim of suicide. Foote had become dispondent over several financial reverses and took his life in his car by carbon monoxide poisoning. In another incident, Joseph Guszak, age 65 of Ashley, took his own life by slashing his wrists, abdomen, and throat with a set of scissors. Guszak had been dead approximately three days when he was discovered at his shack northeast of Ashley. When first seen by a neighbor through a window, Guszak appeared to be asleep in bed. Returning later, the neighbor noticed that Guszak had not moved and entered the building only to find Guszak deceased. The Sheriff’s department stated that Guszak was an alien and believed he had a wife and children in Chicago. It was not the first time that he threatened to kill himself, as he had previously been detained by the Sheriff’s department until released into the care of friends.
And Then There was Halloween
To celebrate the Halloween season, the Ithaca village council and Chamber of Commerce provided Aladdin, a professional magician who performed in the Ithaca High School auditorium. The Alma city commission heard a proposal by NYA and WPA recreation leaders for Alma’s annual Halloween party. Celebrations there included a parade from the Tourist Park, downtown, to Rademacher Motor Sales Garage. Back at the park, activities, bonfires, and contests took place until 10:00 p.m.The leaders ordered 800 noisemakers, confetti serpentine streamers, and rubber balls for the participants, as well as 200 toy balloons to be released from the tops of various buildings. Those who found the balloons were eligible for certain prizes. In places like Alma and St. Louis, authorities warned pranksters that waxing windows and other pranks would be taken seriously.
And So We Do Not Forget
Murray D. Wagoner, Democratic nominee for governor, held a gathering at the Alma IOOF Hall. Wagoner recalled his work in Gratiot County as a young University of Michigan graduate in 1922, when he received his first engineering assignment to work on the construction of the Honeyoye Bridge, located west of Alma on M-46. It was his first supervisory position as an engineer for the state highway department…Russell DeVrires of Alma lost a large load of fruit and vegetables on his travels east of St. Louis after other drivers told DeBrires that his load was getting away from him. He lost four bushels of cucumber pickles and thirty dozen ears of corn due to a broken tail gate, which was at fault. The items he retrieved (going all the way back to Breckenridge) were heavily damaged….The St. Louis Cardinals baseball team sent a scout to Alma to sign Carl Schultz to a major league contract. Past attempts to sign Schultz had failed, as he had signed an agreement in 1939, and things did not work out…Zane Betts of Alma was admitted to Smith Memorial Hospital for an injured knee. Betts received a cast and was then released… Mazey of Perrinton led all St. Louis Softball League hitters with a .556 average for the 1940 season. Rowley and Church led the team batting category with a .382 average. Brink of Rowley and Church was one of five players to have five home runs on the season…The St. Louis High School Home Economics Club sponsored the first dance for the first home football game. The “Krimson Kickoff” allowed participants to “kick” for 3 ½ hours, and a pair of red and black goal posts decorated each end of the gym…The St. Louis Leader published a list of dates and information about flag rules and use. Instructions and a list of holidays told readers where and how the flag should be displayed.
The Meteor Flying Club of Ithaca gave its members ninety minutes of flying instruction before piloting a plane. George F. Shores of Lansing served as instructor. The club had fifteen members and a 180-acre flying field two miles northeast of Ithaca…Alma merchants prepared for the merchants’ window night on November 27. The event featured the first display of holiday street decorations and the start of the holiday season in Alma…Alma schools planned to close for Armistice Day on November 11. Last year, the school only shut down for half of a day…Two Alma men, R.V. Hamp and Wayne Croton, both Alma Trailer Company workers, met their end while duck hunting near Bay Port, near Bay City. It turned out that the two men shot one duck, threw it into the boat, and when they got to shore, experienced a big surprise. A large skunk was on board the boat and ate half of the dead duck. After picking up the duck, the skunk ceremoniously “anointed” both men who attempted to flee the ship all to no avail….The Jean Bessac Chapter of the DAR completed its work of leading the creation and presentation of a patriotic pageant on the Alma College athletic field in early October. The pagent honored the golden jubilee of the founding of the Daughters of the American Revolution….The Alma City Commission again discussed the idea of establishing a Gratiot County Airport. The city hoped that a state program would provide as much as $80,000 toward the building of the airport…A.C. Sholty of the Alma Dairy announced he had installed a new bottling outfit of the sucker type. It was considered to be among the best bottling equipment available.
Frank Rudeck of Alma moved his Bass Lake cottage a total of eighteen miles in one day, courtesy of Vance Moving of Ithaca. The cottage came right down M-46 and to its destination via State and Downie streets, dodging branches and tree limbs along the way. The cottage was placed on a foundation at 209 West Downie, where the cottage became the bottom part of a new house. An upper level would then be added one story higher, along with a new roof…Buy a Fireside Ventu-Rotor heater at Mitchell Furniture Company in St. Louis. Save 1/3 of fuel costs, air forced principle gives good circulation, liberal allowance for your old stove…George Tugen, Ithaca High School right end, made a big catch and helped Ithaca defeat Chesaning 19-9 in football. Ithaca players Williams, Mellinger, and Stahl also contributed to big plays in the game…Wayland Payne, a 1940 Fulton Township Schools graduate, took off for Florida on a bicycle. Leaving on October 8, he expected to be in Florida around November 1…George Brent, Virginia Bruce, and Brenda Marshal all starred in “The Man Who Talked Too Much” at the Alma Theatre. Tickets cost ten and fifteen cents…A group of forty different pupils from across Gratiot County came together in Ithaca at the direction of county school administrator Donald L. Baker. The group rehearsed for a thirty-minute broadcast on WKAR at Michigan State College. After the presentation, the students visited the college campus and toured the Capitol. Baker mentioned that this program replaced the usual Gratiot Spring Musical Festival in 1941…A curriculum workshop for rural teachers took place in North Star. A group of 41 teachers signed up to take the classes on Monday evenings from 4 to 10 p.m. for 18 weeks. The workshop allowed teachers to earn credits toward their teaching degrees.
Paul L. McKee, a popular widowed clerk at the Alma Post Office, told a local newspaper about his postal stamp collection, which included over 20,000 foreign stamps and a large assortment of domestic stamps dating back to 1851. McKee had been collecting for over 25 years…Reed’s Dance Band appeared at the Danceland Ballroom every Wednesday and Saturday in Alma…The North Star Bearcats were the undisputed champions of the Gratiot County baseball league. The team went 15-1 for the summer…Newark School Number 4 had the highest attendance in a one-room rural school in the county, with 46 students. Julia Fahey taught that group. The smallest one-room school was Emerson Number 8, which had five students and was taught by Doris Cowdrey…Dr. Leslie Howe was honored at the Wright Hotel in Alma by the Tri-County Medical Society for fifty years of service as a country doctor…Over at St. Louis High School, Superintendent Nurnberger and Coach Oldt got up early on the first day of pheasant season and each brought home one pheasant. Both men returned to SLHS for the start of the school day…While Alma prepared for Halloween celebrations in town, a local column reminded youngsters that soaping windows was not welcome. Please bring your energy to the Halloween party in the city…Carson Clapp opened Clapp’s Hardware on Mill Street in St. Louis in the former Kroger store. The Clapp family had a long history of involvement in the hardware business, with stores in North Star and Alma.
Clark Gable and Joan Crawford appeared in “Strange Cargo” at the Ideal Theatre in Ithaca. Viewers also watch the “Deadwood Dick” episode, a color classic, and view screen snapshots. All for only a dime…Wanda Gabrion and Norma Gay made their first appearances as drum majorettes at Ithaca High School’s game against Shepherd. Both belonged to the baton twirling class offered during the summer at Ithaca…A new tavern at the St. Louis CSA Hall announced Saturday dancing starting November 2 for only fifty cents a person, supper included. Three big door prizes would be given out, and a Lansing orchestra would perform music…The St. Louis Softball Association announced that it had a balance of $81.56 in the bank after all bills were paid for the 1940 season. T. Jefferson Hoxie served as treasurer…Alma Schools sponsored Adult Education classes for any member of the Alma community not regularly enrolled in public schools or college.
And that was Depression and War during October 1940.
Above from top: Gratiot County Herald headlines the history of Smith Memorial Hospital in a 1955 article; photograph of Smith Memorial Hospital as it looked probably taken in the 1940s; Dr. R.B. Smith, doctor, mayor of Alma, Alma school board member for whom Smith Memorial Hospital was named.
