The first headline in the May 27 issue of the Holland City News reads “All Arrangements For Decoration Day Are Completed.” Decoration Day, of course, being an old name for Memorial Day. There was a post on Twitter discussing that “Decoration Day” became “Memorial Day” shortly after the American Civil War. That's apparently not true , as the Holland City News still refers to it as Decoration Day as late as 1920. The article lays out a daily itinerary, detailing marching exercises from a few Veterans' groups, as well as a parade down 8th St beginning at 9am.
The second headline of note reads “Work Has Begun On $30,000 Theater.” John Raven and John Kramer, the article says, “are very busy these days putting up their new theater on River avenue across from Centennial Park.” This building, of course, is the Holland Park Theatre! I've been fortunate to help set up the venue for a concert, attend a concert, and have actually sang karaoke on stage. It's a fantastic, beloved venue; a cool hidden gem in this lakeside town.
Page 2 is filled with standard, daily headlines – a couple of Parent-Teacher Club president nominations for local schools, a wedding announcement, and other standard fare. One headline reads “Crop Of Lettuce At Hudsonville Is Good,” because of course it was; Hudsonville is known as “Michigan's Salad Bowl.” Go Hudsonville farmers! There's a little bit of trivia on the second page as well, with the headline reading “Douglas Growers Put It Over The New Richmond Men.” New Richmond being the settlement in Allegan County, where Gerrit Diekema (one of the founders of Holland) originally set up his homestead. Store that one in your brain for the next time local trivia comes up at The Curragh on Thursday nights!
Page 3 has a familiar name on an advertisement: Meyer's Music House, who are still operating on Lakewood Boulevard on the north side of town. Though, the ad lists 17 W. 8th St. as their address, which is the present (2020) location of White House Black Market. We got music and supplies from Meyer's Music when I played low brass in 6th and 7th grade band. There's a rather grewsome [sic] article about collected evidence and artifacts from the County's vault in the basement of the courthouse; weapons of death and dismemberment, presented in the courts of law in various legal proceedings.
Page 4 opens with an ad for First State Bank, which we know was robbed by Eddie Bentz a few years later. There seems to have been a coal shortage during this time, as it's mentioned that Allegan “just got a little coal and the Gas company for a few days will furnish its consumers with the necessary gas” on a limited schedule. Further down the page, it mentions that Byron Center had been without coal for 2 months.
Page 5 leads with “Final List Of Hero Dead Has Now Been Compiled,” detailing the fact that it took a year and a half after the end of combat in World War 1 to tabulate the casualties for Holland and Holland Township. There's also a small article about how Holland students worked with a state committee for the Rehabilitation Of France to send seeds to France, as they tried to recover from the incredible upheaval of the World War.
There's positive news on Page 6, where we read about Heinz adding a large bottling department, and Bush & Lane Pianos expanding production. Bush & Lane, of course, being the source of the big red thing on 32nd and Waverly. In 2020, if you're driving through Holland, and turn south off of 8th onto Fairbanks, you'll be driving through the campus of Hope College, and you won't be able to turn west again until 11th St. In 1920, the Holland City News detailed a plan to abandon the stretch of 9th St between Garretson Rd. and Fairbanks Ave.
Page 7 tells us how Millennials are killing manual transmissions – wait, no, that can't be right. This article is from 1920. There's an article discussing the Laursen Hydraulic Gear Shift, which makes driving “as easy as driving a boat,” because operating a gearshift with the awkward, old-fashioned manner makes driving difficult. Seems even The Silent Generation found operating a manual transmission to be clumsy, otherwise they wouldn't be championing this hydraulic-powered automatic shifting mechanism. And finally, throwing a little Blue Oval love, there's an ad for Holleman-De Weerd Auto Co, selling used Ford vehicles in Zeeland, Holland, and Byron Center.
Works Cited: Holland City News, "Holland City News, Volume 49, Number 22: May 27, 1920" (1920). Holland City News: 1920. 20. https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/hcn_1920/20
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