USA > Michigan > Ionia County > History of Ionia County, Michigan : her people, industries and institutions, Volume I > Part 34
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7. Co-operation is a magic word for peace and happiness in the busi- ness world, in the home or in the school. We should assume that every other person is reasonable in his demands and then co-operate with him until thoroughly convinced that he is unreasonable. And in nine cases out of ten what seems unreasonable will prove to be misunderstanding. Co-opera- tion is the key to the smooth working of any school.
8. Pupils should be taught to keep their desks in good order and to
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take out material carefully and quietly. These practices should become habits and should not require constant reminders.
9. Questions which can be answered by "yes" or "no" require little or no thought. It is a good rule, which may now and then have an excep- tion, never to ask such questions.
10. When a question is asked of a class, it should be assumed that every pupil knows the answer. It is unwise to ask for a show of hands in the ordinary routine of class instruction, for this implies that only a few know the answer to the question.
Teachers of the county do the State Reading Circle work cach year. and much attention is paid to getting good juvenile books in the various school libraries. No county in the state excels this one in this respect.
There are eight "Standard Schools" in the county which have earned the coveted metal plate from the state. The first to receive this honor was district No. 1. Easton township, known as the "Prison School"; then fol- lowed the "Steel," "Case." "Spaulding." "Stone," "Loomis," "Badder" and the "Abbey." The "Standard School" is described in the following com- munication from the state superintendent of public instruction :
STANDARD SCHOOL.
To the School Boards of Rural School Districts: The State of Mich- igan has a compulsory attendance law which requires every child between the ages of seven and sixteen to attend school every day during the time that school is taught in the district. Most of the country school buildings are very faulty in matters of heat, light, ventilation and sanitation. It would seem only fair that inasmuch as the state compels every child to go to school that he should have reasonably decent quarters. The purpose of this note is to tell you of a plan to create a standard school.
If any school board of Michigan will so arrange its plan that they will conform to the specifications hereinafter described, the superintendent of public instruction will designate the school as a standard school. He will. with the county commissioner, inspect the plant and if the plant fulfils requirements he will put on the front of the building a metal tablet that can be seen by all who pass. This tablet will bear the words, "Standard School." He will also give to the school a framed diploma to be hung inside the build- ing which states that this particular school has been awarded the distin-
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guished honor of being put in the standard school class, this distinction to be taken away if the school falls below the requirements. The require- ments for the standard school are as follow :
Yard and Outbuildings.
1. Ample grounds of at least one-half acre.
2. Some trees and shrubs tastefully arranged.
3. Good approaches to the house.
4. Two well-kept, widely separated outhouses.
5. Suitable room or place for fuel.
The School House.
I. House well built, in good repair and painted.
2. Good foundation.
3. Well lighted with some attention to proper lighting.
4. AAttractive interior decorations.
5. Good blackboards, some suitable for small children.
6. Heated with room heater and ventilator in corner, or basement furnace which brings clean air in through the furnace and removes foul air from room.
7. Hardwood floor and interior clean and tidy.
Furnishings and Supplies.
1. Desks suitable for children of all ages, properly placed.
2. Good teacher's desk.
3. Good bookcases.
4. A good collection of juvenile books suitable as aids to school work as well as for general reading.
5. Set of good maps, a globe, dictionary, sanitary drinking facilities.
The Organization.
I. School well organized, especially as to grades.
2. Classification and daily register well kept.
3. Definite program of recitation and study.
4. AAttendance regular.
5. At least eight months of school.
6. Discipline good.
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The Teacher.
I. Education : The equivalent of a county normal course or of a four- year high school course.
2. Must receive a suitable salary.
3. Ranked by the county commissioner as a good or superior teacher.
4. Must attend institutes and teachers' meetings.
These requirements are by no means severe and most of them are vitally necessary as far as the health and efficiency of the children are concerned. A child spends from four to six hours each school day inside the school room, more waking hours than he spends in any one room in his home. Unless the room is thoroughly warmed, unless it is supplied constantly with fresh, pure air, unless it is well lighted. unless comfortable seats and desks of the proper size for the individual are provided, unless the pupils can drink without a risk of contamination, the health of the children in that school is being menaced. A good teacher is vital, but she must have proper equipment in order to do effective work and a well-selected school library is one of the most important essentials.
