Sunday, June 10, 1923 - Visiting Lydia Cramer Gifford in Juda, Wisconsin

Overcast with rain most of day. Arose 7:30 A.M. Breakfast etc. Talked, read, wrote letters etc. Father & I to Baptist church in morning, all to Methodist in afternoon and German Evangelical at night. Children's Day exercises in P.M. and evening. Very inspiring and good. Excellent dinner & pleasant fellowship - Dr. & Lydia, son Harry and daughter Vera, Vera's daughter Alice, Father, Mother, Hanford & I. To bed at 11 P.M. Thankful for rest and inspiration of Sabbath Day and association with relatives. We have been very kindly received and generously treated by all our friends and relatives. People as a whole are very sympathetic, friendly and hospitable.

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"Dr.," Lydia's husband, is Dr. Henry Gifford, a physician. In 1920 they lived at 202 North Main St in Jefferson township, Wisconsin, which seems a part of Juda, Wisconsin. Lydia is a daughter of John Brooks Cramer. In his letter to Mary Leah (written on this day), Stanford explains how Lydia came to seem like a sister to her cousin Stillman. She was born in 1859 and died in 1925. Their daughter Vera was born in 1886, and son Harry Glenn Gifford was born in 1892. Below is a copy of his WWI draft registration. As you can see, Harry worked for the Wisconsin telephone company.

Here is a photo of John Brooks Cramer, Catherine's brother and Stanford's great uncle, who died in 1868 when Lydia was only 9 years old. Unknown when the photo was taken.

Below is a photo Stanford took of Vera Gifford Dinsdale with her husband Arthur and daughter Alice.

Saturday, June 9, 1923

Overcast, mild day but no rain. Arose 7 A.M. Washed, breakfast. H.H., Father and I washed car, greased it, tightened up nuts etc. Dinner. Pressed suit. Took bath, etc. Wrote letter to Russell Norris. Played ball with Alice etc. Dr's son Harry came 60 miles to see us and stay over night. Supper, out for little ride, visited, lunch of ice cream and cake. Talked, wrote in diary. Retired about 11:45 P.M. Thankful. Juda a nice little village of about 400 people. Green county said to be the richest county in the world. Great stock section, great quantities of Swiss & Limburger cheese manufactured. Wisconsin rather rolling and hilly. Very good ground.

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Friday, June 8, 1923

Arose 6 A.M. Wrote letter. Washed etc. Breakfast, shaved. H.H. & I cut (split) some wood. Father, George, H.H. & I to cemetery to see graves of Alden Cramer, his wife and son, also Uncle Brooks Cramer. Took picture of crowd. To Rockford again to Frank Cramer's home. Just outside of city limits to call on his twin brother Fred Cramer. Back to dinner. A fine dinner and pleasant fellowship together. At noon meal - Frank Cramer and wife Mattie, their daughter Irene and her husband Mr. Corey, their son Charlie Cramer, Father, Mother, H.H. & I. A very pleasant time. Left about 4 P.M. for Juda, Wisconsin. Changed tire just outside of Juda. Dr. & Lydia very glad to see us. Their daughter Vera and her daughter Alice also here. Supper, talked and visited. To bed 11:45 P.M. Thank God for health and hospitality of relatives. Beautiful, bright day.

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Thursday, June 7, 1923 - Visiting Cousins in Rockford, Illinois area

Cold, windy day. Arose 7:30 A.M. Breakfast, visited etc. Left Elmhurst at 10:17 A.M. Excellent road. 60 miles first 2 hours with a couple of stops. Dinner at Rockford, Illinois. Rockford a nice city of about 60,000 people. We made a call on Father's cousin, Frank Cramer (one of a pair of twins). Drove about 6 miles to Cherry Valley to another of Father's cousins, George Cramer, brother of Frank, mentioned. He makes hand made brooms. His wife Fannie and her mother Mrs. Lee also there. Went to George's broom shop, put car in garage etc. Supper, talked, wrote in diary, letters etc. Chopped wood for awhile. Cherry Valley a nice little country village of 700 people.

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Looks like they were speeding right along--30 miles per hour! Below is a possible route for them, taken from Google Maps.

One of the letters Stanford wrote this day was to Mary Leah, posted at the page Letters: June 5 & 7, 1923. In it he gives a bit more detail about the relatives, especially the taxi driver who was, as he put it, "just passed out of adolescence," and who risked being rude by going off to see a girlfriend rather than stay with his relatives. Stanford said he took the young man's part, however, knowing how that can be.

