Swartz Creek Area Historical Society. Swartz Creek Area Historical Society Newsletter. President s Ponderings

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Nickolas Long
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1 Swartz Creek Area Historical Society Newsletter Pub # 66 swartzcreekhistory.com April / May 2013 Regular meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of the month At 7pm in the City Hall at 8083 Civic Drive, Swartz Creek, MI Please join us. It is the mission of the Swartz Creek Area Historical Society to keep alive the chronicle of our community s yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows in the hearts and minds of those around us. President s Ponderings As I write, it s almost the end of April. Well, the robins in our yard and the bursting buds on our maple tree are trying to convince me that spring is here. I m not sold yet, but you know sometimes I m a doubting Thomas. The daily awakening to a frostcovered roof gets my attention. By noon, the change occurs, and I should be convinced it is a sign that all is well. The elected trustees are appreciative of the support we get from our membership drive and those who attend our monthly meetings. But there is more that goes on that few are aware of, so I am taking the time to list our community involvements: 1. We adopted the large United States Flag at city hall, and when it needs to be replaced, we take care of that. 2. The first Saturday of May is clean-up day at the Swartz Creek Cemetery and a cadre of local Girl Scouts and their leaders take on the task of making it look so much better after the long winter. Thanks to all of them. 3. Kelly McKenzie volunteers to keep our online website updated - another source for those who like to surface the web. Check it out: 4. We maintain and upgrade the Chippewa Burial Ground on Seymour Road, in Gaines Township. The area was once part of the Crapo Farm. 5. Phyllis O Brien, our volunteer curator, makes certain that our mini-museum located in City Hall is an interesting array of items on display. We also appreciate our city for providing that space for us to use. 6. Phyllis also keeps track of our collection items that are not on display, but stored in the basement of Dr. English s office. We are so grateful to have adequate storage space for our growing collection. 6. We participate, with a booth, in the annual Swartz Creek Hometown Days; so look for us May 30 - June 2 in the commercial tent. This year we will be donating one of the lovely matted, limited edition, framed prints by our own Peggy Abrams for the auction activity. Get your bid in early. 7. Tim and Angie Buda, in addition to their secretary/treasurer roles on our board of trustees, produce our every-other-month Swartz Creek Area Historical Society newsletter - one of the outstanding publications in our area. 8. Susan Swan has accepted the role of congeniality coordinator - keeping notes going to shut-ins, those who are experiencing health issues, and keeping us aware of personnel matters within our community. 1

So for all those who assist us with these contributions - financial and human resources - we are grateful. If you have some spare time, we could always use an extra hand.

SPRING! See you at our next meeting, or out and about. Len Thomas President Upcoming Events May is the month for our annual meeting/election.

In addition to elections, May is our annual Show and Tell month. Maybe you have a small antique, or a story to share. Do you have a talent that we all might enjoy?

2 So for all those who assist us with these contributions - financial and human resources - we are grateful. If you have some spare time, we could always use an extra hand. Looking at this impressive list, I am convinced we are meeting the goals and expectations that are part of our mission statement, and it propels me into the next season of the year - hopefully, SPRING! See you at our next meeting, or out and about. Len Thomas President Upcoming Events May is the month for our annual meeting/election. The terms of Tim Buda, John Simor and Len Thomas are expiring. If you are interested in serving as a board member or would like to see these three trustees re-elected, please plan to attend. In addition to elections, May is our annual Show and Tell month. Maybe you have a small antique, or a story to share. Do you have a talent that we all might enjoy? The past Show and Tell meetings have all proved very entertaining. Make plans to attend the Cemetery Tour in June. It is a fund raiser project; the cost is $10 per person. We will start at the city hall parking lot and maps will be provided as to the order of cemeteries. We have revised the schedule of cemeteries to visit to include; Bendle in Clayton Township, Bristol in Flint Township, St. Mary s in Swartz Creek, and Swartz Creek in downtown Swartz Creek. Exact details will be made soon, but it will be held on June 12 th at 1 pm. March 13 th Meeting Bob Florine has been busy documenting the Historic churches of Flint for some time now. We were fortunate enough to have him and his lovely wife Shirley present to us their findings. The churches he recorded were from 1930 or before. (1930 could have represented the completion, the christening, or the year the foundation was poured, etc.) There were about 70 churches in all with photos and many with several photos noting the changes and additions that took place over the years. April 10th Meeting Susan Marston a local Native American has documented her own family s history and shared her knowledge with us. Documenting Native American history is very difficult because much of it is simply word of mouth. Many burial grounds have unmarked graves or graves that have no written words on them. We thank Susan for taking the time to share her knowledge. MEET TRUSTEE PHYLLIS O BRIEN Since 2001, Phyllis Agnes Jennings O Brien has been serving as a trustee of our organization. It happened as a result of her son telling then president, Bill Morgan, that she grew up on the Crapo Farm. The rest is history, but you need to know more. Her service as a trustee combines her memories of being raised on the Crapo farm and downtown Swartz Creek. She attended Ryno, Groves, and Crocker Schools and graduated from Mary Crapo High School, in Serving in this manner, and being a Creeker since she was 3 years old, she 2

