The Old Times Michigan

  This quick little article is not a funny one this time around. When I look for odd articles of things that happened in the past, I typically come across quite a bit of death and I've become somewhat numb to it.  However, this one from the Detroit Times on April 26th of 1909 just struck me for some reason. NURSE KILLS SELF. TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., April 24. -Esther Heller, 25 years old, a nurse at the Northern Michigan insane asylum here, committed suicide last night by swallowing carbolic acid. Miss Heller, who was pretty, carefully planned the deed. She had been in ill-health for sometime, but her friends say her physical condition was not serious enough to drive her to end her life. Esther was a young woman, who according to the article, was pretty. She had what was presumably a tough profession, as asylums of that time were likely not very forgiving to anyone. It seems as if she had a rough life. There was nothing of note in the article as to who she was or what she meant to her

   Fishing is apparently a much more dangerous hobby than one would think. There's two stories from the Detroit Times that I've got from the same newspaper and the same day in February of 1941. History tells us that the more things change, the more they stay the same :  Plane Saves 2 on Ice   Fisherman Marooned on Floe in Lake St. Clair Rescued by Navy Flier       Two fishermen, marooned on an ice floe more than a mile from shore on Lake St. Clair, owe their lives today to the crew of an amphibian plane from the naval reserve aviation base at Grosse Ile.      The fishermen are Dan Vandenbossche Sr., 58, of Harrison Township, and James Sinclair, 40, of 7743 Sherwood avenue, Detroit. Their rescuers are Ensign Henry McNeely and Machinist's Mate M. T. Woodcock.       Two planes joined in the rescue, the second one from Selfridge Field being piloted by Lieut. R. B. Hubbell with Lieut. Dale Garvey, observer. The men were fishing from a shanty on the ice about a mile from shore wh

  This article is about check fraud from The National Bank of Mouth. When you write a check from that bank, you sure as hell better make sure your ass can cash it. Mean Joe Greening learned a valuable lesson in an article from February of 1909 from The Detroit Times.  PIGMY WORSTS GIANT IN FIGHT Joseph Greening, No. 94 Mott-ave., as he gave his address to the police, and Arthur Morris, a waiter, rooming at No. 162 Congress-st, east, were principals in a bloody "scrap" in Smith's restaurant at No. 111 Bates-st., about 1:20 o'clock, Tuesday morning. Greening is a big strapping fellow and Morris a frail young chap in comparison, but when it was all over, the giant went to St. Mary's hospital for repairs while the pigmy was locked up in central station on a charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm. Morris was released later, however, when word came from the hospital that Greening's injuries were not serious, and it is doubtful whether any prosecution

 Here I've got a quick article all from Jan.  30th 1909. The subject matter of this article is nothing to laugh at, but there is some humor in the horrors that existed in the world in 1909.  DEATH ENTERS WHERE POVERTY PREVAILED MUSKEGON, Mich., Jan. 30,- Mrs. Samuel Huston, of Ferry, Oceana county, and her two children are dead from typhoid fever. The family was found living in a one-room hovel. They had nothing to eat and every member of the family was affected with some disease. The father is ill and four other children will have to be sent to a state institution. ____________________________________________ Stroh's Bottled Beer is a modern family 'commodity or rather necessity. It has no rival. It is the standard of purity and flavor. Phone Main 316 for a case. Holy hell, newspaper people, read the room. "You think an entire family being devastated from hunger and illness is cold? Not as cold as a Stroh's Beer!" Perhaps the Huston family was unaware of the

  Here's a real fun one from The Detroit Times, on January 2nd, 1908 . Apparently in 1908, the real estate on the front page was limited. The vagueness of this wildly intriguing story is maddening. Here it is: Alexander Van Houteen, the Belgian shot by Gustave Meert, a countryman, in Remi Tank's saloon, No. 1193 Jefferson-ave., Tuesday night, will lose both his eyes as a result of the wound. The doctors in St. Mary's hospital have tried in vain to save his sight, and on Friday both eyes will be removed. It is thought Van Houteen will live, Meert is in custody and will probably be prosecuted on a charge of assault with intent to kill.  Where was Alex shot? Why was Alex shot? Why was Alex Belgian? Why did they always disclose where the people in the story's home address? These are things left up to the readers' imagination in this story. Poor Alex though. The guy's eye are gone now. A total loss of vision has to be devastating, especially in the early 1900's w

