May 12, 2004

Herald news ... 100 years ago

By Emma Jane Muir
Special to the Herald

       - William Lafontsee escaped from the Leelanau county jail last night and is still at large although a posse went out after him. Lafontsee is wanted for disposing of a horse on which there was a chattel mortgage. He was taken last fall but gave the officers the slip and for a long time was hiding at a house in a swamp near Traverse City. He was later arrested by Constable William Ashton of this city and was again placed in the Suttons Bay jail from which he has now escaped.
      - A northbound Pere Marquette freight train was badly wrecked on Friday evening south of the city. Six cars of merchandise were piled up and all were badly damaged. Various reasons are named for the wreck, but no one seems to know totally how it happened. It is thought that a rod on one of the cars broke and fell down causing one car to jump the track and the others following suit.
      - Miss Lillian Hoffman gave a reception in honor of Miss Gertrude Lambrix Wednesday evening at her home at Mapleton. The rooms were prettily decorated in reed and flowers. A number of Traverse City, Archie and Old Mission attended. The evening was spent in dancing, the music being furnished by Frank Smith, Jr., Jack Bucham and Will Carroll.
      - If you are a trout fisherman you will be interested in this: No person shall take from any lake, river or stream in the state by any means, any speckled trout from the first day of September until the first day of May. No more than fifty fish may be taken in any one day and no more than 100 fish may be in his possession at any one time.
      - Miss Wiedoff has put in a line of millinery goods in J. R. Van Keppell's store at Grawn. Miss Wiedoff has been employed for several years in this line of fashion and has the ambition to make a go of it. The latest models of such goods will be stocked and customers will also be able to request original creations.
      - Supervising Architect Taylor of the United States treasury department has placed with Postmaster Raff a copy of the plans and specifications for the new federal building to be erected in this city. All who have seen them are impressed with the imposing structure which will make a handsome addition to the city's downtown area.
      - Walter Him, the 5-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Him, died on Monday after hours of suffering, the result of being scalded. The little fellow was an unusually bright boy for his years and was loved by all who knew him. His mother had set a pail of boiling water on the floor and in some manner the child fell into this. Everything within the capabilities of medical skill was done to relieve his pain and save his life, but to no avail.
      - The Kingsley high school, with the aid of local talent, will give a play next Friday evening, entitled "The Emigrant's Daughter". The proceeds will go to the graduation class of 1904.
      - The friends of Miss Euna Grattan, formerly of this city, will be pleased to know that the chances for her recovery are very favorable. Miss Grattan has been an invalid for the past nine years, but Thursday she underwent an operation at Charlevoix which was very successful. Unless complications set in, she will entirely recover. Should she catch cold, however, the result will be pneumonia.
      - Work on the new Carnegie library on Sixth Street has been delayed owing to the non-arrival of facing stone. The foundations are all in place and have been completed, but since the stone has not come, the work is at a standstill. Work will be resumed as soon as delivery is made and rushed to completion.
      - David Whitehall, an employee of the basket factory, met with a painful accident Saturday. In some way, he got two fingers of his right hand mixed up with a saw and the result was that Dr. Kneeland found that his little finger was simply hanging by a thread of flesh and another badly sawed through. They were dressed and the little finger will probably grow in place. The other will heal, but the joint may be stiff.
      - Advice on deportment. A knowledge of the code of manners is needed in all situations and can be found everywhere.
      - Medical advice of a century ago. A fresh egg, toasted bread, not less than one day old, salt and hot water will be found enjoyable for the sick.