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.

Wednesday, May 30, 1923 - The Trip Begins

MEMORIAL DAY
Schenectady, N.Y. Arose 6 A.M. Loaded things in Jewett. Prepared the house to leave. Breakfast & Worship. Bid Mrs. Mould, Zerby's etc, good-bye. Father, Mother, Brother & I started for California at 9:35 A.M. Very pleasant ride up the familiar Mohawk Valley. Dinner 2 miles east of Herkimer over looking the river. Wonderful, bright, cool & rather breezy. Very comfortable travelling in closed car. Roads excellent all the way with very slight exceptions. Very pleasant day for our first. Distance covered 190 miles. Car so new we did not drive much over 25 miles per hour. H.H. & I camped on public camping grounds at Canandaigua, N.Y. on the shore of Canandaigua Lake. Moonlight glorious. Letter to M.L.Y.* Father & Mother stayed at a private house. To bed 11 P.M. Thank God for safe departure. The scenery was beautiful all day long. Rolling country. From Seneca Lake to Canandaigua Lake, most wonderful apple orchards in full bloom. Air filled with their fragrance. Father & Mother stayed at 722 Lake Street.

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Stanford and his family set off for their journey in their new Jewett automobile. Below is a contemporary ad for the vehicle that describes some of the desirable features, which were probably what convinced Stillman to purchase one for their long trip.

Canandaigua Lake is one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Below is a photo of the Lake, taken from the town's website:

Taken from Town of Canandaigua

The route they took may have been similar to the one shown below, covering 204 miles; their route was only 190 miles, but it probably took them 8 hours or more to drive at 25 miles per hour.

*The letter Stanford wrote to Mary Leah can be read on the Letters: May 29-31, 1923 page, here.

Wednesday, May 30, 1923

For summer: see Record Book for account of trip to California.

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This is where Stanford starts his separate diary to record his trip out west.

Tuesday, May 29, 1923

Fair, bright, cool and breezy. Arose 7:30 A.M. Breakfast & worship. Odd jobs, all day long, packing up, getting stuff together etc. Washed car etc. Things too numerous to mention. Call on Uncle Charlie. To "Y" for shower. Talked. Wrote in diary. Letter to M.L.Y.

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Looks like the journey is imminent!