Trusting that you will co-operate with the county commissioner and this department for more satisfactory school conditions. I am.
Yours sincerely. FRED L. KEELER, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
This county has an eighth grade graduation and field day that is unequaled in any county so far as can be learned. The time for this event has usually been the first Saturday in June of each year. At the eighth grade exercises which are held in the forenoon at ten o'clock, some speaker of note gives a short address which, with music, forms the principal part of the exercise. Such crowds attend these exercises that no room has been obtained large enough to accommodate all who wish to attend. In the forenoon also are held tennis contests and preliminaries to the afternoon track events. In the afternoon from 5.000 to 10.000 people gather on the fair grounds at lonia to witness the contests. Special trains have been char- tered to bring the people, and the various high schools bring vast crowds to cheer their own track team or baseball team on to victory.
Corn clubs and potato clubs have been formed with a great deal of success. Homer Fletcher, one of the school boys, holds the record of being one of the best corn growers in Michigan.
CHAPTER XXVI.
NEWSPAPERS OF IONIA COUNTY.
The first newspaper published in Ionia county was the Ionia Journal. It was established by Ira W. Robinson in February, 1843, and the size of this paper was a five-column folio, each page being twelve inches by sixteen in dimensions. A copy of this relic of early journalism in Ionia county is available for examination and although rather tattered by age it showed good workmanship. This copy bears the date and heading "Ionia, Michi- gan, December 27, 1843," and is volume 1, number 45. The motto of the paper is one which immediately attracts the eye: "Freedom of Inquiry and the Power of the People-Bound to No Party-To No Sect Enslaven." The price of the paper was $2.00 per annum in advance, to those village subscribers who had their papers left at their dwellings. Office and mail subscribers, $1.50 per annum in advance. A fee of twenty-five cents was to be added to the above prices when payment was delayed six months, and fifty cents if left until the end of the year. The business notice in the upper left hand corner of the paper declares that the Journal will be published every Wednesday by Ira W. Robinson. The terms of advertising were as follow : "One square of twelve lines or less inserted three weeks for $1.00. Each additional insertion twenty-five cents. A liberal discount made to those who advertise by the year. Advertisements not accompanied by direc- tions will be published until ordered out. and charged accordingly. When a postponement is attached to an advertisement, the whole will be charged, as if for the first publication. Payment for all advertising from abroad. and all legal advertisements, will be required in advance. Letters on busi- ness must be postpaid, to receive attention." This issue of the Ionia Journal contained not a single item of local news. It was made up of a story on "Life in New York," by Jonathan Slick, Esq., an item on "The Culture of Wheat," an editorial on "Post Office Reform," a few items of general news and some news from Europe via the steamship "AAcadia" and was marked "fifteen days later," a business directory of lonia and eight columns of advertisements.
Mr. Robinson continued as editor of the Journal for three or four
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years, when. in consequence of having become involved in some difficult business relations, he abandoned this field altogether and the Journal ceased its existence.
The next venture in the newspaper field was attempted by Mr. E. R Powell and the paper was a success both financially and otherwise. This was the Ionia Gasette and the initial number of this paper was issued on the first Tuesday in January, 1849. Mr. Powell was a native of Howell, Mich- igan, and purchased considerable of the material formerly used in the Journal office. The size of the paper at first was a five-column folio and was printed on a Ramage wooden press. In 1853, owing to the increase in business. the paper was enlarged to a six-column folio, and again, in September, 1857, just after the completion of the Detroit & Milwaukee railroad to Ionia, business took another boost and the paper was enlarged to a seven-column folio, which size it retained. Politically, the Gazette began as an independent paper, but after two or three years' existence it began to advocate Demo- cratic principles, continuing thus until the organization of the Republican party, in 1856. when it joined that party, and thereafter was a stalwart Republican sheet. The last number of the Gasette was issued in August, 1867, and the greater part of the office equipment was sold to the Sentinel and the editor removed to Stanton, where he had taken charge of the Mont- calm Herald.
IONIA SENTINEL.
