Special
150th edition
Section 6
1942-1956
Special 150th Anniversary Edition • Thursday, October 26, 2017
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Business booms in war, post-war era Everything, it seemed, revolved around the war effort in the early 1940s, even local industry. Dow Chemical Co. started a Ludington plant in conjunction with the U.S. Defense Plant Corporation in 1942 because of the underground brine in the area needed in magnesium production. The plant was part of the war effort, with magnesium was a key metal used in World War II airplanes. Dow’s defense plant cost $18 million to build. Construction involved hundreds of workers to the extent that there was a huge shortage of living quarters. The Dow Magnesium Corp., a division of the Dow Chemical Company, was contracted to build and operate the plant.
During WWII, businessman Henry Marek was instrumental W.R. Roach canning Company was the predecessor to Stokley’s. In 1946, Roach sold out to Stokely in running drives for scrap to Van Camp and Stokely to Oconomowoc Canning and is currently housing the Gourmet Mushrooms aid in the war effort. Here, he works on a steam engine. Corporation of Michigan. Brine well drilling began throughout Mason County. After the war, Dow turned the plant into commercial use, and with it
came a bevy of PhDs and engineers, who had great interest in local education and cultural events. The first railcar full of lime left
the Dow Chemical Plant in 1945. There were plenty of business changes and new construction aside from
Dow after World War II. Stokely-VanCamp bought the Roach and Company plant in Scottville in 1944 and canned
Paul S. Peterson, in back center, gathers with much of the rest of the Ludington Daily News staff at the press circa 1995 to celebrate a Michigan’s Best Small Newspaper award.
Paul S. Peterson
Paul S. Peterson
Lifelong contributor By Steve Begnoche Special to the Daily News
P
aul S. Peterson spent almost all of his working life at the Ludington Daily News, and still contributes stories to this day. Following his retirement from the Daily News, Peterson has found time to serve as First Ward Councilor — “the lord of the First Ward,” he kids — for 12 years, write a history of the City of Paul Peterson L u d i n g t o n that was published in 2008 through the Mason County Historical Society, and serve on the local library board for 28 years. A meeting room at the Ludington Library is named in honor of his service. The former managing editor started at the paper in October 1956 as sports editor after a stint in the same role at the Herald-Palladium in St. Joseph. He was one of four people in the newsroom at the Daily News, which then was led by managing editor Agnes Maclaren, Grace Margaret Kelly and Phyliss Carlson, whose typing speed and prowess Peterson marvels at to this day. “Russ (Miller) came in as a high school kid. We didn’t have any local pics until Russ came,” Peterson recalls. Associated Press pictures arrived — four or five at a time — in the mail. The Associated Press wire spewed out stories on tape that were given to Gardiner Miller in composition to prepare for the paper. In 1966, Peterson became managing editor, a position he’d hold for 30 years. “It was interesting,” Pe-
‘When you had a small staff, everybody knew everybody. The work was divided up so everybody knew what they should be doing. I used to say, ‘Everything was different.’ Every
day was different. It was exciting.
Even in a small town it was exciting.’ Paul S. Peterson
terson said. The story during his time that had the most reader interest, locally and beyond, involved the murder of Ludington Police Officer Arnold Slagle, who was gunned down in cold blood on July 20, 1958 in a Ludington tavern. His killer, Chicago resident Charles Hanna, was on the run for five days before being apprehended. The case caught the attention of Midwestern magazines, which sent reporters to town to cover the story as well. Hanna’s trial by today’s standards was quick and speedy. He was convicted of second degree murder and went to prison. While there, Hanna learned braille and became an expert in the reading technique for the blind. He eventually published a book in braille before Gov. John B. Swainson freed him. One of the most important stories Peterson covered during those years — the abandonment by C & O
Railroad of its Ludington fleet of seven carferries — took a lot longer to develop and come to a conclusion. The stories continued for years through hearings and moves by the railroad, until the final C & O carferry sailed to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1983. “It just killed Ludington,” Peterson recalled. It meant the loss of 750 jobs. “The James Street fire was huge, too,” Peterson said of the early morning blaze at an apartment house on North James Street on Feb. 28, 1993. “Nine died.” Peterson began his Daily News career using a manual typewriter, then moved on to an electric typewriter and then a word processor, which he calls “the most ridiculous thing ever,” before the first MacIntosh computer came to the newsroom. Today, the newsroom is completely computerized. Peterson recalled Russ Miller’s early photography darkroom — a battery box near the sports desk in which film was developed. H.P. Furstenau, and later the McCormick family, owned the paper until the mid-1980s. “Then David Jackson came along and made something out of the newspaper that was total lacking before,” Peterson said. Camaraderie was strong. “When you had a small staff, everybody knew everybody. The work was divided up so everybody knew what they should be doing,” Peterson said. “I used to say, ‘Everything was different.’ Every day was different. It was exciting. Even in a small town, it was exciting,” Peterson said. More than 50 years after he began at the Ludington Daily News, he continues to enjoy the paper. “I read it every day,” he said.
