davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
WYATT CITED
FOR BRAVERY
Second Lieutenant Showed
Great Pluck in Action Near
Wadonville, France.
WAS WOUNDED At The TIME
Stayed With Men Under Shell Fire
and Directed the Placing Of Guns
in Position.

Second Lieutenant Edward II.
Wyatt of this city has been cited for
bravery In action with the American
troops in France, being the first AL
ma man 10 achieve this honor in the
war which has just been brought TO
a CLOSE with the signing of the arp
istice.
The action for which he (xas cited
for bravery took place while he was
with his battalion, the l02nd Machine
Gun Battalion, in action at Wadon-
lie, France, on September 25. 1918.
lie was wounded while conducting
his platoon into position TO lay a bar
rage for raid, but in spite of his
wounds. and with complete disregard
for his own personal safety, Lieut..
Wyatt remained on duty for more
than an hour under heavy machine
gun and shell fire, directing the To-
cation and adjustment Of his guns
Then after having his wounds
dressed he returned to his platoon
and remained with his men until he
was relieved later.
His wife, Mrs. Edward Wyatt, is at
present staying at the home Of her
parents, Mr.. and Mrs. |. E. Mills, un-
I'll her husband returns from France.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
KRUSE LEAVES
Lieutenant Who Trained S. A. T. c.
Men Leaves for Home.

Lieutenant Arthur G. Kruse, who
has had charge Of the training Of the
men at Alma college, received his
honorable discharge from the service
on Monday, December %, and immed-
lately left for his home in Iowa.
Considerable credit is due Lieut..
Kruse for the fine results which were
obtained in the training of the S. A.
T. c. men at Alma college. Although
only youth himself, with little mil
itary experience, he won the respect
Of the members Of the corps, and the
faculty of the college as well, and
through his hard work made good in
every respect IL is with regret that
the students Of Alma college see him
leave.
He was born at Van Horne. Iowa,
and graduated from high school at
Dysadt. He attended the University
Of Iowa, taking work in commerce
and military training.
In 1918 he entered the Reserve
Officers Training Camp at Fort Sher-
idan, Illinois, and there won his COM
mission as a second lieutenant He
was then assigned 20 duty with the
S., a T. c. at Alma college.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
HIGH UP
Alma Among Leaders in Fourth Loan
is Word from FentOn-

That Alma is high among the cities
of the state on percentage of over
subscription on the Fourth Liberty
Loan. is made plain in a letter from
r. X. Fenton, federal director of sales
for Michigan, in letter to The Alma
Record.
The letter received, as a result of n
query by The Record as TO the stand
ing Of Alma in the state, is to the
effect that the Michigan State War
Board is TO pass upon the ranking of
the cities, the figures having been
submitted to that board for the pur-
pose.
That Alma is one Of the municipal
tiles Of the state, which is being con-
sidered for the high honors is made
plain in the last sentence of the let
ter, which says: 81 will, however.
say that Alma made a wonderful
showing and is among the municipal
tiles to be considered for the honor. E"
His letter states that because of the
sudden termination of the war some
thing will have to be substituted for
the tanks which will no longer be
needed, matter which can be decid-
ed after the honor cities are an
nounced.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
MANY ANSWERED THE
CHRISTMAS ROLL CALL
Hundreds of Alma People
Joined the Red Cross Last
Week, During Drive.

The Christmas Roll Call for the
Red Cross held in Alma from Decem-
ber l6 to 2l, was respoded 10 in a
fine manner in this city, although not
az many joined the organization as
the ladies had hoped.
The number that joined was below
that of year ago, but there are two
reasons for this, one being the fact
that a house TO house canvass was
conducted year ago in behalf of the
membership campaign, while this
year this was not done, and because
the war has been brought to a close
and many are not now giving the
thought that they were few months
ago to the welfare of the soldiers in
Europe
This year it was decided not To con-
duct house to house campaign, but
instead to confine the efforts in the
city to the booths, which were located
in the banks, in the post Office and in
some of the stores of the city.
A great many people in Alma, feel
ing the great need that there still is
for the Red Cross went TO the booths
the fore part of last week and tend
cred their dollars for the member
ships Each day during the week
others focked TO the booths and
joined the great organization, which
has been doing such great work
among the soldiers.
The response TO the appeal OF the
Christmas RollCall of the Red Cross
was good one in view Of the fact
that only the booths were used, and
that people were not sought out and
asked TO join for the year 1919.
The campaign in the city was un-
der charge of Mrs. Joseph Grover and
that in the schools, known as the
Junior Red Cross, was under charge
of Mrs. f. l.. Smith. The junior
membership campaign was also a
good one, a great many of the pupils
of the Alma public schools again
joining the splendid organization.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
ADD TWO VOTING
PRECINCTS HERE
First and Second Wards Have
Two Voting Places by the
Councils Action.
INCREASE IN VOTERS REASON
Each of Wards now Have over Six
Hundred Eligible 10 the
Ballot.

