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Remembering Our Ancestors Through
Genealogy |
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A History of Iron County Michigan by Jack Hill Published in 1955, "A History of Iron County Michgan" gives the history and other interesting facts about this Upper Peninsula county. The book was originally printed in two columns. In order to improve the readability of the pages on a web browser it was converted to single column by combining every two original lines. With this exception the transcription was done without changes or corrections. Chapter 16 - Stambaugh Village and City |
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82 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN Chapter XVI STAMBAUGH VILLAGE AND CITY The lands embraced by the early village of Stambaugh were ori- ginally assigned to Elizabeth Slaten, widow of Joshua Slaten, a teamster in the Georgia Militia in the War of 1812, under a Gen- eral land office warrant No. 97227. This was bounty land issued through an Act of Congress approved on March 3, 1855 granting homesites to officers and soldiers who had been engaged in any military services of the United States up to this time. The object of the grants was the settlement of the newly surveyed frontier lands but the remoteness and inaccessibility of the area stayed its development for another generation. In the year 1875, the interests of Elizabeth Slaten in these lands were assigned to Mr. Jay C. Morse, General Agent of the early Cleveland Iron Company that had active mines in the Negaunee area at the time. This company later consolidated with the Cliffs Iron Company holdings to form the present Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company. The lands assigned to Mr. Morse included the East half of the Northeast quarter of Section 35 and the North half of the North- west quarter of Section 36, all in Township 43 North of Range 35. Prior holdings of Mr. Morse in Section 36 were the Southeast of the Northwest and the Southwest of the Southwest which he had secured through purchase in the month of November 1873. In a maze of transactions about the year 1880 the interests of Mr. Morse in these lands came into the possession of a group of men who had become interested in the immediate development of their min- eral resources. This group of men consisted of Dr. Louis D. Cyr of Negaunee who speculated in mineral lands, Louis Stegmiller an Escanaba jeweler who had arrived from Wurtemberg Germany in 1870 and Richard L. Selden and his son William H. Selden of Connecticut who were currently engaged in railroad surveys to the area. Mr. R. L. Selden had recently filed on adjoining lands which in- cluded the North half of the Southeast quarter, the Southwest of the Southeast quarter and the Northeast of the Southwest of Section 35. This tract of 160 acres was originally assigned to Sarah A. P a r k h a m, former widow of HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN 83 Thomas Kelsey, a private in Captain Richardsons Company Mis- sissippi Militia in 1812. Mr. Selden secured his patent on these lands in 1888. In the month of June in the year 1882 when the Iron River mine quarries had shown a large body of ore, these men proceeded to plat the village and John V. Suydam was engaged to make the surveys. The new village was named Stambaugh in honor of John Stambaugh, president of the Tod, Stambaugh Company of Youngstown, Ohio that had recently acquired the Iron River mine. A brief history of Mr. Stambaugh may be of interest at this point. John Stambaugh derived from the Bavarian Stambach meaning at the mouth of the river) was born March 8, 1827 on the family farm which is now a part of the City of Youngstown. His early life was spent on the farm where he attended the district school and by his own efforts secured additional education in a business college in Cincinnati. As a young man he became interested in the coal mines that were currently mining the fields underlying the Stambaugh and ad- joining Tod farms. In 1859 he entered into partnership with Gover- nor David Tod his employer, to organize the Briar Hill Iron and Coal Company and build the Grace furnace at Briar Hill. At the death of Governor Tod in 1869, he became the president of the organi- zation. In his activities Mr. Stambaugh expanded into railroads, coal mining in Pennsylvania, mineral lands in Tennesee and Georgia, iron ore mines in Michigan and was later a partner of John Tod in the Tod, Stambaugh Company of Cleveland. He died in New York City on March 4, 1888. The original plat of the village shows that First Street was nam- ed Suydam Street, Second Street was named Spencer, Third was Williams and Fourth Street was Porter Street. Washington Ave- nue was named Lay Street, Adams was High Street and Jefferson Avenue was Pearl Street. For reasons unknown, the plat did not include the entire area west of Washington Avenue and south of Second Street but embraced only the eastern half thereof. The remaining area to Madison Avenue on the west was platted in November of the same year and became