Frederick, Franklin and George Cramer are sons of Catherine Cramer's brother, John Brooks Cramer, who died fairly young, aged 37. George had been a broom maker for quite a few years, according to an 1877 history of Winnebago county. See the section below, listing inhabitants:

Wednesday, June 6, 1923 - Traveling through Illinois

Pleasant in morning. Passed through hard shower in afternoon. Arose 5:30 A.M. Packed up, breakfast etc. Left Maggie's and Sturgis at 7:45 A.M. Passed through 3 states, Michigan, Indiana & Illinois. Arrived at Chicago 3 P.M. Drove over a hundred blocks along Washington Boulevard. Traffic very congested. We made a brief visit on Aunt Gertie at her brothers Dr. Jackson on Grace Street. A very pleasant call on her. Out to Elmhurst. Stayed overnight with Father's cousin Jeff Ford, also his daughter Eva Torsell and grandson Adford. Adford took us around to see the town in one of his taxis. Elmhurst a very nice little city of about 10,000 inhabitants, about 15 miles from Chicago. Talked, to bed 11:30 P.M. Thankful for all Temporal blessings.

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Jeff Ford is Jefferson Ford, son of Stephen Ford and Phoebe Cramer, Catherine Cramer's sister. Catherine is, of course, Stillman's mother, making Jefferson Stillman's first cousin. Jefferson died that same year, in October, so this may have been Stillman's last visit to his cousin.

Imagine what it was like in 1923 to see all the cars and the "congested" avenues of Chicago! Here is a photo taken that year on Michigan Avenue. Gives you an idea, I think.

Tuesday, June 5, 1923 - Visiting with the Turnbulls

Another glorious bright day with nice cool breeze stirring. Arose 7 A.M. Shaved, washed etc. Breakfast, talked, wrote in diary. Mrs. Smith from other part of house brought her baby, high school diploma etc in to show us. Over to John Turnbull's for dinner. John & Minnie Turnbull, Charles Turnbull, Hattie Hagadorn, Maggie Turnbull, Father, Mother, Brother & I present. A very pleasant time together. John Turnbull's health very poor. Stayed most of the afternoon. H.H. & I mowed the lawn etc. H.H. got stung by a bee, christened "Puff-Paw" by me. In latter part of afternoon we went thru the Kirsch Company, manufacturers of curtain rods and curtains. We were shown thru by Mr. Rider, vice-president of the company. They have a wonderful new social building, gymnasium, bowling alleys, a wonderful swimming pool etc, open to employees only upon payment of $1.00 annual membership. Very pleasant trip. About 300 employees. It is very interesting to notice a tendency among industrial concerns to make things pleasant and comfortable for their employees. We went to Hattie Hagadorn's (Mother's cousin) for supper. Pleasant visit. Her daughter, Mrs. VanDyke and husband & family in for call during evening. Back to Maggie's, talked, played piano, wrote letter etc, to bed 11 P.M.

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The Kirsch Company is still in business, still making drapery hardware. Below is a photo of the founder and information about its beginnings in Sturgis, Michigan.

And here is a photo of the factory as it looked in 1923.

Taken from Kirsch Company website

In 1920, John and Minnie Turnbull lived at 300 (East) Main St, Sturgis, MI. Below is a photo of the house at that address today. It may or may not be the house that was there in 1923.

Taken from Google Maps

John O. Turnbull was Charles Turnbull's brother. John died in 1928, five years after Stanford noticed he was in "very poor" health. He was 71. According to his death certificate, he died from chronic Bright's disease. At the time of his death, he and his wife, Minnie, lived at 404 George St in Sturgis, right around the corner from the Main Street home.

John and Charles were the sons of William J. Turnbull, who was Eveline Turnbull's brother. And Eveline was Frances Augusta's (Fanny's) mother. And, of course, Fannie was Stanford's mother. So Fanny's Uncle William (who died in 1897) was the father of John and Charles, her cousins. Also mentioned in the diary entry is Hattie Hagadorn, also known as Harriet Turnbull, sister of John and Charles. Harriet was at this time a widow.

One of the letters Stanford wrote was to Mary Leah. You can read that letter, posted to the page titled Letters: June 5 & 7.

