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Gratiot County in Depression and War, March 1940: “When Will Winter End?”

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Life in Gratiot County during March 1940 turned inwardly and away from the problems in Europe. From the top: J.W. McVeigh of New Haven Township lost his farm home to fire. The Ithaca Fire Department did its best to save the structure but lacked sufficient water to extinguish the blaze. The McVeigh home was one of three in the county that burned to the ground in mid-March 1940; on a lighter note, a total of 29 Ithaca kindergarten students rode “the choo-choo” from Ithaca to Ashley. Teachers Miss Nannette Harrison and Miss Eleanor Corbin (pictured), along with Miss Eleanor Nevens, took the students on this ride of a lifetime. Easter was approaching in Gratiot County, and the annual Easter Seals program was selling Easter Seals to help support disabled children.

For many in Gratiot County during the late winter of 1940, it was a continued time of isolation from world affairs.

Very little news was reported about the ongoing Winter War in Finland and the “Phony War” that existed on the European continent. Who said an actual world war was brewing? At the end of winter, much of life in the county in early 1940 seemed no different for people in Gratiot County than it had been a year earlier.

Gratiot County’s residents could focus on their lives during the Depression as a new decade began and international events seemed relatively quiet.

It was March 1940, and life during the Depression continued. Will winter end?

Gratiot’s Life Late in the Great Depression

As the 1930s drew to a close, the ability of people to pay their taxes improved slightly. County treasurer William G. Federspiel announced that based on taxes paid in all townships except the city of Alma, the amount collected reached 88.04 percent in 1940, up from 86.5 percent in 1939. Still, 835 land descriptions would be advertised in the 1940 tax sale. For this sale, all property with unpaid taxes from 1937 and prior could be put up for auction. Alma led the way with 260 delinquent descriptions. Those contesting the sale of their property had until April 15 to attend a hearing in Judge Kelly Searl’s court. Newark Township was one of two townships that did not have a single description up for sale, which was a matter of pride in that area. North Shade also had only four potential tax sales.

Acronyms for New Deal programs could be seen in the news. The Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) notified the Gratiot County Department of Social Welfare that it had opened enrollment for boys between 17 and 24 who wished to apply. The office to obtain an application to join this program was located at 614 East Superior Street in Alma, and applicants had until April 13 to submit their applications. The National Youth Administration (NYA) continued to educate the public about the needs and concerns of the current “youth problem” – the inability to find work after high school and secure apprenticeships. Orin W. Kaye, state administrator for the NYA, visited Alma and addressed the Rotary Club about these issues in Michigan.

The city of Alma believed it had enough work to keep the current Works Progress Administration (WPA) crew busy until the fall of 1940. William E. Reynolds, Alma’s city manager, stated that the city had about twenty city blocks to pave and leftover work from 1939. Streets like North Court, Liberty, Richmond, and Moyer all had sections needing paving. The WPA also offered to help St. Louis pave streets and sidewalks. The city had to provide $20,000 for the jobs, the public paid $12,000, and the WPA paid the rest. ($41,000).  St. Louis scheduled a bond vote on April 1 to approve the city’s portion of the twenty-block plan.

As the Depression lingered, St. Louis decided that city officers would not receive a salary increase for the upcoming year. The mayor continued to receive $25, and the city clerk received $130, both every month. Additionally, eight aldermen received $50 for the year. Regarding welfare relief, the St. Louis Community Council was organized to establish a permanent welfare group, with John Kelly serving as chairman. Kelly then appointed five citizens to oversee welfare work in 1940. The Non-Pariel group, which had previously overseen welfare distribution in St. Louis, continued to do so under the council’s direction.

The growth and interest in Townsend Clubs in the county continued, which promoted the idea of an old-age pension. The number of clubs and the increase in members attracted many to Gratiot County. The Townsend Progressive Club, Number 2 in Ithaca, met at the village hall with 35 new members in attendance. Townsend Number 3 met in St. Louis for a potluck supper at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. Hill. A group of 35 people attended this meeting, with representatives from Ithaca, Pompeii, and Alma in attendance. In addition, many Towsend enthusiasts from fifty different clubs across the Eighth Congressional  District came to a convention in Ithaca on March 24. The group supported using films to educate the public about the Townsend movement. Dr. Francis Townsend, for whom the movement was named, recently visited the White House to meet with Eleanor Roosevelt, who commented that the Townsend Plan “makes a lot of sense.” Unfortunately, the Townsend Plan’s idea for pensions failed to appeal to legislators.

Farming in March 1940

The Alma Sugar Beet Growers Association held its tenth annual meeting at the Strand Theatre on March 14. A total of 1,100 people attended. The large group held an all-day meeting that began with a business session, followed by presentations from speakers promoting sugar beet associations, and concluded with lunch. A group of ladies from the Presbyterian, Christian, and Methodist churches provided meals, which had to be reserved by ticket. In the afternoon, the attendees listened to music provided by the Alma College band and then the Ford Mountaineers.

In late February, members of the St. Louis Co-cooperative Creamery sent seven people to the Midwest Producers Creamery in South Bend, Indiana. President Frank McJilton led the delegation. St. Louis and twenty-two other members entered a ten-pound tub of butter for a contest based on a scoring system. The Creamery tied with Producers Creamery of Marion, Indiana, for having the best quality butter in the contest, scoring 93 out of 100 points. Additionally, the AAA anniversary banquet took place in March at the Ithaca High School gymnasium, and a chicken dinner was planned for attendees. The group listened to a Lansing speaker, then encouraged those who attended to hear President Roosevelt and Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace address the nation. It was the first time that a President and one of his cabinet members spoke simultaneously on a national program.

Naturalist Parks Allen showed his wildlife pictures in early March at the Gratiot County Conservation League cabin. A large group of 85 people found themselves absorbed in Allen’s photographs and lecture. Most of the pictures came from the 65-acre Lester Allen farm, located north of Ithaca. Allen also chaired a program to do a game bird census north of Alma in March. The group called hunters for twelve of Gratiot County’s best bird dogs to help scare up the birds so they could be counted. Pointers and Setters were needed, and in the end, thirty hunters with a dozen dogs put up only two partridge but did flush twenty pheasants in one section, including four roosters.

Speaking of dogs, a dog quarantine was announced in 47 counties in late March and commenced on April 1. Many Michigan counties received “dog imprisonment” orders for at least six months, and Gratiot County became part of the quarantine. Saginaw County had already initiated its quarantine prior to this order. Officials worried that a single rabid dog traveled 15 to 30 miles in a day and left infected dogs and people in its wake.

Gratiot County Conservation League members also planned to gather sap for their proposed pancake supper at the log cabin. Photographs of “sugar bush” owners tapping trees appeared in newspapers. Bring on the maple syrup!

Concerning the county dairy association, the Neitzke Brown Swiss herd from Wheeler led in butterfat records with 39.5 pounds. C.H. Chase and the Kanitz Brothers Holstein of Alma came in second at 37.61 pounds. George Schleder and his sons from Ithaca completed a new safety bullpen from welded pipes. The county milk tester, Clayton Klein, resigned to take up life on a farm in Livingston County. The Emerson Farm Bureau met at the Beebe Hall on the evening of March 1 for a potluck supper, which drew 38 people.

In one farm tragedy, J. W. McVeigh lost his farm home in New Haven Township when the Ithaca Fire Department lacked sufficient water to extinguish the fire. In one week, the McVeigh farm was one of three homes destroyed by fire in Gratiot County.

A series of rural-urban Acquaintance Night meetings attempted to build bridges between city and country. In one such meeting, the Alma Rotary Club sponsored a dinner and welcome at the Elwell Methodist Church. A total of 44 farmers and 36 Rotarians attended the meeting. Dr. W.F. Kaufmann of Alma College talked to the group about mining minerals and chemicals from underground water and extracting nitrogen and gases from the air.

A large crowd of 250 Future Farmer chapter members and Boys clubs from around Gratiot County participated in a sheep shearing demonstration at St. Louis High School. When finished, the participants sheared, docked, and castrated 35 sheep. Winners of different contests received a free trip to the Michigan State Fair in Detroit in the fall. A ten-week farm management course, held at three different Gratiot schools, concluded with over 300 people in attendance. County extension agent C. P. Milham, along with other instructors, led the course. While most of the classes consisted of students from Ithaca, Breckenridge, and St. Louis high schools, another group of 125 farmers also partook in the studies.

