Historical Perspectives 2014

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BY MARDI SUHS

CADILLAC NEWS

In 1871, the site we know

as Cadillac was nothing butdense forest so thick youcouldnt walk through it.Thirty years later, it was aplatted city with three mag-nificent buildings worthmillions of dollars in todaysmoney: the Cadillac YMCA,the Carnegie Library andMercy Hospital.

In 1871, you could stand onthe shore of Lake Cadillacand look east and see noth-ing but giant, virgin whitepine trees. No light slippedthrough the boughs becausethe trees had been stand-ing for hundreds of years,stretching more than 150-feetinto the sky with diametersof 4-feet or more.

And they were worth morethan gold.

In the late 1800s, new rail-roads allowed entrepreneursto travel through the middleof Michigan. And when theysaw the timber, the white pinerush began. The son of a U.S.Congressman was one of thefirst to lay eyes on Clam Lake.He immediately saw its poten-tial as a mill town. So George

Mitchell designed the cityand platted its streets, and Ca-

dillac became a city in 1877.Just 29 years later, the Carn-

egie Library was completedfor $30,000. The next year, in1907, $40,000 was raised tobuild the YMCA, completewith an indoor pool.

That same year, Delos F.Diggins, a lumber baron inill health, donated $50,000 to

build the city its own hospi-tal. Mercy Hospital opened

in 1908 with 30 beds. It wasknown as the finest medicalfacility money could buy. Af-ter Diggins died, his widow,Esther, donated another$10,000 in 1916.

No expense was spared inthe building of Mercy Hospi-tal, and it made an imposingappearance.

There was a richness inthe color of the brick, and asolidity of appearance in thewhole structure. The build-ing had plate-glass windows,a slate roof, and architecturaldesign at the entrance.

The basement housed theboiler room, kitchen, laundry,workshop, dining rooms, anemergency operating roomand sleeping quarters for theorderlies.

The main floor was enteredthrough a large porch facingwest. The superintendents of-fice was on the left, and a hall

ran the entire length of thebuilding, leading to generalwards, private rooms, closets,a bath, pharmacy, diet kitch-en, linen closet, community

room and the chapel.The second floor held pri-

vate rooms and an operatingroom.

The third floor had highceilings and large rooms.This was the home for theSisters of Mercy, nurses andmaids.

Modern conveniences that

were perhaps extravagant in1908 were included. All floorswere connected by an auto-matic electric elevator and atelephone system. The wardsand private rooms wereequipped for light and freshair, and every room had itsown individual tea service.

Local citizens and corpora-tions donated the furnishingsfor several of the rooms. Thecommunity also gave show-ers to stock the kitchen.

On January 6, 1908, the Sis-ters of Mercy arrived to staffthe hospital.

The first annual report con-tains a capsule history of thesuccess of the institution.

Of 443 cases brought to thehospital, only 18 deaths oc-

curred, a death rate of only 4percent. Because the reportincluded the need for morebeds, F. A. Diggins, the broth-er of the hospitals benefac-tor, donated his residence at

the corner of Shelby and Har-ris Streets to the Sisters ofMercy as a nurses residence,thus providing more patientrooms on the third floor.

No expense spared in frst hospital

PHOTO COURTESY OF MERCY HOSPITAL

Mercy Hospital Cadillac in a photo dated 1908, the year it opened.

Mercy Hospital was built with many modern conveniencesIn the beginning

In 1910, two years after the

opening of Mercy Hospitalin Cadillac, management

reported that revenue for

the year of 1909 was $6,646.

They also included a list of

patient nationalities:

247 American

31 Canada

18 Sweden

7 German5 Netherlands

3 Denmark

3 Finland

2 France2 Ireland

2 Poland

2 Norway

1 Italy1 Australia

Mercy Cadillac

through the years:2013

Admissions 3,676

Licensed Beds 97ER visits 22,749

Outpatient Visits 54,937

Surgical Cases 3,635Employees 660

Medical Staff 90

1946

Admissions 1,253

Licensed Beds 1281910

Admissions 324

Licensed Beds 30Surgical cases 242

WHEN THE hospital opened therewere five Sisters of Mercy, sixtrained nurses, a janitor and akitchen maid.


The original chapel in Mercy Hospital Cadillac, 1908.


This is how the Mercy Hospital surgery room looked in the early 1900s.

