The Castle Museum of Saginaw County History

The Artifact: A Goodridge Brothers’ View of the Ruins of the Mead and Lee Planing Mill - and a rare Glimpse of the Original Academy of Music Recently, Matt Kehr who is with the group preserving the Charles Lee Home, the Lee Commons, made a discovery in the Castle Museum’s Collection. Often there is much more to a photograph than the intended subject of the image. Such is the case of this this extraordinary photograph of the ruins of the Meade and Lee Planing Mill. It is one of a series of photos documenting what little remained of the complex after a devasting June 20,1873 fire. The business was located on the west side of South Franklin between Hayden and William [today known as Janes]. The images are powerful documents capturing the force of the conflagration and its impact on the adjoining homes. Matt documented that the industrial-looking structure dominating the left portion of the background is almost certainly another of Lee’s business ventures, East Saginaw’s original Academy of Music. The building’s unusual form reflects its original function as an indoor ice skating rink – or at least as close as was possible in a pre-refrigeration world. Matt’s in-depth research has revealed many more details that are outlined in this 1882 article: “The Old Academy. An Old Landmark Doomed – the Work of Destruction Begun – A Brief History This morning a diminutive army of men wended their way to the old Academy of Music, their ‘ bump of destruction’ all aglow, and in a short time the work of demolishing the building wherein thousands of people have spent many a pleasant hour was begun. About thirteen years ago there prevailed, what was termed a ‘skating craze,’ much like the present roller skating craze, and in many cities large buildings were erected to be used as rinks. East Saginaw was not to be outdone, and a syndicate was formed which included several of our present citizens and steps were taken to build a rink. At that time a man whose name we do not recollect had just obtained a patent for a rink and traveled about the county exhibiting the advantages of his plan.

We close out October continuing our exploration of the c. 1925 photograph of a Morley Brothers’ Halloween window display we featured on the first day of the month. The placard in the center of the image advertises: “We carry a complete line of Dennison Halloween goods such as: Table Covers, Crepe Papers, Children’s Parties favors, Napkins, Stickers, etc. etc.” [at least that is our interpretation of the sign – one that is supported by the merchandise display around it.] For many years Dennison Manufacturing Company printed yearly Halloween promotional books suggesting their products were integral to a festive Halloween celebration. The publication included detailed instructions for “Dennison Craft.” Listed crafts included: How to make paper costumes, how to make crepe paper flowers, weaving with paper rope, table and flowers, sealing, sealing wax art, and – of course – How to decorate halls, booths and automobiles. Dennison was in the forefront of promoting Halloween decorations: “The Halloween Line was launched in 1911 with eight items –which many have credited as resurrecting a “holiday” that had faded from popularity. Dennison’s beautifully illustrated magazine -style Bogie Books introduced hostesses to party menus, games, and decorations that could easily be made from Dennison paper products. Following closely were similar new product opportunities to promote Valentine’s Day, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, and the patriotic holidays. It is not wrong to say that a large swath of the American look and spirit of the holidays was planted by the Arts department at Dennison.” (Dennison Manufacturing Company Archives.  Framingham History Center, Framingham, MA; https://loom.ly/BOOKLJU.) Advertising from Morley Brothers and nearby M.W. Tanner Company, suggests Saginaw residents were eager consumers of Dennison’s paper Halloween decorations. In 1924 Morley Brothers advertised "A large assortment of Hallowe'en novelties and decorations now on display. Items that are marked at 15 [cents], 25 [cents] and 35 [cents] to be sold each at 10 [cents]. (The Saginaw News Courier, October 17, 1924.) And a year earlier, nearby Tanner’s proclaimed: “For Your Halloween Party, Dennison’s novelties will help to make it most successful.” These links will take you to additional resources about Dennison Manufacturing Company’s Halloween books: A YouTube video from the Henry Ford: https://loom.ly/gbXaAug A link to scans of the 1920 Dennison Bogie Book: https://loom.ly/CIC6cD4 A link to a scan of the 1922 Dennison Bogie Book: https://loom.ly/SsEwsho As you finish your research, you will note, Dennison offered numerous paper decorations for the next holiday – Thanksgiving.

