USA > Michigan > Oceana County > Olde tyme plat and history of Oceana County, Michigan > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Corner Polk Road and US 31 HART, MICHIGAN 49420 Phone: 873-3762
-49-
GALES AGENCY, INC. INSURANCE SERVICE SINCE 1933
234 N. MICHIGAN AVE.
704 STATE STREET HART, MICHIGAN SHELBY, MICHIGAN
Hanmer Drugs & Ye Olde Gifte Shoppe Tom & Sandy Price Registered Pharmacists HART PHONE: 873-3609 Gifts, Candies, Sunglasses Jewelry, Cards & Cosmetics
JAMES NOECKER
AREA CODE 616-873-3768
C
NOECKER MOVERS HEAVY MOVING & BUILDING CONTRACTOR HART, MICHIGAN 49420
AS YOU WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM. MATT. 7:12
"Still Serving Western Michigan' HART AUTO CO. 102 E. MAIN ST., HART. MICHIGAN
HAR
AUTO CO.
Fund FORD
LESTER E. SCHANER SCHANER OIL COMPANY 713 COURTLANT STREET HART, MICHIGAN
Business was purchased from Addison Corliss on January 1, 1945, transport- ing fuel from Muskegon.
In 1952 the bulk plant was built in Hart. In July 1962 the Hook Gas Station was added.
TEXACO
-50-
VILLAGE 0 F WALKERVILLE
The Village of Walker- ville was founded in 1883 by Fayette Walker. In 1890, the town consisted of a railroad, post office, school building, a church, two meat markets, two hotels, two general mer- chandise establishments, two drug stores, a saw and feed mill, two blacksmith shops, hardware store, barber shop, shoe shop, livery barn and a saloon.
Southside Looking East
Northside Looking West
Wa
Southside Looking West
Butters and Peters Railroad
Sponsored by Village of Walkerville
-51-
BUTTERS & PETERS HANCAR AND FIRE FIGHTING CYCLE June 1908
(3 miles southeast of Walkerville. Left to right: Lind Blamer, Big John, George Hendricks and Orel (Doc) Perry)
Sponsored by
CHASE FARMS
IN THE FAMILY SINCE 1900. WE FREEZE AND STORE
OCEANA'S BEST ASPARAGUS, CHERRIES AND CUTBEANS.
NEXT DOOR TO THE LATE CALVIN WOODWORTH FARM,
HE WAS OUR GREAT, GREAT, GRANDFATHER.
-52-
WALKERVILLE BRANCH
STATE SAVINGS BANK OF SCOTTVILLE
WALKERVILLE, MICHIGAN
THE ORIGINAL BANK BUILDING BUILT IN 1908.
MEMBER F.D.I.C.
COB-MOO SA
INDIAN CHILD
Monument in honor of Chief Cob-moo-Sa, standing at northeast corner of Section 27, in Elbridge Township.
Former General Store and Lattin Post Office on 144th Avenue and Filmore Road. Originally built and run by H. R. Lattin, followed by Smith Bros., Jake Skelekens, C.W. Fenner and Roy McCarty.
Old Government School House on northeast corner of Sec. 27 in Elbridge Township. Burned down since picture was taken.
-53-
GOLDEN COMMUNITY
HOTEL AND STORE. MEARN, MICH.
Fred Urtel (foreground) worked { on this stone road built in Mears. The lane was nine feet wide and extended west from the church one mile. (In 1930's)
Ward and Walker Hotel and Store - 1907.
L
The lighthouse on the shore of ake Michigan, Little Point Sable, as built in 1873. The lite at he top of the 108 foot structure s visible for 1844 miles.
Sponsored By
Golden Township Business and Merchants
108 gt. High, Built InB. Lite Vistable 1Ble,m
OceaneCo, mich.
-54-
GOLDEN COMMUNITY
GROCERIES.COTTAGES Oscar Lucile BOATS · BAIT · ICE
CIOARS
IGE ST
DUNE RIDES DU
PIDE
In 1941, Louis DeWolf found an old Indian canoe in the dunes. It was brought out by Oscar Shogren (above) and is now in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
This old boarding house is still standing near the Silver Lake Channel, Charles Mears is standing in front of the second window from the left. Carrie Mears is next to him (white dress) .
