USA > Michigan > Genesee County > Flint > The book of the golden jubilee of Flint, Michigan 1855-1905. Published under the auspices of the Executive committee of the golden jubilee and old homecoming reunion > Part 15
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Just before Christmas a folio edition of Audobin's "Birds of America" was presented to the library by the Hon. Wm. L. Bancroft, of Port Huron, Mich.
The railroad to Port Huron had recently been completed and this elegant souvenir was in grateful recognition of financial aid given to it by the citizens of Flint.
Among the many gifts to the library, one especially prized was a handsome set of volumes from Mr. J. L. Brown, of California, but formerly of Flint.
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It was considered the duty of the Association to preserve the local history, and for that reason files of the Wolverine Citizen were particularly valued.
March 22nd, 1876, was a red letter day long to be remem- bered by those in attendance. This was the twenty-fifth anni- versary, and about two hundred invitations were issued. Delegates from other ladies' libraries came, old members and still other friends and book-lovers, who were in sympathy with the library movement.
Afternoon and evening sessions were full of song and story. A poem written for the occasion by Hon. F. H. Rankin, Sr., on "Printing Thought," was in a happy vein and heartily received. A bountiful supper was enjoyed, and the guests left about a hundred volumes on the shelves.
The library was popular. A new generation had grown into the work, the daughters of the earlier members, and many others, who were attracted by the reading, congenial occupation and agreeable society. One after another took up the responsibilities, but it would be impossible to mention all. They will always remember each other, and the Wednesday afternoon meeting, but the third generation was attracted else- where.
While the members of the Library Association found their object achieved and their labor crowned with success, another institution had been taking on new life.
In 1872, the Union School District of the City of Flint was organized, and the High School established. The High School Building was dedicated in 1875, with a clock and a bell to give sound to the fact that fifty years of progress in the history of Flint had been realized. Trustee Clarke reported to the Board of Education that the school library was very far from being such as the wants of the school demanded, and it was decided to spend as liberal sum of
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money annually as was possible under the law, for a free public library. The schools had the children as well as the tax money, and the day of the subscription library had come to its decline. A decline or failure was not a pleasant thing to contemplate for those who were weary after years of faith- ful and devoted work. But there was a better way to solve the problem, and that was to co-operate with the Board of Education, though the transition looked difficult. In this light there was no failure, but a grand success, for had not the women prepared the way and laid the foundation for a free public library ?
The idea of making the Ladies' Library a Free Public Library was latent in the Association. It had come up again and again for discussion. Resolutions to that effect were voted down repeatedly, because all could not see quite alike, and the public did not give much encouragement, yet there was a very general desire to do what seemed to be the best thing for the city. Finally at a special meeting, on June 28, 1884, it was unanimously decided to present the library to the city. The following resolutions were adopted, and the Hon. George H. Durand was requested to present them to the city :
"At a special meeting of the Ladies' Library Association the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :
"Whereas, We, the members of the Ladies' Library Asso- ciation of Flint, having associated ourselves together for the purpose of cultivating a taste for literature and establishing a library in our midst, and
"Whereas, Having labored for this purpose for a period of twenty years, we now find our labors crowned with suc- cess, and,
"Whereas, The liberality of a generous public having so greatly contributed to this success, we do hereby
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"Resolve, That the ladies of said Association, to show their appreciation of such liberality and believing that the wants of the public will be better subserved in the future by a free public city library ; be it therefore
"Resolved, That said Association do hereby present to the City of Flint, the library and building now belonging to said Association, to be forever a free city library and reading room, the ladies reserving the right to appoint four trustees who shall co-operate with said city in carrying out the above object."
"A committee of the following named ladies was author- ized to carry out and put in effect these resolutions by pre- senting to the said city, through your honorable body, the library building, and such other property as they may have to dispose of, the city to guarantee the carrying out of the above requirements in connection with a debating club. And the said library and reading room to be kept open through every day and evening of the year of the future for the benefit of the public. M. G. Stockton, Arabella Rankin, Helen Hill and Lizzie M. Carman, committee."
Judge Durand presented the resolutions to the common council. The matter was referred to a committee which re- ported as follows :
"Your committee, to whom was referred the communica- tion of the Ladies' Library Association, find, after a careful consideration of the matter, that it would cost the city to run the library in the present building, to the best judgment of the committee, at least $1,200 to $1,500 per year, with $500 to start with for new books and rebinding old ones. This would be offset in part by the rent of the lower part of the building, if it could be rented, leaving the balance to be raised by tax. It has been said that the fines from the justice office would go to a free library. We would say that the fines
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collected under city ordinance amount to but little more than enough to pay the justice. The fines collected under state laws are paid to the county treasurer and by him distributed to the schools of the county. We would say that the city would be called upon within the next two years to build two or three bridges at a cost of many thousand dollars. We would also state that within the next two years, the city will lose from the tax list personal property to the amount of $150,- 000 to $175,000 (W. W. Crapo and Begole, Fox & Co., lum- ber), a loss at the present rate of taxation of more than $2,000. While acknowledging the value of the gift and the great good that would come of it, yet your committee would deem it unwise under the circumstances for the city to assume any additional burden at the present time."
The report of the committee was adopted.
The more the subject was considered, the more desirable it seemed that the Ladies' Library should be transformed into a free public library. The Scientific Library had made a bill of sale of its library and museum to Union School District, January 5th, 1877, and with this example in mind, a committee was appointed to consult with the school board, April 25th, 1885, and June 6th, 1885, the following resolution was adopted :
"That the officers of this, the Ladies' Library Association of Flint, be and are hereby authorized and instructed, in the name of this Association, to execute a deed and bill of sale, of all the property of the Association, both real and personal, to Union School District of the City of Flint, under the sole condition that said property be devoted to library purposes."
This resolution was presented to the school board, and after due consideration the following resolution presented by Trustee Wisner was unanimously adopted :
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"Resolved, That on behalf of the Union School District of the City of Flint, we accept the building on the southwest corner of Kearsley and Beach streets, known as the Ladies' Library Association Building, and the books and fixtures which it contains, to be used, or if any portion be sold to be used solely for the maintenance of a public library in the City of Flint;
"Resolved, That the committee on library is hereby author- ized to see that the necessary papers are executed and recorded, transferring the title to said property to Union School Dis- trict ;
"Resolved, That we tender our thanks to the ladies of the Library Association for their generous and unselfish act in devoting to public use and the common good so much valuable property, the result of many years of untiring effort, and representing not only the labors of the present donors, but of many who have ceased from their labors and entered into their reward, and whose works do follow them."
The Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Mrs. Dibble, was instructed to cause to be prepared an engrossed copy of the above resolutions and forward it to the Secretary of the Ladies' Association.
There were about 4,000 books in the library. The deed thus giving the Ladies' Library in trust to the Union School District, was signed by Frances McQuigg Stewart, president, and Anna Walker McCall, secretary.
July 11th, 1885, the remaining $37.55 in the treasury was given to the Women's Relief Corps, as the successors of the Soldiers' Aid Society.
Briefly, in seventy-five years, from the Indian trail has been evolved a road for wagons, wheels, then a toll gate plank road, and finally the railroad.
Other parallel lines of progress can be traced, like the
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typical wagon tracks. First the log school house, and the district school house with rate bills, then the free public school. Running along beside the school, the private library, the sub- scription library with dues, and finally the free public library.
Telephone bells ring in the new century, with electric roads, and Flint manufacturing wheels for the world, with high schools going to the townships, with traveling libraries going to the people.
Wheels and books have made the world more neighborly. Even the gift of a building, designed for the one special pur- pose of a library, has been presented to Flint by that cosmo- politan man who has taken the whole country for his field of philanthropy.
It is of classic design, framed with steel, and made beautiful with artistic decorations, but the crowning feature of the Free Public Library is the children's room, for the children represent the future.
THE HON. GRANT DECKER, First Mayor of Flint.
D
Fifty Years of Progress.
By H. H. FITZGERALD.
Tonight, after many weeks of expectancy and pleasant anticipation, the bells and whistles will announce the beginning of the Golden Jubilee and Old Home Coming Reunion.
It is indeed the occasion of a most happy hour, and a glance backward at the half century of progress and develop- ment suggests the old Flint of long ago, and a time when the fondest dreams of those who sought to make a city in the wilderness did not encompass more than a tithe of the advance- ment wrought during this span of half a hundred years.
Fifty years of steady march up the hill of time ; fifty years of earnest, manly endeavor ; fifty years of heroic battle against the ever present foe to progress fifty years of vigorous expansion, and healthy development emphasize and make pos- sible this most auspicious hour.
It is fitting at this time that we pause as a municipality and take occasion to recount the conquests of this busy span of years, and in our contemplation we will be inclined to take an inventory of our accomplishments and learn the reason for this Jubilee.
This fifty-year post marks the dividing line between the pioneer who set in motion this substantial accomplishment and that great host which has come after to take up and carry for- ward the work so well begun, and in the same spirit commence the last half of the century undaunted by possible obstacles, and filled with the courage born of healthy accomplishment and the determination conceived only by material success.
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FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF FLINT.
At this most happy hour standing in strong relief is the thought that the broad foundation laid by those who felt the magic touch of possibility has not been allowed to crumble away, but on the contrary, has been made the base for an in- dustrial expansion of such substantial and worthy nature that it has become the pride of those who have participated and the wonder of those who contemplated.
Conscious as we are of the multiplying difficulties and obstacles which were encountered by those who strove to build a city worthy of the great state in which it has come to stand so high, we are not unmindful that there have been dark periods of depression and occasions when it seemed as if the zenith had been reached, when further progress looked like an impossibility, and when vigorous methods had to be resorted to to stem a backward movement. It was at these times that heroes came forward to show their metal, when force dis- placed inertia, when manhood and courage crowded out the timid counsellors and fear and apprehension were driven to the rear. Vigorous characters asserted themselves in such a way that the ledger account was placed back to the right side and growth continued to supplant inaction.
The progress which marks this span of fifty years has been as broad as it has been substantial and encompasses the moral as well as the material, and while huge chimney tops have been erected to belch forth their clouds of smoke, spires have at the same time graced the heavens and mark the growth of Christianity and goodness coincident with this wonderful prosperity, measured by the bank book and the counting room.
The residents of Flint are proud of the city, and they are delighted at this splendid opportunity to demonstrate in word and in deed the wholesome pride that has come as the natural result of this progress.
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FIFTY YEARS OF PROGRESS.
The next two days are indeed to be most happy ones, and in the various functions which are to mark the dedication and occupancy of the new public buildings, and in the review of the present and past, the residents of today have invited the residents of yesterday to take part at this joyous time, and while recalling the days of old to see for themselves what the years have brought forth.
Together with these guests will come thousands of others who have been asked to join those whose interests are direct, and to them all we extend a most hearty welcome, and assure them that as the guests of the city they are free to enjoy all that is to be seen and heard, and that their reception is intended to be such as will send them away with naught but the kindliest feelings in their hearts for the new Flint, which is beginning another epoch in its career, reaching forward, striving, anx- ious for the years that are to come, and yet confident and calm in the assurance of its strength, enjoying the poise of attain- ment, yet eager for further greater growth and expansion.
Flint To-day
By J. C. WILLSON, M. D.
Now, Mr. Editor, may I ask, can you expect me to write anything, either interesting or instructive, of "Flint today," after the old and new harvest has been so thoroughly threshed over, and the golden grain winnowed by others in the several sections assigned to them,-"Manufactures," "Schools," "Moral and Religious Development," "Municipal Govern- ment," "Fraternal Life," "Military Record," "Early Social Life," "The Pioneers," "Clubs," "School for the Deaf," "the Libraries," and finally "The Jubilee."
What is there left for me to say? Nothing worth saying. But, inasmuch as you will not take "No" for an answer to your very polite and urgent invitation, I will do the best I can at saying nothing.
Flint, like David of old, (David Harum, I mean), was born poor and naked, but honest except in trading horses. It had the red men for its ancestors (it was built on the Indian Reservation), and one of the innumerable Smith family (Jacob) for its god-father. It did not, like Topsy, "just growed up;" it had a parentage. But you ask me to write of "Flint today," not of Flint yesterday. Well, like "Uncle Toby," in his preface to "Tristram Shandy,"-that's what I'm trying to get at, for every "today" is the product, the evolu- tion, of the yesterdays-Flint is no exception.
The white men who supplanted the red, and who were the real founders of the city, came of good New England and New York stock. There were born pioneers,-a brave, sturdy, cciv
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hardy, generous community of men and women; the kind to whom people of today are proud to trace back to their genealogy.
When so many might be named, who bore an honorable and distinguished part in laying the foundations upon which have been reared this beautiful and progressive city, the "Flint of Today," it would appear an invidious distinction in me to single out individuals,-collectively they worked wonders for their day and generation, in opening up the country for com- mercial enterprises.
For the means they had at hand, to do with, I think they were quite the equal of the men of today, in enterprises of general welfare for their fellow men. They were men and women of strong, robust moral and Christian character. Char- acter tells in the building of cities, as in the building of man- hood. The Flint of today is the legitimate and normal fruitage of the tree of character, planted by the men and women of the earlier days of its growth and development. Though dead, they still live and speak in their children and children's chil- dren.
During the Jubilee, there were two very suggestive exhibits of photographs collected and framed. In one were those of the old pioneers, labeled in large letters: "THE MEN WHO MADE FLINT." In the other were framed those of today, and appropriately labeled : "THE MEN WHO ARE PUSH- ING FLINT TO THE FRONT," one set the complement of the other.
The men who followed the Indian trails through the woods, or blazed new ones for themselves, who bridged the streams and made roads passable for their ox teams and lum- ber wagons, poor ones they were, but better than many around Flint today; who lived in log houses, and worshipped God in primative churches; who planned our wide streets and avenues
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and planted shade trees, the pride and glory of the city today ; who raised money (not by promoting bond schemes and issuing watered stock, but the actual cash), to build our first railroads, the Pere Marquette, and Flint and Holly; these were truly "The Men Who Made Flint."
These are worthily succeeded by the men of today, who are pushing Flint to the front, at the head of whom stand the men engaged in the vehicle industry, the Durant-Dort Company, the W. A. Paterson Company, the Flint Wagon Works Company, the W. F. Stewart Body Works Company, the Imperial Wheel Company, the Armstrong Steel Spring Company, the Buick Motor Company, Weston-Mott Com- pany, the Auto Brass Company, the Whip Socket Company, and others too numerous to mention. But, while the vehicle industry attracts greater notice to "Flint To-day" than any other, it must not be forgotten that the men and women engaged in other pursuits, are no less patriotic to Flint's inter- ests and credit, and each in his or her several sphere, is adding to the popularity and advancement of the city as a whole. The merchants and bankers, the manufacturers of woolen goods, of cigars, of flour and other products of the farm, the publishers of our newspapers, are all equally entitled to their share of credit for the exalted place Flint occupies today, in the estimation, not alone, of its own citizens, but throughout the state. These are the men and women who are making Flint one of the most desirable places to live in, and have a home and bring up a family, of any in the state. We have all, or nearly all, the advantages, and few of the objectionable features of larger cities. We have good schools, fine churches, with well sustained pulpits and well filled pews. We have a beautiful little opera house, ample in size and accommodation for the present needs of the city ; a system of public water works owned by the city; both gas and electric lighting, and one of the most unique methods of lighting Saginaw street, by iron arches
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spanning the street, to which are attached electric incandescent lamps,-very attractive, and giving Flint a distinction in this respect, beyond any in Michigan. With well paved streets, good, first class hotels, electric car service, and beautiful and attractive homes, what more is there to be desired? Yes, we lack public parks for breathing places for our industrial popu- lation, for our mill and factory operatives, their wives and families, to visit Sunday afternoons and holidays. This, our forefathers did not plan for, therefore, "Flint of To-day" must provide them for the Flint of to-morrow.
Having greater wealth than our forefathers, greater obli- gations rest upon us, and we should not lose present opportuni- ties to use it judiciously, for the benefit and uplifting of our fellow citizens.
We should not be satisfied today, with what we have done, but press on and forward, to higher ideals. We should not be satisfied to forever remain in the old ruts, but always reach out and press forward to something higher and better.
I have spoken of our need of public parks. I may add that another great need of Flint today is an institution for good works, patterned, it may be, after the Y. M. C. A. organiza- tion; a building on Saginaw street, suitably designed and attractively fitted up, where both young men and young women, and the middle aged,-all sorts and conditions of men and women, may go and enjoy their evenings in innocent games and amusements, where hot coffee and tea and non- alcoholic drinks may be served at nominal prices,-in a word, a place where the environments do not debase and degrade, but elevate. The men of today should bestir themselves, and take a more active interest than they do, in the municipal affairs of our city. They should ignore politics, and see to it that the best men, regardless of party affiliations are selected to represent us in the city government. We should put forth
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every effort to make Flint a clean city, morally and physically. We should regulate and limit the saloon traffic, and compel an absolute and unequivocal observance of the state liquor law, and the city ordinances, and stamp out vice of every form, as far as may be possible.
These are a few suggestions, sir, I make bold to offer in this connection,-to the "Flint of To-day."
THE HON. D. D. AITKEN, Mayor of Flint in its year of Jubilee.
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History of the Golden Jubilee and Old Home Coming Reunion
By REV. THEODORE D. BACON
George Eliot says somewhere that there has never been a great nation without processions. There is profound truth in the remark. Celebrations and processions are not such trivial things as they seem sometimes when we come to read about them.
The speeches may be forgotten, and the order of march, and the number of men in line, which were such burning questions the week before the event, may seem utterly trivial the day after, but a new sense of common life remains, stirred into consciousness by the celebration, which would otherwise have lain dormant. People feel that they belong together more, they are less a crowd and more a real body corporate. The United States was more a country for the Centennial, so Flint is more of a city for its Semi-Centennial Jubilee.
It is good, too, that these celebrations should be recorded, even though the record may not be quite as interesting as the latest novel, for it brings to mind more than the mere events in detail. As these are recalled, there comes with them a renewal of that common feeling which makes the life of the city, and, as the years go by, the old-time celebration gains in significance for young and old.
The Jubilee had its inception in a chance remark to Mayor Bruce J. Macdonald, by one who happened to be looking over the records of the city, that Mr. Macdonald was the fiftieth ccix
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FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF FLINT.
mayor of the city. Further conference between the Mayor and Alderman M. P. Cook, led to a motion by the latter in the council for a celebration, and a committee to have charge of it. The motion was passed unanimously and the movement was inaugurated. This general committee confined its activi- ties principally to the appointment of an executive committee, carefully chosen from representative men of the town, by whom the plan was outlined, and the various subordinate committees were appointed. The various committees, with the names of their members will be found in an appendix at the end of the book.
At the outset the plan for the celebration was extremely modest, not to say meager, but as the idea grew in the minds of the people, suggestions began to come in from all sides, and a much broader and more adequate conception of what was to be done was established. It was designed that the celebration should appeal to all classes of the community, and also make as deep an impression as might be on those who came from outside. There must be a recollection of the past, and appreciation of the present, and a look forward into the future. There must be display and amusement, and a setting forth of material advancement and prosperity; but these must not be allowed to overshadow the moral and intellectual aspects of the occasion. Every living person, near and far, who had ever lived in Flint, must be made to feel, as far as possible, that he or she had an important share in this celebration.
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