Friday, September 4, 2015

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Rock ‘n roll history in Cadillac

By Mardi SuhSCadillaC News

CADILLAC — Rock n’ roll history was made in 1975 when KISS, a heavy metal band, drove to a small town in northern Michigan to join their Home-coming celebrations. Seven semis preceded them, filled with everything needed for a full on, hard driving KISS concert.

“This is one of the great stories in rock n’ roll history,” stated Jim Neff, a former teach-er and coach at Cadillac High School. “This story has been told countless times, on VH1, MTV, ESPN and in publications across the world.” And now, Hol-lywood is making the event into a movie.

This year, the KISS Cadillac Homecoming 40th Anniversary Celebration, Oct. 9-10, will recre-ate the major events that hap-pened in 1975.

Let’s look back at how it all came about.

In 1975, the fallout from the anti-establishment sentiments of the 1960s were impacting the culture. Music was changing. The British invasion was over and heavy metal was emerging.

The New York City band KISS had their first concert in 1973. According to author Ken Sharp, they were about to change rock n’ roll forever with their “thun-derous sound” and outrageous appearance.

In 1975, parents and adminis-trators in Cadillac were dealing with the challenge of split ses-sions in the high school. With more students than classrooms, juniors and seniors attended in the morning - freshman and sophomores in the afternoon, fragmenting the student body.

And the football team,the one thing students could rally around, was struggling. In 1973, the Cadillac Vikings had a win-ning season. But in 1974, the team “lost its identity.”

Football coaches wanted to “loosen” up the team.

At 28, Neff was a huge KISS

fan and the original lead singer in Double Yellow Line, his broth-er’s band in Flint.

“I loved KISS music,” he said. “I loved the visual presence; they were so different from the ‘stand and play’ bands. They never stopped moving ... I liked their full speed ahead attitude.”

Neff asked head coach Dave Brines if they could play music in the locker room to motivate the players. He agreed. The hard driving KISS tracks, plus coach-

ing changes, started a winning streak. Neff found an address on a KISS album cover and wrote to the management team about their success.

“By season’s end (1974), word that their music had inspired the team’s turnaround had reached the greasepainted, fire-breathing, blood-spewing four-some,” stated the Detroit News in a 1996 article.

One night Neff got a call from band members Gene Simmons

and Paul Stanley.“They were backstage at a

concert and they were thrilled to find out about the team,” he said. “They asked me to call every Friday night with the scores.”

At the end of the 1974 season, coaches took 10 players to a KISS concert at Cobo Hall in Detroit. For many, it was their first time in a big city — first time going up an escalator. As the 1975 sea-son approached, the team was

given tickets for the KISS con-cert in Saginaw.

“That cemented our relation-ship,” said Neff. “So when we found out that KISS would be in Kalamazoo during the week of our homecoming, I had the idea to get KISS to come up for our pep assembly.” Kiss manage-ment agreed. Then Neff thought if they had some equipment, maybe the guys would pick up a guitar and play a song. Manage-ment suggested a concert.

“Few people knew what would happen next,” Neff admitted. “We couldn’t tell anybody they were coming ... We didn’t have any security in this small town. They had no idea of the magni-tude.”

Embracing KISSSoon the entire school was

involved in preparations. The school band started learning KISS songs. The art depart-ment bought supplies to have everybody in KISS make up. The Cadillac City Council approved a KISS Blvd. sign for the home-coming parade.

Late Wednesday night, Oct. 8, seven semi trucks rolled into the high school parking lot filled with amplifiers, flame throwers, the giant KISS sign and electron-ics.

The band arrived by limo Thursday morning. Students, cheerleaders and the marching band welcomed them in full make up, forming a corridor as the high school band played, “I Wanna Rock N Roll All Night.”

See KISS on page 4

Behind the scenes of 1975 — how the KISS concert really happened

CadillaC News file photo

Gene Simmons, left, Paul Stanley, right, and drummer Peter Criss perform at what was the most memorable homecoming dance in Cadillac.

CadillaC News file photo

KISS frontman Paul Stanley is greeted by fans and media as he arrives in Cadillac.

