Mrs. Ester Hileman is a long-time subscriber and called us about this photo postcard that ran the Cleaver last week. She identified three out of the five of the men in the photo. Donny Case, left, Bill Case to the right of the bear with his father Horton Case behind him. Identifying the men led to an article in the Clare Sentinel from May of 1949. The man in conservation uniform is most likely Don Bell. Bill Case and Don Bell were WWII veterans. Bill Case was Mrs. Hileman's brother-in-law. Thank you, Mrs. Hileman, for giving us more information that led to the rest of the story in this photo!

Clare Sentinel, 6 May 1949

There was quite a lot of excitement around Mann Siding Friday night when Cecil Hubel saw a big bear attacking a colt, belonging to Eddie Hubel’s D & D Riding Ranch, about a mile and a half west of US-27 on the south side of the Mann Siding Road, as Cecil was driving by at about 5:00 o’clock. Cecil threw a stone at the bear, which turned on him and drove him into his car. He then ran into the bear with the car, knocking bruin into the ditch, but he got up and attacked the car. Not desiring a “hand to hand” encounter with the 200-pound beast, Cecil drove to the Horton Case home, where Horton and his two sons, Bill and Russell, armed themselves with a 30-30 and 32 special rifle and 20 and 16 gauge shotguns with buck shot and slug loads, and returned to find the bear standing near a fence not far from where Cecil left him. They shot the bear with the 32 rifle and knocked him down, but he got up again and ran into the woods, with the men in hot pursuit firing as they ran. They knocked the bear down several more times and Case finally killed him with a slug load from his shotgun. Conservation Officer Don Bell was called from Clare and Horton Case dressed the bear, which was taken to the Mt. Pleasant State Home and Training School and added to their meat supply. The colt, although mauled and scratched up considerably …   More

Place names are important to historians. How things are named is always interesting and historically telling. Recently, a Budd family descendant came to the Cleaver office with a letter that proved the naming of Budd Lake in Harrison after the Budd family.

Before Harrison was named, the lake was called Budd Lake.

In January 1878 the Times Herald and the Lake County Star reprinted news from the Farwell Register.  “The Board of Supervisors of Clare county at their late session, voted to remove the county seat from Farwell to Budd Lake, near the geographical center of the county.” Few copies of Farwell Register exist so fortunately news was often reprinted from newspaper to newspaper.

By November of 1878 the name Harrison still wasn’t being used but the name of the lake was still Budd.

The Clare Press reported, “The committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors to locate the county seat, have been making an Examination of the ground, and from present appearances will probably make two reports, one favoring the vicinity of Budd Lake, and the other a location as near the center of the county as the nature of the ground will admit.”

 The family story in the letter outlines several Budd brothers living near Budd Lake in the mid-1870s.

“When Isaac, and his wife Cornelia were building their log cabin, Isaac was on the roof laying shingles, when in the distance he could see sun shining on a lake, that no one knew was there, because of his discovery, it was named Budd Lake.”

We can appreciate this family story for it’s storytelling drama for the benefit of the next generations. However, the lake was on surveys and used by Native Americans on the trace to and from Isabella and Roscommon counites. The story is not unlike many other white settler tales since Columbus discovered the new world. A wonderful family lore for naming a place.

While there were no permanent Native American settlements on …   More

Our family was very excited to see a show at the newly remodeled Ideal Theatre last Sunday. It felt really good doing one of our favorite pre-pandemic activities.

The newly remodeled theater didn’t disappoint. The balcony that held so much intrigue for my kids was available to sit in and I agreed now that they are older. It gives the best view of the scope of the work done in the building.

A little part of me wanted things to stay the way it was when I was a teenager and movies were $1. And for the last 10-12 years taking my growing pack of boys to the movies every time there was a child-friendly film.

For some reason my boys always saw the opportunity to go to the movies as a time to dress up. They went to movies as cowboys, police officers, civil war soldiers, and many other characters. Perhaps they thought they’d be in a movie instead of watching.