The babies were loaded to the rafters, someone said after a trip to Alma’s Smith Memorial Hospital in the summer of 1952. In fact, the hospital staff wondered just where to put the next baby to be born in the nursery.
During June 1952, a total of 68 babies were born. The nursery overflowed with flowers for each of the mothers, brought in by the husbands, who were forced to sit on their wives’ beds due to overcrowding during visitation. An observer noted that many of the babies born on one late June Sunday belonged to patients of Dr. Budge, who had been very busy at Smith delivering babies. Throughout its history, Smith Memorial Hospital was the place where thousands of babies were born in Gratiot County.
During the summer of 1952, many young men from Gratiot County served in a far-off war in a place called Korea. The county would soon prepare for centennial celebrations in a series of towns and villages. Twenty years of Democratic rule in the White House, which started with the Great Depression and encompassed the Second World War, began to change as Dwight D. Eisenhower announced his intention to run for President.
However, at Smith Memorial Hospital, overcrowding led to the need for a new hospital – one large enough to serve a community (or county) that then comprised 33,000 people. It was not just the nursery that was overcrowded at Smith. It was not uncommon for patients to be placed along a narrow hallway or packed into other rooms in the house, once built and lived in by Alma businessman A.W. Wright.
After the passing of the last member of the Ammi Wright family, the Wright House was purchased in 1934 for $5,000 by the widow of the late Doctor R.B. Smith, a well-known Alma physician who had served as Alma’s mayor and a long-time school board member. Mrs. Smith donated the hospital, which initially operated with only ten beds. By October 1937, the hospital’s growing needs meant an addition to the building. However, by the 1950s, if one wanted treatment at a proper facility, county residents would have to go to St. Johns, Mt. Pleasant, Greenville, Midland, Saginaw, or Owosso.
It became increasingly clear that Gratiot County needed a modern hospital. In November 1952, Smith Memorial initiated the idea of a new hospital by purchasing ten acres of land north of town, where Consumers Power and Alma Production Credit Corporation would be its main neighbors. The new location was chosen because it offered potential for sufficient parking, access to water and sewer, and was a quieter area than downtown Alma.
Also, in November, a group of physicians and area residents had been meeting to discuss the idea of a new hospital. The first formal meeting took place on Friday, November 7, at the Park Hotel in St. Louis, where Alma Mayor E.E. Thompson presided over the gathering. A total of 31 people, including doctors, supervisors, mayors, the county nurse, and other interested individuals, all attended. A recent survey conducted by the American City Bureau, a specialist in hospital fundraising projects that had completed 260 campaigns before advising people in Alma, recommended a hospital with 140-150 beds. Some in the group thought the number of beds and the costs were too high and advised going for a 75-bed hospital due to the expected cost of $1.125 million. However, a survey and some doctors mentioned that federal funding for such a project could lower the amount of money to be raised to 45 percent of the projected cost. The remaining funds would need to be raised by the residents. A fact-finding committee was established, and its members visited other modern hospitals, including those in Lagrange, Indiana, and Gaylord, Michigan, to observe their operations. To keep the idea of a new county hospital alive through future meetings on the first Wednesday of each month.
One month later, on December 16, 1952, anyone interested in the idea of a new community hospital was invited to a meeting at the Midwest Refinery offices to hear reports from the committee. The question presented at the end of this meeting was whether people in Gratiot County should agree to the project and how to proceed with it. The answer was overwhelmingly yes, and a nine-person committee was appointed to begin working on articles of incorporation and further organizing the promotion and financing of a $900,000 hospital. The committee hoped to secure federal funding to cover half of the cost, and the rest to be raised through donations and subscriptions. Those placed on the more permanent hospital committee included Earle Brenneman (chairperson), Paul Raycraft, Dr. Harry Wahlman, James Redman, Lynn T. Miller, Frank Curtiss, Miss Lou Nickerson, Gordon Netzorg, and L.R. Kamperman.
However, the first financial help to build the new hospital came from the Smith Memorial Hospital Board. As early as 1952, the Smith Hospital Board stated that it had purchased the land for the new hospital and would be able to donate an estimated $125,000 through its cash, equipment, and accounts receivable. Newspapers later recorded that the amount donated in 1955 was $100,000. The first official fundraiser for the new Alma hospital took place on Friday, December 11, at 10:00 a.m. at the Gamble Store in Alma. Smith personnel members held a bazaar and bake sale to raise money for the children’s wing at the new hospital.
As 1952 ended, many people came together as the journey began to build a new county hospital.
A Place Called Millerville from the top: A child’s playground in Millerville II? Laundry and life goes on in this part of Alma’s slum area; outhouses and a lone water pump appear in the crowded area of Millerville II; Millerville (I) appeared on this part of the south side of East Superior Street, looking east; another view of where Millerville (I) sat in the late 1910s – on the south side of East Superior looking west.
It was an area so vile that its history has been erased from Gratiot County’s past. Some referred to it as the Alma slums. Others called it the county’s largest red light district, which resulted from a housing boom that overtook Alma during the 1910s. Others knew it as a series of shacks, collectively referred to as “pink houses” on Alma’s east side, and known as Millerville (or Millersville) during World War I.
During that time, Alma nearly tripled in size, transforming from a village in 1910 to become the county’s largest city. This population growth was accelerated by many people who came to work at the Republic Truck, adding to a continued housing crisis.
Enter one man, J. L. (Joshua Leslie) Miller. Miller arrived in the Alma area in the 1880s as a real estate agent and businessman with a keen eye for generating profits. Eventually, Miller and his sons owned grocery stores and a shoe store, and he also recognized the opportunity to benefit from Alma’s growing housing needs. Miller quickly acquired areas on East Superior Street, adjacent to the Superior Gas Company, and extending to Bridge Street. This long, triangular-shaped area, located south of the Republic Truck Company, today includes Michigan Psychological Care, Admiral Petroleum Station, and All-American Glass Company. Miller quickly chopped this property into tiny parcels of cheap shacks, jamming them together with little regard for water or sanitation. By the fall of 1916, the area had become so overcrowded that some people resorted to living in tents.
Meanwhile, people arriving in Alma by train passed Millerville. State newspapers and trade magazines wrote about this location, and jokes and stories portrayed the city in an increasingly unfavorable light. City fathers sought to have something done and eventually succeeded by getting Miller and others to sell their line of shacks to Libby, McNeill, and Libby, supposedly to be used as a sidetrack. Afterward, the new Millerville buyers quickly received public praise for planning to remove Alma’s eyesore.
However, controversy over Millerville continued. On September 4, 1917, a young girl, Beatrice Epler, was murdered, and her body was discovered on Grover Avenue, southeast of the slums. Poor lighting and streets that were unfit for traffic made it an ideal place to dump a body. One of the defendants charged in the murder was Inez Johnston, who operated a house of ill repute in or near Millerville. The increased presence of prostitution in Alma also became a topic, leading to another problem: how to address social disease and the number of working girls who had drifted into Alma as the number of military men picking up Republic Trucks for the Army increased. Throughout the country, addressing social diseases during the World War I era became an issue involving military, state, and federal authorities. In Alma, more than one girl would be arrested and confined for inspection and treatment as carriers of disease, ending up in places like the Bay City hospital. According to the Alma Record, this issue, which involved twenty-five girls in Alma and social diseases, went on until at least 1920.
Although Millerville experienced a clean-up during the Epler trial, the story of slums and poor housing in Alma was far from over. Miller, who sold the slum area on East Superior Street, also owned another area known as “Millerville II.” Newspapers sarcastically attacked the second slum, deriding Miller as “the self-styled working man’s friend, Miller, known practically to everyone in Alma” – especially those willing to rent from him. The Alma Record again complained that, “The city should do something to make Millerville II more attractive for the hard-working folk and the children who live there and pay big rents for inferior homes. It is on the main highway and endangers the name of our good city.”
Millerville II was situated near Michigan Avenue on Highland Avenue and extended eastward, where Miller divided the lots into smaller sections, all of which had homes made of inexpensive materials. The buildings appeared unfinished; many had cracked foundations and were so close together that the porches in one area touched the street. Millerville II lacked city water, gas, or sewage, with over forty outhouses located on a single block, creating another eyesore in Alma.