beans there for 39 years. Green beans were canned at the corner of State and Bean streets under several different labels from the early 1900s on. The plant is operated today as Gourmet Mushrooms. Hansen’s Evergreen Dairy opened a modern plant in Amber Township in 1946. Scottville built a new elementary school on Maple Street in 1951. And in 1953, Ludington’s new school on North Washington Avenue was completed. In 1950, contracts were awarded to build the Spartan and Badger carferries. The boats arrived in Ludington two years later. This era wrapped up with Mason County celebrating its 100th anniversary in 1955.
Congratulations Ludington Daily News On Your 150 Year Celebration!
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Gene Brady
Head pressman, unofficial spell-checker
45 years as the last line of defense By Steve Begnoche Special to the Daily news
G
ene Brady has always been a reader. For 45 years, he worked in one capacity or another at the Ludington Daily News, and before that he was a paper carrier at 10 years old, growing up on South Washington Avenue in a house he still lives in today at age 80. “I started pedaling paper to begin with,” Brady said. He and the other carriers were supervised by the legendary and longtime circuGene Brady lation manager Ken Case, a theater buff who also wrote a column and may have taken part in card games rumored to have taken place in earnest then. “Ken had an opening in the mailroom. I peddled papers and worked in there for an hour or so each day. Then my time expanded and I worked in the shop putting pages together.” That was about 1953 or ’54. He said he “couldn’t even guess” when he started in the press room because while working in the shop, he also lent a hand into the pressroom when they needed help. “I went through a lot of big changes, going from lead type and hot metal to offset in 1972,” said Brady, who by then already was
Gene Brady, above, reads an edition of the Ludington Daily News. Brady was famous — perhaps notorious — for his eye for proofreading. He was often able to catch mistakes in the paper to be corrected while preparing pages for print. Brady, right, stands before an early Daily News printing press.
I was just reading for the sake of reading, I wasn’t just looking for mistakes. I had a knack of spotting them though. I’ve always been a reader.’ Gene Brady Former Daily News staffer
head pressman. The newsroom knew well of Brady’s proofreading skills. He’d often catch a typo or mistake while reading a page negative or plate. If the mistake could be corrected in a timely manner, a new negative or plate was made and a story im-
proved, thanks to the wiry guy reading on top of or next to the Goss Community offset presses that he was preparing for the day’s run of the newspaper. “I was just reading for the sake of reading, I wasn’t just looking for mistakes,” Brady said. “I had a knack of spotting
them though. I’ve always been a reader.” He still reads the Ludington Daily News every day. It’s changed, he said, with more long stories akin to magazine features and less hard news. “Things always change, though,” he said. “I always did enjoy the
work, until the last five years, he said. By then the long hours, the hard work and stress got to him a bit. These days, you’ll find Brady taking care of the house he’s lived in for more than seven decades, taking care of himself and spending time finding er-
rors on the internet. “There’s just oodles of mistakes,” he said of stories on the web. “It’s surprising how many times they’re relying on spellcheck.” Back in the day, the last line of Daily News spell checkers went by the name of Gene Brady.
Congratulations Ludington Daily News for your 150 years of dedication and service!