Need baby chicks for your 1940 season? W.V. Hess of the St. Louis Hatchery wanted people to know that after 38 years in operation, his business hatched over 30,000 chicks each week. These baby chicks were sold at a low price due to the low cost of eggs.

At Easter 1940, the cold winter continued. When Gratiot residents got up and headed for the sunrise service, they found that the thermometer had never reached above 20 degrees. Late in the month, another blizzard snowstorm hit the county, and people wondered if spring would ever arrive. It had been a hard winter.

The Long Arm of the Law in March 1940

The long and active arm of the law in Gratiot County nabbed different violators. A March report showed that during the previous month, 41 people were convicted of breaking the law; 22 of these convictions involved traffic violations. The fines and costs for those sentenced totaled $341.65. Among those convicted were four people engaged in illegal cohabitation; two had unlawful possession and sale of obscene literature and pictures, and two others were arrested for vagrancy.

The Lobdell-Emery thieves, who initially made off with 1,000 pounds of scrap aluminum, were arrested and taken to Lansing for a lie detector test. While two failed the test and one immediately confessed to the crime, Clyde Mills, Forrest Hunter, and Leo Rex Rawlings all prepared to stand before the court for sentencing on the theft charges. However, when it came to finding the missing items, it still was unclear where the stolen aluminum had been sold. Police solved another aluminum theft case in Alma when a tip led them to Donald Liscomb, who previously broke into the Gratiot County Conservation League cabin. He made off with $75 worth of new aluminum cooking ware, but only one piece was found. It turned out that Liscomb was tied to Donald Lawrence, who had given some of the aluminum to pay off a personal debt. Liscomb, a former NYA (National Youth Administration) worker, received a sentence of two to fifteen years in Jackson. Up until the very end, Liscomb denied any guilt in the matter.  It also turned out that he was connected to another thief, Ray Loudenslager, who broke into the Frisbee filling station near Riverdale. Loudenslager received a sentence of one to fifteen years in the Jackson prison. In another case, William Burdt of Alma confessed to stealing nickel anodes from Lobdell-Emery. Burdt, a company foreman, systematically stole $3,000 of the metal over several years by creating a unique device on his belt to transport the material off the premises at the end of work. In solving the crime, Lobdel-Emery learned that a company in Philadelphia purchased metal directly from Burdt. When police searched Burdt’s home on Bridge Street, they found 240 pounds of the stolen metal in the basement, who soon confessed to his crime and was given one to five years.

 Raymond McMillan of Saginaw made a mistake when he recklessly drove through Michigan Avenue in St. Louis just as children left school. Police Chief Edward Barnes attempted to stop McMillian as he recklessly drove through the area where the children walked. Fortunately, a state police car observed the McMillan as it left Alma, followed it into St. Louis, and pulled McMillan over before he left the city limits. After being brought back to town and facing Justice of the Peace J.L. Smith, the offender pleaded guilty and paid $28.35 in fines and costs.

The Raymond DeSander cattle rustling case moved on through Gratiot Circuit Court as DeSander remained in the county jail. His lawyer claimed he would provide witnesses to exonerate DeSander for allegedly stealing eleven cattle from a farm owned by Eugene C. Ensign, a Bannister farmer. The accused’s brother was already held on similar charges in Saginaw County. In another instance, Jack Calkins of Ithaca appeared before the court for allegedly selling oil royalties under pretenses to a man from Marion, Michigan.

To separate instances of drunk and disorderly brought two St. Louis men, Albert Siefka and Elton Andrews, before the judge. They had to pay $25 for the costs after sentencing. Another St. Louis man, Paul Takach, had a reputation for being a drinker in the community. When police sought to arrest him for drunk and disorderly conduct, they learned that Takach, a WPA worker, was guilty of non-support of his family and sought to arrest him after learning he had been paid that day. However, the officers were too late, as by the time they found the inebriated man, he had just spent all but $6 of his WPA check on alcohol.

One of the county’s most bizarre crimes involved the theft of chickens. Joe Neimic of Middleton defaulted on a $100 bond after being convicted of stealing nine chickens from Matt Maczek, also of Middleton. Maczek, who was in jail for stealing coal in February, claimed that Neimic stole his chickens while he was incarcerated.

As a special committee of the county board of supervisors concluded its work on the Glinke embezzlement case, the unofficial amount of money embezzled reached $ 3,600. A final report of the findings was soon to be released. Dewey Glinke stole the money through false reports and collections in the county treasurer’s office. He had been on the run since December 1939.

Finally, B.K. Beshgetoor, noted in Gratiot County as an ardent Prohibitionist, wrote a letter to the Alma Record. In it, Beshgetoor chastised newspaper readers who believed bootlegging days had ended. Noting that the sales of bootleg whiskey reached 478 gallons a year in the United States, he commented, “The bootleggers have always been with us and probably always will, like any other class of criminals, who choose not to obey the laws against any crime.

And So We Do Not Forget

Bert Hicks and his son continued to plan and execute the remodeling of the Winslow building in Alma for their grocery store. Work was nearing completion both inside and outside the store, featuring a new Sherer double-duty meat case…Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams had been the number one rookie in 1939, and newspapers believed Williams would beat the sophomore jinx because of his disposition. In one spring training game, Williams shocked the umpires and players when he caught a foul fly ball and then threw it to the fans in the stands. The St. Louis High School Junior class prepared to present the play “Skidding,” a three-act comedy. The play served as the basis for one of the “Andy Hardy” movies…James Redman, Jr., and his aunt quickly traveled from Michigan to Alma in 27 ½ hours. They left on a Monday at 6:00 p.m. and arrived in Alma the next night at 9:30 p.m…a group of 55 people in Gratiot and Montcalm counties received instruction at the St. Louis Park Hotel on becoming census enumerators. After two sessions, the group took a test to see who would be hired based on the highest scores. The manager of the Wright Hotel in Alma, E.A. Roberts, took a spill on some ice while exercising his horse. Roberts severely bruised his foot when the horse fell on it, which caused him to be confined to bed for nearly a week. However, Roberts got back to work on crutches…

The Alma Softball Association met in the Veteran’s Room in the basement of Alma City Hall to plan for the upcoming season. In addition to providing a meeting for anyone in Alma who wanted to play softball, a discussion took place about how to raise $300 to build permanent bleachers. Last summer, observers sat in their cars, stood, or sat on flimsy seats… a manager of the Consumers Power Company in Alma warned young people about flying kites near electric lines.  Kite flyers were also warned about using tinsel cords for tails or metal in their kites and not to recover a kite caught in any electric wire…a dozen members of the Gratiot County Conservation League tapped sixty trees at Conservation League Park in Alma. Part of the syrup gathered from their work went toward a proposed pancake supper in April…Martha Vanderbeek of Pine River Township died in a traffic accident when two cars crashed at the intersection of US-27 and Monroe Road. Fourteen-year-old daughter Jeanne suffered serious injuries…teachers and students from across Gratiot County started preparing for the fourth annual music festival to be held on the Ithaca fairgrounds in May. In 1939, nearly 1,200 children performed in over 100 pieces…Governor Luren D. Dickinson appeared at Alma High School to speak about the 25th anniversary of the Salvation Army’s activities in Gratiot and Isabella counties.

