NOVEMBER  2010

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"Warner P. Sutton was born Oct. 16, 1849. His father, Luther Sutton, and mother, Priscilla Jane Bancroft, of Hartford, Conn., both came of pioneer stock, and settled in Michigan in 1830.

"As a young man Mr. Sutton taught school in Watervliet and Ludington. In 1875 he came to Saugatuck as superintendent of the schools, where he taught three years and graduated the first class in 1878, and that year through his friend, Senator Thomas White Ferry, he received appointment as Consular Agent at Matamoros, Mexico; he later became Consul and then Consul General at Nuevo Laredo. Mexico, serving in these offices for fifteen years, 1878 to 1893, during the terms of Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland and Harrison.

"During the Spanish-American War he served under General Miles in Porto Rico after which he retired, living in Saugatuck at his home "The Beeches". Soon, however, he became an invalid from a stroke and he and Mrs. Sutton went to Madison,, Ohio, where in 1913 he died."

"Then, via Chicago and Alton to Chicago; and there by boat across Lake Michigan to a port near Saugatuck and our home, "The Beeches." Papa had bought this place when he was teaching there. He kept it always. It was a place of happiness. Two huge beech trees, said to be two hundred years old, were in the front.

"The house was on a high bluff overlooking the Kalamazoo Lake with the bridge to Douglas. At the shore of the lake, we kept our boats moored at a little dock: a small motorboat, a St. Lawrence skiff, and a canoe.

"In these boats, we would ride down the winding Kalamazoo River several miles to Lake Michigan. Some of us would walk through the woods and over Bald Head (the highest sand dune). On these walks, we had our lessons in knowing trees and shrubs and plants -- all new to us.

"The summer in Saugatuck was something to dream about when we were in Mexico, and a joyful time to live when we were there. Strawberries, every kind of berry, apples, pears, peaches, and grapes -- no other fruit could compare with the Saugatuck fruit. And in Mexico, looking forward to the trip, the Saugatuck fruit grew larger and more beautiful.

"One event occurred about twice in the summer during the Saugatuck vacations. It stands out above the many other delightful days. Papa would say: "Today I will cook a beefsteak for you!" That was just the beginning: First, we had to go down the hill to the village to Fritz Walz's Butcher Shop. Then Papa went into the cooler, where he selected just the piece that he wanted; then he supervised the cutting and trimming. And we all went back up the hill with our "prize steak."

"It took all of us to wait on Papa: one to get the "spider" (frying pan), another to get one tool, another to bring the seasoning. It was a real production. At last the steak was perfectly cooked and on the platter. The rest of the dinner might be overcooked or cold by that time, but the steak, that was the star we had all anticipated."

"Mama enjoyed cooking, something she never did in Mexico. She had a natural talent. Everything tasted good. We were taught to eat all kinds of food. If we didn't like it, at least we ate a little; and we learned to like most foods."

"In Saugatuck, the Sutton relatives came from Hartford for a visit, also the Andrus families, and many friends. The house was always full and lively. In later years, our college friends came. And there were many interests: fishing, swimming, boating, picnics, etc. It was a happy place to be and to remember."

MEMORIES OF MAY FRANCIS HEATH: A SERIES
May Heath goes to Florida

Today it's very common for Michiganders to go to Florida or Arizona for the winter. We even have a name for them, "Snowbirds". One hundred years ago, this experience was a rare one.

The November 3, 1905 Commercial Record reported: "Mrs. John Francis and Mrs. D. A. Heath and children, also Ernest Crowe expect to leave Monday for Eustis, Florida, to spend the winter. A large party has been organized by Capt. Coates to make this trip the most of whom will go from Benton Harbor but all in the same special car." Capt. Coates, a long-time Great Lakes ship captain, was May's brother-in-law, having married Doc's sister Florence. They were not the first locals to winter in Florida. Both the A. B. Taylors and the Miller Robinsons had done so.

May wrote a long letter back to her Saugatuck friends which appeared in the Commercial Record, March 2, 1906. She commented on the ideal weather, the cordial locals who had welcomed "people from nearly every state in the Union", and "the many excursions, picnics, fish-frys, home parties and etc.".

A "great freeze" had hit the area in 1895, and May writes about the "grand old places, large 15 and 30 room houses, which were simply deserted, the owners taking what they could and fleeing for the North, for the freeze fell heavily upon this part of Florida. In one night the thermometer fell fifty degrees and thousands of orange groves were ruined ---"

"But Florida is beginning to boom" she writes, and tells of the old places being bought "for a song" by Northerners. One example was a place that had just sold for $800, with 300 acres of land, some timbered, and a large hotel built as a sanitarium at a cost of $90,000.

May was to spend many winters in Florida, keeping an active club life of art and bridge. Each year, she entertained a host of fellow Saugatuck citizens, many of whom were also now among the "Snow-birds". May's final stay in 1961 was in Palm Beach, and among her visitors was Ethel (Sutton) Kimball (daughter of Warner P. Sutton) who had been one of the eight girls who served at her wedding reception, 66 years before.

This series on Saugatuck Historian May Francis Heath (MFH) will continue until the 50th anniversary of her death in September, 2011. The MFH Study Group continues to seek information, documents, photographs of May, her paintings, and personal recollections of Mrs. Heath. If you have any to share contact: Chris Yoder at 857-4327 or Marsha Kontio at 616-566-1239.