Russell C. Leavenworth, With Cameras, Circa 1920s

Russell Leavenworth and His Photos

Russell Leavenworth founded Leavenworth Photography in 1895. For twenty-five years, he photographed the booming lumber and mining industries of northern Michigan. His photographic subjects would change drastically in 1919. That year, Lansing industrial giants vacationing in northern Michigan persuaded Leavenworth to photograph their city’s burgeoning manufacturing industries. Leavenworth’s business prospered, as REO, Oldsmobile and other large industrial firms became clients. Leavenworth and his son-in-law/business partner Hiram Maple expanded the commercial photography business to include “subjects as diverse as street scenes, car parts, workers’ strikes, vaudeville troupes and football games, Leavenworth lived up to the slogan plastered on the door of his company car: “Anything photographed, anywhere, anytime.”

Cold Storage

A Freezer Full of Valuable Negatives

To ensure that R.C. Leavenworth’s valuable negatives will not degrade, the Archives of Michigan has begun to preserve them. The Archives does this through cold storage, using the Critical Moisture Indicator (CMI) packaging method. This process involves placing the negatives in an airtight polyethylene bag and storing the package in specially designed archival storage boxes. Two four-ply matboards are microwaved for thirty seconds to remove moisture, and the sealed bag is placed between the matboards in the storage boxes. These boxes are then carefully labeled for future accessibility and sealed in a polyethylene bag with silica gel to prepare them for cold storage. A box in cold storage need only be defrosted for three hours to safely view the negatives. The CMI packaging method protects the negatives for several years against moisture and humidity, until they have to be repackaged. Using this process, the Archives of Michigan has successfully processed 120 boxes of Leavenworth’s negatives for Oldsmobile, REO Motor Car Company and Lansing Board of Water & Light.

When Negatives Go Bad

Due to improper storage and excessive heat and humidity, portions of the Leavenworth collection have been damaged. Nitrate negatives too deteriorated to identify or save are safely discarded in a large hazardous materials storage bin. Nitrate negatives must be properly disposed because they can actually self-ignite if the temperature rises above 106 degrees Fahrenheit for a sustained period of time. Damaged safety film negatives must be properly discarded as well due to “vinegar syndrome.” Vinegar syndrome is the term to describe, “the chemical reaction occurring during the natural deterioration of triacetate film base in a sealed container.” The degradation of cellulose triacetate combined with moisture forms acetic acid and a pungent odor. Damaged negatives that can be scanned were digitized to preserve the image before their disposal. The Archives of Michigan documented discarded negatives using a Microsoft Access database that identifies the negative’s number, former box location, and subject.

The Deterioration of Nitrate Film – Step by Step

The images below depict the various stages of nitrate film deterioration. Note that there is also a sixth step – in which the film breaks down completely and turns into a brown powder.

Step 1: No Deterioration

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Step 1: No Deterioration

Sources:

Mark H. McCormick-Goodhart, “On the Cold Storage of Photographic Materials in a Conventional Freezer Using the Critical Moisture Indicator (CMI) Packaging Method.” 1994

Les Paul Robley, “Attack of the Vinegar Syndrome: An in-depth examination of the insidious virus that is eating away at America’s cinematic heritage.” American Cinematographer June 1996. Link to Robley’s Vinegar Syndrome Article: http://www.capital.net/com/jaytp/VINEGAR.HTM

Amy Sands, “Leavenworth Maintains Commercial Niche.” Greater Lansing Business Monthly July 01, 2003. Link to Sands’ Article on Leavenworth: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5316/is_200307/ai_n21333629/

Lisa Sparks, “Oldsmobile in Pictures.” Seeking Michigan Look! Blog, November 16, 2009. Link to Sparks’ on Oldsmobile and Leavenworth: http://seekingmichigan.org/look/2009/11/16/oldsmobile-in-pictures

Oldsmobile Promotional Photo, 1934

Oldsmobile in Color

This idealistic California scene promises a lifestyle of ease and luxury with your 1934 Oldsmobile F-series Six. Oldsmobile thrived during the Great Depression and touted their cars as the leaders in style and value.

This image is from a rare Agfacolor glass screen plate in the Leavenworth historical photograph collection. Agfacolor produced one of the earlier types of color photographic plates. It was similar to the Autochrome process in which the glass plate overlays a mosaic of red, green and blue dyed resin grains. These grains act as tiny color filters that interpret color onto the emulsion.

