1899 Henry Handy

Handy Township was named after Calvin Handy, one of the early settlers in this area.  In 1899, Henry Handy passed away.  The article from the newspaper follows:

About the only genealogy work I've really done has been for G.L. and Carrie Adams for Through the Eyes of a Country Editor.  But, while researching for that book, whenever my eye would catch something of interest, or an obituary, or a commonly-known name for this area, I would keep track of those articles.

The Handy name caught my eye, but now I'm wondering if anyone would like to fill in the blanks on his genealogy, other than what was mentioned in the article. 

1900 Automobile Sighting

I got a kick out of the above blurb published in The Fowlerville Review in 1900.  As hardly any of us can imagine, the sight of a car was almost as rare as seeing Halley's Comet.  In the village of Fowlerville, it wouldn't be until 1903-5 before a couple of residents actually owned a car. 

 

And then, can you visualize, the sight of one of those cars chugging down Grand River avenue amidst horses tethered to the hitching posts or horses pulling buggies and wagons and all being startled by the unusual sound. 

 

I find it curious, even though we are out in the country somewhat, now it is the rare sight of a horse and rider that draws our attention (and my delight).

 

As a side note, as I wait for some pictures and information coming my way to post on this site, I am going to randomly grab articles from my over 300-page notebook cataloguing digital pictures of microfilm from the newspapers.  If anyone is interested in a particular subject during the years, in particular, 1874-1929, please feel free to comment or e-mail and I will look to see if I have what you are hoping for. 

 

In the meantime, don't forget to attend Christmas in the 'Ville, this Saturday, in the downtown area.  I'll be doing the 5K walk/run.

Three Updates

I am discovering I have some wonderful readers that are able to contribute additional information -- and that is great, because it just makes this information website all the better.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have received some e-mails with information on recent posts.

The first update is in regards to my post of October 23, 2012, "1992 Poster Center Top," which you can check out by clicking here.  I posed the question if anyone knew where News and Views was located at that time.  According to one of my readers, they were located on North Second Street, in the two-story house just north of what is now an empty lot at the northeast corner of North Second and East Grand River. As a side note, that empty lot is also the location of the old Spencer House (originally known as the Spencer Exchange) -- feel free to search on either of those names and read some interesting history.

The second update is in regards to a recently posted team pictures showing Charles Gehringer.  The picture was donated to the library by Don Knodle and you can check out the post by clicking here. One of the other players identified in the picture was Howard Canfield.  According to my reader, "he died in 2000 at age 98 and up 'til the end, was driving to Florida for the winter and fishing everyday at his cabin up north in the summer.  A character in the best sense of the word!  He made braided leather key chain fobs, which I still have on my cabin keys."  Thank you, dear reader, for this information.

The last update brought two bits of information.  One reader left a comment -- which I absolutely love when anyone leaves a comment -- which you can read by clicking here.  In addition to Mike G's comment, the following information was sent to me:  "Just cruised thru your blog.  The lettering on the door of the 2nd floor of the Harmon building is Ron Dillingham.  Fred's younger brother.  He started his insurance business there (Steve Horton remembers helping Ron paint the office that lovely shade of green).  When I came here in 1990, Ron had purchased an existing insurance business from Mr. White in Webberville and moved there.  Later in the late 90's, he moved to Tennessee to become an adjuster for the parent company."

Thank you once again to anyone posting comments or passing along information through e-mail.  It may sometimes take me awhile to get these updates on the website, but they will eventually show up!

1896 Balloonist

Christmas in the 'Ville has become one of Fowlerville's major events.  There's the 5k walk/run and a 1-mile fun run, stores stay open later, carriage rides, food at the fire hall, and many more fun things -- including the whole day capped off with a parade.  Part of what is quickly becoming a tradition is the arrival of numerous hot-air balloons during the day.  By evening, the balloons are packed away but the baskets, with their flame-throwing ability, are put into exciting use as they are paraded through the downtown area, shooting fire high into the air.

In 1896, long before all of this extraneous fun, hot-air balloons were a huge part of figuring out the flight of humans.  The following article, published in the local newspaper, showed how Prof. C. Bartholomew was working on long-distance abilities of hot-air travel.  The questions I wish could be answered are:  1) was he successful, and 2) did any messages make it back to Jackson?

Out of curiosity, I did a little googling -- you know, type in all the relevant words in www.google.com, hoping for a hit -- and came up with the following from someone's travel blog:

While in Adelaide the dashing, and daring Professor C. Bartholomew got a chance to perform his aerial act. Dangling from a hot air balloon from a height of approx. 2,000 feet, the one-eyed dare-devil performed on a trapeze that was dangling beneath the balloon. He then leaped from the balloon strapped to a parachute. Unfortunately for the Professor his parachute failed to deploy properly and he slammed into the chimney of a nearby hotel. He unbelievably suffered only minor injuries, but was reluctant to perform for the remainder of the tour.

And, a picture:



And now that you know a little bit about ballooning, be sure to come out with everyone else to Christmas in the 'Ville this Saturday, December 1.

1943 IOOF Certificate

One of my readers sent this certificate to me through e-mail.  Along with this certification of Hugh Palmerton's membership in the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows in 1943, signed by Chris O. Ludtke, he wrote the following:

It appears as the lodge must have paid dad's dues because he would have been in the Army when this was paid.  I remember Chris being our mailman when I was a kid and Bud Douglass took over his route when he retired.

About a month back, I posted some additional information on Chris Ludtke.  If you search on his name, you will find a couple of different posts.

Thank you to my reader for this wonderful bit of history.

Can Someone Help Identify These People?

I recently spent a couple of hours helping a fellow from the Battle Creek area identify family members from days long ago.  He had three portraits labeled with G.D. Trowbridge (photographer) from Fowlerville, Michigan, but unfortunately there was no other information to be gleaned.

 

I know a few of my readers are well-versed in genealogy and am wondering if someone might have come across these originals portraits with information written on the back.  Or, has anyone ever found portraiture work done by Trowbridge, with a possible list of clients.

 

If anyone can identify these long-ago residents, please feel free to contact me and I'll pass along the information.

Squint Shot 112412

As I drove around with my friend, he also pointed out this red quonset hut having been the location for Klein Fertilizers at one time.  Which brings me to reminding everyone that Clayton Klein has published a new book -- My First 90 Years.  I have received my copy and already read it.  It has a wealth of information about this area, wonderful stories, and shows what an incredible life he has led.

 

Copies of his book are available for purchase at Curtis Grocery and Olden Days.

 One last picture shows where, at one time, there were a couple of spurs off the tracks that may have been used by the Kleins.