The Fowlerville Review 1977-1984

A recent donation of bound copies of "The Fowlerville Review," from January, 1977, to December, 1984, continue to round out the Historical Collection at the Fowlerville District Library.

On the front page of the January, 1977, issue, two young boys are shown skating on a pond near the Fowlerville High School (that would have been when the high school was located on Collins Street).  Breezing through that first issue, predictions were made for the coming year, a public works proposal was defeated, marriages, wedding anniversaries and obituaries were noted, six pages of want ads were found in the middle of the newspapers, school news and sports were reported on, and Steve Horton (editor and publisher of Fowlerville News and Views since 1985) was shown as a staff writer.  There were also numerous advertisements from the best car deals, to insurance and banking opportunities, to lumber supplies, and everything in between.  One notable ad, found on the back page (24th page) was a full-page ad for Frank's Foodliner IGA.  

~~Fryers were $.39/lb, bananas 5 for $1, $.77 for a large jar of peanut butter, a dozen large eggs for $.77.  

Oh how, things have changed!  The biggest change is that Frank's Foodliner (or Curtis Grocery) is now the Fowlerville District Library.  Has been since the building purchase in 2017, renovations conducted for the next year, then the grand opening June, 2018.  

And then, curiously, the December, 1984, issue has Larry Schmid along with two ladies shopping in Frank's IGA, to celebrate Larry's passion for being a part of the American Motorcycle Association's racing community as a "flag man" for starting and finishing races.

Looking through this issue, Howard's Market (where Save-On is now located since 1985) advertised fresh ground hamburger for $.99/lb, sliced bacon at $1.39/lb, and Vlasic Crunchy dills for $1.29, along with so many items for under $1.  The average price for a house ran about $70,000, with the highest noted at $139,900.  By 1984, you needed to head to Howell to see a movie (Orr Theatre had closed by then)--Pinocchio was on tap for viewing.

There are nine more volumes in this collection between the beginning and the end.  If you ever feel like going down memory lane or just researching what it might have been like in the 70s and 80s, these issues are a superb resource.  The paper is fragile but the bindings are solid and strong.

 

Fowlerville District Library Historical Collection

 

The Fowlerville District Library has a dedicated room, toward the back of the building, that contains a large collection of papers, photographs, artifacts, and some interesting memorabilia.  The door to the room is locked when not in use.  Two of the biggest rules of the room is that an appointment needs to be made to reserve the room and also that the room is monitored when in use.

It is a sad fact that when the collection was not under "lock and key" at the old building some irreplaceable items went missing.  Someone felt they deserved it more than the library did.  

As I have spent numerous hours cataloguing and organizing what is available for research, I have offered my volunteer time to be at the room on Wednesdays, from 10 am to noon.  For April, those dates are the 5th and the 12th.  I won't be available the last two Wednesdays of April but will start up again in May.  At this point, I am planning on all five Wednesdays in May.

The picture above shows part of the south wall of the room.  Nellie Lansing Glenn was a wonderful keeper of the history until her death in 1970.  She was also an artist and painted representations of some of the original buildings in the village from 1847 on.  They are a treasure and we're happy to have them for display purposes.

I hope you will come to check out what the collection has to offer as well as looking at displays by the fireplace and in the alcove at the back of the building.  In lieu of a museum, the library is being very generous to offer space for this collection.

Books, Books, and Torch 180

I recently had the great pleasure of participating in Torch 180's first Market Day, this last Saturday, at their location at 131 Mill Street in Fowlerville.  I had all of my books on display and for sale.  It was a fun day, to say the least.  

As I spoke with people and even directed them to this blog, it dawned on me I hadn't posted nor updated this blog in too long of time.  So now I am doing just that.  Since "A Soldier, His Brother, and a House" was posted on here, I've worked hard on a second edition of the commissioned "Mr. Smith's Forgotten Community," a memoir-of-sorts of past and present residents of Brighton Gardens in Brighton.  I will do a blog post when this revision is available on Amazon through their Kindle Direct Printing program.

For now, though, I'd like to tell you about "She Wore a Hat in Prison."

This historical fiction novel is the third in my collection of traditionally-published stories.  The Wild Rose Press published this one and "Tilly Loves Johnny" (a few years back).  Whiskey Creek Press published my first story, "Juniper and Anise," way back in 2014.

I am so happy with my latest novel and hope you will take a look at it.  It is available on pretty much every online book store but you can easily find it by clicking here.  "She Wore a Hat in Prison" is based on an event that actually took place in 1907 in California.  The woman wreaking Mayhem on her husband was Bertha Boronda.  She was convicted on this felon and served two years of a five-year sentence.  Here is are two pictures of her mugshots taken at the time of incarceration:

I moved this event to Cedartown--a village that looks a lot like Fowlerville--and highly-fictionalized her story because who really knows what happened in 1907.  I did a great deal of research to incorporate much of what happened in California but so much was pulled out of own imagination.

We didn't have cell phones, social media, nothing that would broadcast this story out to the masses.  So different than today's world.

I will be doing an author talk at the Fowlerville District Library on Thursday, September 29, 6:30 pm.  The book will be available for purchase but, of equal importance, I will be showing a power point presentation of Bertha's story.  It should be a fun yet a bit shocking evening.  

Hope you will be there.

A Soldier, His Brother, and a House -- the Defendorf Story

Now available on Amazon.com in paperback format -- it is a great addition to your collection if you are history buff for either local history or Civil War letters.

Jacob Defendorf was a 15-year old soldier for the Union side in 1863 during the Civil War.  Some letters he wrote and some he received were found in a Fowlerville house.  They have now been transcribed for this book.  Timeline history and explanation of some things he wrote, as well as ancestry research, is contained in this book.

Get it by clicking here!

A Soldier, His Brother, and a House

New book out! "A Soldier, His Brother, and a House" With access to original Civil War letters, I traced heritage from the soldier's home in New York, to his time in Virginia during the Civil War, to his brother's help in becoming a homeopathic surgeon who lived in Fowlerville, Michigan, onto the incredible history of the brother's house and its owners. I transcribed all of the letters to make them easier for the reader but scanned copies of the letters are also in the book. I have a few copies at $25 but will be on Lulu.com in the very near future. If you are interested in the Civil War, this has awesome moments in the life of a soldier.

Thank you to Mike and Jamie Hernden for the opportunity to put this project together!

History Books Available for Purchase

Check out two of my books you can order from Lulu.com (click here).

Usually takes a couple of weeks to get a copy.

Both "Mr. Smith's Forgotten Community" and "The Fowlerville Chronicles" are available in hardbound.

Candy Cane Production

In the 60s and 70s, Christmas time in Fowlerville meant making candy canes of all sizes by the Spagnuolo family.  Thank you, Lenore, for providing this wonderful picture of her father working hard to model and manipulate the hardening candy.  

As a side note, check out this link if you are interested in purchasing a copy of "The Fowlerville Chronicles."  There's more about the Spagnuolo family, both on this blog and in the hardbound copy.  Thank you to all that have purchased the book since it was published in 2011!