the First Addition to the village. Following the platting, the lots were offered for sale and some scattered homes, mainly of log construction were erected. The greatest concentration of building was along Fourth Street where the mining company built a number of frame homes to ac- commodate its supervisor personnel. Among these were the early Superintendent Porter home, the Dr. Carpenter home and those of McQuown and McLean. The latter two are still occupied. While the growth of the community was not rapid, it was nevertheless consistent and in the month of April of the year 1890 it was officially incorporated as a village. The first meeting of the council was held on April 28 and seated at that time were J. N. Porter as president and Andrew Young, W. T. Carpenter, James Williams, Ole Wolden, Thomas Ball trustees. G. D. Crippen was seated as clerk, Dr. F. C. Vilas became the first health officer and Horace Moore was hired as marshall at a salary of $50 per month. Action was also taken at this meeting to establish the wages for common labor at $1.60 per day and team hire with teamster at $4. The licenses of four saloons were also approved at this time. On the following May 19, an election was held for the purpose of bonding the new village for $5,000 for a water system. A tally of the votes showed sixty-three in favor of the proposition and none against. In anticipation of the early completion of this water- works, the Board purchased one thousand feet of the fire hose at their next monthly meeting. This appears to have been the 84 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN official beginning of the Stambaugh Fire Department for a re- solution was adopted at the November meeting reading, "to re- cognize the officers and firemen as at present enrolled and to be known as Stambaugh Hose Company No 1, authorized to practice and perform such other duties as ordinarily belong to a fire com- pany." That the early village council believed in direct action is in evidence from the record of the meeting of August 4, 1891 when a motion was adopted reading, "that the Marshall be instructed to en- force the collection of delinquent taxes by the advertising and sell- ing of the property on which the taxes have not been paid." Financial Statement The first financial statement of the village issued on December 1, 1891 reads: Receipts 1890: Liquor Tax $1,980. Poll Tax $303. Sales of Bonds (water) $5,000. 1891: Liquor Tax $990. Assessment $1,030.35. Poll Tax $30.00. Total $9,323.35. Bond and Interest $1,300. Orders Paid and sur. $7,948. Del. Per- sonal Tax $1. Lands Bought by Village $62.58. Pd. and Indorsed Outst. ord. $5.88. Total $9,317.46. Cash on hand $15.89. Prior to the installation of the waterworks in the year 1890 the villagers were dependent upon private wells and surface waters for their needs. Surface waters were plentiful from the two swamps within the village where the waters normally lay stagnant throughout the seasons. The new waterworks system provided for a well near the Iron River and near the north end of the Iron River Mine workings. No water was secured from this well, however, until a drift was heavily shaken with charges of explosives. Adequate water was then secured but the quality was very poor. A special No. 11 Cameron steam pump was used and the mine provided the steam for pumping. Some two years later the mine closed down for the duration of the panic and the villagers were left as one might apt- ly say, high and dry. With the advent of the Oliver Iron Mining company into the district in 1899, activity at the Iron River mine was resumed and through an arrangement with the new operators, the waterworks was again placed into service. This continued until the year 1906 when the company permanently abandoned the mine workings and the village was again left without steam to operate the pump. The village of Iron River had good water and more than they needed at their plant situated some one half mile to the north. An agreement was then made with their village to provide the necessary water and Stambaugh extended their mains along the bed of the Iron River to the new source. This arrangement worked well for several months and until the village of Iron River moved into their new station north of the village when Stambaugh was forced to remodel their former plant and place it in service again. The climax came in the year of 1908 however, for in that year the Village of Iron River completed their sewer system which emptied into the Iron river a short distance above the Stambaugh Village well. In a law suit which was finally settled out of court the Village of Iron River agreed to pay $1,500 for inconveniences suffered by the Village of Stambaugh in moving their station to a new location on lce Lake. The present wells of the City were placed into service in 1919. Some idea regarding the rate of expansion of the village following the turn of the century is provided by the addition made thereto. Of these there was a total of five in the decade beginning with the year 1907. In that year came the R. E. Sturgeon and was followed by