Under the state law, which makes
il permissible TO make additional
Voting precincts when there are over
six hundred voters in a district, the
city council at a special meeting on
Monday evening divided the first and
second wards INTO two voting pre-
cincts, giving the city SIX precincts
al future elections which will be held.
This makes the total Of the pre-
cincts of the county twenty-SIght.
The move, which was made be
cause of the large number Of voters
in these wards, was necessary. In
the past three or four years it has
been hard matter TO get the entire
vote in 1t the one precinct in each
ward.
Another resolution was presented
TO the council by John d. Spinney,
city attorney, which was also tended
TO give the voters additional time to
get in their votes on election day,
particularly the laboring man, but it
was not acted on at this meeting. II
will probably be taken up at later
time. This resolution was one, which
if passed, would keep the polls in
this city open until p. m. on every
election day, thus giving every voter
every opportunity to get in his ex-
preston on the various elections.
The first precinct of the first ward,
under the resolutions as passed. will
have the same bounds as the present
ward, except that the portion of the
first ward 10 the east Of Pine river
is excluded from the first precinct.
The portion of the first ward to the
east of Pine river becomes the sec
ond precinct Of the first ward.
In the second ward the division
was ,made on Court avenue from
East Superior street south 20 the
main tracks of the Ann Arbor rail-
road and thence south 70 the corpora
ton line. The portion Of the ward
TO the west Of this line becomes the
first precinct Of the second ward,
and the portion to the east Of this
line is the second precinct of the sec
ond ward.
Polling places for the precincts
were not fixed. these being left until
such time as elections may take
place, in view of the necessity of
sometimes changing polling places.
Because the third and fourth wards
Of the city are small, it was felt that
they were not too large TO be handled
easily as one single precinct for the
present at least.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
THOMAS DEAD
Superintendent of Republic, Plan,
Two. Died Friday Evening.

Charles +. Thomas, for two years
superintendent Of Plant 2, Of the
Republic Motor Truck company, died
Friday night a. 6 o'clock after one of
the most difficult battles of two
weeks for his life. lie leaves a wife
and two small children. Mr.. Thomas
death was caused by pneumonia
brought on by exposure after an at
tack Of the flu. For the last week his
condition had remained the same
though he battled constantly to over
come his illness.
The funeral was held Monday at
the house and burial followed in the
Catholic cemetery.
Mr.. Thomas came to this city
about two years ago to work under
c. A. McElfresh, who died last
month. Mr.. Thomas made rapid
strides in his work and was soon
given the superintendency Of the
plant. Executives as well as his fell
low workmen feel deep regret at
his death az he enjoyed more than
an ordinary popularity and was a
thorough worker.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
CHRISTMAS BUSINESS
Of MERCHANTS GOOD
Alma Business Men Did Best
Holiday Business in the
History of Alma.