No amount of nostalgia can begrudge the beautifully remodeled theater. True to its original but thoughtful to modern amenities, it’s a tribute to downtown one-screen theaters everywhere. The seats are comfortable, the surround sound (gently) shakes your seat, and the popcorn is delicious.

In this week’s history section, the young men of the CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corp, attend a movie at the Ideal Theatre in the 1930s. It’s just one of the many memories and historical footnotes the theater is a part.  For the Clare community to hold on to this tradition is truly an asset.

While it’s not a dollar to see a show, it’s still about half the price paid the last time we went to a multiplex theater, and much more than the nickels the CCC boys paid over 90 years ago. Tickets cost $6 for adults, $5 for children under 12, and $5 for matinees.

One thing that hasn’t changed, it’s still Citizen State Bank Time at the Ideal Theatre according to the familiar clock next to the theater screen.   More

In March the Harrison Chamber and Tammy and Trish Galloway of Longer Table hosted a gathering for women in business. They expected a few people to show up and were surprised when more than 25 women and one supportive gentleman attended.

The gathering was one big conversation about the unique challenges and opportunities for women owned and operated businesses.

"It's very exciting to see the growth in Harrison coming from so many small businesses owned by local women." said Wendy Heinig of the Harrison Chamber when I spoke with her about the event. Heinig emceed the event and helped make introductions.

Women in supportive positions were there too, like Sarah Adkins of Michigan Works! and Maye Rood from Hayes Township. It reminded me of the connections at Harrison’s Rotary Club meetings. Unfortunately, the club was disbanded after the pandemic.

The Harrison Rotary Club was unique in that the membership split was 80/20, with 80% women. Most Rotary clubs are the opposite, the 20% is female and there is a push to recruit women for membership.

Clare County has a lot of women in leadership positions, both elected and appointed. This is a sign of the times. When I look in the Cleaver archives in the ’50s and ’60s the pages are full of men in suits and ties in election announcements and local government.

We have certainly felt the pain of our she/her pronouns here at Cleaver. Women have always worked, and worked hard at the Cleaver, but there was never before a woman at the helm. Numerous times I have been referred to as the girl, the gal, and the little girl. I’m hardly a girl – I’ll be 50 this year!

Another gathering will be held from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, April 20 at Longer Table on Second Street in Harrison. All women in any stage of business ownership or leadership are welcome.

The supportive camaraderie and the food prepared by Longer Table will make a fun “girls” night out.   More

A few clips from Clare County newspapers over the years about Spikehorn.

Clare Sentinel, 21 October 1938

A deal was completed this week in which J. E. (Spikehorn) Myers contracted to sell all the oil and gas rights on section 11, Hatton township. He states that he expects to use 500 acres for a wildlife reservation and proposes to build a fence around same suitable to hold bears, so that they may run at will. He expects to import about 20 to 30 cubs from Canada and the states in the spring.

Clare Sentinel, 20 July 1945

BEE SUPPLIES FREE—I have designed and built a new type of bee hive honey rack to hold the starter foundation combs, and now have no use for old style honey rack. Parties that have bees can have these at no cost. I also have some eight frame hives I have no. use for. My bees are all inspected, and supplies are all standard equipment that I am giving at no cost to anyone that is short of beehives or supplies.

SpikeHorn Meyer.

Clare Sentinel, 10 May 1946

Wanted-Someone to make 1000 bee hives. Will furnish lumber. Spike Horn Meyer, Harrison

 Clare Sentinel, 8 January 1954

'SPIKE' MEYER WANTS TEENEYBACK’ Spikehorn Meyer is rather sad these day’s, all because his favorite bear “Teeney” has. not been home since the deer season. It is believed that the Wear was shot and crippled by some hunter. However, on Sunday, December 6, according to Spike, the bear was seen playing with three children about a mile south of Spike’s bear den. Mr.' Meyer claims this is his most valuable bear, and would like to get her back. He claims it to be well trained and behaved and if returned a liberal reward will be forthcoming to the party that returns her. If you have seen this bear, Spike would like to be notified so that he could send candy to feed the bear in case it returned to the same place later on.   More

Menu cover from the Surrey House in Harrison from the early 1980s. The art is signed by local resident Thelma “Tem” Hubbell who was a popular commercial artist and beloved community member.