 It was a slow news day on Dec. 3rd, 1909 , apparently. The Detroit Times decided it was appropriate and necessary to print this article about some nasty family drama. Imagine your domestic situation was so ugly that it made the news. Here's the lengthy article.   SLOBBERED OVER HUBBY IN PUBLIC But Mrs. Cornwall Was Prize Nagger In Private, Spouse Tells Divorce Judge That the nagging of his wife made life with her unbearable, was the testimony of John J. Cornwall, in Judge Murfin's court, Friday, in his suit for divorce against his wife, Pearl Cornwall. Mrs. Cornwall is contesting the case, her interests being looked after by two attorneys. "Wasn't Mrs. Cornwall ever affectionate?" the husband was asked in cross-examination. "Yes, when people were present," he answered. "What would she do?" "Attempt to embrace me and kiss  me." "Did you object to that?" "Yes. I didn't like hugging and kissing in front of people. I c

 This story is from a bit north in the state and is from the Charlevoix County Herald. It was March 5th, 1904 , and Frank Sherman was about to prove that he was either a complete badass or a complete dumbass. Here's the story: Lost in a Storm. Frank Sherman, a cobbler of St. James, started Sunday morning from Hog island to go to Charlevoix to buy leather. He began his journey, afoot, toward Cross Village, the nearest mainland point but finding the weather fair, decided to walk straight across the lake to Charlevoix, a distance of thirty odd miles. Early in the evening when within five miles of his destination he was over- taken by a blizzard. The blinding and dense snow made a definite course impossible, and the darkness rendered his pocket compass of little use. He traveled the entire night. having been on the lake for twenty-four hours without food or rest. Daylight found him on the north shore of the bay near Emmet. Beach. Sherman was resuscitated by farmers and continued his jo

 Here's a quick little blurb from The Detroit Times on June 19th, 1909 . Nestled among the many stories of crime, suicide, and corruption which tend to be quite popular at this time, is this little heart warming story of matrimonial abandonment that really warms the heart. LEAVES NOTE AND $2. Mrs. Pidgeon Tells Police Husband Has Deserted Her. "There's no use of trying any longer. We can't get along, and I'm  away, Good-bye." This note, and a $2 bill, was what Mrs. Pidgeon, a bride of three months, found on her dresser when she awoke Saturday morning, according to her story to Justice Stein, to whom she appealed for help. The deserted bride is employed at Finck's overall factory, where she has worked ever since her marriage to her husband, who, she says, is a machinist. "I used to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and iron his shirts for him, and then go to work and earn money to keep the house with," she sobbed, as she told her story to th

  Today I've got an article from June 18th, 1909 , from the Detroit Times. It starts off a with a just a little larceny, put packs a punch at the end.   MOTHER HAD SAMPLED WINE THAT YOUNG SON STOLE Mrs. Cieslak Comes to Juvenile Court Intoxicated, Creates Scene and Is Locked Up. Shouting and screams that could be heard from the fourth floor of the county building to the basement drew a crowd of several hundred persons, including judges, lawyers and jurors, to the juvenile court, Friday morning. The noise was made by Mrs. Cieslak, mother of Walter Cieslak, the boy who the day before had stolen 22 bottles of dandelion wine. The boy had been remanded to the D'Arcambal farm, when his mother began scream. She continued to screech and ery until she became hysterical. Nothing the officers could do quieted the woman, and for more than a half hour her voice penetrated every room. in the building until business was almost suspended. The actions of the woman, her appearance and a strong

