Union City High School Yearbook Collection

The following collection of Union City High School Yearbooks are available on the blog to view or download.  In order to view an individual yearbook, you will need to click on the link in the yearbook description or click on the yearbook image.  

To access "Union City High School - 1914 Yearbook", click on Union City High School -1914 Yearbook. The link will take you to a pdf copy of the yearbook.  Note - This was the first yearbook published for the Union City High School

To access "AGATHON - 1915 Union City High School Yearbook", click on Union City High School Yearbook - 1915. The link will take you to a pdf copy of the yearbook.

1927 - Union City High School Yearbook

To access "Union City High School - 1927 Yearbook", click on Union City High School -1927 Yearbook. The link will take you to a pdf copy of the yearbook.

John Coward Home

The John Coward Home - c 1910 (note... the Buell family home on Railroad Street in the right background of the picture).  Appears the home was probably on Washington Street and is no longer there.

Sanford Fire Maps of Union City - Aug 1892

Civil War Veterans in front of the Civil War Memorial - 1908

The picture of Civil War Veterans at the Civil War Memorial in 1908.  The picture was scanned while visiting the Hammond House in 2010.

Adolph Insurance, McRae Restaurant, & Olmstead Barbershop - 1975

The picture was taken on north Broadway and includes Willard Adolph's Insurance Office, McRae Restaurant (owned by Beulah and Ernie McRae), and the Olmstead Barbershop, picture taken in 1975.  The picture was found and scanned from the picture collection at the Hammond House in Union City.

 Lyn McRae said...

And if anyone has a copy of the postcard they're willing to part with, PLEASE contact me heiselynx@hotmail.com . Or any other memorabilia from the restaurant! My mother (Phillis McRae) and I would be very grateful! Thank you.

July 4, 2015 at 1:18 PM

 Lyn McRae said...

I spent many hours reading on that front bench! :-)

July 4, 2015 at 1:20 PM

Ford Garage Fire ...as told in "Growing Up In Union City" by Ross D. Pendill

Back in 2011 I posted on the blog ..."Growing Up In Union City" by Ross D. Pendill a collection of short stories Ross wrote for the Union City Register Tribune between 1982 and 1983.  His daughters, Penny and Linda, reprinted the collection in a booklet at the time of his death, September 23, 1997.  Linda gave me permission to add the book to my blog ... to view the entire book go to Short Stories.   

This posting on the blog deals with the Ford Garage Fire ...recently Cheryl (Bartlett) Proctor contacted me in regards to the Ford Garage fire mentioned on page 21-23 of the booklet.  She had a picture of the building taken shortly after the fire, that she shared with me to put on the blog.  My brother Marty scanned the picture, and inserted it and a few other pictures relating to the Ford Garage Fire in Ross Pendill's story regarding Union City fires to make up the blog posting below. 

 _______________________

Memories of Ross Pendill:

I can remember three major fires that occurred in the twenties. At that time, the fire department used a hose cart, a two-wheeled unit with the hose wrapped around an axle reel. The firemen would pull the cart to the nearest fire hydrant, couple the hose to the hydrant, and then pull the cart, unreeling hose as they went to the fire. At the fire they attached the nozzle and signaled for water to be turned on. A second hose could be run from the hydrant if needed.

The first fire was at the E. J. Gwin & Son Shoe Store (Emmett and Errol), located where Bopp's Drugstore [Miller's Pharmacy] is now. It was a two-story building with a basement. On the second floor, in the front, was a dentist's office. During the fire, which destroyed the first floor and much of the second floor, the dental chair fell from the second floor through to the basement. This was great news to us kids who didn't like dental chairs too well. After the fire, the building was cleaned out and left vacant until John Ennor bought it (used as a movie theater).