The Surrey House, as it notes here, was the Ohio Tavern and before that it was the Johnson House. Newspapers first mention the structure on April 23, 1880, “Shaver and McIntyre have the frame up for the new Johnson House.” A week later the newspaper reports, “Shaver and McIntyre are rushing the Johnson House and it will be ready to occupy in a few days.”   More

Slightly more exciting than my local matchbook collection is the centennial book collection I began for the Harrison District Library. While we are committed to keeping our collection local Clare County items and specifically, Harrison, the centennial books are an exception. They are fun to read through and a contain a lot of genealogical information.

Small towns throughout northern Michigan began creating commemorative centennial guides when their community turned 100. That puts most of the books published between 1960 and 1980 considering a lot of northern communities were logged and settled after the Civil War.

The books are simple, unsophisticated, and usually self-published in each locality. The photos aren’t great quality. There was no Amazon print on demand or internet self-publishing. What they lack in print quality they make up for in content. Histories of founding families, businesses, churches, local lore, and lots of photos. The photos are usually labeled who donated them or where they came from which makes a great lead for finding out more from the families today. Most of the folks that produced those books are gone now but their knowledge of local history is preserved.

The books were a lot of work and was almost always done by volunteers. A committee usually was formed to compile, organize, and edit a large amount of local history. The end result is local history preserved and shared for generations.

Harrison produced a Diamond Jubilee guide in 1966 when Harrison celebrated 75 years as an incorporated city. It is a photo heavy book and has pages of sponsored ads which are a great source of information about local businesses. It’s worth noting that the cover art on the 1966 jubilee book is incorporated into the City of Harrison logo today.

Harrison did a centennial guide in 1991 with the title Timber and Rail Dominion of Old. Both guides, though 25 years apart had covers designed by local artist Thelma “Tem” …   More

The Editor of the Cleaver, Angela Kellogg, was featured in the March 2019 issue of the Michigan Press Association newsletter, the Guardian.     More

Before the Hayes Township Civic Center was built, Bob Miller was working on a cleanup crew pulling stumps and clearing brush with heavy equipment. On his lunch break he happened to look down and find a bottle.

It was a Nehi bottle, bottled right here in Harrison, Michigan. At the time, Jeannie Morton told him the plant was in the old meat packing plant in the area of the new city hall and fire department just west of Harrison today.

Nehi (pronounced knee high) was a flavored soft drink (we call it pop!) first made in 1924 by the Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works. They were found in Georgia by a grocer named Claud Hatcher. IN 1928 they adopted the name the Nehi Corporation. In 1955 they became the Royal Crown Company after the success of the RC Cola product. In April 2008, Nehi became a brand of Dr Pepper Snapple Group (now known as Keurig Dr Pepper) in the United States.

You can still find flavors of Nehi today in orange, grape, and peach. Mr. Miller is donating this bottle to the Clare County Historical Society.

If you know anything else about the Nehi bottling operation in Harrison please contact the Cleaver at 539-7496.

 Clare Sentinel, 8 May 1931

A.M. Henderson has his Ne-hi bottling plant nearly completed. He will be ready to deliver from the local plant the middle of the week.

    More

History often presents seemingly impossible to answer questions.  W. J., a reporter for the Detroit Free Press, visited the logging camp of Winfield Scott Gerrish in 1878 and his report was published in the Clare County Press on June 21, 1878.   In the report W.J. notes as to Gerrish’s logging railroad from Lake George to the Muskegon River that “The main road [RR] has . . . a telephone line running its whole length . . . .”   For years this writer has wondered if Gerrish really had a telephone line as opposed to a telegraph line.  Then in October, 2019, an article was in the Wall Street Journal about Thomas Alva Edison and the proverbial ‘light bulb’ went on  in that the article mentioned Alexander Graham Bell, credited with ‘inventing’ the telephone.   The pun is totally intended in that in 1879 Edison presumably ‘invented’ the light bulb.   Research followed –