HISTORICAL

PERSPECTIVESFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

NewsC A D I L L A C

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21 Years

BUDGETTRANSMISSION

Cadillac 231-775-6055Est. 1993

The beginnings & growth of our areas

Leading Businesses 2014 Cadillac News Honor Roll of Businesses

142 Years

CADILLACNEWS

Cadillac 231-775-6565Est. 1872

132 Years

BOSTICKSDRUG STORE

Manton 231-824-6465Est. 1882

125 Years

FOSTER BROTHERSTRANSFER & STORAGE

Cadillac 231-775-3501Est. 1889

117 YearsINA STORE

In Beautiful Downtown InaTustin 231-825-2575

Est. 1897

94 YearsEBELS FAMILYCENTER

Falmouth 231-826-3333Est. 1920

93 YearsCOFFEYINSURANCE

Cadillac 231-775-3421Est. 1921

90 YearsBAIRD, COTTER& BISHOP

Cadillac 231-775-9789Est. 1924

82 YearsNORGE VILLAGELAUNDROMAT

Cadillac 231-775-7271Est. 1932

82 YearsPETERSONFUNERAL HOMECadillac 231-775-3411

Est. 1932

79 YearsVOGUE DRYCLEANERS

Cadillac 231-775-2721Est. 1935

75 YearsHOLIHANSDRUGS

Evart 231-734-2551Est. 1939

60 Years

ELLENSEQUIPMENT

McBain 231-825-2416Est. 1954

59 Years

DONSAUTO CLINIC

Cadillac 231-775-2413Est. 1955

59 Years

VANDRIE HOMEFURNISHINGS

Cadillac 231-775-8536Est. 1955

50 Years

PIZZA PLUSCadillac 231-775-7727

Est. 1964

49 Years

CADILLACPLUMBING &

HEATING SUPPLYCadillac 231-775-2479

Est. 1965

45 Years

DAVESYAMAHA

Cadillac 231-775-3796Est. 1969

38 Years

BREIDENSTEIN OIL& AUTO SERVICECadillac 231-775-3371

Est. 1976

35 Years

MCBAINBODY SHOP

New Owners, Same Great WorkMcBain 231-825-2001

Est. 1979

34 Years

GODFREYCHEVROLET BUICK

Cadillac 231-775-4611Est.1980

31 Years

MAGGIESTAVERN

Cadillac 231-775-1810Est. 1983

29 Years

HIGHPOINTCADILLAC GMC

Cadillac 231-775-1222Est. 1985

29 Years

MANPOWERCadillac 231-775-1226

Est. 1985

25 Years

PEARSONDRILLING CO.

Lake CIty 231-839-4444Est. 1989

25 Years

OAKHEIRLOOMS

Cadillac 231-775-8511Est. 1989

18 Years

SABER TOOLCadillac 231-779-4340

Est. 1996

106 YearsMERCYHOSPITAL

Cadillac 231-876-7200Est. 1908

31 Years

KNITTERSNEST

Cadillac 231-775-9276Est. 1983

140 Years

BLICK DILLONINSURANCE

Cadillac 231-775-3416Est. 1874

13 Years

EXIT REALTYCadillac 231-775-4100

Est. 2001

6 Years

MCBAIN AUTOSERVICE

McBain 231-825-2729Est. 2008

1 Year

KIDDIES CLUBHOUSE

Reed City CommunityChild Care Center

Reed City 231-832-0655Est. 2014

57 Years

DUDDLESTREE FARM

Ashton 231-832-2731Est. 1957

33 Years

THEBOOK NOOK

Cadillac 231-775-8171Est.1981

48 Years

DEANSBODY SHOP

Cadillac 231-775-1222Est. 1966

15 Years

CADILLAC FAMILYPHARMACY

Cadillac 231-775-8200Est. 1999

47 Years

AIRPORT ANIMALCLINIC

Cadillac 7751378Est. 1967

34 Years

PINE GROVEATHLETIC CLUB

Cadillac 231-775-9908Est. 1980

15 Years

WEXFORDWOOD WORKINGSCadillac 231-876-9663

Est. 1999

31 Years

THE THISTLEPATCH

Cadillac 231-775-3500Est. 1983

34 Years

RANDYS CARCLEANING

Cadillac 231-775-6261Est. 1980

42 Years

DRACHTCONSTRUCTIONMarion 231-825-0035

Est. 1972

89 Years

PELLS RADIO,APPLIANCE & TV

Your Local Brand Source DealerCadillac 231-775-3141

Est. 1925

LAST YEAR we uncovered a chro-nology for several years, startingin 1895. The following is thereport for 1896.

