Volume 36, number 2!
Rapids Historical Society
October 2014
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society
Inside this issue: Cover Story: October program Letter from our President, page 2
C.O. and Mabel Taylor: Power Couple of the Progressive Era by Doug Taylor and Michael Johnston Co sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
New members and the GRHS website, page 3
Special Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2014: 7:00 p.m.
Books on local history, page 4
The Progressive Era between 1890 and 1920 was a time of both tremendous poverty and fantastic wealth. The middle class was only just emerging, led by a slowly growing labor movement of skilled workers, barbers, machinists, musicians, and the newly emerging college-educated social workers, teachers, journalists, and women from affluent backgrounds. At that time the organized labor movement was about six percent of the U.S. population, similar to what it is again today. The middle class worked to reform politics and business practices, and to end child labor and sweatshops. It was from this national reform movement that C.O. and Mabel Taylor emerged as Grand Rapids’ power couple for women’s rights and labor rights. They were not wealthy. C.O. (who’s real name was Claude) was a business agent for the Barbers and Musicians union, and a talented performer. He constantly took on extra jobs to make ends meet for his family of eleven children, including barbering, working for unions, and running a printing business that printed the union paper he edited. He was also a labor leader, civic booster, newspaper editor, political candidate, sports promoter, founder of Michigan’s Workers‘ Compensation System, negotiator, organizer, and prominent participant in the effort to end the great 1913 miners strike in the U.P.
Storm Warriors - A Forgotten Story, page 6 Happening in History, page 7 Photo Sleuth, page 7
Search: Grand Rapids Historical Society
Next Program: History of the Grand Rapids Police Department. Save the date: November 13, 2014, 7:00 p.m., at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
Continued on page 5
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Dear GRHS Members,
The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society, published six times annually. Established in 1894, the Grand Rapids Historical Society is dedicated to exploring the history of West Michigan; to discover its romance and tragedy, its heroes and scoundrels, its leaders and its ordinary citizens. The Society collects and preserves our heritage, passing it on to new generations through books, lectures, and education projects.
Executive Committee: Gina Bivins, president Matthew Daley, vice president John Gelderloos, treasurer Board members: Alan Bennett Charles Bocskey Thomas Dilley W.D. Frankforter, emeritus Tim Gleisner Marilyn Hamill Chris Kaupa Gordon Olson, emeritus Nan Schichtel Wilhelm Seeger Jeff Sytsma Jim Winslow Kurt Yost John Morrison, editor
Grand Rapids Historical Society c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Web site: www.grhistory.org Email: grhs.local@gmail.com
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When you put your "face" out there as I do in our monthly newsletter you can get some interesting phone calls or messages. I had two in the last few months that I feel are interconnected. The first was from the granddaughter of the artist Mathias Alten. She contacted me when there was an article about the refresh of Veterans Park. It seems that there are drawings done by her grandfather for a proposed redesign many decades ago. Gina Bivins The second call came from someone GRHS President wanting more information about a fountain that was purportedly in Fulton Street Park. The caller said that a friend had at least part of the fountain in their yard. I had heard about this missing fountain for years so was intrigued. I made a phone call to another board member and was told there is a photo of the fountain on page 106 of "Grand Rapids In Vintage Postcards 1890 - 1940. The person who called me was visiting their friend that weekend so took some photos, which they sent. It is Poseidon with his trident. The fountain was taken out at the time the park was made the Veterans Memorial Park, as we know it today. This was about 1930. Seems that the family who has part of the fountain dug up Poseidon from the dump. So part of the "what happened to that fountain" mystery is solved. I admit that I have not yet made time to take a look at the rendering by Mathias Alten. There just do not seem to be enough days in the week to get done all that I would like to do. Because I did not get as much information from Alten's granddaughter as I should have, I wonder if his design is from the 1930 time period. I would like to connect the two calls. A big thank you to board member Thomas Dilley for giving four tours of Futon Street Cemetery the first weekend in September. We could not have asked for better weather. (As I write this one week later I am feeling the deep chill of unseasonably cold temperatures.) The long awaited book on Grand Rapids cemeteries is out, "The Art of Memory". There are a number of events in the next month promoting it. Those that are free and open to the public will be posted on our web site. Please note the change of day and date for the October program.
