THE SEBEWA RECOLLECTOR Newsletter from Sebewa; Sebewa Township, Ionia County, MI. 
FEBRUARY 2009, Volume 44, Number 4.  Submitted with written permission of Editor Grayden D. Slowins:
 

SURNAMES:  COLWELL, TOWNSEND, PRYER, SANDBORN, BENEDICT, ALBERTS, DILLEY, ERDMAN, GILBERT, BENSCHOTER, LUSCHER, GIBBS, INGRAHAM, GILMAN, HIGBEE, MORRILL, ROLLINS, PHILBRICK, MOLTON, SAMBORNE, MOULTON, BRADLEY, ERDMAN, HUNTZINGER, SPITZLEY, ULRICH, BREIMAYER, AMES, THORP, FOX, GOODEMOOT, WOLCOTT, HOLTON, BARNUM, BOSWORTH

RECENT DEATHS: 

JANET MARILYN SANDBORN GILBERT, 75, wife of Gerald GILBERT, mother of Karen OESCH, Nancy CANNON, Peggy BUCHE and Marilyn GOODEMOOT, sister of June (late Bob) HIGBEE, Bonnie (Mike) JAMESON, Judy (Al) McCrumb, Betty (Tom) RUSSELL, Louis (Mary) SANDBORN, Richard (Marsha) SANDBORN, Kendall (Barbara) SANDBORN, Gary SANDBORN and the late Howard (Mary) SANDBORN, Riley LaVern (Maxine) SANDBORN, Maxine VOLK and Joyce LYON, daughter of Anis BENSCHOTER & Riley Howard SANDBORN, son of Elma Winifred LUSCHER & Lawrence WATSON (Lon) SANDBORN, son of Sarah Jane GIBBS & Columbus SANDBORN, son of Betsey Ann INGRAHAM & Edward SANDBORN of Sebewa, son of Mehitabel GILMAN or Polly HIGBEE & Thomas SANDBORN, son of Molly MORRILL & Abijah SANDBORN, son of Catherine ROLLINS & Daniel SANDBORN, son of Sarah PHILBRICK & John SAMBORN, son of Ruth MOLTON & Richard SAMBORNE, son of Margaret PAGE MOULTON & John SAMBORNE.
   Janet’s mother Anis was the daughter of Bertella BRADLEY & John BENSCHOTER, son of Mary M. & Oliver P. BENSCHOTER, son of Diana & Cornelius VanBENSCHOTEN of Sebewa.
   Bertella BRADLEY was daughter of Minnie C. ERDMAN & Jacob LUSCHER, son of Anna HUNTZINGER & Jacob LUSCHER, Sr. of Sebewa.  Sarah Jane GIBBS was daughter of Mariam AMES & Robert GIBBS of Sebewa, all of these families having settled in Sebewa Township well before the Civil War.
   Janet was born March 28, 1933, in Portland, lived and worked on their farm on TUPPER Lake Road in Sebewa Township since 1958, and died November 23, 2008.  She was a member of our Portland High School Class of 1950, faithfully attending our class reunions and loved by all who knew her.  She is buried at the East Sebewa Cemetery. 

ELIZABETH (BETTY) BREIMAYER SPITZLEY, 75, wife of Philip SPITZLEY, mother of Steve (Vikki) SPITZLEY, Randy (Brenda) SPITZLEY, Debbie (Dave) CRUMBAUGH, Becky (Brian) HASKIN, and Doug (Lori RHODES) SPITZLEY, sibling of four brothers and two sisters, daughter of Esther ULRICH and Andrew BREIMAYER.
   Born September 7, 1933, Betty was a school teacher in early years, then a farm wife and mother on their farm on MUSGROVE Hwy. in Sebewa Township.  She always decorated her classroom/home for each holiday, leaving her Christmas scene in her yard on December 19, 2008.  She is buried at Portland Cemetery. 