Engle & Spoore Ford Garage from about 1920 before the fire

The second fire was at the Engle & Spoor Ford Garage, where Hawkins Furniture Store [Dearth Library] now is. The west half of the building was a wooden structure with a curved wooden roof covered with roofing felt, the walls were concrete, about five feet high.  There was a full basement.  The fire started late at night on the first floor of the west half of the building.  This area contained the repair shop, storage room for cars, and some tractors.  The fire got a big start before it was discovered, so, by the time the firemen arrived, all they could do was try to keep it from spreading to the hotel, (where Merchants’ Hardware now is), to Chan Brown’s machine shop (where the water tank now is), and to Smith’s house (Where Merchants’ warehouse now is).  The roof of the hotel caught fire several times but the flames were quickly extinguished. It was said the flames went up 150 feet in the air.  An unusual part of the fire was the explosion of the gasoline tanks in the many cars that were inside the building.  As the heat increased around a tank, the gasoline vaporized and eventually exploded, breaking the tank and throwing several gallons of gas into the fire.  One would hear the boom and see the flash at almost the same time. After the fire, all that was left of the west end of the building were the five-foot walls and the basement. When Bray Motor Sales owned the building, the businessmen sponsored free movies on the concrete floor are of the burned building.  Later, a tennis court was marked out on the same spot.  I can remember playing tennis with Dr. Finlay on this court.  Not many people know that he was a very good tennis player.  No one in the area could win against him.

Building after the fire (picture provided by Cheryl (Bartlett) Proctor

Spoore's Garage

Parking area used by the Ford Garage after the fire - picture from 1937

[After the fire at the Ford Garage, the repair shop was moved into the basement of the east part of the building on Broadway.  One morning a fellow called “Sleepy” Kline was backing a car out of the south door of the repair shop.  He intended backing to the south, then going up the hill to West High Street.  The car used a gearshift, not pedals like a Ford.  When backing south in the street, he got mixed up and, instead of going up the hill, he continued to the west, across the sidewalk and through a wood fence, and dropped about six feet into the riverbank.  The car landed right side up and was later hauled out.]

Aerial View from 1955

The third fire was at the cement plant.  It broke out some place near the engine room or the east end of the kiln room.  The company had their own firefighting equipment and men.  On this occasion, however, they asked for help from the village.  Some other boys and I stood on the tracks to the “wet end”, watching the scene.  They called for more hose, so someone from the company drove his car back to the fire barn and got several coils of hose.  When he arrived at the scene and hauled out the hose, Lucille Wilbur (now Mrs. Granger Anderson) helped roll out the hose and connect it up.  She was the first woman firefighter I ever saw in action.

There were several small fires that I observed around town.  At one of them, the hose cart ran over a fireman’s foot as they turned off Broadway onto Ellen Street.  He limped to Dr. Hancock’s office in the Watkins-Maxon Building for treatment. He continued to limp for a month.

One Sunday afternoon, during the summer of 1929, a bunch of us were at Whiting’s Drug Store when the fire siren blew.  We tore out of the store to the fire hall.  We stood at the firehouse door for a while, but no one showed up.  We waited some more, still no one came, so we opened the door and Lee Bartlett started the engine of the Reo fire truck to get it warmed up.  The first fireman to arrive was Max Woodruff.  He “bawled” us out for starting the engine.  Then, as he waited for more firemen to come, he softened up and said “Don’s do it again”.  Another minor fire was in the engine of a Model T.  While coming up the hill from the bridge, to East High Street, the engine stalled.  While the owner was trying to start it, it backfired and set the carburetor on fire.  A fireman with a soda-acid extinguished couldn’t put out the fire.  Another fireman, named Drake, (a baker for Smith Bros. Grocery) came out of the grocery store with a sack of flour and threw it over the engine.  That put out the fire.