The Ionia Sentinel, the oldest paper in Ionia county, was established in 1866. the first issue being May i in that year. The first publishers were T. G. Stevenson and J. C. Taylor. In 1870 Gen. James 11. Kidd purchased a third interest and in 1887 became sole owner of the property. In that year a daily edition of the Sentinel was established called the Daily Mail. Ths was later changed to the Daily Sentinel. Both weekly and daily editions were published from that time on. General Kidd remained the editor and publisher until his death in 1913.
The Sentinel has always been a Republican paper in politics and is a widely-read county newspaper occupying first rank. With the largest cir- culation in the county it is a well-patronized advertising medium. The present staff is composed of Frederick McC. Kidd, editor: Harry E. Spen- cer, business manager: Josephine Lehman, reporter; Frank T. Stevenson, foreman: Earl Wright, linotype operator; O. C. Wright, job printer ; Earl Seely, Lewis Arbor, Leon Mileski, Jessie Seymour: Bert Underwood, press- man; Claude Kieft. The office has a complete and up-to-date job plant as
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well as a newspaper plant and one of the most thoroughly equipped offices in this section of the state.
Gen. James H. Kidd. for seventy-three years a resident of Ionia, was born here on February 14, 1840, and died on March 19, 1913. During his boyhood days he attended the public schools and clerked in the store of his father, James M. Kidd, at Kiddville, near the present city of Belding. In 1860 he graduated from the State Normal School at Ypsilanti and entered the University of Michigan.
In 1862 he was second lieutenant of the Tappan Guards, a company of university students. In the same year he refused a commission in the Twenty-first Regiment. Michigan Volunteer Infantry, to enter the cavalry and in August was authorized by Col. F. W. Kellogg to organize a company of cavalry-Company F. Sixth Michigan-and was commissioned captain. On May 9, 1863, he was commissioned major and May 19 was made colonel. He was wounded at the battle of Falling Waters. He participated in Kil- patrick's raid, the Wilderness campaign, the Shenandoah valley operations and succeeded Gen. George A. Custer to the command of the Michigan cavalry brigade which he commanded at Cedar creek. At the close of the war he was ordered west and commanded the left wing of the Powder river expedition against the Indians, establishing a post and building Ft. Reno on the Powder river in Wyoming. At the close of the campaign he was brevetted brigadier general of volunteers.
General Kidd entered the manufacturing business in Ionia and in 1867 was appointed register of the land office at lonia. In 1876 he became the first captain of the lonia Light Guards. In 1870 he was made colonel and brigade quartermaster of the Michigan National Guard, when the brigade was first organized. In 1882 and 1883 he was brigade inspector and in 1885 was made inspector general by Gov. R. A. Alger. In 1895 he was appointed quartermaster general on the staff of Gov. Jomm T. Rich, in 1901 and 1903 he occupied the same position on the staff of Gov. A. T. Bliss and served in the same capacity from 1905 to 1911 on the staff of Gov. Fred MI. Warner. In 1807 he was made secretary of the deep waterways commission at Detroit for three years.
General Kidd was at one time eminent commander of the Masonic order in Tonia and junior warden of the grand commandery. He served as com- mander of the Department of Michigan Grand Army of the Republic. a member of the Loyal Legion, Michigan Cavalry, of which he was the head at one time, and president of the Sixth Michigan Cavalry Association. He was a member of the commission having in charge the fiftieth anniversary
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celebration of the battle of Gettysburg. He was a member of the committee which arranged for and unveiled the equestrian statue of General Custer at Monroe, and was also connected with the unveiling of the Michigan statue at Andersonville prison, and the Michigan statue on the battlefield of Gettys- burg.
General Kidd was signally honored in 19To when the University of Michigan conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Literature, in recog- nition of the public services and his literary work. He wrote and published the "Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer's Michigan Brigade in the Civil War." an authoritative work.
He was a stanch Republican and a delegate to the national Republican convention in 1892. Loyalty to country, love of home and family and a strict adherence to principles of thorough honesty in his political and busi- ness life characterized the life of General Kidd. Throughout the period of his living years he was faithful to every trust that was placed in his keeping.
IONIA STANDARD.
