WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14 PROGRAM
The
Wages of Sin and Other Tales
with Marsha Kontio
7 p.m., Old School House
History Center

So, sit back and relax and join in a walking tour of Douglas. We
will visit old haunts, talk about the early day of Douglas and see
what "dirt" we can uncover.
Are you aware that a gas station use to sit in the middle of
Douglas?
Are you aware that the mast from the Chicora had a prominent spot in
Douglas?
Are you familiar with the Longest Bar in the State of Michigan?
---
yep, Douglas again.
Sinful refreshments will follow.

The exhibit "Small Towns, Big Picture - the Photography of Bill
Simmons" consisting of 31 giant 'blow-up' photos from the huge
Simmons collection of the Society's photo library of Saugatuck area
life in the 1940s and 1950s runs through March 9. The exhibit is
sponsored jointly by the Society and the Saugatuck Center for the
Arts and is featured in the Center's gallery.

You don't have to be a bowler
to join the party!
Start
building your 5-player teams for an evening of laugher and
cheers.
The 2012
Party Time Bowl-a-Rama is focused on FUN!
Prizes will be given for best
cheering section, best costumes, player with the most
sponsors, player with the most pledges, etc.
Got your team together?
Reserve your lane now by REPLYING TO THIS EMAIL or emailing
Judi Vanderbeck at
hj.vanderbeck@comcast.net
|
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
We would like to welcome these new members who have joined the
Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society since the last newsletter.
l Dawn Stafford &
Nicholas Barna, Saugatuck, MI
l Ronald & Lynda
Sandberg, Saugatuck, MI
l Scott & Marilyn
Hajicek, Douglas, MI & Lakewood, CO
SDHS LEGACY CIRCLE WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS.
INVITES SOCIETY MEMBERS TO CONSIDER JOINING.
You can help ensure that the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society
continues to "Keep History Alive Here" by becoming a
member of the Society's new Legacy Circle. Legacy Circle members
have pledged to remember the Society by including the SDHS in their
estate plans. You can use the following assets, for example, to make
a charitable gift to the Society: a cash gift named in a will, a
percentage of your estate, naming the SDHS as the beneficiary of an
IRA or insurance policy, gifts of stock, bond and shares of mutual
funds, a charitable remainder trust, a piece or collection of local
art. Your estate planner can tell you which of the many options are
best for you and your family.
You also have the ability to make an 'unrestricted gift' or a
'restricted gift' that can be used only to benefit a specific
Society activity. For example, your gift can be restricted for use
to fund museum exhibitions, the Tech Center, the Old School House
garden, the Society's art collection, etc. If you would like to
become a member of the SDHS Legacy Circle or have any questions
about the Legacy Circle, please contact Bill Hess at
wwh71@comcast.net or call
Bill at 269-857-1081. Growing membership in the
Legacy Circle will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the
Society and allow you to show your support in a everlasting way that
will guarantee the Society another 25 years of success and
contribution to the quality of life in Saugatuck and Douglas.
The Legacy Circle program was introduced as part the 25th
Anniversary "Keep History Alive Here" campaign. We are very pleased
to announce that the following members have already joined the
Legacy Circle and we send our thanks and appreciation to them: Bill
Hess and Mike Mattern, Steve Hutchins, Jon Helmrich and Stephen
Mottram, Peg and John Sanford, Ken Carls. Our goal is to reach a
membership of 25 Legacy Circle Members this year --- we hope you can
help us reach that milestone.
NEWS
FROM THE ARCHIVES

The photo above from 1962 shows the abundant
snowfall that year. It was taken by Verne Houl, Rector of All
Saints' Church at that time. Cynthia Sorensen, a volunteer in the
Society archives, recently donated a number of his photographs as
well as the painting below by Verne of the Peterson Mill.