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Ludington daily newS/SECTION 6
| THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017
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Coast Guard Station and Pere Marquette trainferry fleet become training facilities for Navy
1942-
Dow begins construction of $18 million defense plant More than 20 Mason County men die in World War II
Epworth Marine Dining Room destroyed by fire Ludington’s second war loan quota set at $610,000; community raises more than $1.2 million
1942
Mrs. Maxine Chapel named acting postmaster at Free Soil Post Office
1943
Michigan Farm Cheese Dairy Inc. begins in Fountain
1944
Men off to WWII
First carload of lime leaves Dow Chemical Plant
Masonic Temple gutted by fire
1945
Two-way radios installed in Mason County police cars
Cpl. Claud J. Taylor of Fountain receives the Silver Star award for gallantry in action; Taylor came ashore at Omaha beach on D-Day
National railroad strike idles yards in Ludington
65-year-old city hall abandoned for new offices in municipal building
1947
1946 Hansen’s Evergreen Dairy builds modern plant in Amber Township
Fire guts Huston building, destroys Danaher bus station
Bus fares increased from 5 to 10 cents; first parking meters installed
1948
Straits Steel and Wire begins operating on North Rowe Street Free Soil Fire Department organizes
Pere Marquette Railway acquired by Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad
Charette risks life, saves comrades By KEVIN BRACISZESKI Daily News Staff Writer William Charette was orphaned at age 6 and was raised here in Ludington by a bachelor uncle. He joined the United States Navy following his high school graduation from St Simon in 1950. Charette was awarded the nation’s highest honor for his actions above and beyond the call of duty in battle on March 27, 1953 during the Korean War. He repeatedly assisted wounded and dying Marines while under heavy en-
150Years
emy fire, including throwing himself across the body of a wounded Marine, protecting him from an exploding enemy hand grenade. Though wounded himself, Corpsman Charette continued aiding wounded comrades. Charette was also chosen by President Truman to be the selector of the Unknown Soldier from World War II. In 1958, aboard the heavy cruiser USS Canberra, Charette selected one of two coffins with remains of unknown WWII soldiers. Those remains he selected are in the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.
Congratulations Ludington Daily News on this big occasion and many wishes for future success!
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Smoke Committee formed to address concerns about pollution from carferries and Dow plant
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-1956
949
d
Contracts awarded to build Badger and Spartan carferries at cost of $4.5 million Oriole boys basketball team defeated in state final
Spartan and Badger arrive Ludington voters approve constructing new junior high school
1950 Carferry City of Saginaw first commercial vessel on Great Lakes equipped with radar North Korean troops invade South Korea; U.S. joins fight within a week
Woodrow Briggs becomes third generation of family selected as Scottville supervisor
Harrington Tool of Detroit moves to Ludington
1951 Scottville builds new elementary school on Maple Street
LHS boys basketball team loses to St. Joseph in state finals in Joe Kowatch’s first season as head coach
Free Soil school band organized
Pere Marquette, Riverton townships complete new schools
Ludington’s new school on North Washington Avenue is completed
1952 Members of Great Lakes Licensed Offiecers’ Organization walk off job in largest strike in history of carferries; strike lasts 114 days
Navy Hospital Corpsman William R. Charette of Ludington awarded Congressional Medal of Honor
Ludington Seating Corp., Ludington Injector Service Corp. recruited to area
1953 Free Soil, Meade approve purchasing large siren to be erected on top of fire hall
Scottville Optimist Club organized
1954 New junior high gymnasium named after Harold H. Hawley
Mason County observes centennial
1955 School consolidation results in name changes for Ludington and Scottville schools
Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation of public schools is unconstitutional
1956 Harbison Walker Refractories of Pittsburgh begins a new industry
C & O Railway operate daily passenger, freight trains through Fountain
Charles Schulz created the character Snoopy, who was first published in an Oct. 4, 1950 comic strip, two days into the strip’s beginning. The name Snoopy replaced Schulz’s original idea, Sniffy, as a name for the beagle.
Did you know? It was in 1950 that the first “Peanuts” comic strip was published by Charles M. Schulz. Schulz continued to produce the comic until 2000 — to save you the math, that’s 17,897 total strips. Today, classic editions of the comic strip still run in many newspapers, including the Daily News — check today’s comics page in the B section.
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Congratulations Ludington Daily News on your 150th Anniversary
In This
Era
With World War II pulling resources and young men from across the country, sales of new cars are banned in 1942 to preserve steel. The war — and bans — came to an end in September 1945. In 1950, two Puerto Rican nationals failed in an attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. In 1951, the 22nd Amendment was passed, setting a presidential term limit. Also that year, “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger, is published, invigorating the era’s rebellious youth. Despite its controvery at the time and still today — known well for its colorful descriptions and number of swear words — it has earned the title of classic. In 1952, President Dwight D. Eisenhower won the presidency, defeating Robert A. Taft in the primary and Democrat Adlai Stevenson II in the general election. In 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement put an end to the Korean War — though, technically, no peaceful settlement was ever reached. The armistice established a border between North and South Korea and put into place a cease-fire. In 1954, NBC aired “The Tonight Show” for the first time. The show was the first late-night talk show, originally hosted by Steve Allen. 1954 — The French-held garrison at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam fell after a four-month siege by the Vietnamese and the French pulled out of the country, according to the U.S. Department of State.
