Above: War Bond drives were held at Alma’s Strand Theatre during World War II. “Going My Way,” featuring Bing Crosby, was held in early December 1944; bonds could be obtained at the Strand Theatre in November 1944; one of the last war bond shows took place in early June 1945. Viewers who purchased E Bonds received free tickets.

Another world war knocked on Gratiot County’s door before the 1940s began. During these events, going to the movies offered escape and entertainment as the country slowly drifted toward direct involvement in World War II.

As 1940 began, the Strand Theatre started a local run of movies called “Alma’s Local News Reel.” Billy Farrell played on the new Hammond Organ some of these nights at the Strand. Farrell played the organ thirty minutes before every show, and customers regularly asked him to play their favorite music. The Alma Lions Club sponsored a talking picture, “We’re in the Movies,” which became a two-hour feature involving local community members. The John B. Rodgers Producing Company of Fostoria, Ohio, came to town and directed and filmed the movie. This color movie, shot over five days in Alma, involved local people and businesses that depicted everyday life in the city. To get people to see the film, the Lions Club promoted the project with a “Movie Queen” contest to select an Alma “Glamour Girl.”  Lois Brainard, one of the thirty-seven contestants, won with 4,770 votes. Brainard and the other contestants then attended the premiere. “We’re in the Movies” had six showings in Alma and raised enough money for several Alma Lions Club service projects.

However, the biggest news in March 1940 was the premiere of “Gone with the Wind,” which had a limited one-week engagement at the Strand. Tickets cost $1.10 for reserved seats and could only be purchased ahead of time through mail orders. The movie debuted on Easter Sunday and had been highly anticipated in Alma, and it would not appear again until 1941. The epic Civil War movie, shot in color, lasted four hours. Over time, “Gone with the Wind” would hold the most viewings in the Strand’s history, appearing each decade until the theatre’s closing in the 1990s. Also, “Gone with the Wind”  marked the debut of more color movies in Gratiot County movie theaters.

In late 1941, ticket prices at the Strand jumped to eleven cents for children and twenty-five cents for adults. Down the street, the Alma Theater completed a new remodeling project. Owners changed the seating arrangement to include only one center aisle and raised the seating capacity to 324 people. As a result, the Alma Theater raised prices to eleven cents and twenty cents for movies.

After Pearl Harbor, viewers caught up on the war and world news through the “March of Time” newsreel, which appeared before each main feature. To commemorate Pearl Harbor Day in 1944, the Strand supported the Sixth War Loan Drive by showing Bing Crosby in “Going My Way” for one night only on December 7. However, a viewer had up to a week ahead of time to buy a bond to see the movie. Every purchase of a $25 bond gave the buyer a ticket to the show. Ultimately, the drive was successful and raised $30,000 in bond sales!    Another bond show occurred at the Strand in 1945 with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in “Without Love.”

Earlier in the war, in response to orders from the War Production Board, Alma participated in a “brownout” to conserve energy, which affected the lighting of the marquee. People walking up and down Superior Street could no longer read the movie titles from a distance. However, on the night of Tuesday, May 8, 1945, the Strand Theatre turned on its marquee again in response to the news of Germany’s surrender. That night, the Strand lit up and joined many businesses in celebrating the war’s end in Europe by turning on their lights up and down Superior Street. After a long period of darkness, someone in Alma commented, “Superior Street is again as brilliant at night as of yore.”  In a short time, the movie lights in Alma appeared every night in 1945 with the end of World War II.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

From above: The Strand Theatre in 1942; amateur night at the Strand, August 6, 1936; the problem of smuggling illegal Chinese emigrants appeared on July 9, 1936 at the Alma Theatre.

Although the Great Depression was in full swing in Gratiot County in the late 1930s, it did not stop people from going to the movies. The Strand Theatre and the Alma Theatre continued to draw people in and managed to stay in business. For many in Gratiot County, going to the movies offered an escape from the economic and social challenges of the times.

In Alma, theatre owners continued to use gimmicks to attract people to see a movie. In early January 1935, “The Great Kirma,” a mystic from India, arrived for one week at the Strand. He started his appearance by driving his 1935 Model Terraplane Six Sedan through the streets of Alma while completely blindfolded. Afterward, in front of onlookers, he hypnotized a young lady in Walker’s Electric Shop show window. During his shows each night, Kirma further mesmerized people by answering any question the audience asked him.

In July of that year, the Strand installed a new device billed as air conditioning. By removing dirt and pollen from the air, hay fever and pollen sufferers found relief while enjoying a show at “The Coolest Spot in Town.”  Strand ownership advertised cooler temperatures and help from hay fever. For hay fever sufferers, going to the movies in Alma for relief continued to be advertised for several decades to come. During the winter, these fans also supplied each person with twenty feet of warm air.

Throughout the late 1930s, the Strand held various community benefits, often at Christmas. Those who attended a show received a free ticket for a movie if they brought in food for Smith Memorial Hospital or for holiday baskets to help people in need. On a more serious note,  Alma ministers stated in 1935 that they favored movie censorship and wholly disapproved of movies being shown on Sundays. They also discouraged churches from publishing advertisements about shows.

Amateur entertainment remained a Strand staple. In August 1936, amateur acts auditioned to win appearances  every Saturday night in “Four Acts of Vodvil.” One year later, Major Bowes’ Amateur Revue and Jamboree appeared. These shows featured some of the top amateurs in the country. It turned out that Bowes’ program was the forerunner of the 1950s television show Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour. 

Also in early 1936, W.A. Cassidy and his wife from Midland purchased the Alma Theatre, known to many in Alma as the old Idlehour. They improved it and continued showing movies from Thursdays through Mondays. Sometimes, controversial movies appeared in Alma. In May 1938, the Strand featured “Assassin of Youth – Marihuana! Fruit from the Devil’s Garden.” It was followed two months later by “Damaged Goods: The Picture that Dares Tell the Truth.”  Restricted audiences got to view movies about drug abuse and the dangers of syphilis.

In late 1938, the Strand underwent significant renovations. A new marquee rose, double its former size, with a larger canopy. This new canopy curved in a semi-circle for 53 feet, then extended for 12 feet over the sidewalk. It held 340 lamps, each giving off 40 watts of light. With this new addition, the new marquee could be easily visible from distances up and down the business district at night. Those walking down the street each week could see interchangeable letters that spelled out the titles of the latest movies. Four double doors went from the foyer to the lobby as one entered the Strand. A new box office now allowed people to purchase tickets from the sidewalk. More remodeling took place inside as 500 new seats replaced the old ones. By the end of the decade, ticket prices, which had been ten and fifteen cents per ticket in 1935, rose to twenty cents by the end of 1939.

As the 1930s ended, another world war appeared on the horizon, and a new era of movie blockbusters was about to start in Alma.

Copyright 2024 James M Goodspeed

Above from the top: A Depression special – movies reduced at the Strand; in late February 1931 the Ionia State Reformatory Orchestra appeared at the Strand as one of ten big vaudeville acts starting in March 1933; “Tarzan and His Mate” appeared at the Strand, as did co-star “Mary” for one hour on July 14, 1924.

“Boom and bust.” “ An economic collapse unlike anything seen before.”  Both phrases describe the economic crisis that hit Gratiot County starting in the late fall of 1929 and what many called the Great Depression.

Strangely, the movie that played at Alma’s Strand Theatre five days before the economic crash was “The Gamblers.” It dealt with a father and son engaged in Wall Street corruption. Little did most Gratiot citizens know that what happened in New York City that October would seriously affect their lives.

As movie theaters struggled to draw people early in the Depression, they offered prizes and reduced prices to keep people coming to the movies. The Strand gave away a $225 Amrad Radio in late December 1929. It went so far as to offer $500 as a first prize during “Greater Movie Season” almost one year later. A more practical prize gift in October 1931 was to give a two-pound package of Rowena Pancake Flour for the first 200 paid admissions. The cost of seeing a movie dipped to 25 cents a show in early 1931 and then reached 15 cents a show by February 1933.