Sponsored by
Golden Township Families
-55-
SHELBY VILLAGE
Shelby lies about halfway between Muskegon and Ludington, which for years have been carferry ports along the east coast of Lake Michigan. It is nestled in a valley and surrounded by acres upon acres of fruit trees and asparagus plantations. Shelby township has more cherry trees and more acres of asparagus than any other similar area in the state. The daily tonnage of its canning factories and shippers make a fantastic total and its products go to not only the cities of the eastern states and mid-west, but to European markets via the St. Lawrence Seaway.
There were a few settlers in what is now known as Shelby township when the County of Oceana was organized in 1855. With the establishment of a land office at Ionia and the government survey, property was made available to the hardy pioneers at $1.25 an acre. It was the practice of purchasers to either make a personal survey or rely on reports of men who made the cruising of state lands their primary occupation. In either case, the purchaser had considerably more than $50 invested for each 40 acres that he purchased. He had to go back to Ionia to file his claim and make his payment. Some- times he found previous filings on the descriptions he had selected for his own.
First business places in the present Shelby township area were at Churchill's Corners, which was across the road to the south from where the Cherry Hill Supermarket now serves the public. Included among the business places which were located there were the Churchill Tavern, a blacksmith shop, a general store and a soft drink bottling factory. A large barn at the rear of the Churchill Tavern was the storage place for equipment and the horses which were exchanged there by the stage drivers who covered the route daily between Pentwater and Whitehall before the rails were extended into Oceana County in 1872.
The first plat of the village was prepared and financed by Orin Deming and Alexander Pittenger of Shelby and S. A. Browne of Pentwater. The plat carried the name of "Barnett", which was the name of a brakeman on the railroad who agreed to pay the necessary filing fees ... but never did. Even today real estate transfers in the business section of the village carry the designation "Barnett Plat, Village of Shelby."
No county in the state has a more fantastic history as to nomenclature oddities than does Oceana. The name of "Shelby" traces to a Revolutionary War and War of 1812 hero, who was twice the Governor of Kentucky and a military man par excellence.
Few people know of the pigeon flights of the early 1870's, when for several years Shelby's nearby swamps and thickets furnished their nesting places where they raided their squabs before flying onward. It was in Shelby -- twenty years before the Henry Ford production line -- that similar lines were set up to process for shipment by ex- press, barrels upon barrels of dressed pigeons (in ice) which went to the hotels of the east and midwest as the season's delicacy. The income from the pigeon industry brought in so much ready cash that the year 1873 saw over 30 business places built and stocked and over 80 residences completed to care for the fast-growing community.
At the time this article was written, Shelby is a major community on US-31. Shelby found that it was ideally suited for the wood of other trees such as peaches, pears and plums. It has also been a leader in the production of potatoes and pickles. A lime pit and kiln at the south end of Michigan Avenue, in Shelby village, provided a source of most of the fertilizer and the plaster needed for the county in early days. Naturally to get the most out of any crop that goes to market one needs a certain amount of PEP and PUSH ever remembering "No matter the quantity, remember the quality" as business is carried out on a quick service Quid Pro Quo basis.
Sponsored by Village of Shelby
-56-
BANK
LEVYTYPE CO
THE OPERA HOUSE
In June of 1888, a number of businessmen met to organize the Shelby Improve- ment Company and finance the expenditure for a brick block to provide housing for the banking firm of Churchill, Oakes and Company, the Rankin & Dewey General Store, several offices and an Opera House.
Plans had been prepared and were approved for a building 50 x 85 feet with a basement under three-fourths of the building and heated from a single steam plant. Ground breaking came just six days after that meeting with the completion planned by Christmas of that year. The construction was completely the work of local artisans, from the laying of the basement walls to the building of several trusses which supported the roof and spanned 50 feet between the side walls without a post or pillar. By the end of November the building was completed and the heating plant installed and tested. The month of December was used to finish the interior for the various businesses to be located there, and a Christmas Eve dance was scheduled for the first public use of the Opera House. The bank moved in mid-January and the Rankin & Dewey store was doing business by the end of that month.