Klaus Lindgrens Addition, in 1909. Four years later came Lind- wall and Lindstroms Addition, in 1915 the Nelsons First Addition and in 1916 came Klaus Lindgrens HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN 85 First Addition. The last named three additions were outside of the original village boundaries and were acquired from the Township of Stambaugh at the time of incorporation into a city when the boundaries were extended. Eleven assessors plats which included several mining locations have also been added since the year 1924. Census figures since the year 1900 shows a uniform growth for the community until the year 1940 when a decrease of 309 in the population was record- ed. The census for the five enumerations beginning with the century reads: 1900, 695; 1910, 1322; 1920, 2263; 1930, 2400 and 1940, 2091. Electric light was provided in a small way for the town as early as 1889. This service was mainly for the convenience of the Iron River Mine officials and was merely an extension of the lines from the mine workings. With the closing of the mine in 1892, this ser- vice was necessarily terminated. Permanent electric facilities were established in 1908 when the Menominee Range Power and Development was granted a fran- chise to extend their lines throughout the village. Telephone com- munication with the outside world was provided in 1898 when the Michigan Bell Telephone Company extended their lines from Crystal Falls to Iron River and Stambaugh. The first Town Hall was erected in the year 1901. This was a large one-story building of frame construction and was situated on the site now occupied by the Ottawa Builders Supply offices. The first water tower and which continues to be the outstanding landmark of the area was built in 1907 at the rear of the Hall. The present City Hall was erected in the year 1913 while the Village was still the seat of government of Stambaugh Township. Among the undertakings of general interest which have been carried on through the years by public spirited individuals is that of maintaining the official weather station. The original station was set up by Mr. I. W. Byers at his home near the C. & N. W. rail- road station at Iron River in February 1896. With the exception of the years 1900 and 1901, the records have been kept regularly since this time. In the year 1902, the station was moved to a new location at the offices of the Oliver Iron Mining Company near the Stambaugh de- pot of the same railroad where Mr. V. D. Laing recorded the weather readings for nearly two decades. With the completion of the office building of the company at their new Dober Mine shaft about the year 1918, the station was moved to this site and record- ings were made by Messrs. B. A. Anderson and F. C. Floyd for a period of some eleven years. In the year of 1934, the station was moved again, this time to Stambaugh where the instruments were stationed on the home premises of City Manager C, A. Nel- son near the high school. Mr. Nelson continued to keep the record for a period of fifteen years. A study of these records reveal that the coldest day in the past fifty-five years was the tenth day of February in the year 1899 with a reading of forty-seven degrees below zero. The second lowest temperature was that of January 28, 1915 when forty-three below zero was reported. The longest consistent cold spell was that of January and February 1948. The warmest day was that recorded on July 13, 1936 when the temperature rose to 103. The next highest readings were noted in July 1911, July 1921 and May 1934 when a high of 100 was reached. Upon the death of Mr. Nelson, the sta- tion came under the care of Mr. Ralph Woodworth. Educational facilities were provided for the community as soon as there were enough children to attend classes. This was in the winter of 1883 when Miss Bessie Bacon was engaged as teacher for a five month term at a salary of $40 per month. It will be remem- bered that the community was under the jurisdiction of Iron Riv- er Township which had made a 86 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN separation from Ely Township during the previous summer and was also still a part of Marquette County. Iron County was organized two years later in 1885 and Stambaugh Township was separated from Iron River Township in 1887. The first classes were held in a temporary building that was remodelled for the purpose from a former carpenter shop. This structure was situated some three hundred feet east of the present City Hall. Miss Bacon the teacher, used a carpenter's bench for a desk and seats for the twenty children enrolled were made from pine cut near the old Orace Moore home on the corner of Fourth and Lincoln Avenue. School records during these early days were not kept very well. It is known, however, that the first section of the two story school structure on the corner of Second and Adams Avenue was constructed in 1883. In the recently compiled History of the Stam- baugh Schools, is the following quotation: "We are uncertain about the school in this building the first year. Records, however, would indicate that Miss Alice Downs taught for a full year (1883-1884) in the carpenter shop and that Mrs. C. G. Willson taught the upper grades in the new school for six months during the same winter. An interesting fact here is that Miss Downs was paid $50 per month and Mr. Willson $40 per month". The members of the School Board in the latter year were Pat Fogarty, moderator, L. McQuown, director, and J. S. McLean and J. N. Porter, trustees. The school system showed only a limited growth to the turn of the century. The uncertain operation of the mine during these years and the prolonged panic forced some families to move onto homestead lands and others to seek employment elsewhere. About the year 1890 was built the first rural school in the Township when a one room structure was built on the corner of the Kinney lands at Spring Valley. This structure was situated near the the present Gaastra City Hall and the first teacher was Miss Ann Fogarty. Another rural school that dates back to 1895 was the log cabin on the home grounds of Andrew Stromberg on Section 3. Classes were held here until the Pioneer School was completed one year later. The teacher at this school was Miss Maud Moses. The num- ber of teachers employed perhaps indicates the rise and fall of the township school enrollment somewhat. Beginning with the year 1900 when ten teachers were employed we find twenty-seven in 1910, seventy in 1920, eighty in 1930, sixty-eight in 1935, fifty- seven in 1940 and forty-six in 1945. Transportation of children from outlying districts to the central school was tried in a small way soon after the turn of the century. The unimproved roads of the time combined with the tedious travel with horses made long distance hauling impracticable, however, and until consolidation was begun in 1930, twelve schools were maintained in various sections of the Township. In addition to the early Pioneer school, there were the West Brule. Pentoga, Franzene, South Brule, Saunders, Edison, Erickson, Peter- son, Pine, Elm, Greig and Smoky Lake. With improved roads and automotive equipment it was found advantageous to transport the pupils to the central schools and the costly one-room schools were discontinued. The first record of transportation dates back to 1902 when Pete Brown, the local livery stable owner signed a contract with the Board of Education to transport children from the Franzene-Peter- son district to the Central school located on Second and Adams streets at this time. This was followed in 1909 by the "covered wagon" that was used to transport the children from the Tully and Baker Mine area. In 1910 came the first transportation from Gaastra when Nick Kauffman, the current village livery stable owner con- tracted to transport the children HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN 87 of this new location. In the year 1915 this route was taken over by the Iron River-Stambaugh-Crystal Falls Street Railway Com- pany for a period of six years. Upon the discontinuance of the Street Railway service in 1921, the School Board provided their own prairie wagon type convey- ances and contracted with local team owners to do the transport- ing for about one year. Among those engaged at the time were Simon Hocking, Alfred Moger, Ole Olson and Emil Lepisto. Stoves were provided in these wagons for warmth during the winter months. At this time highway snow removal was set under way in earnest and it was often hard for the teamsters to determine wheth- er they should start the days haul with a wagon or sleigh. The first automotive transportation was inaugurated during the following year when the Northern Motor Bus Company of Iron River was contracted to do the work. The first fleet of school owned busses were purchased in 1930. At this time the school is transporting 401 children with a total daily mileage of 359 miles or an equal distance as that from Stambaugh to the city of Chicago. The first building of the present Stambaugh school system was erected in the year 1904 and was followed by the Palatka school, which is now sold, in 1908. The Couzens building came in 1911 and was followed by the first Caspian school in 1914, the pre- sent High School building in 1918, the Gaastra school in 1922 and the new Caspian school in 1924. Home economics was added to the school curriculum in 1912, Manual and Commercial training courses in 1913, Band in 1918, physical training in 1919 and a professional coach was first engaged in the year 1920. In addition to the school system the Township Board of Edu- cation maintains the Carnegie Public Library. This institution was established mainly through the efforts of Superintendent Henry Armstrong who in 1914 prevailed upon the Carnegie Cor- poration to provide the sum of $17,500 for the construction of the present building. While this institution serves the entire west side of the county, the whole burden of its equipment and maintenance rests upon the Stambaugh Township School system. The limited school funds re- sulting from changes in the tax laws following establishment of the library have forced the Board of Education to very strict econo- my in its operation in recent years. Of the sixteen administrators of the Stambaugh Schools since the year of 1885, only three have served a period in excess of three years. They are Mr. H. M. Armstrong who served from 1908 to 1920, Mr. C. I. Clark from 1920 to 1948 and the incumbent Mr. M. G. Mahlberg who has served since the retirement of Mr. Clark. The first quarter century of Village government was a con- tinuous struggle to keep expenditures within income. In the years following 1910, the new Additions incorporated into the Village were making increasing demands for improvements and the financial situation became acute. In 1916, the Village was sinking into debt at the rate of $3,000 per year. To further aggravate the situation during this particular year, the Village received a judgment against itself, which, with costs amounted to $4,468.80. This was the result of a sidewalk injury suffered by a child of the Grays family which resided on West Fourth Street. The time had now arrived when relief measures could no longer be postponed. It was now a clear case of either dissolving the Vil- lage and returning to Township government or extending the Vil- lage boundaries to secure adequate revenue to meet expendi- tures. In an informal Sunday meeting called by Councilman Otto G. Groeschel in February 1918, it was unanimously decided to extend the boundaries if possible. This move was enhanced and possibly partially suggested by the Village's oversight in omitting the three forties of land lying along its 88 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN western border in Section 35 from its tax rolls for some years. This was valuable mining property. At this time, the Village embraced a total of 440 acres and the new proposal provided for the annexation of 520 additional acres, some containing mines with very large valuations. The matter was placed before the electorate in June 1918 and was overwhelm- ingly approved. The increased valuation was reflected in the tax roll which soared from $11,234.78 in the year 1918 to $52,057.08 in 1919. This was the turning point in the fortunes of Village financial affairs. Other members of the Council at this memorable meet- ing were, President George Hamilton, Clerk Alex LaViolette and councilmen, Fred V. Vilas, John E. Lindwall, Morris Cohodas, Henry White and Silvio Gasperini. Village Attorney A. Frank Dixon was also present at this meeting. In the year 1922, and immediately prior to incorporation as a City, the boundaries were further extended to include the valuable Hiawatha No. 2 Mine and forty acres now in Country Club grounds, thus making the total area of Stambaugh City 1,040 acres at this time. In the year 1923 the people of the village voted in favor of in- corporation as a City with a commission-manager form of govern- ment. The new government became effective in the following year. Mr. Frank Smith, the superintendent of the Chatham and Berkshire Mines, was chosen mayor and Messrs. Charles J. An- derson, Otto G. Groeschel, Henry G. Hoover and Phillip L. Quayle became the first commissioners. Mr. Charles A. Nelson was hired as manager-clerk which duties he fulfilled without interruption until his death in 1949. The acquisition of valuable mining property for taxation purposes at the time of incorporation has placed the City in a financial posi- tion to make civic improvements beyond that ordinarily enjoyed by cities of its size. All the streets and most of the alleys have been hard- surfaced throughout the years. Adequate lighting, water and sewer systems have been provided and are well maintained. Nelson Field which was secured from the Nelson estate, is one of the outstanding athletic fields in the state. Improvement of this field was undertaken in the year 1931. At the Recreation Center, the City provides a suitable building for social and other gatherings as well as a winter playground for the chil- dren of the community. Civic pride is manifest in the uniformly neat and well kept homes. As a commercial center, the Village and City have been out- distanced by Iron River throughout the years. The strength of the city lies mainly in its homes and its lawabiding and contented citizens. The religious needs of the community have also been provided for and the city now has a total of six churches. Of these, the Christ Presbyterian Church is the oldest and is situated on the corner of Adams Avenue and Third Street. This church was originally built through the combined efforts of the Swedish Mis- sion and Presbyterian congregations in the year of 1889. The site of the church was formerly occupied by the first hotel of the village that was destroyed by fire about the year 1887. In the year of 1908 the Swedish people of the foregoing Mission congregation erected a new church of their own on the corner of Adams Avenue and Fourth Street. This was named the Mission Covenant church. Services had been conducted by this congre- gation in various homes by lay preachers as early as 1883. This church enjoys one of the largest congregations in the city at this time. St. Peters Evangelical Lutheran Church was built in 1906. This church is situated on Madison Avenue and Third Street. Prior to its establishment, services were held by the congregation in the Christian Science Temple at Iron River. The Trinity Lutheran Church HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN 89 (Suomi Synod) was constructed in the year of 1911. Until this church was built, services were held at the homes of members of the congregation and at other churches, mainly the St. Peters Evangelical Lutheran Church. This congregation was established in 1902. The First Methodist Church was originally built on Lincoln Avenue at Fourteenth Street in the year 1914. The structure was moved to its present location on Lincoln avenue at Fourth Street in the year 1938. The members of this congregation formerly at- tended services in the St. Paul's Methodist Church of Iron River. Throughout the years the people of the Catholic faith have attend- ed services and used the facilities of the St. Agnes Catholic Church of Iron River. Action leading to a church of their own, however, was taken in 1945 when two lots were purchased on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Seventh Street. The present edifice was completed on this site in the year 1948. It may be mentioned that, at this point in the publication of this story, the aforementioned St. Agnes Church of Iron River which was built in 1901 was totally destroyed in a fire of undeter- mined origin on the night of December 8, 1954 and services are being temporarily conducted in the recently constructed parochial school structure adjoining the unfortunate church. Among the firsts that might well be remembered in relation to the early village is the marriage of its residents, Mr. Victor Fors- berg and Miss Venlas Sofia Carlson. This was the first marriage license to be recorded in the newly organized County of Iron and was issued on October 5, 1885. The writer's earliest recollection of Stambaugh date to his arrival in the village in the spring of 1902. At that time the village had the appearance of a typical mining town the growth of which had been interrupted in the midst of the boom. This it really had for the panic if 1893 had set the village back nearly a decade. In the nine years following the year 1892, only 74,792 tons of ore were ship- ped from the district. This amount of ore is merely a fraction of the annual production of one of our present mines. The buildings were widely scattered throughout the village with an average of seven houses in each block. The census of 1900 recorded a population of 695. This included the miners and woods- workers who made their homes in the boarding houses, many of whom were unmarried. In the village was represented the nation- als of most of the European countries with a preponderance of Scandinavians. The settlement of the village was largely governed by the con- tour of the platted area which at the moment embraced two wet swamps. One swamp occupied the two blocks between Washington and Madison Avenue and Second and Fourth Streets and the other was situated east of Adams Avenue and extended from the north boundary of the village to Third Street. The central portion of the latter swamp is now occupied by the city recreation building and grounds. This was the early win- ter playground where on winter evenings the children enjoyed skating among the cedar stumps by the light of torches designed from cato'ninetails dipped in kerosene. At this time there were only fourteen buildings west of Wash- ington Avenue. These were the Olson home on First Street, the Strand, Corbett, Smith and Kavich homes and the little red jail along Second Street, Corcoran's store, the Langendorf building, the little frame village fire hall, the Lindwall store (O. J. Lindwall being the local cruiser who aided many of the early settler to locate their lands) and the large Stambaugh House on Third Street and the Vanzo, Farley and Youngren homes along Fourth Street. The Stambaugh House referred to was also known as the Riverton House, was located on a dominant site 90 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN overlooking the Iron River mine workings and was destroyed by fire in December 1908. East of Washington Avenue along First Street were the Han- son, Johnson, Holmes, Smedlunds, Greenlunds, Ericksons, Thunan- ders, Velies, Wagners, and A. P. Andersons. The latter three fami- lies lived on the east side of Adams Avenue and adjoining the swamp. On Second Street and reading east from Washington Avenue was the Pete Brown saloon, the homes of the Hanolds, the James Farleys, Lyngs, Lunds, Mattsons, Doucetts, Moores, and the village school. East of Adams Avenue was the A. Anderson home. Reading east from Washington Avenue on Third Street were the Youngs and LeRoy buildings, the Harris clothing store, the West- mans, the Village Hall, the Midtlings, Thornbergs, and Dr. Vilas who has a drug store and was the village posmaster. East of and ad- joining Adams Avenue were the Bert Baumgartners and Christ Presbyterian church. East of Jefferson were the Johannes Ander- sons, the Whites and Tom Youngs. Reading east on Fourth Street from Washington Avenue were the Melchiori building, the Clements, Westerbergs, Nelsons, Caseys, McLeans and Dr. McBurneys. East of Adams on Fourth Street were the McQuowns, Nelson and Djupes. East of Jefferson were the Hamilton, Johnsons and Orace Moores. These were the homes in the village in 1902. Ample room for all could have been found in the three blocks between First and Fourth Streets. Most of the dwellings were of plain frame construction and were built on foundations of cedar posts although several were provided with stone basements. The streets were slightly turnpiked for drainage, the earth cut- ting into deep ruts during the rainy seasons. Plank sidewalks about eight feet in width traversed most of Washingon Avenue with nar- rower walks along the side streets. A plank walk also extended to the Chicago & Northwestern railway depot. The forest trees had been removed from the area surrounding the village and wild raspberry vines and hazel thrived among the stumps. The families as a whole were large, a conservative estimate being five children per family. Every household had a large garden and each had its flock of chickens and a cow or two, the latter herding together to forage at random in the surrounding areas during the summer months. The number of horses in the village was not great, possibly a total of twenty-five head. The first livery stable in the community was established in 1902 by Pete Brown at the rear of his saloon. Horses, however, were used exclusively for transportation until automobiles and trucks came into general use between the years 1915 and 1920. Dr. Mc- Burney bought the first automobile in the district in 1907 but continu- ed to use horses during the winter months for about ten years. Water was procurred by the villagers from outlets provided for the pur- pose on the corners of the blocks. Here in attempting to quench their thirst in frosty weather, the little boys would get stuck to the stand- pipe by their lips until thawed free by the rushing water. Social life of the community was limited and was confined to occasional parties, dances or socials held in the Town Hall. Recreation consisted mainly of baseball and football in the summer months. The football played at the school at this time was the Association style, a forerunner of the American Rugby game that has since produced many outstanding teams for the village and city. In the winter months, recreation consisted mainly of sleighing and skating. Seasonal hunting parties were also organized by the boys, the open season for deer being of one months duration and permitting the killing of three deer of either sex per license. A community band had been organized in 1901 and practice meetings were held regularly in the newly constructed left wing of the school building. Members of the band were Ole Lindgren, HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN 91 Charles Nelson, John Erickson, Louis Johnson, Jack Johnson, Charles Greenlund, James Doucette, Gust Hanold, Morris Castel, Harry Delmaso, Davi Castel the director, Axel Anderson, Hector Doucette, Albert Anderson, Leonard Anderson and Oscar Renberg. The mascot of the band was Gust N. Anderson. The band made annual trips to the Baltic Location in the ensuing years to play at the home of William H. Jobe, the mine superin- tendent and current township supervisor. Transportation was provided for the band on the return trip with a team and hay rack. This courtesy was not accorded to the town boys that oc- companied the excursion, however. They were permitted to walk back. All burials were made in the early Iron River cemetery north of that city until 1905 when the Stambaugh cemetery was es- tablished through the joint efforts of the Village and Township. This was the village of Stambaugh in the year 1902. Five mines the Nanaimo, Iron River (also called Stambaugh), Hiawatha, Dober and Baltic operated intermittently and at times it became necessary for the wage earner of the family to seek temporary em- ployment in other mining towns. The big day of each year was the Fourth of July when the Township and Village normally united to provide funds to make this a day to be remembered. The activities of the day were usual- ly set off with a big parade headed by the village band which was followed by the members of various lodges and societies. The callithumpians, clowns and children made merry as they trailed behind. The afternoon was generally spent in various games of chance, wheels of fortune, egg throwing contests and much lemonade. The main feature of the afternoon, however, were the foot races of all kinds including bag races, three-legged races and old mens races in addition to the horse contests. No limitations were placed on fire crackers at this time and these were fired indiscriminately throughout the day. The day of celebration was brought to a close with either wrestling matches or a balloon flight. The latter provided a fitting climax for the village boys when all had an opportunity to parti- cipate in holding down the big balloon during inflation. |