Periodicals postage paid at Lansing, MI ABOUT — AND A PART OF — MICHIGAN’S FASCINATING PAST SINCE 1917

$2.95

MARCH/APRIL 1997 $2.95 n o i t c e l l o C

e l t e t h u e T

B l

l i e B g r o e G This small, tattered flag—described as the Titanic’s official flag— was carried from the sinking ship by Michigan survivor Jane Quick. For more about four Michigan families who lived to tell their harrowing tales of life, death and rescue, please turn to page 28. The Bronze Buckaroo

Holland at 150 Michigan and the Titanic Knock MAGAZINE The Bronze Buckaroo ’Em Rides Again by Mary A. Dempsey—During the mid-1930s Westerns were the rage and singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were heros to children across the country. But Herb Jeffries, the man who played Bob Blake, the Bronze Buckaroo, earned a Out 10place in America’s history books.This Detroit native became the first and only African American singing cowboy to ride . . . with a gift across the silver screen. subscription to Michigan History Magazine

18Van Raalte’s Settlement at 150 DEPARTMENTS by Hero Bratt and Paul Trap—When seven 2 From the Editor cold and weary travelers stumbled into the 3 Letters to the Editor Old Wing Mission near Black Lake, no one realized their inglorious arrival heralded the founding 7 History Happenings of one of Michigan’s important cities. Holland, Michigan, with its reputation for a proud Dutch 8 Datebook heritage, began as a humble, little Kolonie populated with Dutch fugitives seeking to escape 9 From the Center religious persecution and economic distress. 46 Editor’s Bookshelf 51 Michigan Profiles: Chancey Miller They Never Forgot: AP/Wide World by Marilynn Sambrano Michigan Survivors of the Titanic Don’t pull any punches for Mother’s One Year (Six Issues) 55 Trip Tips 56 Postscript by Carey L. Draeger—Hailed as the ship that “God himself Day, Father’s Day and graduation could not sink,” the mighty gifts. You’ll score a KO when your $ 95 Titanic steamed out of 28Queenstown, Ireland, to favorite sports fans receive Michigan 12. ON THE COVER New York City on her maid- History Magazine’s special sports In The Bronze Buckaroo, Herb Jeffries en voyage. Among the 1,324 performed all his own stunts, such as CALL d y r passengers were nearly forty issue as part of their gift subscrip- 1-800-366-3703 sitting astride a rearing horse, because tions. The special issue (due out this Or send check or money order payable to the film’s budget did not allow for a Michigan-bound individuals, State of Michigan to: stunt double. Such thrilling scenes in none of them realizing their summer) spotlights some of the great these movies specifically made for lives were about to become African American audiences “allowed intertwined with one of moments in Michigan sports history, Michigan History Magazine children to watch people of their race 717 W.Allegan St. living in dignity on the land and sitting the world’s most famous like Joe Louis’s 1938 defeat of Max maritime disasters. CVR2 Lansing, MI 48918-1805Michigan History Magazine tall in the saddle.” Schmeling. FROM THE EDITOR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We returned to our mooring in the Georgian Bay Memories early afternoon of the next day. A cou- Volume 81 • Number 2 eaders often ask me, “How do you find the articles that appear in Michigan History ple of days later we were ordered to

Magazine?” This issue shows the many different ways an article goes from an idea to Secretary of State return to the area with a number of fam- publication. Candice S. Miller Thanks for the trip ily members of the deceased for the R memorial service and the laying of a Some articles arrive in what I call the traditional manner. An author selects and Director, Michigan Historical Center wreath. Sandra Sageser Clark researches a topic, writes the manuscript and sends it to us. “Van Raalte’s Settlement at back in memory as Thanks for the trip back in memory as 150” is a perfect example of such an article. Begun by Hero Bratt, the manuscript was Editor well as for all your very entertaining Dr. Roger L. Rosentreter completed by Paul Trap after Bratt’s death. This article provides a solid look at the found- articles. I also enjoyed the article of the well as for all your very logging in Nester Township in the ing of one of Michigan’s more intriguing communities. At one time Paul lobbied me for an Assistant Editors Carey L. Draeger September/October 1996 issue, since I entire issue on Holland. Fortunately, he took my rejection of that idea in his typical good- Sharon E. McHaney entertaining articles. was raised (from 1944-57) approxi- natured style. mately six miles south of the Nester area. Marketing Manager Ernest A. Ortenburg Diana Paiz Engle Ernest A. Ortenburg Some articles seem almost providential. Last August, when assistant editor Carey Harbor Beach Harbor Beach Draeger called for tickets to see humor columnist Dave Berry in Dowagiac, the person at Circulation the other end of the phone offered, “Dowagiac has lots of Titanic connections.” After look- Carole Pope, Manager I received the January/February issue Joni Russell, Clerk ing at newspapers for Michigan’s relationship to this maritime disaster, Carey discovered and as usual I looked through the whole Secretary magazine before reading any of the arti- more than either of us ever imagined existed. She’s written a story that is as poignant and Mary Jo Remensnyder cles. This is the first time that I have touching as any that has appeared in this magazine. done this without looking at the printing Other stories are a mixture of good luck and determination. When marketing manager Contributing Editors on the cover. I came across the article Dr. LeRoy Barnett, Dr. John R. Halsey, Pick Up Cover Diana Paiz Engle heard an interview with Herb Jefferies on National Public Radio in Laura Rose Ashlee and Scott M. Peters about the Georgian Bay Line and the memories started to come back to me in August 1995, she ordered the transcript. The idea of doing something on the Bronze The Michigan Historical Commission—Ann Preston Koeze, presi- from Jan/Feb dent, Robert J. Danhof, Susanne M. Janis, Samuel Logan Jr., Keith a rush. Buckaroo lay around the office—with Diana’s occasional reminders to me of how good the Molin, and William C. Whitbeck—provides advice on historical I was a graduate of Allegan County activities of the Department of State, including the publication of this story would be. Finally, I called one of our favorite free-lance writers, Mary Dempsey, magazine. 1997 Issue Normal and was in my first year of Manuscripts for publication review, books for review and notices to be teaching, 1951-52, in a rural two-room who eagerly accepted the assignment. However, she was moving to Puerto Rico to start a included in History Happenings should be sent to Editor, Michigan History Magazine, Michigan Department of State, Lansing, MI school in northwestern Allegan County, 48918-1805. While Michigan History Magazine makes every new job and the story had to be pursued immediately. We had no idea where Jefferies effort to care for all materials sent to us, the Michigan Department of Ruscher School, Fillmore Township. I State assumes no responsibility for unsolicited photographs, manu- lived, but after a morning of phone calls, we found him in Los Angeles. In a matter of days scripts or books. The Michigan Department of State does not assume was teaching the upper room, which responsibility for statement of fact or opinion made by contributors. had about twenty students, fifth through Mary finalized plans, hopped the red-eye to LA and got the face-to-face interview. Soon Publication of Michigan History Magazine provides matching funds for grants from the National Park Service, United States Department of the eighth grades. we had a story that otherwise might not have appeared in this magazine. Interior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior. Regulations of the U.S. Department of the While reading your most interesting I received word from Superintendent Interior strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination in departmental Federally Finally, stories sometimes occur accidentally. When Carey was returning from the Assisted Programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or article on the Georgian Bay Line, the Guy Ray Sturgis in the early spring that handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated Dossin Maritime Museum in Detroit with photos for the Georgian Bay article against in any program, activity or facility operated by a recipient of reference to the sinking of the Yarmouth the schools in the county could have a Federal assistance should write: Director, Equal Opportunity Program, Castle evoked memories that I haven’t trip aboard the SS South American, (January/February 1997 issue), I asked her to stop at Elmwood Cemetery and photo- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127 thought about in years. docked in nearby Holland. I presented graph Maude von Ketteler’s grave for Heidi Christein’s “A Detroit Baroness in Peking” © Copyright Michigan Department of State 1997 I joined the U.S. Coast Guard at the opportunity to the students and (also in the January/February issue). There she met the cemetery’s general manager, Detroit in July 1959 and spent a total of received a unanimous yea vote. SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS ten years serving in many areas before I cannot remember how the students Chancey Miller. He proved so interesting—and since I’ve always wanted to do a piece on If you have questions about your subscription, Elmwood—we called in free-lance writer Marilynn Sambrano. have missed issues, have a change of address, being discharged in 1969. raised the money for the trip, but I do are receiving duplicate issues or want to place gift While stationed in Fort Lauderdale, remember picking up the tickets. On the Another question I am often asked is, “Will you ever run out of stories to tell?” Since subscriptions or purchase back issues, please Florida, in 1967 my unit, the Coast morning of the trip, I handed each stu- call us toll-free at 1-800-366-3703 (Lansing-area history is constantly in the making that will never happen. We also won’t sit on our hands, residents please call 373-1645). Operating hours: Guard Cutter Cape Shoalwater, was one dent his or her ticket and an envelope of waiting for manuscripts to arrive in the mail. Like detectives, we will search out and bring Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (EST). of the Coast Guard boats ordered to the money for them to spend on the trip. area of the sinking of the Yarmouth Because of the number of students, we to you those stories that prove why Michigan history is fascinating and entertaining. Michigan History Magazine (ISSN 0026-2196) is pub- lished six times a year, with an annual subscription rate of Castle to search for survivors. I believe were assigned a small stateroom. The $12.95 by the Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Depart- that we were one of five or six boats sent room could not hold all of the students at ment of State, 717 West Allegan, Lansing, MI 48918-1805. Periodicals postage paid at Lansing, MI. Postmaster: from the Miami Coast Guard District. one time, so we met in shifts. Although Send address changes to Michigan History Magazine, Michigan Department of State, Lansing, MI 48918-1805. The Cape Shoalwater was first on the the room was small it was very nicely scene at about 2:00 A.M. We found no appointed. I spent more time there than Printed on Recycled Paper survivors, only debris. the students did—about one hour.

2 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 3 ing Muskegon the ship returned to brought back many memories to me. In Holland and arrived about 4:00 P.M. June 1950 I graduated from Okemos Images from Cuba The students had the run of the ship. High School and our senior trip in I believe they covered it from stem to May was a four-day excursion on the The letters in the January/February issue prompted me to share stern, port to starboard and keel to mast- South American. We boarded the ship with you pictures taken by my father while he was preparing to head, if they could get there. in Holland for an overnight trip to go to Cuba during the Spanish-American War. I understand that We were assigned a lunch time and Chicago. After a day in Chicago we there are not too many pictures taken in Cuba itself. I have in my the students could order from the menu. sailed to Mackinac Island to spend a possession a whole album of pictures he took and prepared for his The menu was not extensive, but since day there. Then on to Detroit, where we mother, Emily Arletta Fitch Peck. This album, which my family most of the students had stuffed them- were met by the school to take us home. and I possess, is very important. selves with junk food, they did not want The meals, the service and the enter- Ina M. Peck Bellgraph much. I ordered Swiss steak with all of tainment on board were of the highest Byron Center I especially enjoyed the article the trimmings. It was the finest Swiss quality. “Remembering the Georgian Bay steak I ever had. It is too bad this fine old ship met Line” by Mary A. Dempsey in the I was in the U.S. Naval Reserve at such an untimely end. 16-23). Please send me the correct similar projects was revived in 1849, for all to visit. Over four thousand fam- January/February 1997 issue. When the time and was called to active duty Lyle B. Blackledge pages, which, I’m sure are about Mich- 1908 and 1914, but no other canal ever ilies are currently registered at the I was seventeen, my girlfriend, during the Korean War (August 1952). I Okemos igan history, not Memphis ducks. made it beyond the planning stage. shrine. Bonnie Westrate and I [above, third stayed in the reserve for eighteen years, Michael D. Moore According to St. Charles historian Dale Coughlin once said that Communism and second from left] took a cruise with two years of active duty. I spent Wintertime Pleasantries Lansing Greve, remains of the Northern Canal was a far greater threat to the world than of the Great Lakes on the SS South more hours aboard the South American, are still visible near Brant. Nazism and has since been labeled pro- American. Bonnie and I were two of than I did aboard ships of the U.S. Navy How pleasant it was on a cold, blustery Michigan’s Northern Canal Dave Swayze Nazi. He was against several rich fami- the youngest people on the cruise, since I worked in Washington, DC. day with the wind cavorting around the Weidman lies controlling the purse strings of the but we had a wonderful time. I was saddened at the closing of the snow drifts and the thermometer shiver- The Grand River canal project of banks. If that happened to be mostly As I look through the pictures in wonderful ships of the Georgian Bay ing to sit in an old, comfortable chair, Christian J. Buys’ article in the Slandering Father Coughlin Zionist Jewish families, he was labeled the article I realized that we must Line since that one trip made me want to sipping hot chocolate and reading about January/February 1997 issue is reflec- anti-Semitic. Nothing was farther from have had crew’s quarters since our do it over and over again. Now there are the life of the young Baroness Von tive of another ambitious and abortive The worst type of slander comes after the truth. When Washington felt threat- cabin looked just like theirs. We none. It is truly sad since many of our Ketteler in the January/February 1997 canal project involving that river. The the victim’s demise when he can no ened by the truth, they squeezed the hier- cruised up to Mackinac Island, young people will never know the plea- issue (“A Detroit Baroness in Peking”). Northern Canal was to connect Lakes longer defend himself. I found the two archy of the church to shut Fr. Coughlin through the Soo Locks, on to sure of being at sea, if only for a day. Thanks to Michigan History Maga- Huron and Michigan through the pages of the Alan S. Brown review of up. He obeyed Bishop Mooney and Copper Harbor and Duluth and then W. J. Love zine and Heidi Christein for bringing Saginaw and Grand Rivers. It was pro- Donald Warren’s book, which is retired from the public-radio political returned to Detroit. It was great fun. Allegan the story to this avid reader. posed in 1831 during the spate of demeaningly titled, Radio Priest, social or justice theme and stayed at the I’ve heard that there’s talk of start- W. Jean Watson Midwest canal-building that followed Charles Coughlin, The Father of Hate shrine as a parish priest. He was long ing another cruise line of the Great How thrilled I was to receive the cur- Kalamazoo the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. Radio, just another slap at this priest of before his time. Religious figures today Lakes and would love to take rent issue of your magazine and the arti- One of Stephens T. Mason’s first acts God whose priorities were God, coun- who criticize the government or presi- another one. cle about the Georgian Bay Line. Two Different Views as Michigan’s first governor in 1837 try and family, respectively. Warren dent are guests on radio and TV talk Cindy Winn Fifty-five years ago, the senior class at was to sign the Internal Improvements never interviewed Fr. Coughlin, the shows. Only because Fr. Coughlin wore Lansing Perry High School joined other graduating I enjoyed reading the article in the Act, which appropriated fifteen thou- book has more than sixty pages of ref- a priest’s Roman collar, he was also seniors for a trip on the South American. January/February issue by James H. sand dollars for the Northern Canal pro- erences and Brown even supports the viewed as interference by the church in We left Detroit on a Sunday afternoon for Schultz entitled “Rolling on the River.” ject. The canal was designed for barge idea that “there are too many examples state matters. We could sure use his input We boarded the ship (not a boat, as a a trip to Buffalo and Niagara Falls. We The article implied that Schultz and his and steamboat traffic and was perfectly of what might be styled hearsay rather now. I often visit his grave at Holy boat can be carried aboard a ship) early returned to Detroit on Wednesday, but friends followed Father Marquette’s feasible—the highest elevation to be than clearly documented evidence.” Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield and in the morning. I remember it was cool, those few days were very exciting. The route to New Orleans via the Missis- traversed was only seventy-five feet Fr. Coughlin was supported by his pray all his predictions don’t come true. some time in mid-May. The ship left meals were delicious and the entertain- sippi River. Marquette and Jolliet went above Lake Michigan. A mere fourteen Bishop Gallagher, who helped him start We need another Fr. Coughlin to wake the dock and had a difficult time get- ment fun. I don’t know what the total cost as far as the Arkansas River then turned miles of canal needed to be built, but the Shrine of the Little Flower Parish in up this country. ting turned around in the Holland was, but I only paid sixteen dollars. around and returned. Robert de La Salle much dredging and straightening of the Royal Oak. His knowledge and stand Kenneth C. Jaeger Harbor. Once we cleared the pier Michigan History Magazine is one of is credited with going all the way down Maple and Bad Rivers would also have on social justice and gift of public Detroit heads, the ship angled out into Lake the few magazines I still subscribe to the Mississippi in 1682. been required. Actual digging com- speaking brought him international Michigan, and when we were about and it is my favorite. Thanks for your Gary L. Herbert menced early in 1838 in what is now recognition. He was responsible for five miles out, headed due north. That good magazine. Plainwell Branch Township, Saginaw County. Royal Oak getting a post office, so great Let’s Hear From You! is when the sun broke out for the day. Noralee Baird Eno Only about a mile of earthworks and a was the flow of mail to the shrine. He You’re the best part of Michigan History Maga- The ship continued north to Muskegon Grand Rapids Your printer made a horrible mistake few structures were completed before waived tuition fees for shrine schools zine and we welcome your letters. Write us at and entered the harbor. There it turned and included pages from some Miss- the state became financially embar- for families who could not afford them. Editor, Michigan History Magazine, 717 West around in view of the Milwaukee Your article in the January/February issippi River travel magazine in your rassed in the Panic of 1838 and funding He left a monument to God and St. Allegan, Lansing, MI 48918-1805. E-mail address: Clipper, another fine ship. After leav- 1997 issue on the South American January/February 1997 edition (pages for the project was cut off. Interest in Therese of the Little Flower of Lisieux [email protected].

4 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 5 HISTORY HAPPENINGS

Michigan History Museum Seeks Lansing Artifacts Antique Autos Return The Michigan Historical Museum, in Opera House and posters and equip- the midst of planning and constructing ment from Leadley’s Park (present- its newest special exhibit, Lansing day Waverly Park). 1897, scheduled to open in June 1997, • Parlor, kitchen, dining room and bed- needs help in locating artifacts made or room furnishings (ordinary or elabo- used in Lansing from 1892 to 1902. If rate) from the Barnes/Olds and you have any of the artifacts listed Lansing households of the 1890s. below and are willing to donate or lend • Furnishings, school equipment and them to the museum, contact the printed materials from the Industrial Collections Unit at (517) 335-0044 or School for Boys and the Michigan (517) 373-1559. School for the Blind. • Bicycles and bicycle advertisements, • Bement Company stove, bobsled or repair kits and accessories from 1897, plow and packaging or equipment from products, equipment and advertise- the Genesee Fruit Company, Kneeland ments from Lansing Wagon Works, or other creamery, the Lansing Con- ecretary of State Candice S. Miller and a crowd Lansing Wheel Company and Lansing fectionary Company and the Michigan Sof well-wishers welcomed back three recently Wheelbarrow Company. Condensed Milk Company. restored automobiles to their permanent home at the • Station signs of Lansing or North • Baking or candy-making equipment; Carrel Cowan-Ricks Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing. A 1925 Flint Lansing, railroad or street railway and dentist’s, druggist’s and jeweler’s 1945-1997 and two 1914 Ford Model Ts will be placed on train schedules. implements and equipment; letter- exhibit in the Michigan in the Twentieth Century • A 1897 Oracle (the Lansing High heads; sales bills; store signs; a cigar- exhibit galleries. School yearbook) and the Michigan store Indian; and central telephone arrel Cowan-Ricks joined the Michigan State Historic Square African Burial Ground in New York City and the The maroon Flint, with its creme pinstriped Agricultural College yearbook, event switchboard and telephone bills, Preservation Office in 1994. As a historian on the des- National Park Service’s African Burial Ground Scientific, wheels, will be situated in the auto-dealer showroom programs, diploma and text and course directories and signs. Cignation team, she prepared national and state register Educational and Interpretive Advisors. At the State Historic that makes up part of the 1920s street scene. The materials (especially chemistry, the • Fire department items such as a call nominations and wrote historical marker texts. On 11 January Preservation Office Carrel devised inventory forms to collect two Model Ts will become part of the assembly-line women’s course and agriculture). box, fireman’s badge, fire coat and 1997 Carrel died of complications related to lupus. information on historic cemeteries. scene that illustrates the evolution of the modern- • Bicycle clothing (especially a woman’s hat, ladder, horse harness, hoses and In preparing nominations, Carrel conducted historical Carrel’s active career as an archaeologist was recognized day automotive assembly-line process envisioned divided skirt, or bloomers) and vari- hose nozzles. research, described the physical appearance of properties and with her appointment to the National Park System History Area by Henry Ford and his associates. One of these cars ous sports uniforms. • Religious ceremony items such as wrote statements of historical significance. She was a thor- Advisory Board and with her election as president of the represents a completed vehicle that has been used • Band uniforms and instruments, from weddings, funerals and confir- ough researcher and capably guided the research of appli- Michigan Archaeological Society. Her involvement in many and operated for over eighty years. The other has posters and programs from Baird’s mations; furnishings or regalia from cants engaged in the process of completing nomination mate- organizations included the American Anthropological Asso- been restored to its assembly-line appearance, with rials for their properties. Her friendly and helpful manner ciation’s Association of Black Anthropologists and the Council the body separated from the chassis. endeared her to those with whom she worked. Her marvelous of South Carolina Professional Archaeologists. Produced by Durant Motors between 1923 and organizational skills made the work of her colleagues and the Carrel was a doctoral candidate in anthropology and histo- 1927, the Flint represents one of the long-forgotten MICHIGAN HISTORICAL MUSEUM SYSTEM EVENTS members of the State Historic Preservation Review Board eas- ry at Wayne State University where she earned her bachelor’s nameplates of past Michigan car companies. MARCH ier. Carrel took special joy in dedicating several historical and master’s degrees. Born and raised in Lansing, Carrel “Probably fewer than a hundred Flints survive today,” March 22. Life on the Land: Michigan Agriculture Heritage Day, Michigan Historical markers. We remember, in particular, the pleasure she derived attended Saint Mary’s Cathedral High School. said Jeff Gillis of the Durant Family Registry, an Museum, Lansing, (517) 373-3559 from celebrating with former president Gerald Ford, Governor Before joining the staff at the State Historic Preservation organization of Durant-affiliated car collectors. APRIL John Engler, Secretary of State Candice Miller, Michigan Office, Carrel taught archaeology and anthropology at After creating and then losing General Motors, April 19. Forestry Day, Michigan Historical Museum, Lansing, (517) 373-3559 Historical Commissioners and local officials the dedication of Clemson University, Wayne State University and the University William C. Durant formed Durant Motors in late the Gerald R. Ford Jr. Boyhood Home marker. of Toledo. Previously she managed a contract archaeological 1920—his last automotive empire. The Flint was one MAY In her work with the preservation office she collaborated firm in New Mexico and helped coordinate the African of various Durant-made cars popular during the mid- May 1-31. Archaeology in the Park, Hartwick Pines Lumbering Museum, Grayling, with the Detroit Heritage and Community Development Forum American Family Life History and Culture project at the Henry 1920s. Donated by Nathan Spector in 1990, the Flint (517) 348-7068 in organizing the Michigan African American Symposium’s two Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. was partially restored to its original appearance by May 13 and 14. Planning an Herb Garden program, Mann House, Concord, (517) 524-8943 community preservation conferences in Detroit; she was also Carrel is remembered for her intelligence, unique sense of Dave Griffioen of Kalamazoo. The Michigan May 17. a moderator and speaker at both events. She assisted the humor and courage despite her illness. Her sharp wit, outgo- Historical Center Foundation purchased the black- Geology of the Petroglyphs, Sanilac Petroglyphs, Bad Axe, (517) 373-3559 Michigan Black History Network with organizational issues and ing personality and friendly spirit were among the many assets painted Model Ts from William Powell of Union, New May 18. Open House, Michigan Iron Industry Museum, Negaunee, (906) 475-7857 encouraged others to participate in activities related to their she brought to her work. Her friends and colleagues will miss Jersey, and Clifford Phipps of Bloomington, heritage. greatly her helpful, cheery presence. Minnesota, earlier this year. Bill Barth of Davison, The Michigan Historical Museum System is part of the Michigan Historical Center. Carrel was particularly interested in African American Michigan, restored the Model Ts. Some of the above events require preregistration. For more information, call (517) 373-3559. cemeteries and burial practices, and assisted both the Foley Kathryn Bishop Eckert