From 1888 to the late 1920's, the Opera House was a meeting place for hundreds of activities including: dances, minstrel shows, political rallies, prohibition meetings, oratorical contests, traveling troupes, Indian medicine shows and church fund-raising projects as well as school classrooms following the high school fire in 1921.
After 1930 the upper floor was used for storage only, with the bank and other businesses still below. In 1966 a massive rebuilding program was undertaken with the entire "Opera House Block" being demolished and replaced with an all new bank- ing complex. The upper floors were opened for public viewing for two days prior to the demolition and hundreds of people got to have a last look at the town's 77-year-old landmark. Younger members of the community, never having seen the opera house could hardly believe some of the stories told by others who could remember the days when the Opera House was a community center of distinction. A number of people found old play programs, dance tickets and other souvenirs among the rubbish -- a last momento of a dying era.
Sponsored By Shelby State Bank
-57-
Packers of: Asparagus Red Tart Cherries Michigan Blueberries Whole Purple Plums Yellow Cling Peaches Whole Spiced Crab Apples Spiced Apple Rings
OCEANA CANNING COMPANY
TELEPHONE 861-2141
OCEANA CANNING COMPANY SHELBY, MICHIGAN
Serving the growers in Oceana County - Since 1910
Decoration Day, Shelby, mich, 1911,
-58-
SHELBY'S FEAST HOTEL DO POST OFFICE BUILT ISUN
Elliott- MCH. 09.
WE WANT TO SERVE YOU
SEE US WHEN YOU WANT
To Market Your Fruit or Asparagus
N.J. FOX & SONS
SHELBY - PHONE: 861-2146
ELECTRONIOX
UNIVERSAL ELECTRONICS TV SALES & SERVICE US-31 SHELBY
SHELBY PETROLEUM Standard Oil Products Farm & Home Service DOUG EADER, JOBBER 861-2882 364 N. MAPLE SHELBY, MI. 49455
FOWLERS MOBILE SERVICE
We Stock New & Rebuilt Auto Parts Goodyear Tires - Dayco Belts & Hoses Brake Drums & Rotors Turned 24 HR. WRECKER SERVICE
PHONE 861-2802 - DAYTIME 861-4422 - NIGHT SHELBY, MICHIGAN
-59-
NEW ERA,
The steam locomotive, a common means of transportation, at the old New Era Depot.
O
SHELBY SAWMILL, INC.
Crates & Lumber
SHELBY, MICHIGAN PHONE: 861-2236
Cherry Hill Super Market
Groceries - Meats - Produce Household Items Cold Beer & Wine
Member SPARTAN STORES
U.S .- 31 SHELBY, MICHIGAN 49455 TELEPHONE 861-4076
-60-
CHEEVER
Coal, Bulk & Bagged Fertilizer and Spray Material PHONE: 861-2526
SHELBY, MICHIGAN 49455
This old threshing machine and tractor was used on farms in Claybanks Township. (1930's)
A view of Butternut Corners in Shelby, 1912. Today the two streets shown here are Michigan Avenue and U.S. 31.
BROWN'S THRIFT T SHOPPING CENTER
FORMERLY BROWN'S THRIFTWAY
SHELBY, MICHIGAN 49455 861-4160
THE RANKIN - PRO HARDWARE G.E. APPLIANCES - B.P.S. PAINTS We Service What We Sell
162 NORTH MICHIGAN SHELBY, MICHIGAN PHONE: 861-2894
HANES PARTY STORE LIQUOR - BEER - WINE PARTY SNACKS US-31 SOUTH SHELBY PHONE: 861-5316
----
--
SHELBY PHARMACY
-61-
NEW ERA - 1872-1976
NEW ERA VILLAGE HAIT
Street Scene-July 4th Celebration around the turn of the Century.
Village Hall Senior Citizens Center
A tiny settlement near the southern boundary of Oceana County was given the presumptuous sounding name of New Era. Legend has it that one Dr. Spaulding, owner of a sawmill, picked the name as a compromise from his original choice of New Erie, after Erie, Pennsylvania, his former home. "Let's call it New Era. After all, this is a New Era we are living in", the Doctor has been quoted as saying. Thus, New Era was founded and named in 1872.
On June 28, 1948 New Era was incorporated. Elmer Meyers was elected the first President of the Village, plus six trustees and a clerk. Through the years many capable people served the village. Under their direction, visible changes were made thru incorporation, fire protection, paving and maintenance of unpaved streets, the installation of good street lighting system, and the placement of street signs.
In 1974 a downtown building was purchased, renovated and remodeled as the new Village Hall. It is used for Council meetings, Community affairs and Senior Citizens Recreation.
At the present time Tom TenBrink is serving as Village President. Trustees are; Jess Pranger, Carl Reed, Tim DeVos, Jerry Newmyer, "Bud" Simons, and Don Richards. Abe Newmyer is serving as Village Clerk and Donna Heykoop is Treasurer.
Sponsored by Village of New Era
-62-
MEYERS CHEVROLET New Era, Mi.
POSTEMA BROTHERS HARDWARE
SUNOCO
JESS
& SON'S
SERVICE
PHONE 861-2802
VANDER VEN'S THRIFTWAY
"Our Pleasure To Serve You"
Groceries - Meat - Produce
PHONE: 861-5127
MEMBER VIKING
FOOD STORES
NEW ERA, MICHIGAN
Cooper-Harris FUNERAL HOME
861-2360 267 N. MICHIGAN AVE. - SHELBY
Low
ROTHBURY AMC/JEEP INC.
ROTHBURY CREAMERY -- ELMER JOHNSON, MANAGER, 1915 -63-
The Oceana County Bicentennial design was chosen from over 300 entries in a con- test sponsored by the County Bicentennial Commission.
The winning entry was the work of Elaine Bosse, daughter of the Octavius Bosse's of New Era. Elaine, a 6th grade student at the time, is very active in the band and 4-H activities. Her design has sixteen stars in a circle, one for each of the townships. The large star in the center denotes growth prosperity in Oceana in 1976. The border is the outline of Oceana County.
The design is used in various ways to promote the Bicentennial in Oceana County. Elaine gave her best effort in a little contest and as a result she has made a major contribution to Oceana. We too, by giving our best efforts in what we do, can greatly contribute to the strength of our county and our country.
76
OCEANA COUNTY
Bicentennial
T
HH
H
H
THE 4-H EMBLEM
The first emblem design was a 3-leaf clover introduced by O. H. Benson, some- time during 1907. Right from the beginning, the 3 H's signified Head, Heart, and Hands.
A four-leaf clover design with H's appeared around 1908. It was suggested by Benson that the four H's stand for "head, heart, hands, and hustle" ... head trained to think, plan and reason; heart trained to be true, kind and sympathetic; hands trained to be useful, helpful and skillful; and the hustle to render ready service, to develop health and vitality.
In 1911, O. B. Martin, is credited with suggesting that the 4-H's stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health ... universally used since.
Otis Hall, State Leader of Kansas was responsible for the original wording of the 4-H pledge. It was officially adopted at the first National 4-H Club-Camp in 1927.
This pledge remained unchanged until 1973, when in response to requests from a number of States it was changed to include "my world".
THE 4-H PLEDGE
I PLEDGE
MY HEAD TO CLEARER THINKING,
MY HEART TO GREATER LOYALTY, MY HANDS TO LARGER SERVICE, MY HEALTH TO BETTER LIVING, FOR MY CLUB, MY COMMUNITY, MY COUNTY, AND MY WORLD.
Sponsored By
Gales IGA Hart Lumber Company Rothbury Department Store Mc's Meat Company
H. C. Hall, PE Consulting Civil Engineer Rothbury Hardware Manak Egg Farm Shelby Man-Made Gems
-64-
AGRICULTURE
"Nature was lavish with her gifts to the pioneers of Oceana County. The combina- tion of air and soil was of the rarest kind, and as the dense forests were removed there layed the soil waiting only to be tickled with the implements of agriculture to yield abundant harvest. The sandy loams of the hillsides and valleys were not baked by the torrid sun of summer, and it drained itself so perfectly and was fanned so incessantly by the soft air currents of the lake that it laughed at Winter's white-bearded frost." (From the Oceana County Atlas of 1895)
As great, if not greater, diversity of farm products were produced in Oceana than any other county in the United States. It had more than twice the number of acres in orchards, compared with the total number of acres under cultivation, of any other county in the state.
The value and importance of the county as an agricultural (cereal and vegetable) producing locality was to a certain extent lost to view, in consequence of her exten- sive fruit culture from which she has derived a national reputation.
In area this county has 343,040 acres. From the 1894 census we learn that the area in farms was 58,562 acres, or only 46 per cent of the total area. The most recent census, 1964, indicates little change, with about 151, 706 acres in farms or about 44 per cent of the land. Before the turn of the century, the county boasted 2,186 farms of an average size of 72 acres. Today the number of farms is down about half to 1,077 with the aver- age size being 140 acres. The value of farm products then was $745,369 or about $341 per farm, latest figures place a value of $98,335,254 or about $7,925 per farm.
During the 1800's Oceana made no particular claim in the line of dairy production, but in 1893 produced 531, 308 pounds of butter from 2,000,000 gallons of milk. In 1964, we find the dairy farmers producing 34, 369, 549 pounds of milk with 48,490 pounds of butterfat.
In livestock, Oceana reported 4,785 cattle and 7,423 swine. Today we find her list- ing 14,529 head of cattle and 3,170 swine. Also included in these figures were 258,018 bushel of corn produced with a county average of 33 bushel per acre. In 1964 the county produced 426, 549 bushel of corn with an average of 53 bushel per acre.
Oceana was well adapted to the growth of apples, pears, apricots, quinces, and all the smaller fruits, and was especially adapted to the profitable growth of peaches and plums. Most of the fruit grown in the 1800's was marketed fresh to the large markets of Chicago and Milwaukee which were reached by rail, or partly or entirely by boat. These boats docked at the village of Benona (Stony Lake), Sammon's Landing, (Little Point Sauble) , and at Pentwater. During one day at Pentwater, 17,000 bushel of peaches were loaded onto the boats. This is remarkable when you consider not 1 bushel had been grown in the township of Pentwater, but had been brought in from surrounding areas by horse and wagon.
About 3 canneries were in business before the turn of the century. They were lo- cated in Pentwater, Hart and Shelby. Today almost every town boasts at least one can- ning facility; (New Era Canning Company in New Era, Oceana Canning Company and Food Industries of America at Shelby, Stokely Van Camp, and Silver Mill of Hart) .
Chas Farms of Walkerville, and Vernon Bull of Benona are involved in the IOF freez- ing process of fruits and vegetables. In addition, N.J. Fox and Sons of Shelby receive produce for Gerber Products of Fremont and Michigan Fruit Canners of Benton Harbor.
One commodity not mentioned in the early annuals of Oceana history is asparagus. Today asparagus is king here in Oceana County. We have over 7,000 acres in production representing a $2.5 million dollar crop. Oceana celebrates the asparagus harvest with the National Asparagus Festival held in June every year. The county has also proclaimed itself the "Asparagus Capitol of the Nation."
Oceana also leads the state in the number of acres planted to tart cherries, Douglas Fir, and hand-harvested pickles. We are second in peach and plum acreage.
With urbanization affecting other areas, the experts tell us the future of the states fruit and vegetable industry lies here in Oceana County, as it did in the past.
Sponsored by
Gerald & Tom Greiner Benona Hills Farms Mr. & Mrs. Melvin Greiner Lewis Orchards Paul Roossinck Robert S. Heer & Sons Vandy Orchards
Burmeister Orchards Lankfer Farms
Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Beachum
Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Leutzinger
Mr. & Mrs. Martin Wm. Burmeister, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Fleming
-65-
ST. GREGORY'S CHURCH - HART, MICHIGAN
St. Gregory's parish was founded by the late Father Francis Emmerich as a mission of St. Joseph's, Weare, in September, 1908. At this time His Excellency, Bishop Richter, Ordinary of the Grand Rapids Diocese came and blessed the corner- stone of the church.
St. Gregory's was completed the following year, In 1909 the new St. Gregory's Church was dedicated. His Excellency Bishop Richter performed the dedication ceremonies. AFter the dedication the First High Mass was celebrated by Rev. Father Brown of Grand Rapids. He was assisted by several visiting priests.
St. Gregory's remained a mission church until 1936, with Father Emmerich as pastor.
On May 14, 1936, St. Gregory's became a parish with Rev. Edward J. O'Hara as the first resident priest. After four years Father O'Hara was transferred to Scottville, with Father Tomazewski succeeding him.
Father Tomazewski passed away Nov. 26, 1940, and was immediately succeeded by Father C. W. Popell, on Nov. 30, 1940.
In the past the parish had rented a home for the priest, but on January 1, 1943, the first parish-owned rectory was acquired by Father Popell. It was located two houses north of the church.
August 1943, Father Popell enlisted as a U.S. Navy Chaplain. Father Jerome Szydlowski succeeded him at that time and was pastor until Father Popell returned to Hart from the Navy on February 6, 1946.
The parish cemetery, a gift of the City of Hart, was acquired in May, 1947.
Construction on the new St. Gregory's Catholic School and Convent was started in April, 1950. In September 1950, sixty-three pupils enrolled. The building was not completed, but work was moving rapidly. The school and convent was dedicated on October 1, 1950 by Msgr. William E. Fraser.
Father Popell was succeeded by Father Kolenic in 1956. Under the pastorate of Father Kolenic, the present rectory was built in 1957.
Father Kolenic was succeeded by Msgr. Powers in 1964. He was pastor here less than a year. He was followed by Father Joseph Godzisz in 1965.
In July 1973 Father Godzisz was succeeded by Father Francis H. Branigan, our present pastor.
Sponsored by
St. Gregory's Church
-66-
Sponsored by
St. Joseph's Parish, Weare
ST. JOSEPH'S PARISH, WEARE
St. Joseph's parishioners first attended Mass at St. Vincent's, Pentwater (1867) which was then cared for as a mission of Manistee. In 1882, after the diocese of Grand Rapids was formed, Father Baroux from Montague served the area; he saw that the farm- ing community of Weare urgently needed a church. Within two years it was built, much from their own hand labor. The first Mass was offered by Father Edward LeFevre at St. Joseph's on July 20, 1884. The rectory was completed in 1900 but it was two years later before a permanent pastor was appointed, Father Francis Emmerich.
Over 40 years Father Emmerich spent as pastor at St. Joseph's, during which time a school was built (1904) , staffed by Dominican Sisters from Grand Rapids, and starting with 100 pupils. Several additions were made to the church, but a new one was decided upon. The present brick structure was completed in 1912. The parish had grown from 25 to 60 families. The parish hall was built in 1953 and serves as a center for social activities.
Father Emmerich is buried in Mt. Calvary cemetery at Weare. He has been succeeded by Father Frederick Voss, Father Clemens Sigmund, Father E.L. Quaderer, Father Albert Bernott, Father M.J. Hoogterp, Father Joseph Zaskowski, Father Charles Dautremont, and presently, Father Pedro V. Garcia. Each in turn has added to the spiritual growth and enrichment. There are now 130 families enrolled at St. Joseph's. Instead of a school there is a Religious Education Center, with two Dominican Sisters in residence to instruct and aid all ages in the parish family.
ST. VINCENT'S CHURCH, PENTWATER
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. This indeed is the smallest of all the seeds. " (Mathew 13:31-32)
The property now occupied by St. Vincent's Church was purchased for the sum of $50.00. The title was from Charles Mears to Rev. Peter LeFavre, bishop of Detroit and recorded in 1868. The warranty deed dated Sept., 1867. The Church was erected before 1870.
Pentwater mission was the first church at which people in the area could attend Mass regularly and then only once in two months, and later monthly. Priests came from either Manistee or Ludington until 1882 when Father Emmerich was appointed.
Some thirty years later a belfry and steeple were added. The bell was donated by many non-Catholics as well as Catholics and was solicited for by Sebastian Dennert.
In the Thirties, a sanctuary and double sacrasties were added under builder, Severin Greiner.
In 1949 under the supervision of Father Quaderer, work was done on the interior of the church and choir loft remodeled under builder, Otho Graham, Sr ..
Later and through the leadership of Father Al Bernott, the hall was added to take care of the overflow of summer residents and to be used for many occasions of area people.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.