The 1918 Christmas business OF the
merchants Of the city Of Alma has
been better than ever before, if one
is TO judge by the expression of opin-
ion from over half of those who had
stocked their Christmas trade.
In most cases the business men
report a business which shows a
great increase over last year and one
merchant of the city. with the larg-
est stock which he has ever had in
his store, told a Record reporter that
his combined sales for the first twelve
days of this month, as compared with
"a like period of hast year, indicated
an increase of ll2 per cent.
There is hardly a merchant in the
city. but what has enjoyed business
that is far greater than that of n
year ago, although one or two, show
only very slight increases.
The business men as a whole are
elated over .he fine business which
has been done in the face of adverse
conditions, an amount of business
which has been surprise TO them
selves, when they took into account
the influenza epidemic and the scare
which it raised. the fact that many
Of the younger men are still in the
army, men who usually buy heav-
lily at this time Of year; the fact that
the people have been purchasing
bonds, war savings stamps, etc, and
other conditions which have been
arising.
Most Of them have given Alma
Record advertising a great deal of
credit for the amount Of business
which they have done during the past
month, feeling that it has been a big
benefit 70 them in this respect.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
NO ACTION TAKEN
REGARDING DEPOT
Official Action by Council With
held for Two Weeks at the
Monday Night Session.
WANTS PART OF THE STREET
Pere Marquette Would Construct an
Addition to Depot, Using Part
of Thoroughfare.

With just quorum present, there
was hot debate Monday evening at
the special meeting of the city coun-
of the Pere Marquette railroad for a
portion Of Prospect avenue to be used
by the railroad as a site for the addi-
ton TO be constructed the present
Union passenger station, TO be used
by the express company, the Offices Of
which would be moved to the depot
in the event of such construction, il
is understood.
A blue print of the depot, Prospect
avenue and the adjoining ground,
prepared by the railroad company.
was submitted TO the council to in
dicate the portion of the street which
the company wants TO obtain for the
site.
This indicates that the railroad
wants TO use thirty feet of the street
for this purpose, thus taking prac-
tically half of the width of the street
at that point for its use. 1t shows
that over half of the contemplated
addition will be in the street, if the
city grants the request of the rail
road. The addition will be 20 by so
feet, according 10 the blueprint, a
portion Of which, 80 feet on one side
and 2S feet on the other, would ex-
tend into the street.
IL is also understand that tl,e rail
road company is ready to put q new
heating plant into the station by way
OF Improving It, and that in another
year 1t expects TO construct another
box-like addition at the east end of
the depot. The cost OF these i'm
provements would be conside rable.
Alderman Montigel offered a mo-
Itlon that the request Of the railroad
Tor this portion of Prospect avenue
be rejected and it was promptly sup
ported by Alderman Chick.
A long discussion Of the merits of
the proposition then took place The
danger of such a crossing was point
edf out. The difficulty that the city
might experience in getting the rail
road of from the city property was
pointed out. The expectation that
the downtown express Office would be
moved TO the depot was pointed out.
The danger that the railroad would
construct this addition on the east end
Of the depot vas pointed out, with
the belief that the proposed site was
the lesser of two evils, and then a
motion was made TO lay the propo-
sition on the table until the next
meeting of the council, until a full
board was present 20 decide the mat
ter
Matters which were not brought
up for discussion were new depot.
which some members of the council
feel is out Of the question, since they
have had n talk with the railroad
officials, because of the expense, al
though it must be admitted that a
new heating plant, a new addition at
one end Of the depot this year and
another at the other end next year.
are bound TO be costly; the length OF
time for which Alma would have the
present inadequate depot pawned Oft
on her when the business Of the rail-
roads here is of such an extent as to
warrant the construction of a pew
depot
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
MISSING
Oscar Narrance, College Football
Star Listed AZ Missing in Action.

Oscar Narrancc, better known as
Speed" Narrance, a member Of the
Alma college football team Of 1916,
who was one Of the first of the col
lege men<who offer his services TO
the country, was listed in the casual
ty lists Of Monday as missing in
action.
Narrancc lived south Of the city
on a farm with his brother. having
moved there from Oregon shortly
before entering college. During the
short time he was in Alma he gained
wide circle Of friends who are hop
ing that he may yet be heard from.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
HAROLD REDMAN WRITES
INTERESTING LETTER
Alma Boy, in France, Tells of
His Trip Over and Some of
His Experiences There.

The Record is pleased to be able TO
publish excerpts this week Of letter
from Harold Redman, who is overseas
in the service The letter is highly
interesting. 1t follows:
November 23. 1913.
To Wife ana Parents:
They say we can write letter now
withouSbeing censored, so III try and
write you real letter telling about
our trip across and some Of the places
We have seen over here.
We took the train at Camp Mills,
\. Y. on July 2lst at 1920 a. m. and
got on the ship tOrca) at 1880 p. m.
The ship was freight boat and had
1000 tons Of freight on. II was
little over 650 Fl. long. Ii was sunk
on the trip coming back. We left har-
Dor at $3.50 a. m. on July 22nd. There
were 10 transports two battleships.
10 subchasers and two airplanes left
at that time. On the evening of July
% the subchasers and the airplanes
returned home. There were three
ministers on board and we had our
first church service on July 2S.
On August We passed an island
at noon and arrived at Liverpool at
600 a. m. on August 3. but we did
not pull into dock until noon. We
slept on the steel deck or anywhere
we could find a place. All Of the
officers and boys of our company ex-
cept % boys left and went to a camp
but the % Of US were left to unload
our barrack bags. In the evening
when We got through we had 70 20
back on the boat for the night The
old ship looked pretty bare but
hunted and found one fellow in the
kitchen with some bread. | bought
three small slices for 10 cents and
was offered % cents for them as soon
as the boys found out~ that | had
them. took my clothes and shoes
Oft for the first time on the boat that
night. We had been sleeping with
them on and life saver by our side
TO be ready in case we were hit by
submarine. II sure seemed good
to sleep without them.
At noon on August we took a
train and passed trough Birmingham
and Oxford and landed at Winchester
at $50 We then marched TO Camp
Winnell about 21a miles ard got
there at 100 o'clock. August Z we
visited the Cathedral and Castle Hall
This cathedral is next TO the largest
church in the world 1t was built by
the monks. beginning in $50 A. ID.
and was finished in 1919. The walls
and ceiling are made Of stone and
cement, the stone used was hauled 40
miles. Some of the rooms have such
low ceilings that they don't use them
now, but the ceiling in the main room
is So feet from the floor and the floor
Is level with the ground. Some of
the floors are IL feet thick made of
stone and cement. There is we'll
in the basement that was dug in l69
A. ID. or l749 years ago. and they are
using the water today. There are
number Of statues in the building
some weighing ot 'one
We left cor-r '''~--4 IN ~
m. took a train - o't5 srd arri~el
at South Hamr'-n at o.sO n. ~
from there wn boarded ~ shin
(Charlesonl - coo m end landed
tContinued IN paVe fourl
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26

obtain a permit for his show, which
would account for the day when
Brennan was not at Leslie.
Frank Simpson and Victor
Thompson, Alma lads, on the stand
stated that they saw the Epler girl
going home about the time she was
supposed to have been with Brennan.
Lee hummer and Claude Struble
swore they saw her talking with n
stranger in front Of the city hall be-
tween 900 and 1000 p. m. Their
testimony was shaken on cross ex-
animation.
Late Tuesday afternoon John F.
Brennan was placed on the stand in
his own defense, and was still there
when court adjourned at 4:45 for
Christmas. His testimony on Tues
day had little effect on the bearing Of
the case, but it is expected that this
morning he will be back on the stand
and that important testimony regard
ing the charges against him will be
/ forthcoming.
Tom Ziegenfust of this city was on
the stand tuesday and he told of hav-
ing seen Beatrice Epley on the night
of the murder in company with AL
bert Eichorn. When asked if the
man might have been Brennan, he
stated that he was certain that il
could not have been him.
Glenn Addison. an Ithaca drayman,
on the stand Tuesday, told of having
seen Brennan on the show grounds
in Alma early on Sunday, at a time
when according to Mrs. Shift he was
sleeping at her home.
George Pulfrey, who stated that
the Brennans were at the Arcadia
from Friday, Sept. Z, until the next
Sunday; Charles Jennings of this
city and William II. Rogers were
others called to the stand Tuesday.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
BUYS OUT WAITE
Bert Worden Has Purchased Garage
Owned by +. f. Waite.