6 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 7 DATEBOOK FROM THE CCENTER

Masonic Hall or other lodges; hym- Working for the Taxpayer Michigan proved that the bonds submitted had already been nals, prayer books, pews and lecterns March paid off and so the claims were disallowed. from downtown churches. In another case, about nine years ago, one man submitted Decisions on which artifacts to March 13. “The Life and Times of the War of 1812” Lecture, Taylor Historical Society, to the state for redemption a Michigan revenue bond of a large Taylor, (313) 291-9594 denomination and some antiquity. The principal and com- accept are made by the Museum March 15 and 16. Twenty-first Annual Kalamazoo Antique Arms and Pioneer Crafts pound interest allegedly due this person was $20 million, a Collections Committee and are based Show, Yankee Doodle Muzzle Loaders, Kalamazoo, (616) 327-4557 sum equal to the total amount received by the State Archives on a review of the object and its history. March 22. Fifth Annual Quilt Exhibit and Craft Fair, First Presbyterian Church of Marshall, during its eighty-year history. Fortunately, for taxpayers, after Please do not send objects to the Marshall, (616) 781-5161 viewing records in the State Archives, the Ingham County museum until you have contacted the March 22. Guest Lecture Presentation on the Belle Shipwreck off the Texas Coast at Circuit Court ruled that the bond in question had never been collections staff. Michigan Historical Center (co-sponsors Michigan Maritime Museum and Western Michigan University’s Department of History), Lansing, (800) 747-3810 issued and was thus invalid. During the past few years, as land was being purchased for The State Archives of Michigan

Annual Michigan April T the U.S. 27 bypass of St. Johns, the Michigan Department of

helped build the U.S. 27 bypass. O D

Preservation Conference M Transportation (MDOT) was unable to get clear deed on one April 2. “Rumrunning and the Roaring Twenties” Public Lecture Series, Dearborn particular parcel of land. Unless this problem could be solved Historical Museum, McFadden-Ross House, Dearborn, (313) 565-3000 s state government seeks to increase its efficiency, the The Michigan Historic Preservation and an uninterrupted title history of the real estate established, April 6. Genealogy and History Book Fair, Mid-Michigan Antiquarian Book Dealers State Archives of Michigan has no trouble justifying its Network’s seventeenth annual preser- MDOT and Michigan taxpayers stood to lose about five hun- Association, Lansing Center, Lansing, (517) 332-0123 Aexistence. For example, during the twenty-three years vation conference, “We Did It. So Can dred thousand dollars. In desperation MDOT investigators vis- April 11 and 12. Michigan in Perspective, Thirty-ninth Annual Local History Conference, that I have been with the archives, three people have brought You: The Best of Preservation in McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, (313) 577-4003 ited the State Archives, and there they found the missing doc- in Michigan Civil War bonds with the redemption coupons still Michigan” will convene on 11 and 12 April 22. Michigan Centennial Farm Association’s Annual Meeting and Luncheon, ument that quieted any legal concerns about title to the tract. attached. In each case, principal and compound interest since April 1997 in Bay City at the nine- Holiday Inn West, Lansing, (517) 649-8901. 1861 came to about $1 million. Also in every instance, by rely- LeRoy Barnett teenth-century Scottish Rite Cathedral May ing upon records in the possession of the archives, the state of State Archives of Michigan in the heart of the Center Avenue Historic District. The two-day program May 3-July 25. On the Road: Art and the Automobile Exhibit, Kresge Art Museum, will feature over fifty speakers from Michigan State University, East Lansing, (517) 355-7631 around Michigan in two concurrent May 4. Mendon Old Car “Dust Off,” Mendon Kiwanis Club and Three Rivers C.A.R. Club, Mendon High School, Mendon, (616) 496-5695 tracks. Fees range from $40 to $110, Cultural Resources Management Plan Completed for Fayette Historic Townsite May 16 and 17. Twenty-third Annual Historic Homes Tour, Ionia County Historical and include discounts for students, Society, Ionia, (616) 527-4437 seniors, single-day and Upper Penin- he Fayette Historic Townsite is the most intact, post-Civil fed the American steel industry, and contained over sixty sula attendees. To receive a conference War-era, charcoal iron-smelting company town in the industrial, administrative, commercial and residential compo- brochure, contact the MHPN at PO Box of north Lansing, downtown, the Olds- Kellogg Warden House ($11,000): TUnited States. A Cultural Resource Management Plan to nents. Today the townsite retains the masonry walls of the fur- 398, Clarkston, MI 48347-0398, (810) mobile Park Development Area and Restoration of the interior walls and fin- guide stewardship of the townsite was recently completed under nace complex along with other elements associated with the 625-8181 or fax (810) 625-3010. several other historic commercial areas ishing, which will include repairing the direction of the Michigan Historical Center. Center funds iron-smelting operation. Sixteen additional buildings have sur- in the city of Lansing. These areas were damaged wall areas, windows and were matched with a grant from the Coastal Management vived, including the company office, the town hall, a hotel, the chosen because they are experiencing doors; repairing and sanding the wood Program administered by the Michigan Department of Environ- superintendent’s house and ten other houses. Museum exhibits State Historic Preservation depict the life and work of the nearly five hundred residents Office Issues Subgrants developmental pressures. floors and installing wood trim. Upon mental Quality’s Land and Water Management Division to Ypsilanti Masonic Temple ($19,800): restoring its interior, this Ann Arbor engage the professional services of SSOE, an architectural and that once lived in or near the town. The townsite was acquired by the state of Michigan and he State Historic Preservation Office Restoration of the facade of the house will become the Washtenaw engineering firm, and Quinn/Evans Architects, an architectural T became a state park in 1959. It is jointly administered by the (SHPO) of the Michigan Historical Ypsilanti Masonic Temple. The project County Historical Society’s museum. firm specializing in historic preservation, to prepare the plan. Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Center has selected subgrants for its fis- work will include the replacement of Ann Arbor Michigan Theater The plan outlines measures for regular maintenance, consis- tent interpretation and ordered preservation work at the site and Department of State’s Michigan Historical Center. The town- cal year 1997 federal historic preserva- entry doors and transom, entry lighting, ($18,000): An engineering study will site’s dramatic natural setting and its remarkably intact condi- tion funding. Following is a list of the window infill (with opaque safety glaz- be prepared for the installation of a new provides specific recommendations on issues such as barrier- free access and painting the weathered wood-sided structures. tion comprise a cultural resource without equal in the subgrants, which will begin this summer ing), repair of metal cornice and tuck- HVAC system. The current system is At Fayette, a preservation approach means keeping the original Midwest. The Cultural Resource Management Plan for the and be completed in 1998. Because of pointing of brick masonry, and original to the structure and is damag- materials in place wherever possible, respecting changes that Fayette Historic Townsite will assist both agencies in ensuring static funding, funding was limited to the refurbishment of limestone. The prop- ing the interior plaster. The structure have occurred over time, instead of restoring buildings or the that Fayette continues as a premier historic site and visitor des- Certified Local Government program. erty is used as a community-arts center. still operates today as a theater. landscape to a particular point in time, and reconstructing only tination into the twenty-first century. Application information for fiscal year Holland Cappon House Restora- those features that are essential to the sites interpretation. Brian Conway 1998 will be available in June; applica- tion ($12,000): Repair of the Waverly State Historic Preservation Office To list an upcoming or a past happening, write The Fayette Historic Townsite surrounds Snail Shell Harbor, tions are due 30 November 1997. stone foundation, which will include to Mary Jo Remensnyder, Michigan History formed by a small dolomite peninsula jutting into Lake Allegan Regent Theater ($9,000): the replacement of badly eroded stones Michigan’s Big Bay de Noc from the west side of the Upper Magazine, 717 West Allegan, Lansing, MI 48918, “From the Center” allows the Michigan Historical Center to regularly share details Stabilization of the exterior wall of the and reconstruction of the cellar win- or fax her at (517) 373-0851. Include the event Peninsula’s Garden Peninsula. The nearby dolomite cliffs, about special programs, new collections and historic discoveries. The center, a theater. The project work will include the dow opening and wells. The property name, date, time, location and costs. Submissions extensive hardwood forests and the protected harbor all con- part of the Michigan Department of State, is responsible for preserving, protect- application of a flexible finish that operates as a house museum in inter- must be received three months in advance of the tributed to the Jackson Iron Company’s decision to establish a ing and interpreting Michigan history. The center consists of five major sections: Michigan History Magazine, the Michigan Historical Museum System, the State matches the existing color of the structure. preting the life of one of the commu- issue in which events may appear. Due to space smelter at this site. In operation from 1867 until 1891, Fayette Archives of Michigan, the Office of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Lansing Survey ($15,600): Survey nity’s founding families. limitations, not all submissions will be used. became a leading producer of Michigan charcoal iron, which Preservation Office.

8 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 9 n dime theaters across the South, children sat mesmerized as Cowboy Bob Blake rode, Iroped and rousted range rustlers. Strains of his trademark “I’m a Happy Cowboy” song peppered his Wild West films and Cowboy Bob’s message to pint-sized moviegoers was always the same: no drinking, no cigarette smoking and no shooting, except in self-defense. It was a time when B-grade Westerns were the rage and singing cowboys Gene Autry and Roy Rogers carved names for themselves in the film industry. But the man who portrayed Bob Blake earned a place in the history books. Herbert Jeffries, nicknamed the Bronze Buckaroo, was the first—and only—African American to star in the singing cowboy flicks so popular in the 1930s. Sixty years have passed since the Detroit native jumped in the saddle and overcame the race barri- ers of the silver screen. They have been years

filled with projects and adventures. Just last year, d e t o n

Warner Western released Jeffries’ latest ten-song e s i w r e h compact disc of Western music entitled The t o

s s e l

Bronze Buckaroo (Rides Again). But the title is n u

s e i r f misleading. Tall-in-the-saddle Jeffries is making f e J

b r no comeback—he never left the spotlight. e H

y s e t r u o c

s o t

BY MARY A. DEMPSEY o h P

10 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 11 he man whose voice wowed dancing couples in Western Union telegram delivery. I was a page boy at WJR.” He adds that he Detroit ballrooms and drew crowds anxious to hear went to school “and didn’t think of being separate,” even though his skin was Thim croon with Earl “Fatha” Hines at Chicago’s darker than that of some of his classmates. Grand Terrace Nightclub more than half a century ago is Not only was he reared in a racial potpourri, but young Jeffries had still packing them in. At the Copper Mountain Resort exposure to both urban and rural life. He talks of visits from his father’s near Denver in 1995, the elegant octogenarian stole the family in Windsor and recalls how he frequently went to his grandpar- show, running through his four-and-a-half-octave ents’ Port Huron farm or his uncle’s dairy farm in Toledo. It was at range with a symphony backdrop before an audience those farms, at about age eight or nine, that he learned to ride horses, of fifteen thousand who had come to hear better- setting the stage for his later work as a movie cowboy. known, contemporary singers including Mary Films were but a small part of Jeffries’ legacy, which is predomi- Chapin Carpenter. “The former Duke Ellington nantly musical. In Detroit he started singing in cabarets and then Orchestra lead vocalist and the ‘30s Western found his name on the bill at the Graystone Ballroom and the movie hero sang with grace and power, draw- Arcadia Dance Hall, both on Woodward Avenue. He also crooned ing a roar of approval,” read the review in The on moonlight cruises at Put-in-Bay. Denver Post. His quintet of cowboy movies—only four of which were released—were just His cowboy calling came when he turned twenty-one. He one stop in the rich and expansive career headed west, although the Windy City was his immediate of Jeffries, who crossed the color barrier destination. Knowing Chicago would host the World’s Fair more than once and attributes his atti- in 1933, Jeffries hoped to tap into the plethora of music tudes about music, race and life to his jobs he expected would accompany the international early years in Detroit. “My mother fete. “I went to Chicago to spread my wings,” he says. was a dressmaker and she did the- And there Jeffries’ silky voice landed him work with atrical costumes. My father and Hines and a contract to accompany Hines’ orchestra uncle and aunt sang,” recalls on a national tour. Between 1933 and 1935, he trav- Jeffries, now eighty-five, but who eled around the country. “It was my passport to the could easily pass for twenty wor1d,” he says of the road work. It also opened years younger. his eyes to race. His parents met while his “When we went down South, that’s where I father, whom he describes first saw discriminatory theaters, including at as a mix of Ethiopian, the U.S. capital, where blacks sat in segre- Chippewa, Italian and Indian, gated balconies,” says a still-outraged was performing near Lake Huron. The Jeffries. “I was working with educated peo- singers stayed with local families and one, ple in Earl Hines’ group—college educa- Howard Jeffries, found himself in the home of the tions. People wanted their autographs but woman he would eventually marry and move with to Detroit. they couldn’t stay in the same hotels as Jeffries says his Irish-American mother, Mildred, “an O’Dell from them. I wanted to revolt against that.” Port Huron,” nurtured a family that ignored racial taboos. He talks of being He talks of the blacks he saw flocking to raised in a cultural melting pot. “In Detroit, in my neighborhood, we had neighbors who segregated theaters to watch white cowboy movies, were Jewish and who were Polish. We lived around Watson and St. Antoine,” he says, recall- the so-called Sunday matinee “horse operas” in vogue at the ing the downtown streets of his youth. “We shared our cultures. We shared food over the back time. “I said, ‘Wait a minute. Blacks helped pioneer the West.’” Jeffries spent nearly a year fence. Our Jewish neighbors would share gefilte fish. Our Italian neighbors would bring us Right he was. seeking financial backing for leftovers of Italian food.” “I’ve seen estimates that as many as one-third of the cowboys had black ances- his Westerns with an all-black Unlike the throngs of blacks that migrated to Detroit from the South about the time Jeffries try,” says Deborah Tucker, an expert on the historical links between Native Americans and cast. In 1936 producer Jed was born, his father’s family came from Canada. As a result, much of Jeffries’ education about blacks in the United States. “After the Civil War, black soldiers couldn’t go back to the planta- Buell finally agreed to help racial divisions did not begin until he traveled beyond Michigan’s borders. tion—they didn’t have anything to go back to.” Tucker, a multicultural librarian at Wayne him and the Bronze Buckaroo Although he has not been to Michigan “since I buried my aunt Agnes Swan—the last of my State University’s Purdy Library, claims before emancipation the western frontier offered was born. immediate family—eighteen years ago,” he speaks fondly of the Motor City, where he opportunities for escaped and freed slaves. And, like many others who joined the westward attended St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church at East Elizabeth and St. Antoine Streets and began movement, they were lured by adventure. Today, one of those black cowboys, Bill Pickett, is singing in the choir when he was about twelve. Little did he suspect those adolescent vocal featured on a U.S. postage stamp. chords would evolve into a velvety baritone that put him in the spotlight at top nightclubs in This slice of history has been poorly documented, Tucker notes, in part because cowhands Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and even Paris. did not keep written records of their experiences and there were few people documenting the Jeffries says he “did the things that kids did in those days” in the dynamic automotive city migration of blacks. However, she adds, the chapter that black cowboys added to the annals of that at the time boasted a population close to two million. “I sold newspapers. I worked doing the U.S. frontier “is not just black history. This is American history. It’s all of our history.”

12 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 13 a Western musical featuring a cast of all little people. Although that sagebrush saga was panned by critics, it earned Buell some notoriety. Jeffries explained his plan of a Western with an all-black cast led by a singing star who could ride and rope. But Buell’s response was not encouraging. “I don’t think the black theatergoers will buy it,” he replied. However, the tenacious Detroiter refused to give up. Jeffries pressed until Buell agreed to bounce the idea off a Dallas film distributor. “I’ll take all you have,” the distributor responded. Jeffries had not planned to star in the films, “but we had trouble finding African Americans who could ride, sing and act. We tested ten or twelve and none could do all three. But I could.” Although he had picked up equestrian skills at his grandfather’s farm, Jeffries spent three months at a ranch learning how to twirl a rope, round up and brand cattle, vault from a horse and then jump back into the saddle. He lured comedian Spencer Williams, who later starred as Andy of television’s Amos ‘n Andy, to join the film as his costar. Jeffries roped in the rest of the cast from the small pool of black actors then working in Tarzan pictures. “I had a vision and we did whatever it took for that vision to happen. Sometimes we worked fourteen hours a day. Horses stepped on my foot. I fell off the horse. Sometimes I was so tired and sore that I couldn’t get my leg over the horse, so I’d jump from an apple box,” recalls Jeffries. “We used the same singing cowboy formula as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, but we had our own approach. For example, we didn’t trip our horses so they fell down like Rogers did.”

Working with a budget of less than eighty thousand dollars, Jeffries not only starred as Bob Blake “the guy who came to the rescue,” but he wrote and sang the songs, edited the film and performed his own stunts. “I was a fearless character,” he explains. “Besides, we couldn’t afford a double. ” For six days at N. B. Murray’s Dude Ranch, a California venue frequented by African American entertainers and athletes, the six-foot-plus singer became a movie star, filming his dream. Before the end of 1936 Harlem on the Prairie debuted at the Rialto Theater on Broadway in New York City—and Jeffries signed for three more Westerns. Two Gun Man from Harlem and Harlem Rides the Range were both released in 1937 and the blues-style music that characterized the first movie took on a During a visit home to Detroit Jeffries says the turning point for him came during a road trip to Cincinnati. “There was a more Western touch with songs like “Git Along Mule,” “The in 1939, Jeffries was surprised bunch of little children running down the street. A little black boy was with them, crying,” Cowpoke’s Life Is the Only Life for Me” and “Almost Time for with a contract offer to sing Jeffries recalls. “He said they wouldn’t let him play cowboy. He wanted to be [movie cowboy] Roundup.” The Bronze Buckaroo was released in 1938. with Duke Ellington and his Buck Jones and they wouldn’t let him. In the real West, one of every four cowboys was “We were playing all over the South,” Jeffries says of the band. Today, the eighty-five- black.” movies that were usually filmed within a week. “I was like the Pied year-old crooner (opposite) Ironically, when Buck Jones met Jeffries, he tried to talk him into a wild plan in which Piper at personal appearances. I had a Cadillac with steer horns up still enchants fans with his Jeffries would move to South America, learn Spanish, return with a new name and non-black front and my name in gold rope on the side and after the picture I’d rich baritone. identity and make his Western debut as Jones’ discovery. Jeffries says he was briefly tempted do rope tricks, spin my gun and sing songs from the movie. “because by then I’d learned how things are stacked against” African Americans. But he Wherever I went, kids would follow me down the street—not only turned down the popular Western star of silent films and early talkies. black kids but white kids, too, which was unusual to see down South. They’d seen cowboys before but not movie cowboys.” The movies might have made Jeffries a celebrity, but they Instead, Jeffries, who in 1995 narrated the PBS special California Gold and appeared in the never made him rich. A fifth film, Ten Notches to Tombstone, TBS three-part documentary, The Untold West, on the legacy of black cowboys on the was never completed. It was 1939 and music beckoned again. American frontier, decided it was time to give the country a history lesson. “In 1936 I came to During a return to his hometown, Jeffries dropped by the California to make the first all-black cowboy movie. I wanted to be in cowboy pictures. I Graystone to catch a performance of Duke Ellington’s orchestra. didn’t care whether I was a star, I just wanted to be part of the technology of making them Ellington, a man the Bronze Buckaroo calls “the Mozart of our happen,” he says. time,” surprised him with a contract offer. With that famous band Jeffries spent nearly a year courting black millionaires, mostly kingpins in the urban num- as his backup, the Detroiter in 1941 recorded “Flamingo.” The bers games, but found no one willing to back his Hollywood dream. Then one day he turned song propelled him near the top of the jazz world’s lineup and up at the office of Jed Buell, a producer who two years later released The Terror of Tiny Town, sold some 14 million copies.

14 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 15 Soon Jeffries left Ellington to set off on his own. His solo act didn’t nab the attention he Jeffries’ Bob Blake cowboy movies, which for a long time disappeared, resurfaced in the had envisioned and his career began to waver. Then Pearl Harbor was bombed and Jeffries booty now known by film buffs as the Tyler Collection. For decades there were no known enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces. By the time the war ended, there were fewer segregated copies of Harlem on the Prairie and its successors. However, the serendipitous discovery of theaters, the audience for black Westerns had waned and some of the hottest jazz nightclubs film cans in a collapsed cellar near Dallas led to the re-release on video of the Bronze were in Europe. The man who had won the hearts of music fans in one country set out to win Buckaroo flicks. Fragments of the films appeared in Mario Van Peebles’ movie, Posse, in those in another. 1993. “Europeans didn’t discriminate as long as you had something to offer,” he says of the Jeffries is proud of the Hollywood race barriers he broke with his Westerns. “I feel like my decade he spent singing in France. “A lot of Afro-American expatriates went to escape the stu- little grain of sand has made the beach better,” he says. “All I ever wanted out of this was to pid hatred [of racism].” look up at the screen and see an actor like Denzel Washington. With him you have the ulti- In Paris and on France’s Mediterranean coast, Jeffries crossed paths with Josephine mate: a man like Denzel Washington doesn’t play a black man, he plays a man. I’ve seen him Baker, clarinetist Sidney Bechet and other Americans whose names jam the jazz annals. He and now I’m satisfied.” packed in audiences and was in such demand on the Cote d’Azur that he split his time among During the early 1960s Jeffries became involved in Eastern studies, spending time in India. three Riviera clubs, including the chic Carroll’s Beach Bar near Eden Roc. Eventually, Jeffries Even now, he occasionally teaches yoga and “cosmic and human engineering” classes. He opened his own nightclub named for the song that clinched his career—Flamingo. appeared in the movie The Hit Man with Jack Palance. Life magazine sent writer Richard L. Williams to Paris to find Jeffries. The singer was fea- He is also active in a Los Angeles Opera effort to get tured in a September 1953 article entitled “He Wouldn’t Cross the Line,” detailing the blue-eyed more African Americans interested in classical music and man’s refusal to “pass” as white. The lengthy article gave a peek at a opera fundraising. And Europe still enters the picture talented performer who was frequently mistaken as Italian, Jewish, from time to time. In 1995 he spent two months in Mexican or Spanish, and his gentle and educated responses to the racial England, singing at the Soho Jazz Festival. Jeffries, who barriers that made him a star everywhere but in his home country. says there will be no retirement “as long as I can walk and talk and sing,” also has a long “to do” list, which includes finishing his memoirs and recording a tribute to Jeffries’ first Flamingo Club was a small, smoky jazz bar with about Duke Ellington. a hundred seats. Its popularity allowed him to move to a venue three times the size; eventually, he opened a Riviera branch in Cap d’Antibes between Nice and Cannes. “We’d go to the south of France for four But most of Jeffries’ latest adventures involve an eclec- months each year. I had good French musicians mixed with American tic mix of children’s storybook tapes, symphony perfor- musicians and I ran the club, performed, was chief bottle washer, jani- mances and Western music. With the collaboration of his tor and host,” he says with a laugh. “When you can see your name on a manager, Johnny Holiday, whom Jeffries describes as his marquee, it doesn’t mean you’re successful. But what really makes you closest friend and partner for forty-five years, the Impac levitate is when you walk down a street in a place like Paris and little recording label got off the ground. The firm is working children, both black and white, know who you are.” on a series of dramatized audiotapes for children. The The Life article sparked renewed stateside interest in Jeffries and tapes—some completed, some still in the planning

y he received invitations to play at renowned clubs like the Macambo stage—include fairy tales, biographies and literary e s p in New York. For the next six years he shuttled between Europe and classics. m e D

. the United States, playing clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. That’s The interest in children’s entertainment is not new. A

y

r The self-described “new kid in a when Marion Crawford recalls seeing him perform in Detroit. “He One of Jeffries’ more whimsical gigs was a stint as the voice of a cartoon character four M had a debonair air. He would sing things like ‘Sophisticated Lady’ decades ago in the children’s TV show Patty the Pelican. One of the talking-book series opens Western music” wrote several Jeffries insists he will not and the Duke Ellington stuff,” she says. “He came here now and again and papers like the in the ranch bunkhouse with the Bronze Buckaroo introducing the tape’s tale. of the songs featured on his retire from show business “as Michigan Chronicle and the Detroit Tribune used to cover his performances.” Jeffries hasn’t stopped performing before audiences. He eschews the club scene because compact disc, The Bronze long as I can walk and talk Crawford, now a retired Wayne County medical secretary, used to work as a road manager “the capacity of a club is so small, they don’t pay well, I have to breathe in cigarette smoke Buckaroo (Rides Again). and sing.” in the music industry. An avid fan of Jeffries, she booked a cruise on the SS Norway in 1994 and a lot of people come to be seen—not to listen.” But he sings and records with several when she discovered he was on the list of performers. “His voice is better than ever. He was a California orchestras, including La Mirada symphony, and he has performed with the smash on that Norway cruise,” she says. “Anytime they mentioned he was appearing in one of Sagebrush Symphony in San Antonio. He sings classical, Gershwin, jazz and Western music. the rooms, it was packed. And no one believed that he was eighty-three years old!” The latter, which he clarifies is not “country music,” brings his movie days full circle. For Offers like the one that took Jeffries to Detroit in the 1950s kept coming and, at the insis- his The Bronze Buckaroo (Rides Again) recording in Nashville, he wrote “Lonesome Rider tence of the woman who was then his wife, the singer moved back to the States in time for Blues” and “Down Home Cowboy,” but the compact disc also contains his “I’m a Happy Christmas in 1959. He settled in Los Angeles, playing the night-club circuit and eventually Cowboy” movie theme song and a duo with Western singing sensation Michael Martin opening another Flamingo Club. Murphey on “Pay Day Blues” from Harlem Rides the Range. “To say I was the first black Today, music still dominates his life, which has been interwoven with five marriages and singing cowboy on the face of this earth is a great satisfaction. But that’s history,” says an equal number of children, including a son he fathered in his seventies while married to a Jeffries. “Today, I’m the new kid in Western music.” I woman fifty years his junior. Although none of his offspring turned to music as a profession, his oldest son, “Robert Andrew, has a marvelous voice and we’re now talking about a record Mary Dempsey is a regular contributor to Michigan History Magazine. She is currently assistant city editor at the San ‘Like Father, Like Son.’” Juan Star in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

16 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 17 VAN RAALTE’S SETTLEMENT AT 150

ITWASDARK WHEN THE SEVEN COLD AND WEARY TRAVELERS ARRIVED AT THE OLD WING MISSION NEAR BLACK LAKE. THESE FUGITIVES FROM RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AND ECONOMIC DISTRESS HAD TRAVELED BY HERO BRATT WITH DOMINIE VAN RAALTE BY OX-DRAWN & PAUL TRAP SLED TWENTY-FOUR MILES FROM ALLEGAN. THE r

ARRIVAL OF THESE NETHERLANDERS ON 9 FEBRUARY e n n e r B

1847 MARKED THE SETTLEMENT OF THE KOLONIE AT e n i a u The imported peppermints cascading from one HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, 150 YEARS AGO. D of the wooden shoes are embossed with a like- ness of the Netherlands’ Queen Wilhelmina.

18 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 19 he Netherlands, with its long history of tolerance, Church). Van Raalte joined the secessionists and served a num- it is recommended to the Van Raalte had not waited for a response to his letter. On T hardly seems the place one would flee to avoid reli- ber of seceding congregations before accepting a call to Committee taking care 24 September 1846 he left Arnhem, leading a party of fifty-six gious persecution. Yet for a short period after the Arnhem in 1840. of the acceptance, help souls. On 2 October they boarded the Southerner. The dom- French Revolution, religious dissent was punished. In 1815, Following the secession, persecution and harassment began and sending of emi- inie and his family stayed in a cabin while the remainder following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the Prince of Orange almost immediately. It was illegal for more than twenty people grants, to find such ‘salt- of the party traveled below deck. When the South- returned from exile in England to to meet together for any unauthor- ing’ elements for the erner arrived in New York, the fifty-four poorly rule as William I. The new king ized service. When secessionists colony as are necessary prepared Dutch (two had died during the forty- was both well meaning and obsti- met in homes and barns, their meet- to insure a Christian seven-day voyage) were met by Thomas De nate. A year after taking the throne, ings were broken up by the author- majority.” Witt, pastor of the Collegiate Church, a he issued an ecclesiastical constitu- ities and neighbors who resented The society determined Reformed congregation. De Witt had tion designating the Hervormde nonconformists. The pastors were who settled in the colony, been in the Netherlands earlier in the Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) a fined and, when they refused to or Kolonie, by maintain- year and was aware of the state-supported institution. Follow- pay, jailed. Van Raalte spent three ing control of land distri- seceders’ struggles. The immi- ing the ideals of the Enlighten- months in jail. The followers were bution. Money would be collected from donors and those grants were warmly received ment, the Hervormde Kerk no forced to quarter soldiers in their interested in settlement. Land would then be purchased in large and helped aboard a steamboat longer insisted on the old confes- homes, were frequently fired from blocks and distributed to the faithful; others would be excluded that carried them to Albany. sional standards. Instead, it taught their jobs and were denied any gov- by denying them the opportunity to buy this land. From the There Wyckoff greeted the little that Jesus Christ was an ethical ernmental benefits. Harassment beginning it was the society’s goal to help the deserving poor band and encouraged these pioneers teacher who preached that man- failed to destroy the movement, of the congregations by advancing money for passage, which to travel to the Midwest. He suggested they settle in kind could become righteous by and the steadfast faith of the perse- they would repay with twenty percent of their earnings. Wisconsin, where a number of Hollanders already lived. following higher moral principles. cuted attracted converts. Van Raalte’s vision was even more expansive. He saw the After a short stay in New York’s capital, the party boarded These ideas clashed with the fun- By the mid-1840s persecution formation of a central town (de stad) and as new groups of set- a train for Buffalo. Although impressed with the Hudson River damental Reformed idea of a fallen had eased though religious fervor tlers arrived, they would form new communities. Each would steamboats, Van Raalte had little good to say about American humanity that could do good only remained, but that was not the only have its own church and school, but the towns would be linked railroads. Everything was cheaply built and the railbed had no t through God’s grace. s factor motivating migration. The economically and socially to the central town. This expansive protection. The ride was rough and long due to delays caused u r T

l

In 1834 a revival movement a Netherlands, once a great commer- Kolonie would help the immigrants maintain their Dutch her- by rain. Rain even leaked into the cars. Reaching Buffalo, they c i r o among the plain folk of the country- t cial nation, had fallen behind itage and Reformed traditions. were anxious to leave quickly, hoping to reach Wisconsin s i H

side and small towns led to the d England, the world’s In June 1846, two months after the society was before the Great Lakes froze. Storms on Lake Erie delayed n a l l Afgescheiden, a movement calling o new industrial leader, approved, Van Raalte wrote the letter “To the them, prompting some members of the party to find jobs in H for a return to the teachings of the creating fewer Faithful in the United States of America” and Buffalo where they remained until spring. On 27 November, Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons opportunities for the working class. In 1830 sent it to the Dutch churches in New York. the reduced party boarded Eber B. Ward’s Great Western and of Dort. These pious poor also objected to the use of hymns, for Catholics in the southern provinces revolted Fortunately, the letter ended up in the hands steamed toward Detroit. they thought that only the Psalms, inspired by God, against the king. When attempts to suppress of Reverend Isaac N. Wyckoff in Albany. During the three-day journey, Van Raalte wrote could be used in worship. One of the members of the revolt failed, Belgium won its indepen- Touched by Van Raalte’s description of Brummelkamp a letter, recording his early impressions of this movement was Albertus dence. The revolution was costly and the poor conditions in the Netherlands and his plain- Americans. He was dismayed at the number of predatory Christiaan Van Raalte. Born were heavily taxed. Then came the final blow. tive plea for help, Wyckoff had the letter scoundrels who tried to take advantage of the immigrants on 17 October 1811 in The potato famine generally associated with translated and printed in the Christian struggling with a strange tongue in both New York and Wannepervaen in the Ireland, struck the Netherlands and Germany Intelligencer, the paper of the Reformed Buffalo. On board he was struck by how fast Americans ate, province of Overisel, particularly hard in 1845 and 1846. The potato Protestant Dutch Church in America. Following that meat was served at every meal and how few vegetables Van Raalte studied for was the food of the poor and the failure of the its publication, Wyckoff helped organize the were eaten. No deference was given because of social class, the ministry at the potato crop threatened the lower classes with Protestant Evangelical Holland Emigrant Society and people paid little atten- University of Leyden. starvation. in Albany to provide aid to the anticipated immi- tion to how well others He planned to become Letters from successful Dutch immigrants in grants. A similar group was founded in New York were dressed. Anyone a clergyman like his America stirred the masses. Secessionist church leaders, City. He wrote Van Raalte, urging him to send three individuals who could pay his way father. Because he had including Van Raalte, were at first reluctant to abandon their ahead to search for a suitable site in the Midwest. was equal. People joined the Scholte Club at the homeland. But as dreams for a new beginning grew among the were hospitable, but Van university, which had challenged the parishioners, many began leaving on their own. In April 1846 Albertus Van Raalte’s likeness was captured in an 1856 portrait (oppo- Raalte heard few compli- state church, he was declared unfit for Van Raalte and his brother-in-law, fellow secessionist site) painted by Marius Harting, an obscure Grand Rapids artist. Other ments. He also noted the pulpit and denied ordination. When Reverend Antonie Brummelkamp, met with the congregation items important to the dominie included his pocket watch (opposite with interest the number Dominie Hendrik DeCock, leader of the in Arnhem to organize a mass movement to America. The con- left), his trunk (above), a cradle used by his infant daughter, Christine of individuals who read Afgescheiden, was removed from the pul- stitution, Foundations of the Society of Christians for the (top left), and his letter seal and pipe tool bearing the letters AVR (top newspapers. pit, his followers held a secret meeting of pas- Emigration of Hollanders to the United States of North right). The photo at right shows Van Raalte’s top hat, teakettle, pocket At Detroit, Van tors and elders in 1836. They seceded from the Hervormde Kerk America, clearly defined their intentions and designs. “The watch, a Dutch dust pan and spice box. In front lies a candle snuffer. Raalte’s party learned and formed the Gereformeerde Kerk (the “true” Reformed first mission is to create a colony that is Christian. Therefore Photos Joe Lefever, Holland Museum, unless otherwise noted. that since it was so late in

20 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 21 the season, the Great Lakes were freezing, and no boats would available for reasonable prices. As 1846 drew to a close, Allegan where Van Raalte and Kellogg waited. They arrived Rusk. leave for Milwaukee until spring. Traveling by land was too Kellogg led Van Raalte on an exhausting eleven-day trek on Saturday, rested on the Sabbath, then met on Monday to These Hollanders had a difficult first few years. By August, expensive since the railroads did not extend beyond through deep snow, examining sites in Kent, Allegan and discuss their course of action. The women and children fifteen hundred Dutch had migrated to the area. Those who Kalamazoo. Van Raalte found rooms for his family, but the Ottawa Counties. As soon as he saw it, Van Raalte was con- remained in Allegan while five men—Evert Zagers, Egbert arrived expected to move into established communities with poor Dutchmen traveling with him were divided. Some found vinced that the east end of Black Lake (present-day Lake Frederiks, Hermanus Lankheet, Jan Laarman and Willem streets, stores, houses and parks. What they found were a few shelter in a Detroit warehouse; ten families accepted E. B. Macatawa) was the ideal location for his Kolonie. The lake Notting, whose wife accompanied them as cook—traveled primitive shelters already filled to capacity. For months new- Ward’s offer to work on a steamboat he was building at St. emptied into Lake Michigan so it would make a good harbor. with Van Raalte to Holland to construct shelters for the fami- comers lived in blanket-draped hemlock bowers similar to Clair, in exchange for room and board. Since these Dutch He was not a farmer but thought the sandy soil was similar to lies. After traveling by an ox-drawn sleigh over a primitive Indian wigwams. The unusually cold, wet summer and Van immigrants had few skills and didn’t understand English, they his homeland. The forest would be easy to clear and the wood road blazed through the forest, they arrived at Smith’s Old Raalte’s lack of insight in choosing his site exposed the resi- were assigned the most menial tasks. would be useful for construction and fuel. Wing Mission late that night. Van Raalte stayed with Smith; dents to hordes of mosquitoes from the swamps and wetlands. At this time Detroit was the state capital. When state lead- The location was relatively isolated so the immigrants the others slept on the floor of Fairbanks’ cabin for the next Combined with the lack of adequate shelter, high losses from ers learned of Van Raalte’s plans to establish a Dutch colony, would not be disrupted by outsiders. But Grand Rapids, Grand two weeks. With the help of two hired American workmen, diseases were guaranteed. Hunger was common. Most of these they urged him to consider Michigan rather than continue on to Haven and Allegan were near enough to provide supplies. Only they cut a road northward from the mission until they reached immigrants were so poor that relief committees in New York Wisconsin. Michigan was anxious for settlers. The state’s three buildings stood in the area: the cabin of Isaac Fairbanks, the cedar swamps along the Black River. After raising a six- growth had been slowed by the financial fiasco created when the frame house of the Reverend George Smith and teen-by-thirty-foot cabin, they sent for their families. its internal-improvements plan collapsed. The state a mission church for the three hundred Ottawa who Six families crowded into that first shanty. A second shel- was discredited when it repudiated its bonds; with- lived in the nearby wigwam village called ter was begun for other families, expected soon. On March 10, out transportation, few people moved into the Ningwegah or Old Wing. Most of these Indians, led as the rest of Van Raalte’s original party still waited to come, interior. Ships sailing from Detroit through the by Chief Waukazoo, had been converted to fifteen others arrived and moved into the second cabin. They Straits often continued to the western side of Catholicism by French priests, but the U.S. govern- had left Rotterdam on October 13, arrived in New York on Lake Michigan since there were more settlements ment had sent Smith, a Congregational missionary, to December 21 and took the train to Buffalo. After walking all in Wisconsin and Illinois. assimilate the Ottawa while Fairbanks taught them to the way to Detroit, they traveled by train to Kalamazoo and on Van Raalte was both befriended and strongly influenced farm. The Indians had relinquished most of their to Holland. Upon learning that another party would arrive by Detroit attorney Theodore Romeyn, a descendent of lands by treaty and received a pension of about eight from St. Louis, the men tried to build a shelter at the mouth of early Dutch settlers in the East. He had ties to the dollars a year. They lived peacefully, trying to retain Black Lake. They gathered boards from the deserted townsite Reformed Church and spoke Dutch. Van Raalte was also their traditions and follow time-tested practices and of Superior and along the Lake Michigan shoreline, but the aided by the Reverend George Duffield of the generally ignoring Smith and Fairbanks’ efforts. work had to be abandoned for they had no nails. Presbyterian Church. Some of their arguments were legit- Once he had decided upon this site, Van Raalte Holland, the central town, was laid out and lots were being imate; others were balderdash. Michigan main- moved quickly. Traveling north he met with the sold, but those who arrived as intact congregations with their tained close ties with eastern markets that Reverend William Ferry, founder of Grand own dominie chose outlying sites. The best organized of these would strengthen as roads were developed Haven, then returned to Detroit with groups came from the Zeeland province, led by Dominie and railroads completed. On the other Judge Kellogg. A committee of seven Cornelius Van der Meulen and financially supported by hand, western trade would be tied to prominent Michiganians was formed, Jannes Van de Luyster, who had sold his farm to provide pas- the Mississippi River and New r who pledged themselves to aid sage for the group. Distressed by the conditions in Holland te e tr r

n e

Orleans, where slavery would be e Dutch immigrants moving west and hoping to maintain their independence, this party moved d s o n a

R l . l confronted. Western Wisconsin L and to help Van Raalte secure northeast to form a community named for their province. o

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e

g n o had few settlements, making R land. His funds had dwindled Maarten Anne Ypma, leading a congregation of Frisians, a m r e travel and trade difficult; east- to four hundred dollars, so established Vriesland. Calvinist secessionists from h S ern Wisconsin had a mixed pop- the committee bought land Germany—closely tied to the Dutch by geography, language ulation of immigrants that might from the state and federal gov- and tradition—formed Graafschap, south of Holland. By the paid for their transportation west. Many could not afford to be indifferent toward the religious ernments and held it in trust. end of 1847 there were also settlements at Drenthe by indi- have food brought in from surrounding communities. Even Netherlanders. Michigan, how- The four-foot-high copper rooster perched atop Holland’s Three thousand additional acres viduals from that province who sought better farmland than potatoes at one dollar a bushel were beyond their means. ever, was populated by old settlers first church served both as a weather vane and to desig- were obtained on credit from a Holland could offer. Jan Rabbers, one of those who had Eating parched corn, new to their digestive systems, only from the East who were more nate the church as Protestant. family in New York. By late walked from Buffalo, picked a site on Frenchman’s Creek to increased their suffering. Many immigrants died that first year scholarly, enterprising and reli- January, property was secured and build a mill. His town, Groningen, became best known as the and were buried in the woods until a cemetery was platted. gious. They would appreciate and respect Dutch immigrants. it was time to prepare a place for his flock and other immi- site of the first Veneklaasen brickworks. In 1845 Overisel was Building cabins proved difficult. Coming from settled Michigan’s forested lands would be inexpensive to farm and grants arriving in New York. formed by refugees from north Holland led by the Reverend country villages in the lowlands where few trees grew, the would provide more building materials than the prairie. The ten families living in St. Clair were contacted and told Seine Bolks, who first came to take the pulpit at Graafschap. Hollanders had no skills as woodsmen. When they first tried Michigan was healthier, for the southern Wisconsin climate they could be the first to move to the new site. Six pounced After examining the area, Bolks sought farmland with more to fell trees, they girdled the tree and hacked away indiscrim- was too hot for immigrating Hollanders. Van Raalte was con- upon the opportunity, gathered their goods and moved to clay for his parishioners. That year Noord Holland and inantly until the tree plunged to the ground. Often the falling vinced to at least explore sites in Michigan. Detroit. Aided by Romeyn, they boarded a Michigan Central Noordeloos were also settled. Gradually, Dutch communities trees injured the inept axmen or crushed the shelters they were The good dominie was introduced to Allegan judge John train and arrived in Kalamazoo on February 5. Members of dotting western Allegan and Ottawa Counties included constructing. The situation improved once hired American Kellogg, who jumped at the opportunity to show him potential the Presbyterian church sheltered them for the night and Ventura, Fijnaart (East Saugatuck), Zutphen, Bokulo workmen showed them how to clear the forest. sites in western Michigan where large tracts of land were still arranged for sleighs to transport them to Otsego and then to (Borculo), Crisp, Bentheim, Zoetermeer (Beaverdam) and Organizing work and assigning responsibilities also proved

22 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 23 difficult. The state formed a township when the Dutch were 1849, the Indians had their fill of the Dutch. They sold their Psalms were sung (no hymns until 1934). Peppermints Seminary opened in Holland to prepare ministers for the about to move into the area. Since they were not citizens and land claims to Van Raalte, gathered their dead and moved became an important part of worship because they served as a Reformed Church. didn’t understand the language, the Hollanders could not vote north, away from the intruders. diversion for the children, who sat through the entire service. While one of Van Raalte’s goals for the Kolonie was to pro- or participate in township government. At first everything fell Faith kept these pious Hollanders going during the hard The sermon lasted one and a half hours and always contained tect settlers from outside influences, he also hoped that they upon Van Raalte’s shoulders. As the burden grew, new arrivals early years. In Holland itself, the faithful gathered outside Van three points. At the start of the first and second points, the would learn to adapt to the political and economic realities of proved less likely to submit to his authoritarian decisions. Raalte’s cabin to worship during the spring and summer of young worshippers were given a peppermint. The third candy their new land. He studied English during the transatlantic Early in 1848 the men of the community met as the volksver- 1847. As fall approached it became obvious that a place of was greeted with delight because it meant the end was near. crossing and by the time he reached Buffalo, he knew enough gadering, an extralegal body. At these meetings, similar to the worship was needed. A large log chapel (thirty-five by sixty After the service the families enjoyed a picnic lunch outside to get by. The people remained dependent upon him because New England town meetings, decisions were made regarding feet) was built in what is now Pilgrim Home Cemetery. This before reentering the building for another service that focused they stubbornly resisted learning the language. Some parents community regulations, schooling, building roads and structure was used as a church and school for nine years. In on one of the fifty-two Lord’s Days of the Heidelberg sent their adolescent children to Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids bridges, as well as digging a channel. Every able-bodied man 1856 the congregation, then known simply as the People’s Catechism. where they worked for Americans and sent their earnings was expected to work on community improvements. A fore- Church, moved into a new Greek Revival building (now used Piety did not imply peacefulness. These Dutch dissenters home to support the family. While working as domestics, this man or contractor was selected who assigned workdays and by Pillar Christian Reformed Church). The sixteen-inch-square were stubborn. They had seceded once and would do so again. generation learned their employers’ language and customs. tasks. Those who shirked their duties were fined. The first timbers for the post-and-beam framework were cut and In 1849 the Reverend Wyckoff of Albany visited Holland to major project was building a squared in the forest and then check on the Kolonie’s progress and to invite the churches to bridge across the Black River to hauled to the building site in cen- join the Reformed Church of America (RCA). Following improve access to Grand Haven. tral Holland. The six massive pil- Wyckoff’s invitation, the seven Dutch congregations, strongly The entrance to Black Lake lars were fashioned using an large influenced by pastors who were grateful for the eastern and a buildup of sand at the chan- cedar post in the center and then churches’ aid, voted to join the RCA. There were dissenters nel forced boats to anchor in Lake covered with staves like an elon- from the start. Some thought the RCA was too closely tied to Michigan. A scow brought goods gated barrel. By this time there the Dutch Hervormde Kerk from which they had fled. Others ashore when the lake was calm. were sawmills in the area but no felt the RCA was not faithful to the catechism and creeds and Van Raalte attracted government planing mill, so each interior they allowed hymns to be sung during worship. attention to the need for harbor board was planed by hand. The The most divisive issue was membership in Masonic improvements. A government interior was painted and sten- lodges. A number of parishioners feared the lodges’ secrecy, engineer examined the situation, ciled. The town bell was mounted seeing conspiracy in the Masons’ silence. Some believed that and following his recommenda- in the belfry where it rang in the Masonic rituals detracted members from true forms of wor- tions, Congress appropriated morning to call men to and from ship. In 1857 the Noordeloos, Graafschap and Grand Rapids funds to open the channel so work and for emergencies and congregations seceded from the RCA to form the Christian steamboats could dock at the special occasions. Reformed Church (CRC); they allied themselves with the r e townsite. After President Franklin t Throughout the Netherlands, Gereformeerde Kerk—the Afgescheiden church in the e r t n

Pierce vetoed the internal- e Protestant churches placed a Netherlands. After Van Raalte’s death in 1876 his church split s o

R Van Vleck Hall opened in 1858 as the first permanent building for an

improvements bill, the settlers . rooster above the steeple or bel- over the issue of Freemasonry. In 1882 the majority of the con- L

r

e academy created to prepare settlers’ sons for college. Ten years later, grabbed their tools and deepened g fry to differentiate them from gregation, primarily later arrivals to the area, voted to with- o the channel to allow shallow draft R Roman Catholic churches, which draw from the RCA. Two years later it joined the CRC. The the academy became Hope College. vessels into Black Lake. The Pillar Church was built in 1856 by many of Holland’s first used crosses. The four-foot-high minority, mostly original settlers and their descendants, One situation that the volks- settlers. During the three-hour services held in the church, rooster on Holland’s church was remained loyal to the RCA. They met together and built a From the 1870s to the 1890s, when jobs were scarce in vergadering did not deal with children were given peppermints to keep them quiet. hammered out of two copper church on the next street corner. This created a unique situa- Holland, immigrants worked in the lumber camps and the fac- effectively or fairly was relation- sheets by local craftsman tion: two congregations on the same block were both named tories in Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. They ships with the Indians. The Ottawa had been helpful to the set- Egbertus Vander Veen, who then soldered the pieces together. the First Church, and both claimed to be Van Raalte’s follow- maintained their religious traditions, but adopted their neigh- tlers as they struggled to adapt to a new environment. The Vander Veen wanted the rooster to serve as a weather vane, ers. bors’ speech and habits. They continued to resist change. Dutch were not hostile or brutal—they simply treated the but had no bearing to allow the shaft to turn. He inserted a Van Raalte was a strong proponent of education. Fearing When that part of Van Raalte’s church, now known as Pillar Indians as nonentities. Indians complained to Van Raalte that wine bottle with a concave bottom into the rooster and ran the that public institutions would not propagate his view of CRC, adopted English as the language for worship in 1915— after they had hung venison from trees, the settlers cut it down shaft into the inverted bottle. The rooster turned in the wind Christian faith, he promoted religious schools. With the aid of sixty-eight years after the church was founded—seventy-five and took it home for their families. The dominie paid the for over one hundred years. the churches in the East he helped form the Holland Academy members walked out in protest. Indians and criticized his congregants’ behavior from the pul- Church services in the nineteenth century lasted three in 1850, three years after the first settlers arrived on the shores Holland’s first settlers were godly, but lacked many skills pit. His admonitions fell on deaf ears. Some Hollanders did hours. The sanctuary pews were divided into three sections. of Black Lake. The school prepared settlers’ sons to enter needed to succeed in a new environment. Many were illiterate, have to pay for the Indians’ bark vessels stolen and used as As they entered the church the women and children found Rutgers College and New Brunswick Seminary. In 1858 Van unwilling to learn the language and hampered by a rural troughs to feed pigs. In the spring of 1847 the Indians planted seats in the wide center section while the men and older boys Vleck Hall, the first permanent building for the academy, was European mentality that left them vulnerable and reliant on their crops and then left for the summer, expecting to return sat in the narrow sections along both walls. The men thus opened on a five-acre site donated by Van Raalte. Ten years strong leadership. Van Raalte’s strong personality provided and harvest their corn in the fall. The settlers, thinking they enjoyed fresh air during the summer and heat from the three later, the academy expanded to a four-year liberal arts institu- that paternalistic leadership, which helped the Kolonie endure had abandoned the area, appropriated the cleared fields for stoves along each wall during the winter. During the long ser- tion and was renamed Hope College. The name was derived and the people survive. Eventually, resentment against him their plantings. Van Raalte needed all the assistance the vice, the men stepped outside—ostensibly to check on the from Van Raalte’s statement “This is my Anchor of Hope for grew. His economic successes from land sales and other invest- Reverend Smith could give him to resolve that crisis. By horses—but also to take a smoke. During these services only this people in the future.” In 1884 the Western Theological ments created animosity as well. When Van Raalte, weary of

24 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 25 controversy, visited the old country in 1866, there are indica- was held in his parlor before the body of Albertus C. Van tions he hoped for a call to a church in the Netherlands or even Raalte was carried to the church. About half of the assembled South Africa. He returned to Michigan and became embroiled citizenry could fit inside; the remainder listened from outside in a controversy over Holland’s incorporation as a city. Van as Reverend Pieters, Van Raalte’s replacement, gave his ser- Willard C. “Bill” Wichers Raalte resigned from the church ministry and in 1867 tried to mon in Dutch. Dr. Phelps, president of Hope College, preached establish a new colony in Amelia, Virginia. He struggled there a second sermon in English. A hearse pulled by four black for three years before giving up and returning to Holland. horses, followed by eighty carriages, led the funeral cortege to A double tragedy struck in 1871. On the last day of June his the Pilgrim Home Cemetery where Van Raalte was laid beside by John J. Collins wife Christina, who had been in failing health, died. A few his wife near the site of the first log chapel. hen I think of Holland, “We didn’t have to spend a cent months later, fire destroyed Holland. The fall weather had been Although Van Raalte’s death ended an era, Holland Michigan, Willard C. on any of them. They all made it hot and dry, turning the forest refuse littering the countryside retained its unique Dutch heritage until the mid-twentieth cen- W “Bill” Wichers (1909- in this country.” tinder dry. Small fires in the area raised little alarm among tury. Dutch was commonly spoken by the older generations. 1991) always comes to mind. He Bill’s statewide activities includ- Hollanders until that fateful Sunday, October 8—the same day Dutch names filled the phone book. Other churches were was the kindest, most gracious ed forty years of service with the Chicago burned. Sparks ignited the huge bark piles at the tan- formed, but they were overshadowed by the Calvinism of the gentleman I’ve met in the thirty- Michigan Historical Commission. nery on the west end of town. Pieces of blazing bark, blown by Reformed and Christian Reformed churches. On Sunday five years I’ve called Michigan He also served as president and strong winds, set ablaze wood buildings and plank sidewalks everything was closed except the churches. The local radio home. longtime trustee of the Historical through the center of town. By Monday night the conflagration station broadcast Detroit Tiger games only six days a week. left most of the town in ruins—over three hundred buildings People of other ethnic heritages moved into the area. First When it came to doing things Society of Michigan. He was part burned, leaving hundreds homeless. Only one person died, but immigrants from other European countries appeared. After for Holland and the Dutch com- of the Grand Valley State Col- damages totaled about $900,000. Insurance covered only World War II, large numbers of Spanish-speaking people munity, Bill was the man in front lege Advisory Council and a $35,000 of the losses. Van Raalte’s church survived, along with came first to work in the fields and stayed when industrial for more than a half century. Bill member of the board of superin- Hope College, the work became available. Today, Hispanics make up nearly 20 served as the key man for activi- tendents for the New Brunswick railroad depot and a percent of Holland’s population. After the conclusion of the ties like his alma mater Hope Theological Seminary. smattering of houses. Vietnam War, local churches extended support to Asian College, for which he was a long- Bill’s promotion of Holland was At a public meeting refugees, who now comprise a growing faction of the popula- time trustee; getting the closely always subtle. For example, Bill tion. In the last few years the African American population has protected De Zwaan Windmill for and Nell hosted the Michigan This statue of A. C. increased as families, many from Chicago, have arrived seek- Holland’s Windmill Island; found- Historical Commission and the Van Raalte will be dedi- ing new opportunities as did their Dutch counterparts one hun- ing and directing the Nether- Michigan Bureau of History staff cated this summer. dred and fifty years earlier. lands Museum in 1937; protect- at their home during Tulip Time For more information During the twentieth century, efforts have been made to rein- ing Big Red, the Holland light- for many years. My best mem- on events planned for force the community’s awareness of its Dutch heritage. The late house; expediting a state histori- ory of Bill is one from 1978, Holland’s sesquicen- Willard C. Wichers of the Netherlands Information Bureau cal marker for one of Holland’s when I met all six feet, three tennial, contact the helped preserve artifacts reflecting Holland’s past. He was also churches; and serving as the inches of him striding down the Holland Sesquicenten- the key figure in bringing DeZwaan, a four-hundred-year-old Tulip Time Festival’s director and trustee. sidewalk dressed in his Dutch costume and wooden nial Committee, 100 Dutch windmill, to Holland. Around 1930 the annual tulip fes- Some of Bill’s greatest service occurred during the shoes. East 8th Street, Suite tival was initiated, curiously enough by Lida Rogers, a non- period from 1942 to 1953. In 1942 the Netherland In later years Bill served as cultural attaché to the 120, Holland, MI 49423, Dutch Holland High School biology teacher. The festival government, in exile because of the Nazi occupation, Dutch embassy. You usually found him involved d

n (616) 394-0338 or fax a features klompen dancers in wooden shoes with hundreds of l l

o appointed Bill the Midwest director of information. He when a member of the Dutch royal family visited the H

(616) 394-0122. f high-school students participating in a great community activ- o worked hard to coordinate relief efforts that could be country. He was also decorated as a knight and offi- s

e ity. The Hispanic and Asian faces among the klompen dancers v i

h delivered at the war’s end. cer of the Netherlands Order of Orange-Nassau. c

r I

a the day after the fire, is a true sign of the ethnic diversity the area now embraces.

t n

i Bill earned the title of “godfather of the communi- In the 1980s, while serving on the board of The

o Van Raalte again ral- J lied the people, clos- Bibliographical Note ty, Hope College and the world” in 1953. When the Starr Commonwealth Schools, I often sat beside U.S. Refugee Relief Act was passed that year, a Charles “Chuck” Lindstrom, recently retired Holland ing with the words “With our Dutch tenacity and our American Two works with the same title, Netherlanders in America, one by Jacob experience, Holland will be rebuilt.” Generous donations from Van Hinte and the other by Henry S. Lucas, are helpful. There is no quota of seventeen thousand Dutch individuals or police chief. One day I told Chuck, “I have some around Michigan and the nation poured in, enabling much of definitive biography of A. C. Van Raalte in the English language. Albert family units was set. Bill and wife Nell worked hard to friends in Holland who probably give you a lot of trou- the community to rebuild in time for its twenty-fifth anniver- Hyma’s A.C. Van Raalte and the Dutch Settlements in the United place these people, many of whom had been ble.” He looked at me quizzically until I explained that sary celebration in 1872. States is superficial and the A.C. Van Raalte Institute at Hope College expelled from Indonesia by Sukarno. I was talking about Bill and Nell Wichers. Then he has attempted to rectify this deficit with its 1996 publication of Albertus A large number came to Michigan, others settled smiled and said, “Well, he is the only foreign agent On that disputed election day in 1876 when Rutherford B. C. Van Raalte: Dutch Leader and American Patriot by Jeanne M. Hayes gained the presidency, Dirk Van Raalte was elected to Jacobson, Elton J. Bruins and Larry J. Wagenaar. The Joint Archives of in New York, New Jersey and California. With the we have in town. So we do keep an eye on him.” the Michigan State Legislature. He had little opportunity to Holland and the Calvin College Archives hold major collections of pri- deadline approaching and one thousand refugees celebrate, for that same day his father died. Holland put aside mary materials on Holland and Van Raalte. still unsponsored, Bill and Nell agreed to be person- John Collins, who lives in Marshall, served on the Michigan Historical past animosities and mourned his passing. Schools closed and ally responsible for the entire number. Bill later said, Commission from 1978 to 1991. businesses shut down on the day of his burial. A private funeral

26 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 27 They Never Forgot etroit resident Frederick Quick was Michigan Survivors of the Titanic at his wits’ end. His wife, Jennie, and D their two daughters, Winifred and Phyllis, were on their way from England to reunite with him after a three-year separation. They were traveling second class on the Titanic. At first, the anxious man had received word that all aboard the ill-fated steamer had been res- cued. Now a Detroit News reporter stood on his doorstep, telling him new dispatches warned of a great loss of life. The worried father and husband accompa- nied the reporter back to the newspaper’s tele- graph office. There, he scanned the long, revised lists of the rescued and the lost. Suddenly he felt a rush of intense relief as he found the names of his daughters and wife listed among the survivors. Frederick Quick was not the only Michi-

k ganian whose family had been aboard the o o b s s e r Titanic. Across Michigan, friends and relatives of P n o s i d a nearly forty people waited for news of their M a

, ) 2

9 loved ones. From Dowagiac to Marquette, 9 1 (

y r o t s i Benton Harbor to Detroit, immigrant or native

H

d e t a r t born, Michiganians were caught up in this extra- s u l l I

n

A : ordinary maritime disaster. c i n a t i

T m o r f l l a h c s by Carey L. Draeger r a M n e K y b s g Ken Marschall’s painting captures the moment the Titanic struck an n i t n i a iceberg shortly after 11:30 P.M. on 14 April 1912. P

28 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 29 electrical powerthatlititsinterior. three propellersandgeneratethe the steamneededtoturnship’ of coalperhourandbelchedout boilers consumednearlythirtytons feet abovethewater and herupperdeckstoodninety ninety-four feetwideatthebeam nine hundredfeetlong,over three years. The and giltbronzebalustrades. The boasted polished-oakwallpaneling iron-and-glass domeoverhead, with naturallightfromawrought- the room. The GrandStaircase,lit windows litfrombehindencircled mother expensive mahoganyinlaidwith The smoking-roompanelingwas resembled thepalaceat dations. Itsfirst-classlounge an arrayofsumptuousaccommo 30 Titanic Titanic A would changetheRMS Queenstown, Ireland,gavenowarningoftheeventsthat women stayedinthestern. basin. Singlemenlodgedin roomsatthebowofship; small, comfortablecabinsequipped withbunksandawash were accustomedtoathome. Familiescouldstaytogetherin class quarterswerebetterthanwhatmanyoftheoccupants lyfudi te ies firstclass.Eventhe ally foundinotherliners’ room. The fixed,swivelchairs inthediningroomwereusu- upholstered ingreenmoroccoleathergracedthesmoking first-class hotels—carvedoakpanelingandfurniture Turkish baths. sengers aswimmingpooland Belfast, Ireland,tobuildthe Harland and Wolff shipyardin luxurious shipafloat. The White StarLinecontractedwiththe newly outfittedlinerwasthelargest andmostexpensive of rejoicingtoonemourning.BoundforNew York City, the intertwined onthedecksof lished inMichigan. The livesofalltheseMichiganianswere their sonwereabouttojoinfamilymembersalreadyestab- class werejuststartingtheirlivestogether;anothercoupleand passengers and acrewof899.EdwardJ.Smith, acaptainwith For herfirsttransatlanticvoyage, the The On Thursday, 11 April 1912,thecalm,clearweatherin The second-classaccommodationswereaselegantsome , aprojectthattookover -of-pearl, andstained-glass also offered first-classpas- T second classwiththeirchildren;onecoupleinfirst Michigan-bound families. Two motherstraveledin m itanic ong thisuniquegroupofpeoplewerefour was equippedwith Titanic . Twenty-nine was nearly Titanic V ersailles. ’s maidenvoyagefromatime Titanic s - T Captain EdwardSmithplannedtoretireafterservingasthe . itanic’ Titanic s s commander duringtheship’ Titanic carried 1,324 ’s third- nine-year-old Smithwasreadytoretire.Servingasthe thirty-two yearsofunblemishedmaritimeservice,thefifty- made himpopularwithpassengersandcrewalike. After the Quickfamilyboarded to workasaplasterer. After traveling bytraintoSouthampton, who hadimmigratedtoDetroit,Michigan,threeyearsearlier ing. Shewaseagertobereunitedwithherhusband,Frederick, Titanic class cabinsand crew’ and thirdclass. The lowestdeck,G,wascompletelythird- although CtoFdeckaccommodations werelargely second First-class stateroomswere availablethroughEdeck, few second-classpublicrooms intheextremeaftsection. deckwas entirelyfirstclass;Bdeckproffered a decks. The A ing thewatertightcompartmentsshouldanaccidentoccur closed byaswitchlocatedonthebridge. This systemofseal- tion. Massivedoorsbetweentheboilerandengineroomswere sixteen watertightcompartmentsduringthevessel’s construc- the shipwas“practicallyunsinkable,”duetoadditionof distinguished career. class stateroomonFdeck. mand the t he White Starlinefortwenty-fiveyears,waschosentocom- Advance publicitysentoutbythe White StarLinedeclared The ’s firstcaptainseemedafittingwaytoendhislongand T s maidenvoyage. itanic Titanic of . Hischeerfuldemeanorandairofauthority fered passengeraccommodationsonall s quarterssince theenginesandother Corbis/Bettman could possiblydamageorsink promised Jenniethatnothing tested.” want onethatistriedandtrue young manbehindthecounter to sailonanewship,”shetoldthe of trip tothePlymouthshipping April 10,Jenniemadeasecond uled toleaveSouthamptonon J pletely flooded. sixteen compartmentswerecom- remain afloateveniffourofthe the arrangements weretransferredto a coalstrike. Although theirtravel Phyllis, hadbeencancelleddueto old and hertwodaughters,eight-year- America fromEnglandforherself the passagesshehadbookedto annoyed. Shehadjustlearnedthat guaranteed the and returnedhometofinishpack- accepted therevisedarrangements the Titanic fice tocomplain.“Idon’t want The young White Staremployee ane “Jennie”Quickwas T Winifred andthree-year-old Titanic. itanic and locatedtheirsecond- ihgnHsoyMgzn March/April1997 Michigan History Magazine , abiggershipsched Jennie reluctantly Titanic would . “I - Helen andDickinsonBishop,whohadboardedthe and Allen’s firstsonhaddied oftetanusinIndia1907). take himbackto America, theywarned,hewoulddie(Nellie affecting twenty-month-old Richard’s health.Ifshedidnot the anxiousmotherthatIndia’s harshclimatewasseriously returning toBentonHarbor, Michigan,afterdoctors hadtold for severalyears. The nervousmissionary’s wifewasnow tending animpoverishedmissionorphanageatGuntur, India, She andherhusband, Allen, aLutheranminister, hadbeen after amonth-longjourneyfromMadras,India,toLondon. Richard andMarion,weresettlingintotheirportsidecabin pellers andengines. T and Paris,theBishopsspecifically bookedpassageonthe of theearlymanufacturers recliners. Michigan, businessmanwhose RoyalChairCompanywasone rich man.Helen Walton Bishopwasthe daughterofaSturgis, in theRoundOakStoveCompanyDowagiac,becoming a wife’s death,Dickinson“Dick”Bishopinheritedhalfinterest Pillsbury Snydersjustacrossthecorridor. Followinghisfirst Cherbourg, France,weremaking theacquaintanceofJohn located atthe shook withthemostvibrationsandnoisesincetheywere there waslesssoundandmotion. first-class stateroomswereatthecenterofshipwhere working roomsoftheshipweresituateddirectlybelow. Most itanic Four levelsabove,inthefirst-classsection,newlyweds On Fdeck,NellieBeckerandherthreechildren,Ruth, After athree-monthhoneymoon toEgypt,Italy, Algiers for theirtriphome, wishingtoenjoythenovelty ofthe T itanic ’ s bowandsternareas,nearthepro Third-class cabinsusually Titanic at headed forNew York City. pride oftheWhiteStarLinepulledoutQueenstown,Ireland, and liner ofhertime.Passengerslinedtherailsondeck(above)as the - family located theirthird-classcabin.Frank, amachinist,his and permittedtheanimaltostay inthecouple’s stateroom. her dog“wasmuchtoopretty tobekeptintheship’ bedroomstewardtoldHelen chased inFlorence. The Bishops’ ship, Helenbroughtalongatiny dog,FrouFrou,shehadpur- vessel’ The nearly-nine-hundred-foot-long Several levelsbelow, theDetroit-boundFrankGoldsmith s maidenvoyage. When theyoung coupleboardedthe Titanic Titanic (top) wasthelargestluxury s kennels” 31

Don Lynch collection seamstress wife, Emily, and nine-year-old son, Frank Jr., were 1811, later increased his inheritance through real-estate immigrating from Chatham, England, to join Emily’s family, investments, becoming one of the richest men in America. The the Browns, who had settled in Detroit several years earlier. forty-six-year-old millionaire and his eighteen-year-old wife, Funds for their passage had been sent two years before, but the after escaping to Europe to avoid the scandal his divorce and elder Frank’s fear of water postponed the voyage. When the their marriage had caused (Madeline was younger than Browns wrote of favorable industrial conditions in Detroit, the Astor’s son), were returning home. Dick later remembered a Goldsmiths decided to risk a sea journey. Because he also new friendship with Albert A. Stewart, a wealthy New Yorker dreaded the effects of seasickness, Frank and his family who printed theatrical posters. The Bishops and their new waited to arrange passage on the Titanic, thinking the huge friends, the Snyders, also spent much time together. “We were vessel would cause him less discomfort than the smaller ships. younger than the rest of the people,” Nelle Snyder told an Accompanying the Goldsmiths, but probably staying in the interviewer sixty years later. “We did everything together.” third-class single-men’s quarters in the Titanic’s bow, was six- Nellie Becker assigned her twelve-year-old daughter, Ruth, teen-year-old Alfred Rush. The teenager was joining his the duty of caring for Richard while she took charge of brother, Charles, who lived near the Browns in Michigan. Marion. Ruth spent the next few days wheeling Richard Alfred had been pleading for two years to come to America. around in a perambulator along the enclosed promenade deck, He even quit school to earn money for the trip. Charles and his “the unofficial play area for the second class children.” wife surprised Alfred with the necessary funds, but on the Although there were other girls in second class who were condition Alfred remain home long enough to celebrate his Ruth’s age, Ruth spent most of her time caring for her brother. mother’s birthday. When Charles learned that the Browns’ rel- Sunday, April 14, promised to be as uneventful as the three atives were also crossing the Atlantic at the same time, previous days of sailing. Following breakfast a Church of arrangements were made for Alfred to join the Goldsmiths in England service was directed by Captain Smith in the first- London for the voyage. class dining salon. The assistant purser oversaw a similar ser- vice in the second-class dining saloon and Father Thomas The first two days of the voyage passed without incident. The Byles conducted a Catholic mass in the second-class lounge weather remained good and the seas calm. The Quicks partic- and later in steerage. The cold air temperatures kept most of ipated in many of the shipboard activities, joining in deck the passengers inside. games or relaxing in deck chairs. Despite the tranquil waters, In the wireless room the operators worked feverishly to Winifred was seasick until her mother dosed her with Eno’s catch up on a huge backlog of passenger messages created Fruit Salts. Once she had recovered, the eight-year-old wan- with the breakdown of the wireless set the night before. At dered through the ship, enjoying such sights as the magnifi- 1:00 P.M. a message from the Caronia warned of icebergs and cent Grand Staircase, a memory she and her mother field ice in the area. A second message forty minutes later mentioned to relatives years later. from the White Star steamer Baltic confirmed the presence of The Titanic designers equipped their ship with a vast array of luxuri- The Bishops spent their time strolling the decks, playing icebergs along the Titanic’s route. Before the day was over, ous extras. First-class accommodations included a fully equipped “funny table games” and taking part in bridge matches. Helen five similar warnings were forwarded to Captain Smith and First-class staterooms (top left) on the Titanic cost several thousand gymnasium (top left), a well-appointed, oak-paneled smoking lounge Bishop later described speaking frequently with John and other senior officers. dollars for a single crossing—a tremendous sum in 1912. Second- (top right) and a reading and writing room (center). The Titanic’s sec- Madeline Astor during the voyage. John Astor, the great- Lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee began their class rooms (top right) were located on C to F decks. Third-class, or ond-class dining room (above) was as posh as those found in many grandson of wealthy fur trader John Jacob Astor, who estab- shifts at 10:00 P.M. in the crow’s nest high above the Titanic’s steerage, families could stay together in small, comfortable cabins first-class hotels. lished the American Fur Company on Mackinac Island in deck. A half hour before, the bridge notified the lookouts to equipped with bunks and a wash basin (above).

32 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 33 keep a sharp eye out for small ice and growlers (low-lying ice- situation. “Tie on your lifebelt and go on deck at once,” he bergs). The lookouts, however, were not provided with binoc- ordered. “We have struck ice.” ulars. At approximately 11:30 P.M. Fleet noticed a slight haze “Have we time to dress?” Nellie asked. developing on the horizon. He mentioned it to Lee but did not “No, madam,” he answered. “You have time for nothing.” report it to the bridge. A few minutes later Fleet saw a dark Ruth Becker also realized something was wrong when she object dead ahead. Ice! He picked up the telephone and called awoke to her mother the wheelhouse. shaking her and ordering Sixth Officer Moody answered the call. “Iceberg right her to put coats on the two ahead!” Fleet shouted. younger children. After Moody turned to First Officer William Murdoch and dressing Richard and yelled, “Iceberg right ahead!” Marion, Nellie and Ruth The first officer rushed to the engine room telegraph and put on coats and left their signalled “full speed astern” and then “hard a’ starboard” (in cabin. They climbed the 1912 the term indicated a turn to port) to swing the Titanic staircase to the B deck y r a away from the iceberg. The order came too late. As the bow l foyer, where they found a C

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began to swing to port, the iceberg moved alongside star- J group of women waiting. board. For a moment, the crew in the crow’s nest and on the The Beckers joined them. bridge thought the ship would clear the iceberg. But a strange have only struck a little piece of ice and passed it,” he added. Nellie suddenly realized scraping noise from the hull and pieces of ice falling onto the But several minutes after the Bishops returned to bed, Albert how cold it was and asked forecastle and well deck changed their hope to fear. Stewart knocked at their door, concerned about the list the her daughter to return to ship was developing. “Get your wife, get dressed and go back the cabin for blankets. Dick Bishop was reading when he felt the ship collide with on deck,” he ordered. Ruth did so without ques- the iceberg. He woke Helen and the two dressed before going Jennie Quick, who with her girls had gone to bed at 9:00 tion. As Ruth returned on deck. Nothing appeared unusual. A passing steward laugh- P.M., was awakened by an urgent knocking on the door. A with three plaid blankets, several crewmen arrived and ingly reassured the couple that there was nothing to fear. “We woman passenger told her of the accident and urged her to ordered Nellie into a lifeboat. dress and take her family on deck. Because she had felt no jar- “We were all asleep when the Titanic crashed against the ring, Jennie did not understand the immediacy of the situation. iceberg,” Emily Goldsmith later recalled. She and her husband She slowly arose, donned a dark skirt over her nightclothes were unaware of the growing danger until some of the ship’s and took her time waking Winifred. officers came to the third-class rooms and ordered the women Suddenly, a steward rapped briskly on the door and poked to the upper deck and the men to the second deck, all with The Becker family (inset, clockwise from top, Ruth, Marion, Richard his head in. At the sight of the Jennie’s leisurely preparations, their lifebelts. Emily remembered later that most of the pas- and Nellie) were veteran sea travelers and expected their trip aboard he abruptly ordered, “For God’s sake, get up! Don’t stop to sengers seemed quite calm. As the family moved to the decks, the Titanic would be just another ocean voyage. But as the ship sank, dress. Just get your lifebelts on. The ship has struck an ice- they saw Alfred Rush heading for a spot behind a barrier on twelve-year-old Ruth (above) acted calmly and quietly, despite the fear berg. It’s sinking!” the second deck, where Frank Goldsmith was also sent. and panic of other passengers in her lifeboat. Galvanized by the steward’s anxiety, Jennie threw on a thin Before they were separated, Emily and Frank embraced across raincoat and wrapped Winifred in a light coat. She secured the barricade. Then Frank leaned over it, squeezed his son’s 2,235 people aboard ship would be saved, Smith gave the around her neck a small chain linked to a little gold purse con- shoulder and said quietly, “So long, Franky. See you later.” order to prepare the lifeboats. He also told his wireless opera- taining four English sovereigns. She picked up Phyllis who tors to signal the Titanic’s distress to any ships that might be was asleep on the bed and swaddled her in a shawl. Just before In boiler room number six, water rushed in unabated, flood- in the area. leaving their cabin, Jennie reached under her pillow and took ing the compartment with eight feet of seawater. The collision Jennie and her daughters reached the open deck, where oth- a tiny tin box holding a keepsake from her husband. Together with the iceberg had ruptured the first five watertight com- ers had gathered. Walking over to the railing, she leaned out

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n the Quicks climbed the five flights leading to the upper decks. partments, opening over two hundred feet of the ship to the and examined the Titanic’s hull. When she saw the “lighted

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b i r T Nellie Becker awoke with a start shortly after 11:40 P.M. sea. The mail room on G deck and the room below quickly rows of portholes slanting dramatically downward toward the

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w e The quiet had disturbed her sleep—the Titanic was no longer flooded; sacks of mail floated on the rising water. Clerks sea,” she realized she and her daughters were in danger and N

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o r t vibrating and the throb of the engines had been stilled. She rushed about feverishly, attempting to save the letters and must board a lifeboat immediately. Jennie turned away from

e D donned a dressing gown and ventured into the corridor, where packages. According to Titanic historian Don Lynch, “With the railing and walked to a iron ladder leading to A deck. A Calling her the “daring little English woman,” The Detroit News Tribune she encountered a steward. When she asked what was wrong, the first five of her sixteen watertight compartments hope- man nearby offered the young mother his assistance and held ran the above cartoon on 21 April 1912, lauding Jennie Quick’s bravery he replied they had stopped for a moment and would be get- lessly flooding, the Titanic was doomed.” Phyllis while Jennie put on her lifebelt. Another man began for rescuing her children and herself from the sinking Titanic. In Jim ting under way again soon. He urged her to return to bed. After inspecting the damage with his chief and fourth offi- putting Winifred into her lifebelt. When Winifred discovered Clary’s dramatic painting, survivors (top) watch in horror as the A veteran traveler, Nellie knew ships did not stop in the cers, Captain Smith was certain that his ship was sinking. she was wearing a lifebelt, she became convinced she would Titanic’s stern upends, then begins slipping beneath the ocean’s sur- middle of the ocean without good reason. She returned to her Although the Titanic was equipped with sixteen wooden soon be forced to jump overboard. The eight-year-old began face, carrying over half the ship’s passengers with it. Part of a four- room but couldn’t go back to sleep. Sometime later, she began lifeboats and four collapsible canvas-sided boats—four more crying and screaming, terrified of her imagined fate. picture series, the painting will appear in Clary’s book on the Titanic hearing noises overhead, as if people were moving about. than British law required—the lifeboats could only accommo- After reaching A deck with the help of the unknown good due out later this year. Back in the hallway, she asked a second steward about the date 1,178 people. Shortly after midnight, knowing not all Samaritan, Jennie led her children to lifeboat No. 11 as it was

34 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 35 The Goldsmith family (pictured here in England; the baby on Helen and Dickinson Bishop were among the first passengers to Emily’s lap died shortly after the photo was taken) decided to travel on leave the Titanic. For years after the disaster, Dick and other male the Titanic because they thought the ship’s size would prevent Frank survivors suffered from rumors insisting they had dressed as Sr., who greatly feared water, from becoming seasick. Unlike the ves- women to board a lifeboat ahead of the women and children. sel below, most of the Titanic’s lifeboats left the ship only one-half to two-thirds full.

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hole in the ship with water rushing in. Actually, it was the con- four Chinese in the boat besides my boy. Among those saved s r e h t denser discharge and the water was flowing out. When were two Italian women and a girl whose wailings were terri- o r B

n lifeboat No. 13 reached the ocean surface, the water flow ble to hear. The descent to the water was the most terrifying w o r

B pushed it backwards directly under lifeboat No. 15, which was part of all our experience. The lifeboat bumped against the descending. The ropes to No. 13 grew taut, preventing the side of the Titanic, and once so many people got on one side being loaded with the last of its passengers. The sailor in releasing mechanism from working properly. As the crewmen that it seemed the boat would turn over and spill us all into the charge told Jennie, “Only room for the children.” “No,” Jennie in No. 13 began searching frantically for something to cut the sea.” answered. “Either we go together or we stay together.” Phyllis ropes, lifeboat No. 15 came closer and closer, ready to drop on Franky Goldsmith remembered how he had grabbed some and Winifred were tossed into the boat and Jennie quickly the occupants of No. 13. candy upon leaving his cabin. As his lifeboat descended past climbed in after her children. “Stop lowering the boat!” the passengers screamed, but the a porthole, the nine-year-old boy peered in and saw teenage Nellie Becker and her children approached lifeboat No. 11 men operating the davits could not hear them. Ruth later crew members playing hide and seek. “As we rowed away,” as Jennie Quick sat down. She allowed Marion and Richard to remembered how the men in the boat actually touched the Emily later said, “the shrieks of the dying could be heard ris- be loaded onto the boat, but as soon as they were settled, underside of lifeboat No. 15 when a man near her sprang up, ing from the water, but it was so dark that we were unable to someone called, “That’s all for this boat!” and it began a slow a knife in his hand. Shouting “One! Two!” he cut the ropes see the men floating on the surface. . . . If there had been descent to the sea. “Oh, please let me go with my children!” and freed the trapped lifeboat. The rush of water from the con- lifeboats on the second deck all the men there could have been Nellie screamed. A crewman quickly lifted Nellie over the rail denser discharge pushed No. 13 away just as No. 15 dropped saved.” Fifteen minutes after their lifeboat moved away from woman carrying a dog in her arms when there were lives of and dropped her into the lowering boat. Suddenly realizing to the sea. the sinking Titanic, Emily covered her son’s eyes, blotting out women and children to be saved.” Frou Frou was left behind Ruth was still on deck, Nellie turned and ordered frantically, As No. 13 moved away from the Titanic, Ruth witnessed a the sight of the huge liner’s death throes. in the stateroom along with eleven thousand dollars’ worth of “Ruth, get in another boat!” spectacular sight. “The liner was well down at the head, and As Dick and Helen Bishop and several other first-class pas- jewelry. Ruth obeyed her mother’s command instantly, walking to rockets shot upward, bursting in the sky,” historian Don Lynch sengers grouped together on A deck, they saw Captain Smith After returning to A deck, the Bishops approached lifeboat lifeboat No. 13. “May I get in this boat?” she asked the crew- wrote of Ruth’s memories. Captain Smith ordered rockets descending the Grand Staircase. John Astor stopped the cap- No. 7. Only a few people seemed ready to board; many others man in charge. Without a word, he picked her up and dumped fired in a desperate attempt to notify ships in the area of the tain and they spoke together quietly. Astor then rejoined the were lulled into a false sense of security by the perfectly calm her in. As the boat was lowered toward the ocean, Ruth looked Titanic’s distress. Ruth later remarked the rockets reminded group and instructed them to don their lifejackets. Dick had night and a seemingly safe ship. Both Helen Bishop and Nelle up and saw that both A and B decks were lined with people her of an Independence Day celebration. returned to the cabin during Astor’s conference with the cap- Snyder later remembered the command, “Put in the brides and staring over the side of the ship. She saw only one lifeboat was “In the semidarkness we ascended to the topmost deck and tain to bring Helen’s muff to her; she rushed down to give him grooms first!” Helen boarded the lifeboat first, followed by left. How would all those people fit into one boat? “What,” got into the lifeboat,” Emily Goldsmith remembered. “It was the frightening news. As they were about to leave their room, Dick Bishop, the Snyders and two dozen others. With only she wondered, “was to become of them?” the next to the last to leave, and as near as I can remember Helen’s little dog Frou Frou tugged at her dress. She later said, twenty-eight people in a boat built for sixty, No. 7 left the Ruth glanced down and saw what she later described as a there were about 30 women, five members of the crew and “I realized, however, that there would be little sympathy for a Titanic.

36 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 37 Jennie Quick,she describedaslightlydif young girldriftedoff tosleep. jumping overboard, Winifred Quicknowcriedbecauseher death intheicywaterwhere groans ofhundredsandpeoplenowfreezing to reached theoccupantsintinylifeboat—“theshrieks and 38 Lulled bythewarmthof coat andthewoman’ woman nexttothechildwrapped hercoataround Winifred. said we’regoingtobesaved. I’mnotafraidnow.” An elderly afraid anymore,”shetoldhermother ters andprayedforrescue. or gomad.” Transfixed withhorror, sheheldontoherdaugh- wrote later. “SometimesIwonderthatdidnotdieoffright— vessel rowedawayfromthe monocle fallfromhiseye. he notonlyrowedtheboatbutdidsowithoutoncehavinghis Pierre Marechal,however, impressedtheDowagiacheiress— and Irowedforconsiderabletimemyself.”Frenchaviator refused topullanoar. The menwerewornoutwiththework, aboard whosmokedanobnoxiouspipeincessantlyand Helen laternotedwithdisgustthat“therewasaGermanbaron Although NellieBeckershared thesamelifeboatwith Suddenly, Winifred stoppedcrying.“Mother, I’mnot “It isasceneIcannotdescribe—cannotforget,” Jennie In lifeboatNo.11 mostoftheoccupantsweresilentas W ith onlythreecrewmeninNo.7,passengershelpedrow. Titanic Titanic Brown Brothers . Nolongerworriedabout mile awaywhenthe about three-quartersofa air. through thechillynight gers’ to keepupthepassen- played bytheship’s band winking out.Music rows oflitportholes foundering Jennie Quickwatchedthe her mother’s armsas Phyllis sleptsoundlyin feet werecoldandwet. T peared. A terrible sound terrible peared. A upright” beforeitdisap- standing “absolutely silhouetted againstthesky saw theship’s hugestern noise” followed.Jennie “thunderous, rumbling crewman explained. have exploded,”anearby an explosion.“Herboilers heard whatsoundedlike moments laterJennie itanic . “IaskedGodandHe No. 1 had vanished.” ferent experience. went down. spirits floated 1 hadtraveled Titanic s arms,the and its A few A ashbags forhoisting upthechildren.” sure “lines,chairslings,and ladders werereadied,alongwith soup, drinks,andblanketsfor therescued.”Rostronalsomade injured. Heordered“hotcof three diningroomswithmedical suppliestotreatthesickor passengers. Rostronstationed theship’s threedoctorsinthe ship intheareatoreceive Carpathia T the airandpausedbeforeslidingbeneathsurface. “the sternsettledback.” grating vessel.Shewatchedsilentlyasfirstthebowsankand “loud cries”fromotherpassengerstrappedaboardthedisinte of thepeoplewhohadjumpedintowater the hugefunnelsseparateandfall,killingmanglingmany thunder She heardthehugeexplosionthatrolledacrossoceanlike crew torunhisCunardliner responded “I’llhavesome”andtookapullfromtheflask. one whowantedtolightentheirspirits.JennieQuick No. 11 brought outaflaskofbrandyandoffered asiptoany- crewmaninlifeboat sured thewomanthroughatranslator. A in anotherboat.“I’llhelpyoufindyourinfant,”Ruthreas- the Germanwomannexttoherwhosebabyhadbeenplaced neighbors, includingRuthBecker, whoattempted tocomfort prayed, othersweptsilently. Somepeopletriedtocheertheir tered amongthetwentylifeboatsbobbingonocean.Some 2:20 her mother No. 13,witnessedeveryminuteofthe ime passedslowlyforthesevenhundredsurvivorsscat- spot andthe whole oceanitseemed.Thenallwasdarknessonthe a terribledinandthelonglastwailspread overthe and curseswere mingledwithprayersandshouts.Itwas boat sanktothebottom. dle oftheboatlowered abitthenthestern.Then float? Sheisgoingtofloat?”Butatthatinstantthemid- ance andtheofficerinourboatsaid“Sheisgoingto hesitated foraninstant.Sheseemedtohangonthebal- in aforeign tongue. seat. Themanonlymumbledhisreplies andthesewere what businesshehadinbeatingsomewomenoutofa officers keptaskingthemanwhyhewasonboatand . There wasabout50womenandtheofficers.The might overturntheboat.There wasonemaninourboat. as hewasafraidthatiftheshipwentdownsuction making anyprogress. Theofficerkepturging themenon Fifty-eight milesaway, Captain Arthur Rostronorderedhis Ruth Becker, fromhervantagepointontheoutsideedgeof A I willneverforget thosesounds.Screams, yells,cries Suddenly there wasaterribleexplosionandtheboat T . M here wasiceallaround usandwehadahard time , beforethegiantshipbeganbreakingapart.Shesaw . theship’s submerged bowsuddenlylurcheddeeper. , thetwelve-year-old girlwatchedasshortlybefore was onherwaytoaMediterraneancruisewith750 Titanic was nomore. Then itslowlypivoted,roseupinto fee readyforthecrew, aswell Carpathia Titanic Although Roston hadno ihgnHsoyMgzn March/April1997 Michigan History Magazine Titanic at topspeed. The only ’s callforhelp,the . Sheheardthe ’s demise.Like - Goldsmith Sr. wasnowhereonthe Franky ascendaladdertothelifeboats. When Frank ing hiswordsofencouragementandfaceashewatched T Titanic i the lifeboatto theliner Finally, Jennie, tiedintoabo’sun’s chair, wastransferredfrom child washauledupandover therailing. Winifred wasnext. cold asailorhadtoputPhyllis intothesack. ered topickupthechildren,but JennieQuick’s handswereso sacktiedtoaropewaslow- until theyweretakenaboard. A side therescueship,survivorsweretoldtoremainseated up bythe son wereon“rowedaroundforsixhoursuntilwepicked come true. would havetoberescuediftherestofpredictionwere life. Sincetheshipwreckhadoccurred,Helenbelievedthey and anautomobileaccidentthatwouldeventuallyclaimher told Helenshewouldexperienceashipwreck,anearthquake the lifeboatwithaneerietale. While inEgypt,afortuneteller worst. lifeboat towardthe around her. The rowersbeganmovingtheheavilyloaded Franky.’” come walkingrightthroughthatdoorandsay, ‘Hello, another shipmusthavepickedhimupandonedayhewill now ahusbandandfatherhimself,toldhiswife,“Ithink that hisfatherwasstillalive,nearlytwentyyearslater, Franky, ably beinNew York beforeyouare.”Sostrongwashisbelief distress andtoldhim,“Don’t cry, Franky, yourdadwillprob- ea rig firemanonthe began crying. A ble sceneandonethatIwillneverforget.” arms aroundeachother where Nelliewaswaiting.Motheranddaughterthrewtheir you.” Shetookthegirltosecond-classdiningsaloon, Ruth Becker?”sheasked.“Y about theship.Suddenlyawomanapproachedher searching forhermotherandsiblingsbeganwandering lifeboats hadpulledalongsidethe who mightbeinthelifeboatsstillarriving. After mostofthe the survivorsheadedtoopendeckwatchforlovedones them inblanketsandoffered themcoffee orbrandy. Mostof since herhandsweretoonumbtogriptheropes. tightly aroundtheropes.RuthBeckerwastiedtoherswing ropes. Manyweresocoldthattheirfingerscouldnotclose in bo’sun’s chairs(swing-likecontraptions)orsackstiedto was pluckedfromtheseaanditshumancargo hoistedaboard dea whathewouldfindwhenreachedthesiteof he entirerescueoperationtookfourhoursaseachlifeboat Emily Goldsmithtoldreportersthatthelifeboatsheandher In No.7HelenBishopencouragedherfellowpassengersin Winifred wasawakenedatdawnbyshoutsfrom thepeople Franky Goldsmithwaitedeagerlyforhisfather Once thesurvivorswereonboard,crewmemberswrapped ’s sinking,hepreparedhimselfandhiscrewforthe Carpathia Carpathia and broughttoNew York. Itwasaterri- . . Within minutesshewassafely on our motherhasbeenlookingfor . Oncethelifeboatwasalong- Carpathia Carpathia Carpathia noticed thechild’s The still-sleeping , Ruthgaveup , thelittleboy , remember . “Areyou site) peersoutaportholeas arriving lifeboatsforfamilyandfriends. - lifeboat tothecruiseship. New Emily’s brother andtwosistersattheGrand Trunk depot. arrived inMichiganon23 them totravelbytrainDetroit. The twoEnglishimmigrants were givennewclothesand theorganization arrangedfor with theSalvation brother Albert Rush.EmilyandFrankyhadstayed neighbors’ grief overthelossoftheirson-in-lawFrankSr. andtheir their daughterEmilyGoldsmithandgrandsonFranky and flicting emotionsofjoyandgrief—joyoverthesafearrival of car, readytodrivethemhomeDowagiac. Bishops’ chauffeur was alsoinNew YorkYork.” withthe The Bishops’ Dick bothsavedaboardsteamer already wiredDick’s familywiththemessage:“Helenand couple ontheirreturntotheUnitedStates.Helen’s fatherhad b hotel evenbeforethe Helen’s parents,Jerroldand Anna Walton, werealreadyatthe and othersurvivorsweretakentothe Waldorf Astoria Hotel. docked inNew York on April 18,HelenandDick,theSnyders Titanic Titanic were rescuedandtakenaboardthe events takingplacearoundher. throughout theentirenight,undisturbedbyclimactic difficulty.” Surprisingly, thethree-year-old apparentlyslept tute. Jenniefoundherdaughterand“reclaimedwithgreat could notfindherownbaby—hadtakenPhyllisasasubsti- ered thatawoman—overwhelmedwithdespairbecauseshe were separated,Phyllisvanished. After atime,Jenniediscov- oard the After learninghisfamilywas safe,FrederickQuickleftfor In DetroitMr. andMrs.HenryBrownweretornwithcon- As HelenBishoppredicted,theoccupantsoflifeboatNo.7 At somepointduringtherescuewhenJennieandhergirls York, arrivingjustbeforethe survivors (above)crowdthe C arpathia Army inNew York upontheirarrival. They . Titanic Titanic Titanic April 1912andweregreeted by sank, waitingtoseetheyoung survivors aretransferredfromtheir Carpathia Carpathia A Carpathia Carpathia Carpathia Carpathia ’s deck,searchingother . When theship bound forNew crewman (oppo docked atthe 39

- Brown Brothers able to talk about her experience without bursting into tears. and Helen took up residence at the Blackstone Hotel in Nellie’s youngest daughter, Marion, developed tuberculosis at Chicago. About the time the divorce was finalized, Helen was a young age and died in California in 1944. Her son, Richard, cruising through the Panama Canal to the West Indies aboard became a singer and later a social worker. He died in 1975. the steamer Pastores. On 10 March 1916, the day after her Like her mother, Ruth had difficulty talking about her return home, Helen tripped on a rug at a friend’s home, fell Titanic experience. Ultimately, she simply refused to speak and struck her head in the location of the metal plate. She suf- about it. After graduating from high school and college in fered a cerebral hemorrhage and went into seizures. On March Ohio, where her family had moved in June 1913, Ruth taught 15, Helen died at the age of twenty-three. The macabre high school in Kansas. Although she married a college class- prophecy she had received in Egypt appeared to have been mate, they divorced twenty years later and she resumed her fulfilled. teaching career. After Ruth retired, she began speaking about While Helen was dying, Dick Bishop was marrying for the her experiences as a Titanic survivor, surprising her children, third time. He gave up his mansion in Dowagiac and moved who as youngsters had not known their mother had been with his new bride to her hometown of Ottawa, Illinois. The aboard the ship. She died in 1990 at the age of ninety. mansion was purchased by Fred Lee, the father of his first wife, and later became the Lee Memorial Hospital. The build- Before they left New York, the Bishops replaced their ing has since been demolished. Dick Bishop died in 1961. wardrobes left behind on the Titanic. They also testified before the American inquiry into the Titanic disaster, which was headed by Michigan senator William Alden Smith. Michiganians Aboard the Titanic Traveling by car, the Bishops reached Buffalo before bad weather and worse roads forced them to abandon their plans Nellie Becker, Benton Harbor; survived l l

a for a road trip. After arranging for their car to be shipped h

c Ruth Becker, Benton Harbor; survived s r home, the Bishops boarded a train for Dowagiac, arriving a M Richard Becker, Benton Harbor; survived n early on 10 May 1912. It was about that time that Helen e K learned she was pregnant. A son was born on 9 December Marion Becker, Benton Harbor; survived No one believed Ruth Becker’s observation that the Titanic broke apart cabled her husband in India. Nellie turned her attention to her 1912. He died the following day. Dickinson Bishop, Dowagiac; survived just before it sank. In 1985, with Robert Ballard’s discovery and sub- bedraggled children, who still wore the nightclothes they had By 1913 the Bishops were spending less time in Dowagiac. Helen Bishop, Dowagiac; survived left the ship in four days before. Nellie’s dress, donated by a Nelle Snyder spoke of meeting the Bishops in California in sequent dives on the wreck site, Ruth’s story was validated as Ken George F. Eitemiller, Detroit; perished Marschall’s illustration of the Titanic’s stern shows. passenger on the Carpathia, was too small for her generous 1912. Helen told the Snyders that she and Dick had experi- frame and was bursting at the seams. However, before leaving enced a small earth tremor while there, which fulfilled the Frank Goldsmith, Detroit; perished Cunard pier. He waited fearfully as the survivors began leaving India, ingenious Nellie had sewn one hundred dollars into the second part of the Egyptian prophecy. A year later, in Emily Goldsmith, Detroit; survived the ship, examining each face, searching for his family. As the lining of her coat. Although she had used some of the money November 1913, while returning home from a party near Frank Goldsmith Jr., Detroit; survived crowd of passengers thinned, Quick hired a sailor to board the to tip the steward at the end of the voyage, most remained. She Kalamazoo, Helen was critically injured in an automobile Mrs. John Hamelaimen, Detroit; survived Carpathia and search for his family. Minutes later, the man used it to purchase clothing for her family. accident. She suffered a crushed skull and internal injuries. one-year-old Hamelaimen baby, Detroit; survived returned and told Quick his family was fine. Finally, Jennie and On 19 April 1912 the Beckers embarked on the train for Despite the odds, Helen survived, although she had a silver Martha Hiltunen, Detroit; survived the girls appeared at the railing. Jennie slowly descended the South Bend, Indiana, to stay with relatives. Beseiged by plate placed over the damaged portion of her skull to protect gangplank, followed by two sailors each carrying one of the reporters, Nellie would not speak with them and referred them her brain. Helen appeared to recover physically from the acci- Oscar Johansen, Detroit; survived girls. Fred leaned over the railing that kept back the curious to Ruth. As they readied to board the train, Nellie told Ruth dent, but her behavior was described by those who knew her Jennie Quick, Detroit; survived crowds and called, “Jane!” Jennie turned and ran to him. she was not to tell anyone they had survived the Titanic. But as “erratic.” Winifred Quick, Detroit; survived “Oh, Fred, what a funny hat you have!” she exclaimed, no sooner had they sat down when people approached them, Two years later, Helen filed a petition for divorce from Phyllis Quick, Detroit; survived embracing him. offering condolences, baked goods, toys for the children and Dick Bishop, citing as grounds his “habitual drunkenness” Maude Roberts, Hancock; survived “Oh, Jennie, Jennie, you’re here!” other items to the surprised family. “I told you not to tell any- and “extreme cruelty.” According to historian Don Lynch, “if Alfred Rush, Detroit; perished “Yes, thank God. We are all safe.” And then Jennie began to one we were on the Titanic,” Nellie reprimanded Ruth. But the Dick Bishop did drink heavily or treat his wife poorly at the cry. “Oh, Fred, it was terrible! I never expected to see you again!” twelve-year-old had said nothing to anyone and never did time it may have been due to the stress of living under perpet- William Skoog family (parents and four children), Fred hugged his three girls together. Although frightened to understand how people knew who they were. ual gossip and dislike by the community.” This may have been Iron Mountain; perished tears by the crowds at the pier, Winifred was also busy trying When the Beckers later reached Benton Harbor, the family due in part to the simple fact that Dick Bishop escaped the Hannah Touma, Dowagiac; survived to stay upright. She wore a pair of woman’s high-button shoes worked to settle down. All of their household belongings had Titanic. Like many of the other men who survived the disas- Maria Touma, Dowagiac; survived given her by kind passengers on the Carpathia and sported a been aboard the Titanic and had to be replaced. Nellie was ter, Bishop was accused of dressing like a woman to board a George Touma, Dowagiac; survived fancy fur boa that frequently became entangled with her feet. among those who filed suit against the White Star Line. She lifeboat. Both Helen Bishop and Nelle Snyder insisted that an Julius VanScrplanck, Detroit; perished Placid little Phyllis simply murmured, “Dada” and patted her ultimately received only a few hundred dollars for a claim that officer ordered brides and grooms to enter the lifeboats, but father on the cheek. totaled over two thousand dollars. the rumor of Dick’s supposed cowardice plagued him long Mrs. Julius VanScrplanck, Detroit; perished On April 18 the Beckers were met by Dr. Wolf, a represen- Allen Becker arrived in Michigan a year after his family. after the Titanic disaster left the front pages. Leon VanScrplanck, Detroit; perished tative of the mission in New York. As he whisked them away Both he and Ruth realized that Nellie had changed drastically The divorce was granted in January 1916, but the Bishops Gustav VanScrplanck, Detroit; perished to the Hotel Avon on Lexington Avenue, he told Nellie he had since the Titanic. Until her death in 1961, Nellie was never had long been separated. Dick left for Palm Beach, Florida,

40 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 41 After spending the night of April 18 at the Hebrew Michigan’s Outraged Observer Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society, Fred sent a cable to Jennie’s mother in Plymouth to confirm her daughter and grandchildren were safe. He next purchased tickets on the Smith questioned a far greater number of Titanic pas- New York Express to go home to Detroit. The Quicks arrived ichigan Senator William Alden Smith stared at sengers, including Dick and Helen Bishop, than did a sub- in Detroit on April 20 and were met by Mr. and Mrs. Parker at the young lookout, a survivor of the Titanic, M sequent British inquiry. Titanic historian Don Lynch later the station (the family the Quicks would be living with). sitting across the table from him. Frederick noted, “It is to this fact that we owe our knowledge of many During the streetcar trip to the Parker home, they discovered Fleet had just told him that he had not been given binoc- of the details of the tragedy.” The survivors’ stories a small, tattered flag in Jennie’s raincoat pocket. Described as ulars to help search for icebergs the night the Titanic revealed a number of incidents that the crew probably being the Titanic’s official flag, the little pennant may have sank. Smith asked Fleet what would have happened had would have overlooked. Some criticized the crew mem- been purchased at one of the ship’s band concerts. Fred later he had binoculars. Fleet replied, “We could have seen bers’ poor behavior in the lifeboats; one passenger told a reporter, “I believe this was the only one saved.” [the iceberg] a bit sooner. . . . Enough to get out of the described the difficulty the crew had in closing some of the On 26 April 1912 the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant way.” watertight doors near his stateroom. Aid Society forwarded a check for one hundred dollars to Even before the Carpathia had docked in New York The senate inquiry transferred its investigation back to Jennie Quick, sent by the Women’s Relief Committee. Her with its assembly of Titanic survivors, Senator Smith had Washington after Smith learned IMM attorneys were peti- claim against the White Star Line for $3,190 was never paid. made up his mind that certain explanations were due the tioning sympathetic members of Congress to halt the Some time after the Quicks arrived in Detroit, a vaudeville American people regarding the sinking. The native investigation. When the hearings resumed—despite producer from King Amusements signed Jennie to speak to Michiganian, born in Dowagiac in 1859, had served as protests from the British consulate, the IMM, Ismay and audiences about her experiences on the Titanic. Eight times a general counsel for the Pere Marquette Railroad and Morgan’s corporate lawyers—Smith ruthlessly challenged day, at $7.14 a show, Jennie, Winifred and Phyllis appeared on knew more about railroads than shipping. But he argued the cavalier manner in which the largest, reputedly safest the stage at the Palace Theater. Dressed in the same skirt she that an American investigation was necessary because ship in the world had been commanded on her maiden wore when leaving the Titanic, Jennie told her story. “The first so many Americans had died in the shipwreck. His res- voyage. time I went out there I wanted to run back,” Jennie said later. olution also called for an explanation of the causes of the After a month, the investigation drew to a close. The “But I couldn’t; so I had to stay. The floor seemed to come up shipwreck. It further specified that the investigation’s Battle Creek Enquirer jubilantly declared, “Michigan should to meet me and so did the audience. I wasn’t frightened. I was findings be used both to remedy domestic legislation be elated that, through Senator Smith, she had so large a

and generate an international treaty for the safety of life y just all a-shiver and a-tremble. My heart thumped and r a r

b part in clearing up the causes of this gigantic disaster.” at sea. i L thumped. I don’t know what I said or how I said it.” Jennie c i l Despite the accolades, Smith was bitterly disappointed. He A six-member subcommittee chaired by Smith was b toured Grand Rapids and Battle Creek before giving up her u P

s had failed in his most basic goal—proving that Ismay and

quickly appointed. On April 18 the U.S. Navy notified d budding career in show business. i p

a the IMM’s negligence had caused the Titanic disaster. Smith that it had intercepted private wireless messages R

In 1916 Jennie gave birth to a third daughter, Vivian; two d n

a Americans could not sue the House of Morgan. sent by J. Bruce Ismay from the Carpathia. Ismay, the r

years later, Virginia was born. Jennie Quick died in 1965 at the G Smith quickly redirected his energies to the redrafting age of eighty-four, six years after the death of her husband. British chairman of the White Star Line, owner of the Michigan Senator William Alden Smith, shown here with his parents, of U.S. maritime law. Smith Bill No. 6976 required pas- Phyllis died in 1954. Winifred eventually married and had five Titanic and one of the men to have survived the ship- was determined to learn why so many people died during one of the senger vessels to sail with an adequate number of children. Today, Winifred, at ninety-three years of age, is one wreck, was arranging to immediately transport himself country’s worst maritime disasters. lifeboats, assign passengers to specific boats and teach of the few Titanic survivors still alive. In poor health, she lives and the Titanic’s surviving crewmen back to England. them the shortest route to reach them. Shipboard wireless quietly in a Michigan nursing home. I Smith went to New York and intercepted Ismay and the only fitting conclusion to the Titanic disaster was to the crewmen in mid-harbor. Because the senate have the House of Morgan sued by its former customers. operations were conducted under more stringent regula- sergeant at arms was squeamish about serving subpoe- tions and provided twenty-four-hour service. Within weeks Bibliographic Note The senate inquiry began on Friday, 19 April 1912, in nas “on foreigners,” Smith turned to a crony from his the East Room of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Smith unmer- after the inquiry’s conclusion, American ships were outfit- Sources used to write this story include The Discovery of the Titanic by game-warden days in the Upper Peninsula. Chippewa cifully grilled Ismay and Second Officer Charles Lightoller, ted with an appropriate number of lifeboats and extra wire- Robert D. Ballard, The Loss of the Titanic by Lawrence Beesley, A Night County sheriff Joseph Bayliss, who was visiting the Titanic’s highest-ranking surviving officer. The facts less operators. In 1913 the International Conference for to Remember by Walter Lord, Titanic: An Illustrated History with text by Washington on a personal matter, was deputized at proved so sensational that they virtually knocked the Taft- the Safety of Life At Sea generated better standards for Donald D. Lynch and art by Ken Marschall, The Maiden Voyage by once as an assistant sergeant at arms. He served the Roosevelt battle for the GOP presidential nomination off constructing ships, relaying meteorological information Geoffrey Marcus, “Ruth Becker Blanchard” and “The Tragic Marriage of (such as icebergs) and developing better radiotelegraphy, Helen and Dick Bishop,” Titanic Commutator by Don Lynch, “The Night subpoenas on Ismay and the Titanic crew. the front pages. Despite Ismay’s guarded and cautious tes- lifesaving appliances and safety certification. Perhaps the God Chose Between the Quicks and the Dead,” Titanic Commutator by During his New York trip, Smith learned that although timony, damning evidence emerged. The Titanic had been George Behe, various issues of the Detroit News Tribune, Detroit Free the Titanic was of British registry, she was owned by the rushed into service with insufficient sea trials and inade- conference’s most significant achievement was its cre- Press, Dowagiac Daily and Benton Harbor News-Palladium dating from American company International Mercantile Marine quate safety inspections. Numerous warnings of icebergs ation of the U.S. Coast Guard, which began service in 16 April to 22 May 1912, and an unpublished manuscript, “The Sinking (IMM), a J. P. Morgan trust. The ship fell within the dic- in the North Atlantic had neither reduced the ship’s speed 1914. of the Titanic and the Dowagiac Connection,” by Stan Hamper. tates of the Harter Act, which specified that, following a nor increased the number of men on lookout duty. The The Michigan man who knew little about shipping made wreck, a shipping company could not be sued for negli- number of lifeboats available—accommdating only half the the seas safer for future generations. Carey L. Draeger is an assistant editor with Michigan History Magazine. She gence unless the company’s president or general man- 2,235 people aboard— had been loaded to only two-thirds wishes to thank Dowagiac resident Stan Hamper for bringing the Bishops’ ager knew about the negligence. Ismay was IMM’s This article was prepared by Carey L. Draeger. For more information see story to her attention. She owes a great debt to the Titanic Historical capacity. Many of the third-class passengers never Wyn C. Wade’s “The Senator and the Shipwreck,” Michigan History Society, particularly Vice President Karen Kamuda, Historian Don Lynch, American president. This information infused the inquiry reached the deck when the boat began sinking and Smith Magazine (November/December 1979). Artist Ken Marschall and Contributing Historian George Behe for their with an entirely new purpose: Senator Smith believed wanted to know why. assistance in producing this story.

42 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 43 ou remember the moment—you were part of it. The winning touchdown. The knockout punch. The miracle performance. The heartbreaking loss. These are the moments of sports history. Whether you saw it or lived it, one moment stands out above all others. Amateur Yor professional, team or individual, share that sports memory with us. Michigan History Magazine’s special sports issue, due out this summer, devoted to Michigan’s sports history, wouldn’t be complete without words from you—the fans and the players. Please: • keep your sports memory to 100 words or less • print legibly or type • illustration welcomed; do not send original photographs Send your Michigan sports memory to: Recollections Editor Michigan History Magazine 717 W. Allegan St. Lansing, MI 48918-1805 Sorry, we cannot acknowledge receipt of entries nor return them. Recollections must be received by May 15, 1997. EDITOR’S BOOKSHELF

announce our achievements. I am Michigan have not the bright sincerity of archaeology has acknowledged the reminded of a poem by Robert Frost or significance of stars. We, with faith that the public has held in us for Investigating the Archaeological Records in which ordinary people beg a dis- human speech, must say something several decades and finally has given passionate distant star to “say some- that most people can understand and them something they wish to learn. I of the Great Lakes State thing we can learn by heart.” The enjoy. I hope this volume launches star’s response is remote, grandiose an all-out effort of archaeologists to Susan R. Martin teaches archaeology in the and unsatisfying: “I burn.” communicate with readers at all Department of Social Sciences at Michigan by Susan Martin The archaeological professionals of levels. Perhaps now the profession Technological University.

his collection of essays consti- inclusiveness and its timeliness. Its American archaeological enterprise: T tutes the first widely accessible inclusiveness, reflecting the many walks description and chronology, explana- volume on the topic of Michigan of life from which Betsy recruited her tion of lifeways and explanation of archaeology in over twenty years. It students and coworkers, is truly a com- culture change. Holland at 150 was prepared in honor of the career bined achievement of its authors, their One paper in particular should and influence of Elizabeth “Betsy” mentor and the editors. There is within interest the specialist: Kathryn Parker’s by LeRoy Barnett Baldwin Garland, recently it something of interest for paper implicitly connects the world of retired from teaching anyone curious about probability sampling with the world of anthropology and archae- INVESTIGATING THE archaeology, whether marginal prehistoric horticulture. Hers, arry Massie is one of Michigan’s ology at Western Michigan ARCHAEOLOGICAL beginner or specialist. in part, proclaims a truth we’d rather L most popular and prolific writers University. The twenty- RECORDS OF THE Three papers (Buck- not face: that past field practices prob- of state and local history. Evidence one contributors are all GREAT LAKES STATE master and Paquette, ably obscured our efforts at scientific to support this claim lies in the fact people she has instructed, Cleland and Ruggles, discovery. Parker’s point is that the that he has published thirteen books on collaborated with and ESSAYS IN HONOR OF Clark) discuss the early more one wishes to understand a rare, Michigan, which collec- influenced, but the com- ELIZABETH GARLAND prehistoric occupations unevenly distributed phenomenon, the tively have sold over one plete list of such people is Edited by Margaret of northern Michigan. more of it one must measure. Michigan hundred thousand copies. HAVEN, HARBOR much longer. B. Holman, Janet G. The paper by Spero, horticulture is a rare, unevenly distrib- In addition, he has authored AND HERITAGE: Betsy’s career repre- Brashler and Kathryn Spero and Dorothy uted phenomenon despite our field hundreds of articles on the THE HOLLAND, sents the life cycle of describes stone artifacts practices to the contrary. We have sam- Great Lakes region. E. Parker. Kalamazoo: MICHIGAN STORY many American women in New Issues Press, and their complicated pled by rote for reasons of economy, Given the obvious inter- By Larry Massie archaeology: hard work, Western Michigan nomenclatures, which imitation and faith. But rare remains, est in Massie’s literary Allegan, MI: The nodding recognition, insti- University, 1996, 500 novices can use to particularly those of preserved plant labors, many readers are Priscilla Press, 1996, tutional indifference and pp., illus., hardcover become familiar with the materials, require time-consuming probably wondering what Illus., maps, bibliogra- the nurturing of students $35.00, softcover archaeological penchant strategies to find. Michigan is not the he’s been up to lately. The phy, index, 200 pp. whose reputations, due to $17.50. Order from for naming things in land of prehistoric horticultural plenty answer is, creating perhaps $29.95, plus $2.00 Betsy’s self-sacrifice, may the publisher, novel ways. The three and our field methods must agree with the best municipal history shipping and $1.80 even surpass her own. She Kalamazoo, MI papers of Cremin, that reality. In addition to methodologi- he has ever written. The tax. Order from exemplifies the people 49008-3801, (616) Mainfort and Martin link cal sophistication, Parker’s paper pre- occasion for this publica- Holland Chamber of whose contributions and 387-8743, FAX (616) the social worlds of sents a coherent explanation of site tion is Holland’s sesquicen- Commerce, 272 East efforts generate the daily 387-8750 native people to the oper- placement vis à vis resources as tennial, which the city excitement of archaeology: ations of Euro-American reflected in both topographic setting chose to celebrate by hav- 8th Street, Holland, hot, dirty sites; collegial economic systems. and floral subassemblage. ing Massie write its story. MI 49422. companionship; little bits of discovery Several papers (Lovis et al, Holman This volume is timely as well. It This recent release is not all piled up into a stimulating career of and Kingsley) attempt to reconstruct appears at the close of the most opu- Massie’s first attempt to research and teaching. This is truly the the ways in which human communi- lently funded twenty years in the his- chronicle the milestones in Holland’s romance of archaeology. ties sought to reduce risk as they tory of American archaeology, development. In 1988 he wrote The The volume is arranged chronologi- adapted themselves to new conditions, underwritten largely by public dol- Holland Area, with the nifty subtitle of cally, covering the broad temporal, geo- food supplies and new neighbors. lars. Michigan’s contribution to this Warm Friends and Wooden Shoes. With graphical and topical reach of Brashler and Mead’s paper synthesizes period, in terms of producing accessi- Massie visiting the same well twice in Michigan’s archaeological record. There scattered site-location information ble archaeological literature, is just one decade, people might think the sec- are eleven papers, which collectively into models of prehistoric settlement beginning. No longer do we talk only ond book is just a rehash of the old ver- account for ten thousand years of system change and variability. In fact, to each other. We have an obligation sion. If they do so, they will be wrong Michigan prehistory and history. The the topical coverage reflects an inter- to reach our funding source, the pub- and miss out on a good thing. book’s major strengths are both its est in three levels of the modern lic, to justify our demands and One of Massie’s many gifts is his

46 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 47 ability to find unusual facts and use the volume does cover many social bibliography and—my personal them to weave interesting tales. By and cultural facets of Holland, the favorite—a subject index. drawing upon these talents, he ensures overall focus of the work is on the Haven, Harbor and Heritage is more that his second book on Holland is full town’s trade and industry. The main than just chronological prose on of original material with intellectual thrust of the book is on the economic Holland. It is a representative sample of substance. While the two volumes do history of a western Michigan settle- the birth and growth of urban Michigan overlap coverage, both works clearly ment, an emphasis expected in a work from wilderness to vibrant metropolitan have their own identities. that is partially copyrighted by the area. And it is, using one town as an Some may think that by including Holland Area Chamber of Commerce. example, a tribute to the free-enterprise mostly new research in his latest produc- While the accent upon entrepre- system that has served this country so tion, Massie would lose the temporal neurial Holland may disappoint some well. I suggest inquisitive people get flow and continuity that characterized his readers seeking broader topical cover- this book and follow Michigan’s Pied first book on Holland. Like most good age, they will be pleased to know that Piper of history back into the past to writers, however, Massie allows the the rest of the book is a typical Massie learn about the evolution of Holland as magic in his pen to almost seamlessly creation. Present is the author’s usual a port and mercantile center. I blend time, people and events into an high-quality craftsmanship, his easy- unfolding textual picture of community. reading style, an engaging narrative Le Roy Barnett is the reference archivist of the This is, however, not a balanced and abundant and well-chosen illustra- State Archives of Michigan and a Michigan product. It was not meant to be. While tions. Also included are a thorough History Magazine contributing editor.

Benton Harbor’s City of David by Clare E. Adkin

n 1977 R. James Taylor applied for religious group practiced communal Messenger. By the time the Taylors between the two colonies. The House accomplish this Taylor uses photo- spective. His effective mixture of Iand was accepted into membership living, a vegetarian diet, refused to cut reached Benton Harbor in 1932, of David only accepts Benjamin as the graphs, postcards, news clippings, exhibits and writings by various colony as one of the brothers at the Israelite hair and whiskers, demanded celibacy Benjamin had died and the colony had Seventh and final Messenger whereas documents, diary excerpts and other members gives the reader a strong feel- House of David as Reorganized by and believed in the eternal life of the split in two—House of David and City the City of David accepts Benjamin artifacts to give his book a scrapbook ing about life in Mary’s City of David. Mary Purnell. Located in body while eagerly antici- of David. Fred Taylor, the author’s and Mary combined as the Messenger. flair. These well-organized, attractively Mary’s City of David is Taylor’s Benton Harbor, Michigan, pating the millennium’s father, grew up at Mary’s City of Over the years, there has been a presented materials fill a void in the third and most significant historical R. JAMES TAYLOR, this religious commune rapid approach. They David. As a young man he left the plethora of literature (mostly newspa- historical record of the Israelites in contribution about the Israelites to MARY’S CITY OF originated in 1903. Taylor remain steadfast in their colony, married and eventually raised a pers) written about the House of southwestern Michigan. Some of the date. His first work was a two-hundred DAVID: A PICTORIAL took his oath of allegiance conviction that at the time family of two sons and one daughter. David. Their traveling bands and base- photos are quite rare, such as the page, hand-written essay, “To HISTORY OF THE to heart; over the next of the millennium only Ronnie, the author, was the oldest of ball teams, the fabulous Eden Springs Israelites harvesting sorghum cane for Whomsoever This May Concern,” ISRAELITE HOUSE OF nineteen years he rose to they, the chosen people, these children. After Ronnie graduated amusement park and the scandalous molasses, and some documents, such as completed in 1990. The second, 200 colony trustee and secre- DAVID AS the remnant of the scat- from Benton Harbor High School in civil trials of the 1920s all helped Mary and Benjamin’s marriage certifi- Years: A History of the Seven Churches tary for the trust. Today he REORGANIZED BY tered twelve Israelite 1969, he entered the San Francisco Art bring much notoriety to the Israelites. cate, were previously unpublished. of Israel of the Latter Day, was pub- is the colony’s recognized MARY PURNELL. tribes, will be saved. Institute. After his 1973 graduation, Following the turbulent 1920s, the Brother Taylor draws heavily from a lished by the City of David in 1992. spokesperson and has pre- BY R. JAMES TAYLOR Taylor’s book outlines Taylor returned home and began work- commune divided in 1930. But the book written by Francis Thorpe, enti- Each contains numerous excerpts from sented numerous programs BENTON HARBOR: this faith as it developed ing at the House of David, a position original House of David continued to tled The Crown of Thorns. Taylor rec- religious tracts written by Benjamin on its history. MARY’S CITY OF DAVID, through a succession of that would have displeased his grand- maintain itself more in the public eye ognizes Thorpe’s efforts to defend the and Mary. His current work is of far The Israelite House of seven messengers. This is parents. Soon he moved to the City of than did the more agrarian City of House of David from its detractors. He more interest to the general public and 1996, 181 PP, ILLUS., David grew to prominence an easy task for Brother David and eventually joined it. He is David. Consequently, most of the makes no pretenses about his position a must for collectors of House of $53.00, PLUS during the first two Taylor, who grew up the only third-generation Israelite recognition accorded the Israelites fell as advocate for the Israelites, the City David literature and memorabilia. I $3.18 TAX. decades of the twentieth close to the House of member of the Seventh Church—a to the House of David to the chagrin of of David and Sister Mary. This lack of century under the able David. His Australian curious position considering the Mary’s City of David. objectivity would be a historical short- Clare E. Adkin Jr., who authored Brother leadership of its leaders and Seventh grandparents, James and Laura Taylor, celibacy rule. Taylor attempts to correct this over- coming if it were not for Taylor’s can- Benjamin: A History of the Israelite House of Messenger of God, Benjamin and and their son, Fred, were followers of Although he describes his book as sight by emphasizing the many commu- did admission of this position from the David (1991), has retired to North Carolina after Mary Purnell. A Christian commune the Fifth Messenger before accepting a pictorial “coffee table book,” Taylor nity contributions of Sister Mary and start. He openly tells the story of the almost thirty years of teaching in St. Joseph, patterned in a likeness of Christ, this Benjamin and Mary as the Seventh explains the fundamental differences her colony, Mary’s City of David. To City of David from an insider’s per- Michigan.

48 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 49 PROFILESPROFILES

Down the Myrtle Path tells Edwards’ life story, from his family’s immigra- The History and Memories of Town Hall School tion from Ireland in the mid-1800s to his death during Curmudgeon of Elmwood written and compiled by Hannah Geddes Wright one of the final battles of the Civil War. Doby, who is Parma, MI: Hannah Geddes Wright, 1996; 114pp, illus., John Edwards’ great-great-nephew, tells a story that is softcover $12.00, plus $2.00 shipping both personal and riveting. Order from the publisher by Marilynn Sambrano Wright tells the historical and human story of the at 5124 Bur Oak Circle, Raleigh, North Carolina little, one-room schoolhouse located in Pittsfield 27612, (800) 948-2786. Township, near Ann Arbor. The school was opened in istory: it’s the stories of the people that make it interest- the “u”) was born fifty-five years ago on Detroit’s east side. He ing,” says Chancey P. Miller. He colorfully weaves anec- landed his first acting job, at four years of age in a Johnson’s 1852 and closed 105 years later. Wright has a per- In the Wilderness with the Red Indians: German H Missionaries to the Michigan Indians 1847-1853. dotes about Michigan’s celebrated forebearers—many of Wax commercial at his father’s workplace, Jam Handy. The sonal stake in the school—it was originally built on E. R. Baierlein, translated by Anita Z. Boldt whom are buried right outside his office window—and makes now-defunct agency, whose studio was on Grand Boulevard, her family’s centennial farm property and she was the history come alive at Detroit’s Elmwood Cemetery. produced all kinds of commercial adventures, including auto Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1996; fifth generation to attend classes there. Using recol- 152pp, illus., softcover $12.95 If you go to Elmwood and ask Miller about any of the shows and educational projects. As with any topic he’s talking lections and photographs from former students, news- famous people who have been laid about, Miller is quick to add one paper articles, maps, reports and building receipts, First published in Germany in 1889, Baierlein’s to rest there, like Russell A. Alger, small detail about Jam Handy that Lewis Cass or Hiram Walker, gives the place character: “The Jam Wright compiles an interesting history of a small account tells the story of his life as a missionary with the Ojibwa in central lower Michigan. Along with his you’ll leave feeling as if you’ve Handy Organization never did any town’s educational and social center. Order from met these men. liquor or tobacco ads.” wife, Baierlein went to Bethany, Michigan, to estab- author, 4209 N. Dearing Road, Parma, MI 49269. Miller, the general manager of Miller’s animated attention to lish a church, build homes and educate the children of Elmwood, the oldest continually detail—“The doctor who treated the Keweenaw Central Railroad the local Native Americans and of German Lutheran operating nonreligious cemetery in first injured soldier from Michigan and the Crestview Resort immigrants who lived there. Baierlein’s account is a Detroit, is the right man for the job. during the Civil War . . . they’re both Clarence J. Monette sensitive and respectful portrayal of mid-nineteenth- “This is an extraordinary experi- buried here at Elmwood, even Calumet, MI: Greenlee Printing Co., 1997; 128pp, illus., century life among a Michigan Indian tribe. Order ence for me. It pulls it all together,” though they went their separate softcover $5.00, plus $1.24 postage says Miller. His “all” covers a lot of ways after their first meeting”—is from publisher, The Leonard N. Simons Building, territory: fifty years of theater expe- both fascinating and accurate. Miller

Once billing itself as “America’s Northernmost 4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309, d e

rience, an outstanding eye for t is a well-read man who admits to o n

Steam Excursion Line,” the Keweenaw Central (313) 577-4603. e

detail, an interest in the arts and an s “retaining the little things.” He says i w r

obsession with reading (and e his reading has slowed some. He Railroad was originally built in 1905 to haul copper h t o

Guardian of the Great Lakes s

remembering what he’s read), a s now reads only one or two books a

ore from mines at Keweenaw Point. When mining e l n

The USS Paddle Frigate Michigan u respectful sense of humor and the week. He counts some twelve thou- , operations ceased in 1908, a resort was built to r e t e

ability to make it all work. r sand books, ranging from murder by Bradley A. Rodgers t n

encourage tourism and offset financial losses. e s

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996, 214pp., Chancey Miller (he’s the third o mysteries to historical biographies, R

Monette, a local historian whose fifty-one previous . L

illus., hardcover $42.50, softcover $18.95 Miller to carry the name in his personal library. An entire r e g

books cover Copper Country history, tells the story of “Chauncey” o room in his house is filled with R

Rodgers’ book tells the saga of the USS Michigan, s h

the little resort railroad line that helped bring vaca- without p floor-to-ceiling bookshelves packed a r g

an iron-hulled war steamer launched in 1843. Its mis- o t with books about the theater.

tioners to one of Michigan’s most remote spots. Order o h p

sion was to patrol the often volatile Great Lakes r Miller has been an integral part of o from author, 942 Ninth Street, Lake Linden, MI l o

C the Grosse Pointe Theatre for the 49945, (906) 296-2561. region, quelling port-town disturbances and rescuing Canadian and American ships in distress. After a past thirty years. “I never lived in General Manager Chancey Miller (left) enjoys regaling Grosse Pointe. It was almost a fluke The Last Full Measure of Devotion tumultuous career that spanned nearly eight decades, visitors with little-known tidbits of information that I ended up at the theatre,” he J. Doby the Michigan was scrapped. Order from publisher, about some of Elmwood‘s more famous resi- says. “In 1967, while I was doing Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press, Inc., 1996; 216pp, 839 Greene Street, P.O. Box 1104, Ann Arbor, MI dents. Elmwood’s office building and work for Jam Handy, I asked around softcover $18.95, plus $3.00 shipping and handling 48106-1104, (313) 764-4388. ornate gateway (above) were built in about other jobs and found someone 1870 of quarried limestone in a late- Over 130 years ago, John “Capt’n Jack” Edwards who was going over to try out in Victorian Gothic style. Additions Grosse Pointe. I went along, and revealed to his family in Michigan the appalling con- were annexed in the early Publishers and authors wishing to have recent publications considered for found friendly people there who did 1900s. In 1988-89 the building ditions of army life during the Civil War. His power- inclusion should send two review copies of books to Editor, Michigan History good production work. ful and compelling letters, preserved by Edwards’ Magazine, 717 West Allegan, Lansing, MI 48918, with the following informa- was extensively restored. tion: location and name of publisher, price, shipping costs and supplier’s “Over the years, I played every- e

family, provide the basis for this historical novel that address. d thing, including the ‘buddy’ kind of e h T roles, such as Ben Franklin in 1776 and Watson In Sherlock s e m

a Holmes. I’m no longer the romantic lead,” he laughs, rolling J

50 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 51 his eyes up at his graying hair, “but if we rehearse long enough, I could sing and dance. “I’ve done everything in theater—acting, directing, admin- istration. Until recently, I was the president of the Grosse Pointe Theatre. Since the ‘80s, I’ve done a lot of administration. I’ve been on the board there for the last nineteen years,” says Miller. He’s also been on the board of the Michigan Community Theater Association, from 1970 to 1991, when he finally retired from the group. Miller is enthusiastic about the theater scene in southeastern Michigan. “Detroit has many venues for performing art,” says Miller. “There’s the Fisher Theater, Music Hall, the Opera House, the Masonic Temple. . . . I was involved with bringing five international theater conferences to Detroit to perform.” Cass. Eleven Michigan senators, including Lucius In 1973 and 1977 he was part of the U.S. delegation for Lyon, Zachariah Chandler and Thomas W. international theater competition and traveled to Monaco as an

Palmer, are interred here. n a g

U.S. ambassador for theater. Miller visited every state but i h c Prominent African American citizens buried i M

Hawaii, and many times his visits have been theater-related. f o

at Elmwood include Cora Brown, the first black s

It’s the actor in Miller that gives him such an ebullient e v i h c presence. Although he says theater is his hobby, not his voca- woman in the nation elected to a state senate; r A

e etroit’s oldest, continually operating, nonre- t a tion, it’s profoundly influenced his life. “I love characters,” James Robinson, an American Revolution and t S

: s

says Miller. “They’re the best kind of people.” He blends his ligious cemetery, Elmwood was established o t

War of 1812 veteran and the oldest person buried o h p

love of extraordinary people with a solid academic reserve of

Din 1846 by six prominent Detroit citizens, who c i r

in Elmwood (he died at the age of 115 in 1868); o t

information. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Mott s i

selected a historic site on farm property east of the H College, Miller acquired a master of fine arts degree from and Fannie Richards, the first black teacher in the city. The eighty-six-acre site is composed of hills Lewis Cass Russell A. Alger Wayne State, where he concentrated on history and art history. Detroit public school system. and valleys on both sides of Parent’s Creek, which Miller’s art background appears on the walls of his office Other interesting historic figures of Michigan where he uses the space as an orientation center for the ceme- was named for the original property owners of the history who chose Elmwood as their final resting tery. Large photographs of Elmwood’s monument art styles 1700s. On 31 July 1763, during the French and Indian offer a brief art history course to his visitors. He categorizes the place include Douglass Houghton, Michigan’s first War, Chief Pontiac and four hundred Indians different monuments into sarcophagi, columns and obelisks, naturalist and second state geologist; thirty mem- ambushed British regulars under the command of Fannie Richards Douglass Houghton angels, mourning figures, granite shapes and sculpture. bers of the First Michigan Infantry Regiment, Captain Dalzell at Parent’s Creek. Because so many of “I taught some art history for awhile in the ‘60s,” says who enlisted in 1861 in response to President Miller. “These days, I just collect art. I have things as old as the British soldiers were either killed or wounded, Lincoln’s call for troops; William A. Burt, who the fifteenth century and works by contemporary young artists. the place was called Bloody Run. “I also collect antiques. If I see something and I like it and invented the equatorial sextant and the solar Elmwood Cemetery was originally mod- compass; and Margaret Mather, one of the nine- eled after Mount Auburn Cemetery in teenth century’s greatest Shakespearean actresses. Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1890 Central Elmwood Cemetery is located at 1200 Park designer Frederick Law Olmstead Elmwood Avenue, just off Jefferson Avenue, replanned and created improvements to the north of the Lafayette Boulevard-McDougall cemetery, including the large stands of trees Avenue intersection. For more information or to and roads that follow the land’s natural schedule a tour, contact the cemetery office at slope. (313) 567-3453. I Many of the names that appear on Elmwood’s gravestones and mausoleums also figure prominently in Detroit and Michigan history. Over 635 Civil War veter- ans, including 28 generals, lie at Elmwood. Elmwood’s Civil War veterans’ lot is the final resting place for over two hun- Many high-ranking political figures may be found dred soldiers, including fifteen members of the 102nd United States Colored Troops (above). Senator Jacob Howard, who is credited with authoring the at Elmwood, including six Michigan governors, such Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, is buried at Elmwood (top). as William Woodbridge, Russel A. Alger and Lewis

52 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 53 TRIP TIPS

U.S. Senator Zachariah Chandler, Elmwood. “Detroit’s hospitals are buried here,” Miller grins They Never Forgot buried across the Parent’s Creek proudly. “There’s Dr. Jennings and Dr. Blaine . . . and one of If you’d like to learn more about the Titanic, there are a number of fascinating books to read. A sampling of some of the best include Titanic: An Illustrated History (Madison Press Books, 1992) valley from political opponent the founders of Children’s Hospital. And Isabella Graham with text by Don Lynch and paintings by Ken Marschall; the classic A Night to Remember (Henry Lewis Cass, served as the boss Duffield Stewart, the woman responsible for the building of Holt & Company, 1955) by Walter Lord; and The Titanic: End of a Dream (Ransom Associates of Michigan Republicans during Harper Hospital. Her father was a minister and she told him Publishers, 1979) by Michiganian Wyn C. Wade. Robert Ballard, a senior scientist with the Woods the party’s first twenty-five years. that Detroit needed a hospital (this was during the Civil War). Hole Oceanographic Institute at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, led the team that found and dove Well, her father shared this with the community and Harper the wreck of the Titanic in 1985. His book about this amazing achievement, The Discovery of the Titanic (Warren Books, 1987) is rich with photographs and new information. heard about it.” Miller adds that Harper’s rival, Grace Hospital, A number of movies have been or are being made about the Titanic. The British-made A Night is also represented at Elmwood. to Remember, the 1958 adaptation of Lord’s book (below), is a classic and is out on video. Hiram Walker, who’s also buried here, wasn’t Canadian. He Twentieth Century Fox originally produced The Titanic in 1953, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, was once a greengrocer who distilled vinegar. From vinegar, he Clifton Webb and Robert Wagner. moved on to distilling liquor and found that it was less expen- Forty-four years later, the same movie company is filming a second Titanic movie (above). Directed by James Cameron of sive to distill it in Canada, even though he lived In Detroit. Terminator 2 and Aliens fame, Titanic is still filming in Rosarita Beach, Mexico. The $120-million Walker was active in agriculture and hogs and cattle. And then movie sets and costumes have been created with a critical eye to historical accuracy. Titanic there’s the country club. Historical Society historian Don Lynch and artist Ken Marschall were hired by Titanic producers as Miller is not above sharing a little hear-say. He offers the technical advisors to the film (Lynch even has a small part in the movie as a passenger—“a sur- story about mega-landowner and Elmwood resident Joseph vivor,” he cheerfully notes). Titanic will also include footage of the real wreck, which Cameron filmed from a Russian submersible during twelve dives in 1995. Twentieth Century Fox plans to Campau. Campau supposedly argued with a member of the release Titanic in July 1997. clergy about a church. When he didn’t get his way, Campau Websites about the Titanic abound. One of the best is seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/JASON/HTML/ asked the church to return the money he had loaned it. When titanic.html, which includes a long list of other Titanic links. can afford it, I buy it. If I see a piece at either a gallery or flea the monies weren’t forthcoming, Campau had the clergyman If you are interested in joining an organization devoted to the Titanic, contact the Titanic market and it says ‘take me’ the first time I see it, then I know jailed. But the church had the last laugh: Campau was excom- Historical Society at P.O. Box 51053, Indian Orchard, MA 01151-0053, (413) 543-4770. Since Robert Ballard’s 1985 discovery of the wreck site, several dives have been made by the it’s for me. I ask myself, ‘Do I want to wake up in the morning municated and couldn’t be buried in a Catholic cemetery after RMS Titanic, Inc. to recover artifacts. Many of the pieces are now featured in Titanic: The Exhibition and find it at the foot of my bed?’ If so, that’s another good sign he died. at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. The exhibit will run from April 3 to September 30, 1997. To order tickets or obtain more information, contact the Memphis that I should buy it,” Miller laughs. There’s the one about how Zachariah Chandler, one of the Cook Convention Center at (800) 2MEMPHIS. Chancey Miller’s sense of humor is revealed when he talks founders of the Republican Party and a U.S. senator, voted to about one of his favorite paintings, one of two portraits of him deny former Confederate President Jefferson Davis his pen- Van Raalte’s Settlement painted by contemporary artist Joseph Maniscalco. “It was in sion. Chandler often opposed Lewis Cass’s views when it Holland’s reputation as the tulip center of Michigan (and perhaps the nation) is well deserved. the ‘70s, and I had just finished playing the Roman emperor came to political matters. With a sweep of his long arm, Miller Every year, the city sets aside ten days to celebrate this colorful flower with its Tulip Time Festival. in The Boys from Syracuse. Joseph loved the costume, so he points out that Chandler’s grave is on one side of the ceme- This year, Tulip Time is scheduled from May 8 to May 17. For more information, call (800) 822-2770 or visit the Tulip Time Festival homepage at www.tuliptime.org. painted me wearing it. For years he used that portrait in his tery, and Cass’s is directly opposite his—and the arm sweeps Windmill Island Municipal Park features an eighteenth-century De Zwaan windmill imported ads, which appeared in many play programs. There I was— across the room—on the other side. from the Netherlands. Visitors may enter the De Zwaan and watch the gears turn or enjoy the often reproduced larger than the stars themselves!” What lies ahead for Chancey Miller and Elmwood Cemetery? view from atop the only authentic Dutch windmill in the United States. Plans are underway to Miller’s calendar often looks larger than any star’s. He is Not surprisingly, the futures of both are entwined. “Since I’m still construct a historic village around the windmill. For more information, call (616) 355-1030. currently on the boards of the Michigan Cemetery Associ- in my mid-fifties, I plan to continue at Elmwood for at least No visit to Holland would be complete without a stop at the ation, the U.S. Grant Camp of the Sons of the Union War and another ten years,” Miller says. Although the cemetery currently original Wooden Shoe Factory. the Denby Kawanis Club. At one time, he served on the has fifty-five thousand graves, there is room for at least five to ten Visitors may enjoy watching boards of nine different organizations. thousand more sites. “And when those are sold, the cemetery will craftspeople make traditional Dutch klompen the old-fashioned way. The century-old machines Miller is no stranger to hard work. In the late 1940s his par- continue to be open to visitors.” used to create the shoes are the world’s oldest working wooden-shoe machines. The factory is ents began restoring a farmhouse in Detroit that had been in Miller has several plans for Elmwood history projects during located at 447 U.S. 31 at 16th Street, Holland, MI 49423, (616) 396-6513. the family since 1834. the next few years, including a brochure highlighting prominent Miller worked in Flint as an assistant to Roger Van Bolt, nineteenth-century women buried at the cemetery. “The publi- Bronze Buckaroo director of the Alfred P. Sloan Museum. Prior to going to cation will feature about fifty women, although I have two hun- African American history is alive and well on the Internet. A number of sites are devoted to the research and study of African Americans on the silver screen. For a short but excellent bibli- Elmwood, he was an administrator at Forest Lawn Cemetery. dred to choose from.” Miller also hopes to print booklets ography, visit www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/AfricanAmBib.html. The Library of Congress offers a He has set wide parameters for his post at Elmwood. “A covering others buried at Elmwood, including lumber barons, resource guide for the study of black history and culture for the last five hundred years at cemetery is where people who have been loved are,” says Detroit mayors, automotive pioneers, religious leaders and edu- lcwlb.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html. Miller. “Their stories are important.” To share them with oth- cators. “The list is nearly infinite. Every time we find a piece If you would like to spend the evening with the Bronze Buckaroo, you may order video- ers, Miller has extensively researched the historical biogra- of information, we put it in our files for future reference.” tapes of Herb Jeffries’ three available films from the Critics’ Choice Video. Each tape sells for $9.99, with a $5.50 shipping/handling fee per order. To place an order, contact Critics’ phies he has written for visitors to the cemetery. He not only While Elmwood Cemetery may be the final resting place Choice Video at P.O. Box 749, Itasca, IL 60143-0749, (800) 544-9852. records facts about those who are buried there—Solomon S. for the dead, it is not a dead place. “I learn something new The Museum of African American History, in Detroit, is dedicated to the preservation and Sibley was an attorney who became Detroit’s first mayor by every day,” Miller says with a grin. “My job at Elmwood is presentation of African and African American history and culture. The museum is in the process of appointment of the territorial governor—but he often gives the definitely not routine. This place is alive with history.” I moving to its new location at 315 E. Warren and will be closed until April 1. You can visit the museum’s home- page at aristotle. Sils.umich.edu/exhibit/maah/. For more information about the museum and upcoming exhibits, reader a sense of the time in which his subject lived. Marilynn Sambrano lives in Detroit. Her most recent article (“Lorraine call (313) 833-9800. But nothing beats Miller’s tales about those interred at Dieterle”) appeared in the January/February issu

54 Michigan History Magazine March/April 1997 55 POSTSCRIPT Coming Next In MICHIGAN HISTORY MAGAZINE y t i s r e v i n U

d r a v r a H

, y r a r b i L

n o t h g u o H The Hairbuyer as an Artist

“ ndependent in Everything—Neutral in Nothing” declared the slogan emblazoned across the head of the Lake Orion Review. On 24 December 1881 Lake Orion, a tiny community in northern Oakland County, received its first newspaper, a four-page, tabloid-style weekly with more adver- mericans knew him as the “hair-buyer” because of his alleged practice of Itisements than news. The new publication was edited and published by twenty-two-year-old John Neal. Aoffering large bounties to Indians for American scalps. What most people At first glance, Lake Orion was not a town to attract a newspaper. The community of four hundred souls enjoyed a dubious reputation for raucous didn’t know was that British Captain Henry Hamilton was something of an artist. saloons and hard-drinking lumberjacks. One narrow dirt road, scarred with deep ruts, linked Lake Orion to Pontiac, ten miles to the south. Although a railroad ran through town and two teachers oversaw the local schoolhouse, Lake Orion was considered an isolated spot. Review publisher John During his tour of duty as lieutenant governor of Detroit during the American Neal, however, saw promise in Lake Orion and convinced two partners to join him in producing the weekly. But after a year, the partners sold out to Revolution, Hamilton sketched eight Native American portraits as part of his Neal, leaving him to carry on alone. To financially support his struggling newspaper, the resourceful editor also developed a pension and insurance business. Neal’s perseverance was rewarded, for by the 1890s Lake Orion became one of Michigan’s most popular resort towns, attracting such unofficial recordings of Indian life and character. These never-before-published luminaries as Henry Ford, Detroit News publisher E. W. Scripps and various governors. images present a side of Henry Hamilton rarely seen. In 1915 John’s son George joined the newspaper staff as the Review’s manager and associate editor; although John remained editor until his death in 1925, it was George who completed most of the work during that time. This 1915 photograph shows George (center) performing one of his many duties—conferring with Review printer Leland Conley. Typesetter Ada Stewart (right) set all of the newspaper pages by hand, using different New Digs Make A World-Class Museum sizes of type from the rack she stands before. Following his father’s death, George and his wife Aurora continued publishing the weekly paper, which eventually boasted sixteen pages and ravel with us to Detroit for a visit to the new Museum of African American came out every Friday. The paper managed to survive the Depression, when advertising revenue dropped drastically; two world wars, which created THistory. The world’s largest African American history museum begins its a shortage of experienced printers; and George’s death in 1946. Although the paper was sold several times after George’s wife retired in 1953, the Lake Orion Review never stopped publishing. Today, the paper is in its 116th year and is Lake Orion’s oldest continuing business. fourth decade in a new, multimillion-dollar facility. You’ll admire African tribal —by Carey L. Draeger with material from Robert Downes masks, meet the inventor of the vending machine and enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at how it all came together. 56 Michigan History Magazine