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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, August 4, 1002, pg. 10 The mystery has been solved. The person who posed as Santa Claus in 1972 pictured on page 99 of my new book “Albion in the 20th Century” is Rick Crawford, a member of my Albion High School class of 1971. Special thanks to Kent McGuigan for identifying Rick, who now lives in California. If you are having a reunion this month, be sure and give me a call at 629-5402 to make arrangements to have copies of my book at your event. Otherwise, autographed copies are available only at the Albion Chamber of Commerce. We continue with our theme of Albion-100 years ago. Week ending August 3, 1902: “A portion of the big iron bridge over the river for the electric railway has arrived. The spans are 80 feet long and required two flat cars.” “Gasoline has been boosted two cents on the gallon lately, one cent having been added this week. Must be that Mr. Rockefeller is going to build an addition to his house.” August 14, 1902: “The gravel pit on the Michigan Central near Bath Mills is called Bloomerville Pit in order to conform to railroad requirements. It has a telegraph office and presents quite a lively appearance now while gravel is being taken out for building the second track.” “Mrs. Clara Hawks, formerly Mrs. Ball of E. Michigan Ave., who forfeited her pension of $12 a month when she remarried, had it restored, her second husband having died.” “The iron poles for the trolley wires through Superior St. are being set this week. It begins to look as if the electric road was slowly but surely going to be completed some time.” August 21, 1902. “A. Torrey of Detroit, chief civil engineer of the Michigan Central railroad, was dangerously injured at 5:30 Tuesday afternoon near Newburg Mill while running on a gasoline car in company with two other men, by being run down by a fast freight, near a curve.” “The beaming smile that Mr. Frank E. Nowlin has borne all the week was accounted for Wednesday afternoon when it was announced that he had been united in marriage at 1:30 yesterday to Mrs. Clara T. Peabody.” “Mr. Keenan, who recently succeeded Henry W. Mosher as manager of the local telephone exchange, has moved his family to this city from Hastings.” “Invitations have been received in this city to the wedding of Dr. Porter Bruce Brockway and Miss Marjorie Plews at the home of the bride’s mother, Thursday August 28, at Lake Linden, Mich.” “Reed Carty, who has been employed in the hardware store of E. C. & O. H. Gale for about 5½ years, will go to Kalamazoo next week to take up his position as salesman in the large hardware store of Edwards & Chamberlain. He will be succeeded in the Gale store by Will Eggleston, who has been in the employ of George P. Griffin. George Hunt has accepted a position in Griffin’s hardware store.” August 28, 1902: “The Michigan Central will soon have a double track to Marshall. Huge machinery is used in moving the sand and gravel. A unique encampment is located near Bath Mills, called the Bloomerville Summer Resort, where some of the men and teams have their headquarters.” “According to the Homer Index, Homer must be a real bad town sometimes. From ten o’clock till after midnight Saturday night Main street was in undisturbed possession of a howling, swearing, fighting mob. The street was actually unsafe for any person unprepared to defend himself with fist or bludgeon. The scenes enacted would have disgraced any mining camp or frontier town of the west. Fighting was free to all and no man apparently knew or cared who he hit or where his fists landed. Business was impossible, for decent people were driven from the street, and profanity, obscenity and drunkenness ruled without lot or hindrance. The police ordinance was fractured into a thousand bits, and yet the village marshal was present throughout most or all of the disturbance and no arrests were made or attempted.” Next 100 Years Ago article: SEPTEMBER 1902 Next: CALHOUN COUNTY FAIR All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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