Bert Worden has purchased the
Maxwell garage on Pine street from
r. +. Waite. who has conducted it
for some time, and has already taken
possession.
In addition to automobile repair
work, which has been conducted at
this garage in the past, Mr.. Worden
expects to, add new machinery and
give Alma a good machine shop for
general work
The new machinery will be installed
very shortly, when Mr.. Worden will
be ready to take care of the wants of
the public in this line. The garage
is already open and ready 70 take
care Of the wants of the automobile
owners insofar as auto repairing is
concerned.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
BAD FIRE
Home of Dick Raycraft Gutted by
Flames Early This Morning.

she home of Dick Raycraft OH
Mechanic street was gutted at an
early hour this morning by flames,
the house being practically ruined.
When the fire was first noticed il
had gained good headway apd by
the time the fire department reached
the scene, was blazing iiercely.
Streams of water were rapidly
brought TO bear and gradually the fire
was brought under control, but not
before it had ruined the house and
destroyed almost all of the household
furniture. The loss 10 Mr.. Raycraft
is heavy one, il being reported that
he has no insurance on his household
goods.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
SOLDIERS HOME
Kenneth Hoyt and James Barry are
Home from "Oyer There"

Back from the life of the trenches
of France are two Alma boys, who
arrived in this city during the past
week, laden with stories Of adventure,
stories Of battles, and of happenings
almost unbelievable.
These two are Kenneth Hoyt, for
mer employe of the Republic Motor
Truck company of this city, and
James Barry, the son Of John Barry,
a farmer living near this city.
Hoyt, better known here as
Dutch" enlisted early in the war,
and was given long training in the
United States before going to Europe,
being sent across only few months
before the end Of the war came with
startling rapidity. He was in France
about four months. but during that
time saw plenty of action.
Barry was in training camp for
some months prior TO going TO
France. where he remained only a
short time.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
CHRISTMAS BASKETS

In addition to the Christmas bag
kets put out by the Republic Circle
club. the churches Of Alma put out
baskets for the needy on Christmas,
as did the Salvation Army and the W.
-
AS a result of the Christmas spirit
shown by these organ zat'ons this
year, it is doubtful If there was a
poor family in he city which did not
have much to be thankful for.
Smoke the best. Wanigas.-s4-tf
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
COLLECTOR STATIONED HERE

Karl II. Canright, deputy collector
for the United States Treasury De-
partment, for the first district Of
Michigan, will be in Alma during the
first week Of January to aid the peo-
pie of Gratiot and Isabella counties in
making out their income tax, he hav-
ing charge Of this work in both
counties.
AS his Office will be located at the
Alma post Office, it will be necessary
for those needing assistance to come
TO Alma and meet with Mr.. Canright.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
CHRISTMAS SNOW
Plenty of White Covered Ground for
Christmas Eve.

Although many had been enter
tanning fears that there would be a
green Christmas, these fears were
speedily set at rest on Tuesday, De-
cember "a, when a heavy snowstorm
came up and covered the ground to a
depth of several inches during the
day.
While the weather was not cold, a
high wind accompanied the snow and
made walking very disagreeable to
the Christmas shoppers, who had not
shopped early, and in spite of the
storm during the afternoon and oven
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
WILL FIGHT CASE

That the city intends to stand suit
with Marcus Pollasky, who claims q
balance due him for legal services
was made plain at the special ses-
ing Of the city council Monday even
ing, when il was voted to retain the
'aw Hrm nyon & Searl Of St Johns
TO aid in the case. J. ID. Spinney, city
attorney. will be the attorney Of rec
ord.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
TAX NOTICE

The state, county and school tax
es are now due. and payable at the
council room. city hall
ID. w. Adams, City Treasurer.
Alma, Mich. Dec. IL, 1918 74-4-c
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26
THIS Is THE LAST PAPER
You VIII Receive II There is a Blue
Cross in this Square.

IL there is "A blue cross
in this square, your sub
scription expires with
this issue. Under our
instructions from the
Government, this is the
last paper you will re-
ceive until advance remittance Is
made.
Attend to it today and you won't
miss an issue.
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26

Wanigas at Brunner's.-64-tf
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26

Smoke the best, wsmgasl-s4-tf
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26

wanigas at Brunner's.-64-tf
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26

Smoke the best. wanigas.-s4-tf
Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-12-26

m. took train - 9'i5 ard arr'~el
at South Hamr'-n pt o.s0 n ~
from there wo boarded ~ shin
(Charlesont - coo ~ m arl landed
(Continued m page fourl