The Alma Record published a series of photographs and articles on its front pages from November to December 1920. The pictures brought to the public’s attention the need to clean up Millerville II as well as the city’s Union Depot. The depot had numerous problems, including serving as a dumping ground for trash along the railroad, a poorly maintained waiting platform, dirty bathrooms, and the depot’s overall odor that frequently smelled like caged poultry.
The slum problems eventually led to a solution through the creation of the Alma Chamber of Commerce. By early 1921, the chamber attracted over 500 members and gained the ability to advocate for property reform. Alma eventually obtained and installed sewer connections to Millerville II, cleaned it up, renamed it the Highland View addition, and replaced the Union Depot. Thirty years later, the Alma Record briefly wrote about those times and rejoiced, remembering that “Alma’s greatest eyesore, known as Millerville,” had since passed from existence.
Gratiot in September 1940, from the top: Going back to school again and learning about impending warfare, September 12, 1940, cartoon from the Gratiot County Herald; Gratiot County Conservation League Park is dedicated. A combination of members, volunteers, along with NYA and WPA workers, made the use of the park possible in late September 1940; Elwood Mellinger, captain of the Ithaca football team, as it prepared to face St. Louis on September 20, 1940.
Another cold, wet fall meant it would be a challenge to bring in another Gratiot harvest.
It was a time when America prepared for a peacetime draft – its first draft since 1917.
What, Roosevelt runs for a third term as President? No President had done so in the nation’s history.
Residents also learned that the WPA programs would soon come to an end after five years of operation.
What was going on?
It was September 1940 in Gratiot County.
Europe at War, Preparation at Home
As Hitler continued to attempt a conquest of Great Britain, the only remaining obstacle to his domination of Western Europe, Gratiot County prepared for war. Although the Führer boasted to England that “I am coming,” England countered by conducting another of its early air raids upon the city of Berlin.
Even before entering the fall elections, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke freely and openly about the need to prepare the nation for war, and instituting a peacetime draft now became a reality. All American young men between the ages of 21 and 35 had to register for possible conscription by October 16. Roosevelt’s initial goal was to mobilize 400,000 men by early 1941 and 900,000 by the spring of that year. All registrants would carry a registration card, and those who failed to register would be considered evaders.
As a result, Gratiot County received approval from President Roosevelt to form its first draft board in twenty years. Four men, Dr. C.F. Dubois (medical examiner), Charles R. Murphy, A.D. Smedberg, and Robert Reed, headed the Alma board. All served without pay. Ahead of the draft, six local men signed up at the Alma post office on one weekend to join the United States Marine Corps. Robert Hennigar, Burson Youry, Paul Dintaman, and Lyle Goward of Alma, along with Donald Zinn and Richard Horton of Vestaburg, expected to go to Saginaw for their formal physicals. If they passed the examination, the group of men would be sent for Marine training at Parris Island, South Carolina.
Men involved in Troop B, National Guard, of Alma, returned from drills in Wisconsin. However, Captain Howard L. Freeman believed that the unit would soon be called into service as part of the 210th Coast Artillery, an anti-aircraft unit. Two weeks later, that assignment changed again, and the group would be known as Battery B of the 177th Field Artillery. The Alma battery needed to increase its strength from the current roster of 60 men to a total of 122 men between the ages of 21 and 35. At this time, one Michigan newspaper reported that many National Guardsmen would be sent south in October to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, for a year of training. President Roosevelt soon signed an order calling up over 60,000 men in the National Guard for a one-year period of service. Sadly, a result of this order meant that the horse cavalry unit, long a part of Alma and Gratiot County’s history, would soon depart for Illinois.
Photographs in county newspapers, such as the Alma Record and Gratiot County Herald, demonstrated the hardships of war as well as this nation’s preparation to be drawn into the conflict. In an attempt to feed its population during war, England used all of its land to raise food, including growing wheat in London parks. Londoners also paid an admission fee to see a recently shot down German Messerschmitt fighter for the “Buy a Spitfire” fund. In Santa Monica, California, one plant worked to produce the world’s largest bomber, a four-motored aircraft with a 210-foot wingspan. It held a crew of ten men and could fly 6000 miles on a bombing mission. In Springfield, Massachusetts, a plant there produced 1000 Garand semi-automatic rifles daily. The plant commander urged the War Department to expand production. Two inventors of the concrete pillbox, a concrete dome-shaped shelter that builders could set in five hours, demonstrated it in front of the Army and congressional leaders. These small fortresses could be used in America to guard its borders.
Depression Life Continues
The New Youth Administration (NYA) continued work in the county as 80 young men and women received permission from the program to work more hours, and therefore, more pay. Thirty-five young women worked on various projects, including recreational activities at Conservation League Park and maintenance tasks at Alma City Hall. All project workers were required to take and complete their initial air courses. A few NYA members worked with WPA supervisors at places holding girls’ activities at Wright Park for handicrafts or at wood games activities for young people at Republic School. James Carter oversaw the woodcraft project at the Salvation Army Center. As Halloween approached, the NYA staff led interested children in creating paper masks using clay, which would be displayed at the indoor recreation centers. Two Gratiot County students, Elroy Prince of Ithaca and Darwin Snyder of Breckenridge, attended a short NYA agricultural course at Michigan State College. A total of thirty students made up the group, attended class, lived in a barracks, and worked part-time. At different Gratiot County high schools, student aid workers on the NYA payroll earned $6 each month once they received NYA certification.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) offered further training to members from Gratiot County who traveled to Hoyt Park Field House in Saginaw. Director Darrell Milstead, recreation director, led the group as it learned about fall sports activities, arts, crafts, administration, and first aid. Among those who attended were Hazel Markham (from Ithaca), Henry Sholtz and Lester Fillhard (St. Louis), James Carter, Jack Acker, Lowell Williams, and Eldon Lott (Alma). The WPA program, which had operated nationally for several years, received news in late September that all WPA work would end by June 1941. The program director urged WPA leaders across the nation to complete their existing projects within the allotted time and avoid initiating new ones. An increase in funds for defense appropriations and an overall atmosphere of the need to train for national defense meant an end to WPA programs.
People who had past accounts with the Elwell Bank received good news from Charles H. Goggin, President of Alma First Bank of Alma. He announced a possible agreement to disperse the liquidated assets of the former Elwell Bank. Litigation continued in court in Ithaca, but an announcement was expected soon. A hundred former bank depositors had filed suit to get money from the Alma Bank, which they claimed was also tied to the Elwell bank’s collapse. The judge granted ten days for any other former depositors to file their claims for money.
Over at the Ithaca courthouse, work began on the new social welfare offices and Gratiot Bureau of Social Aid, which planned to relocate from Alma. The two new offices, expected to open in the courthouse basement, and the remodeling meant that a new entrance would be created on the south side of the building. The new rooms would now occupy what was formerly known as the youth detention area and janitor’s living quarters.
Health and Gratiot County
The Children’s Free Dental Clinic continued its work in the county after completing its time in St. Louis. A dentist worked on a total of 222 St. Louis children with 335 cavities filled and 185 teeth extracted. Another 29 children had their teeth cleaned. The Child Study Club sponsored the clinic, which provided free healthcare to underprivileged children. Doctor G.V. Barrows did the dental work and was assisted by Beth Hicks. Several children from Wheeler and Breckenridge attended the clinic as well.
The public received warnings about outbreaks of infantile paralysis in sixteen different Michigan counties. Believed to be a seasonal disease that peaked in late August and early September, a total of 272 cases were discovered in the state during September. In related news, Leonard Hubbard, 29, a popular Vestaburg musician, died of the disease only one week after contracting it. He left behind a wife and three children. In other health news, a Bannister man took his own life after years of battling illness. Frank Goldman, age 67, hung himself in his barn early one morning. Goldman suffered from being unable to eat and sleep due to health problems. In another twist, he was scheduled for the next step of becoming a naturalized citizen the day after his death. Goldman farmed in the community for 28 years.
The Long Arm of the Law in Gratiot County
August 1940 proved to be a busy month for the courts as a variety of offenses resulted in 47 convictions. Only 18 in the group were found to have committed serious crimes, and most of the others were due to traffic offenses. Fines totaled $258.30, with an additional $162.80 for costs. Some of the serious crimes involved one man being sent to Jackson Prison and four others to the county jail. Otis Andrews was sent to Jackson for violating probation for a third offense of drunk driving and got six months to two years. Andrews was warned that if he ever showed up in court again, he would be immediately sent back to Jackson.