January 1896

A market has been foundfor the spruce timber grow-ing in the Cadillac area, butin early 1896, it was reportedthat paper companys arenow contracting for sprucetimber in the Cadillac areato be delivered to the AnnArbor Railroad for ship-ment to the paper mills.

Passenger train connec-tions in 1896 were goodenough so that Sheriff Dun-ham took a prisoner to De-troit, leaving Cadillac at 2:40in the morning, depositedhis prisoner at the DetroitHouse of Correction, tooka return train and was in

Cadillac at 9:25 that samenight.

Early in January, the saw-mill, shingle mill and butterbowl factory were all run-ning full blast in the villageof Boon.

William McClinchey, whooperates charcoal manufac-turing businesses in Marionand Lucas, was advertisingfor 50 men to chop wood forhis operations during thewinter.

IN FEBRUARY 1896, J.S. Torrey and Sons of theCadillac Marble and Gran-ite Works, were putting upa building at the cornerof Mitchell and StimsonStreets for their business.(The building, 24 by 50 feet,continued in use as a monu-ment operation for overthree quarters of a century,still being used in 1978).

Frank Hutchens, a Cadil-lac meat man, secured awild cat caught in Missau-kee County. The cat weigheda few ounces less than 40pounds.

It was given chloroformto subdue it long enough sothat it could be weighed, butafter regaining conscious-ness, it refused to eat fortwo days while it was in thecage.

Some items advertisedfor sale by the City Depart-ment Store in Cadillac inFebruary 1896 included thefollowing prices: ladies finekid shoes, $1.95; mens fineshoes, $1.49 a pair; mensCordavon shoes, $6.50; ladiesall-beaver jackets, from $1.50to $2.50; mens heavy all wool undershirts, 35 cents;

18 pounds of granulatedsugar for a dollar; crackers,5 and 7 cents a pound; seed-less raisins, 6 cents a pound;canned pineapple, 8 to 15cents a can; a two gallon pailof go od jelly, 50 cents; Japantea for 20 cents a pound;matches, 10 cents for a dozenboxes; full cream cheese, 16cents a pound; fresh eggs, 12cents a dozen; fine creamerybutter, 16 cents a pound; abox of 50 cigars, $1.25; curedback pork, 8 cents a pound;and washing powder andstarches were sold at 3 centsa pound.

CONRAD GREEN, whowas the owner of the stage-line between Cadillac andthe Thorpe Post Office inSouth Branch Township,was spending part of histime during the winter of1896 cutting and hauling

pine logs from section 13 inHenderson Township to thesouth branch of the Man-istee River.

A locomotive used byHovey and McCracken ontheir railroad in MissaukeeCounty was brought to theWilliam McAdie Iron Worksin Cadillac for rebuilding.The locomotive is used tohaul logs through a portionof Missaukee County to theMuskegon River.

In March of 1896, the AnnArbor Railroad planningon putting on two new pas-senger trains, one leavingFrankfort at 8 in the eveningand the other leaving Toledoat the same time, would takeabout 12 hours to make therun from Toledo to Frank-fort or the reverse.

IN MARCH, the CrescentWood Company of Cadillacwas making carload ship-ments of pine slab kindlingwood to Chicago almostevery d ay.

Salaries for Cadillac CityOfficers set in March in-cluded the following: TheCity Recorder, $600 a year;Chief of Police, $700; CityClerk, $800; City Attorney,$225; Part-time Fire Chief,$100; Fire Warden, $100; CityTreasurer, $125.

The extensive Louis SandsLumbering operations inand around Lake City isexpected to be completedduring this year. The lastlog was expected to be cutin May and the mill closeddown by the end of the year.

Womens Christian Tem-perance Union was orga-nized in late March at the

Cadillac Methodist Church.The hardwood flooring

business of t he Cummer in-terests was started in Aprilof 1896. Machinery for man-ufacturing the hardwoodflooring had been placedin the former number twoCummer planing mill build-ing located on the northshore of Lake Cadillac.

McDonald and Swansonhave removed their sawmill,which has been operating inCherry Grove Township, toBurdell Township in Osceo-la County. It was announcedon April 16, 1896.

IN APRIL 1896, the Ca-dillac Stave and HeadingCompany located near thenorthern limits of t he city,was employing 75 persons.The concern had a daily out-put of 30,000 elm staves and3,000 complete and perfect

sets of basswood headingsfor barrells.

