Special
150th edition
Section 4
1912-1926
Special 150th Anniversary Edition • Thursday, October 26, 2017
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After 48 years working at the Ludington Daily News, Fred Schumacher was honored by his co-workers, with articles and pictures commending his contributions running in the paper several times.
48 years a newsman
Longtime Ludington Daily News employee worked press, print, editorial during near-half-century stint
F
red Schumacher worked for three publishers — G.H.D. Sutherland, J.A. McFarland and H.P. Furstenau — during his 48-year career at the Daily News. Schumacher began as a printer’s devil with the Daily News in April 1922 and earned $10 a week as an apprentice, proofing type, making corrections, helping the pressman, and cleaning out forms and washing them with gasoline. At that time, G.H.D. Sutherland was publisher, Martin Erickson was pressman, Harry Schumacher was foreman and Joe Mears was the Linotype machinist. Linotype operators were Jessie Dean, Yarda Olson and Emma Bosley. George Doubleday was sports editor, Mrs. Leonore Williams was news editor and Miss Agnes McLaren was in charge of society and local news. The publisher’s wife was in charge of advertising. Miss Doris Schoenberger served in the advertising department, traveling by train to various parts of the county securing advertising material. Roscoe Morrell was employed in circulation. Miss Mary Cranley and Miss Marie Brunk worked in the business office. “When I first came to
Mariners: Bringing baseball to Ludington The Ludington Mariners, above, pose at Culver Park in 1914, two years after the club began. Today, Culver Park is the Ludington Municipal Marina, and a sculpture “Put Me In, Coach,” sits at the nearby Waterfront Park in commemoration of the field.
The Daily News we used unspliced news print left from World War I. The press was an eight-page Goss-Comet, flat bed. The ink was dipped by hand from a large wooden barrel by means of a ladle and poured into the ink feed. It could be a messy job,” Schumacher said in a 1970 Daily News story by Jeanne Wood about his retirement from the paper. “National and state news was received via the rhythmic clicking of Morse Code on a telegraph machine when I began work for the Daily News,” Schumacher said. “There were no teletype machines in those days.” Most of the ads were hand set in those days, he said, and after they had been run, the type had to be sorted and put in place for the next time. “I can remember one day I was taking the classified page to the press, stubbed my toe and dropped the whole thing on the floor. It really made a racket when it fell and a lot of extra work. The type had to be sorted, replaced and some of it re-set. We were two hours late going to press that day,” Schumacher said with a twinke in his eye. There was a Sunday paper when Fred began but no Saturday paper. There
“Type and style of stories have changed as has page make-up and size of headlines. The stories are more in detail now. I have seen lots of ‘history’ roll off the press. I was the last of the old crew in the shop when I retired. I have seen not only changed in mechanical procedure but also change of faces.’ Fred Schumacher were usually four to six pages of automobile advertising in the Sunday edition. “I used to come to work at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and was there until 2:30 a.m. Sunday if everything went alright. Sometimes we stayed all night if there was trouble with the machinery,” he said. The Sunday edition was discontinued in the early 1930s. Fred became pressman about three years after coming to the Daily News and continued in that position until 1963, when he became makeup man, the position he held when he retired. He saw changes in makeup policy, type size changes, journalism style changes and mechanical changes. A teletype machine replaced th eold telegraph maching operated last by
Floyd Walker. In 1937, a 12-page Duplex flat bed press replaced the old Goss-Comet and in 1951 a Goss tubular press capable of printing 20,000 papers per hour was installed.
New Linotype machines were added through the years, negating the need to hand-set anymore. “Type and style of stories have changed, as has page make-up and size of
headlines,” Schumacher said. “The stories are more in detail now. I have seen lots of ‘history’ roll off the press. “I was the last of the old crew in the shop when I retired,” Schumacher said. “I have seen not only changes in mechanical procedure but also a change of faces.” “Mr. Fred” had hobbies, which included hunting, fishing, woodworking, refinishing and making gun stocks, all of which he went on to pursue in his “time off.” Schumacher retired in 1970 after 48 years at the Ludington Daily News.