CRISSY – HAWKINS HOME IS UNIQUE BLEND OF GREEK REVIVAL & GOTHIC STYLES - Submitted by Sherry (Hawkins) Herdman

Hi Ron,  I attached a clipping that you can use in your blog.  The photo is of the house where I grew up on the corner of Charlotte and Ann Streets.  I included a transcription of the newspaper article that appered in the Register Tribune in 1975.  It was part of the newspaper’s “Notable Homes” series.  Sherry (Hawkins) Herdman

CLIPPING IS TAKEN FROM THE REGISTER TRIBUNE, JANUARY 23, 1975

202 CHARLOTTE STREET. COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTION FOLLOW.

HAWKINS HOME

202 CHARLOTTE ST., UNION CITY, MI.

THE FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPTION OF THE REGISTER TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER CLIPPING WHICH INCLUDES A PHOTO OF THE HAWKINS HOME.  IT IS PART OF THE NOTABLE HOMES SERIES DATED 

JANUARY 23, 1975.  SEE PHOTO. 

CRISSY – HAWKINS HOME IS UNIQUE BLEND OF GREEK REVIVAL & GOTHIC STYLES

     A unique mixture of Greek Revival and Gothic architectural styles can be found in the interesting brick home of Mr. and Mrs. James Hawkins, 202 Charlotte St.  The bold effect of the wide and heavy Greek window and door casings and cornices are modified by the airy and delicate Gothic gingerbread trim.

     The interior, too, exemplifies both styles with sharply angled Greek woodworking and an unexpected gracefully curved stairway.  

     The home, situated on three of four original lots, was once part of the farm of Chester Hammond who in 1838 platted “Hammond’s Addition” to provide the village with additional residential land.  

     Hammond was spurred to this project when a junction of the Erie Canal with the St. Joseph River here was proposed.

     After Hammond’s death in October of 1849, his son-in-law and executor of his estate, Henry S. Hurd, sold four lots (the corner lot on Charlotte St. and three behind it on Ann Street) to Justin and Caroline M. Lawyer in 1852.  The land was then sold to Curtis S. Younds in 1856 but it still was not developed until 1857 when Hiram and Martha Crissy bought it for their homestead.

     Crissy was born in Binghampton County, New York, October 3, 1819, to Abram and Polly Crissy.  When Hiram was 13, his family moved west and settled in Marshall where he grew up.  In 1852 he came to Union City with his wife, whom he had married that same year.  The home was built about five years later and Crissy engaged in the hardware business and later followed with a drygoods business and a grocery store.

In 1906 Branch County History describes Hiram Crissy thusly:

     “In matters of citizenship, Mr. Crissy was always public spirited and progressive, doing everything in his power to advance the material, social, intellectual, and moral welfare of his community.  He always gave his political support to the Democratic party and kept well informed on the issues of the day, but did not care for office.  A very prominent and zealous member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, he built a house of worship for that denomination in Union City and was its chief supporter while he lived.”

     The church referred to was the Grace Episcopal Church, built in 1865 on the corner of Ellen and Ann Streets next to the post office.  The church cost about $4000 to erect.  Because the numbers of the congregation never grew very large, regular services were not held and it eventually dissolved.

     Crissy married Martha Corbin in 1852.  Her father, Ezbond Corbin was an early settler of Branch County.  Mrs. Crissy was a twin sister to Mrs. Isaac Tower, whose husband was a prominent local figure in the late 1800’s early 1900’s.

     The Crissys had three children:  Ellen, who never married and always resided with her family; Sarah Pauley, of ST. Louis, Missouri; and Frank St. John, who was a successful Calhoun County farmer.  

     Though Crissy, it was said, did not like holding public office, he was elected trustee in the first village election after its incorporation, was a trustee in 1868, marshal in 1869, treasurer in 1870, and was again assessor in 1871.

     Mr. Crissy died in 1891 at the age of 72 and Mrs. Crissy remained in the home until her own death in 1910.  The home was left to their daughter, Ellen, who maintained ownership until 1922.  

     The home was then sold to Erta Kimball who was for many years a cashier at the Union City National Bank.  

     In 1939 the home again changed hands and Dr. John C. Miller and his wife, Sarah, purchased the property.  Dr. Miller practiced in the back portion of the home.  Mrs. Miller died in 1944 and Dr. Miller, in 1947.