‘Few people knew what would happen next.’Jim Neffformer Cadillac football coach who introduced the team to Kiss

n

22 YearsBUDGET

TRANSMISSIONCadillac • 231-775-6055

Est. 1993

The beginnings & growth of our area’s

Leading Businesses 2015 Cadillac News Honor Roll of Businesses

133 YearsBOSTICK’S

DRUG STOREManton • 231-824-6465

Est. 1882

126 YearsFOSTER BROTHERS

TRANSFER & STORAGECadillac • 231-775-3501

Est. 1889

95 YearsEBELS FAMILY

CENTERFalmouth • 231-826-3333

Est. 1920

83 YearsPETERSON

FUNERAL HOMECadillac • 231-775-3411

Est. 1932

76 YearsHOLIHANS

DRUGSEvart • 231-734-2551

Est. 1939

61 YearsELLENS

EQUIPMENTMcBain • 231-825-2416

Est. 1954

60 YearsDON’S

AUTO CLINICCadillac • 231-775-2413

Est. 1955

51 YearsPIZZA PLUS

Cadillac • 231-775-7727Est. 1964

50 YearsCADILLAC

PLUMBING & HEATING SUPPLYCadillac • 231-775-2479

Est. 1965

46 YearsDAvE’S

YAMAHACadillac • 231-775-3796

Est. 1969

36 YearsMCBAIN

BODY SHOPNew Owners, Same Great Work

McBain • 231-825-2001Est. 1979

35 YearsGODFREY

CHEvROLET BUICKCadillac • 231-775-4611

Est.1980

32 YearsMAGGIE’STAvERN

Cadillac • 231-775-1810Est. 1983

30 YearsHIGHPOINT

CADILLAC GMCCadillac • 231-775-1222

Est. 1985

30 YearsMANPOwER

Cadillac • 231-775-1226Est. 1985

26 YearsPEARSON

DRILLING CO.Lake CIty • 231-839-4444

Est. 1989

26 YearsOAK

HEIRLOOMSCadillac • 231-775-8511

Est. 1989

19 YearsSABER TOOL

Cadillac • 231-779-4340Est. 1996

141 YearsBLICK DILLONINSURANCE

Cadillac • 231-775-3416Est. 1874

143 YearsCADILLAC

NEwSCadillac • 231-775-6565

Est. 1872

14 YearsEXIT REALTY

Cadillac • 231-775-4100Est. 2001

7 YearsMCBAIN AUTO

SERvICEMcBain • 231-825-2729

Est. 2008

18 YearsCURRY HOUSE

Cadillac • 231-577-9575Est. 1997

16 YearsCADILLAC FAMILY

PHARMACYCadillac • 231-775-8200

Est. 1999

48 YearsAIRPORT ANIMAL

CLINICCadillac • 7751378

Est. 1967

16 YearswEXFORD

wOOD wORKINGSCadillac • 231-876-9663

Est. 1999

32 YearsTHE THISTLE

PATCHCadillac • 231-775-3500

Est. 1983

35 YearsRANDY’S CAR

CLEANINGCadillac • 231-775-6261

Est. 1980

43 YearsDRACHT

CONSTRUCTIONMarion • 231-825-0035

Est. 1972

90 YearsPELL’S RADIO,

APPLIANCE & TvYour Local Brand Source Dealer

Cadillac • 231-775-3141Est. 1925

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The following is a recap of the year 1897. Several years ago we uncovered in the Cadillac News archives a written recap of several years.

“It was reported early in Jan-uary of 1897 that an increasing number of hardwood logs are being cut and skidded by farm-ers in the Cadillac territory. These hardwood logs are being cut from former pine lands that had been harvested by the large lumbering companies and then later turned over to farmers for agricultural pur-poses. With the in creased de-mand for hardwood it is mak-ing it profitable for the farmers to cut this timber.”

“The culTural ac-TiviTies in cadillac in 1897 included the conduct of a dancing school conducted in the city with instruction in the German and American-ized name of LeLeCotillion on Tuesday and Friday evenings. The Cadillac Choral Society is making satisfactory progress in knowing of its special pur-pose, The development of the local talent of our local vocal-ists. The group plans to give a concert in the spring.