y r a ! s r e v i Happy Ann th Ludington Daily News
150
Some Fair History By PAUL S. PETERSON Eighty years ago, in 1936, the Great Depression held Mason County in its grip, as it did throughout the nation. Finding work was almost impossible. But Americans tightened their belts, put on a happy face, and found something to take their minds off their sad plight. That something was the county fair. County fairs were nothing new. They had been around since medieval times. Mason County’s first fair was in 1871 near the intersection of Rath Avenue and Foster Street on the grounds of James Ludington’s lumber company. Ludington felt strongly that fairs brought people together, and also allowed them a place to show off their fruits, vegetables and farm animals. Ludington put up $100 as premiums for blue ribbon winners in various categories. A committee was selected to manage the fair, and it became the Mason County Agriculture Society, the forerunner of today’s Mason County Fair Board. The first fair – a one-day event - was held Oct. 12, 1871, and the gate receipts totaled $79.34. The next year the fair expanded to two days, moved to September, and remained at the Pere Marquette lumber company until 1877, when the Society sought a larger site, selecting one in Amber Township. The fair continued to be a major attraction, and a larger site was soon needed. It found one in an uninhabited expanse of land north of Gaylord Avenue and Ferry Street across Tinkham Avenue, the site of today’s Oriole Field. The fair expanded its schedule to five days, new buildings were added, and entertainment became a focus. The big attraction was horse racing, with harness racing introduced in 1891. The Depression devastated the national and local economies, causing the fair to be suspended from 1931 until 1936. But the Depression did create a host of federal agencies geared to putting men back to work. Among them was the Works Progress Administration, the WPA. Because of the WPA Mason County was able to present a project to create not just a new fairgrounds, but also an airport adjacent to it. The land selected was the Charles Wing farm two miles east of Ludington. The county paid $5,000 for the 190-acre farm. WPA provided most of the $54,000 for construction of the combined projects, and all of the manpower. Opening day for the 1936 fair was Monday, July 27. And what an event it was! The Daily News ran front page stories more than a week in advance. The big news, or possibly the big attraction, was the midway. “Vaudeville, circus, hippodrome and the incandescent splendor of Mighty Sheesley Midway has come to the Western Michigan Fair for six days,” the Daily News reported. “Traveling in 35 railroad cars, the midway brings a galaxy of attractions surpassing both in numbers and quality that usually comprise a carnival company.” Youngsters and adults had a large menu of new rides to chose from. There was the Lindy Loop, Caterpillar, Hey-Dey, The Flyer, Woopee “ and the newest and most exceptional of them all, the Loop O Plane.” The grandstand easily competed with the midway, featuring 20 individual shows, horse racing and horse pulling contests – even some local boxing matches. The new fairgrounds and the grandstand events were just what the Depression-weary county needed. The first day of the fair saw a little more than 4,000 people go through the gate, and when the fair ended six days later nearly 10,000 had attended. It bore out what Fair Board President George Tyndall said when it was over, “Our fair is a great place where people can have fun and learn what other folks can do.”
See you at the Fair!
www.masoncountyfairgrounds.com
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Ludington daily newS/SECTION 4
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www.ludingtondailynews.com
“Million Dollar Harbor” expansion
Ludington Mariner Base Ball Club begins; Culver Park baseball stadium built where Municipal Marina now sits
Last encampment of Michigan National Guard held at Lincoln Field
1912 Hamlin Dam collapses, partially draining Hamlin Lake
1912Ludington Chronicle suspends operations Village of Fountain incorporated in Sherman Township
Electric, inter-urban railroad to Grand Rapids discussed but never materializes
1913
“Million Dollar Harbor” expansion including addition of south breakwall completed
1914
New construction includes Hamlin Dam, Free Soil Community School
Mason County chooses by less than 200 votes to go “dry” under the local option law; more than 4,500 voted
1915 RecordAppeal ceases publication, ending county’s oldest newspaper
William McGuire appointed first chief of Ludington Police Dept.
1916
Stearns sawmill closes
1917
Henry L. Haskell, inventor of Carrom board game, forms Haskelite Co. Cartier sawmill closes
Did you know?
Lake Michigan Carferry Association organized
1918 U.S. Railway Administration takes over operation of nation’s railroads, carferries during wartime emergency
19 Carferry
In This
Era
Did you know?
Did you know?
In This
Era
Prohibition swept the nation after the passing of the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act in 1919 and 1920, but Mason County went dry years earlier, in 1915. Prohibition did not make illegal the consumption of alcohol, just selling it or shipping it for purchase. Prohibition ended on Dec. 5, 1933 — called Repeal Day, which was almost certainly marked by many with a stiff drink.
3rd Annual
The price of flour was 4 cents a pound in 1915, and bread that was already baked sold for 7 cents a pound.
Arts & Crafts Jewlery & More Show Booth Space Available $15.00 Lunch Available $5.00
November 4, 2017 ou know? 10 AM - 3 PM
Local Artists, Crafters, Jewelry Makers and Bakers
Something For Everyone! at the Ludington Senior Center 308 S. Rowe St., Ludington, MI 231-845-6841
Russian troops fire from trenches during a World War I battle. The war, which killed more than 16 million people, began July 28, 1914 and lasted until Nov. 11, 1918.