 This story is from the Monitor Leader, which was a Mt. Clemens based newspaper. This story comes from December 11th, 1945 . It took place in a little town called Van Dyke, which is now Warren. Here's some information that I stole from Wikipedia: Van Dyke was a community along the northern boundary of Detroit, Michigan, near Van Dyke Avenue and 9 Mile Road. The town was named for Van Dyke Avenue, which was named for James Van Dyke, Mayor of Detroit in 1847. This was in the southern end of what was then Warren Township, Macomb County, Michigan. The Van Dyke Post Office operated from 1925 until 1957. The town of Van Dyke was platted by Walter Piper in 1917 and its streets named for autos being manufactured at the time. Street names (still in existence) include Packard, Hudson, Marmon, Ford, Dodge, Paige, Republic, Federal, Hupp, Maxwell, Cadillac, Studebaker, Chalmers and Automobile. The two main auto engine manufacturers of the time-Continental and Lozier, also got street names. It

It was April 23, 1908  and there was a lot of what seems to be normal news in the paper. Things like the escapades of the rich and famous, stories of people being mangled by trains, and snippets about suicides. Also, Mayor Thompson proclaimed Friday as clean-up day, and you now have to get up off your ass and clean your yard. And then you have this story here where a "pretty young woman on the eastside" scores a win for the 20th century feminist movement.  Before the article a bit of 1900's terminology may need to be explained. A "masher" was a classy gentleman of the time who engaged in just tiny bit of sexual harassment in public. It got so bad as to where women began wearing large hat pins in their hat and would pull them out and threaten to stab these boneheads (a term developed at this time).  Mashers need expect no sympathy from Police Justice Stein, as Kenneth McLennin, who was before the court Thursday morning, can testify. McLennin, according to the tes

Today's post is going to feature two stories from the same month of January in 1908. Coincidentally there were 2 deaths from drinking "carbolic acid". Carbolic Acid:  A very poisonous chemical substance made from tar and also found in some plants and essential oils (scented liquid taken from plants). Carbolic acid is used to make plastics, nylon, epoxy, medicines, and to kill germs. Also called phenol. I couldn't find what the they these people would be doing with this acid.  Also before we start talking about John Krecha , I want to briefly mention the article juxtaposed next to it. "MINISTER FALLS INTO WATER IN BAPTISTRY", which is 3 paragraphs long. " In Immersing an unusually large person, be slipped slightly and received quite a drenching, so much so that he was obliged to secure one of the parishioner's automobiles, go hastily to his hotel change his clothing." This was like dictation to a YouTube video in the early 20th century. It's

 It was January 25th of 1908 and there were a lot leg-based news going on. A policeman shot a fleeing youth in the leg for tagging obscenities on a wall, proving that history repeats itself in a beautiful violent circle. George Ruppan, local ice-cutter, had his leg "crushed off" on the river while cutting ice. Also, Mrs. Elizabeth Halsted burned to death in her home. But enough with the fun stuff. A regular Jesse James gang was rounded up in the juvenile court Saturday morning, when Walter Czarnecki, Walter Ruszkiwicz, Stanislaus Kakonski, John Jablonski and Albert Kenzinski were before Judge Rohnert. The boys, who range in age from 12 to 15 years, live in the vicinity of St. Aubin and Kirby-aves., and from their admissions it is learned, they have become a terror to the small boys living in that section of the city. Stealing coal from the railroads or teasing peddlers was too tame for these boys, so they stole a revolver and became, hold-up artists of the dime novel sort.

I t was January 18th of 1908 , the temperature was in the 30s, and there were plenty of goings-on in the news. It seems there were plenty of murder cases, bank fraud, sick celebrities, and a mention of improved health from the Pope. But the real news was John Jurczyk's Scotch collie, simply referred to as "the dog". But for the intelligence of a Scotch. collie dog, owned by Joseph Jurczyk, of No. 1155 Chene-st., Jurezyk, his wife and three children would un-doubtedly have lost their lives in a fire which destroyed the confectionery store of John Slock, at 12:30 Saturday morning. Jurczyks lived in rooms over the store, The first intimation they had of danger was when the dog bounded into the sleeping room and literally dragged his master from the bed. The dog had been locked in the kitchen for the night, and access to the other part of the house was barred. by a sewing machine. In his efforts to awaken the family the dog had pushed the machine to one side and opened the d