Monday, June 4, 1923 - On the Road Again through Battle Creek to Sturgis, MI

Another beautiful day. Bright, mild with a nice cool breeze. Arose 6:30 A.M. Packed up. Breakfast & Worship. We bid Nellie a fond farewell and left Lansing at 8:35 A.M. 70 miles via Charlotte, Olivet & Battle Creek to Mother's cousin Mr. Charles Turnbull. We stopped and went through the W.K. Kellogg Company at Battle Creek. It was very interesting to see how the food is made of which I have consumed bushels. 15,000 bushels of corn are used daily in the manufacture of over a million packages a day. 5 tons of malt, 5 tons of sugar & 2 tons of salt are used daily to give the exclusive Kellogg flavor. Over a million dollars a year is expended annually for advertisement. Work is carried on continuously in 3 shifts of 8 hours each. We were treated with ice cream, given souvenirs and samples of Kellogg products. A cafeteria where food is sold at cost price, a beautiful social room, emergency hospital etc, are at the disposal of the 1200 employees. Cleanliness, care and courtesy were noticeable characteristics. A very pleasant and profitable trip, well worth the time spent. We took dinner and had a pleasant visit with Cousin Charlie Turnbull. His wife died several years ago. A Mrs. Krontz is keeping house for him. Her daughter Irene also there. Maggie Turnbull also came down on train to help with dinner. She rode with us to Sturgis where she lived. Supper with her and stayed overnight. She lives just out side city limits of Sturgis but is going to move. H.H. & I stayed in and wrote. Mother, Father & Maggie went out calling on relations (distant). Talked. Evening worship. To bed 12 P.M. Thankful for health.

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Below is a map of the Clossons' possible route on this day (from Google Maps).

Kellogg's doesn't give tours anymore; that ended in 1986, much to the disappointment of many customers. Below is a photo of the factory as it looked in 1923. It must have been a lengthy tour!

Taken from Prairie Lakes Journey blog

Stanford gave a few statistics about the company as it was then. Those 15,000 bushels were up to 110,000 by 1980, and they were joined by 225,000 pounds of bran, 9,000 bushels of wheat and 12,000 pounds of wheat germ each day (taken from MichMarkers). Doubtless the total is even more now. With all the factories they have around the world, they need more employees: over 35,000 in 2014--up from the 1,200 working in Battle Creek in 1923. 

Sunday, June 3, 1923 - Tour of Lansing

Beautiful, Bright & Hot. Very humid. Arose 9 A.M. Shaved etc. Breakfast. Mother, Father, Nellie, H.H. & I to Central Methodist Church. Very fine service. To M.E. Temple House, gift of Mr. & Mrs. Richard H. Scott. Mr. Scott is president of Reo Motor Car Company. A very fine gift and spirit which prompted it. A most wonderfully equipped building. All most modern conveniences and equipments. For ride to Michigan Agricultural College. Very fine campus, back to 913 W. Lenawee. Wrote in diary. Letters etc. Talked. To Central M.E. Church. Sacred Musical Concert by Reo Motor Car Company Band & Glee Club. Very fine. Downtown for lunch. Back to house. Talked etc. Lansing a very nice city of about 60,000 people. Very favorably impressed. At evening service, Rev. C. Jeffares McCombe recognized us boys and had us stand up before the congregation. We had a very pleasant visit and stay with Nellie. To bed 11:30 P.M. Thankful for God's Protection.

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One of the letters Stanford wrote was to Mary Leah. See that letter at the Page entitled Letters: June 1st & 3rd. As mentioned in the previous post, his description of his tour of Lansing, including his tour of Michigan State University (then Michigan Agricultural College) and the place where Nellie worked (Michigan Children's Aid Society) is much more detailed in the letter. His enthusiasm for the city is quite apparent there.

Below are recent photos of what is now the Central United Methodist Church in Lansing--the outside front entrance and the auditorium of the Temple House which is now the Fellowship Hall. It is indeed a very beautiful building still. The photos were taken from Google Maps.

Front Entrance, CUMC

Temple House (Fellowship Hall)

There is a lengthy section of the Church's history (on their website) that tells of the origins of the Temple House (see below). As you can see, the building had just been dedicated not 30 days earlier. I think it's amazing that Stanford got to see both this place and the Reo factory on the same trip--two places inextricably linked in 1923.

THE TEMPLE HOUSE At the First Quarterly Conference held on November 8, 1921, the pastor, Dr. C. Jeffares McCombe introduced a proposal from Richard H. Scott, church member and an official with the Reo Motor Car Company: For several years Richard and Gertrude Scott had considered the church improperly equipped to do the work that it should do in the community, that the church should be operating to render a seven day weekly service to build up the physical and social life of the people as well as deal with the spirits and morals. Mr. Scott then placed before the conference, plans that he and architect Lee Black Page 3 of 5 had been working on for many months. He proposed building a Community House on the lot just north of the church lots, acquired from Mr. Robert Holmes. The proposal was accepted. 