Cupid’s arrows flew during March as Laurel Crumbaugh, age 26, of Bethany Township, married Irene Ross, age 27, of Midland County…a new loudspeaker at the Strand Theatre allowed the organist, Billy Farrell, to pipe his music into the Strand’s lobby area. Farrell touched a switch, and presto, music in the lobby, in front of the theatre, or both…Carl Schultz of Alma signed a major league baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and was assigned to a Class C league team in Portsmouth, Ohio. Before signing with the Cardinals, Schultz briefly played winter ball with the New York Giants as a shortstop and second baseman…it is maple syrup season in Gratiot County, and the sap started running early in March…D & C Stores of St. Louis had an opening sale by selling fresh salted peanuts for ten cents a pound. Rayon hosiery sold for nineteen cents a pair…Ashley High School’s senior class presented “Me, Him, and I,” a three-act comedy on March 14-15…Williams Bakery had a Saturday special by selling two dozen cookies for only twenty-five cents. That was a seven-cent savings on March 9…the Fulton boys basketball team finished runner-up at the regional meet. Lloyd R. Eberly coached the team…

Keith Priest, age ten, survived an icy plunge while on the ice at the Sumner mill pond. William Husted and Raymond Perry, who just happened to be passing by, heard Priest yelling for help and rescued him as Priest clung to the edge of the ice. The boy suffered no lasting harm. The village of Ithaca voted to stop all beer sales on Sundays by a referendum vote of 299 in favor and 176 against. The ban would start May 1….Ithaca High School presented “The Gypsy Rover” in three acts at the Ithaca High School gymnasium on March 20…Herbert Abbey, whose home address is Alma, wrote “Tiger Sidelights From Lakeland” as he made observations about the team while in spring training. Abbey saw the team’s menus at their hotel and noted that players ate chicken, red snapper, and fresh fish instead of juicy red steaks. Hank Greenburg and Rudy York went fishing on Lake Ariana. Four Tigers were picked to play in an American and National League all-star game at Plant City on March 17. Abbey closed by saying it was only 80-85 degrees in the shade at Lakeland…Mr. and Mrs. Charles Warner celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in Middleton with a dinner and celebration at the Methodist Church…a group of 29 kindergarten students from Ithaca rode the “Choo-Choo” from Ithaca to North Star. Teachers Nannette Harrison, Eleanor Corbin, and Eleanor Nevens chaperoned the event…”Gone With The Wind” appeared at the Strand Theatre. Tickets were 75 cents for matinees and $1.10 for evening showings. Remember, viewers, this is nearly a four-hour movie…

A group of 33 St. Louis Trade Association members met for their annual dinner meeting in the Park Hotel. After the election of officers, the group voted and agreed to continue the Trade Association, remain open on Wednesday evenings, and hold summer drawings. Miss Verna Bernecker was named “Miss Alma Record” and photographed by Maurine Stovall. Bernecker appeared wearing different styles at the Lion’s Auxiliary Show in Alma. ..the Northeastern Gratiot Rural Teachers Club sponsored a banquet at the Ithaca Methodist Church on March 29. All rural teachers were requested to attend and pay sixty cents each for their dinner…the Ithaca Chamber of Commerce chose to continue a summer program that included popular Wednesday night entertainment, which took place in the village. In addition to the Wednesday night events, the chamber budgeted for Halloween, Christmas, an athletic banquet, and even considered the building and lighting of a softball diamond…child star Carol Lee Monette, a six-year-old granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Davison of St. Louis, appeared in a New York City program of Amateur Photoplayers of America. Carol Lee had previously screen-tested for the role of “Bonnie” in “Gone With the Wind”… The Ithaca post office was preparing to move to a new location at the old Ithaca National Bank building. Work needed to be done to enlarge the storage room and expand the parking area in the rear, but Postmaster James O. Peet believed the move would be completed by June 1. The Ithaca Post Office had been in operation for over 40 years in the Barstow Estate building…

The Strand Theatre installed a new, improved screen that eliminated all reflection from the current projectors. Only the best for those who wanted to see a movie at the Strand… St. Louis sought to ask voters to approve the purchase of the Gratiot County Bank Building for the city hall. The city believed it could have saved over $4,000 in the last three years had the city-owned and operated the building…also, when voting in St. Louis on the bank building issue, don’t forget to vote straight Republican because they spend money wisely, work for the quick elimination of bonded indebtedness, and wanted modern programs. Carl S. Harrington topped the list as the candidate for mayor…and Al Lentz became the manager of the new Self-Serve Market in St. Louis. The A&P store opened in the Robinson building, featuring a remodeled double-front design and ample aisle space for pushcarts.

That was life in Gratiot County during the Depression and War in March 1940.

Copyright 2025 James M. Goodspeed

Gratiot County in Depression and War, February 1940, “The Long Winter”

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From the top: The Joe Porubsky auction took place eleven miles southeast of Ithaca and drew a record crowd, lining both sides of the road and filling up a twenty-acre field; baseball was on the minds of Gratiot readers, with messages about a war going on in Europe; Electrified Farm Week, along with new tractor models, came to the county in mid-February 1940.

The long winter of 1940 continued. Get out the ice skates. Read about the war in northern Europe. Farmer, think about the upcoming 1940 season.

It was February 1940 in Gratiot County.

The World at War – “The Winter War” Continues

Most war news in Gratiot County dealt with the Winter War and Russia’s invasion of Finland. Photographs of dead, frozen Russian soldiers appeared in the newspapers, the results of the clashes between the Finns and Russians near the area of Petsamo, Finland. A hint of Nazi Germany’s intention to start an offensive in the West began as the French slowly retreated from a quiet German advance. The world knew that spring fighting was not that far off.

The St. Louis Service Club met at the Park Hotel and watched talking pictures of the United States Navy and March of Time films. People continued to monitor world events. In all this talk and awareness of a potentially expanding world war, one group expected to benefit from the war centered around news for farmers. Economists foresaw a billion-dollar boom for farmers as competition for food supplies, changes in shipping routes, and sea conflicts meant Britain would have to deal with more goods from the United States. Although the United States was not in its position in 1914 when the world had an endless need for food and goods, many believed a growing need for goods would happen again starting in 1940 with the war’s expansion.

Gratiot County Life Late in the New Deal Great Depression

During the winter months, if one wanted to see New Deal social programs in the county, one looked at ice skating. The WPA (Works Progress Administration) continued to maintain and invite the public to use skating rinks. Over in St. Louis, Lester Fillhard supervised the Community Council skating rink east of Wheeler Field, which sponsored a St. Louis Community Ice Meet. The meet had six types of skating events, from boys and girls under twelve to men and women of any age. The community council stated that there was a “crying need” for someone to donate a public address system and phonograph to play music. Some St. Louis residents used the rink for birthdays, such as when one student invited forty fellow eighth graders to skate and have lunch together. Hockey teams from both St. Louis and Alma battled each other in city competitions. St. Louis held its first Skate Carnival, and Robert Wilson served as contest judge. Sled events opened to both boys and girls. However, soft ice postponed the events for a week. Soon afterward, the ice improved, and the St. Lois recreational hockey team met and defeated the Alma East End bunch by 10-5.

Alma had a skating rink on South State Street, and city commissioners agreed to provide music for its skaters. Above the dam, many ventured out to enjoy the new ice that was created in only a few nights of cold weather. The city lowered the water to construct an overflow drain and raised it to its natural level. Two WPA recreation leaders, Frances Lott, and Chester Johnson, oversaw the Alma rinks. They promoted a city-wide meet and planned to lay out an oval shape on the rink for the races. One of the problems with operating the rinks centered around people who got on the ice when it was not in skating condition. Some of the older boys tended to get on the ice before it was ready, which resulted in numerous ruts and holes and made skating impossible.

There were other New Deal programs at work in the county. The Alma Salvation Army allowed the NYA (New Youth Administration) a place for thirty boys and young men to work on woodworking projects. The NYA also offered a sewing project for girls and young women ages 18 to 25 and provided sewing machines to recondition used clothing. One special need concerned the making of layettes for newborn children. In February, the government programs employed fifty NYA workers on different projects in Gratiot County. The WPA offered the city of St. Louis financial help to construct pavements and sidewalks. However, the project was estimated at over $108,000, with over $76,000 provided by the WPA. Still, this meant St. Louis would have to issue bonds to borrow money, and the common (city) council hesitated as the public would have to vote on the matter. Another issue involved buying the Gratiot County Bank building and turning it into a city hall.

Even in February, WPA workers continued on labor projects, such as retaining walls and the river bank near Walnut Street and North Court Avenue. The city also wanted the dangerous curve at that location worked on in the upcoming year, and many Alma property owners petitioned for extensions to sidewalk work that started in 1939. The city also hoped to widen Downie Street and Pine Avenue entirely through WPA labor and funds.

Several leaders like A.D. Smedberg of Alma met at Alma High School for a radio broadcast over WBCM of Bay City to continue promoting the benefits of New Deal programs such as the WPA. The men explained how WPA programs helped the city and why Alma remained a good place to live and have a business.

For a community celebration, the St. Louis Park Hotel hosted the annual President’s Birthday Ball. The ball benefited those affected by infantile paralysis and the Gratiot County chapter of the March of Dimes. Half of the money raised from the ball went directly to those in Gratiot County who had infantile paralysis. Those who attended the ball were awed by the beautiful red, white, and blue decorations provided by the Consumers Power Company of Alma and the music and dancing led by the Don Hoffman Orchestra of Lansing. In the center of the ballroom hung a large picture of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The issue of public health was very real in 1940, as the Michigan Tuberculosis Association continued to offer T.B. clinics in response to eight people who died from the disease in Gratiot County in 1937. Tuberculin tests and at least one X-ray clinic occurred in the county in March 1940.