The lonia Standard, with daily and weekly editions, is published by Robert Baerd. The weekly edition was established in 1868, while the daily edition was first published in i891, both being Democratic in politics and having gained a very enviable position among the Democratic papers of the state. Up to May 1. 1914. the Standard had been published by a company, but at this time Robert Baerd. always an active publisher in the company. bought out his partner. J. C. Taylor, and since that time has continued the publication of the papers. keeping them on the same high plane on which they have always been held. By reason of a liberal advertising patronage. the daily has been enlarged from time to time, while both editions at all times keep full pace with the spirit of progress of the present age, and are well recognized factors in the upbuilding of Ionia city. The Standard also has a well-equipped plant for general commercial printing.
Robert Baerd. owner and publisher of the Standard, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, April 27, 1857, remaining there until fifteen years of age. when he went to Grand Rapids, Michigan, as a journeyman printer. In 188t he came to lonia, and in May, 1883. purchased an interest in the Standard, having been one of its active publishers from that time and now is sole owner. Mr. Baerd has always been prominently identified with the prosperity of Ionia, and has served the city as mayor, treasurer and clerk, and many years as alderman.
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IONIA NATIONAL.
The Ionia National was established in August, 1878, by L. P. Brock, and soon became the leading organ of the Greenback party in western Mich- igan. Soon after it began puldication, it unearthed a series of corrupt prac- tices on the part of the first warden of the lonia state reformatory which brought it into state-wide notice, and also brought to it the notoriety of a criminal libel suit instituted by the warden. The case never came to trial, for the reason that the state Legislature took the matter up and after a thorough investigation-in which all the charges made by the National were fully proven-the warden was deposed of his office. This, together with its strenuous and able advocacy of the Greenback doctrines, increased its circulation until it rivalled that of any paper ever published in the county. In the campaign of 1884 the editor, Mr. Brock was nominated and elected county register of deeds, on a Greenback and Democratic fusion ticket ; to which office he was re-elected in 1886.
In 1887 Mr. Brock sold the paper to Dan C. Wachs, who soon after changed its name to the Ionia Erpress. Later Mr. Orin Wright became its owner and editor and it finally became merged with the Ionia Standard. During the campaign of 1880, 1882, 1884 and 1886, the National enjoyed a state-wide reputation and its editorial utterances were largely quoted by the state press and by many papers with a nation-wide circulation, like the Philadelphia American and the Chicago Express. Previous to the campaigns of 1884 and 1886, lonia county had been one of the strongholds of the Republican party in the state, but since that time it has been more or less vacillating in its politics.
PORTLAND OBSERVER.
The Observer ( or rather Advertiser as it was then called) was estab- lished in Portland in the summer of 1867 by the late J. H. Wickwire, who sold the plant after issuing seven numbers of the paper to Joseph W. Bailey, now of Lansing. Shortly after Mr. Bailey took charge of the business he changed the name of the paper to the Observer, by which name it is still known. Mr. Wickwire went from Portland to Dexter, where he established the Derter Leader. In 1876 Mr. Bailey erected a two-story brick building on Kent street, the upper floor of which was occupied by the plant through all of the different changes in ownership until January. 1916, when the paper took up more modern quarters on the ground floor in a two-story
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brick building on south Kent street recently completed for Mrs. Adah J. Blanchard.
It was in 1882 that Mr. Bailey sold the Observer to Hartman & Bel- knap. two young printers from Ohio, and they, about a year later, sold it to Lew F. Mccutcheon, who had learned his trade in the office and who was editor and proprietor of the paper until selling it to C. D. Tomy, of l'ort- land, an experienced city newspaper man, in the summer of 1007. Mr. Mccutcheon is now engaged in the real estate business in Detroit and, Mr. Tomy in the clothing business in this village. In September, 1910, the Observer was sold to Messrs. Arthur 1. Francis and Floyd (. Rice, both Portland boys and sons of well-known citizens here. Mr. Francis took the editorial responsibilities of the business and Mr. Rice looked after the mechanical end until the fall of 1912, two years later. when Mr. Francis took over Mr. Rice's interest. Mr. Francis is still in charge and has built up the subscription list from approximately goo copies weekly to approxi- mately 2.000. The job work and advertising patronage have also increased proportionately. As to equipment, the Observer placed itself in a class with the best equipped country offices in the state by installing a new $2, 100 model No. 15 Mergenthaler linotype upon taking up its new quarters in the Blanchard block.