March 7, 1876 – Patent issued for ‘telephone’ to Bell  [Wikipedia]

June, 1876 -Bell demonstrates telephone at Centennial Exposition

Summer, 1876 – Gerrish visits Centennial Exposition [Boomer, October-  November, December 1996, Muskegon Heritage Assoc.   Newsletter]

November 30, 1876 – Farwell Register on November 30, 1876, reports Gerrish & Hazelton “building a railroad on the Muskegon river,  running back [to the East] to their timber” and  a locomotive  being “forwarded to Evart.”   [Grand Rapids Eagle, March   29, 1878]

July 9, 1877 -- Bell Telephone Company founded [Wikipedia]

December 29, 1877 – reported 9.3 miles of track on Lake George & Muskegon  Railroad [L GAZ, December 29, 1877] 

February 15, 1878 – reported that 2 newspaper reporters (one from Cadillac and  the other from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania) walked 14 miles …   More

The only thing better than a year they take the census is the year they release census records from more than 70 years ago for research. As a genealogist and a history lover, the census is near and dear to my heart and my family tree.

I’ve looked at thousands of historical census records and I’m looking forward to the release of the 1950 census in April of 2022. The National Archives has a 72-year rule that records aren’t released to the general public until 72-years after the census is taken. When you participate in the 2020 census your information will not be public until 2092.

There is a funny mention of the census from 1880 in the Clare County Press, “The census takers are busily at their business, asking all sorts of questions. Don’t lie to a census taker, not for a hundred dollars.” Incidentally, the fine for lying to a census taker was $100!

Older census records providing good information relied on the handwriting and meticulousness of the census taker. Of course, if you are solving a genealogical mystery, the handwriting is bad and names questionable.

This year when you receive your invitation to complete the census you can do it online, by phone or by mail. I can only imagine this will please someone researching their family history a hundred years from now. Especially if they don’t have to rely on bad handwriting!

Census takers will still be out there counting the homeless and transient population, on college campuses, senior centers and in communities conducting quality checks to ensure accurate counts.

In the future we won’t be as elusive as our ancestors. Our lives are well documented now compared to a hundred or more years ago. I have hundreds of photos of my childhood, my grandparents had dozens or less and my children have thousands. My cell phone as 4,000 photos alone! But the census is important in other ways besides knowing whether great grandma could read and write. Census data …   More

Civil War Medal of Honor Winner Lived in Farwell

When I ran across this postcard of “The General” and it mentioned W.W. Brown from Farwell my interest was piqued. I had not heard his name, or this story connected to Farwell and Clare County when I researched Farwell (Arcadia Publishing, 2016.)

I still cannot find a census or other proof beyond newspaper clippings that Wilson Wright Brown lived in Farwell. In researching Brown, I’ve found his rank to that of a private, a lieutenant, a sergeant, and a captain!

Brown was born in Ohio on Dec. 25, 1839 and died in there on Dec. 26, 1916. He was one of the 19 men who received the Medal of Honor for his participation in the Andrews’ Raid during the Civil War. His citation read, “One of the 19 of 22 men (including 2 civilians) who, by direction of Gen. Mitchell (or Buell) penetrated nearly 200 miles south into enemy territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Ga., in an attempt to destroy the bridges and tracks between Chattanooga and Atlanta.”

Brown’s obituary leaves no clues about his residence in Farwell. He died at his home listed as 874 Forsyth, Toledo, Ohio. He is survived by fours sons and three daughter all of Ohio.

Clare Sentinel, April 26, 1907

Captain W.W. Brown will give a lecture Saturday, April 27th at 7:30 p.m. in the G.A.R. hall relating to Andrew’s raid of which was engineer.

