Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-02-22

linhch anu St LOUIS state fOuu WAS unueI-
taken. and the hard labor, barassme
and pecunary embarassments will he well |
remembered by the few surviving con
tractors of that money losing undertak !
ing. The result to the public good, how
ever, reconciled these public spirited over |
secrs. Many of us recall the repeated |
Efforts and failures 10 establish railroad |
communication with the world we left |
out at last in the spring Of so. through |
ise efforts Of \ B. Darragh, John l. |
Evans. Luther Smith and others Of ~. !
Louis. the saginaw Valley Il st Louis /
X. X Go. was organized and the road
completed IN the winter Of 1871. with 81.
Louis as the western terminus. The peo-
pie of Ithaca and the south half
of the cOuaty, however still had 10 ride
TO ST Louis or II Johns by private con
veyancr or Stage TO secure this privilege;
and it was not until Jan. ? SS3. through
the efforts Of y. Church, w : Turck. j
II. Seaver. Robert Smith and others. that
this first freight was shipped from Ithaca
by rail by Nelson X Barber. Regular pas
senger trains began running the following
June and the extension of this railroad
10 Mt Pleasant followed in 1851 The
r.. y. \ & y. VI r. II was built in
1888, and the T.. >. Il VI. opened
highway 10 our southern neighbors only
few months later, and we were no longer
lin the woods" Before leaving the sub
ject of roads should not forget to make
passing mention Of anything 50 important
rs the long Maple river bridge, consplc-
uous part Of the much travelled thorough
fare for years TO ST. Johns
The pioneer organization Of church so
cletes seems TO have been the Baptist de-
nomination in 1-jG and 1891 10 st Louis
and Ithaca. with Rev Lafayette Church
as pastor Rev. Israel Fay and Elijah
Beard were eminent contemporaries The
branches of Zion in the county AT the
present day are innumerable and pros
porous.
The first physicians of whom we have
mention are DR.. John H. Cheesman and
Joseph \. Guthrie, both gone to their
long home.
In the great struggle Of 1861 Gratiot
county was not without honor. On the
very evening the news reached her Of the
ombardment of Fort Sumpter an enhu.
siastic meeting was held in the old court
house, and a resolution is now on file IN
the county clerks office whereby certain
of our patriotic young men promised 10
sacrifice themselves 10 aid IN the prcserva-
ton of the Union, and asked that their
services be accepted. This was signed by
Charles B. Holiday. Henry H. Trlpp
George Colby, Nathan Church, VIM. f.
McCune, Orson E Perry, Elbridge Frank
lin, Alonzo Cheney +. F. Morehouse,
James w How'd George Randall, John
Barnes VI. Morehouse In July, 1861,
Ralph Ely received commission. and in
less than three months the Grdtiot Ran.
/ f..f
the Michigan Sth were organized, and
after soiourn and drill OF two or three
days at w w ComstOck's hotel they were
mustered into service al Ithaca August y,
] sol, and received. a public dinner from
the grateful citizens. Rev. Lafayette
| Church organized Company ID of the 18th
! Michigan in the summer OF 1862, and was
elected captain, with y Church and w.
; Turck as lieutenants. These troops
saw much active service and hard fighting
and won such reputation and promotions
as did credit TO themselves ard the friends
they left behind, some Of them returning
TO do as important service for the ship of
state at home.
The first order of good fellowship organ
lied in the county was Ithaca Lodge No
1913, f. IL 4. NJ, instituted in January,
condition with all lis attendant chapters
councils and communicates and regalias in
one of the finest temples IN the State. Its
first list of officers was as follows: John
Jeffery, Treas VIM w Comstock
Worshipful Master. Walter ; How'd,
Sec Elijah Peck, Senior Warden; Me
landin Pettit, Tyler; l.. {. Knapp, Junior
Warden; Fred Weller. Sen. Deacon; Bar
low Worthing. Junior Deacon. Since
then such orders have multiplied in our
midst until their name is Legion" and
we haye Odd Fellows, g. a. X S, Pyth-
ians, Maccabees. o + ). s ). {. E.'s, ETC.,
etc which enliven our public gatherings
with gay uniforms, music and good cheer.
The severe frosts in 1856, which fol
lowed so soon after the county's organiz-
alton for time forced the inhabitants TO
concentrate their energies and attention
upon the problem of existence. An &C
compartment of the frOsts was a drOuth
and forest fires. The fires. running in the
dead leaves, the accumulatiOns of-who
knows how many years!-made such "A
dense and sitting smoke for days as to
threaten life of man and beast, and one
could not see from the window TO the
road. To this day events are reckoned
from the time of great Smoke. The
disastrous results of the frOsts which de-
stroyed the crops were the starvation
times of 1851, when generous coniribu-
lions from the cities Of Lansing, Jackson,
Detroit, Saginaw, ETC., with finally an APP
preparation from the State, saved the
county from determination. but won for
it FIR years the cognomen Starving
Gratiot". The undaunted character OF
the pioneers, however subdded the SOIL
Cvercame the clements and all other OBJ
stacles, Of which they found many, and
by bountiful crops redeemed the county
from this opprObrum and grew so proud
of their vEtory tina, they wanted "A fair
a few energetic citizens consisting of
John Jeffrey, VIM. w Comstock, VIM
c. Beckwih. VIM. f. Winton. Giles L
Brown. Il. Hoag Spooner, and Others
therefore contributed literally of their
labor time and money. and organized the
Agricultural Society in 1866; and the fair
was held upon the public square In the
fall. in buildings hastily constructed by
these public spirited men, and was "A sue
cess that could at that time compete with