R.C. Leavenworth: The Man and His Photos

R.C. Leavenworth Letterhead

The striking image above comes from the Leavenworth Photograph Collection. Leavenworth Photography of Lansing, Michigan created one of the largest collections of Oldsmobile photographs. The collection is permanently housed at the Archives of Michigan.

The R.C. Leavenworth Photograph Collection spans many years. Through Leavenworth’s photos, one can “travel” from the horse-and-carriage days to the age of the automobile!

R. C. Leavenworth started out photographing lumbering and mining camps in northern Michigan, using a horse-drawn darkroom. He relocated to Lansing, Michigan in 1919 to document Lansing’s transformation into a major industrial city and automotive capital. For over a century, Leavenworth Photography has shot hundreds of thousands of images that tell the story of industry, business and social life in Michigan’s capital city. With subjects as diverse as street scenes, car parts, workers’ strikes, vaudeville troupes and football games, Leavenworth lived up to the slogan plastered on the door of his company car : “Anything photographed, anywhere, anytime.”

Post Card of Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Headquarters, Circa 1917-1918

The above comment, written by Corporal Emil B. Davis of Adrian, sums up the mission of the Michigan Bureau of Military Relief. The Bureau of Military Relief was established by the Michigan War Preparedness Board to extend aid, comfort and relief to all Michigan servicemen during World War I. This effort was centered in the Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Headquarters on West 40th Street in New York City. The office attempted to answer inquiries from family members and friends regarding servicemen and provided aid to sick, injured or wounded men. It also offered a clubroom where Michigan servicemen stationed in the New York area or in transit through New York City could visit for a meal and enjoy a touch of home. The headquarters also served as a meeting point and message center for servicemen who wished to contact other soldiers or sailors in New York.

The Guest Register: Name Index

Today, the guest register that all visitors to the clubroom were requested to sign is in the collection of the Archives of Michigan. This volume, which is part of the records compiled by the War Preparedness Board (Michigan Department of Military Affairs), lists the name, home residence, organization, station, next friend and a remarks column.

To access a name index of this register, click one of the following links.

Aarbert, Louis – Bryan, Mark

Byron, Marcus – Dunton, Orley

Dupas, Clifford – Harper, Thomas

Harper, Wilbur – Kirkpatrick, A.

Kirkpatrick, H. – McReynolds, William

McTaggart, D. – Peterman, Dan

Peters, E. – Shea, Jas.

Sheafer, Harley – Wagner, Ernest

Wagner, Ervin – Zzz, Zzz

Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Comments

The roster’s comments column offers an informative, sometimes amusing and often touching overview of the activities and emotional state of servicemen from every branch of the armed forces. The exuberance of Edward F. Lange, who writes he is homeward bound and will have Christmas dinner in Detroit, and Sidney Miller, a discharged Grand Rapids sailor who notes that it is the “Tall pines for me,” is balanced by the somber assertion of Angus M. Burkam of Benton Harbor, a seaman on the USS DeKalb, that he has made twelve trips to France, or others who write that they “sail for France in the morning.” Myron E. Pomery of Allen wanted the world to know he had “married a Coldwater girl.” There are dozens of young men anxiously waiting to return to University of Michigan, the Michigan Agricultural College (present-day Michigan State University) or other colleges. There is also Gertrude H. Merrill, formerly of Mount Pleasant, a member of the Salvation Army who would like to “see anyone from Central State Normal School” (present-day Central Michigan University). Gunners Mate 3rd Class Bruce Catton, the future Pulitzer prize-winning historian from Benzonia, left messages for friends to contact him on board his receiving ship in New York harbor.

Military pay, or lack thereof, was a frequent topic. If not totally “broke” many were like Leslie Wirtz of Hubbell, “not broke but badly bent.” Even worse was the plight of John D. Later of Grand Rapids who gave his next friend as, “Paymaster,” adding that he was “still broke.” Paul W. Donnell of Menominee offered the tongue in cheek advice to “Join the Navy” for “Trips to France.”

In April 1919 Seamen Carl J. Trese of Port Huron voiced the sentiments of thousands of returning servicemen when he wrote, “Till the Sun Sets Forever – Michigan.”

NOTE:

This article originally appeared in Michigan History magazine, vol. 85, number 3 (May/June 2001), pg. 47

For more on Michigan History magazine, click this link: Michigan History magazine

Unidentified American Soldiers in France, Circa 1917-1918

Women Pose in Old Stage Coach (Photo not dated)

The photo above was likely taken in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The women depicted seem to be having fun in the “old stage coach.” One suspects that, even then, the stagecoach could evoke the “romance” of the old frontier.