Other movie draws in Alma starting in 1930 included airing “Amos and Andy” every night at 7 o’clock (except on Sundays). The Strand Sweet Shop, which first opened next door before the start of the Depression,  became a place to stop for sandwiches, malts, and sweets. In 1931, “Freckles” Spear, an eight-year-old “Our Gang” movie star, came to Alma. Later that year, Prince Shah Babar, a famous Hindu mystic and mind reader, drove a car blindfolded through Alma. He also buried alive a member of his company in front of the Strand Theatre, then put a person to sleep in the store window of W.D. Baltz. In August 1933, the MGM Studio sent a traveling studio into the country to show people how it made movies. Mary the Rhinoceros quickly visited in July 1934 before a “Tarzan and his Mate” movie. Mary starred alongside the first Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller.

The Depression also changed Alma with the passing of the Idlehour Theatre. In the spring of 1931, Dick Rockwell sold out to W.A. Cassidy of Midland and Mr. Gordon from Mt. Pleasant. With the sale came a new name: The Alma Theater, which would operate for over twenty years in Alma. Cassidy would also succeed in purchasing the Strand a year later. As a result, Cassidy installed new screens and sound systems to bring in more moviegoers. Some very famous movies also made their way to Gratiot County early in the Depression, such as “Dracula,” “King Kong,” and young movie stars like John Wayne (“The Big Trail”).

There were other issues involving movies in the 1930s. Groups like the Disciples of Christ in 1934 worked to clean up dirty films. They were the only group that believed that the movie industry needed censorship and reform, and they encouraged boycotts of offensive shows.

The Depression was on, but so was movie attendance in Alma.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

Above: The Charleston arrives in Alma. This contest led to other “amateur nights” to be held at the Strand in the late 1920s; Mary Pickford was a leading actress who won an Academy Award in the 1920s; talking pictures arrived in Alma by the summer of 1929. However, Ithaca had the honor of showing the first talking movie – beating out Alma theatres by only a few days.

As America enjoyed a period of economic prosperity in the late 1920s, Gratiot County residents flocked to the movie theaters. However, those who traveled to Alma found more than just movies for entertainment in Alma.

In March 1926, the Strand Theatre hosted a Friday night Charleston Contest for the first time. An advertisement invited those people with “hot feet” to come on stage after the first show and “strut their stuff” to show off the latest dance craze. It was so successful that Manager Miller decided afterward to hold a weekly “Amateur Night” to showcase local talent for those who could sing, dance, or play musical instruments. Soon afterward, Miller brought in the Old Fiddlers Contest, which featured music played during Michigan’s logging era. The average age of the contestants was 72 years, and Frank Newcomb from Riverdale took first place. Other entertainment that year involved a performance by Ithaca High School’s drama club and films about the military training camp at Camp Custer. Mrs. Francis King, Alma’s noted horticulturalist, also came to the Strand and gave an interesting lecture on gardening. 

In 1927, some more attractions involved the first movie appearance of the famed Passion Play, “The Life of Christ,” from Baden, Germany. Alma College students came and performed “The Enemy,” a drama in wartime Austria. The Republic Motor Truck Company, which recently acquired Linn Tractors, showed movies to advertise what the tractors could do. “Fellow,” the dog with the human mind, appeared on stage and showed how he understood words just like any human being. Those who wanted to listen to the Dempsey-Tunney boxing match came to the Strand and heard it via amplifiers and loudspeakers. The United States Navy Band, sponsored by the Alma Chamber of Commerce, appeared one day and was billed as “the greatest aggregation of musical artists that ever came to Central Michigan.” Listeners were impressed with the band’s variety of music as well as the theatre’s acoustics.

Down the street, the Idlehour Theatre also continued to draw its audience. Manager Dick Rockwell and his mother went so far as to charter a plane that dropped advertising leaflets around Alma, St. Louis, and the countryside. The leaflets encouraged people to come to the Idlehour.   A scary moment at the Idlehour occurred in the summer of 1927 when a film fire started in the projection room . Fortunately, the employees quickly put it out, and the theatre avoided severe damage. During this time, Dick Rockwell also continued to make new lighting and seating improvements to compete with the Strand.

In May 1928, Gilbert Genesta appeared for the last time in Alma, performing his signature water barrel trick. A local favorite, the former theatre manager and owner had been getting himself out of his trademark “barrel of death”  for many years. However, tragedy occurred when Genesta died in Frankfurt, Kentucky, in 1930 while performing the stunt. Genesta did not know that his trick barrel had been dropped from a truck during unloading earlier that day. Because he did not check the barrel, he did not realize that the trick lid could not open because it was dented. The famed entertainer was laid to rest in Frankfurt.

Movies in Gratiot County forever changed with the advent of Vitaphone pictures in the late spring of 1929. The Idlehour and Strand  both raced to be the first to have talking movies in the county (the Ideal Theatre in Ithaca beat them by a matter of days). The first talkie in Alma, entitled “Stark Mad,” featured a jungle adventure that took place among Mayan ruins. Over at the Idlehour, viewers were impressed with how well the sound synchronized with the acting. In another early talkie at the Strand, Mary Pickford starred in “Coquette,” a romantic drama for which she won an Academy Award. Viewers here, like at the Idlehour, were amazed at how well they could hear the movie regardless of where they sat.

The late 1920s had its share of fun. However, an economic crash was coming to Gratiot County that affected the movie industry. This crisis would be known as the Great Depression.

Copyright 2024 James M Goodspeed

               

Life in Gratiot County during October 1939: Balmoral Patricia, a nine year old Ayrshire from Ithaca’s Balmoral Farm, found herself in Borden Dairy World of Tomorrow at New York World’s Fair; Jimmy Stewart starred in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” at the Strand Theatre in Alma. “Mr. Smith” would become one of Stewart’s most famous movies; the “Phony War” started in Europe. When would the Nazis invade Western Europe? The battle lines in November 1939 appeared strikingly similar to those of the First World War.

The Great Depression continued into its eleventh year. Some in Gratiot County wondered, was it now beginning to end? People seemed to be finding jobs and doing more seasonal work.

A world war entered its second month. How long would it last? Would the war follow similar patterns to the World War two decades earlier?

It was October 1939 in Gratiot County.

A World at War

The war situation was the start of Hitler’s “phony war” and encompassed the next eight months in Europe. As Western countries like France and England anticipated a Nazi move west, both sides prepared for a deeper conflict. Names like “Siegfried Line,” “Maginot Line,” and “Armistice Front” became a part of the newspaper’s coverage to educate the American public about what was happening with Nazi Germany.

Rumors of German submarines patrolling near the Panama Canal raised concerns about the United States’ interests in the canal. Local newspapers also told readers that the war would undoubtedly affect the nation’s cost of living. No doubt, war business (like munition sales) would boom. This could mean more jobs for those who needed employment.

New Deal Programs Continue in the County

One of the essential New Deal programs that gained notoriety in October centered around Wheeler Field in St. Louis. The first game and dedication of the new field occurred on the afternoon of Friday, September 29. The game against Clare began at 3:00 pm in heavy rain, which continued for most of the afternoon. During half time, a program involved speakers from the Board of Education, Works Progress Administration, and the State Director of Interscholastic Athletics. The field was then officially dedicated and opened in memory of Dr. Aaron Wheeler, St. Louis doctor, mayor, and former school board member. The St. Louis Crimson Tide played hard but lost a wet game to Clare by the score of 24-12. Newspapers reported that the St. Louis team played much better than the previous game’s loss to Ithaca.

The Gratiot County Board of Supervisors in Ithaca dealt with the issue of welfare reorganization. Under new laws, welfare relief ended up in a dual system in the county. This policy now meant that one bureau oversaw federally funded programs and aid. A second bureau, called the “Bureau of Social Welfare,” came under the control and distribution of the county. One of the second bureau’s goals included weeding out those applicants who were not needed (whom county newspapers called “chiselers”). The board reported that the County Poor Farm budget for the upcoming year would be $7,000 for the farm’s operation.

The National Youth Administration (NYA) planned to offer girls’ sewing projects under the direction of Dean Carter, NYA county supervisor. This work provided work for 25 girls between the ages of 18-25 who worked no more than 64 hours a month (50 hours in work, 14 in training). Part of the reason for offering a sewing project for girls was that most of NYA’s previous programs interested young men more than women. Works Progress Administration projects (WPA) in the county continued to center around street pavings in Alma – notably around East End and Walnut Streets.

However, with the sugar beet factories opening, at least 28 men from an original crew of 161 had left to take other jobs. Wet weather and cold also hampered the completion of the work on the streets. The Alma city manager was allowed to hire another 60 men to get the job done. 

Ithaca offered fall programs under the direction of the WPA, which included boys’ and girls’ craft rooms. Adult groups met on Tuesday nights and offered a Psychology Club and Ladies’ Recreation Club. They provided a girls’ and boys’ music club on Thursday evenings. On Saturday afternoons in Ithaca, a younger boys and girls club met for four hours. One activity enabled 35 youngsters to go to the park for games,  study nature, and make winter gardens. A Lady’s Recreation club met on Tuesday evenings in the Village Hall. Grace Rowell led the Ithaca Recreation Program under the sponsorship of the Ithaca Village Council that month.

Gratiot County also needed to fill the full quota of those who could join the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Although ten could sign up, only nine young men from the county went to Munising for winter quarters. Between this news and the trouble of finding enough workers for WPA street work in Alma, some thought the national economy might be improving.

Farming Season Turns Toward Harvest

With the coming of October, beet harvest and factory operation were on the minds of many in the county. In places like Alma and St. Louis, the familiar sights of trucks loaded with sugar beets again could be seen and heard. In anticipation of the fall harvest, the Gratiot County Conservation Association called attention to the Child Labor Provision in the 1937 Sugar Act. It reminded farmers that they could only employ children under the age of fourteen in the fields if the child belonged to that farmer’s immediate family or if they had at least a 40 percent interest in that crop.

By the end of the first week in October, beet slicing began at plants in Mt. Pleasant, Alma, and St. Louis. The Alma plant employed 400 men and was expected to run for 60 to 90 days while slicing 1,500 tons of beets daily. St. Louis expected an 80-90-day run with an anticipated slicing of 1,000 tons daily. The three plants together employed 1,050 men and required 3,000 field workers. 

Regarding daily life, danger was always present on Gratiot farms. W.A. Alward of St. Louis, age 53, was viciously attacked by his bull when the animal broke its chain. The beast, weighing 600 pounds,  knocked Alward down and rolled him several times. Luckily, Alward’s son was nearby, and the family’s dog distracted the bull enough so that Alward could be pulled from the pen. Alward suffered severe chest wounds, two broken ribs, and one pierced his lung and was taken to Smith Memorial Hospital. Three weeks later, Alward died from the injuries as the result of an unexpected blood clot.

Fred McLean of Breckenridge suffered the loss of his horse when hit by an automobile. Gerald Powelson was driving the horse hitched to the wagon when it was hit by a Dodge Sedan. The car was driven by a Saginaw man, and the horse had to be put down due to a broken leg.

A farmer’s greatest fear was losing his house or barn due to fire. One afternoon, Clarence Pitscher’s small barn at Benson Bailey Corner on the River Road north of St. Louis was a complete loss even though the St. Louis Fire Department arrived to try and contain the blaze. It turned out that children playing in the barn first discovered the fire. In another instance, Sherman Sommerville lost fifty-one sheep and one colt during a fire six miles southeast of Ithaca. This fire was estimated to be a $5,000 loss and was the third fire in that community during the past few months. Sommerville had partial insurance on his barn.

Aside from the start of the beet harvest, a big concern on the minds of Gratiot farmers had to be the upcoming pheasant season in the county. At the beginning of the season, many farmers feared the many pheasant hunters who came from outside of the county. These “nimrods” seldom asked for permission to hunt on farms and frequently left gates open and damaged crops as they pursued Ringneck pheasants. Just before the start of the season, approximately 100 hunters bought licenses in St. Louis, and these were probably local hunters.  In anticipation in the Lower Peninsula, the state planned to hire approximately 100 special duty sheriffs to help monitor what was expected to be the biggest pheasant season ever. Nine communities in Gratiot County opened as hunting co-operatives with the message: ask landowners and farmers for permission before you hunt. Also, observe posting signs established by farmers who did not want hunters on their property. 

There were other happenings in the area of Gratiot farming in October. Dog tax fees remained unchanged – $2 for female dogs and $1 for male or unsexed. Part of the dog tax collection fees went to farmers who lost animals (usually sheep) due to attacks by dogs. The Emerson Farm Bureau met at Beebe Hall, but attendance was down due to work in the harvest. Clarence Muscott served as chairman. Allen McPherson, North Star farmer, announced that his Holstein cow just gave birth to its fourth consecutive pair of twin calves. James S. Davidson of Balmoral Farm, Ithaca, displayed his nine-year-old Ayrshire at the New York World’s Fair. Balmoral Patricia was one of 150 fine purebreds from farms nationwide that appeared at the fair.

The state turkey tour came to Gratiot County on October 26. During the tour, the group saw an estimated 12,500 turkeys on 11 area farms. The tour started at C. W. Hoyt’s farm eight miles north of St. Louis, where he had 400 heads of Bronze breeders. It would end on the James Wright farm in Maple Rapids, where he had 4,700 Narragansett turkeys. During the tour, the Michigan Turkey Growers Association offered turkey sandwiches, coffee, and doughnuts for lunch.

At the end of the month, 315 boys and girls from across Gratiot County completed their 4-H Club summer projects. An achievement day occurred at Ithaca High School, featuring the displays of the largest summer enrollment of 4-H members ever seen. Canning, food preparation, baking, sheep projects, Dairy projects, and garden projects were just some of the categories for those who participated.

Pheasant Hunting Season Arrives – Gratiot Prepares for Invasion

An invasion was coming to Gratiot County that fall – this time in the form of pheasant hunters who arrived from outside the county.

During September, Gratiot County encountered a rash of hunting dog thefts. In ten days, thieves made off with over a dozen prize-hunting dogs (mostly Beagles and Setters) from farms across the county. Conservation and police officers surmised that the dogs were probably taken out of state and sold. One dog south of Alma was valued at over $150 and was stolen one night while the family was asleep. Hence, farmers and hunters were warned to lock their dogs up at night.

Nine communities offered hunting co-operatives under the Williamston organization plan to control hunters outside Gratiot County. Those hunters who followed the plan had to park their car in the farmer’s yard, ask for permission to hunt, get and wear a ticket, and report what game they took at the end of their hunt. If a hunter saw a sign that read “Game Management Area, No Hunting Without Permission,” they had to follow these guidelines. Hunters also had to hunt in the square mile of farmland the ticket was assigned, but there was no fee for hunting. Some game areas that hunters could use were in Northeast and Northwest Seville, Pine River, Arcada, Pine River, Sumner, New Haven, and North Shade Townships.

Hunting had been judged good toward the end of the pheasant season in 1939. Several Alma hunters had their season limit of six birds in the first three days of hunting. Regarding controlling outside hunters, some followed the Williamston plan, while some did not. Several county farmers declared they had unwanted hunters on their property, even after posting no hunting signs. The Alma Record sold many of these signs. Still, almost a dozen hunters ended up in court with fines for trespassing. Two Detroit men were arrested for possessing pheasants before sunrise on opening day. Two more pled guilty after being caught without a license. Charles Sabatovich of St. Louis and Gene Coon of Ashley were cited for hunting before sunrise. Kenneth Richards of Perrinton was the only one cited for violating the Horton Trespass Act upon complaint by Charles Kilean of  Fulton Township, who argued that Richards shot game on posted property. Richards ended up paying $17.85 in fines and costs.

The Long Arm of the Law in Gratiot County

The new jail in Ithaca could hold fifty people; however, only eleven prisoners resided there in early October. Ruth Wonnacutt, the wife of an Alma ice dealer, was held for ten days for assault and battery on her stepson. Wonnacutt thus became the first woman to be held in the new jail. Cecil Richards of Alma received ten days and a fine for hunting in a game area without a license. From Merrill, Ralph Rudd, age 23, got caught spearing fish on the Pine River in Sumner Township. He was re-arrested when he could not pay his fine. Raymond Shepler, age 28, of St. Louis, was arrested for stealing electricity from the city. Shepler contrived a device to acquire electricity without paying for it. He pled guilty and paid a fine of $15. On a lighter side, Elmer Reed, age 53, of Detroit, admitted himself to the jail for a night’s lodging and breakfast. Reed received ten days in prison and a fine of $6.35 for vagrancy.

