The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1901-07-26
A TRIP TO ARMADA.
This Town has been Resurrect-
ed and is Now in the Front
Rank of Live Burgs.

The editor of The Expositor, accom-
panied by his brother-in-law, Chas. L..
Granger. of Howell, Mich, drove to
Armada Tuesday to visit the town
where we both spent our boyhood days,
and while there to look over familiar
scenes and renew old-time acquaint-
ances.
Tuesday morning broke bright and
beautiful and after eating hearty
breakfast of mush and milk, such as a
newspaper man can afford, we secured
horse and buggy from the livery
stable of Meharg u Sloat and started
on our twenty-elght mile drive. Along
the way we notice the many marked
improvements made by the more pros
porous farmers to their farms and see
the difference in crops in different sec
tions and townships. We found the
same condition, so far as drouth is con-
cerned, in MacOmb as in st. Clair coun
ty, and for this reason the crops are no
better there than here.
On reaching Armada we find vast
change in the business portion of the
town. Two fires have laid waste wood
en- structures on both sides of Main
street, but many of these vacant spaces
left by the fire fiend have since been
built in with fine brick blocks and are
now occupied by large stocks of mer-
chandise, barber shop, ice cream parlor,
photograph gallery, etc. A neat new
up-to.date hotel, in place of the old one
occupied by dad" Reynolds, now
graces the corner and is conducted by
Mr. Brockman, proprietor. Hulburt,
the photographer, has as fine an art
gallery as one will find in weeks
travel, and it is furnished to perfection
on the interior.
Armada has a banking institution of
which the citizens may we'll feel proud.
Several years ago Bert G. Preston start
ed and successfully conducted private
bank. About year ago the business
had increased to such an extent it was
thought best to merge the private con-
Germ into a state bank and it was there
fore organized with capital stock of
$25, 100000, under the title of "The Ar
mada Savings Bank" Following is a
list of the ofiicers:-Beft g. Preston,
Pres, Geo. ii. Hebblewhite, vice Pres,
j. Z. Macaulay, cashier; directors, +. E.
Lathrop, j l.. Preston, G. II. Hebble-
white, Bert e.. Preston and Jas. Ii. Nc
Donald. A solid building costing in
the neighborhood of $1,000, with a
beautiful stone front, is occupied by
the bank in which to do business.
Among other changes is the increase
of dwelling houses in the residence
portion of the village. About three
years ago new streets were opened
across the lands of &. A. Lathrop,
Austin Phillips and others from Main
street to the Michigan Air Line station
and this property has been plated and
sold to residents who have erected fine
buildings and improved the premises
wonderfully, until now both are built
up. The old street leading to the
station has also taken boom and the
vacant space south from the Beard
property is all occupied by dwellings.
Some elegant mansions have been
erected in different parts of the village,
among others we noticed those Of Bert
G.. Preston, Geo. IL. Hebblewhite,
Frank f. Lathrop and Sabin Stump.
New industries have been added
during the last three or four years such
as the Buckeye Stave Company's
plant, Stump's veneer factory and Car
penter's handle mill giving employ
ment to several hundred men nearly
all of whom own their own homes. All
these new industries has added life and
brought enterprising men with capital
to the town who want waterworks and
electric lights-everything up-to-date.
A special election was held Monday
last and the question of waterworks
was voted upon and carried. 1t will
only be a short time when the town
will have waterworks and the streets
business places and residences will be
lighted by electricity, for we under
stand private electrical plant is to be
put in by some capitalist.
We returned to Yale Tuesday even
ing feeling that we were well repaid fol
the time spent in a thriving village