     Louis and June Carpenter bought the home in 1947 and lived here until 1958 when its present owners, Mr. and Mrs. James Hawkins moved to Union City from Arlington, Virginia.

     Mr. Hawkins bought the Register Tribune in 1955 and served as its editor and publisher for 18 years, selling the newspaper in 1973 to Raymond W. Smith.

     Very few changes have been made to the “Crissy House”, as it was once called.  The upstairs of the ten-room home includes three bedrooms and a bath.  Mr. Hawkins’ mother, Mrs. Jessie Hawkins, has her living quarters in this portion of the spacious home.

     The downstairs is made up of two bedrooms, a bath, kitchen, living room, dining room and front entryway.  

     The unusual architectural touches give the home an eye-catching appeal, which when combined with the historical flavor, certainly makes it among Union City’s notable homes.

Union City Fire Department - 1937

South Broadway Business District - 1937

Union Township School or Church Picture - Early 1900's

The picture was scanned while visiting the Hammond House in September 2013.  In searching census records for the children listed in the picture, it appears that a common point found is all appear to have been living around the Gower and Coldwater Road area in the 1900 census.  The Morey School was located on the northwest corner of Gower and Coldwater Roads in 1900.

The 1st Union City Boy Scout Troop, Feb 1918 - Re-posted with newspaper article

Photo provided by Duane Hooker....

Picture and information forwarded to me by Duane Hooker's daughter Denise ...Duane notes; "First Boy Scout Troop" - I believe the photo of the boys is the first Boy Scout Troop in Union City. A note on back of picture reads: "February 1918, picture copy by Douglas Hobday". Eli T. Hooker (Duane's father) is the third boy from the right in the photo. Duane comments that he suspects a lot of grandpa's will be recognized by their grandchildren in this picture.

Sandra Plettner originally posted the newspaper article on the "Union City, Michigan Memories" Facebook group.  The newspaper article notes the names of the boys appearing in the picture.

Comment: Looks like the Civil War Statue in the Soldiers Park beside the Congregational Church in Union City is behind the scouts. You can also see a little of the bandstand that once stood in the park on the very left in the picture. ....Ron

C. S. Bartlett - Furniture and Undertaking

The following biography was found while visiting the Hammond House in 2013.  The pictures were also scanned during the visit.

C. S. BARTLETT FUNERAL HOME - Charles S. Bartlett was born in a log cabin on January 26, 1875 in Shiloh, Ohio.  His family moved near Clinton, Michigan before settling in Hillsdale County.  He married Gertrude Older, a school teacher, on August 14, 1901 and they made their first home in Hillsdale.  While living there, they had three children, Charles born in 1902 and twins, Lee and Lynn, in 1907.  Mr. Bartlett had been working for C.E. Singer and Son in the furniture and undertaking business for several years.  The opportunity to be in business for himself prompted him to move to Union City in August of 1909.

The family first lived on Ellen Street across from the furniture store they owned.  At that time, funerals were either held at the deceased's home or in a church.  In 1928, the family moved to a two story house on the comer of Charlotte and Ellen Streets which was formerly owned by C..M. Hall.  During the depression of the 1930's, the furniture store was closed and the residence was remodeled into a funeral home with funerals held in the parlor.  The Bartlett's were active members of the Methodist Church and a few of the "old timers" remember that a knock on their door would give them the key to get into the church.  The home was surrounded by beautiful flower gardens and these were always available when flowers were needed for the Mother & Daughter Banquets or other church functions.

Gertrude died in 1960 at the age of 84.  Charles carried on the business until 1961.  When at the age of 86, he conducted his last burial, thus ending 52 years as a mortician in Union City.  He passed away at the age of 91 in 1966.  Charles and Gertrude are both buried in Riverside Cemetery.

The C. S. Bartlett Furniture & Undertaking on Ellen Street, the building 

later was the the Amstutz Hatchery behind the bank on Ellen Street.