Michigan Stage Routes

Christian Clemens established a weekly stagecoach route between Detroit and Mount Clemens (a town that Clemens founded) in 1822. In his article “On the Michigan Stage” (Michigan History magazine, Sept/Oct 2005), LeRoy Barnett cites Clemens’ 1822 route as “the first concrete evidence of a stagecoach running in Michigan.”

Detroit naturally became a hub for stagecoach lines. Several stagecoach routes began in 1826, connecting Detroit to Toledo, Ann Arbor and Pontiac. Service expanded to Niles around 1830 and to Chicago by 1833. A stage connected Detroit to Lansing (established as the capital in 1847) by 1852.

Grand Rapids served as a hub in the Western part of the state. It first became accessible by stage in 1833. Afterwards, service to and from Grand Rapids greatly expanded. By 1856, the city could boast eleven regular stage lines. (For more on stage routes in Michigan, see the aforementioned article by LeRoy Barnett.)

The Stagecoach and the Tavern

Taverns tended to spring up along roads traveled by stagecoaches. For a fee, tavern visitors could receive a bed and/or a meal. In Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State, Willis F. Dunbar notes that “accommodations were crude and often inadequate, but food was abundant and friendliness the rule.” The Walker Tavern, now part of the Michigan Historical Museum system, provides a connection to that era. Purchased by the Walker family in 1843, it proved a popular stop for stagecoach passengers traveling from Detroit to Chicago. For more information on Walker Tavern, click here: Walker Tavern Web Site

The End of the Era

Stagecoach service declined as railroad service became more readily available. Contrary to popular belief, however, stagecoaches did not completely disappear until the age of the automobile. LeRoy Barnett notes that thirty-seven stagecoach lines were listed in 1897 Michigan gazetteers and that four stagecoach lines were still running in Michigan as late as 1927.

Ad for Detroit and Lansing Stage, 1856

Art Smith and Aimee Cour

Art Smith and Aimee Cour couldn’t marry in Indiana. They could marry in Michigan, but they had to get there. Fortunately for them, Art was a pilot!

In 1912, Art Smith of Fort Wayne, Indiana had gained renown as a stunt pilot. He flew in circuses and exhibitions. His skills, however, did not impress the parents of his girlfriend, Aimee Cour. They deemed Art’s profession to be dangerous. They also felt that nineteen-year old Art and eighteen-year old Aimee were too young to marry.

Because of their young ages, Art and Aimee would need parental consent to marry in Indiana. Michigan, however, had no such law. The couple decided to elope across the state line. Aimee worried that they’d never make it. She knew that her parents were watching them. Art told her that nothing could catch an airplane.

The two set out for Hillsdale, Michigan in late October, 1912. They reached Hillsdale College, and Art then tried to land in a field on campus. He soon discovered that he couldn’t move the ailerons (small flaps used to balance the airplane.). They may have malfunctioned or, perhaps, Art’s hands and feet were too cold to effectively operate the controls. In any case, the plane crashed. It landed in a soft cornfield and turned completely over. Art and Aimee were thrown from the plane, which was now a complete wreck.

A number of bystanders rushed to the crash site. One of these was a driver who was delivering a mattress to a furniture store. The driver and two helpers put Art and Aimee on the mattress and carried them away. At that time, Hillsdale had no hospital, so the couple was taken to a hotel. They awoke there several hours later. Eventually, someone procured a minister, and the two were married from a hotel bed. It was history’s first aerial elopement.

The newlyweds spent another three weeks recovering in the hotel. Their parents, happy to see them alive, forgave them. All seemed to end well.

Of course, the future often unfolds in unforeseen ways. Art continued his work as a pilot and gained national celebrity status. This placed a strain on his marriage, and the couple legally divorced in 1917. Aimee eventually remarried; Art did not.

On February 12, 1926, Art Smith was flying an air route between Chicago and Bryan, Ohio. He was flying at night and encountered some foul weather. His plane crashed, killing him. He was thirty-two years old.

The information for this article comes from Rachel S. Roberts’ book, Art Smith: Pioneer Aviator (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2003). This author obtained a copy quickly through MeLCat, the Michigan eLibrary’s online catalog. MeL provides valuable resources for Michigan citizens. Click www.mel.org to visit the MeL homepage.

