Ionia-Eaton County MI Archives Biographies.....SLATER, Dr. Malcom G. 1880 - 1962 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: LaVonne Bennett lib@dogsbark.com February 2, 2007, 5:10 pm Author: THE SEBEWA RECOLLECTOR; Bulletin of THE SEBEWA CENTER ASSOCIATION, December 1970. Volume 6, Number 3. Printed with permission of editor Grayden D. Slowins BUSINESS CHANGES IN SUNFIELD SINCE I CAME HERE (1910) Part 3; By Dr. Malcom G. Slater (1880-1962) Written in 1948 - The brick building next west after nearly falling down was torn down. It was operated by H. H. Mapes and called Star Clothiers, carrying men's suits and furnishings. This was before I came here. Mrs. Mertie Smelker operated some kind of business and owned the building when I came. Celia Davidson ran an ice cream parlor there once. I rented the building when I first came to Sunfield. There was a bakery in the building run by Mr. Blakely, Mr. Brooks and a man from Lake Odessa whose name I do not recall. Mr. Brisboe had a barber shop there and Pat Pierson opened a barber shop there before Brisboe. Next west was a small wooden building occupied by Truman Lapman as a barber shop. Mr. and Mrs. Bacon lived there later. Devilo McDairmid bought it and lived there for some years. P. J. Welch had his shoe shop there. The building was torn down later. Next was a two story wooden building occupied by Jack Wilson and Frank DeLand as a ten cent hitch and livery. Mexican Bill lived upstairs. The building was remodeled and another part was built to the west, making it a double building used for a feed and livery business. John Hunt operated it for some time and lived upstairs. Ben Dilley also operated it until his death and then his son, Orley, took over for a time. A man by the name of Unrath opened a Buick Sales there and Herman Sherman and Brisbo were salesmen. Later Harlan Sweitzer ran a business there selling cars. A Mr. Putman was his salesman. The building later stood empty until Frank Cornell started a small business there selling clothes. The building later was torn down. Next west was a cement building which was used as the telephone office by Wolf Brothers. John Palmer later became manager of the telephone company. Bell Telephone bought the telephone lines and Mike Welch was one of the managers as was Bill Boyland and a man whose name I cannot remember. It was sold to the Farmers and people of Sunfield by the Bell Company. The telephone office was moved to the upstairs of the Bascom Building, which is the locker now. Claude Teachout was the manager up there. Later the office was moved to the building where it is now. The cement building was later operated as a cream station by Charles Gilbert. Charles Walrath had his shoe shop there too. Finally it was vacated and torn down. The next building west was occupied by Cole and Fisk as a hardware until their building was completed across the street. George Dunham operated a barber shop there. Also Will Stocum ran the shop. Skip Dunham learned the trade of his Uncle George there. Art Thomas and Skip operated the shop for some time. Finally the telephone office was installed there and is still there. It was all vacant lots up to the Van Antwerp store until John and Charles Campbell built the two story garage, which is there now. They operated a garage and Ford Sales for some years and closed it out later. Elmer Shinabarger opened a garage there and was there a short time. Dennis Joppie opened a garage then and Vet Wohlscheid operated a garage there, living upstairs. Mrs. Voltz opened her beauty parlor there in the west side. Vet closed out and H. H. Mapes bought the building for a used furniture store. Mapes sold it to Murray Hough who ran a garage there for some time. Now Triplex Engineering is operating there. The next building was of two story brick and built by a man by the name of Baker who had a harness shop there. This was before I came to Sunfield. When I came, Emmet Van Antwerp and wife ran a grocery and novelty store for years until the death of Mr. Van Antwerp. Elmer Van Antwerp then opened the store again. I think Elmer opened the store twice and the last time he called it the Farmers' Food Basket. My daughter, Rose, worked for him then. Elmer sold out to a Mr. Hazelton, who was here a short time. Elmer operated the store again until he sold to Ralph Shipman. Mr. McPhail bought the store and building and now operates the store. Dr. M. A. Larke had his dental office there and lived upstairs until McPhail bought the building. I had my optometry office with Dr. Larke for a time after selling my place. The next west was the brick house and office built by Dr. T. L. Peacock, who was practicing there when I came. He sold out and moved to Lansing. The building was owned by several people after that. Charles Lundquist owned it and had his home and real estate office there for a time. At one time Andrew Sayer owned it. I bought the place of a Mr. Fitzpatrick of New York through his agent from Detroit, a Mr. Scheen. The place was rented to several people after Mr. Lundquist moved out. Mrs. Art Litchfield had a rooming house there at one time. A Mr. Evert lived there when I bought it. I lived there and operated my optometry practice about twelve years. I sold to Peter and Guy Mitchell, who live there now. I moved to Eaton Rapids then in 1945 but have had an office here three days a week since. The wooden building next west was occupied by Clanty Derby as an implement store before I came. Dr. Peacock bought the building after Mr. Derby closed out the business. He sold the building to Ray Welch. The next wooden building was occupied by John Morrisey with a blacksmith and woodshop with buggy and wagon repairing. Horse shoeing was a big business then. Henry Southwell, Fred DePue, John Stambaugh Sr. and Bona Eldridge worked for John as well as Frank Aves. Frank operated the shop later. The business was closed and the building stood empty for some time. John Stambaugh bought it and tore the building down and is building a cement building there now. The last wooden building on the corner was a double two story building. I can remember before coming to Sunfield that a Dr. Vanandee had a drug store there and Charley Hampden also ran a store there. When I came Charles Nauss had a saloon and pool room there. Then a man by the name of Joe Geiser operated the saloon. Mr. Geiser died there in their upstairs apartment. The building was empty for some time except that Perry Hyde lived in one of the upstairs rooms. J. H. Palmer operated his grain and sales business there for a time. As I remember, the building burned down and Mr. Palmer reopened his business in the wooden building directly across the street mentioned before. J. H. Campbell and Charles bought the lots and erected the Standard Oil Station there which is operated by them now. They also built another building for a shop and warehouse there. Johnnie Geisel was the first station attendant in the Standard station. Across the Sunfield Road and next to the railroad track was the grist mill operated by Amos Huelett. A Mr. Bosworth and Tim Sprinket were partners later. Roe Huelett operated the mill and coal business for a time. Then the mill was rented to a Mr. Tolman. He operated it until the boiler gave out. The steam engines were sold and the brick engine house and tall brick chimney were torn down. Smith Bros. Velte & Co. bought the place and operated a feed grinding business for a time. Mr. Vandeburg bought it, remodeled it to a one story and used it for onion storage. I hated to see that old steam engine leave. Going back south from the drug store, the little office building was there but I do not recall who was in it then. Later Dr. Mighan had his dental office there until my father and mother bought the house and office. Dr. Crawford had his office there while my folks owned it and he later moved across the street in the rear of the hotel building. Orley Baugham has a barber shop there in the hotel building, too. After Dr. Crawford moved from the wooden office building, Ava and I lived there for a time. Rose was a baby then. After we moved out, mother sold the bulding and eighteen feet of the north lot to Chris Geisel, who lived there for some time. Frank Cross bought it then and lived there until his death. His brother, Leonard, then became owner. William Graff operated his shoe shop there until he left town. I think Earl Hanna owned the building then. It was sold to Rolla Franks. He and his mother, Becky Buell, made their home there. Becky still lives there. (I think Dr. Stineburg and family lived there when I came.) The house next south was occupied by Dr. Mighan and family until they bought the house where Roy Trim now lives. My father and mother lived there after that until their deaths. My sister, Mabel, then became the next owner and now lives there summers. I have my office there with her. Next south was a two story large wooden building occupied by Frank Richard as a blacksmithy and wagon shop. He sold to Ludwig (Louie) Hahl, who operated the shop for some time, living where Charles Healy lived. Arthur Litchfield became the owner and operated the shop until his death. Then the building was sold and torn down. Mr. Richards and Mr. Hahl both operated dances upstairs for a long time. The building on the lot where Mr. Pugh has his home now was occupied by Dr. Migham as an office after he bought the property. Later he moved to Lansing. Charles Healy, Herb Anderson, Rolla Franks and mother lived in the upstairs rooms. Jake Broombaugh also lived up there and operated a broom factory for some time in the rooms below. In the depot article I forgot to mention the pumping station and old water tank for the railroad. The steam pump was operated by Frank Linhart when I came and before that. Later, Frank Lumbert, Zal Slater, Will Davidson, Chris Geisel and Perry Hyde operated the pump. When my father was running the pump, they took down the old tank and water standpipe and erected a new tank 20' x 30', resting on cement piers and steel underwork. The railroad steamers took water from a spout hung from the tank. When Perry Hyde was operating the pump, the pump house burned down. Later the tank was removed and the water service for the railroad in Sunfield ceased to exist. The townhall is about the same as when I came. The first electricity Sunfield had was made in the back part of this building. It was installed by Dolph Wolf and consisted of two Fairbanks 25-horse engines and two generators. Later another larger engine was added. Joe Blough was the first operator of the plant. Charley Healy ran it until Consumers Power Co. came in with their AC lines. The engine and generators were sold then. The next building north was the Charley Healy livery stable when I came here. Later Charley commenced to repair automobiles in the north side of the building. I think there were seven or eight autos owned here then. P. J. Welch Sr., A. H. Sayer, Dr. Peacock, Charley Healy, Will Bennett, Ray Welch and John Morrissey were owners. H. O. Branch had an auto buggy that looked like a regular buggy but had an engine in it. Healy sold the building to the Mapes Co. who use it as a warehouse now. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/bios/slater431gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mifiles/ File size: 11.8 Kb