Late in January William Hayes, the Cadillac boiler mak-er was in Chicago to procure the material for a mammoth

steel boiler of one hundred horsepower capacity which he will complete in his shops in Cadillac to be sent to the Oval Dish Factory at Traverse City. Mr. Hayes is en trusted with most of the boiler making in this section of Michigan.”

“From 50 to 75 persons are being employed at the Cadil-lac Stave Works. The firm has about 500 acres of hardwood timber in northern Michigan from which to supply materi-als for the factory. They are using large quantities of elm, basswood, birch and black ash timber.

an item on February 4 has said that the splendid sleigh loads of large telephone poles that are seen passing along Mitchell Street everyday to-wards Carpenter Cedar Yard are taken from the arm of Andrew Jacobson on section 17 of Clam Lake Township. The largest one measured nine foot four and one-half inches at the butt and tapered gradually for a distance of sixty feet. Five feet had already been sawed from the butt. An additional eleven feet had been sawed from the top of the pole before loading on the sleighs.

A survey of existing pine and hardwood timber by the Michigan Labor Commis-sioner shows the following:

Wexford County in February 1897 was yet the possessor of 3,700 acres of standing pine and 120,312 acres of hardwood.

February 25 it was reported that shipments of lumber from Blodgett Cummer and Diggins Yard in Cadillac now amount to over 3,000,000 board feet per month.

Telephone poles for the long distance lines of both Citizens and Bell Telephone companies have recently been set from Grand Rapids to the southern limit of Cadillac. Both sides of the roadway are marked with poles. The extent of service and the cost of messages over the rival telephone lines has not yet been revealed to Cadil-lac people by April 25.

By March 4 the Cadillac Pot Ash Works was becoming quite a profitable industry in the production of potash. The potash is made from good hard-wood ashes gathered from the residences and business places of the city.

The Cadillac Cornet Band was organized the first week in March and had leased the hall over H. E. Hutchinson‘s Bil-liard Rooms for practice.

The machinery of the Wexford Lumber Company‘s mill, recently operated at Hoxeyville, was removed to Cadillac and loaded on cars

at Sunnyside for shipment to Pennsylvania.

Construction was progress-ing in March on the new D.J.M. Wardell‘s building on Mitchell Street, a short distance south of the Harris Street corner. There were 90 cords of stone already delivered for the foun-dation. Four car loads of Ohio Sandstone have arrived which will be wrought into ornamen-tal shapes for the front eleva-tion. Two hundred thousand building bricks have been purchased from Wilcox Broth-ers of Cadillac. Contractor Charles Dutton has started to make moldings and ornamen-tal joiner work for the Wardell Block. (Wardell Block was an unusually attractive building with the elaborate stone pillars at the front. It was somewhat damaged when fire destroyed the adjacent Russell House Hotel located at the southeast corner of Mitchell and Harris in the early 1920s.)

supplies oF Fine Ma-ple syrup from the Wexford County woods were being de-livered in Cadillac by the first of April and the fresh made article is in good demand.

The building formerly oc-cupied by the Salvation Army in Cadillac was being put in readiness the forepart of April for the coming of the Volun-

teer Soldiers of America. This group is headed by the son of the founder of the Salvation Army who established a new organization. The former Ca-dillac Salvation Army group has joined with several others in establishing the new organi-zation.

On April 15 20,000 lake trout were received here on the Grand Rapids Indiana Rail-road train from the State Fish Hatchery and were deposited in the two local lakes.

Early in April Cobbs and Mitchell’s own logging trains began running over the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad from Crofton in Kalkaska County to their mills in Ca-dillac. Two trains of logs are brought from Crofton each day to Cadillac.

cadillac sidewalk Builders are procuring and using a very good quality hemlock lumber from Charlie Ballard‘s mill at Pleasant Lake. Among the new sidewalks is one sixteen foot plank side-walk completed in front of the H.C. Auer’s Clothing Store.

A story of May 6 said that delivery teams and wagons of the Cadillac grocers are the pride of their owners and their equipment for the most part are equal to those in larger cities. They are seen speeding along the various streets at all hours of the day deliver ing goods free as far north as Har-ing and as far south as the Hec-tor Farm. They stop at homes of those that dwell a long the Lakeside Driveway and go east to the Crosby Farm.