In This
Era
1912 — Arizona, Alaska and New Mexico are granted statehood. The Titanic sinks April 15 in the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg. 1914 — World War I began July 28 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. During the conflict, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and (the Allied Powers), according to the History Channel. The United States joined the Allies in 1917 and by the war’s end on Nov. 11, 1918, more than 16 million people had been killed. 1923 — President Warren Harding died Aug. 2 while visiting San Francisco. Vice President Calvin Coolidge then became president. 1924 — President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizen Act on June 2 granting automatic American citizenship to Native Americans born in the United States.
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Ludington becomes busiest port in Michigan
-1926 F. Mayer Boot & Shoe Co. built at 502 S. James St. Last run of “dummy train” that carries passengers between Epworth and Ludington
919
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James Schiffenede dies in house fire, becoming first Ludington firefighter to die in line of duty
Scarlett fever appears in Mason County Ludington city fathers vote to place city on Eastern Standard Time Capt. Nels Palmer takes over as head of Ludington Coast Guard station Carferry Pere Marquette 3 sinks off Ludington harbor
1920
Two gunmen rob Custer bank
Members of 3rd Battalion, 160th Depot Brigade pose July 23, 1918 before heading off to World War I
Epworth sues to restore train service to resort; courts dismiss the suit
1921
Pere Marquette 3 sinks
Ludington Mariners win Central League championship
Ice storm knocks out power, telephone lines; causes tens of thousands of dollars in damage
1922
Ludington receives parcel of property from J.S. Stearns that would be developed into Stearns Park
1923 City commission approves laying a sidewalk from waterworks plant to north breakwater
8:30 p.m. curfew for ages younger than 16 enacted by city commission
Serving You in Ludington for 113 Years!
00s. Pictured
g the early 19
rin land Street du 201 E. Dow d’s Bakery at John McDonald. al on cD M The site of y wagon is awn deliver old horse dr
by the
Electric Tamper & Equipment Co. announces move to Ludington
Masonic Temple opens
1924
1925
Businesses, two factories, 15 homes and Danish Lutheran Church struck by lightning during same storm
1926
Joseph Sanders and Frank Nelson buy butcher shop in Custer
When you walk into Cops & Doughnuts, and we hope you do, you will first notice it smells great! Bakeries always do, I suppose, but ours is the best. Really. In front of you is the doughnut display counter that thousands upon thousands of people have leaned against and struggled to find just the right one.
There is a doughnut shop and bakery in Ludington, Michigan that has been in constant operation since 1904. Cops and Doughnuts, the business boasts handmade confections of all types. Join us for a warm fresh doughnut and a steaming cup of Cops Coffee while you enjoy the police decor and friendly, and very safe, atmosphere.
For over 100 years, generations of families have used the bakery as a place to gather and enjoy being in a place they want to be. A place called Ludington. A place we call home.
McDonald’s PRECINCT SINCE 1898
103 E. Dowland Ludington 843-9495
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The Ludington Chronicle Jan. 7, 1915 T
his edition of The Ludington Chronicle, dated Thursday, Jan. 7, 1915, features a story on the icy conditions of Lake Michigan. While the ice had not caused any trouble to the port’s carferries, it was an “imposing sight,” the paper reads. This paper also lists the death of respected and honored pioneer attorney E.N. Fitch.
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Ludington native makes Tigers lineup
t was Tuesday, July 1, 1920 when news of the sale of Ludington Mariners shortstop David Claire and pitcher John Bogart to the Detroit Tigers appeared on the front page of the Ludington Daily News. “Pitcher Bogart brought $3,000; shortstop Claire, $2,000,” the account read. Claire was 22 and a Ludington native and even though his stay with the Tigers was short, to date he is the only Mason County athlete to play in the major leagues. He was a caring and funloving man who was active in baseball in one way or another for much of his adult life, according to his granddaughter, Renee Jones, of Mesa, Arizona. Claire passed away in 1956 at the age of 58. He was inducted into the Mason County Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. “He died when I was 10 1/2 years old, he was the love of my life,” said Jones, who remembered fondly her grandfather’s love of sports. “He talked to me about baseball. We watched it on television,” she recalled. “I never figured out why we were always watching boxing on Friday night. He was always into sports. My mom was an only child and she was raised loving sports and that was passed on down to me. She went to all of his games and watched him play, watched him throw. He always played short.” And he played it well. Claire was listed at 5-feet, 8-inches and 164 pounds in the Baseball Register. He batted and threw right-handed. Born here in 1897 as the eighth of nine children, Claire attended St. Simon School through the eighth grade before going to work to help support his family. He joined the U.S. Navy and served during World War I before returning home, where he began his professional baseball career with the Ludington Mariners. Claire was the only local player on the team.
