The residence of Mayor W.H. Bradley was in the east end. Mr. and Mrs.Bradley entertained extensively and their large, roomy home is an ideal place to visit. It now now the home of Jeff and Trudy Gallagher.

"The Big House" as it was locally known, was built in 1881 by the English company and was designed and used for a time as a "Home for the English". It was a large, roomy frame structure, beautifully located amid trees and surrounded by a commodious lawn. Mr. L.E. McCilvra,local agent for the Sykes state, was the occupant in 1898.

By Kathy Reinke

On behalf of the Larchwood Public Library

You just never know what might arrive in the mail. Gayle Bruns, Larchwood Public Library director, found out how true this can be when she gathered the mail on a bright spring morning. There was a mailing tube (more about this later) containing a treasure from the past-pages from an issue of The Larchwood Leader dated December 24, 1898. In extremely fragile condition, the pages were accompanied by a letter from former Larchwood resident, Dwight Grotewold, explaining that these pages had been kept by his late mother, Louise Grotewold, and he and his brothers Dwayne and Roger were donating them to be used as the library saw fit.

The Grotewold brothers grew up in Larchwood. Their parents were Leslie and Louise Grotewold. Les had the Chevrolet dealership in Larchwood. Dwight now resides in Arizona, Dwayne in North Dakota and Roger in California. These men have never forgotten their roots which is evidenced by the financial contributions they have made to the library over the years in their parents’ memories . In addition, they have given scholastic scholarships given to West Lyon High School also in memory of their parents.

The Larchwood Leader issue consists of nine pages, front and back. Although they are not all of the original pages of the special Christmas issue of 1898, they are so packed with Larchwood history that you truly feel that you can step back in time. They are also a great testimony to the fact that you can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you have been. To put things into perspective: in the year of 1898 William McKinley was president of the United States, the Spanish-American War ended on December 10, scientists Pierre and Marie Currie discovered radium on December 21, and the fashion of the time was the heavy Victorian style.

The first page of the issue is entitled " A Bit of Larchwood History" and features pictures of "The Big House" (also referred to as "The English House"), a well-kept "cottage" and "The New Bank Building", which is described as the most imposing structure in Larchwood. The back of the page shows the Queen Anne-style home of Mayor W.H. Bradley, which still exists as the residence of Jeff and Trudy Gallagher. An interior photo of B. Twamley’s blacksmith shop gives a hint of a time long gone, and a large ad on the same page, enhanced by wonderful artwork, claims that the steel ranges offered by J.C. Petheram will "delight the housekeepers" and paint and glass are also available.

One of the most interesting and informative "finds" of this issue is a rather extensive article entitled "Men Who Made Larchwood with Numerous Portraits." The article describes Larchwood as being an incorporated town of about 600 residents "who are considerably above the average of intelligence and enterprise in such a small town." The featured businessmen are: R.O. Shannon, dealer in groceries and notions; J.C. Petheram, hardware merchant; W.H. Schoon, manager of A.F. Reis’ store; Leon Weber, dealer in agricultural implements, flour and feed; W.F. Ashton, junior member of machinist firm E.Paulson & Co.; E. Paulson, senior member of E.Paulson & Co.

O.B. Shade, general merchant; Wm. Kinkle, painter and paper hanger, T.B. Martin,

elevator manager; Fred W. Stokes, jeweler; W.S. Berry, broom manufacturer; J.R. Williams, postmaster and druggist; N.E. Getman, junior partner with Williams in the drug store; B.Twamley, blacksmith; Frank Lawler, dealer of furniture and undertakers’ supplies; J.H. Peacock, assistant cashier of Security Savings Bank; A.C. Burns, proprietor of the livery barn; D.W. Burns, partner with his brother in the livery barn and town marshal; Grant Roberts, restaurateur, E.J. Riegel, insurance agent and land and loan agent; C.B. Martin, Larchwood’s first mayor; Ernest Schneck, butcher; George Hitchings, horticulturist; E.A. Loomis, merchant of harness goods; Chris Freese, contractor and builder; T.C. Thompson, grain buyer; W.T. Ryan, attorney; L.E. McGilvra, land, loan and insurance broker; J.H. Watters, auctioneer and land agent; Fred Keat, butcher.

I.S. Alpaugh, town barber; W.V. Amidon, contractor and builder; Charles Shade, manager of Security Savings Bank, and Larchwood’s "wealthiest man"; C.J. Hodge, dealer in general merchandise; James Tracy, mason; F.R. Creglow, Justice of the Peace; Kircher Bros., elevator operators; C.H. Maltby, carpenter; C.H. Leichliter, editor and proprietor of the Leader; Nagle Bros., lumber business and well digging. Interestingly enough, although the article is entitled "Men", Mrs. C.F. Walker, Larchwood’s popular milliner, is also featured.

The advertisements are history lessons of their own. The large ad for the A.F. Ries, Everything Store offers bargains such as men’s denim overalls for 34 cents; good calico fabric for three cents a yard; elegant Swiss embroidered handkerchiefs for 10 cents; 18 pounds of granulated sugar for one dollar; a pail of syrup for 48 cents; and in the spirit of the season, eight 5-cent Santa Claus laundry soap bars for 25 cents.

Shade Brothers’ Big Department Store ad offers: Mrs. Potts’ flat iron handles for 10 cents; ladies’ fine black cashmere hose for 25 cents and ladies fine lace shoes for $1.50. One of the interesting things is that all of the men and boys clothes are "ready made"; however, there is no mention of women’s or girls’ "ready made" clothing, rather the variety of fabrics available for sewing those garments.

Larchwood’s churches of the time are also profiled. They include the Larchwood Congregational Church and its minister, Rev. George H. Crocker; the Methodist Episcopal Church and its minister, Rev. H.L. Shoemaker; and the Roman Catholic Congregation and its priest, Father Cooke.

Larchwood was proud of its school. The Larchwood Public School Building is pictured with a detailed description of the four departments - grammar, intermediate, primary (under the direction of "school ma’ams") and the high school under the charge of principal Professor M.C. Boylan, who is also pictured.

Interspersed throughout the issue are charming Christmas poems and Christmas short stories all written with a vintage flair. Dwight Grotewold found mention of the marriage of his grandfather, Louis Phillip Grotewold, and Alma Wickstrom on April 13, 1898. Louis Grotewold was instrumental in planting the Larch trees for which Larchwood was named.

A large full page advertising by Saving Bank of Larchwood provides their annual statement as of December 17, 1898 balanced at $186,348.89. The ad describes the services offered by the bank which includes banking, insurance, collections and the sale of steamship tickets.

In this age of computers, one can only marvel at the work it took to produce this treasure. Every word had to be type-set by hand and the designs of the ads and other artwork are remarkable.

All in all, the paper gives a wonderful glimpse of what Larchwood was really all about in 1898. The numerous variety of businesses prove that it was a bustling place - general stores, restaurant, hotel, jeweler, bank, photographer, butcher shop, furniture store, undertaker, attorney, milliner, blacksmith, harness shop, and last, but not least, the saloon which offered all grades of liquor, cigars, beer, and "for your stomach’s sake," a variety of wines.

As mentioned earlier, the "mailing tube" in which the paper arrived, is another historical relic: an original 1959 Playtex girdle tube which had held the "New Playtex Mold ‘n Hold Zipper Girdle" and sold for $10.95. Although the pictures on the tube show a young woman jumping and leaping in her Mold ‘N Hold, those who wore this confining garment may not remember it as being so delightful.

After researching archival preservation of a newspaper of this age and type, care has been taken to mend the fragile and torn pages and the pages are now kept in acid-free clear jackets and stored in an archival box. If this article has peaked your interest, you have the opportunity to look at all the pages at a display in the city office/community room building in the former Security Savings Bank building. Take a few minutes to step back in time and discover where we have been.