A large shipment of fruit trees were being received in May for planting by farmers in the Cadillac area. The superior quality and large yield fruit in this locality last year was very encouraging to those who have given systematic attention to securing an orchard. Winter apples that have been kept un-til the present time are sold at a very profitable price.

In May the Harris Town Sunday School of which Mr. Charles Barton is superinten-dent has at present member-ship of ninety scholars who are instructed by eight intel-ligent teachers. The sessions begin at 3:00 on Sunday after-noon in the First Ward School building.

By May 13 both of the double band sawmills of Cummer Diggins were operating at ten hours a day, each making a daily average cut of ninety thousand feet of lumber.

Carload shipments of po-tatoes were being made from Cadillac at prices ranging from 6¢ to 9¢ per bushel.

“A report in May that all of the timber recently purchased

in the vicinity of Boyne City by Cobbs and Mitchell‘s com-pany of Cadillac would be cut at Bay Springs with the exception of the hardwood was reported as being false. The true fact was that all the timber in cluded in that pur-chase which is estimated at 11,000,000 feet of pine 7,000,000 feet of hemlock and 4,000,000 feet of hardwood will all be cut into lumber at the Cobbs and Mitchell Mills in Cadillac.

all The Fire deparT-MenTs in this section of Michigan and the crack hose teams of other sections are re-ceiving invitations to come to Cadillac on the Fourth of July of 1897 to participate in the Hose Team Tournament which is being arranged as a special feature of Cadillac‘s July 4th celebration.

It was reported May 20 that Chris Jorgenson, the present owner of the Kieldsen Farm is promoting the introduction of Holstein Cattle in this locality and has several splendid look-ing animals that stock growers much admire (Chris Jorgenson

later operated a men‘s clothing store for many years in Cadil-lac).

Late in May of 1897 the pile of building stone on the north-west corner of Mitchell and Mason Streets has been trans-ferred to the adjacent vacant lot. This perm its the proper grading of Mason Street and the construction of a much needed new sidewalk.

The camp of industrious bark peelers, three-fourths of a mile west of White Sand on Big Clam Lake (Lake Mitchell) will cut the hemlock timber from which bark will be peeled from the land owned by Cobbs and Mitchell on section 27-34-28 and 15 in Selma Township.

An ordinance was intro-duced in May to prohibit the northbound passenger trains from obstructing Harris Street crossing while the train waits twenty minutes so that the passengers may visit Cadillac restaurants for dinner.

“The high school coMMenceMenT in June 1897 found nine young ladies and one young man complet-

ing the requirements for their diploma.

Wool in considerable quanti-ties was being sold in Cadillac in June at an average price of 13¢ per pound, a good increase from the price of the year pre-vious of 7¢ per pound.

The City Council turned down an idea to repaint the City Hose House at its meeting late in June . The Hose House was a real tall narrow struc-ture located on Cass Street in which the firemen dried the long sections of long fire hose.

The dam on the Clam River below the Oviatt Manufactur-ing Company‘s works and near the point where the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks cross the Clam River was not repaired at the time it was damaged during the high water season and now the dam structure has so far disappeared as to deprive the Oviatt Company of a water pond in which to float its logs. The Board of Health is now asking the City Council to take immediate action in the mat-ter of controlling the water in the lake outlet as a sanitary

measure.June 24 ten passenger trains

were arriving at Cadillac every day except Sunday on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad (later Pennsylvania Railroad and then Penn Cen-tral and in 1978 as Michigan Northern Railroad).

A lengthy story in the News and Express on June 24 1897 reviewed the history of the Cummer Family in Cadillac and their expansion into lum-bering operations in North Carolina and also Florida adja-cent to Jacksonville.

In June 1897 the bandstand in the city park had been re-paired so that speeches and concerts could be held from that podium.

During the latter part of June 1897 the Gaston Sawmill in Harrietta burned to the ground.

A new record for water pumping by the Cadillac Water Company was reached July 7, 1897 when 1,600,00 gallons were pumped during a twelve hour period.

an exTended nap dur-

ing the church service at the Presbyterian Church on July ll by the young lad who operated the pipe organ blower provided embarrassment to the organist and chorister and also amused the congregation.

On July 21 Remenyi the most renowned violinist in the world was to appear at the Ca-dillac Opera House.

The Cadillac City Council on July 12 recommended that the city procure the right to the ground on which the Clam River Dam is built. At the same meeting the Council approved the construction of a new bridge across the Clam River at Mitchell Street.

William S. Hart, the rising young dramatic star, has in-cluded Cadillac in his north-ern Michigan summer tour and is supported by a company of selected strong player, will appear at the Cadillac Opera House Thursday evening Au-gust 12 according to an item in the July 22 paper (William S. Hart later became a famous movie actor of the silent movie days).

On July 29 it was stated that a machine which makes 64 berry boxes a minute is being tested at the Oviatt Company‘s manufacturing works in Cadil-lac. From a continuous roll of maple veneer, fresh from the Oviatt Company‘s veneer machine the little box machine completes its work with bewil-dering swiftness and wonder-ful accuracy. Boxes produced by the machine ere superior in appearance and strength to the ordinary berry boxes and it is claimed that the cost will be reduced about one half.

A report released at the end of July stated that during 1896 there were 304 births in Wex-ford County, 135 of which were in the city of Cadillac. During the same year there were 110 deaths, 56 of which were in Cadillac.

surplus dirT Taken from other streets in the city that are being graded is to be placed on Lake Street during the late summer of 1897 to raise the level of that thor-oughfare.

Cadillac City Commission on August 2, 1897 passed a resolu-tion approving the securing of a ninety-nine year lease from the Ann Arbor Railroad on land adjoining the railroads bridge across the Clam River on which to construct a new dam to take the place of the former Dutcher Dam which had been destroyed.

An August 19 report was as follows: The shipments of tan bark over the Ann Arbor Rail-road from Cadillac are quite heavy at the present time. Mil-waukee is the place shipped to

from all points on the Ann Ar-bor Road as far south as Mari-on and many carloads carried to Frankfort and then trans-ferred to the car ferrys which take it across Lake Michigan. A large 10 bark operation was being conducted along the Ann Arbor and Selma Township by Cobbs and Mitchell from hemlock trees harvested in that area.

nearly a halF Mil-lion splendid brick have just passed through the burning process in the kilns of Wilson and Miller’s brick works at Harrietta.

Ice Skating parties have real-ized considerable sport upon the little lakes southeast of the city, east of the cemetery, for ice has formed sufficiently sol-id to support those who have ventured upon it. The ice on the two large lakes is too thin to be safely used for skating purposes as of December 16.

John Borne by mid Decem-ber had completed construc-tion of a new drying shed at Cobbs and Mitchell‘s number one mill. The structural views, in connection with the hard-wood lumber manufacture now being inaugurated here by Cobbs and Mitchell. Borne was also putting a new foundation with new sills under Cobbs and Mitchell‘s handsawmill num-ber two at Sunnyside (what was known as Sunnyside was on the south side of present Lake Cadillac near the north end of Barbara Street).

Cummer and Diggins Com-pany had arranged just before Christmas of 1897 to provide a turkey to each family repre-sented among their workmen at their mills and camps, about 250 in all. The turkeys were to be supplied through Peoples Market which had on one day 550 dressed turkeys suspended from the ceiling in a semi-circle in the market.

The commencement of the hardwood cut at Cobbs and Mitchell‘s number one mill was stated in December to be the formal inauguration of Cadillac’s active era as a hardwood manufacturing city. The number one mill will henceforth continue to work on hardwood and hemlock un-til the large timber holdings of Cobbs and Mitchell in that line are exhausted, a condition that is removed from the present by many years. The children of today will be grown men and women ere this second stage of Cadillac‘s experience as a lum-bering center will have wained or weakened and in the mean-time its development in other directions ensure for Cadillac persistently a better and more prosperous future than even its happy past has been.

phoTo courTesy oF The wexFord counTy hisTorical socieTy and museum

This photo of the Cobbs & Mitchell Mill shows Lake Cadillac in the background. After the pine forests were generally depleted, companies turned toward the manufacture of hardwood goods.

1897 was a year of change for Cadillac and the local lumber industry

phoTo courTesy oF The wexFord counTy hisTorical socieTy and museum

Here is a photo of the city park in Cadillac in the late 1800s. In June of 1897 the bandstand had been repaired to allow for speeches and concerts.

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Continued from page 1

As preparations for the concert began, details like finding a transformer and sending a car to Clare for dry ice (special effects) are stories in their own right. Neff told the road crew to put down the chainsaw. They were trying to fit the KISS sign through the small door frame into the gym.

KISS visited the police and fire departments and classrooms. Late that afternoon, they attended the pep rally and bonfire, where Simmons stood on the limo and spit kerosene into the gasoline soaked structure, causing it to burst into flames. After-ward, they performed in the gym, where they gifted Cadillac with the first “KISS Snowstorm.” When the concert ended, they released tons of confetti. www.neffzone.com/kiss/KISS-Snowstorm.html.

Friday morning, band members attended a civic breakfast, where school officials, city leaders and businessmen, in face paint, presented KISS with the Key to the City of Cadillac. Later that morning, they rode a KISS-themed float in the Homecoming parade down main street, blasting cuts from the “ALIVE!” al-bum. The parade led to the Viking Memorial Stadium for the football game.

That’s when the band pulled their biggest sur-prise. A helicopter flew overhead, descended onto the field, and KISS said goodbye, dropping auto-graphed leaflets in their wake, “Cadillac High — KISS Loves You.”

Uniting the student body

“Back then, there were two different elements of the student body, the ‘jocks’ and the ‘freaks,’” stated Neff. “These were two diverse groups. One was

interested in athletics, and one group never went to the games and events.”

Principal John Laurent tried to unite the divided student body but nothing worked.

“I didn’t even know who KISS was when Jim Neff asked me for permission for them to visit,” Laurent said. “I got permission

from Bill Smith, Superin-tendent ... we had a press conference with KISS and they got the kids to come together. It was something I couldn’t do. KISS brought the school together. The rowdy kids lined up in tuxedos for the concert and they all came together. It turned out to be a wonder-ful week.”

Everyone in the student body participated and to this day, the event is some-thing they all have in com-mon.

KISS impactKISS made a huge impact

on Cadillac, one that resi-dents will never forget. But Cadillac impacted KISS as

well.“Music historian Ken

Sharp touches on this in his book, ‘Nothing to Lose, The Making of KISS 1972-1975,’” stated Neff. “In 1975, the group was just making enough money to stay afloat. Their road show cost so much, they were taking jobs all over the place, both in small and big venues. There’s significance in the Cadillac event.”

KISS had just released “KISS ALIVE!,” their first live album. Neff believes these two events, Cadillac, and the album release, helped launch the band to national prominence.

“I like to think Cadillac was a major event in the world-wide launching of KISS,” he said. “Without Cadillac, they might never have survived.” And then he smiled. “Well,” he ad-mitted. “I might have over-stated that a bit.”

On a KISS reunion tour, a fan from Cadillac drove to

the venue in Grand Rapids and sat close to the stage. During the concert, he held up a paper sign with one word, “Cadillac.”

The story goes that when Gene Simmons saw that sign he said to the audience: “Cadillac High - that’s why we are here.”

“That’s an acknowledge-ment of the millions in free publicity they got from the visit,” added Neff. “And the fact that the story has gone on for 40 years. They have a special place in their hearts for Michigan, Northern Michigan. With-out that core of fans, they would not have achieved this success, 90 million albums sold world wide. Maybe they feel the genesis of that was Detroit and Michigan — and Cadillac.”

Proceeds from the previ-ous visit and this year’s Homecoming event go to the Cadillac Viking Boost-er Clubs to benefit the stu-dents in athletic and music programs.

KISS made unique, lasting connection to Cadillac

cadillac news File phoTos

KiSS gave more than a concert during its homecing stop 40 years ago. KiSS band members played a little football, went to class and even participated in the marching band.