By Staff
In a recent Herald-Palladium "Do You Remember?" column, I found it of interest that 25 years ago the 123-year-old St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Dowagiac was the first property in Dowagiac to be designated a state historical landmark by the State Historical Commission.
It noted it was the first public structure built in Dowagiac.
It also said that in 1955 the widow of Dowagiac's Howard Anthony donated 76 acres of land to Benton Harbor's community college.
It was Howard, an old neighbor of mine in the 1930s, who started the Heath Co.
Another thing in the Do You Remember? column was about our 1978 big snowstorm.
It hit on Jan. 28, putting southwest Michigan to a near standstill with a foot of snow and 60 mph winds.
On Jan. 29, 20 to 22 inches made five-foot drifts.
Jan. 30, 60 percent of roads closed and 15,000 folks snowbound.
Jan. 31, another 10 inches of snow.
Feb. 1, Gov. Milliken had 85 Guardsmen from three armories around the clock cleaning cities and villages.
Anyone remember this storm?
Something that came into my 77-year-old mind was how as a kid it was so much fun getting on the pony ride at the fair or carnival.
The ponies were fastened to a pole in the center of a circle and they went around and around.
If you were too small, your dad or mother would walk along next to the pony to make sure you wouldn't fall off.
Something I haven't heard in a long time is when someone got "hitched" on a Saturday, how they would drive through town with a few cars following the bride and groom, with all the cars' horns blowing.
It seemed like this was quite popular on Saturdays years back.
When I bought one of Stan Hamper's books, he signed it, "Good luck with your book, Charlie."
I did have the good luck of having a book published.
I have a nice collection of signed books I've purchased over the years.
I met a girl the other day at the Wahoo and she told me again about my father, who had made her mother (Anna Rowe) an old wooden iron board.
Martha and her sister Catherine told me this years ago, and I had mentioned it in an article.
Martha said she still has this antique board.
She also informed me my father made a wire basket to put eggs into, but she didn't say if she still had it.
I read someplace in 1853 people sent their cows to Pine Lake in the daytime and at night they would come home by themselves to a little clearing on Jay Street.
Here, they pawed and roared all night and kept the citizens awake.
My friend Larry Reshore and follks went on a Western vacation. When they got back, Larry couldn't get me over to his house fast enough to show me the large scratches on their new car, put there by a big bear with its paws as it leaned on the car, looking in the window.
E-mail him at cardinalcharlie@hotmail.com.