An update on Chapman School – and request for other ‘old’ pics

It’s long been a belief of mine that photos and stories about area residents from years ago are among the most well-read – and popular – items in this publication.

That idea was reinforced in the two weeks following the appearance in the Jan. 22 issue of students at Chapman School. Jean Schultz provided the photo of the students, taken in 1927 or 1928, with the hope of finding out the names of several unidentified students.

It didn’t take long for Jean to get answers to her query.

"You just wouldn’t believe the number of people who called about it, or were talking about the picture," the Bengal Township lady said in a telephone conversation the week after the photo first appeared.

Maybe it was just a case of nothing to do on cold wintry days – or maybe people really do like to play detective on this sort of puzzle – but Jean was pleased to find the names of the unknown students. We are reprinting the photo on page 3 of this issue with the complete set of names.

Jean gave credit to several Chapman School alumna and a former teacher to the satisfactory conclusion of the ‘name quest.’ Doris (Rossow) Mohnke and Brownie (Berlin) Locher, both of whom are shown in the picture, provided information about their classmates, as did Celia Maxwell who taught at the school.

The appearance of the photo also prompted former students to recall other interesting tidbits about the school. One former teacher at the school had the distinction of being a survivor of the Bath School bombing that occurred in 1927. Jean said she was told that Cora Holbert was a teacher at Bath on that tragic day.

"Students at Chapman School said they remember how a loud noise would startle her and make her jump," Jean said.

The class picture also resulted in a very interesting email being delivered to my ‘in’ basket from a gentleman requesting a copy of the photo. John Slagh, owner of Toy Village in Lansing, saw the photo that included someone who played a special part in his life in later years.

"My mother remarried Dow Gillison, a student in the photo," John wrote." Dow worked at our business, Toy Village, for many years before he passed away. I would dearly love to purchase a quality reprint of this photo that we could frame and hang in our store.

"Dow was always very proud of St. Johns, and we were always very proud of our Dow. He worked at Toy Village for 17 years before he passed away. He loved people and friends and his grandkids, Dan, Shari, John, Mike, and Chris, They will always remember their fun-loving Grandpa for his holiday humor, such as, at the Thanksgiving table, "Would you like some punk-inna-pie?" His high-school chums will remember Dow as one of the first teens to own an auto. He loved to take his second wife, Betty, dining and dancing in New York City during the Annual Toy Fair."

We’re working on getting the photo reprint for Toy Village – I’ll bet it will have a place of honor at the store.

Seeing the picture of the Chapman School students has sparked an idea that might be of interest to other area residents. There certainly are lots more ‘old’ pictures of students from other schools stored away in attics across Clinton County. Why not share some with our readers and us? You can drop photos off at the Clinton County News office, 310 N. Clinton Ave., St. Johns, or email photos to rwestfall@voyager.net

On a personal note, I’d very much like to have access to photos from Hill School and Pratt School from the same late 1920s time period. As noted in a previous column, my dad, Clemens Kloeckner attended Hill School – that, like Chapman School, was also located on Centerline Road on the Riley-Bengal Township line. My mother, Marcella Kloeckner, walked from her home on Forest Hill Road across the field to Pratt Road School, located at that time about a half-mile west on Pratt Road.

A thorough search of the attic has yielded no photos from either school – I would love to have one if some nice reader out there is willing to share their treasures.

Looking at old photos and gathering information on the faces in the pictures – I can’t think of a better way to spend a cold February day.

Thanks, in advance, for your help.