About the Grand Rapids Historical Society. The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight programs each year, beginning in September and running through May, including lectures, audio/video presentations, demonstrations, collections, or special tours. Programs are co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Membership. Membership is open to all interested persons with annual dues of $30 per family, $20 for seniors and students, or $400 for a lifetime membership. The membership year runs from May to the following May. Members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society receive eight newsletters each year and a subscription to our annual magazine, Grand River Valley History. Members also receive a 20 percent discount on books published by the society as well as books published by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission. Change of Address. If you will be permanently or temporarily moving to a new address, please notify GRHS before your change occurs. Let us know your new address and the date you plan to leave and plan to return. Email to grhs.local@gmail.com, or mail to Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
W el c om e t o N e w M e m b er s of t h e Gr an d R ap i d s H i s t or i c al S oc i et y Ruth Benner Diane Bodell Sharon Boyink Margaret Chamberlain Kathryn Dilley Richard & Jill Drerup Beverly Dykstra PJ Glass Bill Grey Joette Hansen Michael Hauser Julie Haveman Coral Hoogewind Michele Hoogewind Nahum Jaramillo Jeff & Deb Klawiter David & Mary Mapes William Miner Vickie Nance
Ann Nowak Mary De Paul Palaszek Doug Proctor Jennifer Pullen Ginger Randall Peter & Bernice Rynders Kenneth & Kathryn Smith Linda Stewart Dave Thompson, Jr. Don VanderHoff Ted VanDyke Keith & Cindy VanScoyk Donna Wagar Jay Wagoner Sara Vander Werff David Winick
www. gr his t or y. or g
Stop into the Grand Rapids Historical Society’s new website at www.grhistory.org. Kick the tires. Give it a spin. We’d love to know what you think. It’s a great place to keep up with Historical Society events, shop for books and past editions of Grand River Valley History and Grand River Valley Review, and an easy way to contact us.
Join the Grand Rapids Historical Society or Give a Membership as a Gift Members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society: • Lifetime memberships: 72 • Annual memberships: 267 • Organizations: 35 • Baxter Award winners: 20
The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight lectures each year, which are co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Members of the society enjoy these benefits: The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society. Published and mailed to members eight times a year, it includes current items of historical interest, details of upcoming lectures, historically relevant activities, and short articles. The Grand River Valley History is the society’s annual magazine. Featured are illustrated articles by local history researchers and contributions from the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the City Archivist, the Grand Rapids Public Library, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. 20% Discount on all books and other items published by the society. Please enroll me as a member of the Grand Rapids Historical Society: ___ New ___ Renewal ___ Gift ____ Individual/Family Membership: $30.00 per year ____ Senior Citizen or Student: $20.00 per year ____ Lifetime: $400.00 one-time fee Name: Address: City/State/Zip Email: Please make check payable to the Grand Rapids Historical Society and mail it with this form to: Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids MI 49503
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
New B ook : Poison in g t h e Pec k s of Gr an d R apids With his boyish good looks, Arthur Warren Waite charmed into marriage the daughter of wealthy Grand Rapids business tycoon John E. Peck in 1916. He then wasted no time executing what he believed to be a flawless scheme to hijack his wife’s inheritance. The plot went awry when a mysterious telegram set off a sequence of events that ultimately exposed his immoral ambition to poison all other Peck heirs. Follow Waite’s “fingerprints of indiscretion” around Grand Rapids and New York City as author Tobin T. Buhk details this audacious plan of staggering complexity.
to the women in Waite's life testify against him, and get a rare glimpse of Waite's last days in Sing Sing's Death House. Using archival materials such as court documents and prison records, Buhk brings this yesteryear-crime to life and reveals Waite's plot to poison the Pecks of Grand Rapids. Author Tobin Buhk will give a talk outlining the case and discuss source materials, as well as talk about questions in this case that persist to this day.
It's a true crime narrative that allows readers to eavesdrop on the crime, the investigation, and the trial. They will eyewitness a postmortem in a backroom of Sprattler's mortuary, follow as Waite engineers numerous attempts to cover-up his crime, listen
Thursday, October 30, 2014, 6:30 p.m. Clarksville Area Library 130 S Main St Clarksville, MI 48815 616.693.1001 Book is available online at Barnes & Noble (BN.com)
Th e Ar t of M em or y: H i s t or i c Cem et er i es of Gr an d R ap i d s , M i c h i gan b y Th om as R . D illey In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the look and feel of cemeteries in the United States changed dramatically, from utilitarian burial grounds to the serene park-like spaces that we know today. The so-called park cemetery was innovative not only for its distinctive landscape architecture but also because, for the first time, its staff took on the tasks of designing, running, and maintaining the cemetery itself, leading to a very consistent appearance. By the mid-1800s, the influence of park cemeteries began to spread from big cities on the east coast to the Midwest —eventually producing fifteen transitional examples in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In The Art of Memory: Historic Cemeteries of Grand Rapids, Michigan Thomas R. Dilley details the history of Grand Rapids’ park cemeteries, finding that their development mimicked national trends and changing cultural beliefs about honoring the dead. 4
Get your copy of The Art of Memory at local bookstores, or online at http://wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/art-memory or www.schulerbooks.com. Grand River Times
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Remember October’s program is NOT on its usual week or day. Due to ArtPrize and other scheduling conflicts, October’s program will be on:
Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. I look forward to seeing you there.
Continued from cover
Mabel was his intellectual and civic partner at strikers. There was no fire but the subsequent escaping a time when women were expected to stampede caused the death of 73 people be seen but not heard. She was a – 59 of them children. The tragedy was civic do-gooder and a natural memorialized in Woody Guthrie’s song, leader among women. Both wore 1913 Massacre. many hats – figuratively – but it Everywhere C.O. traveled he was also Mabel’s trademark to kept his wife informed with a steady wear actual large and elaborate stream of postcards, many of which still hats. Mabel drove the family car exist. The U.P. strike was no exception. as C.O. preferred to be a This was also an era of passenger. monopolies, called trusts. They made The Progressive Era headlines with their power and greed defined their lives as a couple. while a vibrant President named Teddy And they typified this newly Roosevelt railed against their emerging middle and social class, unregulated power and became known known as cutting edge players of as the “trust buster.” C.O. and Mable their time where their activities knew this. They read their daily Grand were widely covered in the city’s Rapids Press and Herald regularly. press. They represented a whole Both newspapers did an excellent job new emerging social class like of covering national and international many others across the country. news. “Dinnertime meant discussing As President of the the day’s events,” remembered one tation. sen pre ge sta a g rin du lor Michigan Federation of Labor, young granddaughter, and she hated Claude O. Tay Taylor spent seven weeks in the it. “It was so boring.” Upper Peninsula desperately trying to end the Join speakers the Taylor’s grandson, Doug infamous immigrant copper miners’ strike of 1913. As Taylor, and local labor historian, Michael Johnston, on deprivation stalked their ranks, Taylor implored the a special date (Wednesday, October 29, 7 p.m.) as they copper barons to bargain with the Western Federation use family photos and newspaper articles to tell the of Miners to no avail. Then tragedy struck shortly story of C.O.’s and Mabel’s lives as movers and after he left. It was at Calumet’s Italian Hall on the shakers in Grand Rapids throughout the Progressive Keweenaw Peninsula, someone yelled “fire” at a Era, World War I, and through the Great Depression Christmas party being held for the children of the up to World War II. Grand River Times!
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
S t or m W ar r i or s : T h e For got t e n S t or y of t h e U . S . Life S avin g S er vic e on t h e Gr eat Lak es Risking their lives was part of the job for the heroic men of the U.S. Life-Saving Service who went to the aid of ships in distress, often in small boats during violent storms. The Life-Saving Service started on the Great Lakes in 1876 and became part of the Coast Guard in 1915. The Grand Rapids Postcard Club presents a program with an overview of the U.S. LifeSaving Service that played an important role in saving lives and property. It will include reasons for the LifeSaving Service, the buildings, the men and their duties, and the early Coast Guard.
Presenter, Steve Truman, is an avid researcher, LifeSaving Service historian, and postcard collector. He is a member of the U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association and a life member of the Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association. Steve is also a coauthor, together with his wife Grace and son Joel, of Storms and Sand: A Story of Shipwrecks and the Big Sable Point Coast Guard Station.
Monday, October 13, 7 p.m. Faith United Methodist Church 2600 7th Street NW, Grand Rapids Free and open to the public.
People “weren’t dying” to get into Tom Dilley’s tour of the Fulton Street Cemetery in September. In fact, more than 800 lively people showed up for the four tours to learn the story behind the cemetery, its “inhabitants,” and the architecture of the monuments. Even a large tree (above right) leaned in to listen! 6!
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Happening in History: October 2014 If you have history-related events you would like included in our calendar, please let us know at grhs.local@gmail.com. Reading the Great Lakes Thursday, October 2, 2014, 7:00 p.m. Main Library – 111 Library St NE Come explore the Lakes with the Grand Rapids Public Library! They’re reading a range of titles including mystery, history, fiction, and nonfiction all taking place in the Great Lakes region—from Chicago to Cleveland. This book club is led by librarians and takes place the first Thursday of each month. Additional copies of the book are available to be checked out on Level 4 of the Main Library. For a complete list of books, visit www.grpl.org/rtgl. October’s selection is Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle. Genealogy Lock-In Friday, October 17, 2014, 6:00 p.m. Main Library – 111 Library St NE Come to the Grand Rapids History and Special Collections department for a free after-hours program just for genealogists! Learn how to use the microfilm reader/ scanner/printer, save images, and take advantage of free copying and printing during the event. Use the time to search databases—they will have plenty of computers available or bring your own laptop and use the library’s WiFi network. Bring your genealogy questions or Ancestry
and Heritage Quest problems—volunteers will be on hand to assist. Network with other genealogists—you never know what you might find! Registration required: www.grpl.org/ register or call 988-5400. Still Missing: Michigan's Mysterious Unsolved Disappearances Thursday, October 23, 2014, 7:00 p.m. Main Library – 111 Library St NE What do a mild-mannered grocery store manager from Michigan and the infamous skyjacker D.B. Cooper have in common? How can a married couple and the aircraft they were traveling in just disappear over a populated area? What happened to the freighter that was carrying many fathers, husbands, and sons of a small town, when it vanished and took them with it? Join author and shipwreck hunter Ross Richardson in exploring the mysterious, yet solvable disappearances of a person, a plane, and a ship, and other mysterious unsolved disappearances. Grand Rapids Civil War Round Table Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 7:30 p.m. DeWitt Student Center, Kuyper College 3333 East Beltline NE Ben Cwayna comes to the Grand Rapids Civil War Round Table in October. Topic to be announced. Visit www.grcwrt.com for details.
Grand Rapids Public Library Photo Sleuth Rah! Rah! Ree! Who are we? The young ladies smiling in this “U” undoubtedly cheered the Union High School football team onto some victories in 1949, though their names are lost to history. Can you help the Local History Department identify these gals? Can you identify any of these cheerleaders? If so, please email Heather Edwards at the Grand Rapids Public Library at hedwards@grpl.org, or call 616 988-5402, extension 5497. Since the beginning of the year, the Grand Rapids Public Library has been able to add 25 names to its photo index with help from the public, including Grand Rapids Historical Society members. Thank you!
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Grand Rapids Historical Society, Inc.
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Grand Rapids, MI Permit No. 234
c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
C.O. and Mabel Taylor: Power Couple of the Progressive Era
Inside this issue:
by Doug Taylor and Michael Johnston Co sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum October 29
Cover Story: October program
Details inside!
New members and the GRHS website, page 3
Letter from our President, page 2
Books on local history, page 4 Storm Warriors - A Forgotten Story, page 6 Happening in History, page 7 Photo Sleuth, page 7
For more information on Historical Society programs, visit www.grhistory.org