Clare Sentinel, January 24, 1908

WAR HERO OF FAMOUS CIVIL WAR EXPLOIT

Capt. Brown of Farwell Remembered as Engineer of the “Great Railroad Chase.” A bill introduced in the United States senate to raise the pension of Capt. W. W. Brown, of Farwell from $30 to $50 per month recalls a thrilling story of the great rebellion. In the spring of 1862 Capt. J. J. Andrew with twenty-three men started on an expedition to cut railroad and telegraph communications between Chattanooga and Atlanta. Mr. Brown, then a private from Ohio, was one of the …   More

A collection of three photos were recently shared with the Cleaver from the Welty Family, long time seasonal residents of Lake George.  At times old photos have no back story and we are left to wonder what the scene is all about.  In the case of these three images taken by Carl Wetly in Lake George the photography is so clear signs in the windows can be read and the rest of the story can be known. 

The photo shows a small crowd gathered for the auction of E.R.M. Austin’s store.  Ad is from the Clare Sentinel.  Presumably, the auctioneer is Thomas Groves.  Groves was a night officer for the City of Clare for many years and later ran a gas station and conducted auctions.  Many of his auctions are documented in Clare county newspapers during the 1920s and 30s. 

The photos of the auction give an informative view of Lake George as it was in 1927.   More

Don Morton happened to come into the Cleaver office to do some business and his paperwork was in a Morton Hardware envelope. The Morton’s have made several donations to the new history room at the library, so I asked him if he had any more of the envelopes. I collect ephemera and advertising items from local businesses. Well, you all know…I’ll collect anything local.

Don returned a short time later with more than just envelopes! Don brought in a custom clock, ashtray, envelopes, postcards, and a seat cushion. All the items will be available to view soon in the history and genealogy room at the Harrison District Library.

Morton Hardware was founded in 1948 by Howard Morton on Second Street in Harrison. Howard passed away a year after the 40th anniversary of the store and it was taken over by his son Don Morton. Previous to 1948, it was Harrison Hardware.

The clock is not only special because it marked the 40th anniversary of Morton Hardware but it was made by Thelma Hubbell as a gift to the Morton family. You may remember Hubbell created the original 20 Lakes in 20 Minutes sign I wrote about last week.

Thelma Hubbell was a local commercial artist who worked for Murton Gas and Oil and ran her own business. She was a volunteer at the Harrison Community Library for many years and made a puppet theatre, a historical village representing historic Harrison, and many children’s displays. She was a prolific and serious artist, a military veteran, and community staple in Harrison for decades.

Hubbell’s gift of the handmade clock included a custom storage box.

Don’s donation also included an ashtray. Probably from the 1950s or 60s. This seems quite funny today, but most businesses gave away free matches at their checkout counter and branded ashtrays were a common giveaway to advertise one’s business.

A seat cushion was also donated. It was sold by the Kiwanis as a fundraiser and features a who’s who of …   More

We only have a handful of newspapers that are pre-1930 due to a fire at the Cleaver office in 1926.  Of those we do have one is from September 22, 1922.  I often wonder why the surviving papers were kept and over the years drifted back to our office.  This particular paper has written in the top left corner "the last paper papa read." 

The subscription label reads "Amos Scrimger" We can safely assume he's the "papa" in question.  Amos Judge Scrimger was a farmer in Frost township and passed away on Sept. 27, 1922 at only age 45.  He was born in 1876 in Van Buren county. His cause of death is listed as an abscess of the lung from a neglected case of pneumonia.  He is buried in the Evergreen cemetery in Frost township.  

We also have the newspaper from October 6, 1992 with Scrimger's obit on the front page.  It is one of only four newspapers we have from the 1920s.  The Oct. 6 newspaper also mentions him in their neighborhood column for Frost twp., " Amos Scrimger passed away on Wednesday of last week. The community is deeply grieved." and also that, "Francis Beemer went to Clarence [in Redding township] Sunday to teach school for Miss Pansy Scrimger."  Pansy was one of Scrimger's three daughters.  

The Clare Courier reported his death in their Sept. 29, 1992 issue, "Mr. Amos Scrimger died Wednesday noon at his home in Frost Township from an abscess on the lungs."