MY FATHER ROBERT MARRIOTT - THE MAN WHO BUILT THE BIG POOL
Part One - by Dale Marriott Williamson

My father, Robert William Marriott, Sr., was in
the University of Michigan, when he and his father had a
difference of opinion. He didn't like his father remarrying after
his mother died. He was very close to his mother, and he was
really offended when his father got interested in another woman.
They had this unpleasantness, so his father, rather than sending
him to college gave him some money to buy a farm in Michigan.
That's how it happened that we were there at all. My father bought
the property and built the house (Editor's note: called "The House
in the Grove") in the grove of trees on the Old Allegan Road, a
year and a half before he married my mother in 1913 (I would
suppose 1911 or 1912).

Click on the image for a higher resolution copy. He
married my mother, Mildred Stetson, in 1913 and he took his bride
over to live there. And they lived many years in that house and
ran the farm, and it was a big farm. They had many hundred trees
and a huge vineyard, and that's what supported them until my
father got this idea about the pool, which came along much later.
I was born in 1921. My father had a lot of trees -
apple and cherry, and peach trees, a huge vineyard, and then there
was another house on the hill between the river and the farm. The
Kalamazoo River was the other side of the farm and then the hill
that you could look out toward the farm, and my grandfather built
his summer home on that hill. It was a house which was built for
ventilation it had windows on both sides of the house and the when
the bedroom doors were open there was a breeze that went across,
and the rest of the family my grandfather and his other children
would come there for their vacation. (Editor's note: called "the
House on the Hill", also built in 1911-12).

Click on the image for a higher resolution copy.
That was my grandfather's summer place, he was a man of means.
Abraham Robert Marriot, President of the Chicago Title and Trust
Company, Oak Park, Chicago. He died in May 20, 1931. He was a very
beloved and revered man, everybody loved him and everybody called
him "Daddy". He made a lot of money. He was well paid for being
president of the company. I went to the Saugatuck
grammar school until the fourth grade. I don't recall any of the
children I played with. We had a hired man on the farm and he had
six boys. He was called "Mart", that's all I remember. He and my
father were pretty good friends. They had an outhouse I remember.
And the barn yard which was where his house was a little distance
from where most of the groves were. There was a house and a barn.
We had 2 horse and 3 cows, I think, or maybe 3horses and 2 cows,
and we had a pony. And I wasn't allowed in the barnyard because my
mother thought I didn't belonged over there with all those boys,
My brother could go over there.

Click on the image for a higher resolution copy.

Click on the image for a higher resolution copy.

Click on the image for a higher resolution copy.

Click on the image for a higher resolution copy.
(Note: The 1930 census for Manlius Twp, Allegan Co, shows Robert
W. Marriott two families away from a Josef Martin, age 39, born in
Montreal, Canada.)
I remember the pavilion. There was a movie theater in the
pavilion. When I was a kid we'd always sit down front. All the
kids got to sit down front with their popcorn. Their parents would
sit in back. What a wonderful dance hall that was, those big
things that opened up onto the river from the dance floor and the
music was just wonderful coming over the river. I was a little
girl and I got to dance with other people, oh it was a wonderful
place. And there was a veranda, a porch off of the dance floor, we
could step out there on about an 8 foot wide veranda, and the
boats were parked there and the people would come in from their
boats to dance. It was quite a resort town at the time
And there was Mt. Baldhead, when I was a kid we'd climb Mt
Baldhead and then they put up a stair way and you could climb up
the sand or the stairway. I remember going up on the side on the
sand, it was a challenge. The Oval Beech came into being and
damaged the business at the pool, because it didn't cost anything
to swim at the Oval beech. In Douglas there were a lot of wealthy
people who would stay in those houses overlooking the lake. It
used to be that it was a real exclusive place - it was people with
money who could afford those places.
We lived 5 miles out from town, and in those days it was a big
production to come to town. My mother used to drive me into town
to play with another girl, but I don't recall any names (Editor's
Note: it was Shirle Springer, Dale also remembers June Force). My
mother was a little snooty. I couldn't play with just anyone.
We had a house in Oak Park too, when we lost the farm we moved to
Oak Park and my father worked for his brother in Oak Park-- his
brother Thomas Benjamin Marriott. It all happened at once; the
whole thing fell apart because we had no money. No one could
afford to buy that beautiful fruit my father was raising, he'd
polish the apples and put them in special crates and send them to
Chicago, but no one could afford to buy them.