Some news in the county relating to the effects of the Depression was not so happy. Ralph Olmstead of Elwell led a case against the First State Bank of Alma, arguing that the Alma bank was the parent bank responsible for the loss of assets in his former bank in Elwell. Olmstead and other former depositors sought compensation for the closing of the Elwell Bank in 1933. Judge Kelly Searl granted an injunction to consider whether all suits could be combined.

The county also had a “scavenger sale” on delinquent properties. County treasurer William Federspiel offered over 500 property descriptions with a total value of $153,077 to the public in anticipation of the sale. However, the county only succeeded in selling 203 descriptions for a total of just under $25,000. While Alma and St. Louis led the sales, Hamilton Township sold nearly $4,000 of land to fervent bidders and speculators. Seldom did any original owners bid on any of their property.

Finally, opponents across the county for those concerned about President Roosevelt’s Social Security plan continued attending Townsend Club meetings. Alma, Ithaca, St. Louis, and Wheeler clubs participated in these potluck meetings to discuss their support for the Townsend Plan.

On the Farm, In the Gratiot Countryside

Although it was winter, Gratiot County farmers, dealers, and businesses planned for the upcoming farm season. The Michigan Sugar Company of  Alma and Lake Shore Sugar Company of St. Louis issued contracts for the 1940 season. However, the companies issued contracts with a slight change. Farmers would be paid for their first beet payment by December 1, 1940, but would not receive the balance until October 1941. This proposed second payment would be one month later than the year before. The St. Louis Co-Operative Creamery announced plans to build a bigger creamery during its 25th annual meeting at the St. Louis High School auditorium on February 2. A significant reason for creating a new creamery came from the June 1, 1939 fire, which caused $9000 in damage. The dairy also promoted Milkmaker, a mix with alfalfa or clover hay, and sold a superior dairy ration.

Alma Production Credit Association held its annual meeting and elected officers. Howard McMacken of Shepherd was re-elected president, and Harry Glenzen of Alma as secretary and treasurer. Over 700 members in Gratiot County belonged to APCA, had been operating since February 1934, and issued more than 1.3 million dollars in loans. Amazingly, the association had lost only $137 since that time.

Did you need a new tractor? Johnson’s Farm Equipment in Ithaca offered the 1940 Model 60 Family Harvest for $545. Bill Harper’s Hardware, northwest of Ithaca, sold the John Deere Model “DA” disk, billed as operating “Faster, Easier, Better.” About 150 farmers visited Rademacher Motor Sales in Alma on February 21 to see a demonstration of the New Ford tractor, which had a Furgeson system. Albin Rademacher showed a film entitled “Building for Future Farmers,” with entertainment provided by the Mercury Rangers. A highlight of the day was the presence of William Ford, brother of Henry Ford, a general distributor for Ford tractors. Eleven miles southeast of Ithaca, a record crowd attended the Joe Porubusky auction. Cars lined the roads for over a half mile up and down the road, filling a twenty-acre field for the auction.

Other events surrounding county farmers proved sobering. Leon Cratsenberg of Hamilton Township lost his home to a fire early in February. The Cratsenbergs, who had attended the county teacher’s institute in St. Louis, were on their way home through Ithaca and heard of the fire from a passing motorist. When they arrived home, the family found that only part of the contents could be saved due to the fire’s severity. Cattle thieves stole eleven cattle from the Eugene Ensign farm east of Ashley. Police arrested two brothers who rustled in Saginaw and Genesee counties and returned five of them after being discovered on a Huron County farm. Law officers arrested the Desanders brothers on robbery and possible murder charges. Because the brothers sold some of the Ensign cattle and other stolen livestock to farmers, getting the cattle back to the rightful owners proved challenging as other farmers had innocently purchased stolen stock. George Stoneman, Jr., of Ithaca, had a team of valuable draft horses hit by a Cheboygan man’s car. The horses, which won several horse-pulling awards, suffered severe cuts. Still, a veterinarian called to the scene believed the team would survive the wounds. Stoneman pulled onto US-27 when the Cheboygan car hit the team, destroying the vehicle’s front end.

Gratiot County received $3,526.17 for claims made from dogs that killed livestock in 1939 and ranked ninth in the state for losses. Authorities stressed that mongrels and strays running in packs, as opposed to bird and hunting dogs, were most responsible for losing sheep and other livestock in the county. The state urged the continued enforcement of quarantine and local dog laws as measures to reduce losses. Another dog story appeared in the news when Fred Cornell of St. Louis helped boys playing near the Pine River after the boys ran to the Michigan Chemical Corporation yelling for help. It turned out that the boys could not help an Irish Setter who had fallen through the ice and gone under several times. After more calls for help, Leverne Hill and Burdett Yats also arrived at the scene. Hall strapped a rope around his waist and gently crawled out on the ice to the struggling dog. Cornell and Yats then carefully pulled Hall and the exhausted dog back to safety. After returning to the river bank, the men and boys witnessed that the dog could no longer stand due to exhaustion. They then returned with the canine to the Michigan Chemical plant to dry off and warm up. In a short time, the once-drowning Irish Setter recovered and was up and around. A St. Louis dog owner undoubtedly owed thanks to this group of boys and a trio of men who saved this pet.

 Central Michigan Turkey growers met at the Court House in Ithaca to listen to speakers from Michigan State College explain new methods and answer questions about turkey management. Parks Allen, a Gratiot County naturalist, sought to save the life of an injured doe found east of Elwell. The deer appeared to have a broken leg, and a Pere Marquette Train brakeman reported that he thought a train hit it. Allen soon arrived and deduced that the doe had a dislocated shoulder but no broken bones. Allen took the deer home and provided a quiet location in a box stall, and the deer slowly improved. Allen also believed the injury occurred when the deer tried to jump a high fence near the railroad tracks in Elwell.

What else could farmers do in the winter? Ice fishing on Houghton Lake called many people north, where fishermen had daily limits of 15 perch or 25 combined pan fish. Fishing licenses cost one dollar and included one’s spouse! Although the trapping season ended, Gratiot trappers had until the end of February to report how many animals they trapped during the 1939-1940 trapping season. Barely half of those licensed to trap had reported their winter kills.

Finally,  strange things happened in southern Wheeler and northern Lafayette Townships in early February. The commotion became so intense involving “Finnish soldiers” that the county sheriff and his deputies were called for help. Township residents hid in their cellars, locked their doors, and turned off the lights. One caller telephoned the sheriff, urging, “Come to the Powell farm two miles south of Wheeler in a hurry!” Area farmers were so excited that several turned out with shotguns because “peculiar objects” had been seen a mile down the road. Deputy Nestle led a posse into the area and saw four strange things that appeared against the white snow. Nestle called out, “What are you doing?” The response came back, “Just hunting crows.” It turned out that Carl Lanshaw and Dr. C.O. Shaffer of Wheeler, along with Glenn and Grant Marr of Lafayette, all wore white aprons to blend in with the snow, covering all except their head and shoulders. The four men went out on a crow hunt wearing white camouflage but riled up the entire neighborhood. After determining that the complaints and phone call did not involve “Finnish soldiers,” Nestle reminded the men as he departed, “You better go to Finland if you want to use those methods (to kill crows). Carl Lanshaw later told the local newspaper that his group killed over 150 crows, thought it was a good sport, and even took their wives along while hunting the black pests.

The Long Arm of the Law in February 1940

If someone wants to learn about some of Gratiot County’s problems, they must look no further than the local courts and the county jail. That month, Fifty-eight people were convicted of crimes and contributed $387.78 to the county coffers. At the end of February, the county jail had 19 prisoners. Forty of the convictions dealt with traffic violations, and the rest of the crimes covered a variety of offenses. William Partello, age 27, and Grace Schaffer, 23, both of Lafayette, were hauled into court on the crime of lascivious cohabitation (living together without a marriage license). This crime had a long history in Gratiot County, and the consequences varied. In Partello’s case, he was sentenced to sixty days in jail, while Schaffer was sentenced to a strict one-year probation. In another case, Armond Bongard, 36, and Goldie Lewis, 17, ended up in jail on the same charge of “L and L” crimes. They waved examination and said they would appear before Judge Searl for sentencing. The bigger question remained: how did the sheriff and judge discover the  “L and L” crimes? Someone reported the couples, but the question remained: who?