C. S. Bartletts horse drawn hearse.

The Bartlett home across from the C. S. Bartlett Furniture & Undertaking business on Ellen Street.

Gertrude and Charles Bartlett in front 

of their home on Ellen Street.

C. S. Bartlett Funeral Home and residence at the southeast corner of Charlotte and Ann Streets.

C. S. Bartlett Funeral Home Hearse

Maynard Home - built in 1915 at the corner of Washington and Railroad Streets

The picture was submitted by Louis Cuyler with the following remarks:

Information under picture:  Ray, Lelia, May, Leslie, Kennard, Aunt Cora, & Uncle Lem,

Grandma Ormsby setting (Mary Maynard)

Written on the back:  Spring 1916, Uncle Lem's home in Union City on corner of Washington Street and Railroad Street.  After Aunt Lelia Northam died in 1938, Uncle Ray Northam married Mary Fredrick.  Grandma Ornsby was Grandpa Maynard's mother.  She was married to a man named James Maynard  first.  Grandpa Maynard had this house built in 1915.

She had 4 children by James Maynard:

3 - Elizibeth - Maynard - Ornsby - Rigby

2 - L. J. Maynard

1 - Carrie Dunbar - Howe

By Milton Ormsby 1 - Ida Ormsby - Monroe

Tom Thumb Wedding in 1921 - Repost with Bill Gough's Comments

The picture above title "Tom Thumb Wedding" in Union City, Michigan on Feb. 11th 1921 appears to have take place in the Congregational Church.  The original picture was loaned to me to scan back in 1998, by Barbara and Vernon Cline.  They lived in the apartment across from my parents in the Butler Apartments where the old school once stood.  Barbara is in the second row back the 3rd from the left.  My father is located in the second row from the rear, the boy on the right looking off to his left.

Additional comment from Bill Gough ....My mother's older sister, Margaret Corbin, is also in the picture taken at the church. She is 2nd to the left from the organ console in the 2nd row from the top, wearing a bandanna.

Comment from Bill Gough ....My mother Eleanor Corbin Gough is in the "Tom Thumb" wedding picture taken inside First Congregational…she was four years old. I am happy to report that she is still alive and turning 96 is October. I recognized that picture as soon as I saw it, and picked my mother out right away…in fact she is on the right side of the picture in the second row and her head (black hair with a bandana) brushes up against your dad who you say is looking to the left. As the story goes, all the kids are looking at one of the bridesmaids who just became sick and is actually vomiting in the picture!

The picture above was scanned while visiting the Hammond House in 2010.  The picture notes "Tom Thumb Wedding".  Appears to be in the opera house.

Opera House

Another picture sent to me by Bill Gough of the old opera house on Hammond Street from his mother's photo album.

Sherwood - Pictures and comments from Frank Gorsline - Posting #4

Some more pictures sent to me from Frank with his comments. Pictures from he Riley Farms.  The first picture is of Erny Rosenberry, foreman of the Riley Farms.  He was a super guy and always worked harder than any of us hired for the farm.  Erny graduated from UCHS in 1942.  He was a baseball player for UCHS, and a terrific fast pitch pitcher.  He was one of the best pitchers I ever had the privilege of catching.  (Erny is the guy standing beside the Farmall  tractor in the second picture).  I drove that thing for a lot of hours on the farm. The farm was on Arbogast Road in Union City.

 Erny Rosenberry.

 Erny Rosenberry standing beside the tractor.

Erny Rosenberry's daughter.

Baseball team picture from the 1942 UCHS Yearbook (Earnest Rosenberry mentioned).

Sherwood - Pictures and comments from Frank Gorsline - Posting #3

Some additional pictures sent to me from Frank Gorsline from Sherwood for the 1950's.

Frank shoveling snow at Williamson's Phillip 66 Station.

 Removing snow from in front of Williamson's Phillip 66 Station on Main Street in Sherwood.