In 1920, Ludington belonged to the Class B Central League along with the Grand Rapids Gingers, Kalamazoo Celery Pickers and the Muskegon Muskies. The Mariners played their games at Culver Park on West Loomis Street near Ludington’s bustling harbor. The park was razed in the 1930s and is now the site of the Ludington Municipal Marina. Claire played in 124 of the team’s 126 games. He batted .284 and led the team with 89 runs scored, 137 base hits, 77 bases on balls and 25 stolen bases. Claire’s strong play, along with the pitching of the young Bogart, who had a record of 14-16 with 199 strikeouts, caught the attention of the Detroit Tigers, who sent scouts Jack Coombs and Jim McGuire, both former major leaguers, to Ludington. “McGuire was strong for Claire and so favorably impressed with Bogart that he
In the Historic Rath Building
wired for Coombs to come on and look him over,” the Daily News reported on the deal. “His friends predict (Claire) will make good in the American League because he is a hard worker in addition to being a good ball player. He put ‘pep’ into every game; he goes after every ball in his territory.” One play in particular stood out. “Claire has made sensational stops this season, but no play he has executed was more sensational than one in which he retired the batter at Culver Park last Friday,” stated the Daily News’ account. “The pitcher succeeded in slightly arresting a line drive. Claire was coming across the infield at top speed. Scooping up the ball as the pitcher knocked it down, he hurled it to first for an out.” The sale of the Mariners’ duo to the Tigers made it possible for Ludington to keep the Mariners around for another year in those ec-
onomically stressed, postwar years. The Mariners ended their season on Sept. 12, and Claire and Bogart reported to the Tigers on Sept. 13. He saw action in three games, going a combined 1-7 at the plate. In each plate appearance, he batted in front of centerfielder and team manger Ty Cobb. In his first contest, the Tigers edged the Boston Red Sox, 14-13. According to the Detroit News’ game account, “Claire did not work long at short, but looked good, despite the fact that he was charged with one of five Detroit errors. Except for the fact he is a trifle heavier, this kid might be a twin brother to Donie Bush. He handles himself almost exactly as does the midget Bush. His whip appears enviably powerful.” In his second outing, Detroit defeated the Washington Senators, 9-7, and the accolades were positive as
Happy 150th Ludington Daily News! Nautical Yarn
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well. “Claire worked the entire game and gave a nice account of himself,” stated the Detroit News. “He took care of ground balls in brilliant fashion and his general conduct in the short field was refreshing. If he continues the way he has begun, the boys will have to battle to oust him from a regular job.” In his third game, Claire was hit by a pitch and wound up scoring a run in a 7-4 loss to the Senators. In the field, Claire had six assists and two errors. While he never played the major leagues again, Claire played professionally until 1924 and semiprofessionally into his 40s. He also coached and managed sports activities for Kellogg’s in Battle Creek. Claire was also a scout for the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. He met Alice Ruth Edgett in Ludington in 1921. They
married in 1922 and had one child, a daughter, Alice Joyce Claire, who was Renee Jones’s mother. David Claire became an electrician and he and his family moved to Arizona after World War II. He worked on atomic bomb projects and witnessed several test explosions. On Jan. 5, 1956, Claire collapsed as he arrived for work and he died of an aneurysm two days later. Being exposed to radiation from the blasts may have contributed. His family retained other stories of his baseball career. “One time, he said Pee Wee Reese was announcing the game on television and he told me his roommate once was Pee Wee Reese,” said Renee Jones. “And we had a Babe Ruth baseball. My mom, Joyce, sat on Babe Ruth’s lap when she was 3 years old. That was in 1927. The ball was signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and we had it for a long time. “Ty Cobb taught my grandfather how to steal a base.” It was because of Claire that Jones developed an interest in genealogy and started researching her family. Her efforts resulted in a large volume on her family, much of it about David Claire, and she has donated her work to the Mason County Sports Hall of Fame. “My grandfather was the trigger for this. He was just a dear person to me,” she said. David Claire’s two brothers, Daniel and Paul, were also ball players. Dan Claire played minor league ball for 11 years and Paul for one. “They were just a baseball family,” said Jones. “I am so excited and amazed that grandpa is being remembered. He was the light of my life and still is. I am so happy for him.” Jones recalled talking to her grandfather before he died. “If they don’t play baseball in heaven, I don’t want to go there,” she recalled him saying. “And then he laughed. It was his life.”
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201 S. Rath Avenue Ludington, MI 49431
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Four Generations Strong
Working on the fifth!
Congratulations Luding ton Daily N ews on 150 Years!
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