Amos married Sarah Klingler in 1901 and they had three daughters: Pansy, Francis and Dorothy.  Sarah does not appear to have remarried after Amos died and she passed away in 1963. 

    More

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker…none are found at the oddly named newspaper in Harrison, the Clare County Cleaver, that marks 140 years in business this July. Nursery rhymes aside, just why is this newspaper named the Cleaver? Most newspapers use Gazette, News, Journal, Post, Mail, Examiner, Chronicle, and more. In Clare County there has been the Clare Sentinel, the Clare Courier, the Farwell News, the Harrison Herald, Harrison Echo, the Clare Democrat and Press, and the Farwell Register.

The Cleaver was first printed in the back of butcher shop on Main Street in 1881. The office and press room shared space with a butcher shop and later the post office.  The first printers were John Quinn and John Russell, later taken over and published by two generations of the Canfield family; John and Alfred. Russell had published the first Harrison paper the Harrison Herald earlier in 1881. Alfred Canfield went on to publish the Clare Courier.

 Harrison was a lumber boom town for most of the 1880s. Businesses opened and closed at a furious pace as fortunes were won and lost both in the woods and at the saloons. It was thought it would take decades for the big timber to be lumbered off in Clare County. Due to new lumbering technologies and the railroad, it took a scant decade.

The seat of Clare County was moved to Harrison in 1879, a more central location in the county after the courthouse burned at Farwell in 1876. The county seat likely saved Harrison and the Cleaver from becoming a ghost town. The county seat brought an influx of business and visitors to Harrison and impacted the economy greatly. The Cleaver still publishes notices and does print work for county business as it has done since the beginning.

As the lumber business declined many businesses failed, shanty boys moved on to timber farther north and farming communities replaced wild saloon towns. During this decline in 1899, the Cleaver briefly stopped publishing for a few …   More

Sometimes it can feel like a Reality TV show when I’m out reporting. It’s also fun to spend a little time in someone else’s world on their job. Last week I was able to witness the road commission set a bridge into place and then write about it for our readers.

I’m not quite like Mike Rowe on “Dirty Jobs.” I’m quite sure I don’t fit in on a construction site. I wore suede boots which I quickly switched to my son’s Muck-style boots that happened to be in the car. A plus when you have growing boys – you can share shoes if you dare to.

The big excitement of day as I mentioned in my article was a crane coming to set the bridge – the only piece of the job the road commission couldn’t do themselves. But cranes don’t show up and fly through the job. It’s a long set-up process, so I picked up my other son so I he could witness it, too, since high school is still virtual – a little hands-on learning instead of the virtual world our kids have been stuck in.

The crane arrived at 9:30 and was ready to move the bridge at noon. The pride and enthusiasm from road commission employees was evident over such a large project being completed. Everyone I talked to was friendly and happy to explain what was going on.

Embarrassingly enough, I locked my keys in my car in all the excitement. And this isn’t the first time. The last time I was at Wilson State Park in the pouring rain. The time before that I was at the post office. All in 2020. Fox Wrecker always recues me, and I make the call of shame to my friend and insurance agent Dan Durga who takes care of it.

The upside was we had more time to hang out and watch the road commission on the job. I was impressed by their camaraderie. They even spared a hot dog from their lunch for my son (14-year-olds must eat every 15 minutes.)

This was one of their most exciting days on the road commission. I’m sure most days are the …   More

 It’s rare we find a new photo of the Cleaver office. Despite its location on Main Street in Harrison in only two locations, we have surprisingly few early photos of the office.

As we wind down our 140th anniversary year this photo feels a bit like a gift from the history gods, but it was actually found by local genealogist Linda Bailey in the McKenna family papers. Linda knew I would be excited to see it and allowed me to scan the postcard.

 The card itself was mailed in 1956 but the inscription on the back said “How about this-it was taken along time ago-wasn’t it? Even before the road was paved.” This simple card and communication may not seem out of the ordinary, but we are grateful it was kept, and we can share it.