3 can help keep peoples memories alive about our community s history. We are so grateful Phyllis is so passionate about this and demonstrates it in so many ways, as curator of our mini-museum, volunteer to serve on any committee, and making all of us want to work together to promote our society s mission statement. Phyllis and Neil have been married for 55 years; they have 7 adult children, 14 grandchildren, and 1 great granddaughter. She s greatly proud of all of them. Although Phyll, as she likes to be called, began a career of part-time secretarial work, it did not take her long to learn that she make her career as a homemaker so she could be at all their activities and watching them mature. She has the same interest in all her grandchildren and openly states that she would do it all over again because this world needs good people with common sense. Her hobbies of quilting, cake-decorating and working Sudoku puzzles keep her mind active. She is very busy attending as many family activities as possible. She admits that the last nonfiction book she read was years ago - TEN FINGERS FOR GOD - the story of leprosy. However, she really enjoys reading newspapers and magazines. Her last movie that she enjoyed was The Bucket List on television - and is quick to point out that we all need to make a bucket list and act on it! On her personal bucket list, she writes watch a miracle happen to Davis and Travis. Among her many accomplishments, she counts these as her most memorable: (1) driving alone to South Carolina, (2) completing my first quilt, (3) decorating a beautiful wedding cake, (4) sitting across from Vice President Dick Cheney and asking him a question, and (5) parasailing in the Bahamas. Wow, Phyllis; you continue to surprise us! Phyllis not only talks about her community, but spends many ways working within that community and states, with a big grin, that two of her biggest community involvements were setting a fire along the Otterburn railroad track with some girlfriends and stopping traffic on Miller Road so that a car could make a left turn onto Miller Road. I know; you ll just have to have her explain them to fully understand. But on a more serious note, Phyll was a Girl Scout leader for 20 years and took a group of them on a bicycle trip from Swartz Creek to Cedar Point, Ohio!!! She loves to tell her story about driving all over Ireland for a month while Neil held on. And finally, she openly admits that she is a good listener (you have to be in a meeting with her to really understand this), and an even better procrastinator (you can imagine how long it has taken me to get this stuff written down)! If she hosted a dinner gathering, she would include 2 of her 9 grandsons; 2 deceased girlfriends (Millie and Ann); 2 family members in Germany: Patrick and Eileen; Ronald Reagan; and Pope Francis. Thanks, Phyllis, for being such a helpful trustee and giving us much to think about. Your warm smile and twinkle in your eyes keeps all of us alert and wanting you around us. Tentative Upcoming Speakers May 8 Annual Meeting/Election; Show & Tell June 12 Area Cemetery Tour; including Bendle, Bristol, St. Mary s & Swartz Creek. July 10 Ice Cream Social & An Alaskan Adventure ; Len & Sharon Thomas August No meeting September Jim Daenzer; Martin Luther Medallions & their history. Donations From Bill Morgan Shoe Button Machine; specifically donated for and sold at auction. (It sold for an excellent price). 3

