Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1914-10-21

athletic room, a kindergarten room,
and the incest of all was a room where
the mother could leave her little babe
i'm trusted hands while she attended
service
I'VE attended church one Sunday
evening. To us IL was a grand affair
The society is contemplating erecting
"A church much larger and grander
While l might go into detail and make
mention OF score of other attractions
will only speak briefly OF one depart
ment store known as The Sibley Store
Ii covers a square. They employ 1000
clerks. The day before Christmas last
year their receipts were said TO be
$4,000
Rochester is fine city known as
the Flower City The tourest would
think it worthy the name II has a
population OF $4,000 We spent four
days in this model city. September
% we took the New York Central for
Batavia, the county seat Of Genesee
County"
1--WE stopped off at Churchville to
see a cousin of ours. She is 50 years
old and quite feeble. We then went
on to Batavia a city of $4,000 popula-
ton. Here is located the extensive
Johnson Harvester plant. on account
OF the foreign war they were compell-
ed TO let six or seven hundred of their
employees go keeping only a few at
work Three fourths Of this com
pany's goods were sold in foreign
countries They have not only lost
their trade on account of the war but
are unable to collect accounts due
them which aggregate hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
Our friends in Batavia took us on
an auto ride ten miles east To Leroy.
In passing through the country the
large fields of alfalfa and clover at
tracted our attention most. They
were being harvested for the third
time this season. The lands through
this section of Genesee county are
limestone soil well adapted TO the
growing of alfalfa and clover. This
clover is as common here as June
clover is in Michigan. 1t being an
old county many of the houses are
primeval style, old and dirty.
THE next day we were taken across
the country to Albion and north to
near the lake shore of Ontario, our
native town, distance of 26 miles.
The next day we took the trolley car
at Albion for Hulberton to see an old
gentleman we went TO school TO in
the winter of 1857. This old school
master is now sc years old. Hisname
is Marcus III. Phillips and he has quite
a political record having been elected
county superintendent of schools
county clerk and representative to the
legislature at Albany. In politics
having always been Republican,.
now in mature years with mind eX-
banded he is a Bryan democrat. We
visited Mr. Phillips one afternoon
calling TO mind events that occurred
more than a half century ago.
THE afternoon being nearly spent
we took the warm nand of a warm
hearted friend and realizing that we
may never meet again it caused tear
to trickle down our cheek. We said
goodbye and parted and going back to
Albion we stayed over night.
"While we must concede that west
ern New York particularly the lake
shore counties, excel by far in the
growing of fruits / do not believe that
Michigan is as well adapted TO fruit
growing under like conditions as New
York There the orchardist devotes
his talents and energy to his orchard.
Here the orchards are shamefully neg
lected.
when it comes to general farming
purposes we get better yields per acre
of wheat, oats, beans, potatoes, corn,
etc, than they on lands Of half the
value of theirs.
while we enjoyed the hospitality
OF our friends, their beautiful homes,
roads with one accord we
proclaim Michigan our Michigan.
"On the fifth of October we started
for our Michigan home. We stayed
over one night at the bridge, took a
trolley car for the Falls spent the af-
ternoon sightseeing, returned 10 the |
bridge and next morning took a ticket |
over the Grand Trunk for Ionia"