Snow piled up along Main Street in Sherwood.  The empty lot on the left is where the Sherwood House once stood.

Wadsworth's Garage looking North on Main Street. They were a Marathon station. Next door on same side was Kaechle's General Store (they sold everything). The open area between the General Store and the next building, the Phillips 66 station owned by Pat and Helen Williamson, was where the Sherwood House was located.

Men playing cards in the Pool Hall at Williamson's Phillip 66.

I didn't know everyone who came in to play cards at the pool hall, the only one I remember in the picture was Clancy Hicks...the man seated on the right with cap on his head.  I played a lot of pool, but never was allowed to play cards.

Sherwood - Pictures and comments from Frank Gorsline - Posting #1

Over the past couple of weeks have been corresponding with Frank Gorsline who lived in Sherwood and graduated in the class of 1955 in Union City.  In his emails he noted that he and his wife Lyonie both graduated from the Seattle Pacific University, and have moved many times and lost many of the photos from his past from Sherwood.  He noted that he is in the process of putting together his thoughts on what he remembers from living in Sherwood for his family.  My brother Marty and I have sent a few pictures that we have collected, and in return he has forwarded several pictures that he has copies of.  He noted he has moved many times the same goes for me ...I have moved 28 times since leaving Union City in 1960 ...so I can relate to loosing things during my many moves.  With Frank's permission, I am going to post several pictures along with his comments and thoughts from what he remembers regarding the pictures.  This being the first of a few postings I will be doing over the next week or two on Sherwood.

Frank lives in Vancouver, Washington, but has a winter retreat in Lakeland, Florida, where he spends three to four months each year (referred to as a Snowbird by those living in Florida all year).  Most of his family lives in Vancouver and Seattle, Washington, where he spends time visiting his three children and 8 grandchildren.

The picture is of the Sherwood House, or as some refer to it as the Merrill Hotel. Frank noted that as a kid he remembers exploring inside the building.

The 1915 map cutout of the north side of Sherwood notes the location of the hotel at the corner of Fulton and Main Streets.

Another picture of the Sherwood House. See note below regarding the automobile in the picture.

I'm sending this photo from an article published in the Union City Register Tribune, published May 8, 1975. The article was one from a series on the history of Sherwood, written by Jerry Mack who taught school in Athens, Michigan.  I talked to  his wife Gayle, she indicated that several photos in the 10 article series published, came from Velma (Klose) French, a long time resident of Sherwood. It is her father who is at the wheel of the car.

To quote the article: "The first automobile in the Village of Sherwood was this 1908 Buick owned by Hal Klose, who is shown behind the wheel with his family in the rear seat."  I have compare this photo to the car in the Sherwood Hotel postcard.  It sure looks like the same car, and looks like the only photo of the hotel with a car at the side.  It is a news copy so I'm not sure how well it will print.  

Gayle Mack said she is fine with posting this photo if you think it is appropriate to make a qualified guess about it being the same car ...I agree with Frank, appears to be the same car. 

Frank also sent a newspaper clipping from the Battle Creek Enquirer and News about a large willow tree that once stood at the corner near the hotel.  The date of the photo is not known, but judging by the autos in the picture, would guess sometime in the early to mid 50's.

In this postcard picture Frank remembers the Michigan Central Railroad that run through Sherwood.  The depot on the left, pickle factory and grain elevator on the right.

Not sure what year ended passenger service in Sherwood and Union City, but the postcard looks to be from the early 1900's.  I know train still provided freight service in Union City before I left Union City in 1960, but not sure what year the trains stopped running through Union City and Sherwood, or when the railroad tracks were removed.

The 1915 map cutout of the north side of Sherwood notes the location of the of the Pickle Factory, Grain Elevator, Stock Yards, and Train Depot.

Early 1900 picture of downtown Sherwood looking north.

Early 1900 picture of downtown Sherwood looking south.  The Methodist Church Steeple in the background.

The 1915 map cutout of the downtown area in Sherwood.