In September 1939, 62 people were convicted of breaking the law. Of these, 42 paid their fines for traffic violations. The county collected $444.35 in fines and costs from all lawbreakers.

In Alma, a new law went into effect for jaywalkers. Those who wandered wherever they wanted to cross a street, crossed during a red light, walked on the right side of the highway, or walked on a road that boarded a sidewalk were violators who now faced arrest.

Van Smaley of Perrinton, age 20, escaped a severe car wreck and crawled out of his automobile one Tuesday morning. The Smaley vehicle went off the highway, taking out a telephone pole and a distance of fence before stopping. His car was a complete wreck. Kenneth Peters, age 26, met Smaley at an intersection south of Ithaca on the fairground road and also suffered severe damages to his car. Part of the cause for the accident centered around Smaley going 55 miles per hour and a cornfield obstructing the corner. Peters was also lucky to have survived the incident.

Gratiot County also received a lady deputy sheriff—probably for the first time in the department’s history. Miss Frances Nagel, age 19, of Wheeler Township, graduated from high school and business school. Nagel was in charge of the new jail’s automobile operator’s license bureau and earned $15 a week for her salary. She took over the new job when Deputy Charles Powers shifted to night duty at the new jail.

And So We Do Not Forget

The Gratiot Rural Teachers Club Unit I met at Mrs. Elizaebeth Blackman’s home. The club welcomed any rural teachers from Bethany, Emerson, Lafayette, or Emerson Township. Twenty members and visitors enjoyed a chicken supper served Frankenmuth style…The Alma Child Study Club led a group of city organizations to start preparing plans for helping underprivileged children at Christmas…The search for oil at Smith Number 1 wildcat in New Haven Township was given up as the location was found dry…Fulton Township High School principal Marian Woodford announced that each class was responsible for presenting a school assembly program every two weeks. Henry Parfitt was elected President of the Class of 1940, Marjorie Todd as Vice-President,  and Martin (Chick) Richards as Secretary-Treasurer…Jack-O Lanterns were sold for five and ten cents each at Gay’s in Ithaca.

North Star School held its first school fair on October 19 and 20. The event featured agricultural exhibits, rural school field day races, and contests. A total of 228 entries were entered at the school exhibit, and six rural schools took part…”The Mystery Man of the Movies,” Captain John D. Craig, kicked off the first meeting of the Town Hall series at the Alma High School auditorium. Craig showed color movies of his adventures as a deepsea photographer to 700 people…Three pounds of lard cost 25 cents at Barrone’s Market in Ithaca…Elmer Warren McDonald, a Spanish-American War veteran, died. McDonald served the country from June 30, 1898, until the end of the war.

The Ithaca Chamber of Commerce planned a Halloween party for boys and girls on October 30…T.A. Beamish and his wife rushed to Detroit upon hearing that Beamish’s mother died as a result of complications from rabies. Mabel D’Haene had been bitten by a dog several weeks previously. She took the serum, but the end came in the form of complete paralysis. The mother was buried in Hemlock Cemetery…1940 automobile licenses went on sale, featuring a black on silver design. Licenses could be purchased at county branch offices in Alma and Ithaca…A committee recommended that the Gratiot Board of Supervisors construct a new garage for the county road commission.

The Ithaca Elevator Company offered a complimentary color and talking movie at the Ithaca High School gym entitled “Vitamins on Parade.” Dr. Cliff Carpenter planned to speak on “Solving Our Poultry Problems”…New York Yankees’ first baseman, Lou Gehrig, was appointed to the New York Municipal Parole Commission at $5,700 a year. Gehrig recently retired from baseball due to what would later be called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”…St. Louis teachers turned in a large pile of oath forms to Superintendent T. S. Nurnberger. All people holding a Michigan teacher’s certificate had to file a notarized oath of allegiance…The Christian Church at East Saginaw and Franklin Streets in St. Louis had Bible School, two preaching services, and Christian Endeavor classes each Sunday. David Moore served as pastor…The city of Alma advertised the sale of city lots to be held on Saturday, October 14. A total of 25 lots were up for sale.

John Bickel of St. Louis was accidentally shot by his younger brother, Harley when he discharged a .22 caliber rifle while getting ready for school early one morning. The older Bickel, luckily, was only struck through the abdomen, with the bullet passing through the left side of the ribs. Dr. R.L. Waggoner was called in and took the boy to Smith Memorial Hospital. Still, the wound was pronounced as not being serious. Still, Harley Bickel received an anti-tetanus serum to prevent infection…St. Louis planned a big community Halloween party on October 31 for young people in the city. A parade started from the high school and marched downtown before the judges’ stand. Some of the categories included “Most Original Costume,” “Oldest Couple,” and “Largest Group.” Cider and doughnuts awaited all who participated. Cliff Carter, a St. Louis High 1936 graduate, played center on the Alma College football team. Carter was considered for all MIAA honors due to his play in that position…Should the City of Alma go to parallel or angle parking? While city streets connected to parts of state trunk line highways had to shift to parallel parking, the city commission remained undecided on the issue…the Recordio, which combined radio, phonograph, and public address system for making recordings, debuted at Sawkins Music Horse at 208. E. Superior. No price was advertised…Several Alma stores displayed Halloween novelties and masks through window displays. Need a Goblin costume?

 The Jean Bessac Chapter of the Daughters of American Revolution was organized at the home of Miss Lou Nickerson at 211 West Downie Street. Twenty Daughters of the American Revolution were present for the meeting. Nickerson was a direct descendant of Jean Bessac. The next meeting was scheduled for November 2…Michigan Bean Company of Alma sold Kopper’s Coal, which is dirt-free and virtually ash-free. Phone 270 for details…Veterans and their families were invited to attend a Halloween party at the American Legion Hall on October 31. Legionnaires were also invited…R.B. Smith Memorial Hospital had its annual meeting. Doctor H.B. Lehner chaired the meeting, and secretary Mrs. Sadie Soule read the minutes…The George Myers Post planned the 21^st annual Armistice Day observances in Alma. While planning to have a colorful parade, musical units, and a short program at the intersection of State and Superior Streets, one of the challenges this year would be that Armistice Day fell on a Saturday…Alma High School announced the purchase of fifty new band uniforms, all in school colors.

Several fire alarms went off in Alma by mid-October. Two called for assistance; one was a false alarm. Fire number 31 of the year was a false alarm. Number 32 went out to the Fred Gilkins farm on Grafton Avenue. The fire caused $10 in damage before being put out with chemicals and water. Number 33 took place at Model Bakery when an overstocked coal bin pushed boards near a heater on the wall. That fire caused $150 in damages. Another false alarm occurred when a woman called Fire Chief Fred Stearns and set off an alarm. She did not know it, but Stearns’ phone had been connected to the fire department office. The woman also did not realize that the Alma Fire Department used volunteers…Bert Gee of New Haven Township was killed while digging a slush pit for an oil well. Gee worked 11 miles west and one-half mile south of Ithaca. Gee, age 65, suffered a heart attack. He left a wife and a young son…Phone 646 to reserve a lane to bowl at Alma Recreation on weekdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm or Sundays from 1:00 pm to 12:00 pm.

”Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” opened at the Strand Theatre for three days. This picture was the first showing of the movie in the state of Michigan. Jimmy Stewart played the lead role in this movie, which had a run time of 2 hours, 30 minutes…Michigan continued to lead the drive against pneumonia. Serums were available for Types 1 and 2…One of the new things people noticed in Alma bowling alleys was the debut of new team shirts. The names of sponsors appeared on the back of each shirt…Should the City of St. Louis purchase the Gratiot County bank property at Mill and Center to be used for a city hall? This was the decision voters would face in April…Dr. Merton S. Rice, a well-known Methodist pastor and nationally known speaker, appeared at Alma’s First Methodist Church. A large crowd was expected to attend…The first meeting of the Alma Lions’ Club occurred in attorney J. David Sullivan’s office in Alma. The group was expected to begin with a charter membership of 20 people.

Mrs. Jennie Miner purchased the first brick building built in Alma. The Delavan House was completed in the fall of 1881 and was considered the finest home in Alma for many years…Carol Lee Monnette, born in St. Louis and granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Davis, appeared on the Milton Cross Bus Program over a New York City radio station. Lee was five years old and sang “Oh, Something Has Happened to My Little Bisque Doll”…Sherman Summerville lost his barn in an undetermined blaze that cost him $5,000. He lost fifty sheep, valuable machinery, and much hay and grain.

