GIVE A THOUGHT TO ALBION - Historical Albion Michigan

With the Albion Expo Trade Fair being held on Friday, April 28 at the Albion Armory, we are reminded of the vital role our local Albion Chamber of Commerce places in promoting the well-being of our business community. Any business or firm which operates in Albion should be a member of the Chamber. With Albion’s boundaries being pulled by Battle Creek and Jackson interests, we need to do all we can to maintain our distinct separate identity and reap the benefits thereof. I encourage your business to join the Chamber this week. Give the Chamber a happy call this week at (517) 629-5533 to join up.

It is because of our Chamber of Commerce that many projects have been brought to town. Back in 1926, the Chamber pulled together with local citizens to raise money to build a first-class hotel here--the Parker Inn. This community hotel provided a meeting place for many years for various groups, and also served as a resting place along the busy U.S.-12 Highway, before I-94 was built.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a 1926 photograph by early 20th century Albion photographer Walter Grant, showing the group of men who launched the subscription campaign for the Parker Inn. In their hands they are holding a sign, similar to a bumper sticker, which states, “GIVE A THOUGHT TO ALBION, JOIN THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.” Their words are valid even today.

Front row, left to right: Arthur Noble; Edward M. Mounteer; David A. Garfield; James Smith; Brockway Dickie; Daniel M. McAuliffe; Arthur Thwaites, Sr.; Frank Sebastian; O Harry Gale; M. B. Murray; Sidney Tench; Fred Brown; Harry Rosenthal; Harry B. Parker (after whom the Parker Inn was named); Frank Culver; John Fisher; Arthur S. Wildt; Frank Caton; unidentified; Dan Thornton; A. J. Wilder; man behind him unidentified; Andy Whalen; Clem Wickens; Fred Northwood; Henry Wochholz; and Walter S. Kennedy.

Second row: Carl Schumacher; Walter Rogers; Irving J. Mallory; Lester Laisdell; Fred Richey; Dr. Grove Dunham; Ralph Hartung; Edward Thwaites; George Bohm; Fred Avery; J. Clifford Smith; Reinhold Schumacher.

Third row: Man with mustache unidentified; Alvin Dice; Seymour Raynor; Robert W. Baldwin; Ira Decker; Dr. Arthur M. Chickering; Arthur Smith; Richard T. Baldwin; Louis Wochholz; and D. Richard McAuliffe.

Fourth row: L. C. VanGordon; Mark H. Fall; John Clement; unidentified; Dan Birdsall; Robert Warner; Victor Dibble; unidentified; Lyman Ray; George Russel; Dr. Wilber L. Neil; next two unidentified.

Fifth row: William H. Barney; Edward Reel; O. J. Cessna; Arthur H. Dew; Everett Cavanagh; W. A. Litle; William H. Harton; L. C. McDougal; unidentified; M. Baxter Mitchell; Norman H. Wiener; Otis A. Leonard; Howell VanGordon; Rev. Wilbur A. Diehl; Fred Swift; William H. French; Harry Richards; and Carl Creager.

Top row: Donald Bullen; William F. Head; George A. Schumacher; Herman Huber; Walter Peak; George T. Bullen; Dr. George C. Hafford; Homer C. Blair; George Gaffney; Fred King; Williard R. Noyes; Edward R. Loud; Daniel Kick; E. Floyd Hoaglin; Donald Ramsdell; Joseph A. Baldwin; Donald Harrington; John Smith; Fred Austin; William J. Kearney; Dr. Edward L. Parmeter; Byron Ganson; Paul P. Nagle; Henry L. Ewbank; Lee Boyd; unidentified; Karl Miller, and George Allen.

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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	Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited.
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