A large number of thebarrel staves and headingsare sent to Minneapolis foruse in making barrels forshipping flour. Additionallarge shipments are sent toEngland.

It was announced on April23 that the Cadillac Newsand Express planned to is-sue an evening daily news-paper from that office start-ing on April 24, 1896.

An extra large number ofmail pouches are requiredto be sent from the Cadil-lac Post Office at the endof April to accommodatethe many packages beingmailed out containing Trail-ing Arbutus blossoms.

This fact, in part, explainsthe statement of one of thePastors of the city, whosecongregation was dimin-ished on Sunday by so manyof his members being ab-sent in the woods gatheringthe Trailing Arbutus blos-soms.

In April, Cass Street, be-tween the Grand Rapids andIndiana Railroad and theAnn Arbor Railroad tracks,was being completed. Acoating of clay was placedon the roadbed and then cov-ered with several inches ofcoal cinders.

SMALLER STEAM-BOATSare conveying nu-merous hunting and fishingparties across to Big ClamLake (Lake Mitchell). Thelittle steamers pass throughthe canal quite rapidly dur-ing the present high stageof water. If the canal was

as readily navigated duringthe summer months, thepossibility of enjoying amid-summer outing of thebig lake would be largelyincreased.

BY MAY 1896, the campbuildings of Cummer andDiggins Lumber Companyhad been removed fromsection two in Clam LakeTownship to section 24 inHaring Township. The latteris covered with handsomestanding pine timber uponwhich the woods crew willbegin work as soon as thecamp buildings are erected.

A 330 foot-long steel pipe,16 inches in diameter, isbeing made at the WilliamHayes Boiler Works in Cadil-lac. The pipe will be used bythe Cadillac Water Companyas an intake pipe to conveywater from Lake Cadillac to

the Water Works.A 16-year-old boy, had an

arm torn off at the LucasHandle Factory early inMay.

The Cadillac PotashWorks were using a sup-ply of 80 bushels of woodashes daily. The ashes aregathered by their own teamsfrom various property own-ers in the city.

ON MAY 17, the AnnArbor Railroad added nighttrains through Cadillac.Their schedule now pro-vided for a train to leaveCadillac for Frankfort at 6a.m. and another at 3:10 p.m.Trains going south fromCadillac would leave at 1:15p.m. and 9:58 p.m. The nighttrains will carry sleepingcars with a charge of $1.50for a lower berth and $1 foran upper berth.

Of the 76 deaths that oc-curred during a year endingApril 30, 1896, 34 were adultsand 42 were children.

ON MAY 18, 1896, 6,000small black bass from thestate fish hatchery at Ada,Mich., were deposited in Bigand Little Clam Lakes (LakeMitchell and Lake Cadillac).

Starting in late May, therewould be 10 passenger trainsper day passing throughCadillac on the tracks ofGrand Rapids and Indiana.Five of the passenger trainswill stop at Cadillac formeals, two for dinner andthree for supper.

Twelve carloads of ce-dar telephone poles wereshipped in a single trainover the Ann Arbor Railwayin Cadillac on May 23, 1896,

destined for New Orleans,La.

Over five million feet oflumber was shipped duringMay by Blodgett, Cummerand Diggins of Cadillac.

IN JUNE,the HighwayCommissioner of HaringTownship stated that heplanned to let a contractsoon for stumping the roadnorth from the Cadillac citylimits across his township.

The increase in the recentmanufacture of hardwoodsin Cadillac was outlinedin the issue of the CadillacNews and Express on June18, 1896. The article men-tioned that the Oviet Manu-facturing Company wasemploying 100 men and theywere turning out 15,000 fruitbaskets daily made of localhardwoods. The CadillacHandle Company was givingemployment to 50 workmenand were manufacturingfrom 30,000 to 36,000 com-plete broom handle s per day.

Many thousand cords of ex-cellent maple stove wood arebeing made from the scrapand low-grade hardwoodsbrought to the Cadillac Han-dle Company plant.

Stove wood is shipped outof Cadillac by the carload todistant cities.

The Cummer Manufactur-ing Company is increasingits production of ladders aswell as fruit and vegetablecrates. The company wasalso manufacturing finefurniture and cabinet workwith the local hardwoods.

In June, the City Councilapproved the extension ofthe main sewer by layinga 12-inch tile from a pointon West Crippen Street, adistance of 3,700 feet downthe Clam River. This wouldreplace the open sewer pour-ing into the Clam River inthe main part of town.