Two other crimes involved embezzlement, one for vagrancy, and two for illegally trapping muskrats (one offender received ten days in county jail; the other got a $10 fine and $8.85 in costs). Other court cases involved selling chattel mortgage property and issuing checks without funds. Howard Phillips of Crystal pleaded guilty to embezzling $19 worth of property from Peterson Hardware Company, paid $33.85 in fines and costs, and pledged to repay the stolen money. The sheriff’s deputy went all the way to Flint to arrest Philips. Harry Conklin of St. Louis said he was not guilty of misappropriating the sum of $41.35 and twenty bushels of oats. His trial was yet to come. Roscoe Daymon, who lived west of Ithaca, was brought before the court for deserting his wife and three children. Daymon furnished a $500 bond and was released until his hearing.

Ralph Fisher of Elwell experienced the law’s long arm when Conservation Officer C.B. Smith pinched Fisher for spearing fish in protected waters. Fisher paid $8.85 in costs rather than spend ten days in jail. Over in Breckenridge, the conduct of a Porter Oil Field worker made the news when Lester McAlister caused an automobile accident in town due to drunk driving. McAlister was arraigned for drunk and disorderly conduct but spent sixty days in jail as he could not pay his fine and costs of $31.11.Oil wells continued to be installed in parts of one of the Porter oil fields, even though newspapers reported that drillers did not expect to find more oil. The Pure Oil Company, however, did put in its 28th well in Porter Township at the Mina Narmore lease.

Another pair of crimes in Alma upset residents. On a dare from his peer, one young man damaged newly constructed items at Gratiot County Conservation Park. In another case, thieves broke into the new log cabin at the park. They then stole $125 worth of aluminum cooking ware that the Lobdell-Emery manufacturing plant had just donated. The thieves used a wrecking bar to pry off the locks and entered the cabin to do their dirty work. The next night, another group of thieves broke into the Lobdell plant and stole 1,000 pounds of scrap valued at $125.

The Jesse Perez murder case reappeared in the courts after three years. Perez shot and killed a fellow Mexican beet laborer on a farm in Seville Township on July 7, 1936. Perez argued that Judge Searl failed to accurately hear and pass on the confession that Perez made about the murder and, therefore, Perez somehow witnessed against himself. Perez’s attorney also argued that his client did not understand the charges brought against him and that witnesses to the murder no longer resided in the United States. Perez’s appeal was denied, and he continued serving his 15-30-year sentence in Marquette.

Finally, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union requested printing an article in the Gratiot County Herald about a “Warning About Marihuana.” In 1938, there had been over 1,000 violations of the Marihuana Tax Act. Because over 8,770 pounds of bulk marihuana had been seized that year, parents and educators needed to be more aware of the possibility of the drug entering local schools. According to the WCTU, education continued to be the best defense against the drug.

Life in the Underside of Gratiot County: Race

What did being Mexican or Black in Gratiot County in 1940?

As more Mexican beet workers came to the county to work in the fields each summer and fall, the Gratiot County Council of Churches and Sunday Schools sponsored a religious project for children and adults. The program ran from June 15 to  September 1 in Alma and St. Louis with two Spanish-speaking teachers and a Mexican minister. Helen White served as superintendent of migrant work for the Council of Church Women of the Board of Home Missions.

A historically uncomfortable but then acceptable event in Gratiot County dealt with the performance of a minstrel show by the Alma Rotary Club. On February 20, the Rotary Club used forty men in a two-hour show and charged forty cents for admission. The sold-out performance hosted 500-600 people. Before the program started, Father John Mulvey gave a short talk about why minstrel shows appeared in history and the beliefs and history of the Alma Rotary Club. Aside from Father Mulvey, only one performer did not appear in “Blackface” during the performance. The Alma Record wrote about the show’s conclusion, “The grand finale was all that the term implies, with nothing lacking to revive the glory of the old-time minstrelsy and the spirit of Auld lang Syne.” Minstrel shows as community or organizational fundraisers and entertainment could be found in Gratiot County well into the 1960s.

County Clerk Charles L. Hicks announced that an examiner from the Detroit Federal Naturalization Office planned to be in the county on February 21 to conduct a naturalization hearing. Approximately a dozen people who petitioned for their citizenship planned on attending. The examiner also said he would be present in the afternoon to help petitioners with questions and problems about becoming a United States citizen.

Finally, Reverend V.K. Beshgetoor, born in Armenia and well-known and respected in the Alma area for decades, officiated at his daughter’s wedding in Highland Park, Michigan. Throughout his life, Reverend Beshgetoor had been a proponent of remembering and telling the story of Armenia’s sufferings and hardships.

And So We Do Not Forget

Miss Maurine Stovall announced that she installed a new lighting system at her studio in Alma. The new system gave the subject a daylight effect without heat and glare. She also had new photo enlargers and remodeled her darkroom…A.D. Smedberg of the Triangle Coal and Oil Company at 904 E. Superior in Alma advertised a new, higher quality coal stoker with a lower price…a St. Louis product, Crystal Fo Iodized Salt, appeared at the M.S.C. dinner in Lansing. The event hosted 150 Michigan publishers and their wives. Each received a complimentary box of salt…Corky’s Standard Service at the stop light in St. Louis gave away free autographed photos of actress Dorothy Lamour from her new movie, “Typhoon.” Drivers could also purchase Winter Iso-Vis Motor Oil…Gratiot County prepared to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Both former presidents appeared on the front page of the Alma and St. Louis Leader newspapers…Alma Public Schools notified parents of students who wished to enroll outside the Alma district. The cost for enrollment would be $11.20 per child…Alma JC Penney Store announced it had increased the size of its “Baby Shop.” The area next to the ladies’ ready-to-wear section featured the newest items for the baby or nursery…The Gratiot County Crippled Children’s Society met and decided to hold its annual Easter Seal campaign during the Week of March 11, 1940. Four area Rotary Clubs planned to promote the campaign. In 1939, the county raised $436.99 in penny Seals…Simi’s Restaurant and Billiard Hall planned to open in the Gaffney Building beginning March 1. Hubert Croton, Ray Helman, and Silvio Simi invited the public to come and see the new location.

The Danceland Ballroom, located above JC Penney Company in Alma, planned to host the annual Fireman’s Ball. Reed’s Sing Band provided the music….want the “Soundest Investment I Ever Made”? Buy a Pontiac at Pung Motor Sales at 315-317 East Superior Street in  Alma or Whitney Auto Sales in Ithaca…the quickest knockout ever seen in amateur boxing took place at the Alma Athletic Club when featherweight Don Anderson of Ithaca knocked out Al Brown of Stanton – in all of seven seconds. Anderson took out Brown with a sharp right jab that took Brown out for the count…the Detroit Tigers announced that they planned to move Hank Greenberg from first base to the outfield. The move enabled Rudy York to play at first base…a high school Mardi Gras took place at Alma High School. Eighteen students appeared in a photo in the Alma Record and Alma Journal…the Jean Bessac Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held a colonial tea and exhibit at the Gleaner Home in Alma. The Jean Torrence Chapter of the Ithaca D.A.R. provided historical exhibits, and members of the Alma chapter appeared in colonial dress. This meeting was the first significant function of the Alma D.A.R. since its formation a few months earlier. A crowd estimated at 125-150 people attended…a group of an executive committee met in  Alma to continue exploring establishing a community center in Alma. A.D. Smedberg chaired the committee. A group of twenty-five delegates from various Alma organizations encouraged the creation of the executive committee …the I.O.O.F. Hall in Elwell hosted a dance every Saturday night. Both round and square dances took place, and it only cost thirty-five cents per couple…Edward G. Robinson starred in “Blackmail” at the Ideal Theatre in Ithaca. Admission was fifteen cents…the Ithaca Post Office received approval to move to the old Ithaca National Bank Building. The area would be enlarged to 1800 feet of floor space. The old post office had been in operation for over forty years and was owned by the Barstow estate.

