Coldwater High School - Cardinal Yearbook (Coldwater, MI)

Page 17 text:

A gift from Hon. Edwin R. Clarke, the Coldwater Public Library was dedicated on Dec. 29, 1886. Today it is a source The opening night, when all the world is a stagef' B. S. Tibbits of Coldwater believed in the theatre and erected an Opera House in 1882. The initial performance was given on September 21 of the same year in the form of the play Maid of Arran. Many years of many perform- ances followed and vaudeville and slapstick gave hours of enjoyment to the spectators. A few years ago the building was condemned by the fire rulings and the theatre was hammered shut and closed. Only recently in 1960 the Coldwater Players bought the Opera House and revived the glitter of the stage in its first play '4House on a Cliff. Now the building is being used for many civic performances and the dream of B. S. Tibbits restored again. I3 of much information and enjoyment, housing volumes of phi- losophy, the classics, best sellers, and reference material- thousands of printed pages that spell relief, amazement, knowl- edge, or quiet contentment. ll X sql: .mgrxny 1 w w W ' ' w:.r5q ' ' ,H ll: . L. . , W- EF ,, p jfpp ,tw .,rr,r , p yfzrgyrg. 1, MN- , -4 December 10, 1850, the iron horse made his initial appear- ance in the village of Coldwater. Soon more steel, smoke, coal and friction passed and the whistle of a long train was heard on schedule quite often. Now the trains pass with such speed, such strength and such haughtiness that the iron horse no lon- ger demands the turn of the head or the wave of a hand.

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Horses we-re hitched . . . dogs sent home . . . children laughing and scream- ing ranged from ages 5 to 18 or 19 . . . one teacher for all grades, all subjects, all individual needs . . . this, the make- up of a country school house. Built in 1888 this traditionally red brick build- ing, now vacant from students and in- structo-rs alike, stands as a symbol for the frontier phase of learning that has now advanced to the m o d e r n school housing equipment unheard of at the turn of the century and housing more students and many more teachers. W .ii ,A Mmm WN 1 , 1 im.. , 4 ,wr emma un H u'.f1,.L'2. 1 it ,w A Century Of Education Erected in 1861, the same year as the village of Coldwater became a township, the Central or Union High School consisted of 13 rooms, was three stories high. The rooms were high, the stairways were long, and by the time students attained the third floor it was time to rest. Nearly thirty years later the edu- cational building was destroyed by fire while it was fortunately unoccupied. Only five months after the Central School house was obliterated, the city voted to build a new edu- cational structure which is still standing in the form of the Lincoln Elementary School. It was completed in structure one year and a month after the votes were cast. Union High School Lincoln School

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Withdraw or deposit? With the new surge of industry and private enterprise, more money was circulated and eventually much was banked. This man seems reluctant to leave his funds. From the clothing, the classic spittoon and other items the picture was probably taken when people still re- garded the cookie jar as safer. Coldwater's State street as it probably looked in the late 19th Century. The horse-drawn buggy, wooden harvest rakes, and gravel road seem to place this picture in an era few can remember. Industry crept in to early Coldwater in many forms and sizes. The Johnson Cooperage estab- lished in 1868 by Mr. Charles W. Johnson grew from a small plant to a factory that covered over five acres of ground. Now extinct, it capitalized at i'615,000. G lk I + ,f ga . ...gn I 'r.. , Xi - t at 1 at 1, f f' mg. ' E ah l Q ii ,-i',' 3-4?-..'.,lQ.i n-'fi?ff iwW ., 'wc . 'E ' 'I ' by 1-eh I, f SHI ,Q L And of course, politics . . . with the N . ' N' 1 .ist Z -t 17. ' ' ',f . . . Q lf-lp? B51 2 llolffglffl iff,-1-Q-slr sfffpe fag, l .3 'lf' fe ' ' rowth of a v1llage to a Clty comes the ad- .-'5vg- 1' ,1 ii..i mfoc.--x fl-5, l V , g , , pi A 1 ' fi ff? f . ,Q f-.fish rg- HM, H h 7 F, vancement and improvement of 1ts govern- , 71 5461 ,L ffiihfr 'UQ 'F'- . 4 h h ,, .- - ment. D u r 1 n g lVlcK1nley's campaign, 1n f ,I-335,55 SWR- -' ff . , ',,,- E 9. ' , ' ' t L7:'..T7r-7I 0' I . 5 5 iff: ifzllvxfl M. xa ftxx 5 H' 1896, Coldwater's Republican Party made my 1 V tgp- ' I ' ft!!-I' I Y.i'f+U: ' A l 1 certain that their candidate would not be T 1 ,.,. go it A .' P ti' . Oiverlwked- T 1 T if 35- L i p ? A -.