Lawrence Lutz, 18, of St. Louis, was found guilty of carrying an unloaded concealed weapon without a license. He only got a year’s probation and was ordered to attend church with his parents every Sunday. Four men were convicted of fishing law violations for setting an illegal set line on the Maple River. They each paid $10 for a fine and $6.85 for costs. Another person unlawfully used an automobile and got three years’ probation and $200 for damages to the car.
The Alma City Commission had its first reading of a proposed ordinance regarding trailers in the city. If accepted, the new ordinance would regulate trailer families and individuals from taking up residence on vacant lots or yards. Those wishing to reside in trailers had to do so at a licensed trailer camp and pay $15 for a yearly license. The trailer camp owner was also required to provide a service building, showers, toilets, laundry facilities, drinking water, and a list of other amenities. Anyone parking a trailer next to a homeowner in Alma could only do so for two weeks at a time.
Regarding elections and politics, Gratiot County gave favorite son O.L. Smith a nearly 2-1 advantage over incumbent Luren Dickinson for the Michigan Governor’s race in the state primary election. Unfortunately, Dickinson trounced his opponents across the state to gain the nomination. He would face off against Democrat Murray D. Wagoner in November. One of the most interesting and spirited contests involved three candidates for Probate Judge. Mildred Taft, daughter of the late Probate Judge James G. Kress, won the primary election after being appointed by the Governor to fill out her deceased father’s remaining term. Taft would serve as Probate Judge until 1963.
Naturalization hearings continued at a good pace in the county as ten residents from six different countries applied to become American citizens. For this ceremony on September 19, something new happened. This time, DAR chapters from Alma and Ithaca organized a short march to the court. At the same time, bugles played and Boy Scouts accompanied the group. Alma DAR chairman, Miss Lou Nickerson, gave a brief talk on the Constitution, then Mrs. Floyd Barnes explained the meaning of the American flag. Each new citizen received a citizen’s manual with a copy of the Constitution, which included the Pledge of Allegiance. Each citizen also received a small 4×6-inch flag. Although fifteen candidates faced examination for citizenship, these ten were accepted, while the other five continued further study. Members in the group originally came from places like Croatia, England, Russia, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia.
Alien registrations also continued at post offices across the county. In Alma on one Wednesday afternoon, a total of 18 aliens registered. The Alma postmaster, J.L. Winslow, commented that several persons believed they were American citizens, but upon investigation learned they were not.
Farming
Farmers were urged not to cut their alfalfa but to wait at least until the end of September, unless used for silage or molasses. It was essential to let alfalfa store up root reserve for 1941. Sugar beets appeared to have a later-than-usual harvest due to low sugar content. The heavy rains in late August and early September meant a delay in harvesting. The Michigan Sugar Company announced it had 9,000 acres set aside for raw material for the Alma plant. A new beet dump and piler took care of a load of beets in one minute. Over at St. Louis, the Lake Shore Sugar Company had 10,000 measured acres of beets to harvest. Still, a late white frost hit Gratiot County at the very end of September. County Agent C.P. Milham announced that the enemy of all farmers, the corn borer, caused over $200,000 in damage to county farms. For many in the county, the amount could have meant profit or loss for the season. To combat the corn borer, shredding dry stalks and plowing under others by June 1 had to be a goal for all farmers, according to Milham.
In other farm news, a group of nine Junior Farm Bureau members attended Waldenwood Leadership Training Camp at Hartland, Michigan. A total of seventy-eight young people from thirteen countries attended. From Gratiot County, John Kelly, Gerald Lake, George Cox, Marion Wang, Eugene Oberst, Margaret Douglas, Edward Hooper, Lowell Quidort, and Dorothy Gibson all went. Another 24 schools proposed forming 4-H clubs in the county, bringing the total number of 4-H clubs to 42. The Beebe 4-H Club had 11 members and was led by Mrs. Helen Muscott.
Mexican night entertainment took place in Alma on September 28, coinciding with the dedication of Conservation Park. Mexican talent, recruited by Pastor Albert Mareno of Shepherd, performed a program at the Alma Tourist Park, located west of the Christian Church. Finally, pheasants surprised Dick Brown and his daughter in Alma as a rooster and three hens were flushed from behind the Brown home inside the city. Young daughter Brown is very excited to see the pheasants.
And So We Do Not Forget
Thirty boys showed up for the first St. Louis football practice of the year. The Labor Day practice marked the beginning of preparations for the season’s first game against Ithaca, just three weeks away. Coach Elliot Oldt was seeking guards and tackles to fill the ranks vacated by last year’s graduating seniors…Fulton School in Middleton and Perrinton started school on September 3, and Superintendent Eberly announced the school had four new teachers. Fulton had a total enrollment of 434 students. Grades seven through nine met in Middleton, while grades ten through twelve had classes in Perrinton. The district had five school buses…” When the Daltons Rode,” starring Randolph Scott and Kay Francis, appeared at the Strand Theatre in Alma. Tickets were ten and twenty cents…Ithaca Public Schools opened with an enrollment of 597 students. Kindergarten had forty-eight students; the senior class was made up of sixty students…The Perrinton softball team finished first and was the winner of the 1940 fastpitch softball season in St. Louis. Rowley and Church finished as runners-up.
The public was invited to observe the dedication of the Gratiot County Conservation League Park in Alma on September 28 at 1:30 p.m. Activities included a flag presentation and raising, public address, and horse pulling contest…The Pentecostal Faith Riverside Tabernacle church dedicated its new building at 523 Michigan Avenue in St. Louis. The new building seated 100 people…Students, buy your new fountain pens at Green’s Jewelry in Alma. The fountain pens only cost 29 cents each…Work on the new Gratiot County highway garage continued. The $65,000 structure is planned to open on November 1. Situated in East Ithaca on the south side of US-27…The Lincoln School in Alma received a trophy from the Automobile Club of Michigan for the number of safety contacts it had during the previous school year. One of the achievements of the Lincoln School was its use of school safety patrols by children. Lincoln placed first among forty other Michigan schools for the award…Harold Woodley of Alma saw the excavation for his new house begin in late September, marking the start of construction on his $6,300 residence on West Superior Street. The new home would be just east of the Lester Purdy Riverside Dairy farm.
Alma Schols began the new school year with approximately 1,750 students. This included 225 non-resident students who paid tuition to attend school in Alma…A “Pageant of America” was planned to be performed on the Alma College athletic field on October 4. An estimated 500 people from Alma organizations and leading citizens were involved in presenting this program. The Jean Bessac DAR Chapter led the organization of the pageant…Radio station WJR, the state’s most powerful radio station, planned to have two announcers in Alma for its “Michigan Speaks” series. Jack Garrison and Duncan Moore planned to broadcast from the streets of the city to gauge county voting preferences for the upcoming 1940 Presidential Election between President Roosevelt and challenger Wendell Wilkie…Otis Brantley, chef at the Main Café in Alma, and Claude LaVoy of Riverdale hit it big while fishing on the Maple River near Matherton. They caught two of the largest catfish seen in Alma in a long time. One was over 4 ½ feet long and weighed 45 pounds…The Michigan Masonic Home has a new V-shaped electronic sign in front of the home. It turns on automatically at 7:30 p.m. so that anyone passing by on US-27 can see it.
An open house was scheduled at George W. Stewart’s new home on 612 Liberty Street in Alma. James Medcoff, a contractor and builder, designed and built the new house using materials from the Little Rock Lumber and Coal Company in Alma. The new home cost $3,500 to construct…Senior Elwood Mellinger, left tackle, served as Ithaca football captain for the team…A tragedy occurred in Elm Hall when an explosion and fire took out the Hoxie General Store on a Friday morning. A combination of a kerosene heater and cook stove malfunction caused the fire, which resulted in $4000 in damages. George Mack and his wife had insurance on the building and contents, but it would only cover part of the loss… Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes starred in “Saga of Death Valley” at the Ideal Theatre in Ithaca. Catch a Saturday matinee for only a dime…James Redman, 20, Alma, married Opal Jean Hahn, age 18, of Alma, and became the latest of Cupid’s victims…Miss Virginia Hetzman of Alma was runner-up at the State Fair for the dress she made and wore for the style revue. Hetzman had been involved in Martha Jean Conklin’s 4-H club for the past seven years…A representative from the Saginaw field office of the Social Security Bureau, Alma, will be Available on September 18 for two hours to answer questions and provide assistance to those applying for Social Security. Meet the rep at the office of the Michigan State Employment Service in Alma’s city hall…Finally, someone (or something) shut down ten telephone lines and twenty-five telephones in Ithaca. In this case, a fox squirrel ate through the leaden sheath of an aerial cable on St. John’s Street. The squirrel gnawed through the lines, exposing them to water. It was the second time in five years that Union Telephone had to address this problem.