Drivers in Ithaca could now turn on red at Center and Pine Streets. A flashing red arrow now came on with a red stop light for traffic coming from the east…famous artist J. Franklin Caveny entertained a large crowd at St. Louis High School using works done in crayon and clay. As he talked to crowds, Caveny quickly transformed drawings like the Atlantic Ocean, then used a few strokes to make it into the Hudson River. What appeared to be a lump of clay promptly became a bust of William Shakespeare or Abraham Lincoln. The crowd responded with prolonged applause for several of his works…over at St. Louis, excavators working on Maple Street at the Ray Boivin home found flakes of gold at a depth of seen teen feet. Samples of the gold quickly went to laboratories for testing….Laurel and Hardy starred in “Flying Deuces” for two nights at the Alma Theatre…Mrs. R.B. Smith of Alma returned home with her daughter, Miriam, from visiting her son, Lieutenant Reynolds C. Smith, in New Haven, Connecticut. No one knew it in 1940. Still, Reynolds C. Smith would be the first Gratiot County serviceman to die in World War II…Professor Roy Hamilton of Alma College addressed the Alma Rotary Club. He issued a “terse and forceful plea” to the audience about the lack of moral and spiritual poise during this time of world and individual affairs….American League umpire George Moriarty spoke to a very excited crowd of listeners at Ithaca High School. Moriarty told stories about professional baseball and how, by living by “clean rules,” America could fight “the anti-Christ influence” coming from Europe’s dictators. Moriarity signed a baseball for Marie Plank, and the photo appeared in the Gratiot County Herald…Leslie Reeves of Ithaca stated that he would display the new Case Flambeau Red Tractor during Electrified Farm Week…” Elmer and His Singing Farmers” traveled to South Bend, Indiana, for a one-night performance at the Mid-West Creamery Banquet. The group included Kenneth McComber, Linden Wright, Wendel Wright, and George “Elmer” Schleder.

And that was February 1940 in “Gratiot County During Depression and War.”

Copyright 2025 James M. Goodspeed

Gratiot County in Depression and War, January 1940: “A New Year, New Prospects?”

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January 1940 photos from top to bottom: Fred Pernert, manager at the St. Louis Co-operative Creamery, took on the role as county chairman for the Finnish Relief Fund; a picture of Japan’s new three-man pocket submarine appeared in the newspapers; “Mugsey,” the Holstein cow belonged to J. Ward Doyle of Breckenridge. No other cow in the county produced milk at cost as Mugsey did; the dean of American League umpires, George Moriarty, appeared at Ithaca High School.

By January, the holidays passed, and winter finally arrived in Gratiot County, dumping snow and creating colder temperatures. As a new year started, residents wondered if the Depression was beginning to end.

What would happen in Europe as fighting continued?

It was January 1940 in Gratiot County.

Images of War in Gratiot County

County newspapers continued to provide Gratiot readers with glimpses of the fighting taking place in the world. Most news stories seemed to pay attention to Nazi Germany. However, in January, news coverage focused on the Russian invasion of Finland, which took place near the Arctic Circle. Here, Finnish soldiers endured bombings and had to flee to neighboring Norway for refuge. During some of the fighting, the Finns wore white uniforms as camouflage, while Russians fought in their traditional dark suits. Names of Finnish cities like Turku, Hanko, and Tornio all now became newsworthy while they endured Russian attacks. Over in St. Louis, Fred Pernert, manager of the St. Louis Co-operative Creamery, accepted the chairmanship of the Finnish Relief Fund. Pernert received the request from President Herbert Hoover to serve as chairman. This fund sought to help the Finns as they fought for principles similar to America’s. Supporters could send money to the Creamery office or Commercial Savings Bank. In St. Louis, Rotarians heard a speech from John L. Giles entitled “Communism in the United States.” Giles went on to explain his experience with Communist propaganda and urged listeners to be aware of the dangers of “the Reds.”

 A cartoon entitled “The Middle Man” in county newspapers depicted the predicament neutral nations found as they tried to sail through the British Blockade, which contained German sea mines. This problem echoed events over twenty years earlier when the United States tried to stay out of the First World War while trading with European nations. In an ironic twist, the Gratiot County Herald showed Japan’s new three-person vest pocket submarine, which started production. Small submarines like this appeared at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

News coverage also featured two Gratiot men who served the country while the rest of the world was at war. Fireman First Class Arthur Wood of Alma came home on a ten-day pass to spend the holidays with his parents. Fireman Wood, in the service for four years and ten months, told the Alma Record about what he saw during fighting at Soochow Creek, China, in 1937 and rescuing the crew of the gunboat Panay in 1939. Wood was also involved in the rescue of the steamship President Hoover near the island of Formosa. Other journeys led to Vladivostok, Russia; Manila, Philipines; Siam; and journeys through Alaskan and Chinese waters. Over time, the young sailor managed to keep a record of his journeys in a picture album. Sergeant Chester Harvey of the 106th Cavalry of Alma was the other serviceman to return to Gratiot County. Harvey went to Fort Riley, Kansas, for three months of training to prepare for a promotion as a commissioned officer. Harvey, an Alma College graduate, also had the record as one of the best shots from Troop B.

The Depression Rolls Onward

One of the new developments in Gratiot County by 1940 concerned changes for those requesting welfare. The Gratiot County Social Welfare Board made a presentation to the County Board of Supervisors regarding hospitalization for those on welfare, especially afflicted children. Mable Clelland, county agent, was ordered by the Supervisors to handle investigations of the sick and disabled children until the state appointed a person to replace him. One positive report showed that the county had 113 fewer relief cases than a year ago. The Supervisors then transferred $10,000 from the general fund to the social welfare fund, giving it a balance of $24,000 for the upcoming year.

The biggest news concerning welfare centered around Gratiot County’s new program unofficially called Work for Relief. Relief clients who wanted assistance now had to do work provided by the county. One type of employment meant cutting brush along county highways for $1.50 daily. The question was then asked, what about the many clients who would not be able to labor cutting brush? To answer this question, the board asked physicians to designate those unfit for such labor. Still,  “work or no relief” caused relief clients to appear at one of five county garages on the first day to get their work assignment, which entailed working eight hours daily. Twenty-two showed up at Alma, eighteen in Breckenridge, ten at Ithaca, nine at Ashley, and seven in Middleton. To help the clients, the county road commissioners furnished tools and supervision.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) continued in Gratiot County, although it sometimes lacked favor from some, like the Gratiot supervisors. Mr. Morrell, a WPA legal advisor, proposed a five-year federal relief project involving compiling a Gratiot County history to the supervisors. The project would employ five people, and the federal government would finance it with $4,000. Gratiot County had to pay $300. The results? The Board flatly turned the offer down. One commissioner likened the project to a dog chasing a train. What would the dog do with the train once the dog caught the train?  In other words, what would the long-term benefit be for creating the history of Gratiot County? In other news, Alma Junior High hosted a state WPA Project where Gladys Bradshaw Perry, state supervisor of the Michigan State College WPA Project, brought an extensive collection of toys created by WPA workers. The collection consisted of stuffed dolls and animals, educational toys, doll beds, and various games done by WPA workers. The federal government paid wages for the workers, and materials came from sponsors and co-sponsors, all in an attempt to give the unemployed jobs and the opportunity to learn a trade. The WPA also did other things in the county, such as holding a city-wide ping pong tournament. Both WPA recreation leaders, Jack Acker and Wilford McWilliams, oversaw the program. Other WPA recreation programs occurred at Alma’s Wright Park, the Old Republic School, the Republic skating rink, and the city skating rink. Over at St. Louis, a new skating rink debuted through the Community Council, which opened weeknights and weekend afternoons. The WPA and NYA (National Youth Administration) had members overseeing activities at the rink. In addition to a weekend of working to create good ice, skaters also had a warming house for taking a break from skating. Over at East Alma Recreation, the WPA sponsored Junior Bug-a-boo, Senior Bug-a-boo, and Girls Doodle Bug clubs. Participants enjoyed food, music, crafts, and dance instruction.

The other significant New Deal Program in Gratiot County concerned the NYA (National Youth Administration). Vernon Davis of Alma was one of only 200 young people chosen to take a two-year program that educated young men interested in aviation. Davis enrolled at the Waterloo Project at Camp Cassidy, which trained men in mechanical engineering. The young men in this program lived in cottages, each with a leader (Davis was elected as one). NYA workers would also be involved with 2,150 Gratiot youth in a nationwide survey to determine unemployment problems for those ages 16-24. The survey attempted to determine how many young people were out of school and did not have jobs. Some of the NYA workers in the county helped conduct the study. Here in Gratiot County, NYA members worked clearing the ground of dead logs around Conservation League Park, built tables and benches,  a shelter house, and rebuilt a log cabin. Around city hall, boys in the NYA did shop work and cleaned and painted walls. Over at Alma Schools, several worked in woodworking classes. A sewing project sponsored by the city of Alma involved NYA, and the Salvation Army employed ten unmarried young women aged 18 to 25. The project had help from a local company that loaned machines so the women could condition old clothing and create layettes for newborn children.

In other news, the Townsend Club followers continued to hold meetings in the county. President Charles Reed, who oversaw the Alma club, invited Reverend George Gullen from Detroit to attend a program at the American Legion Hall over Reed’s Shoe Store. Gullen represented the Townsend movement in the state as its attorney. Another Townsend meeting occurred at the St. Louis Park Hotel, where Harry Elliot, a national speaker, planned to discuss the Townsend Plan. Over 200 people attended the program, ending with Edgerton Crandell playing the xylophone.

New Deal programs like the WPA, NYA, and others often faced criticism from Americans who believed the programs to be a waste of government dollars. One such program gave the public millions of surplus apples at seventy cents a bushel. Because farmers could hardly get twenty-five cents a bushel for apples, a critic wondered why the government paid seventy cents for each bushel it planned to give away without helping farmers. On top of that, too many apples seemed to go to waste, and to this county newspaper, the government just seemed to be “shaking the tree.”

The Outdoors, Farming, and Farm Issues in January 1940

After the holidays, Alma urged Christmas tree owners to deposit their used trees at Conservation Park. The previous winter, large flocks of birds appeared and used the trees as shelter. The Gratiot County Herald ran a story about a new winter sport – ice fishing in Michigan. However, a new law prohibited using lights at night to catch bluegills. In another topic relating to fishing, Michigan sugar beet executives met to discuss the issue of epidemic fish killings again in places like the Pine River below Alma and St. Louis. The large number of fish killed was attributed to the sugar beet plant’s inadequate treatment facilities. It took ten miles of chasing, but hunter Charles Boots shot a red box west of Bridgeville along the Maple River but a second red fox got away, and many had been seen between Bridgeville and Maple Rapids. Henry B. Gulick of Mason, Michigan, grew up in Lafayette  Township. He recalled what hunting was like as far back as the 1870s in Gratiot County and described the abundance of bears, which made hunting very successful. Within three hours on one hunting day in 1884, Gulick and his family shot three bears in Section 24, and with the help of their wagon, they had them back home by noon. The largest bear weighed 450 pounds.

Farmers met at different shows and meetings as the 1940 winter moved forward. The Middleton Methodist Church hosted the Gratiot-Clinton District Association of Farmers. Middleton merchants furnished roasted meat for the noon potluck meal as a break from the whole day of meetings. Don Sharkey from St. Louis hosted one of three tractor shows in January. Sharkey, who sponsored one meeting at the Community Hardware Company’s implement building, highlighted the use of John Deere tractors and implements. One of the features of the meetings included free talking movies and a free lunch. The St. Louis Beet Growers Association held its ninth annual meeting in the St. Louis High School auditorium. The meeting was expected to draw 500 to 600 farmers, and the Lutheran, Episcopal, Christian Church, and American Legion Auxiliary provided a meal. When the day ended, over 800 people attended. News came from Washington that a government sugar beet program would take place in 1940, but payment rates would be the same as in 1938 and 1939.

Some of the controversial news involving farmers that winter dealt with the sensitive issue of ending Sunday hunting in Gratiot County. The Gratiot County Board of Commissioners voted 18 to 6 to petition the state legislature to allow a referendum vote on the issue. Clinton County also sought to ask the state the same thing. A group of ministers in the Gratiot County Council of Churches and Sunday Schools approached the commissioners and urged an end to Sunday hunting. However, a ban would not be enforced for at least one year. Opinions on both sides of the issue appeared in local newspapers. H.O. Butler wrote a long letter to the Gratiot County Herald telling readers that he was against a ban on Sunday hunting, saying, “It is no more wicked to hunt on Sunday than on any other one of the five remaining work days.” He added that if preachers did more of their job preaching “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” from the scriptures, there would be no hunting on Sundays as more hunters would be in church. Butler also added that he did not hunt or own a gun.

 H.J. Pinter and D.W. Olson announced the opening of Blue Ribbon Hatchery in Alma, located one block south of city hall. The owners planned to buy poultry and sell Blue Ribbon poultry feeds to the public. Swift and Company of Alma published a fifteen-page annual Yearbook of Swift and Company that covered what the company did in the past year. “Mugsey,” a Holstein owned by J. Ward Doyle of Breckenridge, appeared in the news as a record-grade cow. Mugsey produced 17,708 pounds of milk and 739.7 pounds of butterfat during 1939, returning to owner Doyle $229.79 above feed cost. Doyle wanted to know if any other cow in the county had a higher producing grade.

Breckenridge was busy that January as it hosted its 12th annual community fair. The Future Farmer Chapter and Breckenridge merchants sponsored the two-day event, which enabled 800 people to view exhibits of farm produce, sewing and home economics, and handcraft projects.

Gratiot County also took a moment to pause and reflect on the history of farming. A long article in the Gratiot County Herald reminded readers of the vital role of the County Extension Agent. The article reminded readers that Gratiot County’s first agent went on duty starting in 1917. The current agent, C.P. Milham, provided the history and details.

The Long Arm of the Law in Gratiot County in Winter

If anyone wanted to know the status of lawbreakers, they only needed to read the newspapers. During the previous month, the prosecuting attorney, Robert H. Baker, announced that thirty convictions occurred, with an additional 21 traffic violation convictions. Eight people in the group were convicted of illegally trapping muskrats. Another offense, passing bad checks without sufficient funds, had five culprits.

 January began with a settlement in the farm accounting case of Rowland Sexton, a Flint minister, and Maurie Arman. Arman operated as a tenant on Sexton’s farm near Houserville for nine years. The pair settled the accounting issue after evidence was taken to circuit courts. Fines and costs brought in approximately $280 to the court.

Various stories behind some criminal cases contained a mixture of sadness, grief, and even disbelief. Berniece Barry, wife of a Porter Township oil worker, failed to have her driver’s license after being involved in a traffic accident. It cost her $55.05 or 60 days in jail. Cornelius Eichorn, reported to be a well-to-do farmer in Emerson Township, made a petition to regain his automobile license, which had been suspended when Eichorn drove his car against a car off of US-27.   Eichorn had not been allowed to drive for several months. Eichorn’s wife petitioned the court to speak on her husband’s behalf in a February hearing. Mike Miczek of Middleton was brought before Judge Potter for stealing coal from Middleton Farmers Elevator. He paid $18.15 for fines and costs or spent 20 days in jail. Newell Little of Wheeler got the book thrown at him when the court sentenced him from 7 ½ to 22 ½ years for forgery. Little forged the name of William Kipp of Wheeler to a check amounting to $12.50. Little had a long line of forgery offenses that came up at sentencing. Kipp was sent to Jackson Prison as a second-offense felon.

Richard Storms, a WPA worker in Alma, stood mute after being arrested for assaulting his wife, who was trying to find medicine for a sick baby. Storms wanted the baby to stop crying and beat her. Storms was allowed to return home while awaiting trial as long as he “lived in accord” with his wife. Theodore Orwig, age 18, of  Alma, broke into Clare Shunk’s car on an Alma street. Orwig had previous probation terms and, therefore, went to jail for ninety days.

Jesse Perez’s attorneys attempted to bring his three-year-old murder case back to court. Perez argued that he did not understand the implications of his confession to a murder he committed in Seville Township in 1936. Perez was convicted of killing another Mexican beet worker, Gonzola Silba, after a dispute while working in the field.

Probably the most talked about topic in Gratiot County in January remained the Dewey Glinke embezzlement case. The probe of Glinke’s efforts to embezzle funds from the Gratiot County treasurer’s office now went to state auditors, and Gratiot County had to pay the state for the audits. Had Glinke been manipulating records for only one or two years or more? To know for sure, auditors now suggested a complete probe of Glinke’s work, which went back five years. The current Glinke defalcations ran up to $1,800. Despite this scandal, the state auditor commended and sympathized with County Treasurer William Federspiel for his cooperation and determination in getting to the bottom of Glinke’s crime.