Click on the image for a higher resolution copy.
Next Month: Robert Marriott - Part Two - The Big Pool
Editor's note: The Robert Marriott farm house ("House in the
Grove") and the neighboring summer place of his father A. R.
Marriott ("House on the Hill"), were located south of Old Allegan
Road, on either side of the present 60th street going down to the
Kalamazoo River. Both homes, and the barn, have been torn down and
there are now housing developments where the groves used to be.
contributed by Chris Yoder
|
2012 EVENTS CALENDAR
The Society's Programming and Member Activities Schedule for 2012
has just been finalized. You can see the complete calendar by
CLICKING HERE. You
can also access the most current calendar
from the Society's website.
STILL TIME TO SPONSOR A MONTHLY PROGRAM
These fun and informal programs will continue on Wednesday, March 14th. A schedule with topics and speakers is
shown below. For only $125 you can SPONSOR A MONTHLY PROGRAM! You
will be acknowledged as a sponsor of the program on the press
release, the Society's website, newsletter and at the Program. Just
REPLY to this email and let us know which Program you would like to
help sponsor and we'll take care of the rest.
Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society
2012 Monthly Program Schedule
Sin, War, Base-Ball, Shipwrecks, Circus & More
l MARCH 14: The
Wages of Sin and Other Tales. 7 p.m., Old School House
History Center. A sit-down photo tour with Marsha Kontio at the Old
School House. Sinful refreshments served.
l APRIL 11: How
the Home Folks Followed the War. 7 p.m., Old School House
History Center. Jim Schmiechen uses images and the little-known
"Douglas Dope" wartime newsletter to examine the news that connected
the local boys at the "front" with the folks at home during World
War Two. War-time ration refreshments served.
l MAY 9:
Shipwrecks, Heroes, & Scallywags - an Exhibition. 6:30 p.m.,
Old School House History Center. Saugatuck Middle School Sixth
Graders tell Lake Michigan stories through words, artwork, and model
building. Join in this "exhibition opening" and reception hosted by
Wendy Colsen's 6th Grade Language Arts Class." Massive
desserts. Note early starting time. The exhibit continues until June
Old School House History Center.
l JUNE 13:
Michigan’s Titanic: The Mysteries of the Wreck of the Steamship
Chicora. 7:30 p.m., The Boathouse at the Old School House
History Center. Join us in the Old School House garden as Kit Lane
presents the disaster story and the attempt to find its remains.
Shipboard refreshments. The Annual Meeting/Report by the SDHS Board
precedes this program at 7 o’clock.
l JULY 11: The
Circus Comes to Douglas. 7:00 p.m., Old School House History
Center. Our summer spectacular. Learn about the history of the
old-time circus and hear SDHS member Bob Sapita tell how this
amazing model circus was built - complete with sound and animation
that will leave you spell bound. Circus time refreshments. The
Circus will be on display at the OSH until July 23.

From the
Sunday, July 5, 2009 Holland Sentinel written by Jim Hayden. Bob and
Kay Sapita are members of the Society
l AUGUST 8 : The
'Don't Panic' Shipwreck Picnic. 6:00 p.m., Old School House History
Center Garden Gather at the OSH garden and boathouse for the
traditional SDHS summertime good-food picnic - with a garden
treasure hunt.
l SEPTEMBER 12: Take Me Out to the Ball Game -
and buy me a Hot Dog. 6:00 p.m., Old School House History
Center Courtyard. Meet the Douglas Dutcher Team and hear the story
of base-ball in Douglas through the years. On the School House
courtyard. Beer and Hot Dogs. (Sharon Kelly
has already agreed to be a sponsor of this program)
l OCTOBER 10:
Strange-But-True and other Cemetery Tales. 7:00 p.m., Old
School House History Center. Join Kit, Marsha, and Chris on a photo
and story tour through the nearby (and ancient) Taylor and
Plummerville Cemeteries. Refreshments to die for.
l November14:
Houses Talking. 7:00 p.m., Old School House History Center.
A wine and cheese reception as the backdrop for an instructive view
of area building renovation-preservation stories - and meet the 2012
Heritage Award Winners.
l December 2:
The Society's Annual Jolly Holiday Dinner Party. 6:00 p.m.,
Saugatuck Center for the Arts. Begin the holiday season with your
fellow SDHS members. Good cheer, great food, and a special story
presentation.
Pick your program and become a sponsor. Just
REPLY to this email.

EXTRA! EXTRA!
New
Society Publication Targets Area Visitors

The
Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Chronicle,
a retro-styled newspaper, will entertain and entice visitors with
tales of our area's past. The
front page will focus on our shipping and lifesaving. Inside,
visitors will read "news" stories about the Big Pavilion Fire and
Singapore's disappearance under the sands. Photo essays will show
off our art scene and photographic history. Many articles will
conclude with a recommendation to check out an SDHS publications or
visit the museum to learn more. Every story will aim to bring our
history to life.
If you are a business eager to reach
visitors, consider advertising in the Historical Chronicle.
The newspaper's 20,000 free copies will be
distributed to visitors to the SDHS Museum, the Old School House,
the information booth, area lodging and other key locations
frequented by visitors. The publication will be distributed all
summer long and will target the affluent and educated visitors who
seek out history when they travel.
As a bonus, your message can be typeset in a
suitably historical style. You will receive a ready-to-frame copy of
your ad as our thanks for supporting this project. All funds from
advertising will go to the SDHS operating fund to help keep history
alive here.
Consider being the
Historical Chronicle's printing sponsor.
By covering the Chronicle's printing, you'll be
sharing our history and promoting the richness of Saugatuck-Douglas
to a wide audience. The printing sponsor will receive a tasteful
"thank you" on the top right hand corner of the front page and a
strip across the entire bottom of the front page for any sort of
message desired.
For more information about this project, REPLY
TO THIS EMAIL or contact Sally Winthers at
swinthers@frontier.com
BOARD NEWS &
ELECTION NOTICE
The Nominating Committee of the SDHS has prepared a slate for this
year's Board elections. Ballots will be sent to all members in
March. This year's committee included board members Jon Helmrich,
Jim Schmiechen, and Valerie Atkin. Society members Mike Van Meter,
Fred Schmidt, and Christa Wise also served on the committee. This
year's ballot will also include an amendment to the Society
by-laws to increase the size of the Board. Currently, the board
consists of up to eleven members. The board has voted to amend
this to a maximum of 15. This change will require a majority vote
of the membership. Please watch for your ballot next month and
return them in a timely fashion. New board members and returning
members will be sworn in at the May general membership meeting. If
you have any questions, please contact Vice President Jon Helmrich
at jon@ibctv.info or
857-3574.
ANNA VANDERJAGT

We are happy to welcome Anna as our winter-time intern. She
is a Kendall College Art History major who is planning a career in
museum work - hopefully in Washington D.C.
She will be assisting at the Old School House
History Center and the Museum with archiving work as well as
several special exhibition and gallery projects. Welcome to
Douglas, Anna! She can be reached at
vanderjagt.anna@gmail.com

MONTHLY MEETING REFRESHMENT PROVIDERS
|
|
March |
Bob & Margaret Laatsch |
April |
Peg Sanford |
May |
Parents of Students |
June |
Nancy Woods, Jolene Jackson & Laura Latulippe |
July |
Ken Carls |
August |
No Cookies - Picnic |
September |
Janeen Fowler |
October |
Merle Malmquist & Paula Schultz |
November |
OPEN - REPLY TO THIS EMAIL if you can
help out. |
December |
No Cookies - Holiday Party |


Click on the picture for a higher resolution copy.
Our Bridges - The End
This series of bridge photos
ends with a birds-eye view of Douglas before the 1936 bridge.
In 1913, the highway through
Douglas and Saugatuck was part of the West Michigan Pike, which was
the first through "highway" along the shoreline of Lake Michigan.
The Pike came to life also to attract and meet the needs of tourists
flocking to west Michigan in the new-fangled automobile.
The black dots locate the
modern day route of the Blue Star Highway. Prior to 1936 the route
varied from time to time, but traffic was always on village streets
through the center of the town.
A quick study of the
birds-eye provides a better understanding of the "where and why" of
the Blue Star Highway. It simply follows a nicely curved arc from
the end of Wylie Road to meet the new bridge just twenty yards south
of the old swing bridge.
At first it was the M-11,
becoming M-31 in 1926 and finally named Blue Star in the early
1950s. Actually the Blue Star Memorial Highway is a designation for
the entire M-31 highway from the Indiana border to the Straits of
Mackinac. The name was established after WWII to honor our veterans.
Next month we will explore
the history [and mystery] of a different kind of bridge. Stay tuned.

Click on the picture for a higher resolution copy.
submitted by
jack.sheridan@gmail.com

Welcome from Jack Sheridan, leader of the Society Family History
Group. The Group meets on the first and third Thursday of every
month at 3:30 in the Old School House. This month, the second
meeting is delayed by vacation plans to February 23rd. Please join
us to see what we are all about and most importantly, share
"lessons learned" about the many tools available for family
research.
I'll repeat our offer to members from last month: Send to us
information on a person and we will find them for you [if
possible] in the U. S. Census.
Each month in this column we tell you about an exciting, family
history discovery. A family history discovery is called a EUREKA!
moment. This month we have one from Chris Yoder:
 |
In the October Newsletter I wrote about the 1933 Halloween
party held at Kemah by Shirle and Billy Springer, children of
the Kemah owners during the 1920's and 30's. Both parents died
in 1941, and brother Bill during WWII. It seemed I had reached
a dead end, |
when I located a childhood friend of Shirle's who reported
that she had died in Texas several years ago, and implied
there was no family remaining. I kept digging, hoping an
actual obituary might identify next of kin. Social Security
Death Records (available on Ancestry.com - which you can
access through SDHS or the Public library in Douglas) helped
me identify her date and county of death. I emailed the
reference desk at a local public library asking about an
obituary, but had no reply. Then I visited the "Genweb" site
for the county (by searching the internet for the county and
state name and then the word "Genweb"). Much like our SDHS
On-line Research page, the county "Genweb" site is a
aggregation of collected local history and a gathering place
for local researchers. Posting an inquiry led me to the
archives of the Ft. Worth newspaper and for a small fee, I was
reading a copy of Shirle's obituary. There was her story:
"Shirle Springer Maines was born in
Chicago , died Wednesday, July 9, 2003, age 78, in Fort Worth.
During her early years, she was fortunate in acquiring
horsemanship skills and dog breeding and exhibition
experience. She also enjoyed very extensive travels with her
parents, both in America and abroad. She attended Stephens
College in Missouri, and later toured both U.S. and
international venues as a rodeo performer, specializing in
acrobatic trick riding.
"After settling in the Fort Worth area, she spent many years
as a program director for the Fort Worth YMCA, where she was
one of the early instructors in the "Mom & Tots" program,
providing basic swimming instruction for women and their young
children ---"
"The obituary goes on to give the name of a surviving
daughter! And soon I was in contact with her and she began to
share some of the family photos and stories.

William and Alys Springer, Shirle and Billy

Shirle's Rodeo Days |

Shirle with Friend |
"I had not found Saugatuck friends who ever remembered
Shirle returning after the death of her parents. Her daughter
believes this may have been true, recalling that several times
her mother had talked about planning to meet some friends here
as a part of a trip back to visit them in New York, but that
she never did make that happen. The daughter, however, not
only visited Saugatuck in August 1995, but stayed at the Kemah
B&B, sleeping in her mother's old room!" |
Contact me at:
jack.sheridan@gmail.com
or 269 857-7144.
|