And that was Depression and War in Gratiot County during September 1940.
Above: A post-World War I circuit court record of one Gratiot County couple who were arrested and tried for the crime of cohabitation.Ellis Mumby, age 26, was found guilty and sentenced to six months in the Ionia Reformatory.
In December 1921, there came a knock at the door of the dwelling of Joseph Yucek and Sophia Lastuk, who then lived in a remote part of North Shade Township. The Gratiot County sheriff, along with his deputy, tells the couple, “You are both under arrest.” The couple is loaded into the sheriff’s car, and the group begins the trip back to Ithaca. Upon arrival, Joseph and Sophia are held in custody until their court appearance.
Once in front of the judge, the pair is asked how they desire to plead. The pair face a potential judgment of either jail time, fines, or being sent to Jackson State Prison or the Women’s Reformatory in Detroit. If they are lucky, they get only a fine.
What was their crime? Joseph Yucek and Sophia Lastuk have been found in violation of lewd and lascivious behavior – the crime in Gratiot County of living together outside the bounds of marriage.
For many at that time, it was called cohabitating. However, the public might later call it “shacking up,” “living in sin,” “moving in,” “a trial marriage,” or “living together.” Today, most people find it absurd that such a law would deal with a couple’s personal lives, as it did for Yucek and Lastuk. However, arrests for cohabitating did happen here in Gratiot County, and they happened frequently in the 1920s and 1930s.
Starting during World War I and running up until World War II, Gratiot County circuit court records show that at least 33 couples appeared in court for the crime of cohabitation. It is often difficult to determine the exact consequences for many of these cohabitating couples who were arrested for “L and L” or “L and L (lewd and lascivious) behavior.” Many experienced consequences for being caught. Upon examination, these circuit court cases frequently only reveal the names of the offenders, where they lived, and the charges brought against them.
The following is a brief list of some of the couples in Gratiot County who were brought to court for “L and L.” In the spring of 1922, Earl Berry and Mildred Lyon were the first in the group to each receive a sentence of six months to a year in prison. Berry spent his time in Ionia, but it is unclear where Lyon went. In another case in 1925, a couple identified as Archie Bell Johnson and Lena Dunkel were found not only guilty of violating the marriage law, but also were taken into custody to be treated for a social disease (syphilis). In 1926, Durwood Jones and Genevieve Dickerson from St. Louis were each sentenced to four days in jail and subsequently served probation for their offense. They got off relatively easily. Possibly, they agreed to separate or get married. In late 1926, Steve Skibinski and a young girl named Clara Cass were busted after checking in at the Wright House in Alma after someone tipped off police because they looked suspicious. Their contrasting age differences were probably a tip-off, and someone contacted the Alma police. Skibinski was quite a bit older than Cass. It is not clear what their consequences were.
In October 1927, Donald Girvin was arrested for being unlawfully wed to another woman while trying to remarry and was convicted of committing perjury. As in similar cases, one of the parties involved did not disclose their actual legal age for marriage. Usually, the girl was sixteen or younger and might only wed with the permission of her parents. By lying about her age, the girl was guilty of perjury. There were also cases where someone faced arrest for lying or claiming ignorance about not being legally divorced in another county before getting married and committing bigamy. In one case, Donald Robinson and Mabel Ottinger were arrested for “L and L.” Still, they also got off relatively easily in January 1932, paying only a $25 fine. In another case in 1936, Levi Hunnnicut and a girl named Geraldine got a $40 fine and had to pay 50 cents a week in probation fees as part of their punishment. In still another case in late 1937, two couples were caught cohabiting in Gratiot County at the same time. It is unclear what the connection was between the two arrests, only that their charges came under “L and L.”
One would ask today, why would these people be arrested, and why was this particular “crime” such a concern in Gratiot County? Looking back, there could have been several reasons why couples faced prosecution for “L and L” crimes.
First, the role of the church in early 20th-century Gratiot County likely had a significant impact on why couples hid or concealed this behavior. In both Catholic and Protestant churches, marriage was considered in high esteem. It was what couples were supposed to commit to at the appropriate time. Yet, cohabitation in Gratiot County happened and was most likely an open secret in many areas. Another reason for prosecuting this crime involved both legal requirements and health considerations. One similarity between getting married in 1925 and 2025 is the process of applying for and paying for a valid marriage license. Marriage licenses, like other licenses, remained a public record, but also brought in money as a source of county revenue.
Gratiot County’s frowning upon cohabitation may also have been health-related. The period starting in the 1910s in Gratiot County saw considerable reform in personal health, as people survived the influenza epidemic and still battled numerous diseases like smallpox, diphtheria, and tuberculosis, among others. Going another step, confronting, confining, and treating what were then called “social diseases” (venereal diseases) increased in the World War I era at the local, state, and federal levels. Alma was particularly involved in arresting and confining women who possessed social diseases during World War I, a result of the increase in prostitution due to the presence of Army men who came to town to pick up trucks for the Republic Truck Company. The need to regulate social diseases made the front page of newspapers like the Alma Record.
Still, the topic of cohabitation in Gratiot County overlooked one intriguing aspect of Gratiot’s society, which involved identifying cohabitating couples. How would the Gratiot County sheriff’s office in Ithaca ever know that a couple like Joseph Yucek and Sophia Lastuk, who lived in a farmhouse in a remote section of North Shade Township in 1921, were cohabitating? Who told the sheriff, and how did he find out?
The answer is that there was a “hotline” in Gratiot County, which reported cohabitation, as well as other crimes, such as alcohol during Prohibition. This “hotline” (or telegraph or gossip line) was operated by individuals in Gratiot County who reported what they thought they knew or saw directly to the sheriff. In effect, this Gratiot County grapevine often tipped off law enforcement and regularly reported on fellow citizens.
Since residents told the sheriff that they thought someone was brewing moonshine whiskey, transporting, or selling it in Gratiot County, many had no problem reporting that their neighbors or the new people in their section were unlawfully living together. A bigger historical question is how many people knew about these cohabitating couples and how concerned these couples were regarding their personal lives.
Whatever readers think about cohabitation in 2025, today it is viewed as a private matter.
But back in our past, it was treated as a crime in Gratiot County.
Above from the top: Wheat harvest was coming in, and young Beverly Kay Gulick of Ithaca lacked nothing to eat. The two sacks represented how much wheat the United States had in its possession (left) and how much it would consume in the next year (right). The message was that the country had much to avoid a famine – unlike parts of Europe who suffered from the war; a new county highway garage went up in Ithaca with the goal of completion by November 1; “One Out of Every 28” was the title of this cartoon, which foretold an impending draft of young American men in the wake of the European war.
A warm late summer in Gratiot County provided what crops needed after a poor start.
As war spread over Europe, most people in Gratiot County seemed unconcerned; even talk of a draft was in the works.
And FDR appeared to be willing to run for a third term as President. What would Gratiot County voters do to avoid a dictatorship?
It was August 1940 in the county.
War News Comes to Gratiot
Plenty of news articles and photographs warned Gratiot County that a world war covered parts of Europe as the Nazis now threatened to invade the British Isles. As “the Blitz” continued over parts of England, citizens prepared to handle both early morning “feeler raids,” as well as more brutal attacks over northwestern England and up and down the coasts of Scotland. Cities like Southampton, Dover, and Hastings all became targets as barrage balloons tried to deter German planes.
The Alma City Commission continued discussions of the city’s involvement with a new National Guard Armory for Troop B, 106th Cavalry. Because the federal government talked of taking the National Guard, combining it with the training of army recruits, and removing horses due to mechanization, the commission did not favor a push for a new armory. Soon, Troop B left Alma in early August for intensive maneuvers in Wisconsin. A total of 63 members went on this trip. Captain Howard L. Freeman led the Alma group.