RUTH GOODEMOOT THORP, 91, widow of Kenneth THORP, mother of Dianne (Tom) BARKER, Richard (Tammy) THORP, and the late Donna THORP, sister of Ruby WILLIAMS, Merle (Mike) (Virginia) GOODEMOOT, Richard (Marian) GOODEMOOT, and the late Earl (Pat) (Shirley) GOODEMOOT, daughter of Florence FOX & Allyn GOODEMOOT, son of George GOODEMOOT, son of John & Mary GOODEMOOT, great-great-granddaughter of Oliver WOLCOTT, Jr., second Secretary of the United States Treasury after Alexander HAMILTON and Governor of Connecticut, son of Oliver WOLCOTT, Sr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and also Governor of Connecticut.
   Ruth & Ken had celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary when he died in 1996.   Born January 21, 1917, she spent all her married life on their farm on CLARKSVILLE Road in Sebewa Township, and died November 19, 2008.  Interment in Odessa Township Lakeside Cemetery. 

RICHARD G. GOODEMOOT, 80, husband of Marian SHIVIIE GOODEMOOT, father of Kenneth (Teri) GOODEMOOT, Keith GOODEMOOT, Jane (Tim) TAYLOR and Kendall (Missy) GOODEMOOT, brother of Ruth and others as shown above, son of Florence FOX & Allyn GOODEMOOT, with other ancestors as shown above.  Richard worked at Lake Odessa Co-op Elevator and farmed with his brothers on the family land between GOODEMOOT Road and KNOLL Road, more along CLARKSVILLE Road, and other land, in Sebewa Township.
   Born June 20, 1928, he served in the U.S. Army during WWII and died December 25, 2008, about five weeks after his sister Ruth.       He is buried at Lakeside Cemetery. 

INA LETA BARNUM HOLTON, 101, widow of Melvin Cyrus George HOLTON, mother of Eleanor BAILIFF, Neil (Wilma) HOLTON, Christine (David) VanDEVENTER, Joyce (Ken) ENGLAND, Joan HURLBUT, and three other sons who are deceased, sister of Alta WILLIAMS of Ypsilanti, daughter of Gertrude BOSWORTH & William L. BARNUM.  Said to be the oldest resident of Sunfield, she actually farmed on the north side of Eaton Hwy in Sebewa Township.  She is buried beside her husband in Sunfield Cemetery.

FRONT PAGE PHOTO of SEBEWA CENTER SCHOOL DIST. NO. 4 EARLY 1900s:

   Can you identify any of the students and what year this is?  ARLOW AVES (b. Oct. 16, 1897) is the boy in bibbed overalls in the front row second to the right of the girl in white.

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI)  JULY 29, 1948:   

Fire, believed to have been caused by spontaneous combustion, completely destroyed the large basement barn on the Eugene LYON farm southeast of Portland in Danby Township Sunday evening.  The barn was 32 x 90 feet in size, with full basement.  Included in the loss were 20 tons of first cutting hay and 10 tons that was just cut.  Local fire department estimates the loss at $10,000.  Three horses, including a riding horse owned by William PRYER, lost their lives, as did eight purebred Guernsey calves.  A hay conveyor was partially damaged.  Embers from the LYON fire flew northeast to the neighboring farm of William PRYER (Dr. Roy PRYER place) and fired the barn roof.  That blaze was extinguished before much damage was done.  Because of spectator cars blocked the roads, two Portland fire trucks had difficulty getting to the fire, the Mulliken truck ran into a ditch trying to get around the cars, and a Lansing truck was hit by a car at FROST Corners. 

DEATH of RAY A. COLWELL:  Funeral services were held Tuesday for Ray A. COLWELL, 71, who had practiced law in Lake Odessa and Ionia for 46 years and was well known in Portland.  Burial was in Lake Odessa.  Born in Detroit, Mr. COLWELL moved with his parents, Eugene F. & Alice M. RICKEY COLWELL, at age 10 to Lake Odessa, when that village started in 1887. 
   He graduated from Lake Odessa High School in 1895 to U. of M. law school in 1901.  He started his practice in Lake Odessa in 1902 and moved it to Ionia in 1912, forming a partnership with the late A. A. ELLIS.  He is survived by his wife, the former Cora B. BRADEN; (Sebewa native) and two daughters, Mrs. Margaret HOAR of Plymouth, and Mrs. Frances E. COOK of Ann Arbor.  (His widow still owned some the original store buildings on the west side of Fourth Ave. in Lake Odessa when this editor worked there in the 1950s.) 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI)  January 18, 1951:  The farm home of Maynard GIERMAN at Sebewa Center was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning.  The blaze routed the GIERMAN family from their sleep and leveled the 16-room structure.  Mrs. GIERMAN discovered the fire when she awoke and detected smoke about 3:00 AM.  She and her husband and two children, Jeffery, 7, and Sandra, 5, escaped. 
   Both the Lake Odessa and Sunfield fire departments were summoned, but could not pump enough water to save the home, although the blaze was kept from surrounding buildings.  First floor furniture was mostly saved.  It is believed the fire started near a chimney.  The large house was built in 1901 by Charles GIERMAN, grandfather of the present owner, to replace one also destroyed by fire.  (The previous house, owned by Charles’ parents, Frederick (Fritz) & Sophia BENSCHNEIDER GIERMAN, was of same pattern as seven others in the township, including this editor’s home.) 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI)  January 25, 1951:   One of winter’s pranks came last week when Friday’s temperature soared and a bright sun shone.  The solid sheet ice slid over the dam and within 24 hours the thermometer dropped t a degree that brought more ice.  With the protective layer of ice gone, the sloppy variety soon filled the head race at the power plant.  The wheels slowly came to a stop when the water supply failed.  This left the power supply dependent on the diesel generators downtown, but decreased the chances for a flood later. 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI)  January 31, 1952: 

DEATH NOTICE OF ALLIE TOWNSEND:  Services were held for Mrs. Allie TOWNSEND, who passed away at her home on Grant Street last Friday morning.  Mrs. TOWNSEND and her husband Ross had moved to the village from their farm south of the MONROE School only a few weeks ago.  The couple observed their golden wedding anniversary on September 21, 1951.
   Before moving to the farm in Eagle Township, they resided in Danby Township.  Surviving in addition to the husband are a daughter, Mrs. Gerald SHINDORF, of Lyons, and a son, Forrest, of Danby; sisters Mrs. Floyd ROUSCH, of Clarksville, and Mrs. Fay BATCHELDER, of Grand Rapids; brothers Ernest, Earl, James, Walter and Ray REED all of Lake Odessa; and four grandchildren.  Bearers were Earl SPAULDING, Larry TOWNSEND, William DUTCHER and Tom ALLEN. 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI)  JANUARY 1932:  A daughter was born last week to Mr. and Mrs. Marcus GALER. 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI)  NOVEMBER 27, 1952:  Mr. & Mrs. Charles GILDEN of Portland and Mr. & Mrs. Dempster ALBERTS of Lansing spent Sunday with Mr. & Mrs. Harrison BROOKS of Scottville.  Mrs. BROOKS is the sister of Mrs. GILDEN and Mr. ALBERTS.  (The ALBERTS siblings were natives of Sebewa Corners, where their father ran a general store just west of the I. O. O. F. Hall on Musgrove Hwy.)  

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest SANDBORN celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary at an open house Sunday.

 PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) NOVEMBER 1932:  A younger generation of soldiers bore the remains of a man who fought in the 1860s to his last resting place Wednesday.  During the last few years of his life, members of the American Legion had honored Philo N. CHAPEL in numerous ways, and in death they paid their final tribute.  In November 1912, Portland Village President, Duncan KENNEDY, appointed Philo N. CHAPEL as Village Marshall, on account of the illness of N. T. SANDBORN.
     Dogs invaded a flock of sheep on John LEIK’S farm east of Portland, killing three outright.  Four others were so badly injured that Justice Byron SMITH, who appraised the loss, ordered them shot.
     It will be several weeks before Mr. & Mrs. Frank O’BRIEN will be able to leave SPARROW Hospital, Lansing, to which they were taken following an auto accident near Portland last week.  They are owners of what was formerly WEIPPERT mill and dam, north of Sebewa Corners.
     Floyd EVANS, formerly employed at SMITH Hardware Company, is spending a couple weeks with friends in Indiana.

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) NOVEMBER 1912:  John STENCIL, of Orange Township, lost two large barns by fire.

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) April 13, 2009 1961: 

DEATH OF RAY PRYER:  Ray PRYER, 71, died April 5 at his home in Portland.  He was born in Danby Township, August 6, 1889, SON OF Acelia BARNARD & Charles H. PRYER.  Surviving are the wife, Belle PEAKE PRYER, and daughter, Mrs. Betty CONROYD of Kalamazoo.  Ray lived in Seattle, WA, 17 years, 1923-1940.

PORTLAND REVIEW:  AUGUST 1944:  West Sebewa News:  Mr. & Mrs. Glenn NICHOLSON visited their daughter, Mrs. Herbert EVANS and family over the weekend.  Their grandson, Teddy LAKIN, of Lansing, was with them.  (Janet EVANS CARTER says her mother, Harriet EVANS, had a sister, Alta, who was married to Ted LAKIN, Sr. (twice actually) and Ted Jr. and his sister, Glenna, often stayed with their grandparents on the farm.  They were even listed as students at West Sebewa School at one time.  NICHOLSONS lived on the Sebewa side of GOODEMOOT Road, across from Ora WALKINGTON.  They had 60 acres in Sebewa Township and 40 acres in Orange Township.  So Ted Jr. and Glenna are first cousins to both Janet EVANS CARTER and Ann LAKIN SLOWINS.)

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) JUNE 7, 1951:  Mr. & Mrs. Reuben T. GRAFT celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary on June 5^th, quietly receiving friends and relatives.  Reuben Thomas GRAFT came to Michigan with his parents as a child of six months, and at twenty-three months came to Danby Township, where he has lived for eighty-one years.  Harriet Elvira WILLIAMS was born in Sebewa and later moved with her parents to Danby.  They were married at the home of their neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. Nathan PEAKE, Sr.  Their six children, all living, are:  Glenn Herbert GRAFT, Portland; Estella Iris McCrumb, Danby; Evelyn Marion GREEN, Mulliken; Earl William GRAFT, Saginaw; Harold Thomas GRAFT, Portland; and Clare Allen GRAFT, Westport, CN.
     An important meeting on the financial problems of Portland Cemetery was to be held on June 15, called by Dan WATSON, Portland Township Clerk.  Mr. WATSON emphasizes that if local residents wish to see the cemetery continue to look as good as it did Decoration Day, some action must be taken very soon.  Some means of raising money to support the cemetery have been suggested and others are sought.  (After struggling for a number of years, the solution was found when the village became a city in late 1960s and Portland Township turned the cemetery, which was township property, over to Portland City.)
     Mrs. Ray PRYER looked up Friday evening and saw a big Buick car in her garage, but no-one in the family had parked it there.  She heard a crash at her home at the northeast corner of Kent and Brush Streets.  The Buick had been parked in Harry MAY’S driveway at the northeast corner of Maple and Brush, and without warning started backward.  It crossed Maple Street, went several feet down over the bank, and crashed through the back wall of her garage at the former James McCLELLAND home.  (Later replaced by a Seven-Eleven store.)
     Only five of 1200 members of Portland Alumni Association responded to a call for a meeting at the High School.  A sum of $77 had been on deposit in Maynard-Allen State Bank for ten years and was in danger of being taken by the state, because there were no officers of the association to claim it.  The meeting was called by Dan WATSON, who acted as chairman, and Mrs. Irving GUNNELL was named Treasurer.  It was voted to give the money to the school and Mrs. GUNNELL and the other three present:  Mrs. Robert LOCKWOOD, Mrs. Zene VanHOUTEN, and Fred J. MAUREN, were named as a committee to confer with Supt. Ray HAMILTON as to how the $77 was to be spent.  (Later they started again, but lack of workers caused it to die after 2000 reunion.) 

