Mfag Anna SJ^er toCofiducfSttifmrnina.

Life Sa^g Teats.3flaq.Sima Ijaiira Be^er wtU be at

aoWason 12^^5:00 a*^thei>ptec lKa*d0a ^amizia^cdi people ttdUrckedthejunior aj^ senior' Lifie Saving andSwinuttii^ tealt wlU also arrange to' ^ntinue iwork forthe jwinmer. AsyoiiKinterested may

-^eaaaat»ieat6--<^lh' MBi: o EL-St^ykCTor tBfte- Beck^. HBte' Becker hasp^-«t<cp<^ all ezaaaoliEiaticfflwasdls authorized to give ih;e tests. This work isunder the auspices^of the Red CrossscKieiy.

Newaygo Farm Girl Knows Onions, mcdt iThl_ in her junior

And Directs State WPA Recreation/ Q ^0 hockcy and nn 1 , member of Mo

"Annie Laurie Rerkpr number of adults taking orary sororily.miiiic j-rdUilC iDCLKLi, pai-L ]|\ organized rccrcalional nro-

and sho wasHlic first MSG co-edto merit the honor roll in athleticsin her junior year, having shownproficiency in 15 sports. Her favorites were baseball, swimming,liockcy and ftrchcj-y. She is amember of Morlar Board, an hon-

Boril Outdoor Dsvo- increased from a corporal's- _ . . guard lo thousands,

tee, Making Good m At Flint, she declared that JohnNew Career kno-.vn phiian-j

ANNIE LAURIE -BECKER

A farm girl who knows her onions is Annie Laurie Bccker, stateWPA recreational director, whovisited Muskegon last week as adelegate lo the regional meetingof the Michigan Conference of Social Workers. Annie is a native ofHesperia where her father, Duncan Becker, is the ou'ner of alarge acreage, and her idea of recreation is Lo put in a day at Diethrottle of a tractor, plowing,discing or planting crops on herfather's place.

Annie is a born outdoor girland, after a week of meetings andconferences in stuffy offices atLansing, sho likes nothing betterthan a week-end at Hesperialiclping on Uie farm or enjoyinga healthy horseback ride amongthe Newaygo county hills andlakes. A first-rank athlete atMichigan State college, where shewas graduated in 1031, Miss Bcc-

' ker is a real dirt farmer and liasfew rivals wiien it comes to tinkering with machinery or doctoring sick cattic or horses

Althougli she •goes in for thestrenuous life herself, she is an;advocate of less exacting pastimesfor others and, as the boss of several hundred WPA recreationworker's, is engaged in teachingthousands of adults and childrenthroughout the state how to spendtheir leisure in such harmless activities as playing ping pong, sewing, toy-making, operating marionettes, painting, dramatics aswell as more popular endeavorssuch as baseball, skating, swimming and the like.

Directs Bcach GuardsAmong other things, the little

lady from Hesperia has an armyof handsome WPA beach guardsunder her jurisdiction.

Miss Becker has made a career—and a successful one—urginggreater public recreation opportunities and at the social workers' conference here she made thesuggestion that Michigan's 5350,-000,000 worth of school buildingsbe turned into recreation ccntersduring the summer months.

"I may sound radical," she announced. "Yet, I don't see why webolt the desks to the floor in ourschool buildings. If the desks andseats were moveable, the buildings could bo used mucli morereadily as community ccnters,particularly in towns that can'tafford community buildings"

With the four and five-day weekbecoming general in industry.Miss Becker is convinced that leisure lime activities will occupy alarger and larger place in community affairs Siie urges eachcommunity to sot up a recreationcommittee and last week describedthe resuUs of the WPA programat Flint where in a few years she

thropist, helped furnish funds tosupplement the WPA program.

Leisure time activities of tiicWPA, she declared, foster constructive efforts as well as physical pastimes so that WPA ccnters teach art, music, writing aswell as supervise ice rinks, organize baseball, basketbalJ, bowlingand other team activities.

Hails Froiu HesperiaMiss Becker is one of the grow

ing group of Newaygo countyresidents who iiave achieved prominence in public life. However, sheis the most prominent official tocome .'rom Hesperia, the othersincluding State Treasurer Theodore I. Fry and State Senator DonVanderwerp, both hailing fromFremont.

It was in 1934 that Miss Beckerjoined the WPA recreation department as super-visor of Newaygo county, the position now heldby J. Wilfred Ferguson of Fremont. She became district director, moving to Grand Rapids in1936. Later, she was promoted tqassistant state director, then toacting slate director and took overas full-fledged director of the de-parlmcnt six months ago. Previously, she spent a year as partlime recreation director of theLansing YWCA and a year as social service worker at the girls'training schooL at Adrian.

At college, she majored in physical education and psychology

AhHe bieckiek' ^Itsidsb^ytbh ttlkkieiitt

Anne Becker was named chair-. man of the Dayton CommunityFarm Bureau at dectipn of officet?Monday evening at the home ofHeniy Hui^jen.

Other officers elected were William E^dbrooke. vice-cbainnan:

t Mrs. J. Bennett, secretaiy-treiu-iurer- An|y Kole. diacosaion teller; Mrs. iifflo Smith, vromen's com*!mittee: Mrs. Leah Rottier. iSHuejctoss diairman: Mrs. Herman^DeHks. recreation leader.

N-

Annie Laura Becker

Annii- lin'i.'i.| 1Icspcri.i. SlK" slun\'i'i.i hor Kuc for her honiounvnitiriHi^h liei' inN'olvcnicnl ni pliiiuiini; lor ihe lihr.ir\', eix ieccnlc]' .iiui olhci" recroalion.il UK'iHlic.s. She w.is a rolirftltanner anJ a nieinbei' ol the 1lespei ia I'resln terian (..'lunth.

Ms. noekei' was also a \'isionai')'. She was p]'ogies,si\e aiulencoiir.iget.i ihe fouiuialion lo linui new soeial neeJs ani.icxperinienlal prourains.

In Doeeniher ol l^)S<S, M.s. Meeker passeJ .i\va\ ,il ihe ai;e 0178hi lier will, she hei|iiealhei.l more than $-l5l),(Kl() to ihef'renionl Area C'onnnunity Innnulalion. Tlinuigh hoi"generous gift, she eoiuinue.s lo ha\e a posiii\e inipael on ihcconinninilv she ioveil anJ we will reniemher her loro\'er,

OC.T. Sfe,

Benson Hits JackpotWoman Tiller Gives Chief Ideas on Farm Needs

By Bruce Ambrose.Hesperia—^Secretary of Agri-

• culture Benson, touring America'sfarmlands, often stops unan

nounced to talk .with farmers hesees working in the field.

Last week, three and half milessouth of Hesperia, he hit the

. jackpot,CaiTying to West Michigan his

' doctrine of long-range planningto solve the farm problem, hewas traveling from Fremont toManistee when he stopped to con-

• verse with a farmer taking incorn.

Former Social Worker.

The farmer was Miss AnnieLaura Becker, ex-recreation director, ex-social worker, Red

. Cross ex-personnel director in• World war II, now chairman of; the Newaygo county welfare com-: mission and farmer of a 400-acre

{! spread straddling the Newaygo-Si! Qceana county line.

Miss Becker matched SecretaryBenson idea for idea on farm

, policy needs.! "When you are driving a tractor

all day, there isn't much else todo but think," she quipped Sunday in recalling her chance meet-

jing with Secretary Benson.Says Problem Fluctuates.

^ Miss Becker believes underlyinghg^amuprdblem which has play*

oil i5L» iciite. u luic in liic iiic.Mneiil-iial campaign is the fact that ItIis a fluctuating problem, de-tmanding flexible methods of solu-ition.

I "I believe in the family farm,"she explained "Our agriculturalfoundation is the family farm,but now it has to be a prettylarge farm. The 80-acre familyfarm isn't big enough any more.

She cited her own farm as anexample. Homesteaded by hergrandfather, Henry Becker, afterhe returned, wounded at Gettysburg from the Civil war—it originally was 160 adres. As family demands grew, additional tractswere added until now it covers

,400 acres, of which 26i5 are tillable end 135 are woodland and

• •pasture.

Neighboring: Farm Grows.Another neighborhood farm she

cited has grown to 320 acres as a'father-son partnership.

I The modern farm requires heavy/ investments. Miss Becker pointed< out. She placed initial invest-i ment in farm equipment at $45,-' 000.

As she sees it, she can't encourage a young man to seek partner

ship with her on the farm—whichshe would like—because the investment and work would not return the same income as equalwork in a factory or business.

Proposes Answer.The answer? Miss Becker and

Benson agreed:

"We've got to gear farming according to demand. And we've gotto find new uses for farm produce.

"There are other purposes forour grasses and grains—syntheticproducts are an example. Itshould be the federal government'sjob to conduct research to findmore uses for our products."

The soil bank, instituted this yearby the administration, she believesis a temporary solution.

Hails Soil Conservation.

"First, it is good soil conservation," she said, "and will reduceexcess produce on the market

"Parity isn't the answer. Thefarmer is just like the other fellow—he will try to get high dollarwhen he can. If parity is high forwheat, he will plant wheat-r-and'add to the surplus." i

Marketing development is neces-'sary, too, she declared, pointingout that a recent study showedthat If the fanner gave away eggs,the price to the consumer stillwould be 23 cents a dozen—^thecost of moving the eggs fromfarmer to consumer.

To Vote for Ike.As Benson and Miss Becker were

talking, one of the reporters inBenson's entourage asked herhow she would vote.

"I guess I will have to stick withIke, I replied," the woman farmerrelated. "I knew him in NorthAfrica."

Siie said she was Red Cross personnel director for North Africain World war II. and dealt withthen-Gen. Eisenhower in RedCross matters.

She explained her, contact:"When he felt that a unit neededsome help, he called on us. That'show I got to know him."

She remembered him as "a good,congenial fellow.

"When he wanted somethingdone, he wanted you to get it donewell. You could tell by iiis manner.

Would Accept Advice."But he was very willing to take

advice from persons in the field,"she remembered.

Miss Becker is no ordinaryfarmer. Progeny of a homes tead-mg clan in western Michigan, shegraduated from Michigan. Stateuniversity as a physical educationand sociology major. She didsocial Work in Lansing, Adrian,Kent and Newaygo counties, roseto state director of the federalworks agency in the late 1930s,and was director of communityservices for three years.

Ill Washington Dec. 7, 1941.In a series of conferences on

group recreation for men calledinto service in the early 1940s,she was called to Washington fora discussion.' She arrived Dec. 7,1941. She did not leave.

She worked temporarily organizing personnel for Red Crosswork in the United States, thentook oft for duty expected to beon the isle of Capri. Instead, shefound herself at the north Africanpost. '

She remained overseas until exhaustion and illness struck herand in 1946 she returned to thefarm.

Took Over Farm.

As her father, Duncan N. Becker,grew ol^er, she found herself taking over more and more of thefarm work. Mr. Becker died twoyears ago. Miss Becker remainedon the. farm, adapting its* operation so she could handle it.

Last year she totaled only ,200hours of hired help. She managesa herd ,of 70 to 75 registeredShorthorns — "for the best dualpurpose stock" — leased out 20acres of orchard and, with heraunt. Miss Isabelle M. Becker,manages the 90-year-old, ramblingfarmhome.

Miss Isabelle' Becker, incidentally, is a former state assistantsuperintendent of public instruction.

"Just Retired.""Don't credit me with the suc

cess of the farm," she cautionedin displaying its rolling, tidy acres."It was my father who made itwhat is is.

"I'm just a retired socieilworker."

Then she went off to tend a cowwhich had just borne a calf.

9

Tri-County Farm Bureau Board HiresNew C.O.D. After Anne Becker Resigns

Henry A. Johnson, MearsFarmer, Assumes PostFirst ofFebruary

Following the resignation ofMiss Anne L. Becker ofDayton Twp. asorganization director ofMuskegon and Newaygo County Farm Bureaus, theBoard of Control of a newly found tri county group, taking in OceanaCounty, has employed Henry A. Johnson ofMears as county organizationdirector.

Johnson officially took over his new job the begmnmg ofthe month and atthe same time, continues his work of county organization director in Oceana.Heis well acquainted in this area, having had three years experience inFarmBureau work in district No. 7.

Under thenew setup, Johnson's work will be directed by three presidentsof the member counties: E. E. Price ofNewaygo, KennethBull ofMuskegonand Ward Gilliland of Oceana. Chairman ofthe Board ofControl is Price.

The board expressed regret of Miss Becker's resignation and thanked herforher services which began over a yearago. After a vacation in the south.Miss Becker will assist her father, DuncanBecker, in the management of thehome farm south ofHesperia.

Times Indicator, February 23, 1950

•

#

fXfmMfm

BENSON ADMIRED HER FENCE—Miss Annie Laura Becker,Hcsperia woman farmer, leans against a fenco she built, upper

view, which attracted admiration of Secretary of AgricultureBenson, as she tells how she raises registered Shorthorn cattle on

her 400-acre farm. In the corner of Iho lot are some of her market

able young sires. Below, she swings a bale of alfalfa from the hay-

mow. She grows all her stock feed.

W^4- #' .*s

MS

Im

8 THE MUSKEGON CHRONICLE, Wednesday, March 8, 1961

Best Farmer. . . Miss AnneLaurie Becker has been named "Conservation Farmer of the Year," atthe annual Newaygo Soil Conservation District meeting. She is thethird farmer planner to be sohonored.

-v.".;

Miss Anne Becker

' FREMONT — Miss Anne Laurie Becker was awarded thetitle "Conservation Farmer of tlie Year" by the Newaygo SoilConservation District at its annual meeting. Miss Becker farmsa general crop farm and leases her orchard. Her £amm Dayton and Greenwood townships.

,j- -Ropver is a ereat pro-Miss Becker is a great promoter of conservation. She has

•65 acres of her farm laid out in!contour strips. Natural water-tways are sodded to prevent ero-ision. She uses deep tillage tobreak up the compactness ofthe soil and uses minimum tillage to encourage water absorb-tion.

* * * .WINTER COVER crops of

rye are sown on all open fieldsand she uses green manurecrops in her rotations regvilariyto add humus.

Miss Becker is planning awoodlot management programto make the best use of herfarm woodlot.\ In spite of the fact that heiIfarm is being cropped heavilyiwithout livestock the soil isremaining in a high state ollevtility bccause of the sou improvement practices applied.

OTHER COOPERATORS receiving honorable mention wereEarl Smalligan. chairman of theNewaygo Soil Conservation District, and Myles Hollowell.

This is the third year thatthe District has presented thisaw.ura. Previous farmers so hon-lwtfd w«re Elmer Schotanus and

Vaimcnd Smith.

3- " T r

Cpn^rvation Farmer of year

awarded to Anne Becker

Miss Anne Laune Becker was

awarded the title of Conservation

Farmer of the Year by the New-*ygo Soil Conwrv-atioa-Duitrict attheir meting held here last'">fc-eek.Miss Becker, who operatcfl a 320-acre farm in Dayton and Green-wood townahipa is the first woman

water down hill and to allow the

water t«> shak into the soil. Na

tural waterways arc sodded to prevent erosion, and to • fulher en-

courag'e water abmrption. she uses

minimum tillage, combined with

deep tillage to break up th^e comin the county In be' so ' honarerf.-and as far it id known, one of thefirst In the sute. She farms ageneral fami crop and leases herextensive orchard• ar^ea^e: located on M-<82 south of Hespena.

Bxpressing hei pleasure at being honored. Miss Becker said shewould like to give credit wherecreate -is oue. saytng. "Tlua pni-gram dates back many years, twowaterways on our farm were es- •tabli4h«d before my memoty. Hieidea of planting acmsa hillsidesu'as brought to my attention veryforcefully when I wa.<« fourt^nyean old. One day while my father' was at a neighbors filling silo.I was to drill the wheaL In myrush to get the eighteen acresdrilled In one day with the teamOf horses I drilled lengthwise thefield and slope. That night we hada cloadtturst. befii^ it could becultipacked on the contour. Movernight gulle>'s were cut directlyto the creek. This poor practiceand result wer^ analyxed for meby my father the next morning.Soil analytia. crop rotation, marling. use of sopplemental commercial fertiUxers and tiling were all* planning."• Aceordiiiir to SoU Conservation

tfffhnicians. Misa Becker, who tookover tfae operation of the farm after tte doath of her father some

yeazB ago. is one of the county'smost •Tenlhosiastic promoCjers ofsoil eonstfvation. Due to her con-

ti&aed tmriC in that pbase «f fama-ing, site knows the benefits to bedetfved'fnna proper spa coeserva-ti<m fiirdioda. Six^fi^ acres ofber fann are laid out in contouratz^ to cot down the flow at

pactness of till- s(.:l.

Wiritcr <'t ryV arf 5i>wnOn all oprn fifi-i^/Hiiil .sh«^ ii.s.*sgreen mani;r«- • in her rotationrepularly .«o .•!.< a4<l hii!nu.s andto help «'XpHn«l .*!••.J p.'irtirle.s Inspite of th«' f.ii! ih^it h«T farm isbein^ h<»a ':ly rf without Isvi-stock. srtfrttM Jin.i .xns p<»int ou that

(ContinueJ .in Pape ^CiRhf

the sod remains high in fertility because ofthesod improvement practices ^plied.

In addition to her sod conservation

program. Miss Becker is cuirentfy interestedin planning a woodlot managem^t pcogramto make the best use ofher &nn wobcOands.

Other cooperators receiving honorable.,mention for their conservatioa practiceswere Ear! Smalligan, Sherman Townships&nner and chairman of the NewaygoCounty Soil Conservation District andMyles HollowellofSheridantownship.

This is the third year the District haspresented the Conservation Farmer of the -Year Award. Previous fermers so honoredwere Elmer Schotanus and Valmond Smith.

%

I®m

, / ••;

lk<-:

11 ':'V-

IT'S NOT every day you meet an MSUgraduate in social work who operatesa 300-acre farm on her own. And it's

even more unusual after you listen to herwide experiences.

At one time Anne Becker was in chargeof a staff of 5,000, as state director of recreation for WPA. In 1941 she spoke at 250universities and colleges in the U. S. recruiting personnel for the overseas RedCross program. During the war she servedin North Africa, Italy, Algiers and Naples.

"In 1946 when she heard of her father'splans to sell the farm, Anne, an onlydaughter, came home to Newaygo Countyand has stayed on.

As we drove into the Becker yard recently, Anne and her German shepherddog "Lisa" were right out to meet us. Wewere not only welcomed to the farm, butalso invited to stay for lunch. In the fewhours I visited with her, I found that Anneis a respect^ farmer and conservationist;a gracious hostess; a fine cook; a community and youth worker and quite a philosopher—all rolled into one.

The Becker farm has been in the familysince 1863 when her grandfather purchasedit for two dollars an acre. At the age of 16,Anne's father took over the farm. Wisemanagement earned enough to put his fivebrothers and sisters through college. Upimtil his death he served as a valuableconsultant to Anne. "He'd use field glassesto watch me at work from his spot on theporch," she says.

Anne has earned the respect of the farmers all around her. While we visited, someone called to get some information on thecom crop. When farmers noticed her usinga rotary hoe for the first time, they cameover to see how it worked.

In 1960 Anne won the District Soil Conservation Award. Like her father beforeher, she believes that land should get better by the year rather than become depleted. While on a tour of the farm, sheshowed us what was a former gravel pit.The gravel was hauled out for the roadsand the pit filled and planted to appletrees. She uses all manner of ways to buildup the soil—hauls in peach pits fromGerbers, com cobs from her own crop andjust the day before, she'd bought some old

PAGE M

hay for ten cents a bale to serve as amulch. Later shell work it into the soil.

Her first conservation lesson came atthe age of 14 when she hurriedly drilledthe wheat field up and down a slope. Thenext morning, after a downpour, she andher father had a vivid demonstration ofthis poor practice. .

Anne credits much of her farm successto her father. He first started to work ona total soil conservation plan early In the40 s. "He was a man of great foresight,"she says. The original plans for the farmstead were made 60 or 70 years ago.

Her father put in his own water systemand 40 years later when another buildingwas erected, there was a plug in the rightspot ready to hook on to the water line.

Reduced Labor

When Anne started farming on her ownshe had to use more equipment to reducelabor. Last year she hired 50 or 60 hoiu-sof labor. Over a three-year period shesold 130 head of Shorthorn cattle herfather had. She missed having livestockaround, so recently purchased ten head ofbeef cattle.

Vocational agriculture teachers aren'ttoo accustomed to women in their adulteducation classes, but anxious to leam,Anne has been a regular attender. Shesays, "You either leam from your ownexperience or others—and it's cheaper tolearn from others."

She finds one of-the best things ^boutfarming is being able to see plans andideas develop. She says that's what makesit most interesting—and adds that if shejust went up and down the fields doingthe same things every year, she*d find itmost boring. She points Out that plansdon't all happen at once. "It took sevenyears to get a field ready to do what Iwanted to do with it," she says.

She's not tied to the farm, however. Herenergy and broad interests make her astimulating personality. Sie serves aschairman of the county welfare commission, is on the county zoning board, andis a leader of a 4-H saddle rlnh

The large farm home is almost a "motel"for her friends and relatives who love tostop and visit. The freezer is always fulland the beds are ready for company at alltimes. The large sunny rooms are tastefully decorated. Anne says she likes it"functional but comiortable." Gay quiltsand coverlets are in their proper place onthe traditional furniture in the big bedrooms upstairs.

She enjoys entertaining most of all whenher sweet corn crop is ready for roastingand during the winter months when thefarm hills are covered with a blanket ofsnow. Then it's time for skiing and tobogganing followed by warmth,'food and songaround the huge piano in the living room.

All too soon it was time to end our visitand for Anne to go out and finish theplowing she'd started that morning.

FARM

FAMILY

LIVING

Witma

HOME EDITOR

»

The Becker farm has been in existence since 1863. Notice

the strip cropping: in the fields on the left The orchardhas been leased to a neighbor.

MICHIGAN FARMER NOVEMBER 4, 1961

;•

Ann Becker

\'mo Pre£>bv|-le-rian ClV^uccJh l)'f"ecU<sr\|,^V\o4o

Obituary Clippings

of the Becker Family

^n,(L^Yvo

Dies At 96^YearsMrs. Isabella McCallum Becker

Claimed By Death At Home ofDaughter Monday. •

Mrs. Isabella McCallum Becker, oneof the well-known pioneers of the Hes-peria jCORimunity, died Monday at theh^me of her daugrhter, Mrs. E. T. Garble, 233 Southern Avenue, Muskegon,Slie wais "iae years of age.

Mrs.-Better was born in Campbell-town, Scotland, February 25, 1840, andcame to thi&.country with her parents,one brother, Neil McCallum, and twosisters, Jean and Mary Mena, eighty,years ago, and settled in Greenwoodtownship, Oceana county.

'She attended high school in GrandHaven, and on May first, 1865, was^married to Henry Becker who had justreturned from service in the CivilWar. They lived in Montague until188C when they moved to the presentfamily home near Hesperia, the tractof land being obtained from the government. She was--a charter member

of the Hesperia Presbyterian churchwhich was first organized in the Mc- ^Callum school in Greenwood township, j

She is survived by two sons, Archie iL. of San Francisco-and .Dimrjin_H_n£J

ANNIE BECKER

Fremont

Amiie Laura Becker, 78,of Fremont, passed awayRritoy,^ec. 9 at GerberMemorial Hospital.

ShewasbGmJan.28,1910at Fremont, the daughter ofMr. and Kirs. PuncM N. Becker. She was aretired farmerand was a member of theEfcsperia PresbyterianChurch.

She is survived by severalcousins. -

According to ha* wish.Miss Becker was taken forimmediate cremation. AmemdriMservice will be heldWe^esday, Dec. 14at 1:30pjh. at the Hesperia Prw-bytejiM Churph.

Thefamily ^ suggested•the i^p^canC^cer SpcietybrtheAtaerip^j^memOri^. :: v^," .Arr^g^ints w^^

, Kj^j^ze. FMeM; rHc^^^ 'of

Fremont, Nov. 25—Duncan N.Becker, 11, prominent DaytonTownship farmer, died yesterdayat his home after a short illness.He had lived on the. same farmsince 1886. He was born in Montague on July 23, 1873.

Hie was married in 1905 to theformer Ell'eii Jane Jackson whodied 14 years ago.

A life Btfember of the Masoniclodge, he had joined the order atHesperia ia 1905.He was a formerchauirian of the Newaygo Coimlyboard of supervisors and hadserved as chairman of the Neway-go County Farm Bweau. -He alsowas vice-president of the HesperiaBank. Mr. Becker raised registered cattle on his farm.

He leaves one daughter, Annieliaiira Becker at home, tiu:eesisters, Miss Isabelle Becker, Mrs.E. T. Carbine, of Muskegon, and]ldTs. Baymbnd McQuat of Wash,,and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be heldSxmday at 2:30 p.m. from the homein Dayton Township, the Rev. J.C. DjeVries of Muskegon officiating. Burial will be in the ClarkCemetery. Masonic semces willbe conducted by the Hesperialodge. A^angements have beenmade by the Boven Funeral Home

i at Shremont. _

Battle BeckerDies at Hesperia

I •

iWas Mother of State,WPA Recreation

Director\V'

iPesperia, Feb. 6—(Special)—xs. Duncan Becker, 62 . years

[bld,^ prominent resident of this1community, and mother of Miss(Annie Laurie Becker, state WPA!recreational director, died Wed-inesday evening at her farm homeisouth of Hesperia after a longjIillness. !

Mrs. Becker was born HattieJackson, at Sarnia, Ont, June27, 1878, and when a small childwas brought to Denver townshipto be reared on a farm where;later she was married to DuncanBecker, Nov. 27, 1905. They located on the present farm where;she had lived ever since. \

She was active in the Hesperia|Presbyterian church, prior to . herillness, and was an honorarymember of the Hesperia LadiesLiterary club.

Surviving are her husband;lone daughter. Miss Annie Laurie!Becker, Lansing; five sisters, .Mrs.A. C. Tompsett, Mrs. William feird,Mrs. Fred Bettys and Mrs. RexMaze, all of Hesperia, and Mrs.Hal Bush, Fort Leavenworth,Kan., and three brothers. WillJackson, •Muskegon, Jay Jackson,Hesperia, and Henry Jackson,West Branch.j Funeral arrangements will beannounced^ - ^

Archie Becker,Former HesperiaScl^ol Head DiesHesperia, April 21.—(special)—

Friends received word that ArchieBecker, former superintendent ofHesperia High school, had diec^at his home in San Mateo, April13. He has resided in Californiafor the past 30 years. ,

Mr. Becker was* bom at Moff-tague, March 10, 1866 and grad-'uated from Montague High school •and the University of Michigan.-He left Hesperia for San Mateoto take up marine engineeringwork. I

Surviving are his widow, oneson, Henry, of San Mateo; adaughter, Isabelle, of San Francisco; three sisters, Mrs. Edd Carbine of Muskegon; Miss BelleBecker of Hart, Mrs. Anna Mc-Owat, Grand Rapids, Minn., anda brother Duncan of Hesperia.Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Becker anddaughter, Annie Laurie, of Hesperia, and a cousin, Henry Carbine of Muskegon, visited theBeckers at California this winter.

I The funeral of Mrs. Emily JacKsoni was held from the house in town last

V Tuesday afternoon. Rev. Wylie of theM. E. church officiated. Interment

^ \%as made beside her husband in theEast cemetery. Mrs. Jackson" a

^ much loved pioneer and has liv^ ini cur midst nearly forty years.' She'has reared a family of nine children;; sis ffirls and three boys—three ofthe g^irls are married, to-wit: Mrs.

i Duncan Becker, Mrs. William Birdland Mrs. Rex Maze. The Misses: Laura. Edna. Mrs. Maze an4 ' Leilaare all successful school teachers.The oldest son, John, is marrie'd andlives on the home farm. Will is inAlaska, and Henry, the youngestchild, is attending M. A. C. All attend their mother's funeral, but Will,of Alaska. Mrs. Jackson afaithful raembes of th M. E. churchan(i( an ardent worker in the W. C. T.

! U. Her health has been failing forso^ie time and'for a chajige she wentto Kren*o.it before Christmas to stay

i for a while with her daughter. Lastii Saturday night she went to bed inher usual good spirits and In a fewmoments was seized with a chokinafspell ahd before h«lp could be gottenshe h&k pass€;d away. All her daughters were atte"hding the meetin.«j in

! Hesperia last Saturday night "ind as; they were goin^ home they received{ the sad news of their mother's death.

Sketches of Hesperia Citizens•J Feb. 20 — Wlillo Miss

' Isabelle M. Becker has held various offices In the slaio departmentof publit! instruction, working outof Jvan-sin.?, filie is an impoi-tan't

' factor In Ifesperui's progrcsH. aii<'is secretary of the Granger.'? asu!Teachers' nrg'anizution. which iputson the "BiK Meeting" here cachyear, and as such, arranges the

: programs.

Miss Becker as a staic official,»bciri!^ assistant superintendent otthe rural division of i.ie depart-

j .ment of- public Instruction, and su-' pervisoi' of county normal schools

comes in touch with many lecturers and entertainers of note, and

; has brought nationally ^nen! and women to Hesperia. The list

of lecturers .diirin^ Ihe last fewyear.s include.? Will CarJelon, JohuT. McCutcheon, former Governor

I Hai'.ley of Indiana, Ople Read,• Laredo Taft. Biirns of the Moun-

! tains, and Mrs. Helen B.. Paulsen.Arrangrement of the '-'Big Meet-

i Ing" program haa been left to Missj Becker for years. .She haa beenI i' general secretary 20 yearn and on• ; Ihe executive hoard nearly as long.' • ITe.speria peo-ple have confidence

^ in her ability lo line up the best. talent obtainable for .such'a yath-

i ering nnd ' th^iV ''c'o'Ufidence has1never beeh' misplaced.I Miss Becker Vas Tiorn in Mon-Sl.Tgue and firi'slied highschool

.'there; She'ividved'to Hesperia ^In'l886. She graduated from the• Michigan State Normal college at

Yp.Hllantl. then faught school at' ^rontague, ' 'Heflpeda antl "Wliite

. .Clour}, after whicfy she becar.ic .>:U-hl'perjntendftnt of schools .it WhiteMciqiid. She renv(/nec' in liiat po-M?»ition two yearf} then went toi^fftmont-'where y/ie'.faf'xg'at-in :the

gV.''nit)i" >• pradep .an<l highsfhool.

iii

' ISABELLA M. BECKKR.

sloner of schools of Newaygocounty In 1903 anil was in that office 12 years, leaving in 1015 for•Lansing, to taUa a state office,that'of assistant Inspector of standard schools.- Since, then she, hasbecome assistant guperintcndentof the rural divisionjof the department o£ public instruction-and su-iw-i'\-i>-or (ff i''0i'int5«-'i0rmal f?<'hool.';,'

HESPERIA GIRL WEDS

MINNESOTA AHORNEY_!LflK9 '"Jz-Z-

Siss Anrilg Becker. Former Frimoni Teacher.

Becomes Sride of Raymond Arthur McOuit.of Grand Rapids

A pretty home wedding and thesocial event of the summer season tookplace at 3 p. m.. Wednesday. August7th, at the beautiful country home ofMrs. Henry Becker, when her youngestdaughter, Annie May. was married toRaymond Arthur McOuit, of GrandRapids. Minnesota-

The house was artistically decoratedwith trailing vines, ferns, goldenrodand white -carnations. The color,scheme was green and white, with jwhite predominating everywhere. The|

rceremony took place in the library iiunderneath a floral arch of clematisand white carnations, with a largewhite Wcuuiiig bell i" the Center. Oileach side were banks of palms andferns and potted plants.

Preceding the arrival of the bridalparty Miss Reynolds sang several appropriate"selections in fine voice.The bridal party entered to the strainsof Mendelssohn's wedding marchplayed by Mrs. W. S. Clark, of Holton.

Master Edmund Carbine, in a prettywhite suit, Was the little ring bearer,Miss Isabellfe Becker, sister of thebride, was maid of honor Jind was exquisitely gowned in white. Little MissClara Carbine, in a dainty white trock,was flower girL Mr. and Mrs. ArchieMcCallum were master and mistress of

\ ceremonies.! The bride entered leaning upon thearm of her brother, Duncan Becker.

•She was charmingly gowned in whitesilk marquisette trimmed with princesslace, over white satin messaline, andcaught here and there with orangeblossoms. She wore orange blossomsin her hair and carried a shower bou-

•quet of bride's roses and swansonia.;They were met at the arcbwav by the

groom, and in the presence of over50!relatives, the Rev. R. W. Paul, of theCongregations! ch'irch of Freniont,using the impressive ring service, pronounced the solemn words that boundthem together. Rev. J. W, Lawton, ofthe Presbyterian church in Hesperia,pronouncing the benediction.

After congratulations an elaboratethree course luncheon was serv^ inthe dining room which was attractivelydecorated for the occasion. Over theUble were festoons of white satin rib*bon falling from the ceiling to thecomers in large bows. A large basketof white camationi? formed the centerpiece and the room was illuminatedwith white candles in white shadedcrystal candlesticks entwined with

ismilax. Miss Minnie Reynolds, of!Hesperia, and Mrs. Claud Mills, ofiIowa, presided in the diningToom.

After luncheon the bride and groommotored to Fremont, where they tookthe evening train for Detroit. Fromthere theywill take a lake trip to Du-iuth and other points and will be athome after October 1st in Grand Rapids, Minn.

The groom is a graduate of the Mm-nesot University, a rising young law-ver, and prosecuting attomc-y of hiscounty. Alrea»iy he has ingratiated j

1himself into the hearts of his new rei-1atives. He is taking with him to his jhome in Minnesota one of Hesperia's ;fairest daughter's, who is fitted inevery way to be his companion and ;adorn any circle inwhich she is placed.

She is a graduate of the MichiganSt«te Normal school and has been avery successful teacher in music anddrawing. For the past two ye^s shehas been teaching in Grand Rapids,Minn., and this beautifulwedding istheresult. The beautiful gifts she received are a sl.ght token of the esteem inwhich she is held by her many friends.

She leaves us to dwell in anotherstate. If she adds to its glory bybuilding up the community as well asthe family she leaves here has done.Grand Rapids, Minn., will have nocause to regret her coming. The happy pair carry the love and best wishMof all, for happiness and prosperity in .their new home. !

OilULAX^

J(•