And that was Gratiot County during Depression and War in October 1939.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

Above: Cecil B. DeMille’s epic arrives at the Strand in July 1925; vaudeville was also a part of going to movie theatres in the 1920s. At the Strand, acts took place once a week in December 1921; the Idlehour Theater was the other competition in Alma. It sought to compete with the new Strand Theatre up the street. Advertisement from July 12, 1923.

As America entered peacetime and started its journey into the 1920s, big movies, and new entertainment came to Gratiot County. World War I, the most significant and deadly conflict in human history to that date, remained a prominent theme. Mack Sennett’s “Yankee Doodle in Berlin” was one of the first major movies to come to the Strand Theatre just after it opened in early 1920. Other big draws included:  “Tarzan,” “The Sheik,” and “The Ten Commandments.” One of the most popular movies, “The Phantom of the Opera,” came to the Idlehour Theatre in November 1925 and immediately sold out. By that time, matinees in 1920 only cost a viewer 11 cents. By 1925, tickets rose to a quarter.

The popularity of movies after World War I brought with them public concerns. Content in some films, as well as news coverage of the personal lives of movie stars, led to calls for censorship. Fatty Arbuckle, a well-known Hollywood actor, was reportedly involved in a booze party and the murder of a young Hollywood actress. As his story unfolded in the press, “Hollywood morals” became a topic of concern nationwide. Clergy and national and state politicians argued for censorship out of fear of how movies affected young people and children. In Gratiot County, some citizens urged the Alma City Commission to become involved by ordering local censorship. However, there is no evidence that the commission ever intervened.

In addition to movies, local theatres in the 1920s frequently showed musicals and vaudeville acts. A nationally known musical, “Robin Hood,” featuring fifty players, brought many to the Strand in 1920. Still, a special stage had to be built due to the size of the play. The mysterious Nalla Axmi informed people in Alma that he could read their minds. In an Alma Record advertisement, people were told to write down any question before coming to the Strand Theatre, and the mystic could answer it. Advertisements read, “ASK HIM – HE KNOWS.”  “The Cat and the Canary,” a famous murder mystery play, entertained viewers in late 1925. Other performers like the Blackaller Players, the Sunshine Revue, and Bell’s Famous Hawaiians came to Alma, usually on weekends. Theatres frequently turned to agencies to book a traveling vaudeville act. Baby Dodo Reid, a well-known six-year-old entertainer, came to Alma in 1922 with great acclaim to draw people. During the summer, local merchants offered free vaudeville performances to drum up business.

Movie owners used other ideas to attract people to the movies in Alma. The Strand Theatre announced its first arrangement with a lyceum course, bringing dramas, professional artists, and lecturers. After the war, money made from some ticket sales went to organizations that helped starving children in Europe. In the fall, the Strand offered free movies for area farmers. In another promotion, some moviegoers were once surprised when, after a vaudeville performance, a well-known young couple got married on a Friday night. The newlyweds, never publicly named, received fifty dollars from the theatre and gifts from area merchants.

  The Strand put in a new pipe organ solo a year after it opened, enabling moviegoers to sing along as songs appeared on the curtain. By late 1921, the Strand installed a new heating system during the winter to improve circulation. A new screen called a Gardiner Velvet Gold Fibcare Screen and new satin curtains also debuted. Supposedly, viewers could now pick out differences in tone in a black-and-white picture, and the curtain gave sharper, more detailed images without hurting one’s eyesight. Yes, the movie business in Alma was taking off and improving in the first half of the 1920s.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

 

From the top, Scoville Meetings: headlines from the Alma Record announce the coming of Charles Reign Scoville’s revival meetings; a Scoville meeting for “men only,” held in Akron, Ohio probably ten years before the Tri-County Meetings which centered around Alma; undated Scoville publicity photograph taken prior to arrival in Gratiot County.

In June of 1926, a hurricane rolled into Gratiot County. However, this time, it was not a storm but the coming of Evangelist Charles Reign Scoville and the Tri-County Crusade. These religious meetings took place primarily in Gratiot County, featuring one of the leading American evangelists of the early twentieth century.

Scoville had been an evangelist for eighteen years, having conducted many successful meetings in major cities in the United States and Australia. A well-educated man who had also served briefly as a Chicago pastor before coming to Alma, Scoville reportedly once spoke to more people in a single religious campaign in the United States at that time than any other living evangelist.   In one meeting in Oklahoma, he saw over 1500 people converted. Another campaign in Anderson, Indiana, made national headlines because it was the most extensive campaign held in a church building by one congregation, gaining over 1200 converts. Even Billy Sunday, a leading evangelist in America in the 1920s, believed Scoville then to be the most outstanding evangelistic speaker in America.

  The Christian Church and its congregations in three mid-Michigan counties hosted many Scoville Meetings. While other congregations participated, the Alma East Superior Christian Church became the central location. Initially, Scoville’s coming to Alma led to announcements that the church probably could not contain everyone and that a large tent would be needed outside to seat everyone. Because of Scoville’s notoriety, area churches began to reserve seats well in advance to attend one of the East Superior Christian Church services.

 A frontman, Samuel Bishop Pack, arrived in Alma days ahead of the rest of the Scoville team to guide the churches and to tell them what to expect. Fresh off of meetings in Winston Salem, North Carolina, the five-person Scoville team started the Alma meetings on May 30, 1926. Arlene Dux Scoville, the evangelist’s wife, came as part of the team and was one of the most accomplished soloists of 1920s gospel music. 

However, Charles Reign Scoville’s preaching drew people into the churches like a magnet – and the people came. Speaking often twice a day, and frequently three times on a Sunday, “with impassioned gesticulation, his voice trembling with emotion, his eyes flashing fire, his forehead furrowed with frowns of contempt,” Scoville was like a machine gun, easily uttering 250 words per minute. As audiences sat listening intently to this evangelist, it was clearly evident that Scoville knew how to preach. Every ear of the listeners remained alert, and every eye was on him during services. Observers noted that those who usually slept in church stayed awake and remained engaged during Scoville’s topics. On one evening, his famous sermon, “Traps and Tricks of the White Slavers,”  warned Gratiot County about the dangers and evil of white slavery. In this message, Scoville detailed how girls as young as twelve were stolen every year in American cities, never to be heard from again.

Other messages dealt with the evils of bootlegging and how America could never repeal Prohibition. In addition, Scoville proclaimed that bootleggers also needed to be thrown in jail until they died and all of their property confiscated. During a patriotic rally on a Tuesday, Scoville and his wife donned their army uniforms from World War I, describing how they had served during the war. When he was not preaching, Scoville went out and visited many places in Gratiot County, such as schools, businesses, factories, and community organizations. Through all of this, his charisma and personal approach appealed to many.

At the end of each meeting,  people came forward, shook Scoville’s hand, and then headed to “the inquiry room,”  signifying their answer to Scoville’s message and acceptance of Christ. In many churches, the Scoville services became the greatest ever held in that church or town. By the time the meetings concluded on June 27, 1926, almost 400 people had been converted, and the Scoville meetings shook Gratiot County.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

Above, participants in the first “Movie Wars” in Alma: Gilbert Genesta’s Genesta Theatre sought to keep bringing in viewers with stars like Mary Pickford in August 1917; after buying out Genesta, A.H. Ashley sought to show many World War I themed movies in May 1919; Douglas Fairbanks was a draw at the new Idlehour in June 1919.

In the summer of 1916, America slowly drifted toward involvement in what was then called the Great War. Another type of war was soon to take place in Alma. This war would take place over the attention and business that movie viewing created in Gratiot County.

By this time, Alma also had a new theater, “The Idlehour,” which opened for business in July 1916.

To draw people in, Clarence A. Miller, the Idlehour’s proprietor, promoted his new theatre as “The House of Good Shows.” Miller announced that he would show Paramount five reel features two days a week for viewers. Anyone dissatisfied with watching one of his Paramount pictures only had to say so, and the cost of their ticket would be refunded, which would be fifteen cents. Also, Pathe Pictures, a newsreel shown before the main movie, was shown three nights during the week, and bargain days occurred on Thursdays when anyone could watch a Metro Feature photoplay for ten cents. Pathe Pictures also became the first to show colored pictures in Alma when this took place on the second night the theatre opened. The Idlehour also used a continuous picture system, ending the delays in changing films. Another new addition, the Wagner white light converter, took the “flicker” out of pictures so everyone in the theater enjoyed sharp and clear images, no matter where one sat. Best of all, the theatre had a new and improved ventilation system which kept the air cool and clean. Inside, patrons also saw the newly cleaned and painted theatre walls.

  Six months later, Miller installed new electric signs gracing the front and hanging out over the sidewalk. These white lights projected against a large green glass shade and spelled “Idlehour.” Anyone walking downtown Alma at night could see the marquee from a distance.

When the Idlehour opened, Gilbert Genesta had his challenges and renamed his theatre across the street the Genesta Theatre. It started when a group of concerned citizens approached the city council over the types of “social problem” movies showing at the Genesta on Monday nights.   Gilbert Genesta developed a policy prohibiting children from being admitted on Monday nights because of what he called “the maturity of the movie plots.” Genesta also tried reassuring the public that he only showed movies the motion picture industry approved.

Later, in the summer of 1918, the theatres faced their first health threat when an infantile paralysis epidemic hit Michigan, forcing movie theatres to close. Although health officials in Alma monitored the situation, they did not close the theatres in the city. Unfortunately for the Alma theatres, another health crisis, the Influenza Epidemic in October 1918, would close them all for some time.

The Genesta Theatre attempted to further combat competition by installing a new Emerald Glo screen that eliminated distortion. Genesta also featured movies with war themes like “War Brides,” “Civilization,” and “Mothers of France.” Sometimes, he tried to sell more tickets by putting on some of his magic and illusion acts, such as “The Great Genesta.” Once the United States officially entered the war in April 1917, Genesta opened his theatre for high school students and gave Red Cross benefit shows. Genesta did this while maintaining this theatre and another one he bought in Ithaca. Sadly, shortly after the government forced the closing of movie theatres on Sundays to conserve fuel for the war effort, Genesta surprised many by selling his Alma theatre and appearing for a moment to move on from the movie business.

A.H. Ashley became the new owner of the Genesta and quickly changed the name to the “Liberty Theatre”  to coincide with the patriotism shown at that time with America’s involvement in the war. He updated and rewired the Liberty, put in a fireproof picture booth for the film machines, and placed a new electrical sign out front. The Michigan Light & Power Company helped Ashley with putting up the lights.

  However, the Idlehour was increasingly popular with moviegoers during much of the war, drawing business away from the Liberty. The largest crowd to ever see a movie until that time in Alma occurred in May 1918 when the war drama “The Unbeliever” was shown at the Idelhour. Still, the Idlehour also went up for sale a month later when the backers of Liberty bought it and then owned both Alma theatres. A.H. Ashley managed both locations, and his backers briefly had another monopoly in Alma. However, there would soon be a new competition on Superior Street. The influence of this theatre would go on in Alma for over seventy years. This new movie house would be called the Strand Theatre.

Copyright 2024 James M Goodspeed

From the top: End of summer celebrations took place in Gratiot County during the Depression. St. Louis had one of them in September 1939; The start of the Second World War meant weekly war news – and maps – for readers. The Alma Record started this feature which ran throughout the war; A girls softball game in Ithaca was just one of a couple of events held during an ox roast in the village to mark the end of summer, 1939; The dedication of Wheeler Field in St. Louis was a major event which came about as the result of one of the New Deal programs during the Great Depression.

Our County in Depression and War, September 1939: “The World Goes to War, Again”

For Gratiot County, it seemed that history would repeat itself. Over twenty years after the fighting stopped in Europe in what many called “The Great World War,” Europe erupted again. Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and the world headed into a war that would last six years.

A slow, transformative journey began as the county, just like the nation, continued through the Great Depression and on into World War II.

It was September 1939 in Gratiot County.

Life in Gratiot County During the Depression

For many in Gratiot County, New Deal programs that most affected everyday life could be identified by their acronyms: NYA, WPA, and CCC.

One of the most active groups, the National Youth Administration, acquired a new leader in Alma with the arrival of Dean Carter. Carter’s task involved getting youths assigned to NYA into part-time jobs that dealt with library work, classroom assistance, ground and building improvement, and outside construction work. The focus of NYA involved helping students adjust to work and life after high school, especially if they did not attend college. Students who qualified for NYA received between $3-$6 a month (and at most $6) for participating in the program. During that fall, Gratiot County received $2,214 for 41 students in 8 high schools in the county in September to become involved in an NYA-directed work. As a result, a new NYA office opened in Alma, behind the back of City Hall for director Dean Carter. In another instance in September, NYA announced plans to train 600 aviation mechanics in Michigan at ten training centers in the state. However, Gratiot County was not one of the sites.

In another New Deal program, Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers proved very active in Alma during the summer as they continued pouring concrete on North Elwell Street, then moving to pave East End and West End Streets. The city hoped that WPA work would be done on Walnut Street if time and weather permitted. During the late summer and fall, an estimated 100-105 men worked on the streets as WPA workers. Some crew members were also assigned to build an ice rink south of the new bridge on Ely Street near the river. The site offered a good location for a winter ice skating area for youth in the city.

For young men ages 17-24 who wished to apply to work for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), an application period opened from October 1-14. CCC members worked on projects such as conservation and building projects. Anyone who wanted to enter the CCC applied at the Gratiot County Welfare Relief Commission offices at 614 East Superior Street in Alma.

Some of the biggest news in September dealt with the growing popularity of Townsend Meetings in Gratiot County. The Townsend movement,  led by Dr. Frances Townsend, believed that the government should give a pension of $200 to every American over 60. In return, each recipient had to spend their entire retirement by the end of the month, thus stimulating the economy and helping end the Depression. However, Townsend and his followers should have realized that the program could only work if additional money on top of this amount was spent or pumped into the economy by all people beyond the allotted $200. Since most Americans either did not have the extra money or refused to spend it, the Townsend program would fail. Still, the Townsend Meetings became very popular in Gratiot County. On one Sunday in September, an estimated 500 people  (called “Townsend forces”) attended a program at the American Legion Hall where W.H. Morrison of Middleton chaired the service. When the hall could not hold everyone who wanted to go inside, an afternoon meeting occurred at Tourist Park. That crowd was also estimated to be another 500 people. By the late 1930s, smaller Townsend Clubs formed in different locations in the county. Over at Ithaca, the Ithaca Townsend Club No. 1 met at the IOOF Hall and also invited other Townsend Clubs in their district to attend programs.

A World at War – Again

As the Second World War began in Europe, news coverage about the war and the success of the Nazi invasion of Poland appeared in Gratiot County newspapers. Unsettling images of the war also appeared for the first time, stimulating the American desire to stay out of European affairs.

  A regular piece in the Alma Record began its run under “The European War This Week,” which gave readers a synopsis of the current situation of the war. Responding to events in Europe, Dr. B.N. Robinson of Alma published his memories of Poland just before and after World War I. Robinson recalled the Warsaw he knew from his time there and hoped it would survive the war. He had no idea that it would be six years before the conflict known as World War II would end, leaving Poland in ruins.

Photographs of the first Nazi concentration camp in Poland showed captured Polish prisoners of war. In another picture, Polish children tried to help resist the Nazi invasion by building air raid protection trenches. These photos were only the beginning of showing Gratiot County some of the effects of the war.

The first notice of Gratiot County’s young men in the military listed three Alma boys in the Navy and one in the Aviation Corp. All enlisted in the previous year. Three of them, Raymond Alspaugh (on the USS Cincinnati), Bernard Smith (on the USS Babbitt), and John Pechacek (on the Panama Canal), were all in the Navy. Andrew Gordon Hughes, who lived on Olive Road, headed for Hawaii to serve as an aviation mechanic. It turned out that Raymond Alspaugh sent the first letter to be published in Gratiot County during World War II. Alspaugh’s letter home described being at Key West, Florida, and patrolling for foreign submarines up to 250 miles offshore.

Still, America’s tone appeared neutral as it aimed to stay out of another world war. Colonel Charles Lindberg openly urged America to stay out of a war that America could not win against the Nazis. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for American neutrality – eventually urging neutrality in thought and deed. On the other side of the news,  the war was expected to help assist the unemployed in America. At least one million jobs would be needed to fill foreign orders coming to the United States.

Gratiot Farming – Harvest Soon Here

As summer ended and fall approached, Michigan State College showed off an early type of irrigation to mid-Michigan farmers. Called the “water gun,” crowds at St. Johns, East Lansing, Hartford, and Lake City witnessed how this new overhead rotary irrigator pumped water from existing water supplies onto fields. While the device helped farmers use irrigation to improve their crops, unfortunately, at different places when MSC set up and used the gun, that location in Michigan was deluged by September rains only a few hours later. Photographs promoting the new “water gun” appeared in Gratiot County newspapers.

Gratiot County agricultural agent C.P. Milham told the public that the 1939 growing season would succeed. The most significant crop in Gratiot County was corn, which appeared to be more abundant in the northern part of the county. Even though the corn borer threatened Gratiot corn, a new hybrid-resistant corn that farmers used in the county did well during the year. As soon as the war began in Europe on September 1, stocks of flour and sugar began to be depleted in stores across the nation as homemakers stocked up on these items. Memories of rationing twenty years earlier in another world war meant that many did not want to be caught without plenty of flour and sugar. Meat and coal also became items that people started to buy and keep in larger quantities. Farm grain prices immediately jumped at area elevators. The cost of beans doubled in one week (from $1.95 to $4.00). Other grain prices did, too, such as wheat (64 cents to 8 cents) and corn (59 cents compared to 45 cents).

With fall approaching, pheasant season would soon be here in Gratiot County. Fifty people met at the Bethany Community Farm Bureau at the Bethany Community Center on September 17 for their regular meeting. At the end of their business, the group decided to have a pheasant supper on October 17. Those responsible for organizing the supper included Mr. and Mrs. Albert Bailey, Mr. and Mrs. William Schultheiss, and Mr. and Mrs. Arbogast.

Good Old School Days

With the arrival of September, school news now appeared in county newspapers. One of the most significant announcements reported that Perrinton, Middleton, and two rural schools  (Fulton Center and Reynolds Schools) all consolidated to form the recently named Fulton Township Schools. Nearly 500 junior and senior high school students, with grades K-7, attended schools in Middleton and Perrinton. Grades 8-9 held classes in Middleton, and grades 10-12 met in Perrinton. Those students taking vocational courses rode the bus to Middleton for their classes. Superintendent and mathematics teacher Lloyd Eberly headed a group of fifteen staff members K-12. Because he was responsible for two buildings, Eberly kept an office in Perrinton (afternoons) and Middleton (mornings). Eberly also announced that 75 boys were trying out for the Fulton football team.

Other news in the county that dealt with the start of school included a notice in St. Louis that Superintendent T.S. Nurnberger and his wife planned to host an afternoon tea on Sunday, September 24, for staff and their husbands and school board members and their wives. Nurnberger stated that this allowed the seven new teachers in the district to meet the existing staff and school board. St. Louis Schools also announced that 22 former students enrolled for studies in the fall semester at Central State Teacher’s College in Mt. Pleasant. In this group, Warren Packer and Elizabeth Schaede went to Mt. Pleasant on a two-year rural scholarship. Some of the group’s other former St. Louis students included Marion Tangalakis, Dorothy Sigourney, Charles Hayward, and Frances Goodyear.

County School Commissioner Donald L. Baker stated that the smallest enrollment at any school in the county took place at the one-room school at Davidson, No. 1 Fractional, in Bethany Township. J. Earl Moore, the teacher, reported having seven pupils enrolled. Close behind the Davidson School, North Star No. 4 and Seville No.7 each had eight students. The largest school enrollment occurred at Bethany No. 6, where Mrs. Stella Johnson taught 45 students. Newark No. 4 followed behind with 41 students; Wheeler No. 1 had 38.

Sad news came out of Breckenridge when a popular high school student, Gerald Allen, died in Alma Hospital after an appendectomy. Allen practiced with the football team on a Friday, felt nauseous the next day, and saw a doctor. Upon being sent to the hospital, surgeons found he had a badly ruptured appendix, and he died four days later. Allen’s funeral at the Breckenridge Congregational Church was filled by fellow students, family, and community members. A member of the St. Louis Nazarene Church, Allen was laid to rest in Ridgelawn Cemetery. Gerald Allen was only seventeen years old when he died.

Sports in Gratiot County During the Depression

Two main sports occupied the attention of the county during September.

First, fast-pitch softball in St. Louis, a sport born in the county during the 1930s, wound up the second half of the season, where the Lake Shore Sugar Company won the league title with a perfect 8-0 record. No playoff game took place, as Lake Shore also won the first half of the season. Although they finished at 4-4, the talk of St. Louis was Hall’s Lumber Company, which had several young, promising players right out of high school. Many believed that these young players would challenge for the 1940 season.

  Over at  Alma, teams geared up for state tournaments as regular seasons concluded. Alma’s George Minnis, the star pitcher for Mid-West Refineries, headed an all-star squad of other locals like Paul Wood, George House, and Earl Hatinger. The team made their way through the tournament by defeating Grand Rapids, Saginaw, and Bay City teams. Along the way, Minnis pitched four games in three days as the Mid-West team won the Class B Championship for Alma. Shortly after the state tournament ended, C.S. Vliet of Alma organized a meeting for the 1940 season. The Alma Record and Alma Journal commented that fast-pitch softball became an entire evening of entertainment in the Gratiot community in just one season because places like Alma and St. Louis have the best-lit fields in Michigan.

Professional baseball ended in September, but a local player made the news. Vincent Battles from Riverdale came home from playing for a club in Opelousas, Louisiana, a Cleveland Indians farm team. Battles played third base and was rated the best rookie third baseman in the Evangeline League. After his return, Battles resumed playing with the Roosevelt Oilers in Mt. Pleasant, for which he had played for two years before entering minor league ball.

High school football became the second seasonal sport that Gratiot County residents eagerly watched. Most of the attention focused on St. Louis, where Coach Oldt prepared for the season’s opening game on September 22 against Ithaca. A total of 45 boys, one of the largest groups in recent memory, tried out for the varsity.

However, the biggest news and attention in St. Louis centered around the dedication of Wheeler Field, where the State Department and the Works Progress Administration created a new football facility. A unique dedication program occurred on Friday afternoon, September 29,  before the first home game against Clare High School.

Wheeler Field, a large part of the ten acres of land formerly known as a boggy river flat, came under construction by the Works Progress Administration as a two-year project that cost $50,000. The field was named after Dr. Aaron R. Wheeler, who lived in St. Louis from 1883 to 1926 and was a well-known doctor, citizen, community leader, president of the Board of Education, and mayor of St. Louis. The construction of Wheeler Field also included bleachers that hosted 1500 people, six gate openings, a seven-foot metal fence, and a footbridge. A gravel parking lot held 200 cars. People could also use new tennis courts and shuffleboards, with baseball and softball fields to the west of the field. A cinder track went around the football field.

A full-page advertisement urged people to attend the Wheeler Field ceremonies and the game. St. Louis students hoped the football team would defeat Clare and gain the right to host the mascot, Caspar the Goat, after the game. The goat and the students planned to meet after the game at the Dedication Dance for students in grades 8-12. The Rhythm Makers from Saginaw provided the music.

The Long Arm of the Law  in Gratiot County – in September 1939

A new Gratiot County jail opened to the public. For $40,000 ($22,000 paid by the county, $18,000 contributed through Federal funds), it measured 56 x 48 feet and looked more like a dormitory than a jail. Although no bars could be seen outside, the sheriff proclaimed the jail escape-proof. No prisoner could see the outside world due to the prism glass that let light in but did not let prisoners see through it. Three cell blocks held up to 8 men each on the main floor. The second-floor rooms looked more dormitory-like, with two separate rooms holding eight people. In a lighter moment, four well-known Ithaca men from the Ithaca Rotary Club also stepped inside one of the cells during a personal tour. Someone locked the door behind the men to give them the feel of a real jail experience.

For the second summer, Sheriff William Nestle and Alma officer Mike Slowinski found and destroyed large “marihuana” plants near Half Moon Lake in Seville Township. The plants were worth $1000 and grew over six feet tall (one measured eight and a half feet tall). This particular occurrence was the exact location where officials found “marihuana” in 1938, and the sheriff believed that these plants were self-seeded. The farmer who owned the property claimed that the plants had grown there for several years and did not know what type or their use. In a side story, the farmer claimed that women from that area came to harvest the seeds to use as a song restorer for their canaries. This event was the second drug bust in Gratiot that summer, as before this, four Mexicans in the Ashley/Bannister area were arrested and prosecuted for growing the weed.

On a more dangerous note, the Bannister Bandit appeared again in Gratiot County. Clad in a red handkerchief, this infamous masked Bandit entered John Pierce’s beer garden in Bannister through the back door at closing time, just as the Pierces counted their cash from the day. The Bandit had a nickel-plated revolver and demanded an amount of $30.00. However, he failed to take the remaining money in the cash register. Before this, the Bandit held up places in Elsie and Oakley. The Ithaca Dairy was also robbed by thieves who entered one night and made off with as much as $40.00. Those thieves cut a screen and unhooked a lock to enter the dairy.

In other legal events, the Gratiot County Herald asked the Department of Conservation in Lansing about closing counties to Sunday hunting while keeping other counties open. Many in Gratiot County lamented the number of Sunday hunters who suddenly swarmed their areas from counties that did not allow Sunday hunting. Couldn’t more counties close so that other counties would not have so many excessive hunters on Sundays? The Department replied to the Herald’s letter (in typical bureaucratic language) that if a county wanted to close on Sunday to hunting, then that county needed to petition the legislature for an enabling act, followed by a county referendum on the issue. In other words, Sunday hunting would continue in Gratiot County, and Sunday hunters from other counties would keep coming onto county farmlands without permission.

There was news of a gentler nature regarding those who wanted American citizenship. Six people showed up and got their naturalization papers in Ithaca from Judge Kelly S. Searl. Countries of birth represented at this ceremony included Yugoslavia, Poland, England, Switzerland, and England. Two others needed help to complete the process for their papers due to the absence of witnesses or the need to give proof of residence before 1906. One man born in England, Maurice Eastment of Alma, and one in Canada, Edwin Redman of Ithaca, always believed they were American citizens until Uncle Sam contacted them and told them otherwise. All new citizens in the group received a new citizens manual.

End of Summer Celebrations in the County

As the summer of 1939 ended, several ceremonies and celebrations occurred in Gratiot County. The ninth annual military horse show happened on the softball field at Alma’s Conservation Park. On that Tuesday night, the lights went on, and Troop B of the 106^th Cavalry of the Michigan National Guard displayed their horses. Captain Howard L. Freeman served as the show’s general manager.

Another special meeting in Alma occurred on Saturday, September 2, when officials dedicated the Frances E. Burns Memorial Hospital at the Masonic Home. A group of approximately 300 people came to Alma for the hospital’s dedication in memory of Frances Burns, who had been active in the Maccabees during her lifetime. Burns was also influential two decades earlier in Gratiot County in leading women’s right to vote. After touring the facilities, a luncheon occurred on the lawn southwest of the Masonic Home.

A one-day city barbecue and celebration occurred in Ithaca on Wednesday, July 30. The Ithaca Chamber of Commerce offered a free ox roast, attracting many people, and in just over two hours, the crowds ate 4,000 barbecue sandwiches. Several people participated in girls’ softball games, boys’ baseball, and a running race. A trained dog show, a four-piece professional band, and a clown entertained the crowds.

St. Louis also had a four-day Farm and Industrial Jubilee from September 13-16, bringing approximately 10,000 to the city. Most store windows in town displayed farm produce, while industries and businesses in the city displayed their booths to viewers. The O’Melia Horgan Company showed its line of flour; Lake Shore Sugar Company offered sugar products; the St. Louis Creamery displayed its types of butter and buttermilk. The Natural Ray Mineral Water Company also had bottled water and blocks of salt. The St. Louis Hatchery drew much attention for its display of baby ducks. Others, like the Community Hardware, had types of radios, and the Hall Lumber and Coal Company had a contest for anyone who guessed the closest weight on three large chunks of coal. Ernest Curtis won at 302 pounds (only off by two ounces). Some other entertainment during the Jubilee consisted of the “Natural Ray Lumberjack Band,” tug-of-war contests between neighboring townships, a balloon ascension, band concerts, an escape artist, and other amateur acts.

And So We Do Not Forget

The village of Ithaca installed new parallel parking that went into effect at the end of September…Gratiot County Chapter No. 32, Disabled American Veterans of the World War, held an open meeting for new members at the Alma American Legion Hall…David C. Gardner’s two beautiful oil paintings of the State Street dam and bridge were displayed at an Alma City Commission meeting. Both paintings measured 9×13 inches. Gardner lived at 117 South State Street…Rotary Clubs from Alma, St. Louis, Breckenridge, and Ithaca planned to present five outstanding programs for the Town Hall Series. Each month, the program appears in a different community. Boake Carter, writer and radio commentator, was to appear at the first meeting in St. Louis on October 17. Season tickets cost only $2.00, and only 750 were available to the public…Oil drillers near the Hardy Dam northeast of Newaygo, Michigan, claimed to have discovered a prehistoric forest beneath 175 feet of clay…Gratiot County Conservation League announced that the dedication of Conservation League Park in Alma would be delayed until spring. Officials had hoped to have an ox roast as part of the ceremonies. However, fall weather in Gratiot County decided otherwise…the New Wright Restaurant at the Wright Hotel in Alma opened. Hours of operation ran from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily. Remodeling included new fixtures, a new marquee, and a place for private parties (up to 125 people) were all new features. Earle Parchman, a radio entertainer from Lansing, headed the opening night program.

George W. Stewart of Alma lost his aged maple tree at the State and Elwell Streets corner. The tree, which measured more than two feet across at the base, had been there longer than anyone in Alma could remember. The tree had to go to give room for the extension of the new curve on the corner and to allow paving between the two streets…Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry  Fockler of the little hamlet of Brice (located in North Shade Township) celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary. Over 150 people visited them at their home…Alma City Commissioner A.D. Smedberg urged the commission to consider the creation of a large skating pond in Alma that could be used as a municipal ice rink during the winter…Governor Luren D. Dickinson urged police to end all bingo games operated by churches, fraternal lodges, and other organizations. Although hard to police and enforce, Dickinson urged communities to crack down on this form of “gambling”…a new bowling alley went into the remodeled Garberson and Findsen Building at 215 West Superior Street in Alma. Two signs appeared before the building: “Bowling” and “Alma Recreation”…Mr. John S. Beery of St. Louis sponsored a meeting for all seniors aged 80 or over at Union Mission Hall, two doors south of the Park Hotel. A song service with special music took place, and Rev. L. George Beacock planned an address for the group. Beery hoped that those who attended would share some exciting event from their lives…Elmer and his Down on the Farm Jamboree appeared for a thirty-minute broadcast at WKAR in East Lansing. George “Elmer” Schleder, Parks Allen, and Eugene Smaltz made up a part of the crew.

The Washington Township Board voted to sign a fire protection contract with the Ithaca village. Nine townships now signed up for help from the local rural fire truck…Lake Shore Sugar Company in St. Louis announced that the hot weather Gratiot County had experienced meant that pulling sugar beets needed to be delayed for at least one week…Cleon Downing of Alma drove his creamery truck into a concrete abutment on the bridge halfway between Alma and St. Louis. Thirty cans of cream, worth an estimated $500, soon flowed down the Pine River. Downing claimed something went wrong with the vehicle, and he injured his left hip in the accident…Alma J.C. Penney manager George W. Stewart opened his cottage at Crystal Lake to Penney employees and their families. The Stewarts prepared chop suey for the meal…Mrs. Abbie Cole became the ladies’ golf champion in Ithaca. Mrs. Vera Patterson was runner-up…Alma Recreation Bowling opened opposite Tomlin and Riggle’s Service Station in Alma. Owner V.G. Case said that 60 teams bowled there each week. A total of 36 seats existed for spectators, and the alley was open from 10:00 a.m. to midnight, except on Sundays. Several youths worked as pin boys set up the pins and had a particular room to use for their spare time.

And that was Depression and War in Gratiot County in September 1939.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed