SPRING 2006 The Norton Family - In This Issue 142 Years in...

The Norton Family -142 Years in YpsilantiBy Austin, Dorothy, Cindy and Dennis Norton

Official publication of the Ypsilanti Historical Society, featuring historical articles and reminiscesof the people and places in the Ypsilanti area.

In This Issue...

The Norton Family –142 Years in Ypsilanti ____________Diaries written by Sarah Jane Knapp Norton be-ginning in 1864 provide insight into the earlyyears of life in our city.

Lost Ypsilanti – The Malt House ___At the beginning of the Twentieth Century theMalt House was the tallest structure on the city’snortheast side.

Community Education atEastern Michigan University _______Faculty at Eastern Michigan University played amajor roll in the development of communityeducation programs throughout the United States.

Patrick Roger (P.R.) Cleary ________P.R. Cleary was only 25 when he arrived inYpsilanti in 1883.

Ypsilanti Tot makes a“Friend” of His Hero ____________Bob Willoughby meets his hero, Thomas Edison,at the “Light’s Golden Jubilee.

Interesting Factsabout the Prohibition Era _________Michigan was one of the first states to vote inprohibition and the first state to repeal it.

Edd Dykman and“The Handy Store” ______________Everyone in Ypsilanti shopped at “The HandyStore” and all the patrons knew and respectedEdd Dykman.

Finds: The Fletcher White ArchivesMr. Russell Steere took this interesting picture of thehouse at 219 South Huron Street over 60 years ago.

Interesting Factsfrom the Prohibition Era _________Michigan was one of the first states to vote inprohibition and Detroit was the first major city inthe country to go “dry.”

Society Briefs:From the President’s Desk _________Museum & Archive Hours ________News from the Fletcher WhiteArchives _______________________Membership Application _________Report from the MuseumAdvisory Board _________________Advertising/Sponsor Application ___

SPRING 2006

continued on page 3

The Norton family is fortunate to havediaries written by Sarah Jane KnappNorton. The diaries, starting in 1864and ending with Sarah’s death in 1906,detail the everyday life of the times, andmake possible the following brief historyof the Norton family’s early years in Yp-silanti. These diaries have been put onDVD disks by Sarah’s great great grandson,Dennis Norton and a set has been donatedto the Ypsilanti Historical Society Archives.

Toward the end of the Civil War, Austinand Sarah Jane Knapp Norton and theiryoung son Charles got the “western fever”as it was called then, and migrated west-ward from Sharon Springs, New York.They arrived in Ypsilanti on March 10,1864, to the open arms of Sarah’s motherwho had already moved to Ypsilanti someyears before. Sarah’s father, Lucius Knapphad passed away sometime prior to 1862,and Sarah’s mother, Zada Jones Knapp thenmarried Timothy Showerman a member ofanother long time Ypsilanti family. Timo-thy was the widower of Zada’s sister Eunice.Also living in Ypsilanti at the time Sarahand Austin came from New York were twoof Sarah’s aunts, Lucinda Jones Casey, andMary Jones Elliott. Lucinda was the wifeof Sam Casey who had a large farm onProspect near Clark Road, and Mary wasthe wife of Parmer Elliott. A third aunt,Eunice Jones had married TimothyShowerman and was living in Ypsilanti atthe time of her death in 1862.

As was not too uncommon in those times,Zada, the widow of Lucius Knapp, andTimothy, the widower of Zada’s sister

Eunice, married in 1862 and were living inYpsilanti in 1864. It is interesting to notethat Nathalie Elliot Edmunds, a wellknown Ypsilantian, is a direct descendantof Mary Jones Elliot. So at one point inthe late 1850s and early 1860s, four of theJones sisters, Zada, Eunice, Mary andLucinda were all living in Ypsilanti, havingmoved there some years before fromAmsterdam, New York, just west of Albany.

After moving to Ypsilanti, Austin Nortonworked as a stone and brick mason con-structing cellars and chimneys. He builtthe foundations for many buildings whichare still in existence. The diaries list thenames of many well known Ypsilanti fami-lies for whom Austin built foundations

1896 – Sarah Jane Norton withgrandchildren.

2Ypsilanti Gleanings • Spring 2006

From the President’s DeskBy Alvin E. Rudisill

Board of Trustees:Virginia Davis-BrownWard FreemanKathryn HowardGerald JenningsKaren NickelsJohn PappasAlvin RudisillDiane SchickBob Southgate

Museum Advisory Board:Virginia Davis-BrownKathleen CampbellGrace CornishMidge FahndrichKathryn HowardDorothy HumphreyJack LivisayKaren NickelsJoy ShulkeBob Southgate

Archives Advisory Board:Morrell BooneMaria DavisGerald JenningsJohn PappasMarcia PhillipsHank PrebysJane SchmiedekeLisa Walters

Endowment FundAdvisory Board:Peter FletcherWard FreemanMike JamesPaul KuwikDan MaloneyJack MinzeyKaren NickelsSteve PierceJohn SalcauMartha SpencerAlvin Rudisill

YpsilantiHistorical Society220 North Huron StreetYpsilanti, Michigan 48197Telephone: 734-482-4990www.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org

This is our fifth issue of the newly format-ted “Ypsilanti Gleanings.” We have had agreat deal of positive response to our newformat and expanded content and we ap-preciate all the contributions made by au-thors and the volunteers. We also want toacknowledge our advertisers and sponsorswhose financial support makes this publi-cation possible. If you are interested inwriting an article for the Gleanings orwould like us to include articles on a spe-cific topic please contact me.

We are in the process of negotiating withthe City of Ypsilanti to purchase the mu-seum and archives property at 220-224North Huron Street. The purchase ofthe property by the Society would enableus to expend funds on deferred mainte-nance to the buildings and property.Any such agreement would include a“Right of Reversion” clause so that if theSociety stopped using the property as amuseum or archives the City would havethe right to buy back the property at thesame price it was sold to the Society. Weare all interested in preserving the his-torical artifacts and written records of thepeople and places in Ypsilanti and thesurrounding area and the transfer ofownership of the property to the Societyseems to be a win-win situation for boththe Society and the City.

In the next few months we will need toempty the basement of the Museum so

work can be done on the foundationwalls and the support wall

Thanks to all the volunteers who regu-larly change the displays in the museumand who plan and conduct special eventsand displays such as the UndergroundRailroad, Art Show, Quilt Exhibit andLost Ypsilanti Speaks. The hundreds ofhours of effort by these individuals makethe museum an interesting and educa-tional place for all of us.

The Archives continues to be a busyplace with visitors from all over theUnited States who are doing family gene-alogy research. We are also receivingmany inquiries from visitors to our website and Gerry Pety, archivist, is keptbusy following up on requests for specificinformation about family members whoonce lived in Ypsilanti.

We are always in need of volunteers.The duties include a wide variety ofpossibilities such as serving as a docentin the Museum, researching articles forthe Gleanings, assisting with the writingof grant applications or helping withmaintenance of the building andgrounds. If you would like to volunteerplease give me a call at 734-484-3023or email me at [email protected]. I willrefer you to the appropriate team leaderfor assignment. ■

3www.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org • Spring 2006

and in some instances entire buildings.These include Elliott, Gilmore, Kirk,Cornwell, Dusbiber, Meanwell, Bassett,Lamb, Ellis, Lawrence and more.

With no television, no telephones, noradios and no shopping malls, the sociallife of the times consisted mostly of visit-

1866 - Sarah’s husband Austin, she calledhim Aut. He was born in 1836.

1889 – Frank Norton attended the NormalSchool and graduated with a teaching degree.

The Norton Family - 142 Yearsin Ypsilanti - continued fromfront page

ing friends and relatives, and entertainingthem in their homes for tea and/or din-ner. Many times a visit a short distanceout of town would necessitate stayingovernight as they evidently did not careto travel after dark. Visits in the after-noon often consisted of visiting a friendand leaving a calling card or perhaps stay-ing for tea.

The weekly activities of the churchesplayed an important role in their lives.The women of the family also had a verybusy schedule washing clothes, ironing,baking bread, sewing garments, etc.Tending the garden was another impor-tant task, providing family with freshfruits and vegetables as well as flowers forthe parlor. It seems they made almostdaily trips downtown to the grocer for apound of butter (18 cents), to the postoffice, milliner, meat market and to themill. During one snowy winter day Sa-rah walked downtown and saw men rac-ing their horse drawn sleighs up anddown Adams and Washington Streets. Itseems as though times never change asnow it is cars that race down Adams andWashington.

Austin and Sarah’s second son Frank wasborn June 1, l867. After Charles andFrank graduated from high school, theirfather taught them the art of masonry.Now father and sons could work as ateam enabling them to take on jobs notonly in Ypsilanti but in surroundingtowns including Chelsea, Dexter and Sa-line. Records show they worked on theTraining School at Normal, as well as theYpsilanti Methodist and PresbyterianChurches. They built the Ypsilanti Con-gregational Church and finished thetower in time for a July 25, 1899 dedica-tion. An engraved stone plaque still re-mains on the north side of the building,visible from Emmet Street. It reads“Norton Brothers, Builders” and alsonames the architect. In Chelsea, theNorton Brothers built the stone Method-ist Church and the bank, both of whichare still standing today. Austin was wellknown in the community and was electedAlderman on the Prohibition Ticket.continued on page 19


Lost Ypsilanti-The MaltHouseBy Marcia D. Phillips

At the beginning of the Twentieth Cen-tury it was the tallest structure on thecity’s northeast side but a century later itis just a low wall. The Malt House thatonce stood at 111 East Forest Avenue isgone except for a small block buildingand partial wall on the northeast cornerof Bob and Jan Anschuetz’ neighboringproperty, and parts of the foundationburied under grass. But for over fortyyears, its brick three stories dwarfed thesmaller surrounding houses and emptyfields where Dwight, Stanley andHemphill streets are now.

The Malt House was a tribute toYpsilanti’s booming business culture inthe late 1800s and one man’s ambition inparticular. Frederick J. Swaine had comein 1871 to Michigan from Dorset in En-gland where he had been raised in acastle, albeit as an orphan. He left hispersonal circumstances behind him,shrouded in secrecy, but he was clearlynot a penniless orphan as his resourcesenabled him to visit friends inYpsilanti,

relocate here, marry, build a large homeand invest in a small business allowing itto improve significantly, all within a fewyears. In the land where the self-mademan was the measure of success, thisyoung man found success on every side,in business and also his personal life.

Frederick married Eliza George, daughterof George George (yes, that was his realname) who had been deeded the prop-erty on the corner of North River Streetand East Forest Avenue when the PeckPrimary School had relocated from therein 1866. (In fact, the old school build-ing was later incorporated into the MaltHouse.) He entered into the business ofmaking malt (a necessary ingredient inthe production of beer), a business al-ready in operation, with brothers-in-lawWorger George and Leonard C.Wallington (married to Eliza’s sister Car-rie). Swaine quickly became the soleowner. He dreamed big, enlarging theMalt House until it measured 50 x 94feet in dimension and built a two storybrick Italianate home beside it (stillstanding at 101 East Forest) practicallythe same year he got married. Swainethen identified himself on stationery as a“Malster” and “Dealer in Barley, Maltand Hops,” skills that he must havelearned even as he began in the business.

The malt business thrived; output in-creased from 11,000 bushels in 1874 toA Malt House sign revised to show that Swaine had taken over sole ownership.

Right: Frederick J. Swaine.

Below: The Malt House at 955Sheridan Street.


Interesting Facts about theProhibition EraBy Gerry Pety

The prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages atthe national level was to cease on January 6, 1920, through the passage by congress ofthe Volstead Act. However, Michigan was one of the first states to vote in prohibitionand by 1910, 36 of Michigan’s 83 counties were already dry and more than 7,000saloons and 10 breweries had been forced out of business. On November 7, 1916,Michigan voted “dry” and Detroit was the first major city in America to go dry.

With the demise of commercial brewing, home brewing continued to grow inspite of the fact that police closed down hundreds of home brewing operationsand restrictions were placed on the distribution of brewing ingredients. The emer-gence of home brewing was reminiscent of colonial times and techniques for mak-ing beer were relearned and improved. Making beer had once again become afamily endeavor and Michigan and Ohio quickly became the center for large scalesmuggling of ingredients as well as brewed beer.

It is estimated that 75% of the liquor smuggled into the U.S. during prohibitionarrived along a route from the mouth of the Lake Erie and St. Claire Rivers, nick-named the “Windsor-Detroit Funnel.” Lake St. Claire itself and the Detroit Riverare dotted with many small islands which, with a short transit of less than a mile,were a smugglers paradise. Lake St. Claire was often referred to as the Jewish Lakebecause of the quantities of “hooch” being brought over the border by “ThePurple Gang,” a Jewish mobster group of the period.

Stroh’s brought to market “Hopped Malt Syrup” with a label stating “Baking, Con-fections and Beverages with a Rich Bohemian Hop Flavor, Light or Dark.” This didnot sound like advertising for making cookies. Another popular item that came onthe market was a “Bottle Capper” that could be used for the application of “crown”type caps used in the making of root beer. The machine sold for about $2.00 andusually came with a large quantity of caps so consumers could get a head start on thenew process. The directions that came along with the machine indicated the prod-uct was “not to be used with ingredients such as malt, dried hops, yeast and water.”

Part of President Roosevelt’s platform in 1932 revolved around the repeal of theVolstead Act which many feel really helped in his election. Eventually on that glo-rious day, December 5, 1933, it was again legal to produce and distribute beer na-tionwide. President Roosevelt was one of the first to taste legal brew on that dateas brewers were allowed to “gear up” for production months in advance. ■

40,000 bushels in 1880. The first side-walk in the city ran in front of theSwaine home and Malt House (the localcows preferred this sidewalk and had tobe constantly chased off it when beingherded toward the river bank by localboy Frank Lidke) and the residence wasamong the first to have electricity intown. Swaine became a local leader inbusiness and politics and enthusiasticallyparticipated in theatrical productions.But he died suddenly in April 1897,leaving a widow and two young daugh-ters (two sons had died very young), not

city’s oldest landmarks in a story aboutits upcoming demolition on the frontpage, right next to coverage of the deathof Clara Barton, another icon of the pre-vious century gone. The article sug-gested that the Malt House be“preserved” . . . in pictures that is, as in-deed it was before it was torn down.The story disappeared quickly as well

as adept as he perhaps was at running theoperation. The administrator of his es-tate, local banker Robert Hemphill, pub-lished in the newspaper that he wouldcontinue to honor commitments by buy-ing barley and manufacturing malt, butthat must have been a temporary solu-tion. Fire insurance maps of 1909 showthat a large portion of the Malt Housewas being used for the storage of ladders,no doubt for the young Michigan LadderCompany down the street. Anyway, Pro-hibition was a growing movement and itmust have been obvious that the maltindustry was ultimately doomed.

Within a few years, the property was soldto George Jackson, a local carpenter, whodemolished the Malt House, planninginitially to build two dwellings on thesite with the bricks from it. Ultimatelythe bricks were used to build the Wrigleystore on Michigan Avenue. Eventuallyone dwelling, a Sears kit home, was builton the lot in 1927 by newlyweds Frankand Kitty Lidke.

The April 13, 1912 Ypsilanti Daily Pressdescribed the Malt House as one of the

however, as coverage of the sinking of theTitanic eclipsed it on the front pages ofsuccessive newspapers. Largeness alonecould prevent neither a new ship nor oldlandmark from disappearing into history.

All information has been gleaned from theresources of the Ypsilanti Historical SocietyArchives and Bob and Jan Anschuetz. ■

“In the land where the self-

made man was the measure of

success, this young man found

success on every side, in busi-

ness and also his personal life.”


CommunityEducation atEasternMichiganUniversityBy Jack D. Minzey

Community education is an educationalconcept that became prominent in theearly 1900’s in several places throughoutthe United States, and indeed, through-out the world. It fostered programswhich combined recreational activitieswith the public schools. Outstandingprograms developed in Arthursdale, WestVirginia; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Missis-sippi (The Tennessee Valley Authority);Georgia; Kentucky; Nambe, NewMexico; and the Philippine Islands. Pro-fessionals associated with this movementincluded John Dewey, Elsie Clapp, CalosJohnson, Maurice Seay, DorotheaEnderis, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

One of these professionals was a mannamed Wilbur Bowen. Professor Bowenwas a faculty member at Michigan StateNormal College, and he wove this con-cept into the classes which he taught andinto his writings. In 1924, BingoBrown, the dean of men and anotherlegend at Michigan State Normal Col-lege, persuaded his brother in law, FrankManley, to come to Ypsilanti to get hiscollege education. Frank wanted to be aphysical education teacher, and hischoice of profession put him in constantcontact with Professor Bowen and hisphilosophies. When Frank graduated in1927, he was given a job in the FlintSchool System as a physical educationteacher where he continued to promotethe community education ideas which hehad learned from Professor Bowen.

One of the people intrigued by Frank’sideas was Charles Stewart Mott. Mr.Mott was an influential industrialist and apolitician. Fortuitously, he was also the

largest stockholder in General Motors andwas thus able to add financial assistance toFrank’s ideas. He originally gave Frank$6,000 to develop community educationin six elementary schools. This eventuallyled to placing a full time community edu-cator in each of the Flint schools and thedevelopment of the premier communityeducation laboratory in the world. Theconcept grew from one of recreation tochanges in the school curriculum, maxi-mum use of school facilities by the com-munity, programs for adults, coordinationof community agencies and the develop-ment of community councils. Soon, over16,000 people a year were coming to visitthe Flint Program.

Frank realized that there was a need forprofessional training of his communityschool directors, and he turned to hisalma mater to provide this training. In1950, Michigan State Normal Collegehired Dr. Fred Totten for the expresspurpose of providing graduate training

for the directors in Flint. Flint was des-ignated as a residential center, and in theensuing years, every community schooldirector in Flint possessed a graduate de-gree from MSNC.

However, as community education beganto expand to other communities acrossthe country, Flint began to lose itstrained directors. Frank then conceivedthe idea of a leadership-training programwhich would involve seven MichiganUniversities with Eastern Michigan Uni-versity being one of these. The plan wasto identify 50 people who demonstratedgreat leadership skills and bring them toFlint where they could spend a year earn-ing advanced degrees and also becomingcommunity education experts. The ideawas that then, as these young people pur-sued successful careers in education, theywould practice their professions based onthe principles of community education.To make this program attractive, the sti-pend for the participants was equal to

Donna Schmitt Jackie Tracy John Fallon

Professor Wilbur Bowen Frank Manley Jack Minzey


the salary of a school superintendent.This program, dubbed the Mott InternProgram, gained national renown andemployers lined up to hire its graduates

Frank’s next idea was to franchise commu-nity education through universities acrossthe country. These community educationcenters were to develop programs regard-ing dissemination, implementation, andtraining related to community education,and they were to have seed monies for thepurpose of financially motivating schooldistricts, universities and state depart-ments of education to get involved incommunity education. There were eightoriginal centers of which Eastern was one.This number was later increased to sixteenand included institutions such as the Uni-versity of Oregon, Arizona State, Univer-sity of New Mexico, Texas A and M,University of Connecticut, University ofVirginia, Florida Atlantic, and the Univer-sity of Alabama. This number was thenexpanded into cooperative centers witheach original center given the responsibil-ity to develop satellite centers. Eastern’sterritory for development was southeast-ern Michigan, northern Ohio, Pennsylva-nia and western New York, and thecooperating centers which Eastern devel-oped were Kent State, Syracuse, IndianaUniversity (Pa.), Shippensburg, and theDepartments of Education in New York,Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

One of the driving forces in perpetuatingEastern’s role in community educationwas President Harold Sponberg. He usedhis influence to convince the Mott Foun-dation to take the community educationcenter at Oakland University and give itto Eastern. He strongly believed in thecommunity education philosophy andwillingly gave his time to communityeducation activities, including givingspeeches at several community educationconferences. He used university resourcesto manage Mott funds for their intern-ship and other training programs. Healso financially supported the NationalCommunity Education Association, espe-cially during the year when the federal taxlaws caused the Mott Foundation towithdraw their financial support. It istrue that President Sponberg visualized aMott-Manley College of Education

building, but he was truly a communityeducator at heart.

Legendary AccomplishmentsEastern’s role in community educationthen became legend, including the fol-lowing accomplishments.• Literally hundreds of school districts

in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York andCanada were impacted by the Easterncenter through in-service and training.

• Almost every school district in south-eastern Michigan received servicefrom Eastern and most received finan-cial assistance.

• Eastern had the most sophisticatedgraduate training program in thecountry. In l975, a survey by theMott Foundation discovered that 75%of the Community School Directorsin the U.S. had received their trainingfrom Eastern.

• Eastern was instrumental in getting abasic community education class aspart of the Michigan Administrator’sCertification.

• In l972, Eastern housed the NationalCommunity Education Association, andEastern became the first institution totake out an institutional membership.

• John Porter, the former president ofEastern, has served on the Mott Foun-dation Board for the past ten years.

• Eastern awarded an honorary doctoraldegree to Harding Mott and to BillWhite, the current president of theMott Foundation.

• Eastern has employed more commu-nity education trained personnel thanany other institution in the UnitedStates. That list includes Jack Minzey,Clyde LeTarte, Bill Kromer, PeteClancy, Jim Satterfield, Bill Hetrick,Jackie Tracy, Art McCafferty, GeorgeKliminski, Tom Anderson, DonnaSchmitt, Orv Kabat, and DuaneBrown. All individuals in this grouphave been Mott Interns.

Career HighlightsSome of the highlights of these Easterneducation trained personnel, other thanbeing on Eastern’s staff, are:• Jack Minzey - Director of the Center

for Community Education at Eastern,continued on page 8


guished service award from the na-tional association, Director of theCenter for Community Education atthe University of West Florida, Direc-tor of Community Education at Mis-sissippi Southern University.

• Bill Kromer - President of the Michi-gan Community Education Associa-tion, Director of the National Centerfor Community Education, Directorof Community Education at the Ha-zel Park Community Schools.

• Pete Clancy - Assistant Superinten-dent for Community Education inFlint and then became General Super-intendent, Director of the Commu-nity Education Institute at Eastern.

• George Kliminski - Center Directorfor Community Education at KentState, Director of Community Educa-tion at the University of Wisconsin,acting executive secretary of the Na-tional Community Education Associa-tion, recipient of the distinguishedservice award from the national orga-nization, elected to the NationalCommunity Education Hall of Fame.

• Duane Brown - Director of the Na-tional Center for Community Educa-tion, recipient of the distinguishedservice award from the national orga-nization, elected to the NationalCommunity Education Hall of Fame.

• Jim Satterfield - developed a commu-nity education training program at theUniversity of Kansas.

• Orv Kabat - Director of CommunityEducation for Rudyard, Michigan,President of the Michigan Commu-nity Education Association.

• Art McCafferty – Director of Com-munity Education at Grand Rapids,Michigan

• Tom Anderson - developed a commu-nity education training program atFerris State University

All of these people have gone on to othersuccesses, which have includeddeanships, college vice-presidents, collegepresidents, college professors, and theMichigan House of Representatives.

Community education remained rela-tively strong at Eastern until about 1992.After that date, the programs and services

Board Member, President, and Trea-surer of the National Community Edu-cation Association, board member ofthe Michigan Community School Asso-ciation and one of original eight peopleinvolved in founding that organization,member of the Editorial Board of theCommunity Education Journal, recipi-ent of two distinguished service awardsfrom each of the national and statecommunity education associations, au-thor of over 100 published articles oncommunity education, presenter ofover 500 keynote speeches throughoutthe United States and six foreign coun-tries, contributor to 11 communityeducation books, and co-author ofthree community education text books,elected to the National CommunityEducation Hall of Fame.

• Clyde LeTarte - Associate Director forthe Community Education Center atEastern, one of the founders of theNational Community Education As-sociation, first president of the Na-tional Community EducationAssociation, executive secretary of theNational Community Education As-sociation, recipient of the distin-guished service award from theNational Community Education As-sociation and co-author of the threemain texts in community education.

• Donna Schmitt - Associate Directorand Director of the Community Edu-cation Center at Eastern, authorednumerous community education ar-ticles, editor of a book on communityeducation, president of theWashtenaw County Community Edu-cation Association.

• Jackie Tracy - Board of Directors ofthe Michigan Community EducationAssociation, first woman President ofthe Michigan Community EducationAssociation, Director of CommunityEducation for the Chelsea Schools.

• Bill Hetrick - Associate Director of theCenter for Community Education atEastern, distinguished service awardsfrom the Florida and Mississippi com-munity education associations, distin-

Continuing Education atEastern Michigan University -continued from page 7

continued on page 9


began to decline. Materials were dis-carded, the center ceased to operate andthe training program was greatly diluted.It did appear that the community educa-tion era at Eastern was reaching its end.

However, in the spring of 2005, a signifi-cant thing happened at Eastern that en-hances the reputation of EasternMichigan University related to Commu-nity Education and portends possibilitiesfor the future. John Fallon was appointedPresident of Eastern Michigan University.John is a former Mott Intern and was ac-tually in that program twice. He was laterthe community school director atGalesburg, Illinois and was a CommunityEducation professional at Ball State Uni-versity, which was one of the original six-teen community education centers. Hewas President of the National Commu-nity Education Association in 1979.

His wife, Sidney, was also a Mott Internon two occasions and actually was in theEastern Michigan University cohortgroup. She holds an Eastern MichiganUniversity Master’s Degree in CommunityEducation. She also served as President ofthe National Community Education Asso-ciation in 1980. In addition, she has awealth of experience in community educa-tion. She was Program Associate forCommunity Education in the Flint Labo-ratory which was involved in the trainingof community educators. She also heldpositions as the Director of Training at theMidwest Community Education Develop-ment Center at the University of Missouriat St. Louis, Director of Research andTraining at the Community EducationCenter at Ball State, and Interim ExecutiveDirector of the National CommunityEducation Association.

It is not likely that there is another institu-tion in the United States that could matchthe record of the number of outstandingemployees at Eastern Michigan Universitywith a background in Community Educa-tion, and more particularly, have a historyof training as Mott Interns. ■

Patrick Roger Cleary, known in Yp-silanti as “P.R.” arrived in Ypsilanti in1883. He chose not to use his givenname in this country because of all the“Paddy and Mike” jokes in fashion atthat time.

P.R. was born in Nenagh, Ireland in1858. When he was eight years oldboth of his parents died. His father hadbeen stock manager on the Tuthill es-tate bordering the river Shannon.When he and his younger sister, Annie,were orphaned, the Tuthill family tookthem in and cared for them for twoyears. During these years they receivedthe education of English childrenwhich was not available to the Irish.When P .R. was ten and Annie waseight, the Tuthills put them on a shipsailing to the United States to live withtheir older siblings who had emigratedyears earlier because of poor job pros-pects in Ireland.

The two children landed at New Yorkand then traveled to Hubbardston,Michigan where P.R. worked for a timein the lumber camps and later attendedgrade school in town. He managed tofinish grade school in two years andthen went to the area high school,again finishing in two years. After againworking, he applied to attendValparaiso University in Indiana wherehe studied business subjects, all taughtin a most practical method. He becamevery proficient in penmanship. Thiswas most important in business at thattime for it was well before the inven-tion of the typewriter.

After graduation from Valparaiso, heset himself up as an itinerant penman-ship teacher. He would publish an adin many small town papers in LowerMichigan, and travel from one site toanother, setting up penmanship classes.In his travels, Ypsilanti struck him as aperfect place to settle, for he could also

teach at the Normal College (now East-ern Michigan University). In 1883 heopened his first class with two studentson a second floor space on the corner ofMichigan and Washington.

In 1885 he had enough funds to build anew college building at the corner ofMichigan and Adams. He developed aBoard of Trustees to advise him and helpfund the college. After he had settled inYpsilanti and built his college, P.R. re-sumed his courtship of Helen ClarkeJenks of St. Clair. She agreed to marryhim and moved to the house he hadbought at 11 North Normal Street. Theyboth became very involved in Ypsilantibusiness and social affairs. They also hadfour children, Charles, Marjorie, Ruthand Owen, all attended Cleary Collegeand the Normal College, later eachworked at Cleary College either as re-cruiters of students or teachers.

P.R. and Helen later sold their homeand moved to larger quarters at 7 NorthNormal, immediately next door. Helenwas an early and active member of theLadies Literary Club. She also was a gra-

Patrick Roger (P.R.) ClearyBy Ann Cleary Kettles (Grand Daughter)

Patrick Roger Cleary.

Continuing Education atEastern Michigan University -continued from page 8

continued on page 10


Groundbreaking for the second home for Cleary College occurred in 1958.

cious hostess to Cleary students attheir new home where college partieswere held.

P.R. continued to grow his college,adding courses in bookkeeping, ac-counting, shorthand, and later typing.During the early years of secretarialstudies, all students were required totake dictation from P.R. prior tograduation. He kept up with changesin the business world in order to keephis curriculum current. He met withYpsilanti businessmen and corre-sponded with men in Detroit, notablyJ.L. Hudson.

P.R. served as president of the collegefrom 1883 until he retired in 1938at the age of eighty and planned atrip to his homeland of Ireland. Hepurchased three tickets on a steam-ship, but Helen was ill and unable togo. The trip was planned for thesummer of 1938 when Ruth was notteaching and could go. With theother ticket left, P.R. invited Owen’swife’s sister Elizabeth to join them.He shipped a Ford car on the same

ship so as to have ground transportationfor their travels throughout Ireland.This of course was well before Hertz orAvis rental car services. He began thetour in Nenagh where he had beenborn, also the Tuthill estate where hehad been cared for, then Dublin wherehe visited Eamon deValera, Prime Min-ister of Ireland and the legislative housewhere he was recognized as an accom-plished Irish emigrant. He also traveledto England where he was introduced inthe House of Commons. He was happyto go to his “home of birth” and reflectupon the opportunities life in theUnited States had afforded him. The

The original Cleary College was built in 1885.

Continuing Education atEastern Michigan University -continued from page

following year Helen died leaving adeep void in his life.

In 1938 Owen J. Cleary, son of P.R. be-came President of the College and servedin that position until the United Statesentered World War II. Owen was re-quested by the Governor to form the“Michigan State Troops” after the call upof the Michigan National Guard in1942. P.R. again returned to the Collegeas President and turned his large houseinto four apartments in response to thehousing shortage in this area created bythe influx of personnel to operate thedefense plant at Willow Run Airportbuilding B-24 aircraft. He asked Owenand his family, Marie, Ann and Patrickto move into the apartment across thehall from him, as he was alone in a verylarge house and aging. P.R. remained asPresident of the College until the end ofwwII when he again retired and Owenreturned to the Presidency.

After His retirement he began writing ahistory of Cleary College and posed fora bronze bust which is now displayed atthe College, now “Cleary University.”P.R. died in 1948 at the age of 90, hav-ing left his mark and contributedgreatly to the lives of many studentsand friends. ■

NOTE: For more information on ClearyCollege, read the History of Cleary Collegeby Nancy Snyder, available in the Histori-cal Museum Archives.


A young Bob Willoughby on Collegewood Street in Ypsilanti.

Ypsilanti Totmakes a“friend” ofHis Hero!By Tom Dodd

Bob Willoughby can say of ThomasEdison, “He is my friend.” OCTO-BER 21, 1929: Light’s Golden Jubileesaw such guests at U.S. PresidentHerbert Hoover, John D. Rockefeller,Jr., J.P. Morgan, Madam MarieCurie, Orville Wright, Will Rogers,and Ypsilanti’s ten-year-old BobWilloughby. Henry Ford had invitedBob Willoughby’s grandfather JohnRiggs to the ceremony to commemo-rate the 50th anniversary of Edison’sinvention of the electric light. Edisonhad long been young Bob’s hero andgrandfather Riggs took him along tothe event which also marked thegrand opening of Dearborn’sGreenfield Village.

Willoughby was in the crowd of morethan 500 that morning when a specialsteam locomotive brought Edison, Ford,and President Hoover to Greenfield Vil-

Village), Edison napped nearby at Ford’sFair Lane estate.

The Museum galleries were ready just intime for the evening festivities and thenation listened eagerly to the radiobroadcast of the commemorative events.NBC Radio broadcaster GrahamMcNamee reported “Imagine the check-ered effect of black and white evening dress,the brilliant splashes of color provided bythe uniforms of military attaches and thegreat stylists of Paris and Fifth Avenue ...Ihave attended many celebrations, but Icannot recall even attempting to describeone staged in a more perfect setting.”

After the formal banquet, Edison, Fordand Hoover went to the Village portionof the museum to the reconstructedMenlo Lab where they recreated the

lighting of the first electric lamp.McNamee narrated, “Mr. Edison has twowires in his hand; now he is reaching up tothe old lamp; now he is making the connec-tion... It lights! Light’s Golden Jubilee hascome to a triumphant climax.” That cli-max may have been greater thanMcNamee and his listeners could imag-ine. A ten-year-old in that vast audiencewas about to meet his childhood hero.

As the museum’s Independence Hall fa-cade was bathed in miraculous light, aplane flew by with the word “ Edison”and the dates “79” and “29” illuminatedunder the wings. Museum archivist TerryHoover tells of car horns sounding, lightsflashing on and off, and the world bath-ing itself in electric light in tribute toEdison. Terry Hoover said, “Peoplecontinued on page 12

lage for the ceremonies. Bob knew theSmiths Creek station was the one whereEdison had been kicked off the train forselling newspapers as a youth. The day’sfestivities included a tour of the FordRouge plant. While Bob and grandfatherRiggs ate with the public at the formerClinton Inn (now Eagle Tavern in the

“...I can only say to you thatin the fullest and richestmeaning of the term, He is myfriend...”


huddled around their radios, plunged intonear darkness, using only candles or gaslamps for light, waiting for Edison’s success-ful re-creation as a cue to turn on theirlights as part of the celebration. Smalltowns and large cities put on elaborate lightdisplays.”

“After the reenactment, Ford, Hooverand Edison returned to the museum tohear Edison’s speech, accolades from Ma-dame Curie and President Hoover, and aradio address by Albert Einstein broad-cast from Germany. Henry Ford, notwishing to steal the spotlight from hisfriend, did not speak or allow photo-graphs at the evening ceremony.”

Grandfather Riggs, worked his way to thestage with his young grandson in tow,gaining access to his old friend, HenryFord. Ford understood their quest andintroduced the lad to the evening’s hon-oree. “I remember that he seemed terriblyold to me. He was wearing a rumpled suitand looked very tired. He cupped his ear tohear me and asked what I planned to dowith my life,” says 86-year-oldWilloughby. “That was what older people

Bob Willoughby at 84.

did when they met youngsters in those days.”

Willoughby did not disappoint the hon-ored guest. “I’m going to be a foot doctor,”he announced.

And he did. Dr. Robert Willoughby is aretired podiatrist, two years older nowthan Thomas Edison was at the time oftheir meeting. Edison passed away twoyears after the Jubilee event (ThomasAlva Edison: b.1847, d.1931 - 84 years).Bob Willoughby at 86 years of age is stillattending the morning coffee group ses-sions in Ypsilanti.

Archivist Hoover points out, “The artifactsand buildings Ford gathered for his indoorand outdoor museums, now known collec-tively as The Henry Ford, have told stories ofAmerican innovation for 75 years. They willcontinue to inspire countless generations tocome.” Bob Willoughby is still inspired.

Bob Willoughby and Gleanings readerscan hear a recording of that night’s wordsfrom Thomas Edison via the Henry FordWeb site: www.thehenryford.org.

“Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen: Iam told that tonight my voice will reachout to the four corners of the world. It isan unusual opportunity for me to expressmy deep appreciation and thanks to you

A special U.S. postal stamp was issued tocommemorate the Jubilee.

all for the countless evidences of yourgood will. I thank you from the bottomof my heart.

I would be embarrassed at the honorsthat are being heaped upon me on thisunforgettable night, were it not for thefact that in honoring me you are alsohonoring that vast army of thinkers andworkers of the past and those who willcarry on, without whom my work wouldhave gone for nothing.

If I have spurred men to greater efforts,and if our work has widened the horizonof thousands of men and given even alittle a measure of happiness in thisworld, I am content.

This experience makes me realize asnever before that Americans are senti-mental, and this great event, Light’sGolden Jubilee, fills me with gratitude.

I thank our President and you all, and Mr.Henry Ford. Words are inadequate to ex-press my feelings. I can only say to youthat in the fullest and richest meaning ofthe term, He is my friend. Good night.”

Bob Willoughby can say the same thingtoday when remembering that greatevent: “Thomas Edison? I knew him. Hewas my friend.” ■

Ypsilanti Tot makes a “friend”of His Hero - continued frompage 11

Edison recreated his first successful electriclight at the Jubilee.


Report from the MuseumAdvisory BoardBy Virginia Davis-Brown andKathryn Howard

Even though the Museum was closed during January, the Museum was very busy.The exhibits all had to be changed, the Christmas Holiday decorations were putaway and it was a good time to inventory “throw away and save.” Also, we con-ducted one tour during the month.

We thank Irene Jameson for lending her wonderful collection of small lamps to themuseum for display. Most of us never realized there were so many different kinds.It is people like her who are willing to share their display that help make the mu-seum so interesting.

One of the four new exhibits arranged was the new Underground Railroad exhibitfeaturing the Aray Family generations, Starkweather home, Day, Harwood farms andmany others. What chances they took! Would we be willing to get involved today?

The upstairs showcase features a display of beautiful antique china and crystal.The display of antique china hand-painted French plates are from the MichaelMiller Collection.

The antique amethyst fruit dishes are from our own collection coming from theBabbitt Collection given by Mr. and Mrs. Courtland Sneiker several years ago.The beautiful ambedina pitcher and the other pitcher of cranberry glass are fromMrs. Helen Marshall. Plate and cup and saucer china are all from our collections.The bobbin lace pieces were made by Kathleen Campbell.

The two glass tables on the first floor contain an exhibit of leather postcards and acollection of fountain pens, both from Kathryn Howard’s Collection.

The Interurban showcase now features a piece of rail from the tracks on WashingtonStreet dug up when the City redid the street in 2004-2005. These exhibits were allassembled by Karen Nickels and Kathryn Howard. The Valentines of Ellen Gouldwere displayed during February for the Quarterly Meeting. We are now looking for-ward to the Art Show during April 6-23. The “Art Show Open House” will be heldon April 9 from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm. Thirty-one artists have been invited to dis-play their art. We look forward to a wonderful show as in previous years.

“Lost Ypsilanti Speaks” will start on July 16 and run through August 6. This year wewill feature all new sites. The Quilt Exhibit is a few months away but why not get iton your calendar now so you won’t miss it! Last year we had over 100 quilts on dis-play. Dates for the quilt exhibit are September 28 through October 15. If you have aquilt and would like to display it please contact us.

We are still in need of Docents. If you can spare 2-3 hours per month we will trainyou. You will have the opportunity to meet some interesting people from all overthe world.

Several tours have been scheduled through April. Our new Tour Chairman isNancy Wheeler.

June 3rd is our Yard Sale, so please bring your ‘treasures’ to the Museum. On orafter June 1st you may drop them off at Bill and Karen Nickels’ at 311 N. WallaceBlvd. where the sale will be held. Thank you, Bill and Karen.

You can see the Museum has been busy and we welcome back the ‘Snow Birds’. ■


News from theFletcher WhiteArchivesBy Gerry Pety

What a weird and wonderful winter wehave had at the archives. It started verycold and then became almost spring-likein January and February. Seems that ev-eryday was a complete surprise eitherbecause of the weather or the peoplethat came from all over the UnitedStates to visit. I know that the springweather will bring even more peoplefrom distant places to our doorstep.Now we only have to convince ourmembers who live locally to come andvisit. We have even had producers fromPBS who are doing documentaries aboutthis Ypsilanti area. They found the ar-chives rich in information and picturesfrom the past. So break in those expen-sive sneakers you got from Santa Clausand run on down to the archives! We areopen Mondays and Wednesdays from

Fletcher White ArchivesBy Gerry Pety

Every once in a while you come across something that at the time it was produced wastruly unappreciated or recognized. Such it was with a very striking photograph takenmany years ago, sometime in the late 1930’s or early 1940’s. It was taken by what ap-pears to be a “medium format” camera. A camera that either used a fairly large photo-graphic plate of glass or one that used a very sensitive lens with high quality film of theperiod. In whatever case, the picture was captured by a Mr. Russell Steere, a neighbor ofthis 219 South Huron Street house address. The Steere family lived at 309 South HuronStreet when this picture of a wintry scene was taken over 60 years ago.

Every once in a while when this picture is accessed by researchers in our “address file”at the archives, people ask if a copy of it is available. It is reminiscent of an AnselAdams photograph in that it captured on film an instant in time that passes so quicklythat we rarely stop to take notice. Seems that Mr. Steere did notice both the composi-tion and effects of direct and reflected light, to stop what ever he was doing, and cap-ture this alluring picture that is truly frozen in time for us to enjoy these many yearslater! If you should like to view the original or desire a copy, it is available. We canmake an exact duplicate of the original at the Fletcher-White Archives for the as-toundingly price of only two dollars. ■

9:00 am to 12:00 noon and Sundaysfrom 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm.

To say that we have been busy is an under-statement as we have been inundated withgraduate students from Professor Ligibel’sHistoric Preservation Studies program atEastern Michigan University. It is refresh-ing to see that they are being taught how tothink and deduce the “who,” “what,”“where” and “when” of ownership of someproblematic properties within the city ofYpsilanti. This is not always as easy as onemight think when studying the histories ofsome of these parcels of land. The record-ing of ownership and transfer of propertieswas not always correctly attended to at thetime it actually occurred, and this has re-quired the city to find answers to some is-sues 50 to 100 years after the situationoccurred. This has been a terrific learningexperience for these students as they workwith primary records, surveys, and directo-ries. Dr. Ligibel’s students bring vibrancy tothe archives and we welcome them.

TA-DA! Our antique 1890 and 1865maps are back. Through the generosityof Dorothy and Rodney Hutchinson

they are now protected and preserved forgenerations to come, and they lookMAGNIFICENT! As you may or maynot know, they were experiencing someproblems that only a professional preser-vationist could handle. Thank you Mr.& Mrs. Hutchinson for caring so much!

We will probably be selling copies of the1890 map in a very limited, full sized edi-tion, on special acid free paper to raisefunds for other preservation projects in-volving our Ypsilanti City Directories. Thedirectories are in heavy use every day andwe have to come up with a way to be ableto use them while protecting them. Wewill keep the membership advised throughthe “Gleanings” about the map and preser-vation projects. If you are interested inpurchasing a map or would like to seewhat this is all about, come and visit thearchives. We will be taking orders inMarch; the cost will be about $50.00. Weexpect to make no more than 100 copiesand we expect an early sellout. Call me atthe archives at 482-4990 during regularhours or at home at 572-0437. The mapswill probably be available in May and willcome in their own protective tubes. ■

Picture taken by Mr. RussellSteere in the 1930s or 1940s.


Edd Dykmanand “TheHandy Store!”by Joyce E. Mammoser

“Times are tough, son. It’s time for you toget out on your own and find a job. Yourbrothers and I, we can handle what’s leftof the farm.” Those were the words ofEdd Dykman’s father back in the early1930s. So young Edd packed his smallbrown suitcase and moved from the fam-ily farm in Fremont, Michigan, to GrandRapids in hopes of finding something inthe city. His sister, Marie, had told himthat jobs were more plentiful there andthat he could move in with her until hefound something. It didn’t happen. Hemoved in with his sister but was unable tosecure full-time employment.

Soon after New Year’s Day in 1932, Eddreceived a letter from his Uncle John. He

owned McClellons Five and Dime inYpsilanti, and wanted to know if Eddwould be willing to move south andmanage the store under his supervisionand training. Young and eager to work,he didn’t hesitate. He packed his few be-longings in the same brown suitcase and,after saying goodbye to family andfriends, was on his way.

Winter passed, and Edd learned. Therewere a lot of reasons he liked Ypsilanti,but the biggest reason was the youngclerk at McClellons. Her name wasLaura Deake. When he first saw her, shewas wearing a gray skirt and a pink cash-mere sweater. He found her exceedinglyattractive. Had she noticed him? Eddthought. He wasn’t sure. And then on awarm spring day, her blue eyes met his,then quickly looked away. From thatmoment on he knew that he wanted tospend the rest of his life with her.

Edd continued to be strongly attracted toLaura without really knowing muchabout her. Several weeks passed, and hecould wait no longer. As he was leaving

The Handy Store at 955 Sheridan Street.

work, he lingered by the cash registerwhere she was checking out customers.She had a forthrightness and jollinessabout her that made everyone love her.What an intriguing lady, Edd thought ashis eyes followed the line of long blackhair as it fell down across her shoulders.When the last customer left, he strolledover and with an air of confidence askedher if he could take her home. Theytalked for a long time. He was thrilled tofinally meet her and could hardly keep histhoughts in order. During their courtship,the song, “I Met My Million Dollar Babyat the Five and Ten Cent Store,” waspopular and became their song.

Uncle John liked Edd’s work. He hadtaught him a lot in a short time. Thestore had too much competition,though, with the flourishing S. S. KresgeStore nearby, and when an offer came toUncle John to operate a store in Minne-apolis, he put McClellons up for sale andmoved west.

So, jobless again, Edd went back to farm-ing, doing odd jobs for local farmers.Laura became a clerk in another store.Sometimes after work, while visiting withEdd, she would watch him pitch horse-shoes which was his favorite pastime.

Edd secured a job in 1937 with TomBrooks of Brooks’ Market on MichiganAvenue. He and Laura were married thatsame year, and moved into the DeakeFamily home on Packard Road. He con-tinued to learn about the retail operationas well as how to cut meat. About twoyears later, he was approached by a salesperson from the local Bella Vista Dairy.He had noticed Edd’s hard work andlightheartedness and offered him a job.And so he began delivering milk tohomes in the area.

Edd and Laura continued to save theirmoney. In 1941, they rented a smallneighborhood store at 955 Sheridan Streetowned by a Mrs. Caderet. The store wascalled Waltons, and they renamed it TheHandy Store. “Because,” Edd said, “it washandy.” At that time the area around thestore was beginning to grow. It is the areaknown today as Normal Park.continued on page 16


It was a time when the ladies would goshopping at the small store dressed intheir finery. There were not any carts orbaskets at that time. The customerswould go up and down the narrow aisles,select their purchases and then take themto the counter. Edd catered to eachperson’s every need, including home de-livery. He knew the patrons and was wellrespected in the area.

One such customer was Phyllis Dillerwho lived around the corner onOakwood Street. She was always theentertainer and in her outlandish waywould ask Edd how to prepare the meatshe was purchasing for dinner – some-times she asked how to prepare the en-tire meal. When she left Ypsilanti forCalifornia, she never forgot the littleneighborhood store and the kind familywho ran it. If she was scheduled to per-form at a theater nearby, be it Detroit,Windsor, or Toledo, Edd and Laura al-ways received in the mail prior to the

performance, ticketsfor two of the bestseats – and they nevermissed attending!

Edd made it a policynever to sell liquor ofany kind at the store.The meat was alwaysfresh. Whatever wasleft over on Saturdayevening at closingtime, was theDykmans’ Sunday din-ner. Sometimes it wassteak. Other times itwas pork or beef, andsometimes both.

Edd and Laura raisedthree children during their years of run-ning the store: Arthur Deake, Cora Mae,and Beth Marie. Art, the oldest, helpedin the store during his junior high andhigh school years. Many of the neighbor-hood children never knew the family’ssurname. They thought Edd was Mr.Handy. Children loved to play whiffle

ball in the lot behind the Handy Storeparking lot. After the game they wouldgo into the store for a soda pop, icecream, or candy bar. It was a commonoccurrence to pass by the store and seesix to eight kids on the porch at anygiven time. They were not privy toharmless pranks, and one Sunday after-

Laura and Edd Dykman.

Edd Dykman and “The HandyStore!” - continued from page 15


noon in 1956, Edd had gone to the storeto pick something up. And there, righton the porch, sat a bright redVolkswagen.

A few years later, in the summer of 1960,Janet Hughes who was sixteen at thetime, backed her mother’s pink Mercurystation wagon into the store. Althoughthere was not much damage to the car orto the store, Janet had to live down thefact that she was responsible for all thesoda pops being knocked to the floor. Itwas even more embarrassing when hersister, Barbara, began dating Art andthen ended up marrying him a numberof years later.

The store was never open on Sundays.His church and his faith were an integralpart of Edd’s life. Reverend Shaw, pastorof the First Baptist Church of Ypsilanti

over your cash!” the robber demanded.“Take the till, it’s all I have,” Eddmumbled. He then proceeded to flick atowel at the masked gunman. “Bang!”Edd fell to the floor as the gunman ranout the door. Edd dragged himself acrossthe floor and to the telephone. He calledthe Police, and then he called Laura. Hewas found unconscious on the frontporch of the store.

Laura had immediately called Art tellinghim that his father had been shot andwas on his way to the hospital via am-bulance. Art had no time to think. Hegrabbed his car keys and within secondswas weaving through traffic, honking abicyclist out of the way, and screechingto a halt at the emergency room en-trance. The nurses all gasped when inraced Art, clad in a tee shirt and undershorts. They quickly handed him agown that matched the one that Eddwas then wearing. The bullet had en-tered Edd’s right cheek bone, went allthe way through his throat, and lodgedagainst an artery below his left ear.

Edd’s life was spared. Every doctor at thehospital was amazed at his miraculousrecovery. After six days, he returnedhome, but not to The Handy Storewhich he had purchased from Mrs.Caderet in 1962. Arrangements weremade and the papers were written up,and in that same June of 1970, the storechanged ownership. It then belonged tothe Edwards Brothers. They owned it fortwo years and, in turn, sold it again. Itremained open one year. The store wasclosed permanently in 1974 and thensold, torn down, and a new home wasbuilt on the existing foundation where itstill stands today.

After the sale of the store, Edd and Laurapurchased a travel trailer and enjoyedtraveling around the United States intheir retirement years. They continued tolive in the Deake Family home (the onlyhome Laura ever lived in) on PackardRoad until 1994. They then sold theirhome and moved to an apartment in theHunt Club where they resided until theirdeaths in 2000. ■

for forty years, often said that EddDykman was the minister of the westside of Ypsilanti because of the way heconducted his life and his business. Be-ginning in 1949, the store also closed forthree weeks in August for the family va-cation. People knew that and acceptedthe fact that family was important toEdd and Laura. They were a family wholoved to travel and never without a cam-era. Edd loved his camera and took hun-dreds of pictures every year. In theirlifetime, they had been to all but four ofthe contiguous states in the U.S.

A robbery occurred on a June day in1970. Edd was in the back room when alone gunman entered the store. “Hand

“Edd made it a policy never tosell liquor of any kind at thestore. The meat was alwaysfresh. Whatever was left overon Saturday evening at closingtime, was the Dykmans’ Sun-day dinner.”


OPEN HOUSESunday, April 9 - Noon to 4:00 pm - Meet the Artists!

ART SHOWArt by Local ArtistsApril 6 through April 23, 2006April 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23

Thursdays & Fridays - 1:00 pm to 4:00 pmSaturdays & Sundays - 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

SPONSORED BYMuseum Advisory BoardYpsilanti Historical Society220 North Huron StreetYpsilanti, MI 48197

No admission charge!Donations gratefullyaccepted!


As noted earlier, Frank Norton’s brotherCharles and later Charles’ three sonsHarry, Don and Glen were also masonswho often worked on the larger projectswith Austin and Frank. A grandson ofCharles, Robert Norton, who graduatedfrom Ypsilanti High School in l941, con-tinued the family tradition of masonry.

Frank Norton attended the NormalSchool and graduated with a teachingdegree in l889. He worked with his dadthrough the summer of that year and ap-plied for and obtained a teaching job inTucson, Arizona Territory. He had ateaching contract for $80 a month andspent three winters teaching in Tucson,returning to Ypsilanti each summer.During these years Frank was courtingLena Eisenlord, a fellow graduate of theNormal who lived in Farmington. Thediary notes he rode his “wheel” to visither there. During the summer of l891Frank built the stone cellar for his newhome on Lowell Street before returningto Tucson for his last year of teaching.He arrived back home on April 13, l892.That summer he built a small green-house, the beginning of Norton’s Flowerbusiness. He grew mostly lettuce andcucumbers that following winter, sellinglettuce for 15 cents a pound and cucum-

work and watch the greenhouse while hedid stone work. The demand for FrankNorton’s flowers was growing and he soldcarnations for 40 cents a dozen and rosesfor $1.50 a dozen.

Frank married his college sweetheart,Lena Eisenlord, on September l8, l895.They lived in Frank’s newly completedhouse at 735 Lowell Street. Lena was inthe first class of women to complete afour year course of study and graduatedfrom the Normal at the same time Frank

ing flowers and plants to the area. Therewere many very cold nights when theyworked shifts adding fuel to the furnaceto keep the crops from freezing. In Sep-tember, l896, Sarah rented two rooms tofour young ladies attending Normal for$1.00 each per month. The greenhousewas prospering and growing and Frankbuilt an office for the business. Lena andFrank’s mother Sarah did most of thedelivering of flowers and plants. Manyof the recipients of flowers were personswhose family names are familiar to thisday. Wholesale products were often sentto Detroit on the “cars” as the interurbanwas called in the diary.

On Saturday, June 13, l896, a diary en-try mentions going to the bicycle races atthe fairgrounds. Another favorite pastimefor the family and friends was picnickingby the river up near the Paper Mill, aplace Frank called Riverbrink.

One day Sarah rode as far as the BaptistChurch with Will Meanwell. The BaptistChurch at that time was located on thesoutheast corner of W. Cross and Wash-ington Streets. From there she walkedover to Depot Town to pay the meat billat Smitties; then over town waiting tohave a hat trimmed at Mrs. Martin’s. Thehat was 62 cents; the work on the hat was

Frank’s sons Stanley and Austin. They sangat churches all over town and charged 10cents each.

1895 – Frank and Lena Norton’s home at735 Lowell.

The Norton Family - 142 Years inYpsilanti - continued from page 3

bers for 4 cents each to the local grocers,sometimes as far away as Detroit. Hegrew a few flowers and the next yearadded another greenhouse to increase hisproduction. During this time he was stillworking with his father Austin andbrother Charles. He also began to con-struct his own brick home at 735 LowellStreet. He was now able to grow moreflowers and he hired a young man to

“During this time more greenhouses were built and the entirefamily worked various jobs planting, weeding and deliveringflowers and plants to the area. There were many very coldnights when they worked shifts adding fuel to the furnace tokeep the crops from freezing.”

did on June 26, 1889. She taught atBlissfield until her marriage to Frank sixyears later. They had four children, Aus-tin, born July 4, l896; Stanley, born June6, 1898; Margaret, born July 27, l900;and Dorothy, born November 5, l903.

During this time more greenhouses werebuilt and the entire family worked vari-ous jobs planting, weeding and deliver-



33 cents and Sarah furnished the trim-mings. During another shopping trip inthe spring of l899, Sarah mentioned inthe diaries that she purchased the follow-ing: bonnet, $1.48; tablecloth, $1.00;two dresses, $1.35; two aprons $1.00;gloves, 35 cents; perfume 35 cents; stock-ings, 34 cents; toys for the kids, 40 cents.She was an avid reader and made manyvisits to the Ladies Library for books andmagazines. She mentions reading “GoodOld Times” by E. Kellogg.

Sarah notes in the diary that on July 4l899, the fireworks over the river caughta large oilcloth on fire and rockets andRoman candles went off in every direc-tion. There was a mad rush to leave andmany people were injured.

After a lengthy illness Austin died onDecember 2, l905. The service was atthe house with burial in Highland Cem-etery. Eleven months later on November5, 1906, after a short illness, Sarah diedand was buried alongside her husband.With the death of Sarah went the won-derful writer of the diaries telling of ourfamily’s early activities and way of life.

The early 1900’s were busy times forFrank Norton and his family. Frank wasstill working on occasion in the masonbusiness with brother Charles but wasspending more and more of his time inthe greenhouses. In the meantime Lenahad started her own business, a photostudio. An advertisement lists the fol-

day, the family still enjoys many of thesepaintings in their homes. Frank was alsoskilled at taxidermy. He at one time hadquite a collection of native Michiganbirds along with some he had collectedfrom hunting while in Arizona teachingschool. He donated all his birds to theScience Department in Shezer Hall at

1924 – Stanley, Ellen and Austin Nortonin greenhouse.


lowing services: Expert Developing andPrinting, Any size roll or pack developedfor 10 cents… Prints up to 3 X 4 inches, ½cents each… Prints up to 4 X 6, 3 centseach... Roll films for sale and cameras torent, 10 cents a day. In later years Lenabecame an accomplished painter. Thishobby was cut short by blindness causedby glaucoma at age 69. With sublimecourage she immediately took up thestudy of Braille. She soon mastered thesystem and was able to enjoy all the cur-rent books as well as the classics of litera-ture. With the use of a straight edgeguide devised by Frank, she continued towrite letters and thus carried on a gratify-ing correspondence with family andfriends. During this period she cro-cheted rugs, helped with mailing at thegreenhouse office and had a role in thebasic work of making floral sprays andwreaths, the colors of which she wasnever again to see. She also started com-posing poetry. Since she could not use apencil for notes, Lena retained eachpoem in her memory and would laterdictate to someone for a permanentrecord. These poems were put in bookform and each family member is able toenjoy her writings.

Frank was active in the community serv-ing as Alderman and also as the Mayor ofYpsilanti from l912 to 1914. He alsoenjoyed painting as he and Lena sharedtheir love of the arts together. To this

the Normal College. They were stillthere, in glass cases on the third floor,when Sherzer Hall was all but destroyedby fire in 1989.

Frank and Lena’s son, Austin, was afounding member of the local Boy Scoutorganization in Ypsilanti which wasformed December 12, l910. The localtroop made a demonstration of variousskills. A remarkable event of this dem-onstration was the breaking of the worldand scouting record for making a fire byrubbing two sticks together. This fetewas accomplished by Austin Norton inapproximately eleven seconds. In recog-nition, he was presented a specially orna-mented set of sticks by Ernest ThompsonSeton, head of the American Boy Scoutorganization. Austin also marched withthe scouts in Detroit in September, l911,as the honor guard for President WilliamH. Taft. He was also an accomplishedmandolin player and while in highschool taught mandolin at University ofMichigan.

World War I came along and Frank’s andLena’s second son, Stanley, enlisted in thetank corps, serving in France. He re-turned home in l919 only to have hisbrother Austin die of tuberculosis a shorttime later on June 4, l919. Stanley’s littlesister Dorothy, died on August 7 fromthe flu during the pandemic of 1919.With the loss of two of Frank and Lena’s

“Stanley had become interested in orchids and decided to makethat his hobby. He, along with son Austin and two others trav-eled to Mexico in l941 to gather orchid plants. It was verysuccessful as several bags of orchids were collected. He foundothers interested in orchids and with two other men founded theMichigan Orchid Society.”


children, it was a sad time for theNorton family.

Upon returning from the war StanleyNorton worked for his dad and attendedthe Normal College where he met his fu-ture wife, Ellen Wallace from Bay Citywho was a student there. After graduat-ing, she taught school in Capac beforecoming back to Ypsilanti after her mar-riage to Stanley on March 10, l923. Theymoved into a new home at 737 LowellStreet. It was a beautiful, all stone houseand was one of the last houses to be builtby Frank. Stanley joined the floral busi-ness and it became Norton and Son, Flo-rist. Stanley and Ellen welcomed thebirths of their two children, Austin(named after Stanley’s late brother) onJune 15, l924 and Jean, on August 18,l926. Austin began working in the green-houses at the tender age of 9. He calledhimself the chief weed puller. His pay was5 cents an hour and Stanley had to teachhim the difference between a weed and aflowering plant. By the time he was 12 hehad saved enough money to buy a beauti-ful new bike. It was a Montgomery Wardtwo wheeled bike with balloon tires andshiny chrome plated fenders. With thisbike he was able to set up a magazineroute. With the help of his mother Ellen,he enlisted the ladies hair salons sellingColliers, American Home Journal and acouple others. He won a prize for sellingso many magazines. The prize was a No.2 wood golf club called a brassie, the startof a life long love of golf.

In the early1930’s Austin and his cousinTim Smith, son of Stanley’s sister Marga-ret Norton Smith, worked with their greatuncle, Charles Norton building a brickhouse on the northeast corner of Ann andSt. John Streets. Austin and Tim werebarely ten years old but could reallypound the nails. They can now proudly

look back at having worked with one ofthe men who helped build Ypsilanti.

Stanley’s family all became involved inhelping out in the greenhouses. Ellenwould work in the flower shop anddaughter Jean, while of high school agealso helped out. Son Austin deliveredflowers after school. When he was a jun-ior in high school he took over one of hisdad’s winter jobs. The heat for the green-houses was generated by burning coal.The hopper that fed the main boiler held¾ of a ton of coal and had to be filledevery night at 11 pm, which would lastuntil 8 am the following morning. Thisbecame Austin’s job while he was in highschool. The greenhouses used two rail carloads of coal every winter, and that was alot of shoveling. Stan, as he liked to becalled, was active in the community andlike his father and grandfather served onthe Ypsilanti City Council.

Stanley and Austin shared the job of fu-migating the greenhouses for insects. Ittook 200 pounds of dried tobacco leavesevery few months. The leaves wereburned in flat round trays that were twofeet across and which were hung in thegreenhouses about 20 feet apart. Theywould begin in the farthest corner fromthe exit, light them as fast as they couldgo, and then quickly get out. All win-dows and doors were locked and shuttight to keep the smoke inside. One daya bunch of neighborhood kids, includ-ing Austin, tried smoking it. Boy, didthey get sick! They all had a hard timetelling their mothers what happened sothey covered themselves by saying theyhad been eating green apples.

Stanley had become interested in orchidsand decided to make that his hobby.He, along with son Austin and two oth-

1954 - Austin and Dennis cementing the driveway at the greenhouseson Lowell.



ers traveled to Mexico in l941 to gatherorchid plants. It was very successful asseveral bags of orchids were collected.He found others interested in orchidsand with two other men founded theMichigan Orchid Society. He went onto become one of the national judges atorchid shows. The Michigan OrchidSociety began by holding their first PalmSunday Orchid Show at Norton’s Green-houses on Lowell Street in the earlyl940’s. This event continued for manyyears and became a very popular attrac-tion, not only for local people but thosefrom other areas.

On December 7, l941, the U.S. declaredwar after the bombing by the Japanese atPearl Harbor, which changed the lives ofeveryone in the family. After graduatingfrom Ypsilanti High School in l942 Aus-tin enlisted in the Navy, but was allowedto attend Michigan State Normal Collegefor one year before going into active duty.He served aboard the aircraft carrier USSBunker Hill in the Pacific. After dischargehe married Dorothy Rice, his high schoolsweetheart. At this time he decided to gointo business with his dad. He and Dor-othy left for East Lansing where he en-rolled at Michigan State University in thehorticulture program. While there a sonDennis was born on May 25, l947. Thatsame year Frank Norton at age 80, thefounder of Norton’s Flowers, passed away.Lena Norton, due to her blindness,moved in with Stanley and Ellen who al-ternated with Lena’s daughter MargaretSmith in caring for her. Still sharp ofmind she died in l956 at age 86.

Upon college graduation Austin, Dor-othy and young son Dennis moved backto Ypsilanti into grandfather Frank’shouse on Lowell Street. A year laterMarch 7, l950 daughter Cynthia wasborn. After Austin returned to work inthe business, Stanley had more time andbecame a well known figure at orchidshows throughout the country. One ofthe highlights of their travels was theirtrip to the International Orchid Con-vention in Bangkok where they were in-vited to a banquet at the royal palace.

In the l950’s it became evident that EasternMichigan University was going to need theLowell Street property for expansion oftheir campus. Norton’s bought land onWashtenaw Avenue and in l959 a store andtwo greenhouses were constructed and thebusiness moved to its new location. Theannual Palm Sunday orchid show contin-ued to be a major attraction. At the age of5 Cindy became an integral part of thefamily business. During the orchid showsshe delighted customers and orchid loversby greeting them as they arrived at the ex-hibit and offering paper and pencils to en-ter the prize drawing.

As young children both Dennis and Cindyhave fond memories of traveling with theirDad in the big panel truck filled with ge-ranium plants to the Eastern Market inDetroit. They left at 4 o’clock in themorning and a hot dog breakfast was thefare of the day. They grew up working inthe family business. Through the yearsthey pulled weeds, planted seedlings,learned floral design and were indispens-able during holidays when the workinghours were long. Austin served the com-munity in many ways including his elec-tion to the Ypsilanti Board of Education.Austin’s wife, Dorothy, having a ClearyCollege education in business took overthe office management plus helping at theretail end when needed.

After graduating from Eastern MichiganUniversity, Dennis entered the business.He already had much knowledge of thefloral business working holidays andsummers through his school years.

Through high school and after graduatingfrom EMU Cindy entered and learned allthe demands of the business: bookkeep-ing, sales clerk, greenhouse care, floral de-signer, wedding manager, gift ware buyer,managing day to day operations and be-coming Vice President and partner withbrother Dennis. Cindy left the business inl991 when she relocated near New Or-leans. Dennis was now sole proprietor ofNorton’s Flowers in as much as Austin andDorothy had both retired.

During this time Ellen became ill and forseveral years Stanley lovingly cared for her.She died one day short of her 87th birthday



in l988. The family had lost a wife, amother, grandmother and great grand-mother, and a great corsage maker. Stanleymissed her but continued on living a fulllife with family and friends. He jokinglysaid he was just “hanging on by a thread”but the thread was pretty strong. In l991at age 93 the thread broke. The greatlyloved patriarch of the family was gone.

Dennis had visions of broadening thescope of the family businesses by develop-ing the Washtenaw Avenue property, andwent on with perseverance and hard workto oversee the development of FountainSquare Shops consisting of 14 additionalstores. The family still owns that shop-ping center. During the early 80s Dennisand a friend founded the Yankee Air Mu-seum at Willow Run which has become agreat attraction for locals and tourists.Currently he is president of MichiganAerospace Foundation, which is raisingfunds to rebuild the museum that wastragically destroyed by fire. Through hisworking years, Dennis volunteered andserved on the Board of Directors for manylocal organizations including many Yp-

silanti Chamber of Commerce Commit-tees, the Ann Arbor Hands-On MuseumBoard, the Ann Arbor Chamber of Com-merce Board, Ann Arbor Visitors andConvention Bureau Board, Ypsilanti Jay-cees and many others.

Dennis married, and two children, Sheriand David, both worked in the businessduring their school years, Sheri in theoffice and sales and David in deliveryand other jobs. Since Dennis’s childrenhad moved on to other endeavors andwould not be continuing in the floralbusiness, he retired and sold the businessin 2001, leaving it in the hands of fourof the former managers of Norton’s,people who had been his managers formany years. So Norton’s Flowers, thebusiness Frank Norton started in 1892continues on today in three locations,Washtenaw Avenue, Westgate Mall andPlymouth Road mall.

Over the years, the Norton’s watched aswhat was the old Normal College and isnow Eastern Michigan University grewup and eventually encompassed the old

homestead. After having been located onLowell Street for 100 years since l867, allthat remains on the original propertywhere the greenhouses and homes were isa large walnut tree planted by Stanley inl923 when he moved into his new stonehouse with his bride Ellen.

Austin and Dorothy, retired since 1987,have lived on the west side of Ypsilantisince 1965. Cindy, who presently worksfor Pfizer, moved back to Ypsilanti anumber of years ago and also resides onthe west side of Ypsilanti. She is pres-ently on the Board of Directors of theYpsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dennis and his wife Carol live just northof Ypsilanti, not far from the originalKnapp farm on Superior Road where thefirst Austin Norton quarried stone for hismason business in the late 1800s. Theyhave three children, Sheri, David andMichelle, and six grandchildren, Kaitlyn,Austin, Taylor, Spencer, Alexa andSydney. It is fitting that David’s sons,Austin age 11, and Spencer age 9, areproudly carrying on the Norton name. ■

SPRING 2006 The Norton Family - In This Issue 142 Years in...

Documents

Transcript of SPRING 2006 The Norton Family - In This Issue 142 Years in...