Today’s selection is an artifact within an artifact. We begin with an advertisement. Famed mentalist Anna Eva Fay made a special appearance at the Saginaw Academy of Music on May 13, 1883. A mentalist, or medium, was a person who could commune with the spirits. In the late nineteenth century mentalism was a popular entertainment. Much like people today like to be mesmerized by magicians, in the 1880s, audiences flocked to stage performances and private seances to be mystified by unexplainable supernatural forces. Anna Eva Fay came to Saginaw to perform her “light materializing seance” with “Spirit Hans, Forms and Faces, Spirit Carpenter, Etc.” What made this stage performance special for Saginawians is that Fay had undergone tests by renowned British scientist William Crookes, resulting in the endorsement of the Royal Scientific Society of England. Fay, according to top scientists of her day, was the real deal. So many people flocked to see Fay that the Academy of Music filled to capacity, and still, over 200 people were turned away, according to the Saginaw Evening News. Of the performance, the reporter wrote, “To attempt to give any lucid explanation of the seances last evening is impossible…It is enough for us to say there was sufficient done to remove the doubts from the minds of the most skeptical of her hearers.” Joining her on stage was her partner C. C. Braddon. Scholars believe that Braddon was an alias used by H. Melville Fay, Anna’s husband. Fay’s performance generally included being bound by cloth and ropes inside a curtain-fronted cabinet. A spectator might be asked to hold one of the ropes to ensure it was secured. Fay would appear to enter a trance. Braddon would place different objects in her lap, such as a guitar. He closed the curtain, and strumming could be heard. He would wrench the curtain open only seconds later and the guitar would be on her lap or the floor. Similar impossibilities would occur such as a hoop making its way from Fay’s lap to her neck, or paper dolls miraculously cut from a piece of paper, or nails hammered into a block. It would conclude with Braddon placing a knife in her lap, and even though the curtain would only close for a few seconds, Fay’s ropes would be cut, and she would then step out of the cabinet to a cheering audience. These types of performances combining escapism and supernatural elements were quite the craze in the 1880s.

Hey Halloween friends, we wanted to give you a heads up that we will be closing a little early next Thursday, 10/31, on Halloween night...instead of staying open late, we will close at 4:30 p.m. We figured everyone will be too busy trick-or-treating to stop into our spooky old building...and our apparitions could probably use the night off too...👻🎃

The Artifact: “Caulk Boot” Sole Happy International Archaeology Day! In celebration of Archaeology Day, this week’s artifact is derived from the Castle Museum’s ongoing archaeological excavations at the site of a Tittabawassee Boom Company Boarding House. Between 1864 and 1894, the Tittabawassee Boom Company operated at least nine (probably more) boarding houses for their employees. The boom company workers (often referred to as raftsmen, or the more colorful term “river hogs”) were responsible for sorting and rafting to the mills in Saginaw and Bay City logs that had been harvested and floated down the Tittabawassee River and its tributaries by the myriad lumber companies working in the watershed. In 2021, the Castle Museum began conducting excavations at an archaeological site thought to be a possible location for one of the boarding houses. Our efforts revealed an abundance of artifacts including structural material such as brick, plaster/mortar, nails, and window glass; domestic/kitchen-related material including glass and ceramic dishes, eating and serving utensils, bottles, cans, lamps, and food remains; and a few personal items including buttons, buckles, footwear, smoking pipe fragments, flowerpots, and even a harmonica! These items are, for the most part, consistent with what we would expect from the remains of a late 19th century boarding house. Most, however, do not indicate a specific connection to the activities of boom company workers. This week’s Artifact, excavated in 2023, is an exception, and it continues to be one of the most compelling artifacts recovered from the site to date. The Artifact is what remains of the sole of a caulk boot, the spiked boots raftsmen wore to help get traction on the slippery wet logs. This artifact, more than any other from our excavations, clearly links the site with boom company employees. It is perhaps not surprising that after being buried for approximately a century and a half, the leather and iron that comprise the caulk boot sole were in a poor state of preservation. In a lengthy process, conservation specialists at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory carefully cleaned, chemically stabilized, and freeze dried the artifact ensuring its long-term stability. #ArtifactSat

Get out of the rain and cold with a fun Castle Museum event! We've got a whole lineup for you this week to help keep you cozy and entertained, starting with the Indigenous Peoples' Teach-In today (10/14) from 2:30-4:30 p.m., the Hoyt Book Club tomorrow (10/15) at noon, Our Flashlight Tours tomorrow (10/15) evening (registration required!), #historyafterhours on Thursday (10/17) at 5:30 p.m., and Hands on History Saturday (10/19) from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. It's enough fun for EVERYONE! Join us!

The Artifact: A postcard of a Saginaw Landmark, the Temple Theatre “For one night at least, on Thursday, July 28, the play is not the thing. Fine as the initial offering of the new Temple may be, it will for once take second place to the house in which it is shown; for the people of Saginaw are going to be more interested in their new theater than in the best entertainment the vaudeville stage and picture screen ever turned out. Completed at a cost of nearly $1,000,000 after months of work, the Temple is declared by experts to be one of the finest theaters in Michigan. Disinterested inspectors agree with owners and builders in the statement that there may be bigger theaters, but there are no better.” The Saginaw News Courier, July 27, 1927. This week’s artifact is a postcard of the exterior of the Temple Theatre. So often when we feature an image from the museum’s collection, it is of a long-vanished scene. However, this is a view of a historic structure that remains remarkably unaltered. The card’s soft almost dream-like coloring captures the elegance of the exterior. However, it fails to hint at the amazing space within. Almost a century after its dedication, entering the Temple Theatre remains a magical experience for both new and repeat visitors. The theater and attached clubhouse were constructed for the Elf Khurafeh Shrine. Designed by the Grand Rapids firm of Osgood and Osgood, architects known for their expertise in designing Masonic facilities, the theater was leased to the Jackson, Michigan-based Butterfield chain. In 1927, Butterfield operated seven venues in Saginaw – the most of any Michigan city served by the company. Before the Temple was constructed, Butterfield signed a 30-year lease. While the space was designed by the architect, “[t]he [Butterfield] interests had charge of the furnishing of the theater; Elf Khurafeh Shrine built it but inside the work had all been done by the lessees.” [The Saginaw News Courier, July 27, 1927]. While the auditorium designed by Osgood and Osgood is wonderful, the space was rendered truly magical by the decoration commissioned by Butterfield.

Just a friendly reminder that our member appreciation Fall Fete is coming up TOMORROW on Thursday, October 10 from 5-7 p.m. We will have live music, drinks, heavy hors d'oeuvres, and a chance to mingle throughout the galleries with fellow museum patrons and staff! No need to RSVP, but if you are not currently a member or need to renew your membership, we would kindly ask you do to so at castle museum.org/become-a-member #fallfete

Join us in partnership with Delta College's Humanities Learning Center for this important Indigenous Peoples' Day Teach-In on Monday, October 14, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Hear from a panel of experts on major contemporary issues facing Native American communities, such as land concerns, mascot usage/abuse, and Native American graves. FREE and also available via Zoom by emailing [email protected].

The Artifact: A History of Our Own Last week the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History received a prestigious award from the Historical Society of Michigan. Our newsletter, The Castle Courier, received this year’s award for communication, Printed Periodicals. With that in mind, we are featuring two early issues of our early newsletters. Our archives of newsletters reveal how much our Historical Society has grown and the profound vision and dedication of our founders. To help place these newsletters into context, we are sharing the history of the founding of the Historical Society of Saginaw County, written several years ago by Mary Ellen Vaydik: History never stops rising to the surface in the present to better inform our past. In April 2010, pieces of a plank road built 160 years earlier to link Saginaw and Flint were unearthed during a reconstruction project on East Genesee in downtown Saginaw. The preservers of such artifacts and the promoters of Saginaw’s past are the members of the Historical Society of Saginaw County—and they have a history too. Although a history of Saginaw County had been written as early as 1858 by Truman V. Fox, Saginaw was a bit slow in recognizing the value of its past. The society’s documented beginning appears to be in 1937 when John Schuch asked City Council to provide a meeting room in City Hall and financial assistance for the formation of the Saginaw Valley Historical Society (SVSH). About 170 members, including many of Saginaw’s leading citizens came on board, and the society flourished for about five years under the leadership of Mr. Schuch, John Wickes, and Mrs. Norman Spencer. Plaques were erected at several historical sites, including the home of Governor David Jerome on South Fayette; but the society disappeared from the record books after 1942, possibly because financial assistance waned. In 1954 and again in 1961 Audra Francis led moves in City Council to establish a Lumberman’s Memorial and Museum on Ojibway Island. In the midst of this effort a re-organizational meeting of the SVSH was attempted; and in December 1959, 117 members led by Ralph Stroebel began meeting first at the Art Museum and later at Hoyt Library. In the early 1960’s considerable confusion resulted when four organizations with overlapping aims existed: the Lumberjacks, the Heritage Foundation Committee, the Archeological Society and the SVSH. In June, 1961, yet another separate organization, the Saginaw Historical Museum Association (SHMA), was formed with the express purpose of promoting a local historical museum. This group of 23 members led by Dr. Richard Mudd quickly grew to 54 members and adopted a constitution by the end of 1961.