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Ludington Daily News Aug. 6, 1945 T
he Monday, Aug. 6, 1945 edition of the Ludington Daily News features a story on the atomic bomb, “which looses pent-up forces of the universe,� dropped on Hiroshima by the United States.
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The Mackinac Bridge first opened on Nov. 1, 1957. Russ Miller made the trek up that month to snap this photograph of the massive monument. Before the bridge — which at the time was heralded as the world’s longest suspension bridge — travelers had to take ferries between the two peninsulas. Today, it is the nation’s third-largest suspension bridge.
Russ Miller
A news photographer first By Steve Begnoche Special to the daily news
R
uss Miller’s career as a local photographer spans more than a third of the 150 years that newspapers have been published in Ludington. Miller started as a photographer at the Ludington Daily News in 1955 while still in high school. He graduated from Ludington High in 1957 and attended Michigan State University for one year. “I spent too much time taking photos and writing stories for the student newspaper,” he said. He decided college wasn’t for him, so he came back as a reporter/photographer for the Ludington Daily News the next year. Miller has logged more than 50 years photographing Ludington High School homecomings and commencements, something he still does there and at Mason County Central. He also still photographs both schools’ sports teams for the Ludington Daily News special sections. Times have changed in other ways, though. “Not only did I take all the pictures, I developed the film — it was all black and white then — printed photos and ran an engraving machine to engrave pictures that went on the press,” he said of his early years at the Daily News. Initially, he used a Fairchild plastic engraver and later a metal engraver. Each engraving was put in place separately. He chuckles remembering graduation editions with each photo of each student having to be taped in place separately. He recalls the first color picture the Daily News ran was of an antique car owned by Carl Sellner. The photo had Margretta Dumas as a model. It ran three columns. “It should have ran a halfpage,” Miller said, sounding like press photographers all over the world urging editors to use their work larger. “It was a big thing then,” he said of color photos. Each color image had to be sent away for a processor to make separations — separate negatives containing either the black, cyan, magenta or yellow dots of a picture — that were used to make the plates that imprint the color on the page by the offset press. A full color photo is imprinted on a page by
Iconic Daily News staffers with their cameras circa 1970 — during the construction of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant — are Lloyd Wallace, Walt Listing, Vans Stevenson, Todd Reed, Dick Dancz and Russ Miller. Today, the man behind the camera is photographer Jeff Kiessel.
The Ludington Daily News published a story about Miller, with this photo by Jeff Kiessel, in 2015, marking Miller’s 60 years in the photography business. passing through four units of the press — each with one of the four corresponding colors used and printed in dots that create full color. Miller got his wish for page dominance with a photo of the Mackinac Bridge under construction that he took from atop one of its cables. That photo filled half a page — and pages were 32-inches wide then. After college, Miller also worked as a reporter doing the police and court beats daily. “I enjoyed it. Everybody in town knew me. They still know me,” he said. He left the Daily News once to work for a yearbook
company for a couple years, before returning and resuming his photographer/ reporter duties. He left the paper again after about 15 years to open his own commercial portrait photographer studio, which was initially just a block down the street from the paper’s offices. He said portraits were taken in a bedroom upstairs and the film was developed in the basement. He also was a volunteer firefighter here for 15 years. “I had a hose in one hand, and a camera in the other,” he quipped, adding “I didn’t take photos until the fire was out.”
One such photo he took in Hamlin Township went on to win the Inland Press spot news photo award that year. Miller would go on to be credentialed as a Master of Photography and to shoot portraits of business, industry and community leaders, students, families and couples getting married, some of which he still does today while splitting time between Ludington and The Villages in Florida. He still reads the paper, both in print and online. His wife, Janet, has been with him for 56 years. “It’s pretty unbelievable someone would put up with me for so long,” Miller said.
Highlighting community celebrations Bob Phinny of the Daily News cut out a clipping published in 1955 that described Bethlie Ann Brandt’s seventh birthday party and mailed it to Beth’s mother, with a note reading, in part, “It is bound to recall many pleasant memories when reviewed in later years.” “What I remember the most is the names of my girlfriends. They’re neighborhood people and gradeschool classmates,” said the then-birthday girl, who is now Bethlie Ann Henrickson. “I was taken back that this man took time out of his day to drop my mother a note and attach this clipping. “It’s a tribute to the Daily News, and to this gentleman.”
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1902 - 2017
Happy 150th Birthday Ludington Daily News Wishing you the best and we look forward to partnering with you!
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