Early Pere Cheney Residents, Identified as: (Left to Right) Waterboy, Dining Room Entertainment, Camp Supervisor, Bouncer and Chef

Booms and Busts

During the boom years of Michigan’s lumbering era, many mill towns were founded practically overnight. Cadillac, Gaylord and Grayling have all survived the decline of the logging era and are still alive today. Other towns flourished for a time, then succumbed to changing economic and geographic factors. Today, the ghost town of Pere Cheney exists only on old maps and only a few gravestones remain to mark what was once the seat of Crawford County.

Rise

On or about 1873, the Michigan Central Railroad Company granted a land patent to George M. Cheney for the purpose of establishing a fuel and water station, as well as a freight and passenger depot. Cheney also built a sawmill and, later, a hotel called “The Cheney House” to accommodate the increasing numbers of settlers, tourists and sportsmen who were flooding the area.

The village was platted and designated “Cheney Station” by the Mackinac Division of the Michigan Central Railroad in December 1874. The town began to grow as sawmills began operating and two hotels and a general store opened. Lumberjacks and teamsters came to work in the pine forests surrounding Cheney Station. Blacksmiths, millworkers, wagon makers and storekeepers came to establish secondary trades. Settlers brought their families and built homesteads from the lumber that seemed to be in endless supply. By 1885, Pere Cheney reached its peak population of one hundred residents.

A Group of Teamsters in Pere Cheney, Michigan

“…agricultural possibilities are unlimited…”

Hoping to lure more farmers to buy the cut-over timber lands, Crawford County published several promotional booklets featuring testimonials by Pere Cheney farmers, boasting that “…Crawford County possesses all the requirements in climate, soil, etc., to become the Best Fruit County in the State. Nine-tenths of its soil is rich and productive and agricultural possibilities are unlimited…The climate is for health and salubrity the best in the State.”

But life at Pere Cheney was not as easy as the lure books made it out to be. Farmers who were persuaded to buy the “rich and productive” land found sandy soils and a short growing season. Snowed in for months at a time, the boredom and loneliness were unbearable. What few roads existed were – more often than not – unpassable. Though wild game was plentiful, fresh water was not, and early residents had to drink from ponds and streams. Disease was common, and death was familiar to residents of Pere Cheney.

More Early Pere Cheney Residents

Decline and Fall

In 1874, eight and one-half miles northwest on the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw rail line, settlers established the town of Grayling. Grayling’s population grew steadily, while Pere Cheney’s began to decline, and by 1881, the county seat was permanently relocated to Grayling. Later that same year, the Michigan Central railroad chose Grayling as the location for the headquarters of its Mackinac Division—an economic blow to Cheney.

By the early 1900s, more people were going than coming to Pere Cheney. The town’s population declined from fifty-five in 1896 to twenty-five in 1901, then to only eighteen in 1917. The location of the Mackinac Division and the county seat at Grayling; and the inability to transform a dying logging economy to one based on agriculture were the causes of Pere Cheney’s death. Grayling and Roscommon were luring away many Cheney residents, having the advantage of a nearby river—the famous Au Sable—to power mills and drive logs; thus creating more jobs. Unlike Pere Cheney, Grayling was able to diversify its logging-based economy by manufacturing products such as hardwood flooring and paper. Grayling’s slow but steady growth enabled it to finish the race that Cheney had initially led. In 1912, the U. S. Post Office at Pere Cheney closed its doors for good. Pere Cheney could not recover from the loss of its human and natural resources.

Note on This Article:

This article was abridged from Steve Ostrander’s article in the May/June 1990 issue of Michigan History magazine. For information on Michigan History, click this link: Michigan History Magazine.

Sketch of Fraser Airport, Circa 1949

Thomas B. Joy Airport

Fraser, Michigan, sits in south central Macomb County, in Detroit’s northern suburbs. The city is a typically suburban mix of low-density, residential neighborhoods and commercial strips, with pockets of industry. Fraser was also once home to a small airport—the Thomas B. Joy Airport. This is noted in Vacation in Michigan by Plane: A Sketch Book of Michigan’s Airports and Landing Fields, a guide published yearly by the Michigan Department of Aeronautics. This small airfield was one of dozens found across Michigan in the years following World War II. It was a time when individualized air travel was considered within the reach of the average Michigander—of “the Flyer, the Flying Executive, and the Aero Tourist” (as the authors of Vacation in Michigan by Plane so optimistically noted in the dedication of the 1950 edition).