The rest of the post card inscription is a simple note to a McKenna family member. “Just finished the washing and am on my way home. Going up to Higgins Lake tonight with Clarabelle. Love, Mom and Dad.”

M-61 through Harrison was completed in 1938 as part of connecting M-61 from Standish through Gladwin to Marion and beyond. This photo was probably taken in the early 1930s. The Cleaver reported in 1936 M-61 will be paved with an oil-aggregate surface from Harrison west four miles as part of a $30,000,00 worth of road upgrades in the State of Michigan. It’s hard to say if the portion in the City of Harrison was included in this paving.  

The post office was in this location next to the Cleaver until June of 1957 when they opened their new building on the corner of First and Oak Streets.

Check your old postcards and letters, you never know what historical gem could be hiding!   More

Clare Sentinel, 1988

34 Years Ago in Clare, Michigan

Clare’s ice tree in the city park was turned on last Tuesday and is growing daily. A steady stream of water sprays from the top falling on several Christmas trees inside a thirty-foot steel framework.

Gaylord has had an ice tree for years and was very helpful in providing information for the design of the Clare tree.

A number of years ago an ice tree was started in the then vacant lot in downtown Clare, now occupied by Her Place, next to Downtown Drugs. The tree was forming nicely until winter weather turned fickle-thawing, freezing, sunshine, thawing, freezing. The spray at the top of the tree was coming from a sprinkler can nozzle. The water had to be turned on and off whenever temperatures were above freezing. Al Iacco, A.J.Doherty and I [Al Bransdorfer]  took turns turning the water on at night and off during the warming days..

 An Irish flag was placed at the top of the tree. That disappeared and was replaced with a MSU flag, replaced by a UofM flag, replaced by a Clare Fire Association flag, replaced by a Polish flag and on and on. You never know what flag would be at the top.

Sand was needed around the tree to keep the water from spreading. A truckload of sand was brought in. Unfortunately, the sand contained chloride-great for melting ice.

That lot had been occupied by the Dunlop Building which burned in a fire nearly twenty years ago and had a common wall with Downtown Drugs building.

Where was all the water going? Walked next door and asked Bill Barz to check the basement of his drug store.

That’s where all the water was. A lot of merchandise was stored in the basement but fortunately the basement floor sloped east and few items were stored there.

The water to the ice tree was turned off and so ended Clare’s first attempt at an ice tree.

This year [1988], Iacco presently Clare’s mayor, visited Gaylor and received some up-to-date detailed …   More

This creamer was donated to the Library a few years ago. The giver didn’t want their name on it but said it was given to them on a visit to the Surrey House in the 1980s.

As I’m always researching local history, and the Surrey House in particular I’d seen bowls, plates, and a creamer set online in auctions and internet searches. I had dismissed them as not being from our local Surrey House. I’d never seen Surrey House custom china and anyone I’d asked that worked at the restaurant had never seen any either.

When the creamer was donated, I took a quick look at eBay and it revealed this exact creamer had recently sold. Every chip and imperfection and even dirt spot was the same. Possibly the person who donated the creamer thought they were doing a good deed and returning history to its place.

It seemed unlikely a piece wouldn’t have surfaced as a collectible or a keepsake in all the years the Surrey house operated. The carriage in the logo was also pointed in the opposite direction of all the other ads and signs of Harrison’s Surrey House.

So, I spent some more time researching the creamer. It was made by the Jackson China Company, located in Falls Creek, Pennsylvania. They manufactured restaurant tableware as well as several lines of fine china between 1917 and 1985. There is an entire book dedicated to the dating, identification and company history and information about Jackson China.

There are dozens of backstamps in many styles and types that can date any piece made by Jackson. They produced custom tableware for many hotels and restaurants across the country.

This creamer dates from the 1960s. Which does fit the time frame of the popularity of the Surrey House as a regional destination. I believe this creamer came from the Surrey House on Hwy 10 in Virginia. It matches other memorabilia from the restaurant like ashtrays and matchbooks. There were many other Surrey Houses in operation across the country …   More