Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
Morning Star, November 5, 2023, pg. 7 We continue with our theme of "Albion, 100 Years Ago." November 1, 1923. "A number of local people witnessed the burning of a cross which was fastened 10 feet in the air above the steel truss on the cemetery bridge last evening at midnight. The cross was made of wood, being about 4 feet across and saturated with kerosene. Several members of the city police and fire department cut the cross down and let it into the river for safety's sake." "Joe Beiliski, 10-year-old-boy who was captured with two other Jackson youths in Albion…is being held by the Jackson police on a charge of putting nails under the wheels of auto-trucks, as well as gambling, playing hooky and other youthful misdemeanors. He will probably be sent to the Lansing industrial school." Nov. 2, 1923: "Owen Cawsey and Mike Wilke, two local characters who upon several occasions have given the Albion officers trouble because of a liking for moonshine, escaped from the city lockup at the old water plant on E. Cass St. Sunday afternoon." Nov. 7, 1923: "Three boys two of whom were 10 years old and one 11, were brought before Justice W. S. Price late yesterday afternoon on a charge of having thrown the tables and benches at the Victory Park grounds into the Kalamazoo River." Nov. 12, 1923: "Alfalfa for Albion Farms" was the slogan adopted at a meeting of progressive farmers held Saturday evening with County Agent B. B. Adams at the community room of the Commercial & Savings Bank." Nov. 13, 1923: "While helping Chief of Police Clyde Stoddard clean up the city jail last this morning, Willie Reece, colored man residing in Gadsen Ct. and a prisoner at the jail, suddenly made a dash out of the front door of the E. Cass St. bastille and made a getaway. He was still at large at 2:30 this afternoon." "Ku Klux Klan Has a Meeting at Homer. The biggest crowd ever assembled in Homer was here Monday afternoon and evening to attend the five-county meet of the Ku Klux Klan, which was held at the W. C. Sherrard farm, one mile north and a half mile east of here on the Albion Road. The crowd in the evening was estimated at between 9,000 and 10,000 people." "Gasoline is down in price again, local filling stations now selling for 14/6 cents per gallon whereas the previous price was 16.6." "William VanGorden, father of L.C. VanGorden, local druggist, dropped dead near the corner of W. Ash and Pearl Sts. at 6:40 Monday evening, an attack of heart disease from which he had suffered for several months causing his death." Nov. 15, 1923: "Work on the excavation for the municipal comfort station on W. Michigan St. is progressing rapidly and the foundations will be started within the next few days." Nov. 17, 1923: "Prospects are excellent for a new industry for Albion in the shape of a fiber furniture factory, the Thwaite Furniture company, a bustling and growing concern of Grand Rapids, having started preliminary negotiations toward moving to Albion." Nov. 20, 1923, "By a unanimous vote, the city council last evening decided to reinstate Eastern Time as the official municipal time beginning Sunday morning, November 25, and extending through the winter months. The city went back to Central Time last Sunday." "The City Council has asked City Manager D. F. Herrick to prepare plans for a new jail to be erected probably at the rear of the city offices on W. Cass St. The city is greatly in need of such an institution, as the present jail located at the old water plant on E. Cass St. is too isolated and is also unsanitary and difficult to heat." Nov. 21, 1923. "Mrs. Alexandria Schelengewich, Albion resident who was arrested in June, 1921 by state police for selling and possessing liquor at her Austin Ave. home, was convicted by a jury in circuit court at Marshall Tuesday afternoon of violation of the liquor laws." Headline: "Robert J. Frost is Dead. Notable Albion Figure. Dean of Local Merchants, Twice Mayor and Prominent in Local and State Politics Passes Away Following a Fall Nov. 11." Nov. 23, 1923: "A lone dog played awful havoc in a flock of sheep on the James Ferguson farm, three miles southwest of Albion this morning, killing twelve and probably fatally wounding two others out of a flock of twenty-four." Nov. 26, 1923: The Albion College chapter house of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity at 1101 Michigan Ave., is practically ruined, having been gutted by fire early Sunday morning. The house, located in the center of College Court, was more than 55 years old and one of the largest and most historic in the city. It was built by Andrew Mason Fitch." "Anyone wishing to remember Mr. and Mrs. Craighead, Baptist missionaries to Roumania, with Christmas and New Year greetings should see that they are mailed soon to the following address: St. General Schine 214, Balti, Roumania." "Willis McCay, son of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. McCay, N. Superior St., is confined to his home with an attack of the mumps." Nov. 27, 1923: "The city has recently completed a new roadway on the Albion St. bridge, consisting of a new layer of planking covered by tar." Next 100 Years Ago article: December 1923 Next week: POSTAL SAVINGS STAMPS IN ALBION All text copyright, 2024 © all rights reserved Frank Passic
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