Diagram of Fraser Showing Position of Airport, Circa 1949

“…seemingly vanished completely…”

Joy Airport was located on the square parcel now bounded by Masonic Boulevard, Kelly Road, 13 Mile Road and Eveningside Drive, in the southeast corner of Fraser. A look at contemporary aerial photographs of this area quickly reveals nothing that would suggest the one-time presence of an airport here. Joy Airport’s hangars and administration buildings are gone, as are its three 2,000 foot-long runways—features that are difficult to fully erase from the landscape and can often be discerned at sites of former airports (Paul Freeman’s Web site Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields provides numerous examples of the physical persistence of runways at former airport sites.) Joy Airport has seemingly vanished completely beneath the brick homes and winding streets of the mid-1950s subdivision called “Venetian Village.”

Aerial Photo of the Joy Airport Site, Circa 2009

Or Has It?

But not completely, perhaps. One aspect of the subdivision does suggest its former use. A small residential street, “Airport Road,” runs parallel to Masonic Boulevard near where Joy Airport’s buildings and aircraft apron were once located. And to the southeast of the former airport site are two small roads, “Joy Drive” and “Joy Court.” Presumably these are references to the former airport, or to the man after which the airport was named. Otherwise, nothing else remains to recall Thomas B. Joy Airport and the travelers that began and ended their journeys here or stopped temporarily in Fraser, Michigan on their way to other points and places.

Map Showing the Subdivision's Street Names, Circa 2009

The Library of Michigan holds several editions of Vacation in Michigan by Plane in its Lansing collections.

The street map and aerial photograph were created using the Map Michigan service of the Michigan Center for Shared Solutions.

Lansing's Old City Hall, Dedicated in 1897 (Photo Not Dated)

A New City Hall (1897)

In 1894, the City Council of Lansing, Michigan authorized bonds to build a new City Hall on the corner of Ottawa and Capitol Avenues. Accepting the plans of prominent architect Edwyn A. Bowd, the Council spent $150,000 on this new structure. Bowd’s original design included chambers for the Lansing City Council and offices for Lansing’s mayor, treasurer, clerk, assessor and police department (including a jail). In an effort to change the county seat from Mason to Lansing, the Lansing City Council also authorized that the structure be large enough to accommodate the Ingham County Circuit Court, Ingham County Probate Court and offices for county officials. However, the county seat was not moved, and Bowd went on to design a new Ingham County Courthouse in Mason in 1902. The cornerstone for the Lansing City Hall was laid in August 1895, and the dedication was in January 1897.

A New City Hall (1959)

By 1938, just forty-four years after the City Hall was first commissioned, the architectural firm of Harland Bartholomew and Associates issued a report criticizing its “slovenly” appearance. The architectural firm’s primary message: Build a new city hall. The 1894 structure would be inadequate within another twenty years. Bartholomew was right. In 1957, Lansing built a new city hall at Michigan and Capitol. The modern structure, designed by Lee Black and Kenneth C. Black, was dedicated on Feb. 17, 1959. The old city hall was bulldozed that same year.

Lansing's City Hall. Photo Taken Circa 1960s

Click Rich Slave – Large image to view an enlarged version of the image.

Here, we see some fine silent film melodrama. The hero, played by Romaine Fielding, lies unconscious on the railroad tracks. Fortunately, this time, the Michigan State Police can ride to the rescue!

The photos seen here come from Michigan State Police records. State Police officers once appeared in a movie, titled The Rich Slave. The movie was reportedly filmed in 1917 and released to audiences in 1921. In the photo to the right, you can see the State Police officers in character, wearing their Western cowboy garb. (Click State Police as Cowboys – Large image to view an enlarged version of the image.)

The State Police records include a typed reminiscence of the event. Harriett Faussett Brogan wrote this undated memoir, titled “Early Michigan State Police Movie Heroes.” She stated that her father, Thomas J. Fausett, had formed a movie company with actor Romaine Fielding. Ms. Brogan noted that the company was based in Howell, Mich., her father’s hometown. She recalled that production of The Rich Slave began “about the middle of June 1917″ and that much of the movie was filmed in Howell. According to Ms. Brogan, the State Police portrayed cowboys in some action shots, which were filmed “on land now known as Kensington Park near Brighton.” She further wrote, “There was a log cabin there owned by the Labardy family. And this is where the State Police made their debut as movie stars performing admirably all types of outstanding horsemanship.” (At that time, most State Police officers patrolled on horseback, so they were quite skilled at riding.) She noted that the cabin appeared in the film as the Buck Horn Hotel and that “Mr. Labardy also acted in one of the scenes.”