A photograph of the original glass jar used in 1917 by the Secretary of War to draft Americans for World War I appeared in the Gratiot County Herald. How long before young men would be drafted for another war? A U.S. Army recruiting party came to Alma and St. Louis to demonstrate the use of a searchlight for aerial spotting of aircraft. For this two-hour demonstration, the recruiters also brought along two scout cars, rolling equipment, anti-aircraft, and anti-tank guns. Byron Bradley of St. Louis made the news for being accepted into the Air Corps division in Lansing. He left the same night to begin training at Scottsfield, Illinois.
With Hitler’s conquest of Europe, attention turned to millions of people who were already hungry, and fall was coming. The Michigan Children’s Aid Society announced that it would be discussing the issue of care for refugee children during its summer conference in St Joseph, Michigan. The Children’s Bureau of the Federal Government asked the Society to make facilities available for refugee children.
In news of another war in another part of Gratiot County’s past, Jasper Norton of Elm Hall, believed to be Gratiot County’s last surviving Civil War veteran, celebrated his ninety-fifth birthday. Norton was born August 2, 1845, and entered the Union Army at the age of sixteen as a private in Company D, 12th Regiment, Michigan Infantry. He reenlisted in the Army in 1864 and was honorably discharged on February 15, 1866. Private Norton was wounded in the right thigh in a battle near Camden, Arkansas. Up until a few years ago, Norton regularly helped with work on his farm and still took daily automobile trips out to his farm outside of Elm Hall.
New Deal Social Programs at Work in Gratiot
New Deal social programs such as the NYA (National Youth Administration) and WPA (Works Progress Administration) continued to be active in Gratiot County during the summer months.
Much of the NYA work dealt with recreation programs. Wheeler Field in St. Louis saw much community activity with programs like a doubles tennis tournament, horseshoe pitching tourney, shuffleboard, men’s night activities, and the town’s first public dance. NYA workers built the new shuffleboard and equipment, then they went and painted the court on the west walk near the grade school. More than 90 NYA workers were on the monthly payroll, with young workers receiving either $24 a month for 80 hours of service in the “A” class or $18.40 monthly for those in the “B” class. Several of these NYA workers were involved in activities in both the St. Louis and Alma recreation departments.
WPA projects and workers continued in the county. The Gratiot County Road Commission applied to the WPA for help with the construction of a bridge in Lafayette Township, three miles south of Breckenridge. It was hoped that the WPA would authorize a dozen men for help with this needed project of widening the bridge area and modernizing the bridge’s structure. St. Louis planned to use WPA workers for its sidewalk project to start at the end of August. The city also wanted work done, lengthening sewers and water mains in St. Louis. Over 100 men worked in Alma, pouring concrete on Walnut Street and River Avenue, as well as widening streets in the city. An increase in workers now meant that the city might be able to complete the forty-block project, which started in 1939. When this was finished, the city wanted to start work on another 15 blocks. WPA workers also planned to construct six tennis and six shuffleboard courts in Wright Park.
WPA workers were also authorized to help with alien registration at local post offices in the county. Each worker’s job was to assist aliens in filling out registration forms, fingerprinting, and explaining the requirements of the registration law.
With summer in full tilt, recreation programs in Alma, Ithaca, and St. Louis all continued to draw large numbers of participants. Over in Ithaca, a new recreational center opened at the county fairgrounds. A new softball field with lights has now become the place to play softball each night of the week except Wednesday. Alma held another water carnival, which drew many people to Turck’s Beach on a Friday night. The beach drew in the crowds. During a hot August spell from August 22-28, the count showed that 6,400 people attended activities or went swimming at the beach.
For those who wanted to stay indoors in August, another Townsend Club meeting took place for Progressive Townsend Club Number 2 in Ithaca at the village hall. “Very good attendance” resulted in choosing delegates for the 8th congressional district convention in Saginaw.
Health and Gratiot County
Most of the health news during August 1940 dealt with hospitals and the topic of rabies.
Carol Jean Harrington, age 5 of Ithaca, fell off her bicycle and fractured her left elbow. She was x-rayed at Smith Memorial Hospital in Alma and then sent home. Dean Breidinger of St. Louis was the victim of burns to his body and left hand while trying to clean a paint brush in the boiler room at Leonard Refinery in St. Louis. His condition was satisfactory. Gerald Smith of Alma, like Dean Breidinger, was treated at Smith Memorial Hospital for injuries suffered while riding his horse. The horse stumbled, threw Smith, and he fractured his left leg below the knee. John Wilberding, his mother, and grandmother, all of Shepherd, were also treated for a traffic accident on US-27 three miles south of Shepherd while on their way to a Catholic picnic. Wilberding’s party was not at fault for the accident.
Newspapers said that reports of rabies declined by 33 percent since May; however, there was no immediate ban on the free movement of dogs in Gratiot County. Law enforcement officials stressed that dogs had to be kept on a leash in public and boarded up while at home. Some dog owners hoped for a reprieve in terms of allowing dogs to train for the upcoming hunting season, which was on the minds of Gratiot County hunters.
To support children in the county who needed dental care, the free twelve-week dental clinic continued. After five weeks at Ithaca High School, the clinic relocated to Alma Junior High School for the next four weeks. This dental treatment was given to underprivileged families in the county.
Farming
What would Gratiot County farmers do without such often unpredictable weather and tragedy, especially in the heart of summer? A large fire in New Haven Township at the Arthur Akin farm did $20,000 worth of damage to five buildings. Electrical problems may have been the cause, and Akin had only partial insurance. Akin also lost his sheep barn, hay, and grain, along with three cattle and a hog. Another fire at the George Baker farm in Emerson Township, at nearly the same time, was caused by children playing with matches and a cap gun. Luckily, the children narrowly escaped the fire.
Above-normal heat and moisture helped the summer’s crops catch up after a poor spring weather. The sugar beet crop looked very good, and the beans showed significant improvement. More rain at the end of the month appeared to be helping; however, farmers wondered if the crops would be ready before the first freeze and the onset of cold weather in the fall.
All seemed well until Monday, August 19, when an unusual wind of “tornadic proportions” came from the northwest and hit Alma, taking out 13 Union Telephone company telephone poles between the city and along US-27 on the old Ithaca Road. Fred O’Boyle’s trailer camp east of Alma was hit the hardest with flying limbs and downed trees near the surrounding trailers.
In other Gratiot farming news, St. Louis beet growers enjoyed a picnic sponsored by the Lake Shore Sugar Company. A group of 650 people came to the Gratiot County fairgrounds in Ithaca for three hours of entertainment. One of the best friends Gratiot sugar beet growers had was United States Representative Fred L. Crawford, who came out against Eastern seaboard refiners who took too much sugar from places like Cuba. Crawford feared the government would turn the sugar market over to Cuba and that the United States would stop producing sugar. A group of 28 boys returned from a five-day trip sponsored by Future Farmers of America. The group traveled through the Upper Peninsula and into Wisconsin. Omer Garberson and Leroy Roslund were just two of the young men in the group.
Farmers were warned about the damaging effects of the corn borer on the county’s corn crop. Farmers had limited options to control the pest, except to place corn in the silo, run fodder through shredders, or to clean plow all stubble and stocks under in early summer. Turkey growers in central Michigan gathered for a meeting at the Gratiot County courthouse to plan the grading and marketing of turkeys, which would be shipped to Detroit. Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were not that far away. A.J. Neitzke led the ten highest herds in the Gratiot Dairy Herd Improvement Association during the month of July. Neitzke’s Brown Swiss yielded 999 pounds of milk and 39.52 pounds of fat on one test. On a more sober note, Hill’s Fox Farm in Alma offered $5 and $8 for dead horses to feed animals at their fox farm. Just send a card to Hill’s, and they would make contact.
The Long Arm of the Law in August 1940
The Gratiot County prosecuting attorney, Robert H. Baker, reported 79 violations of the law and subsequent cases. Of that number, 76 resulted in convictions, with fines totaling $294.65 and costs amounting to $246.