The politics of the Observer was Republican through all of the differ- ent managements until C. D. Tomy assumed charge in the summer of 1907. He made the paper independent and it is still so.
PORTLAND REVIEW.
The Reviewe, a weekly newspaper published at Portland, was established on June 3. 1885, by Frank E. Doremis, now representative in Congress from the first congressional district of Michigan. Mr. Doremus' equipment consisted of a Washington hand press and a few cases of type which he bought second hand. He was a native of Portland, but had gone over to Pewamo to conduct the Plain Dealer, having picked up the printer's trade in his home town. The Retirar was started when he gave up the l'esame venture. He had been publishing the Reviews about five years when Fred J. Mauren, a young printer, born and brought up in Portland, entered his employ. Mr. Doremus went to the Legislature the next winter, as repre- sentative from the lonia county district and left Mauren in charge of the paper. Upon his return from Lansing he took his young employee as a partner and the two made many improvements in the office. enlarging the
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paper, buying a new press and modern equipment. Mr. Doremus served one term as postmaster, under Cleveland's administration, and on his retire- ment moved to Detroit to study law, still retaining his interest in the Revieze, but sold it to Mr. Mauren in April, 1900. Mr. Mauren succeeded Mr. Dore- nmis as postmaster, being a Republican, while his partner was a Democrat, and held the office two terms. When his successor was appointed he gave his entire time to the newspaper, which he has built up to a circulation of 2,000 copies weekly.
The Reviewe was the first country newspaper in this part of Michigan to feature its news stories with heads and to give to the first page a make-up similar to that of the metropolitan dailies. This practice has now become quite general. The paper has a large and growing advertising patronage. maintaining an excellent job printing department in connection, and ranks well with the best country journals of the state. The paper is independent in politics. The support it gave Fred Cook, Democrat nominee for county clerk, is generally credited with having had much to do with that gentle- man's success in the first campaign and in two subsequent campaigns when he was re-elected. At the same time it supported the Republican candidates for governor and in 1912 it gave support to Roosevelt for president. He made a strong showing in the county.
BELDING BANNER.
The Belding Banner was established in Belding the first week in June, 1880, by Embrie B. Lapham and Charles R. Cowdin, who came to Belding from Rockford, Michigan, putting in a complete new plant, with a Prouty cylinder press and one job press.
Six months later fire destroyed all the plant except the job press. The proprietors bought a new cylinder press and continued business. In 1904 Mr. Lapham purchased Mr. Cowdin's interest in the plant and continued as editor and proprietor until February, 1913, when he sold out to Jesse K. Coates and James M. Langston of Hastings.
A few months later Mr. Ford Hicks, also of Hastings, took an interest in the new firm, which continued to run the paper until May, 1915, at which time Mr. Lapham took over the licks and Coates interest and together with Mr. Langston continues the business under the name of the Banner Publish- ing Company.
The Banner has always adhered to the Republican side in politics. lis present circulation is 2,000.
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BELDING NEWS.
The Belding Veces was established in April, 1896, by Frank J. Luick, one of the present publishers, who continued as owner, editor and proprietor of the same up to July 19, 1915, when he sold a one-half interest in the plant and good will to Edward D. Engemann, Sr., since which time the Vous has been published under the firm name of Luick & Engemann.
In 1886 Mr. Luick established the Echo at Tustin, Osceola county, Michigan, which he published seven years. In 1893, he sold his plant in Tustin and established the Times at Dorr, Allegan county, Michigan, which he published until August, 1895, when he sold the same and entered into a partnership with a firm in Grand Rapids, establishing the Freecoinage Inde- pendent. selling his interest in the same in January, 1896.
During all these years Mr. Lnick has affiliated with the Democratic party, devoting a large amount of his time, labor and space in an effort to convince his readers that his political beliefs and opinions were sound. There has never been any financial incumbrance on the Belding Vezes plant.
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