Norman Prange of St. Louis tested the city of Alma’s peddling laws. He made $1 on a sale at one of his door-to-door stops and was arrested after he failed to pay a $40 license fee. The case was to be reviewed in February, as his lawyer argued that the transaction involved interstate commerce. Finally, In the February 1940 term, two county women, Mrs. Never Hole of Alma and Pearl Strong of St. Louis, served jury duty. The rest of the jury pool consisted of men.

And So We Do Not Forget

The Alma First Methodist Church started holding Lenten season evangelistic services over two weeks. Reverend Edward Patsch of East Liverpool, Ohio, served as evangelist…Eugene T. Walker of Alma wrote a letter to the Alma Record Alma Journal regarding his memories of operating thrashing machines during harvest times in Arcada and Sumner Township. Walker described how he threshed a total of 927,194 bushels of grain in his lifetime. Walker also collected and owned old thresher catalogs, which he loaned to interested readers…Gratiot County Treasurer William G. Federspiel announced that citizens of the county continued to conduct good tax collections. Roughly 58 percent of assessed taxes had been paid so far…Viewers continued to see Alma’s Local News Reel on Wednesday and Thursday nights at the Strand Theatre. Also, Billy Farrell entertained audiences from 6:45 to 7:15 p.m. during intermissions each night. Farrell played the Hammond Organ before features on Tuesday and Friday nights…Alma City Manager William Reynolds laid the rules for those using the city skating rink. The number one rule said no games of “I got it,” “Crack the whip,” or “Tag”…The hamlet of Pompeii witnessed a fire that caused over $7,000 worth of damage to the home of L.E. Passenger, which turned out to be a complete loss. Pompeii had no fire department, and all calls had to be answered by the fire department at Perrinton…Members of the Alma Fire Department planned the upcoming annual fireman’s ball. The ball took place on Washington’s birthday.

Used car sales in Alma remained very brisk. Hickerson Chevrolet Sales said it had more used car sales during the winter than could be remembered. Usually, car buyers wait until after winter to make their purchases, but not this January…Mr. Bourikas at the Main Café in Alma announced that the new modern fireproof addition enabled him to keep up with his growing business. The new 20×24 floor space connected to the dining room and helped him serve the busy crowds on Saturday and Sunday nights…The Newberry Store in Alma announced a new addition that called for an 80 percent addition to its existing space. Newberrys planned to lease the adjacent store building, which belonged to Floyd Luchini. The Simi Café that operated next door planned to move. A 40-foot addition in the back of Newberry’s allowed more space. A partition between the two buildings would be removed, and the store would have different entry locations…The first fatal traffic accident of 1940 took place in Wheeler Township when Lawrence Bartlett, age 29, died when his car collided with one from Ricard Jessup, age 19, of Wheeler. Bartlett, who died at Smith Memorial Hospital, failed to stop on M-46 and crossed in front of the Jessup vehicle.

Red Cross contributions thus far totaled $2,230.90. An increase of 408 new members raised the total from this time last year. Emerson Township had 61 members and contributed $75.60….The newsreel man from the Strand Theatre made his way to Grayling to watch the crowning of the Snow Queen during Grayling’s Winter Festival. The queen, Miss Pauline Merrill, previously lived in St. Louis and Breckenridge and was well known in Alma. The movies will be shown before the show each day until February 4. The film also featured several Detroit Tigers players who attended the festival…Bernard Gallagher, who worked at Bragg’s Standard Oil service station, was taken to Wilcox-Carney Hospital for acute appendicitis. After emergency surgery, Gallagher was resting and had much improved…Mr. and Mrs. Louis Gittleman, owners of their style shop in Alma, traveled to Detroit for a fashion show. The Gittlemans hoped to obtain new merchandise for the Alma store and the ones they owned in Greenville and Ionia…St. Louis Community Council announced that the new skating rink for children would soon open on Wheeler Field. Adults who wanted to skate used the rink on the newly lighted softball field…The Alma Public Library continued to grow as demands for books in practical arts, history, and special sciences doubled. The Masonic Home received 442 books on loan from the library, and the Gleaner Home received 108 books…The Gratiot County Farm Bureau held its fourth annual meeting in the basement of the Ithaca Methodist Church. After the business meeting, a potluck dinner occurred at noon, followed by special singing by Mrs. Neikirk. Mrs. Hearn played the piano…The movie “Beau Geste,” starring Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, and Susan Hayward, played at the Strand Theatre in Alma. Tickets were ten and twenty cents…January 22-26 became known as Health Week for Gratiot County, according to county school commissioner Donald L. Baker. All teachers in the county stressed the importance of good health with students. Topics included keeping the body clean, proper care for teeth, getting physical examinations by the family doctor, vaccinations, and good sources of drinking water…Redman Trailer sales experienced a 200 percent increase for 1939 compared to the previous year. The company sold 400 trailers and grossed $220,000. The company employed sixty men with a payroll of $38,000.

The Gratiot County Herald announced its tenth annual baby contest. A list of rules about those who entered the first babies born in 1940 could be found in the January 4, 1940 newspaper. The first prize involved a baby bed with a mattress or a high chair with a waterproof tray. First place went to Judith Joan Russell of St. Louis, born at 4:18 a.m. on January 1 to Mr. and Mrs. Rolland Russell…Young Dale Paul Todd of Middleton won the Gratiot County Herald’s New Year’s Baby Contest in 1939 and celebrated his first birthday on January 1. Now walking around the house using chairs and furniture, young Dale Todd weighed 25 pounds and measured 29 inches…Roy W. Richards of Alma was appointed enumerator for the 1940 census. Richards began a check-up of business property, but the population count would not start until April 1…Alma’s new sander now sanded three blocks of the road with the same material that formerly only did one road…E.R. Erickson and Edwin Harwood completed work at the University of Michigan to obtain their master’s Degrees. Harwood taught English and wrote a thesis for his degree; Erickson chose to do extra work hours instead of the thesis. Both men taught at St. Louis High School…The St. Louis Rollers women’s bowling team, outfitted in their new uniforms, won two of three games at Alma Recreation Alleys. St.  Louis merchants donated the uniforms…Over 100 couples attended the annual J-Hop held at St. Louis High School auditorium on a Friday evening. Giant white stars hung from the light blue ceiling while the orchestra’s stage displayed blue lights on Christmas trees. Kenneth Harrier, vice-president of the class, led the grand march along with Elaine Ellsworth. Several classes had graduated in attendance from as far back as 1934…462 Gratiot County teachers with teacher certificates filed their oath of allegiance. Those who had not filed had 60 days to do so.

“The Wizard of Oz” made its first movie appearance in Gratiot County when it debuted at the Ideal Theatre in Ithaca on January 11. Admission was 15 cents and 10 cents…The Perrinton Community Hall underwent renovations, and new seats and furniture were installed. Upon completion, the Fulton High School basketball team planned to play its home games at the hall… Noted columnist and radio speaker Boake Carter appeared in Ithaca as part of the Gratiot Town Hall series. Carter was initially supposed to appear in October, but with the outbreak of war in Europe, he remained in Washington. Carter’s reputation as one of the finest radio speakers of his day meant good attendance for his program…The Gratiot County Rural Letter Carrier’s Association held a potluck supper at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Knapp in Alma…Ithaca Schools gave out standardized tests to students on two days in mid-January. Superintendent McKibben said the tests revealed whether the schools expected too much or too little for children in each grade. The scores told whether students performed at their grade level, or higher or lower…The Ballard Trophy at Ithaca High School went to Ralph Cheney for the most valuable member of the 1939 football team. Elwood Mellinger was announced as captain of the 1940 team…The Mellinger School planned a P.T.A. meeting later in January. George (Elmer) Schleder and his “amateurs” would provide entertainment….The Union Telephone Company issued its 1940 telephone directory with 3,094 names of subscribers. Alma had 1,350 telephone stations… The Christmas weather seemed somewhat light, but cold temps in January dropped to the mercury to four above zero…The Ithaca High School Athletic Club sponsored the dean of American League Umpires, George Moriarty, who spoke at the Ithaca High School gym. Moriarty also showed a movie entitled “Touching All Three Bases.”  The Ithaca High School Athletic Club sponsored the event, and entrance was free.

And that was January 1940 in Gratiot County during Depression and War.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed