MEMORIES of MASON
A Photographic Journey Through Mason, Michigan.

Dedicated to the memory of
Guy Carlton Royston and Millie May Kelley.

Millie May Kelley	Guy Carlton Royston

Guy Carlton Royston married Miss Millie May Kelley on 5 March, 1903,
in Mason, Ingham Co., Michigan. These studio portraits taken before their marriage.

Back around the turn of the century, Guy Carlton Royston, son of Thomas Elbert Royston and
Olive Ema Perry, took the following glass plate photographic images in Mason. In the mid-1990s, his grandson, Terence C. Royston, came across this magnificent collection in the attic of his daughters home in Lansing.

If you can identify any subjects in this album, please send an E-mail to Terry Royston so that we may update the captions below the photographs.
Thank you, Terry, for sharing this collection with our Ingham County researchers - and a special thanks to Steve W. Lyon, who was instrumental in the printing of these vintage images.Without Steve's help, we'd not be able to view this wonderful collection.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

County Court House, built 1858, with the Methodist Church in the background.	Theodore P. "Dodi" Royston Son of Clark Chandler Royston and Marion Elizabeth Sherman.
Shoe store interior view February, 1898	Shoe store interior view Two of the same men as in the photo at left.
Smith & Welsh - Merchant Tailors The sidewalk is new, forms still on the edges...	Clerk in a dry goods store
Hotel McEuen - "Used to be the Donaly House" written on the reverse side. Corner of Maple and State?	The Mason Creamery - milk cans are visible on the loading dock.
Man on power pole with street light. Ele- vated view east on Maple St., corner of Jefferson & Maple. Horses and wagons hitched at right.	Four men in front of what may be a livery stable. Doors at right appear to be stalls.
Three story building, freight car to right, loading dock, women in silhouette. an elevator of some sort?	Same building as photo at left, viewed from the left side.
Man in the street, corner of Maple and Jefferson - Court House square. Billiard parlor sign visible in the background.	Man with a wagon and team of horses. A large wooden tank is in the back of the  wagon.

Second Ward Schoolhouse, erected 1880 on the west side of Sycamore at a cost of $1,869.	Woman and thirteen children beside a brick building - possibly a school, or Sunday school class?
Teacher and thirteen children in the schoolroom, many of the young boys are barefoot.. Can you identify anyone here?	Young man on a bicycle, pedaling down the wooden sidewalk.
Woman and two young girls beside a beautiful upright piano. Do you know this family?	Mason Methodist Church, located just east of the Court House, corner of Barnes & Ash streets.
Steam powered rig sinking a well beside a house. There are 3 men, a small boy, and a woman in the doorway.	The building at left may be the Opera House on Maple Street. Was the armory, built by Harper Reed in 1895, to the left or the right of the Opera House?
Maple St. scene across from the Rayner Opera House. Store front signs read: "Bakery and Lunch Room," "Ice Cream," "Drugs," "Fruits Confectionery Eureka."	What church is this? There are several people headed inside, and standing in front of the church. An electric street light is visible overhead.
A scene in the pump house in Mason. The clock on the wall reads: "E. Culver, Dealer in Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, Silver Ware and Optical Goods. Cards change every five minutes."	Four men pictured with the pump for the water standpipe in Mason.
Guy Carlton Royston with a bicycle. There is an electric street lamp in the background, strung between two poles. When did Mason first see electric lighting?	Hoyt Brothers storefront, with three men in the doorway. The address number is "22." Guy Royston worked here for a time. There are hitching rails in the sidewalk. What street was this store on?

The MASON CREAMERY
"Guy making butter at Mason" Guy Royston, at right, with unidentified man. Guy has a large paddle in his hand. The drive belt is on the chum, and three wooden butter tubs sit on the floor.	A young Guy Royston inside the Mason Creamery, working on the tubs used to ship butter.
Guy Carlton Royston, inside the Mason Creamery with another gentleman. The tubs at left were used to ship butter. Notice their hats are hanging on their shoes!	Two unidentified men inside of the Mason Creamery, sitting on a butter churn. Notice the shaft behind their heads. They would place a large belt on the sheave to their right and also on the right hand end of the chum - this would rotate the churn.

SOLDIERS
Soldier in front of a board fence. Photograph most likely taken in town since there are several dwellings in the background. Possibly the Spanish-American war era?	Three soldiers with their weapons and bayonets fixed. They sport two styles of headgear, and have their bedrolls over their shoulders. Their coats are knee length, and they are carrying canteens.
Group photo of six soldiers, one with sergeant stripes. There are a line of railroad cars in the distance...Do you know any of these men?	A welcome home parade? Photographed outside of the Mason Creamery, the soldiers are carrying their weapons and blanket rolls.

The following is a compilation of several newspaper articles about Guy C. Royston, and from some information that he wrote about himself.

Guy Carlton Royston, Thomas Elbert Royston's 1st son, had to quit school in the 7th grade on account of his eyes. He went to work in the stave mill and he eventually got glasses. He learned the butter-making trade and worked in Mason, Michigan where the Thorton Lumber Co. is now. He later ran the milk plant in Dansville and Millville. He worked four years in a grocery store for Hoyt Bros. and Hoyt and Son. Then, before he was married, he went to work with his father and Bert, his half brother, in the painting business when Guy was about 25 years old. Guy eventually started his own painting business. For years and years he was Mason's expert with all types of paint, papering or refinishing tasks. Guy said he did any and everything that had to do with painting -- and he did. Some of his projects are of particular interest to Mason people. 'Probably my biggest job was putting the murals up in the county court house rotunda,' Guy said. These cloth murals are still visible on the court house ceiling for all to admire. This job was the first redecorating that the court house underwent and Guy Royston said he was the only man from Mason working on the project. He started the outdoor Advertising Co. in Mason with 8 sheet, wooden boards and 24 sheets with galvanized iron. He built up the business in Leslie, Dansville, Onondaga and Eaton Rapids. He was in that business 35 years. The large billboards on North Cedar street just across from the Ingham County Road commission were a part of this company. Each month he would go around to Leslie, Dansville, Onondaga, Eaton Rapids and Mason, changing the Billboards. At one time he was so accomplished at the task he didn't even need a ladder to get the sections of the poster mounted. With one swish of the brush he could paste the paper strips in just the spot he wanted them. He chuckled to himself every time he remembered riding the interurban to Leslie each month to change the signs. He would board the street car with posters, pail, paste and a collapsible brush all ready for work. Guy Royston was a part time janitor at one time, at the Rayner Opera House in Mason. He also raised and lowered the curtain. His young son, Thomas Royston, would also go there with his father. He was in the drum corps and the Mason City band. He learned to play the drum with Mr. Longyear, who had drummed in the war. In 1913 it was the Mason City Band that set the pace on Decoration Day. The members of that band were Jack Fowler, Roy Rusch, Harry Bond, Mike Sharon, Will Gregg, Howard Smith, Lynn Whitehead, Guy Royston, Will Wilson, Herb Carn, Charles Hemens, Paul Coy, Lyle Howlett, Bret Jenkins, Jay Allen, Roy Adams, Henry Adams, Reno Root, and Glen Bateman. Mr. Royston was married to Millie May Kelley of White Oak, who preceded him in death. While in Mason they lived at 422 E. Oak street. At the age of 70 he sold his home in Mason and went to live in Lansing with his daughter, Winogene Cripps, until he died in 1966 at the age of 91. He was a life member of the Masonic order #70, Chapter 51, Consul #50, Order of the Eastern Star 150 and a life member of the Odd Fellows IOOF.