The basement of the new community house would be used for a large banquet hall, two auxiliary dining rooms and a tea room. There was to be a janitor’s apartment of five rooms. On the main floor were to be an auditorium, offices, Sunday School rooms and a lounge. The second floor was to be devoted largely to the use of the ladies and their church activities. In addition, there was to be a balcony to the auditorium and classrooms. The third floor was to be for the men, including a recreation hall to be used for basketball and other sports. Also on this floor was a room for the exclusive use of the Boy Scouts. Further, there was to be a two lane bowling alley. On a smaller fourth floor there was to be a dormitory to be outfitted for young men who found themselves stranded in the city and in need of lodging. . . .

The cornerstone of the Temple House was laid on Decoration Day, May 30, 1922. The Temple House was dedicated on May 6, 1923, with Dr. Marion LeRoy Burton, President of the University of Michigan giving the dedicatory address. The building was valued at $250,000.

Saturday, June 2, 1923 - At Nellie's in Lansing, Michigan

Sultry Warm & Bright. Inclined to rain. A little rain at night. Arose 7 A.M. Father, Brother & I washed and greased the car. Breakfast in Nellie's room. We three men went thru the Reo Motor Car Company. Very interesting. Most expensive machine, that which makes fenders, cost $57,000. Strongest machine had pressure of 1000 tons. Average wage .75 an hour. Over 90% American employees. Some cars shipped abroad in huge boxes. Output about 180 cars a day. Very educational trip. To Nellie's office, Michigan Children's Aid Society. The five of us to dinner at The Bohemian Shop. To State buildings and library to look around. Then to the receiving home of The Children's Aid Society. We were shown all through it. Everything was very lovely but not like home. I was more thankful than ever for a home and good parents. To Michigan Home For the Blind where Nellie has a little Indian girl. This especially made me thankful for good eyesight. What a great affliction it must be to be deprived of the use of these organs with which one takes in the wonders and beauties of Gods great world. Back to house took a much needed sleep. All out for a ride. Had oil changed at Jewett service station. Picnic lunch of ice cream & cake in Potter Park. The pestiferous mosquito was very much in evidence. A small zoo in the park. H.H. & I to Y for shower. To house. The Shields away to their camp so all of us stay here at the house and have the run of the whole ranch. It makes it very pleasant to all be together. Talked & visited. Wrote in diary. To bed 12:15 P.M. Thank God for all blessings.

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Well, they had quite a busy day! Below is a photo of the Reo Motor Car Company plan, taken in 1918. It looks rather large, I think. I wonder if some of their work was done in support of WWI?

Reo Motor Car Company Plant, Lansing, MI - 1918

Potter Park Zoo in Lansing is still going strong. It's much bigger now, and more modern. Below is a little excerpt from the Wikipedia article about it.

Lansing's zoo originated in 1912 with the donation of 58 acres (23.5 ha) of land to the city by J. W. and Sarah Potter, a prominent Lansing couple, for Potter Park. The James M. Turner estate donated a herd of elk to Lansing in 1915. The city's supervisor of parks, H. Lee Bancroft, initially moved the elk to nearby Moores Park. The same year Charles J. Davis transferred deer to the park, creating the city's first zoo. Moores Park continued to grow, and eventually the elk and deer, along with a bear, two raccoons, and other native animals, were moved to the more spacious Potter Park in 1920.[3] Potter Park was dedicated on July 5, 1915, and added 27 acres (11 ha) more land in 1917. With Potter Park Zoo's official opening in 1920, it became Michigan's first public zoo.[2] The next year a pavilion was completed, one of the zoo's first buildings. Lansing resident Sophie Turner donated 17 acres (6.9 ha) to Potter Park Zoo, increasing the park's size to 102 acres (41 ha).[4]

Here is a photo of the front entrance today:

Taken from Potter Park Zoo website

Stanford wasn't too impressed, however, with the zoo as it was in 1923. He likened it to a county fair having ordinary farm animals and such as you would see in the country. Of course, he wasn't thinking about people who may have never seen animals like skunks in the wild. You can read his impressions of the zoo and other places he visited in Lansing in the letter he wrote to Mary Leah on June 3rd, posted on the Letters: June 1 & 3, 1923 page.

Friday, June 1, 1923 - London, Ontario to Lansing, Michigan

Most beautiful and bright. Very warm. Arose at 6:30 A.M. Started off at eight. Very pretty ride from London to Sarnia. Along this stretch windmills very noticeable. One at every house and some in open fields. Many brick kilns in this part. Most of houses made of brick. Many herds of sleek fat beeves in pastures along road. Several fields of dandelions, just solid yellow mass, very rather noticeable and very pretty. Crossed St. Clair river from Canada to U.S. (From Sarnia to Port Huron) on ferry. Passed through Custom Office with no investigation or trouble. I guess we must have looked honest. About 140 miles across Michigan to Lansing via Lapeer, Flint and St. John's. Upon entering Flint we were stopped by a man who tested our brakes, horn etc. Everything was OK. They were having safety week. The very next time I tried to blow the horn, it failed to give forth a sound. Quite interesting and lucky. We had it fixed at a garage. H.H. & I took a shower at the Y. Father got a shave & Mother parked in the library near by. We arrived at sister Nellie's, 913 W. Lenawee St. Lansing, Michigan at 7 P.M. Central Standard Daylight Saving Time. A very happy partial reunion. Talked. Out for a little ride. Nellie drove. Talked and visited. Mother, Father, H.H. & I stayed with Shields at 913 W. Lenawee. Hanford & I walked down with Nellie to where she stayed over night. Stopped for ice cream. Talked. Retired at 12 P.M. Thankful for sister Nellie.

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Below is an approximation of the route the Clossons may have taken (now I-69, most of the way). What would now take a little over four hours (according to Google maps) took them approximately 11.5. But considering they stopped to get their horn fixed, perhaps 10.5 hours--they are still going at 25 mph, it seems.

London, ON to Lansing, MI

I'm suspicious of this gratuitous "safety week" stop. Did the man who "checked" their car out do something to make the horn stop working? Could he have been in cahoots with the garage where they got it fixed? Hmmm . . .

During the trip, Stanford wrote a letter to Mary Leah, presumably mailing it somewhere along the way. It is posted in the Letters pages, Letters: June 1 & 2, 1923.

Below is a recent photo of the house where Nellie was staying in Lansing and where the family stayed during their visit.

913 West Lenawee St, Lansing, MI

Thursday, May 31, 1923 - to Hyde Park, Canada, through Niagara Falls

Another glorious day. Beautiful sunrise. Arose 6 A.M. Broke camp and packed. After Father & Mother. Started out 7 A.M. Rode 27 miles before breakfast thru fertile, rolling country. Very pretty. Just 100 miles took us to Niagara Falls. We spent about 1.5 hours there. Hanford & I went to foot of the falls. Wonderful view and sight. Very pretty ride thru Canada Via St. Catherines, Hamilton, Brantford, Woodstock & London. Slight accident at Brantford. Man on bicycle turned in front of us without warning. H.H. turned off and avoided what might have been a serious collision. No damage done. He admitted it was his fault and we both went on our ways. Great fruit belt in Canada from Niagara Falls to Hamilton. Large well kept orchards and vineyards. All of us camped at Hyde Park, near London, Canada, on school house grounds. We slept in tent. Mother & Father in car. Wrote. To bed 10:30 P.M. Everything going nicely. Thankful for protection.

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Their second day of travel was eventful--a bicycle-auto collision, no less! Below is a map of their possible route, including their 1.5 hour stop at Niagara Falls. You can see that Google clocks it at 239 miles, taking 6 hours and 49 minutes. It took them from 7 AM to about 10 PM, I'm guessing, so about 15 hours (minus the 1.5 hrs, about 12.5 hours). They're making good time!

Stanford's mention of camping on "school house grounds" is interesting, as the Hyde Park School had  apparently been associated with the Methodist church in the past. Below is an excerpt from the history of the village of Hyde Park, taken from the Hyde Park Business Association website (which also has a photo of the little town, taken in 1915).

In 1839, John Barclay donated land at the southwest corner for the erection of Hyde Park School. The same lot would later see two more schools. In 1854, the fourth S.S. 17 was a frame building set on the west side of Hyde Park Road, midway between Gainsborough Road and the United Church. In 1867, another school, this one a brick building, was built for $1,500. 

Churches also sprung up to serve the spiritual needs of the growing Hyde Park Corner community. Methodist preachers had been conducting occasional services in the schoolhouse as early as 1845, and the services continued to be held for the next 30 years. In May, 1870, Edward Attrill donated a site for a church to the east of the intersection on the north side of the road.

This night, and many other nights along the way, Stillman and Fannie slept in their car. Ann Closson writes:

We often wondered how S.T. and Fannie could sleep in the car. An article in the Michigan History Magazine cleared this up for us. It stated that the Jewett slept two persons in comfort as long as neither one stretched out more than 6' 1.5 inches. This was done by making a bed with the front seat cushions folding back into the rear seat cushions.

You can read Stanford's letter to Mary Leah this day at the Letters page. It is the third letter attached.