THE CANAL connectingBig Clam Lake and LittleClam Lake (Lake Mitchell

and Lake Cadillac) was be-ing dredged in June. Thiswill permit better floatingof logs, as well as allowingthe steamboats now operat-ing on the small lake to gointo the big lake.

Late in June, the WexfordCounty Board of Supervi-sors established the totalvaluation of Wexford Coun-ty as $3,000,000. This is a re-duction of $300,000 from thevaluation of the previousyear. The taxable valuationof the city of Cadillac wasfixed at $1,300,000, a reduc-tion of $40,000 as comparedwith the previous year.

IN JULY, the first perma-nent bathhouse was erectedon the shores of Big ClamLake (Lake Mitchell) on thesandy beach just south ofthe canal.

Dennis Roachs sawmill atStoneledge was completelydestroyed by fire on July 27.

In September, loggingtrains were again being

operated on the Osceolabranch of the Grand Rapidsand Indiana Railroad thatextended westward to Olga.About 3,000,000 feet of pinelogs belonging to Cobbs andMitchell are being trans-ported over the railroad totheir mills in Cadillac.

Tuition of only a dollar amonth was being charged bythe Cadillac High School forstudents coming from theterritory around Cadillac,but outside of the Cadil-lac school district. It wasmentioned in the September10 issue of the paper thatyoung ladies can procurehomes while in the city at-tending school, where theycan do work for payment oftheir room and board.

THE CADILLACSCHOOLcensus on Septem-ber 17 showed 1,550 childrenin the area. There were 720males and 820 females. Thenumber of children in thecity that are under school

age was 610.The new brick structure,

known as the Webber Blockat the southwest corner ofHarris and Mitchell Streets,was completed in Septem-ber.

About 3,000 additional feetof sidetrack was being builtin September by the AnnArbor Railroad Company attheir freight yards near thewestern city limits. Besidestheir brick roundhouse,steel turntable, coal docks,water tank and numerousside tracks in that locality,they will soon have a build-ing for a division telegraphoffice and for employeeswho superintend the dis-patching of freight trains.

Cobbs and Mitchellslumber camp, about sixmiles northeast of TraverseCity, received high com-mendation in an article inthe Traverse City paper inSeptember 17. Men at thecamp owned by the Cadil-

lac concern are now gettingout 150,000 feet of lo gs daily.The crew expects to move toKalkaska County in a fewweeks. Logs are transportedby train to Cadillac, wherethey are cut in Cobbs andMitchells mills.

A lawsuit between JoeSmith and Henry Sealandwas pending in court in Sep-tember. Smith claims Seal-ands cows did $12 worth ofdamage to the latters gar-den on the 13th of June.

A DISASTROUSfirestruck Cadillacs businessdistrict on September 29,1896. Six wooden construct-ed business places on theeast side of Mitchell Streetbetween Harris and CassStreets were destroyed. Thefire was first seen betweenthe buildings of L. E. Finnand Company and O. L.

Davis, both drugstores. Thefire was not successfullychecked until all the struc-tures were burned north tothe American House (laterknown as the Russell Hotel,located at the southeast cor-ner of Harris and Mitchell).The fire extended south tothe building owned by Dr.Wardell and occupied byS. S. Young and Miss MaeSawyers Millinery Rooms.The fire, which was discov-ered about 3 in the morning,forced occupants of apart-ments in the second floorsof several of the buildingsto flee for their lives withonly scanty clothing. Theheat from the fire was sointense that it broke a num-ber of glass windows on thestores on the opposite sideof Mitchell Street.

Cummer and Digginslogging camps were to beconsolidated in October forwinter quarters in the campon section 19 in Lake Town-ship of Missa ukee County.The prevailing dull marketfor lumber is the cause ofthe unusual quietness in thelumber woods at present.

A fatal accident occurredat harvey and Huffmanssawmill in Antioch Town-ship. A 15-year-old boy wascaught by an endless chainwhich operated a conveyorand crushed him to death.

LUMSDEN AND WARDCompany was producinga large number of bicyclerims and was purchasingall the rock elm timber theycould get delivered into Ca-dillac.

Bert Ward was languish-

ing in the county jail on Oc-tober 8 for jumping an $11.50board bill at the AmericanHouse.

Perry F. Powers, editorat the Cadillac News andExpress, had been engagedby the State RepublicanCentral Committee and wasspending considerable timegiving political addressesin the southern part of thestate.

George Herrick, owner oftwo of the Mitchell Streetbuildings that were de-stroyed by fire October 15,announced that his struc-tures would be replacedwith two brick buildings.Each one being 25 feet wideand two stories in height.

A NEW TOWINGSTEAMERhad just beenbuilt by W. G. Randles forCummer-Diggins to be used

in conveying logs and tim-ber across the local lakes.The new boat is 37 feet longwith a nine foot beam.

It was announced also onOctober 15 that Dr. Wardellhad purchased the propertyon the east side of MitchellStreet adjacent to the Amer-ican Hotel, and contem-plates the erection of a veryfine building on that site.

WILLIAM JENNINGSBRYAN,the Democraticcandidate for president,was in Cadillac on October15 and gave a campaign ad-dress.

(With) 1896, being a cam-paign year, the employeesat Cummer-Diggins loggingcamp in Missaukee Countywere to hold a political meet-ing.

The State Board of Equal-ization established the fol-lowing total valuations ofreal estate for Wexford andadjoining counties for theyear 1896. Wexford County,$4,500,000; Osceola County,$4,000,000; Missaukee Coun-ty, $2,500,000; Lake County,$750,000; Manistee County,$9,000,000; Grand Traverse,$5,500,000.

On November 5, 1896, thefollowing churches werelisted as holding regularservices: Swedish LutheranChurch, corner of Nelsonand Simons Streets; Swed-ish Baptist on Nelson Street;Swedish Mission Church,corner of Pine and ParkStreets; St. Anns CatholicChurch, corner of Linn andEvart; Baptist Church, cor-ner of Stimson and ShelbyStreets; Methodist Episcopal

Church, corner of Harrisand Shelby; PresbyterianChurch, corner of Harrisand Simons; CongregationalChurch, corner of Harrisand Shelby Streets and theFree Methodist Church,corner of Pine and SimonsStreets.

Following the Republi-can victory at the recentelection, Arthur Riggs, theplumber for Drury andKelly Hardware Company,on November 5, settled anelection bet by conveying C.Sutherling in a two-wheelcart from his boarding placeon Pine Street to the plumb-ing shop on Mitchell Street.The procession was accom-panied with cowbell music.

THE NEW STOCK-YARDS, recently completedby the Ann Arbor RailroadCompany at the foot of Pine

Street, were announcedon November 19, 1896. Theyards will provide for theconvenient herding andloading of cattle and otheranimals that are to be trans-ported from Cadillac.

The first term of Cadil-lacs night school ended No-vember 25, 1896.

The school for adults hadclasses in writing, arithme-tic and grammar.

A national lumber pub-lication, in December,reported that while through-out the country, lumberingbusiness was supposed to beon the wain, Cadillac stillmakes a big showing. Theshores of Clam Lake (LakeCadillac) are fringed withmany acres of lumber piles.The stock of Blodgett, Cum-mer and Diggins compilesupwards of 40,000,000 feetof white pine and Norway.Cobbs and Mitchell have astock of 25,000,000 feet ofdry lumber ready for the re-tail trade. Mitchell Brothersreports a stock of 28,000,000feet equally divided be-tween pine and hardwoods.This concern is producingupwards of a million feetmonthly of maple flooringand is laying plans to sooninvade the foreign fieldswith its products.

The R. G. Peters narrowgauge railroad, which isbeing extended east fromManistee, is now gradedto the banks of the PineRiver on section 28 of SouthBranch Township in Wex-ford County. According toan announcement, the endof 1896.

H2 CADILLAC NEWS | TRUSTED.LOCAL.CONNECTED 775-NEWS (6397) www.cadi llacnews.com | FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER 5,2014 FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER 5,2014 | www.cadi llacnews.com 775-NEWS (6397) CADILLAC NEWS | TRUSTED.LOCAL.CONNECTED H3

A chronological look back at 1896

PHOTOCOURTESYOFTHE WEXFORDCOUNTYHISTORICALSOCIETY

A serious fall 1896 fire destroyed several downtown stores on the east side of Mitchell Street between Cass and Harris Streets.


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BY MARDI SUHS

CADILLAC NEWS

CADILLAC It doesntmatter why you visitMercy Hospital, it can beunsettling. Friends andfamily members may besuffering or recovering.Or you might need a scarytest. There are doors andhallways, elevators andequipment all around.But at the far end of themain-floor hallway, aftera small left turn, you startto inhale the comfortingsmells of food from the

cafeteria. And then theresa little bright spot, ThePeppermint Shoppe, filledwith beautiful displaysfeaturing handbags, jew-elry, cards, knickknacksand lots of stuffed animalsfor children.

For 60 years, Mercydidnt have a gift shop until two friends came upwith the idea.

The Peppermint Shop-pe started in April of 1967by Mrs. Raymond Weigeland Mrs. David R. Ferris,with profits ... to assistyoung mother patients inneed, stated a CadillacNews article in 1971.

At 93, Wavelet Weigelremembers every detail ofhow this all happened.

Im so glad you find thestory of the PeppermintShoppe interesting, Wei-gel said as she usheredme into her living room.Wavelet is the widow ofRaymond A. Weigel Jr.,known as the drivingforce behind the growth ofKysor Industrial Corpora-tion.

Weigel recalled the

details of how she and afriend began a successfulenterprise with no priorretail experience.

Rachel Ferris and Iwere very good friends,Wavelet explained. Wewere sitting in our car onetime and came up withthe idea that there wasnta gift shop at the hospital.We decided we would dosomething about it.

The women pitchedtheir idea to hospital ad-ministrator, Sister MaryRicardo. She approved

and provided a space inthe lobby, with a telephonecloset for storage.

They took out a loanfor $500 and then visitedhospital shops in Traverse

City and Lansing to learnwhere to purchase whole-sale supplies.

The two of us wererunning around, she re-membered. We liked thename of the gift shop inLansing, so we decided touse it.

After recruiting abunch of friends to vol-unteer, they visited AlWeiss of The CadillacCandy Company for retailadvice.

He told us we should al-ways make 30 percent and50 percent at Christmas.He also told us to do our

Christmas shopping in Ju-ly, she recalled. He gaveus very good advice andeven told us how to displaythings so they would sell.Then we went wholesaleshopping at places inGrand Rapids and Lansing... we looked everythingover and hand picked ev-erything we sold.

With display cupboardsdonated by Millikens (awomens dress shop thatwas expanding into adepartment store), theyopened in April of 1967during a $400,000 hospitalrenovation. The shop was

a success, and within eightmonths they had donated$1,000 to the hospital.When customers beganasking for floral arrange-ments, the women re-cruited Dr. Tom Richmondfor help.

Dr. Richmond tookfloral arranging in col-lege, Weigel laughed. Hetaught us how to make ar-rangements for the tableand for a funeral. Anyway,after one lesson, we fig-ured we were brilliant.

Once a month, vol-unteers met in SadieJoynts basement andmade 20 to 30 arrange-

ments for the shop.Profits also provided

television rentals in roomsfor children who couldntafford them and layettesfor newborns whose moth-ers didnt have clothing orsupplies for the trip home.

We were making moreand more money, shesaid. We bought someincubators for prematurebabies and we were buyingbigger stuff all the time.

As the shop grew, it took

more time to purchasesupplies, schedule volun-teers and keep the books.So Weigel and Ferris de-cided to delegate.

Some of the gals de-cided that when they wentshopping they would goto the Merchandise Martin Chicago and have theshop pay their way, sherecalled. That upset us.And the lady we turnedthe money over to stoleit. We noticed our profitshad gone way down. Sowe went to a lawyer who

wrote her a letter, and sheconfessed and paid themoney all back.

After Sister Mary Ri-cardo retired in 1980, theBoard of Directors hireda store manager and thetwo founders relinquishedcontrol of their volunteerproject.

Weigel, who noted thather friends, David and Ra-chel Ferris, are deceased,said that Sister Mary Ri-cardo was a powerhouseand a great help to them.

She wasnt one of thosesweet nuns, she recalled.I remember her beingvery abrupt, all business.But she was very goodto us. In fact, she usedto come visit me at myhouse.

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H4 CADILLAC NEWS | TRUSTED. LOCAL. CONNECTED 775-NEWS (6397) www.cadillacnews.com | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

BY MARDI SUHS

CADILLAC NEWS

CADILLAC Delos F.Diggins was the lumberbaron who gave a largechunk of his fortune tobuild a hospital in Cadil-lac. He is one of a handful

of men lured to WexfordCounty by the promise oftimber profits in the late1800s.

In historical accountsof Cadillac, Diggins isdescribed as a successfulbanker and partner in thelumber firm of Blodgett,Cummer and Diggins.

But most writings givemore attention to hisyounger brother, FredDiggins, a dashing, outgo-ing man who served sixterms as Cadillacs mayor.

In a History of MercyHospital, Cadillac, Michi-gan, we learn about thegenerous nature of DelosF. Diggins, as lovingly por-trayed by an anonymouswriter, a Sister of Mercy.We learn that it was nothis character to draw at-tention to himself or hisgood works.

A mini history

When the Civil Warended in 1865, sections ofthe South lay in ruin andthe country was ready torebuild.

As railroads forgedthrough Michigans inte-rior, word of vast timberforests reached men ofmeans.

George A. Mitchell, theson of an Indiana U.S.Congressman, foundedthe Village of Clam Lakein 1871. He was followed

by a handful of men who,after the Civil War, knewthat fortunes could bemade in supplying natu-ral resources to rebuildthe country.

All of these men, likeJonathon W. Cobbs, JacobW. Cummer and DelosA. Blodgett and their

wives, shared Mitchellsspirit of community andworked to promote thedevelopment of Cadil-lac. And conditions wererough in the small pio-neer town, without com-forts their families wereused to.

Diggins moved to Ca-

dillac in 1883 to found abank with lumbermanBlodgett. Two years later,he joined the lumber firmBlodgett, Cummer andDiggins. He was 43 yearsold, with only 12 moreyears to live.

Diggins suffersfailing healthDiggins is described as

successful and generouswith a strong, virile na-ture and a shrewd manof business.

But after he becameill from an undisclosedailment, he spent years

seeking a return of healthin some of the great hos-pitals of our large cities.

The Sister of Mercy whowrites of Diggins statedthat his efforts to recoverfrom failing health werefutile, but that for somemagnanimous souls,physical evils that human

efforts are unable to re-move, often become inspi-rations of high good.

Diggins suffered, buttraveled far and wide insearch of a cure. While apatient with the Sisters ofMercy in Mercy Hospitalin Chicago, he thoughtabout the lack of health

care in his own home-town. He and his wife,Esther, members of theCongregational Church,decided to donate $50,000for a hospital in Cadillac.Construction began inApril 1907, with orders tocreate the best that mod-ern science offered. Dig-gins goal was to alleviatethe suffering of others.

He did not live to seethe project completed. Hedied on Sept. 7, 1907. TheMaple Hill Cemetery logdoes not list his cause ofdeath even though everyother soul that died thatmonth had a cause listedbeside their name. Dig-gins was 55 years old.

Although the hospitalcould have been namedafter him, Diggins madesure his name was notcarved in marble. Before

he died, he placed it in thehands of the Sisters ofMercy, who took chargeof the 30-bed hospitalwith the titles and deed proving again the nobil-ity of his soul and unself-ishness of his purpose.

The Sisters of Mercydid not end the history of

their founder with Dig-gins death. They contin-ued on, praising his wife,Esther, who continued tobe a friend of all who suf-fered. After the hospitalwas dedicated on January20, 1908, Esther visitedfrequently and became afriend to both the privatepatients and the poorpatients suffering in thewards. She also donatedan additional $10,000 tothe hospital from her ownestate.

A large, granite sculp-ture marks the graves ofEsther and Delos F. Dig-gins in Maple Hill Cem-etery. The imposing piecedepicts three maidens anda young boy, all holdinghands. Evergreen shrub-

bery has grown across thebottom, making it difficultto read the inscription.But pull it aside, and thereyou will find this engrav-ing:

The best portion of agood mans life Hislittle nameless unremem-bered acts of kindness.

Hospital founder, a man of quiet acts of kindness

MARDI SUHS | CADILLAC NEWS

A large, granite sculpture in Maple Hill Cemetery marks the graves of the Mercy Hospital benefactors,Mr. and Mrs. Delos F. Diggins.

Esther Cummer Diggins was abenefactor to Mercy Hospital.

While suffering from an incur-able health condition, Delos F.Diggins donated a large portionof his estate to create a hospi-tal for the citizens of Cadillac.

Friends decide Mercy Hospital needed a gift shop and made it happen


Wavelet Weigel recalls how she and her friend, Rachel Ferris,founded the Peppermint Shoppe in Mercy Hospital.


Peppermint Shoppe volunteer Donna Pekas works on Wednesdaysand enjoys meeting customers and creating displays.

Documents

Historical Perspectives 2014