4 Continued donations from Bill Morgan: From the estate of Swartz Creek Coach Ellsworth Sullivan: (2) 4x6 b/w original photos of baseball team with Jack Lovegrove center front, photo taken outdoors; 1957 baseball team photo inside Mary Crapo gym. An original sepia tone 3x5 photo of the original Methodist Church on Morrish Road. (3) 8x10 b/w original photos: 1) boys' sports banquet in Mary Crapo gym. 2) football players (trying to) push bulldozer to clear playing field of snow. 3) boys basketball scrimmage in Mary Crapo gym. B/W program Swartz Creek Area Jaycees Charter Night at St. Mary's Church Hall Thursday, Feb 16, 1961; also newspaper article of same including photo of officers. Jaycees program of Mayor s Banquet on May 22, 1961, St. Mary's. From Karen and Kalyn Sterzik, Ypsilanti Twp: Yearbooks from Mary Crapo High School Various photographs mostly used for yearbooks. Alumni programs, reunion items and class photographs. A scrapbook containing invitations, programs, letters, and a Play Book "The Angel Brats" a high school production. From Len and Sharon Thomas: Andersonville, GA., prison poster 20x25 mounted. On back is list of Genesee County Civil War Soldiers buried there. "How This Area Became Settled" newspaper article, retyped by Len Thomas in a small booklet format entitled "A Brief History of Swartz Creek, MI" by Mrs. Daniel C. (Marion) Miller, c Also includes articles written by Alice Florida - "Henry Crapo and Crapo Farm", "Crapo Farm: Once the Showplace of Michigan", and "Centennial Farm, Farm Spans City History". Booklet "The Golden Gem" published monthly by Swartz Creek Area Senior Center, June From Pauline Parker: WWII folder and a personal letter signed by John J. Pershing, Commander in Chief, honoring the men for their service with the American Expeditionary Forces, France, February 28, 1919; noting a copy be furnished to Fred Parker. Fred Parker was the grandfather of Valerie Kennedy and Marc Parker who are the children of Pauline. From Mike Shumaker: 2010 and 2012 Summer Concert series held at our Pajtas Theatre. Three original 3x5 b/w photos of downtown looking East, Mary Crapo High School, and the first St. Mary's Church and rectory on Miller Road. From Ivan Smith at the library: Matchbook advertising Jed's Auto Parts, 8048 Miller Rd. Membership Dues Info Categories of dues Seniors: (60 and up) and Students (18 and under) $5.00 Individuals: under 60 years of age $10.00 Family: (all related persons in the same household) $20.00 Patron: $50 Life Membership (individual): $100 Family Life Membership: $200 Send all payments or correspondence to: S.C.A.H.S Cook Rd. Gaines, Michigan tbuda@shianet.org Or abuda@shianet.org Tim - Cell Phone: Angie - Cell Phone: President... Len Thomas Vice President...John Simor Secretary...Angie Buda Treasurer...Tim Buda Trustees... Bill Morgan , Phyllis O'Brien , Mike Shumaker , Susan Swan , and Elaine Tucker Alternate Trustees... Ernie Callard Christine Campbell

I find it interesting to occasionally find out what happened in history over 100 years ago; this is what I found recently- Apr 27, 1865: Union soldiers die in steamship explosion The steamboat

5 I find it interesting to occasionally find out what happened in history over 100 years ago; this is what I found recently- Apr 27, 1865: Union soldiers die in steamship explosion The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing 1,700 passengers including many discharged Union soldiers. The Sultana was launched from Cincinnati in The boat was 260 feet long and had an authorized capacity of 376 passengers and crew. It was soon employed to carry troops and supplies along the lower Mississippi River. On April 25, 1865, the Sultana left New Orleans with 100 passengers. It stopped at Vicksburg, Mississippi, for repair of a leaky boiler. R. G. Taylor, the boilermaker on the ship, advised Captain J. Cass Mason that two sheets on the boiler had to be replaced, but Mason ordered Taylor to simply patch the plates until the ship reached St. Louis. Mason was part owner of the riverboat, and he and the other owners were anxious to pick up discharged Union prisoners at Vicksburg. The federal government promised to pay $5 for each enlisted man and $10 for each officer delivered to the North. Such a contract could pay huge dividends, and Mason convinced local military authorities to pick up the entire contingent despite the presence of two other steamboats at Vicksburg. When the Sultana left Vicksburg, it carried 2,100 troops and 200 civilians, more than six times its capacity. On the evening of April 26, the ship stopped at Memphis before cruising across the river to pick up coal in Arkansas. As it steamed up the river above Memphis, a thunderous explosion tore through the boat. Metal and steam from the boilers killed hundreds, and hundreds more were thrown from the boat into the chilly waters of the river. The Mississippi was already at flood stage, and the Sultana had only one lifeboat and a few life preservers. Only 600 people survived the explosion. A board of inquiry later determined the cause to be insufficient water in the boiler--overcrowding was not listed as a cause. The Sultana accident is still the largest maritime disaster in U.S. history. Sultana on fire, from Harpers Weekly. 5

MessaJ!e from the President

MessaJ!e from the President Yaphank Historical Societ~ "Historic Yaphank. - Where the rast Greets June, 2010 In this issue: From the Historian page 2 From the Curator. page 3 Newsletter the rresent" Robert Hawkins House P.O. Box