PORTLAND REVIEW:  JUNE 7, 1951:  Southwell & Snyder have announced the sale of their business to Bob Ackerson of Portland.  He will maintain an all-car service in addition to the Kaiser-Frazer agency.  Mr. ACKERSON was formerly employed at Rhynard’s Garage and will be at his new business at 107 Maple Street on Monday, June 11.  (Bob ACKERSON later sold new & used Allis-Chalmers farm machinery in a building just west of Joe CROSBY Pontiac-Buick on East Grand River Ave.)
     Walter and Margretta (FRYER) RUMMEL have sold their two weekly newspapers, the Pigeon, MI, PORGRESS and the Elkton, MI, ADVANCE, and have opened a photography studio and lithograph printing shop in Walt’s home town, Sebewaing, MI.  They have three boys, John, James and Mark.
     HERBERT O. SANDBORN, 58, passed away suddenly in Detroit early Wednesday morning from a heart attack.  Born in Sebewa, Mr. SANDBORN was a graduate of Portland High School and a veteran of WWI.  He had worked for the Goodyear Tire Co. for 35 years, and had moved from Minneapolis, MN, to Detroit about two years ago.  He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Lon SANDBORN.  Surviving are three daughters, one residing in Hawaii and two in California.  Brothers residing in this vicinity are Jake, Riley, Allen, Raymond and Melborn, and Lawrence of Duluth, MN.  Buried in Danby Cemetery.
     While strolling on Kent Street, we met Frank WHITMAN, who has come over from Ionia to spend his 88^th birthday in Portland, where he lived for so many years.  Also Frank GOFF, who tells us this day (June 5) marks the 73^rd anniversary of his marriage.  Mrs. GOFF died several years ago.  They were married in Lyons, came to Portland immediately after the ceremony, and he has lived here ever since.  He recalls having worked on the railroad for 80 cents a day when a young man.  (A smart young reporter recently wrote that when the Model-T came out, Henry Ford raised his workers’ wages from $2.50 to $5.00 per hour---No, that was per ten-hour day!!!) 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) JUNE 1931:  Mr. & Mrs. Herbert EVANS are soon to move to Grand Ledge, where Mr. EVANS is employed by the Arctic Dairy Products Co.  Mr. L. BRADMAN and family have rented the EVANS home on Lincoln St.  Mr. BRADMAN is the new manager of the A & P Store here. 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) JUNE 1911:  Miss Frances PASCHE was knocked down on Kent Street in Portland by an auto driven by Peter FINEIS near the building occupied by John BAUER.  Two of the girl’s ribs and a shoulder were broken.  In attempting to dodge the machine, she ran in front of it.
     Invitations have been sent out for the wedding of Miss Edith KENNEDY, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Duncan KENNEDY of Portland, to Mr. Louis SLOWINSKI, son of Mrs. Magdalena and the late Theofil SLOWINSKI of Ionia.  (Edith and Louis first lived in Ionia, where he was foreman in the Wallerstein Furniture Factory and she played piano in the Orpheum Theatre, then they moved to South Haven and were proprietors of the OK Theatre.  They had no children and are buried in Portland Cemetery next to the FROST mausoleum.) 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) JANUARY 19, 1950:  Mrs. Charles BENEDICT, 91, who formerly resided in this vicinity (in Orange Township), passed away in Port Huron and was returned to Portland for burial.  Mrs. BENEDICT’S maiden name was Carrie NICHOLSON.  She was the widow of Willie F. BENEDICT.  Glenn NICHOLSON of West Sebewa is a brother.  Nephews and nieces of Mrs. BENEDICT residing in this area are A. Fred KLOTZ, Will KINNEY, Mrs. Iva BIDWELL and Mrs. Harriet EVANS.
     Funeral services were held at the Bandfield Chapel for William Y. ALBERTS, 81.  Death occurred in an ambulance as Mr. ALBERTS was being taken to a hospital in Ludington from the home of his daughter, Mrs. Harrison BROOKS, in Scottville.  Mr. ALBERTS had resided in Portland as a youth and later went to Sebewa, where he operated a general store (Located just west of the Oddfellow Hall on MUSGROVE Hwy. at KEEFER Hwy.) 
    He had resided in East Lansing the past several years.  Burial was in Portland Cemetery, where his wife, the former Nettie KELLEY of Sebewa, is also buried.  (A young son, Lyle K. ALBERTS is buried in East Sebewa Cemetery.  Nettie was a sister to Rhyde KELLEY DAWDY, and their father, Charles KELLEY was a brother to Lora (Mrs. John C.) OLRY and Flora (Mrs. Charles) ESTEP, all of Sebewa. 
    They were also cousins of Frank and Hugh SHOWERMAN.  Since Charles’ wife was a granddaughter of early settler, Stephen RHYDER, they were also cousins to Fern VanHOUTEN OLRY and all the other VanHOUTENS in that line.)  Surviving besides Mrs. BROOKS is another daughter, Mrs. Charles (Marjorie) GILDEN of Portland, and a son, Dempster ALBERTS, of Lansing.
     ORANGE COUPLE MARRIED 55 YEARS:  January 23, 1950 was to mark the 55^th wedding anniversary of Mr. & Mrs. Lewis ROWE, Sr. of Orange Township, shown in accompanying photo in front of their house.  They were married at the home of the bride’s (Olive E. WILSON) uncle, Edwin G. (Ted) WILSON, in Orange.  Most of their married life was spent in Orange, although they lived in Portland for a few years.  Their son, Lewis ROWE, Jr., operates the Portland Realty Agency, and a daughter, Mrs. Edwin GALLOWAY, lives near her parents’ home in Orange. 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) JUNE 7, 1951:  Miss Lucille WILCOX, former principal at Portland High School, has been made head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the State of Michigan at Detroit. 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) APRIL 13, 1930:  In his youthful days Glenn P. DILLEY, 46, who died at Charlotte Thursday, was often in Portland, where his uncles, Josiah and John DILLEY, resided.
     Eagle Village shows an increase in population since the 1920 census was taken.  Then there were 100 residents; this year shows 123.
     A new Chevrolet Six coach cost Mrs. Sam BURMAN just 35 cents.  Mr. & Mrs. BURMAN attended a Home Show in Grand Rapids.  Mrs. BURMAN’S admission ticket got her the award of the new car.
     Allie RADER moved his sawmill back to Portland last week from the Jed BRIGGS farm near Eagle, where he sawed about 50,000 board feet.
     Theo LENON of Sunfield has purchased the O. R. EATON farm in Sebewa. 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) APRIL 13, 1950:  While Lynn KLUMP was driving the school bus on DIVINE Hwy one morning this week, four deer appeared in the road ahead.  They were so terrified that when they dashed off, one ran into a tree, broke its neck and died.  It is thought that two deer tried to go thru a space wide enough for only one.  A few minutes later John BARTON of Marselle Road spotted three deer, believed to be the same three, hopping over his fence.  The dead deer was dressed out and taken to Portland High School for use in the hot lunch program.  (What a change 60 years makes, this was big news on the front page!) 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) APRIL 1910:  New cars arriving last week were Arthur NUNNELEY’S Brush, George W. WOOD’S Ford, Charles ESTEP’S White Steamer, and E. C. HEROLTZ’S Rambler.
    The civic improvement committee of the Ladies’ Literary Club has presented a petition to the village council asking that signs be put up designating names of village streets. 

IONIA SENTINEL (MI) APRIL 14, 1942:  Cincinnati (AP) – Three officers of the American Association of Industrial Physicians declared today that the war is a threat to America’s next generation.  They say 5,000,000 mothers and potential mothers will be employed in war work by the end of 1942.  Women are being called into jobs ranging from making fuses for shells to running huge presses and metal lathes.  “They are about twice as susceptible to disease as men, and the rate goes up sharply after they marry. (!!!!)  We not only have to think of treating their present illnesses, but also the protection of their health for the future.  This problem is complicated by the fact that thousands of married women are trying to carry on two jobs – maintaining a home and working in an industrial plant or military arsenal.  They work eight hours a day, then rush home and get supper ready, or breakfast if they work the night shift, and are so keyed up they can’t sleep.”
   A grave danger is the battle of the sexes in war production.  In many operations women have proven to be more accurate, faster, and more observant than men, which the latter resent.  “Unless care is taken in personal management, such a situation with the wife earning as much or more than her husband, is bound to result in family quarrels and possibly divorces.” 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) MARCH 23, 1950:  George LEIK has rented an apartment in the former James McCLELLAND home to Mr. and Mrs. Ray PRYER.  (This corner was later cleared for the Seven/Eleven Store.)  It was recently vacated by Mr. & Mrs. George STEWARD, Jr., who moved to Lansing.  The PRYERS will move there from an apartment they have long occupied in the Harold BUCK home.
   Three new stores are pictured in the Portland business district.  Bob LEAR’S find new food store is in what was for years the Sun Theatre in mid-block on Kent Street.  Mr. LEAR recently moved from the Banfield Building.  JACKSON’S Family Shoe and Gents’ Furnishing Shop (later Hosley’s Shoes) was opened by B. W. JACKSON in what years ago was E. A. RICHARDS’ Grocery and later PIERCE’S Grill.  College Drug occupies former site of FRANKS Store in KNOX Block on corner. 

PORTLAND REVIEW (MI) SEPTEMBER 4, 1952:  Persistent rumors that Portland was to lose one of its valuable industries blossomed into a sad reality last week, when HOLLEY Carburetor Co. of Detroit announced it was closing its Portland plant, the Portland Manufacturing Co., in the very near future.  When the last shipment of parts has gone from the Portland factory, it will mark the end of a period of profitable employment which this firm has created in the Portland area.
   Turning out carburetor parts, ignition systems, etc., the plant has operated here for about 15 years, starting with a single building on the property in the northwest part of the village.  Later a second unit was built and the wheels of industry have whizzed ever since.  This is a time of wide expansion in manufacturing, and another industry may soon locate here.  Rumors have already started.  Last weekend it was General Motors who had bought the plant, another was that Ford was going to make spark plugs here.
     Mr. & Mrs. Harold EVANS and Mr. & Mrs. Hervey DAKE drove to Bowling Green, KY, for the weekend.  Mr. EVANS remained there, where he has been transferred to Bowling Green Manufacturing Co.  from Portland Manufacturing Co.
     The former HUVER Bros. garage building west of town (Nash auto dealership according to their ad in 1950 REVIEW) is being converted into a truck-stop and restaurant.  G. M. TIDWELL, of Lansing has rented the building and large adjoining lot from Norman LAY.  In addition to eating facilities, it is also planned to have a place for truckers to park and rest.  (Later BEIMERS, SNYDERS, now bus garage.) 
     Mrs. Elizabeth ADGATE, widow of Franklin ADGATE, who lived for many years in Orange Township and later on the west side in Portland, (at the triangle of Grand River Ave. and Union Street) is in a hospital in Bethesda, MD, where she was taken a few days ago after she fell and broke her hip.  She went to Maryland to make her home with her sister, Miss Catherine FLEMING.  A letter from her son, Maurice, who lives nearby, to relatives in Portland, indicates that his mother, who will soon be 90 years of age, is recovering slowly.  (Frank & Lizzie made the trip to Bethesda many times, by flagging down the Greyhound Bus with their black umbrella and a grip.  They had previously flagged down the train at Collins when living on the farm.)
     Lewis WOOD, who has been principal of Portland High School for the past three years, has resigned the position and taken over as superintendent of schools at Covert, MI.  They had purchased the Robert & Blanche PRYER BROOKS home on Grant Street, and have sold the property to Mr. & Mrs. Harry HATTIS, Jr., who live on East Street.
     Floyd ERDMAN, 61, died Thursday afternoon at his home near Sunfield.  He was the son of Frank & Florence ERDMAN, was born in Danby Township, and had spent his entire lifetime in the Sunfield-Sebewa area.  Surviving are two sons, Fred of Sunfield and Donald of Toledo, OH; two daughters, Mrs. Florence WEISENBERG of Sunfield and Mrs. Theron HARTWICK of Portland; one sister, Mrs. Florence DILLEY of Mulliken.  WWI Veteran, buried in Danby Cemetery.