Further research indicates that “Mr. Labardy” was likely either Oliver Labadie or his brother, Hubert. These were brothers of Jo Labadie, whose papers are housed at the University of Michigan. The Jo Labadie Collection Web site notes that Oliver and Hubert opened a film studio, which they named the Labadie-Detroit Motion Picture Company. The Web site lists some films made there, with The Rich Slave appearing on the list. (To read about the studio, click Labadie-Detroit Motion Picture Company and scroll down to the third paragraph.).

Ms. Brogan states that The Rich Slave was filmed in 1917. She explains that the producers had some difficulty selling the film and seems to believe that it was never released. Other sources, however, do provide a release date of 1921.

A little Web surfing has revealed some further information. Romaine Fielding was both star and director of the film. Mabel Taliaferro, known as “the Sweetheart of American movies,” was the leading lady (Click Mabel Taliaferro for the Internet Movie Database page on Taliaferro.). Other performers included Joseph Smiley, Arthur Elton, Martha Forest and Vinnie Burns (Burns used the pseudonym “June Day.”). (Click “Rich Slave on IMDB to read the IMDB entry on the film.) The plot, summarized at the allmovie Web site, concerns an orphan girl (Taliaferro) and villainous financiers who seek to rob her of her inheritance. Naturally, the hero, played by Fielding, comes to her rescue! (Click allmovie synopsis to read the full plot summary.)

The Michigan State Police, incidentally, would have been in its infancy when this movie was filmed. The organization began as the Michigan State Troops Permanent Force, officially established in April 1917. America had just entered World War I, and the State Troops’ formation addressed homeland security concerns. For more information, see the book Preserve, Protect, and Defend: An Illustrated History of the Michigan State Police in the Twentieth Century by Inspector Phillip D. Schertzing (Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, 2002). (Click Preserve, Protect and Defend to see the ANSWER catalog record of this book. Click History of the State Police to read a history on the State Police Web site.)

Filmmakers continue to find Michigan an attractive locale. In April 2008, Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm signed a law establishing the most aggressive film incentive program in the nation (Click Film Incentive Program for more details.). For more information on filming in Michigan (and a list of movies filmed in Michigan), click Michigan Film Office.

Grave of Traverse Calantha Walker (Photo courtesy of Jim Kuhn)

Traverse Colantha Walker
April 29, 1916 –January 8, 1932
Life time record: “Milk: 200,114.9 lbs. Fat: 7,525 lbs. Nine Lactations.”

Traverse Colantha Walker was a world record holding Holstein-Friesian dairy cow. She was born on the grounds of the Traverse City State Hospital on April 29, 1916. The State of Michigan operated the Traverse City State Hospital—located in the northwestern community of Traverse City, Michigan—from 1885-1993. At the turn of the twentieth century, most large State institutions (State hospitals) operated a dairy farm to supplement their patients’ needs for dairy products. When Traverse Colantha Walker joined the dairy herd at Traverse City State Hospital, the institution already supported the most famous institutional Holstein-Friesian dairy herd-breeding program in the country.

In the late summer of 1929, some of the Traverse City State Hospital’s Holstein-Friesians were exhibited at the Michigan State Fair in Detroit. Entered in an open class division, the Traverse City State Hospital’s herd competed against members of other State institutional herds. Under Section Thirteen in the State’s fair premium book, State institutional herds did not compete against Michigan’s other Holstein-Friesian breeders. Instead of a cash prize, State institutional herds received “beautiful banners.” In 1929, “a select member of the Traverse City State Hospital herd received fifteen points out of twenty” and a Champion banner.

Today, most of the barns and outbuildings once related to this champion dairy herd are gone. Traverse Colantha Walker, however, rests quietly under her granite gravestone overlooking beautiful Grand Traverse Bay and the pastures she once roamed. If you would like to view the “beautiful banner” won by the Traverse City State Hospital’s dairy herd in 1929, visit the Michigan Historical Museum. The Archives of Michigan also houses photographs of this famous dairy herd.

Traverse City State Hospital Dairy Herd, circa 1940s-1950s