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

Photographs from the top: a portrait of a young Gilbert Genesta, artist and entrepreneur in Alma and in Gratiot County during the 1910s; Weese and Genesta operated the Vaudette, June 20, 1912 advertisement from the Alma Record. Business was good and sellouts were common; Genesta’s stage as it appeared for his performance at the Strand Theatre late in the 1920s.

On a warm summer’s night in August 1911, everyone in Alma seemed to be talking about someone named Royden Joseph Gilbert Raison de la Genesta.

It all started when, as the result of a bet, a group of Alma men escorted Genesta to the city jail, handcuffing and searching him to ensure that “Professor Genesta” could not escape. Genesta then ordered the group to lock the jail doors and to leave him alone inside the jail. Before the men left the jail, he said he would be on stage to perform on that Saturday night’s show at the Vaudette Theatre, which started in thirty minutes. If Genesta did not appear on time for the seven o’clock show, the Vaudette Theatre said that everyone in the audience would have their ticket refunded.

Amazingly, after less than three minutes in the jail, “The Great Genesta” appeared on Superior Street and quickly went to the Vaudette. When the curtain went up, the Great Genesta triumphantly stood on the stage, bowing to the audience’s applause and amazement at how anyone could have gotten free in a few minutes from the city jail.

            On that night in Alma, Gratiot County met one of the most interesting characters who would influence and promote movie houses in the county during the World War I era. Gilbert Genesta, as many would call him, was born in 1878 in Ashland, Kentucky, and he was married to Vaudette owner E.W. Weese’s daughter. Over time, Genesta earned a nationwide reputation as a hypnotist, escape artist, vaudeville entertainer, and entrepreneur who possessed boundless energy and ideas that shaped movie-going in Alma.

            Shortly after debuting in Alma, Genesta worked with his father-in-law to improve the Vaudette. In 1912, Weese installed more giant air ventilators, redecorated the theatre’s front, installed a new stage curtain, and hired a new operator to run the new movie machine to draw more people. Later that summer, the Great Genesta amazed the Alma community when he pulled off what became one of his trademark stunts. Genesta accepted a bet concerning another public feat, in which he proposed escaping from a sixty-gallon milk can filled with milk and secured with four padlocks. A week later, the performer did so in less than three minutes on stage in front of a packed audience. Genesta’s acts brought many to the Vaudette, and people flocked to see the latest attraction.

           In the next few years, the Vaudette continued to draw crowds by changing movie pictures nightly and bringing in new Vaudeville routines. In one case in early 1913, Weese raffled off a new ladies’ diamond ring, which he kept in a window display before giving the ring away. A year later, Weese bought a Simplex Motion Picture Machine and added 100 new seats in the theatre. Upstairs, he opened the Weese Hall, an area he redecorated to hold dances and parties. Weese also started an Alma tradition of free December matinees for children on a Saturday when their parents came into town to Christmas shop. He also occasionally offered free shows to Alma College students in an attempt to draw the college crowd. By the summer of 1915, movies with stars like Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford first appeared in Alma. Other attention-getting movies debuted with titles like “White Slavery,” “The Opium Smoker,” and coverage of the European war. A year later, Gilbert Genesta went a step further, had new ideas for more business in Alma, and announced that he had purchased the Vaudette.

            However, there would soon be more movie theatres and business competition in Alma because of the growing fascination with movies. By November 1915, Weese and Genesta’s monopoly on movies in Alma had ended. Another businessman, Harry Rockwell, ordered the building of a new 26×88-foot brick building on Superior Street. It featured a new appearance, hot and cold running water throughout the building, complete upstairs offices, and a sizeable sixty-foot hall at the back. This new Alma movie theatre would offer movies in Alma at this location for the next forty years, called “The Idlehour.”

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

Above from the top: Inside the Tabernacle where as many as 1,500 people sat or stood for revival services during March 1915 in Alma; the Tabernacle as constructed in early March; how the location of the former Tabernacle looks today in February 2024.

    Shortly before America entered World War I,  thousands of people in Gratiot County responded to its most significant religious revival up to its time. Known as the Alma Union Evangelistic Meetings, these meetings were termed “the greatest evangelistic services ever in this part of Michigan.” These extended revival services were held in a Tabernacle on Prospect and Superior Streets on Alma’s west side in March 1915.

              The building of the Tabernacle was a feat in itself. Frank Pollasky allowed construction on his property rent-free;  Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist churches sponsored the services, as did the Church of Christ. To create a building that seated 1500 people, volunteer workers started construction on the morning of Monday, February 28, under the direction of Henry Soule. Amazingly, by Wednesday evening, the Tabernacle was finished and dedicated.

              The Gratiot County Gas Company provided the lights inside, and six stoves heated the large building. Decorated banners hung overhead, and football blankets, donated by the Alma College Athletic Association, kept people warm as they sat on the wooden benches.

              Evangelist Elmer P. Loose and song leader Haldor Lilleanas led the services. Both men were well-known to Midwest churches before World War I. Loose finished a similar revival meeting in Iowa before coming to Alma. Lillenanas wrote over 700 songs, and many churches nationwide used his music.

              The first ten days of meetings were the talk of the county as an estimated  9,600 people flocked to Alma. Thirty minutes before the services began, it was standing room only, and anyone who got up even for a moment lost their seat. The choir loft was overcrowded, and people used any available place to stand during each two-hour service.

              Although Evangelist Loose did not give his first formal altar call until the first Saturday evening, many walked the aisles to the front to take Loose’s hand “to get in the game for Jesus Christ.” The number of services varied, with sometimes two or three taking place daily.  

              The number of conversions during the meetings astounded the community. By March 20, over 400 were saved, and the Alma Record commented that the “community was stirred as never before.” On one Monday evening, 44 people went down the aisles; on another Sunday, 80 went forward. By March 25, over 700 people had been converted, and by the close of the meetings, the numbers rose to 900.

              As March came to a close, so did the meetings. Evangelist Loose had not stipulated a fee for his services, only relying on the generosity of the people after paying for all expenses. Starting the last Sunday, those in attendance responded and gave offerings toward the costs of the meetings, the Tabernacle, and the evangelists. In the end, the subsequent offerings paid for them all.

              The results of the Alma Union Evangelistic Meetings were substantial. At least 500 people attended each service with most averaging 1,100 to 1,200. The week following the closing of the revival, the Alma churches that sponsored the meetings opened their doors to welcome new converts on four different nights. After the revival services ended on Prospect and Superior Streets, organizers ordered the Tabernacle auctioned off to the highest bidder, with orders to remove it within ten days. Henry Soule was the high bidder at $600 and soon took down the large building.

     Today, this location, on the southeast corner of East Superior and Prospect Streets, sits diagonally from the Alma Church of God. Reflecting on the times in 1915,  some described these religious meetings as the “greatest religious expression that the people of Alma have ever known.”

Copyright 2024 James M Goodspeed

Above from the top: Alma held its annual Jubillee Festival in late August. Ruth Abbot, Thelma Hahn (Queen), and Roberta Romine made up the Queen’s Court. An estimated 20,000 people came to Alma for the festival; What the tornado left in Seville Township. The Frank French farm was severely damaged by a tornado that hit in mid-August; Tax time- Moratorium Taxes, a way for people to keep their property during the Depression, were due.

The following is the start of a long monthly series about Gratiot County late in the Depression and running up through 1943. The opening article describes life in the county just before another world war broke out in Europe.

The Depression Is On

People who tried to keep their property learned that the next installment was due on moratorium taxes. These delayed taxes prevented owners from losing their property during the Depression in Gratiot County. Taxpayers who paid by August 31 avoided penalty, and people who had taxes from 1935 or earlier that went back to the state had until September 30 without interest but with a 6 percent collection fee. William G. Federspiel, Gratiot County treasurer, signed the notice.

Paving of Alma’s Center Street slowed down, but there were hopes for completion before the end of the year. The holdup revolved around WPA (Works Progress Administration) workers with eighteen weeks of continuous work who had been laid off for temporary discharge by the program. The Alma City Manager claimed he was short 75 WPA workers to do the job necessary for paving. Before this, workers had completed about two blocks of paving each week. When completed, the next goal was to pave the street between Center and West Superior. At the end of August, work moved again to Elwell and Lincoln streets. However, the shortage of WPA workers continued as the city received only five men from transfers in other projects.

Crime in Gratiot County During the Late 1930s

The long arm of the law reached out and dealt with several Gratiot lawbreakers. Five men who were caught dynamiting fish on the Bad River in July near the county line faced arraignment in Merrill. All the men (William Stadler, John Gath, Milan Stadler, Henry Wagner, and Lewis Gath) pled guilty and paid a fine and court costs of $31. 85. It also came out that the men had been doing this on the river for some time. In another part of the county, Fay Bragg and N.J. McCullough of Alma were caught in possession of ten undersized bluegills while fishing on Half-Moon Lake. They each pled guilty and paid a fine and costs of $11.85.

A rash of robberies across Gratiot County took place that targeted elevators for break-ins. Thieves blew safes in five different elevators early on one Monday morning, which resulted in a take of $600 in cash. The thieves kept their eyes on the money and left valuable items like silverware alone. The sheriff believed that the same gang of experts broke into Wheeler Farms Elevator, W.F. Bradford’s Bean Elevator, Breckenridge Bean and Grain, Hart Elevator Company, and the North Star Elevator Company. The Wheeler Farms Elevator got hit first. Police officers who first arrived on the scene said nitroglycerin blew the safes open to avoid ruining the contents. The search in the county was now on for this group of expert burglars.

In another story, Gratiot County Deputy Sheriff Clark Marr arrested a 24-year-old girl for selling and transporting illegal liquor on a Saturday afternoon in Newark Township. It turned out that Mary Sibley of St. Johns had a quart of moonshine whiskey in her car. Sibley was jailed, and Marr obtained a search warrant to search her vehicle. Marr learned that he needed to search the Frank Mazeski house in Newark Township, where he found 30 gallons of distilled liquor and more liquor about to be distilled. Marr turned the case over to Federal authorities, who took the people involved to Bay City to appear in Federal Court.

Farming Late in the Great Depression

Some of the prices for farm goods during the Depression in Gratiot County involved Swift’s Brookfield Butter, which cost 26 cents a pound. Two cans of corn cost 25 cents. Pillsbury Flour cost 73 cents for 24 ½ pounds. Also, beet sugar costs $1.19 for 25 pounds.

One of the largest shipments of beef cattle to ever leave Ithaca did so in late August. Keith and Robert Kellogg of Newark Township sent a total of 109 head of cattle by the Ann Arbor Railroad that averaged 1,135 pounds each. The Kellogg’s received $10,850.30 for their cattle.

Then, there were tragedies on the farm such as when lightning struck three barns, one home, and a chicken coup on August 29. Del Hibner’s barn southwest of Ithaca was one of these and burned to the ground that afternoon. After the bolt hit the west side of the barn, it burned up in a matter of minutes, resulting in the loss of pigs, hay, and straw. The Ithaca Fire Department arrived and saved the grain, but the barn was uninsured. While working on his field, a spark from Lester Mann’s thresher hit his barn, causing it to burst into flames. The Carson City Fire Department arrived but could not save the barn, which was a total loss. Mann said that he had some insurance. Robert Anderson of Sickles lost his chicken coop early on a Saturday morning, claiming that he had been dealing with chicken thieves, and one of them had probably set fire to the coop. The building was a former garage with no electrical wiring, causing Mann to believe that arson was the cause.

Another tragedy occurred when a severe windstorm hit the county in early August. On August 8, a severe tornado came across northwest Gratiot County, leaving wreckage from Elwell to Midland County. The storm demolished the Frank French farm, resulting in the loss of the house and the barn. Although the French family saw the tornado coming, the husband, wife, and son, Charles, tried to make it to the basement just as the tornado hit. Wreckage covered the three of them, and neighbors tried pulling them out. All suffered severe cuts and bruises, and Charles sustained a broken ankle. Both mother and son had to be taken to Smith Memorial Hospital for treatment. The French house was taken entirely off its foundation, smashing its contents and spreading them across the section. The family also lost their barn, garage, chicken coop, and ten trees from their front yard.

In another sad story that month, someone found eight-year-old Billy Parks of Bannister unconscious on the Gratiot Saginaw County Line and was believed to be the victim of a hit-and-run incident. It turned out that Billy and his brother Charles ran away from home. Once the boys returned home, Mrs. Parks claimed that Billy suffered from “spells” that rendered him unconscious for as many as three or four days at a time.

Finally, “marihuana” appeared in Gratiot County for the second time in two summers. It turned out that a group of four Mexican workers, ranging from 39 to 65 and who lived five miles north of Bannister, were arrested for growing and distributing. All four came to Gratiot County from Mexico and Texas to work in the pickle and beet fields. The sheriff found a total of two dozen plants, 3 ½ feet high, along with bags of seed and some weed mixed with tobacco. The Federal Narcotic Bureau of Detroit then came to Ithaca to take charge of the case.

In the Good Old Summertime: Fairs, Harvest Festivals, Celebrations

A massive crowd descended upon Alma on July 30-31. An estimated 2,000 people came from 9 states and 72 cities for the second annual Former Republic Truck Employees Reunion, which took place at  Conservation League Park. Softball games, dance at Bass Lake, and Murphy’s German Band performances entertained the crowds.

What was summer in Gratiot without the County Fair which ran from August 8-12 in Ithaca and featured Raum’s Circus and Gigantic Stage Show. One of the key acts was “The Stratosphere Man,” who performed an aerial act from 130 feet above the ground. Also,  Barkoots Midway offered rides, and the Gratiot 4-H Club had displays at the fair. A horse-pulling contest, the Red Devil Drivers, and the Famous Fisher Body 25-Piece Band offered concerts every night at 7:00 p.m. There was also horse racing on Wednesday – Friday afternoons with purses ranging from $250-$300.

There were also smaller celebrations in the county. Riverdale had a large Homecoming on Saturday, August 5. The day featured various races and a baseball game between the Saginaw Black Sox and the Riverdale team at Mead  Field. Perrinton also had its largest crowds in several years when it had a Homecoming event on Friday night and all day Saturday at the end of July.

Another significant event in Alma in late August was the eighth annual Harvest Jubilee Festival that occurred August 24-25. Some activities involved soapbox racing, a Jitterbug Contest, a pony race, model boat races in Wright Park, and a huge parade. A speed boat regatta was the weekend’s event highlight on the mill pond. This parade, the largest Alma had until then, featured a float with Queen of the Harvest, Miss Thelma Hahn, and attendants Miss Roberta Romine and Miss Ruth Abbot on a  Consumers Power Company float. An estimated 20,000 people came to Alma for the Harvest Jubilee.

Sports in Gratiot County

Ten teams competed in early August as the St. Louis Softball League started its second half. The St. Louis Sugar Company team led the league then with a perfect 4-0 mark. In just a few weeks, Alma and St.Louis held a regional softball tournament played under the lights at both locations. When the first game opened at St. Louis on a Monday night, every bleacher seat was taken by spectators as they watched the Clare team eke out a 4-3 win over the Alma Elks. Competition was tough, and in one game, it took a week to resolve a semi-final game that featured Rathbone against Lobdell-Emery. A heated controversy between Rathbone and the umpire occurred during the seventh inning, which caused the game not to be finished until the following week. In the end, Lobdell-Emery won.

Girls’ softball also took place in Gratiot County. A group of ten girls from the Ithaca area took on nine other area teams and finished 7-3-1. Nola Zoss and Reba Benson handled the team’s pitching duties.

In other sporting events, Mrs. Alex Hendershot of Alma won the Central Michigan Golf Championship in Portland, Michigan. Hendershot defeated Miss May Rose Shuller, a 19-year-old rival. Clarence and Phil Goodrich (father and son) played in the finals of the Ithaca Golf Championship. Clarence previously won the championship four times (1930-1933), and Phil claimed the honors in 1936. The golfer’s championship match took place in early September.

The Winds of War – News from Europe

It seemed inevitable that European conflict would soon break out as war clouds gathered on the horizon in August. As a result, that month, the Alma Record ran a column entitled “Our Place in a World War.” Even as President Roosevelt headed into the last year of his second term in office, the columnist urged  America to make war preparations. Every male in America needed to be ready for a war that appeared to be coming.

News about Nazi food rationing showed that Germany was already readying for war and unwilling to see the country blockaded into submission as it was over in a war twenty years earlier. Gas, sugar, breakfast foods, tea, and soap were all rationed. Magazines on county newsstands, such as Cosmopolitan, featured stories like “The One Man Hitler Fears!” – an article about Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS. A series of articles also appeared in the Gratiot County Herald, which traced the events of the last week in Europe as Hitler issued demands to England for the Danzig Corridor. President Roosevelt appealed to resolve the crisis peacefully. However, Hitler refused to back down from his demands about Poland.

And So We Do Not Forget

The dog days of August descended on Gratiot County with hot and muggy weather…The St. Louis City Council considered buying the old Gratiot County Bank Building for $7,000 for city offices…Mrs. Adeline Phillips received her postmaster commission from  President Roosevelt, effective July 28. She was the first postmaster appointed by a new act eliminating term limits. She had been acting postmaster since January 19, 1936, and replaced Frank House…A group of one hundred rural teachers from the county met at the Gratiot County Court House for an opening teachers’ meeting with County School Commissioner Donald L. Baker in charge. The group met in the courtroom… 143 attended the Federspiel Reunion at Boice’s Grove southeast of Wheeler. The group comprised the descendants of Balthazar Federspiel, who came to America during the Napoleonic Wars…Oren Riker Post No. 328 members in Ithaca named Russell Allen as Commander. Post dues cost two dollars for the year…The new consolidation of Middleton and Perrinton schools meant a special school election took place. Dr. James Sarven, John Reynolds, Clifford Price, Will Kellogg, and Arthur Ringle were elected school board members…The Bannister Methodist Church held a three-day Rededication Program from August 11-13…Several Alma people went to Owosso to listen to Thomas Dewey, New York District attorney, and Owosso native…Ralph and Richard Bobe of Alpena planned to open a roller skating rink in the rear of the Park Hotel. The two men were working to paint and decorate the building in anticipation of opening in early September…

“Mr. Moto’s Last Warning” headlined the movies at Ideal Theatre in Ithaca…A group of 300 out-of-town guests attended the Frances E. Burns Maccabee Memorial Hospital on State Street in Alma. At least five states were represented, as well as Canada…The state welfare commission cut fifteen people from the state welfare commission’s payroll, saving the state $4,900 monthly…Earl Ziesse, a printer and stereotype at the Alma Record, tried to catch little striped kitties invading his garage in town. Unfortunately, Ziesse discovered that he needed help to dispatch the skunk from his trap– which a local policeman did. However, the aroma persisted for some time…The Fulton Center School reunion drew a group of 130 made up of former teachers, students, patrons, and friends…The Alma City Commission heard a proposal for a new subdivision on Philadelphia Avenue from Superior Street to the Pine River…The Alma Record reported the city building activity was at its highest since the heyday of the Republic Truck Company…Updike Coffee Shoppe at 126 West Superior Street in Alma is closed for redecorating. Former chefs at the Wright Hotel, the Updikes offered home-cooked meals and pastries…The Strand Theatre featured Randolph Scott, Nancy Kelly, and Binnie Barnes in “Frontier Marshal”…Down the street, the Alma Theatre showed “Mutiny on the Bounty” starring Clark Gable and Charles Laughton…The annual Church of God Camp Meeting started August 17, two miles east of St. Louis…Finally, the wear on weeds took place in Breckenridge. Notices in town warned citizens to cut wild morning glory, tumbleweed, prickly lettuce, and catnip before their seeds mature.

And that was August 1939 in Gratiot County.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

Above from top: The many items inside of this scrapbook tells the story of a lot of work clipping, pasting and preserving history; this scrapbook donated to the Gratiot County Historical and Genealogical Library in Ithaca held a collection from Mason County, Michigan during the 1930s and 1940s; inside of a loaned scrapbook that was allowed to be copied and placed on file in the GCHGS library.

Scrapbooks. Today, they may be a thing of the past for younger Americans. However, for those of us who are Baby Boomers and older, scrapbooking was a part of our lives.

I clearly remember my paternal grandmother’s scrapbooks she put together in the World War II era. Most of them were colorful pictures and advertisements from magazines and newspapers. Then, there were those articles and pictures from newspapers of the times.

During the 1970s, I kept my scrapbooks of Detroit sports teams, especially the Detroit Tigers. Although the tape is aging and the pages are frail, I still have my scrapbooks.

Most people need to realize that their scrapbooks may contain important articles, pictures, and clippings from Gratiot County newspapers that are no longer in existence. There are gaps in our county’s history where specific issues -and sizeable runs- must be located if they exist.

Critical years from the St. Louis Leader-Breckenridge American need to be included: 1948-1952, 1954, 1955, and 1956. The entire run of the Gratiot County Herald from 1919 is unavailable. None of these issues exist, and vital records of what happened in St. Louis and Breckenridge in those years are gone and lost to history.

I once asked historian David McMacken why he thought “runs” of these issues could be missing. He felt that in Gratiot County, every business with a long history probably had a fire at some time. Newspaper publishers were the same and probably lost papers due to fire. Things sometimes got to where they should be when a newspaper publisher moved. Another reason is that some issues may have been mislaid somewhere or pitched to the junk.

What can be done about our missing history of newspapers in Gratiot County? Scrapbooks with clippings and pictures from these missing years may still exist, although “clipped,” edited, and taped inside of scrapbooks. The contents of Gratiot’s scrapbooks are essential to the county’s history.

The Gratiot County Historical and Genealogical Society in Ithaca has been fortunate in its history to have had the chance to look at scrapbooks. In the past, people like Del DeVust, Anna Blair, and Olive Clark either donated their scrapbooks or allowed the library to copy articles and pictures. When loaned, the library afterward returned the scrapbooks to these owners. As a result, we have many articles and photographs that would not otherwise exist in the library’s collection.

I have often lived by the “scrapbook mantra” whether in my family, at garage sales, or flea markets – never throw out a scrapbook. Especially those that appear well taken care of or have pictures and news articles.

This leads back to a pair of scrapbooks that recently went to the Mason County Historical Society in Ludington, Michigan. The books belonged to a former Gratiot County Historical and Genealogical Society member who was deceased and left an extensive collection of items to the Society. These scrapbooks did not fit our collections’ focus and goal, so I contacted Mason County to see if they wanted these 1930-1940s era scrapbooks. Sure enough, they did and were mailed out to Ludington, Michigan.

What does this mean for Gratiot County scrapbook owners, readers, and enthusiasts?

In these collections, essential parts of our county’s history may still exist. If you decide to pitch out someone’s old scrapbooks with pictures and news clippings, please consider the potential historical value before you do so.

Even if you do not want to get rid of your scrapbooks, you might consider letting GCHGS look at them to take pictures or carefully make a copy of them. But above all else, please take care of and respect the old scrapbooks.

Note: The Gratiot County Historical and Genealogical Society gladly receives donations of items about Gratiot County’s history. However, the Society is most interested in items directly connected to a person, event, theme, or idea directly connected to Gratiot County’s past.

GCHGS is open on Tuesdays from 1-5 p.m. You can contact the director, Elizabeth VanDyke, with questions about donations or loans of materials at 989-875-6232.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

From top to bottom: Realm No. 24 welcomes Lobdells to Alma – and identifies a Klan member; more than one county theatre, like Ithaca’s Ideal Theatre, sought to cash in on Klan activity during the mid-1920s by re-showing “The Birth of a Nation” – which glorified the Klan; “The Sower” links American patriotism of the 1920s and the Ku Klux Klan, dated July 15, 1924; Ku Klux Klan items from the 1920s on display in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan as they appeared in 2009.

The following is another in a series of articles on the Gratiot County Ku Klux Klan, which was very active in the county during the 1920s.

  Following the aftermath of the King-Garner Trial of 1926 in Ithaca, the decade gradually saw the decline of Gratiot County Realm No. 24. The attention that the trial brought to Gratiot County, along with a national decline of the  Ku Klux Klan following a sex and political scandal in Indiana, led to the erosion of its popularity.

  However, the Klan still had its supporters and followers. Names like Otto Hawley and Herbert A. Becker of Alma, Margaret Smith and R.A. Anderson of St. Louis, G.W. Anderson, James and Margaret Esenlord, and M. Alspaugh of Arcada Township all posted bail for Lewis King and the Garners during their trials in Gratiot County. One of the supporters admitted in newspapers that he even invited King to Gratiot County to hold his religious meetings.

  Out in Arcada Township, the Ku Klux Klan campground attempted to make a go of it – and did for at least two years. At one point, it advertised itself as a haven for Klansmen, Tri-K Girls, American Krusaders, and Junior Klansmen. The campground eventually closed, probably due to lack of financial support, or the owners possibly decided to end the farm’s designation as a Klan gathering spot.

  An exciting event occurred in the Alma Record in 1926 when the newspaper welcomed  Lobdell Emery from Onaway, Michigan, to Alma. Among those groups buying ads welcoming this new company to Alma was Gratiot County Ku Klux Klan No. 24. The advertisement stated that it “Welcomes our new friends from Onaway…All Klan members are welcome to our meetings, which are held every Tuesday night.” Beneath the ad, Klan secretary A.D. Smedberg of Alma signed his name. Smedberg attended the University of Michigan and Ferris Institute and later was the purchasing agent for New Moon Homes in Alma. Smedberg also ran for Mayor of Alma.

  Another name from the Gratiot Klan slowly surfaced. At Alma College, one member of the Board of Trustees was  Klansman Stephen S. Nisbett, active in the  Newaygo County KKK and President of Gerber Baby Foods. He eventually served on the board for 22 years.

  The historical record is scant regarding those who took a public stand against the Klan. One of these, Reverend R.A. Gelston of the Alma First Presbyterian Church, went to the pulpit one Sunday to declare that the Klan had no place in Alma and that people should be aware of its divisiveness and damage to the community. During the peak of Klan activity in Alma, one could also read statements in church notices during its height. One could attend an evening service about “The Fiery Cross ” at one end of town.” Up the street, another church countered with “The Cross on which Christ Died.”

  In Alma, the Klavern operated its headquarters at 110 ½ East Superior Street until at least 1931. Before its demise, a popular activity of the Gratiot Klan was holding picnics at places like Crystal Lake in Montcalm County, complete with a good, old-fashioned sermon. During one Christmas at the start of the Depression, the Klan announced that it would distribute Christmas baskets to needy families in the Alma area. Realm No. 24 also periodically trumpeted the importance of its meetings – such as when the Grand Dragon of the state Ku Klux Klan, George W. Carr of Owosso, appeared in Alma.

  For some in Gratiot County, Klan enthusiasm was slow to pass. While the Great Depression took place, it was common for families to hold weekly house parties for entertainment. One group from Arcada Township did so at the former location of the Klan campground. What was the group’s name for its monthly parties? The Klitter Klatter Klub.

Next time: Part V. “Klan Confusion – What Should Gratiot County Learn from the History of the KKK?”

Copyright 2023 James M Goodspeed

Gratiot County Klan news from the mid-1920s: The top of the front page of the Gratiot County Knighthawk, the Klan newspaper published in the county in August 1928; the Gratiot Klan was very active in participating in state KKK affairs as this notice from 1926 indicates; three Klan preachers entered Gratiot County in the summer of 1925, led meetings which lead to a riot and then faced charges which ultimately went to the State Supreme Court; even small communities like Sumner members participated in Klan meetings such as the one in New Haven in the late summer of 1924.

This is part three in a four part series on the Gratiot County Ku Klux Klan and it activity in Gratiot County during the 1920s.

Alma had a problem with the Klan in the summer of 1925 when three out-of-state itinerant “preachers” held religious meetings in Wright Park. Before their initial one-week engagement ended, Alma Mayor Creaser attempted to find the trio and inform them that their permit would not be renewed because of the controversy of these meetings.

              Lewis J. King, George Garner, and R. C. Garner were well-known in the Midwest in pro-Klan circles. At one time, they claimed to be Protestant Christians who converted from Catholicism; King himself professed to be an ex-priest and sold books about his conversion and anti-Catholic teachings at his meetings.

              Coinciding with King’s meetings was the spreading of a scurrilous rumor by the Ku Klux Klan that Catholics at St. Mary’s Church were secretly stockpiling a horde of guns and ammunition in the basement of the church.

              When King appeared at Wright Park the evening after being told that his meetings were over, he and a large group of supporters approached the main gate, where they encountered Alma Mayor Creaser and several police officers. At that point, “The Riot in the Park” began.

              King argued that he had a right to hold a public meeting and that the large crowd behind him did, too. Resisting the officers, they stormed the gate, yelled for the crowd to follow, and barged into the park, running over Creaser and the police officers while knocking over fences in their way. One of the Garners, draped in an American flag, was seen out front leading the crowd. As a result, Lewis J. King continued his inflammatory preaching in Wright Park for yet another night in Alma.

              The next day, the Alma City Commission fielded numerous complaints from the public and had the three offenders arrested. After making bail, King defied the Commission by conducting a meeting at the Alma Christian Church. Meanwhile, over ninety people signed a petition concerning the arrests, demanding Mayor Creaser’s resignation. Bolstered by this support, King again tried to hold meetings in the park but then agreed to move them onto a private lot in northwest Alma.

              On August 2, weeks after the incident in the park, the police arrested the preachers for defying a city order, resisting officers, and inciting the public. However, the men made bail again and continued holding revival meetings and pubic baptisms on the Pine River. During one of these King-Garner meetings in Alma, a crowd of 300-500 Klansmen dressed in full Klan attire showed up in support.

              In November, the King-Garner trial, which took place in Ithaca, gained statewide attention. Gratiot County Prosecutor Romaine Clark and the state Assistant Attorney General led the prosecution. According to the Alma Record, “a large crowd that jammed the courtroom and overflowed into the corridors” listened intently to the proceedings during the trial. Clark moved quickly, forcing King to admit he had never been a Catholic priest, that he never became a citizen of the United States despite living here for over fifteen years, and that he had been involved in dozens of conflicts and fights across the United States – all involving his religious meetings.

              After 4 ½ hours of deliberations, the jury found King and the Garners guilty of resisting a police officer. However, the defense requested a thirty-day appeal, and each man was released on $3,000 bail (provided by several Gratiot County residents). Meanwhile, the case worked its way up to the State Supreme Court.

              One year later, the men lost their appeal; King received one to two years in Jackson State Prison, while the Garners were sentenced to eighteen months in Ionia. However, in the end, none of the men served more than four months for their crime.

  Copyright 2023 James M. Goodspeed