David Lavoy, 17 of Alma, pled guilty to stealing Ray Updegraff’s pocketbook. He got a fine of $31.15 or 345 days in jail. The law came down hard on Roched Alvey, 52, a Cleveland, Ohio, rug salesman who failed to have a peddler’s license. Alvey claimed his World War I veteran’s peddling license was sufficient. He spent 20 days in jail instead of paying the $30 fine and costs. His tune changed after two days in the county jail, and he was able to raise the money to get out. Ganro Mejia, an Alma Mexican, 43, was arrested by Alma police for carrying a loaded revolver. He received a ten-day jail sentence and two years’ probation. Meija was not to retake a weapon unless he had a license. Harmon Burrell, 27, an Alma man of color, was arrested for carrying concealed weapons and was sentenced to Jackson Prison for six to eight months. Burrell had a homemade dagger that he exposed during an argument in the Alma Coney Island Restaurant. More violence occurred when Staley Druska, 51, of Bannister, was arrested for having a bloody fight with Steve Gruska. Druska attacked Gruska with a knife and hammer. That trial was assigned for later in the month.
Patrick Long of Alma made the news for being arrested for two different cases on the same day. First, he briefly escaped from the Alma jail after being arrested for passing counterfeit checks, but was rearrested and brought before a judge. He had to pay $36.85 in fines and costs in addition to the amounts of the checks. After arraignment in Alma, he was taken to Justice J.L. Smith’s court in St. Louis for failure to appear for a traffic violation ticket on July 4. He had to pay $8.00 or spend ten days in jail. Finally, Maynard Isham, Lloyd Willert, and M.H. Sheridan, all of Perrinton, pleaded guilty to a fine of $16.85 each for violating state laws by fishing with set lines in the Maple River.
Several articles in local newspapers addressed the issue of alien registration, which became a state and federal requirement. Part of this need to register seemed tied to events in Europe as the United States slowly drifted toward war. The St. Louis Leader stated that it believed many aliens existed in Gratiot County. Starting August 27 through December 26, aliens of all ages had to register at one of the post offices in Alma, St. Louis, or Ithaca. All had to register and be fingerprinted, and those under the age of fourteen had to be registered by a parent or guardian. Also, those who could not speak English had to furnish their own interpreters. Aliens who started the citizenship process but had not completed it still had to register with the authorities. The Department of Justice would mail a proof of registration to each person who completed the process in the form of a receipt card. Some of the questions that aliens had to answer involved how long they anticipated being in the United States, and for how long they planned to stay. Other questions asked about their method and ways of transportation into the country, whether they had any military service, listing organizations they belonged to, and how these activities helped a foreign government. Failure to register by the end of December may result in a six-month jail term and a $1,000 fine.
The Alma postmaster claimed that each registration would take approximately thirty minutes to complete, and fingerprinting was part of the process. There was no cost for the Gratiot alien registration process. On the first day, registration took place at the St. Louis post office. Postmaster Adeline Philips reported that ten aliens had registered so far.
In sad news, Judge James G. Kress, a probate judge in Gratiot County for twenty years, passed away after a prolonged illness. Kress was born in Alma in 1866 and had a long career as an attorney and judge. He was laid to rest in Alma’s Riverside Cemetery.
And So We Do Not Forget
A.H. Beebe, the caretaker of the Alma Pine River Country Club golf course, described his ten-year collection of golf tees. He currently had 210 different tees made of wood, wire, rubber, bakelite, white bone, tin, plastic, and celluloid…Alma’s New Moon Trailer published a new illustrated folder of new trailers for sale. The Alma Record printed 20,000 folders for distribution…James Kline of Ithaca was now in charge of the new locker storage plant, the first freezer plant in Gratiot County, and had 200 lockers to rent…Gay’s 5 & 10 in Alma had a new American flag in the window made out of red, white, and blue jelly candies…Three Ashley residents, Kenneth McComber, Lyden, and Wendal Wright sang ballads on the Prairie Farmer-WLS Home Talent program over radio station WLS in Chicago on Saturday afternoon, August 10…Leonard Refineries held its first annual employee picnic for workers in the Alma and St. Louis plants. Approximately 300 people attended the picnic at Lake Lansing…The 1940 District Class C softball tournament started at Conservation Park Field in Alma on Sunday, August 11. In the opening game, Lobdell-Emery played the Newsboys…Matthews, located at 222 East Superior in Alma, had a daily fountain feature of a double peach sundae for only ten cents.
The 1940 Gratiot County school census had 9,568 students, a drop of 260 students from the previous year. Alma had a gain of 29 students and a student enrollment of 2,216…Ira Nusabaum, a twenty-year employee at the O.E. Buccaning’s Beehive Restaurant, was found dead in his apartment over the Alma establishment. When he did not appear for work, another employee went to check on Nausbaum, who had passed from an apparent heart attack. Nausbaum had worked for the Buccanings for twenty years…Alma Bowling Alleys are prepared to reopen for the fall bowling season. “Mauling the maples” was soon to start in Alma…The contest for the oldest battery in Gratiot County ended when Robert Fisher of Sumner Township, who produced a thirteen-year-old battery from a 1927 Model T Ford…Jack Catlin, formerly from Alma, signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals farm club and was assigned to Worthington, Minnesota, farm club. Catlin formerly played for the Pure Oil baseball club on Sundays in St. Louis…A group of young men from Ithaca formed a flying club on the George Reed farm in North Star. Reed, a licensed pilot, began working with ten young men to complete their eight hours of dual instruction courses before flying an airplane…Several news articles appeared in county newspapers about the apparent 1940 Republican nominee for President, Wendell Wilkie…Marian Smith, daughter of the late Dr. R.B. Smith, married Alton Norris in the Smith family gardens in Alma. Miss Smith was given in marriage by her brother, Lieutenant Reynolds C. Smith. Seventy friends and family attended the wedding.
In Alma, the Beehive Restaurant at 322 North State Street and G.J. Maier at 115 East Superior Street both installed fluorescent lighting. Maier was using Westinghouse lights…A busy harvest season in the county meant that members of the county’s board of supervisors were forced to postpone their first annual picnic at Conservation League Park…In Michigan Mid-State Baseball action, Beal City played St. Louis in a double header at the St. Louis softball field on Sunday, August 4…A new sign sponsored by St. Louis Lions Club and Frank Champion was placed two miles south of St. Louis on US-27. The sign read, “The Lions Club welcomes you to St. Louis, Michigan, center of the Nation’s Playground, straight ahead, scenic route to Mackinaw”… St Louis schools planned to open Tuesday, September 3, for the upcoming school year. The teaching staff had only one new addition from last year…The annual August Northrup Birthdays took place at the home of Lyle Bartrem. While the plans originally were for an outdoor party, weather changes forced it indoors…Mid-West Refineries acquired two new refineries as part of a business expansion. The six-year-old company voted to purchase the stock of Imperial Refining Corporation of Grand Rapids, along with its two refining plants…The intense late July heat resulted in lower attendance at the Republic Truck Reunion. Approximately 900 people attended a Sunday picnic at Conservation Park. A total of 438 former Republic workers participated in the picnic…In an unusual yet sad story, a double funeral was held for Mr. and Mrs. Peter Brillhart in Ithaca. The elderly couple passed away within six hours of each other. J.L. Barden and Sons handled the services.
A new St. Louis restaurant, the Colony House, opened with an exterior in the Colonial style, featuring knotty cedar panels. The business had room for 42 people at one time. While it featured meals and lunches, the Colony House also had a soda fountain service…Marriage licenses included John Hein, 25, of Bethany Township, and Margaret Kostka, 25, of Emerson Township. Good luck to Cupid’s victims…Walter Brown, Ithaca tailor and World War I veteran, gave a talk at the Park Hotel for the St. Louis Rotarians about the history of clothing, as well as his exhibits on button types, including the potato button…Claire Trevor and John Wayne starred in “Dark Command” for two nights at the Ideal Theatre in Ithaca. Tickets were ten and fifteen cents…A new lighted softball diamond in Ithaca, located at the county fairgrounds, hosted games every Wednesday night, except on Wednesdays, which were avoided due to the free programs offered in downtown Ithaca. The official opening of the new field took place on August 5…The 47th annual Central State Camp Meeting of the Church of God ran August 16-25 east of St. Louis. Reverend. W. T. Wallace of Louisville, Kentucky, served as camp evangelist…The new Ithaca Post Office opened on August 1 in the old Ithaca National Bank building…The village of Perrinton held its fifth annual homecoming days on July 26-27. The event was primarily sponsored by the Perrinton firemen, who managed to break even with the cost of the event through a Ladies Aid Society dinner. Events included a free show, a softball game between Perrinton All-Stars and Rowley and Church, a tug of war, free music from the Vocational Band, a popularity contest, and a contest to catch a greased pig…and St. Louis saw its biggest building boom in ten years with several home and businesses were going up in and around the city. Most of the new homes cost between $3,000 and $6,000 to construct. Many of the new buildings were made of brick.
And that was Gratiot County during the Depression and War in August 1940.
Above: August 14, 1913, headline from the Gratiot County Herald; in 1915, A.M. Derry & Son of Ashley sold lightning rods to interested farmers.
Some say lightning never strikes twice in the same place. Others do not worry about being hit at all. Unfortunately for many in Gratiot County’s past, death and destruction by lightning strikes were common and something to be feared.
In 1913, Gratiot historian Willard Tucker cited over a dozen instances of lightning disasters in a book of the county’s history up until World War I. However, his short collection of lightning stories is only a small sample of the many stories that can be found later in twentieth-century Gratiot County.
Tucker started his coverage with a terrible incident that took place in Elba Township in 1896, which claimed more than one victim. A young boy, Charles Hubbard, age 9, was working with his father in the family’s granary when a bolt of lightning hit Charles, killing him instantly. His father, Stephen Hubbard, was also hit by the same strike but eventually survived, in what was the first story of those who shared lightning strikes. It happened again five years later when Walter Price and John Cumberworth both died on the Roy Cumberworth farm near Ithaca on July 5, 1901. In that case, Roy Cumberworth, who was standing near the other two men, somehow avoided being hit by the same bolt of lightning.
Records show that houses in towns and villages were sometimes hit. Sol Eicher’s house on St. John Street in Ithaca was struck by a tremendous lightning bolt, which Eicher and his wife barely escaped in August 1912. That night, Eicher awoke thinking he had heard a loud noise outside his window, got up, looked outside, saw nothing, and then returned to bed. Another loud crash soon occurred, and this time he awoke to find his bed covered in plaster, a result of the entire ceiling and side walls of the bedroom falling on him and his wife. Upon going outside, Eicher saw that a lightning strike had stripped the siding twelve feet down the side of the house. Upon more inspection upstairs, Eicher found that two big holes could be seen above his bed as well as in the neighboring bedroom. As the family started cleaning up the mess, they ended up removing three bushels of plaster just from their daughter’s bedroom alone. Down below the upstairs windows, the Eichers saw that the porch floor had been split in two.
There are stories of other homes that were also hit by lightning. William Carroll in northeast Seville Township had the top of his chimney and shingles torn off his roof in March 1904. Carroll had just stepped onto his porch after returning from the barn with a lantern after returning from the barn when the force of a strike nearly threw him to the ground. Still, Carroll survived. In November 1924, the DeArmond home, located at 136 Allen Street in Alma, was struck by a bolt of lightning that entered through an open window and then started a fire. Luckily, the entire family was on the ground floor when the incident happened, and DeArmond activated the fire alarm. On the way to the house, the fire truck en route stopped at South Woodworth Avenue for a train when a Chevrolet Coupe driven by Earl Clapp hit the back end of the fire truck. No one was seriously injured, and firefighters safely arrived and extinguished the fire.
Across Gratiot County, there might be no limit to the number of barns struck during a lightning storm. A terrible storm lasting nearly twenty-four hours in August 1913 struck over a dozen barns across the county. During the ordeal, E.A. Stowe of Forrest Hill lost his barn and ninety tons of hay worth $1500. Almost all of the barns or homes hit in this storm were total losses, and the Gratiot County Herald estimated that lightning caused at least $50,000 worth of damage. A year later, in late August 1914, lightning storms covering two successive nights destroyed another six barns in the county.
In most cases, Gratiot farmers lacked sufficient insurance to cover the full damage to their property, while many farmers often had no insurance at all. In one instance, William Holliday and his wife from Alma wintered in Kalkaska in April 1905. They prepared to return to their summer home near Alma just before it was hit by lightning. A neighbor who witnessed the strike attempted to salvage some of the things inside. Still, the fire was too intense and resulted in a total loss as it had no insurance coverage. James Greenlee, near North Star in 1925, lost $4,700 in a fire caused by lightning from his 40×70 barn, which contained farm tools, wagons, straw, shovels, hoes, and cultivators. Luckily, Greenlee had let all of the livestock out of the barn earlier that night, or he might have lost them as well. His insurance covered $3,000 for losses, more than most farmers had at that time.
The result of a lightning strike often left tremendous physical damage, especially for livestock. A.K. Overmeyer of Emerson (Beebe) was able to get his two horses and buggy out of his barn after a strike in June 1913. Still, he lost all of his harnesses and 65 chickens. He received $362 in insurance claims, but it would not cover all of his losses. In July 1923, several county farmers experienced significant personal losses from lightning strikes. A 6:00 a.m. storm caused a fire on the Kinney farm near Ithaca, which quickly went up in flames. The family watched as their barn and a shed burned, which housed a cow and calf, as well as several farm implements, and four tons of hay. All of it quickly went up in flames. Sadly, insurance only covered half their damages. Clarence Shields of Emerson noticed that his horses and cows were acting strangely after the same storm. He then figured out that two of the horses were now deaf. It was not uncommon for other Gratiot lightning strikes to leave farm animals severely burned, blind, or deaf if they had been standing near a lightning strike.
Encounters with lightning sometimes created almost unbelievable stories in the newspapers. William Gephart of Breckenridge was struck and killed in July 1913 when he returned home from a day on the Pine River. While one and a half miles north of Wheeler, he headed to the Chase residence to take cover from the approaching storm. Gephart hitched the horse in the barn, stepped to the buggy to get a rubber blanket to cover the lunch basket, and then was hit by lightning. Strangely, Gephart had no visible marks on his body, just a torn hat and shirt. A Mexican migrant worker, Ysac Rojo, was killed by lightning, and another worker was seriously injured in Fulton Township in July 1926. Rojo and his brother made the mistake of taking shelter under a tree during a storm on the R. C. Blank farm when lightning struck the tree. The strike then burned a hole through Ysac Rojo’s cap, shattered his shoes, but left the rest of his body unmarked. Joe Rojo, who survived, was taken to St. John’s Hospital after suffering severe burns.
Some places in Gratiot County were hit twice by lightning. Ellsworth Wright’s barn near Breckendridge was destroyed in July 1924 for the second time in five years. In both cases, Wright’s barn burned to the ground, and the second time, he lost all of his barn’s contents. Another Breckenridge farmer, Frank Oberst, suffered $7,000 in damages from an August 1925 lightning strike. During the storm, a tenant on the Oberst farm was able to rescue Oberst’s Durham cattle and horses out of the barn. This second barn, measuring 40 feet by 84 feet, had a cement floor with a basement. Unfortunately for Oberst, insurance only covered part of the second loss. In a strange twist, Oberst lost his first barn on the same spot two years earlier.
A Gratiot farmer’s defense against lightning strikes was to buy lightning rods and insurance from county agents, such as W.H. Tenney of St. Louis. Just before World War I, Tenney sold lightning rods made of 98 percent pure copper, which came with patent curved brackets. H.J. Zubler of Breckenridge also sold U.S. Government Lightning Rods, claiming, “If these rods were good enough for government buildings, they ought to be able to fill the bill for you. (The) Same make of rods are used on Gratiot County Farm Buildings.” In March 1915, A.M. Derry and Son of Ashley sold lightning rods and advertised that “Now is a good time to come in and get an estimate, before spring work commences. We sell them—and guarantee the best price.” In the 1920s, businesses like Boothe and Binger of North Star also advertised the sale of lightning rods. They handled 18-gauge, 32-strand cable rods.
About twenty years ago, I visited my paternal grandmother’s last surviving sibling, who still lived on the old Bliss family farm west of Ithaca in Newark Township. As I spoke with my great-uncle about family history, he pointed out the lightning rods and insulators that sat overhead above his porch, then the trio of lightning rods that appeared on the top of the old barn. Aaron Bliss smiled about how some local antique collector with an eye for old lightning rods and insulators had stopped more than once to encourage him to sell off the rods. My uncle only smiled, suggesting that he was happy to keep and trust the devices that had probably spared the Bliss family’s home and barn from hard Gratiot County lightning storms for many decades.
Goodspeed's Gratiot County Historical Blog 