VJ Day

Although I didn't realize at the time what all the commotion was about, I remember the day Bridgman celebrated the surrender of Japan, ending World War Two. It was August 14, 1945.  I was just 4-1/2 years old on that warm Tuesday afternoon and was riding my tricycle on the sidewalk in front of our house on Maplewood. All at once the fire siren began wailing and the church bells started clanging. Soon the bleating of automobile horns joined the din, all sounds that I was familiar with but not on a simultaneous and continuous basis. Pretty soon the town's 1942 Chevrolet fire truck came down Maplewood with its siren blaring. There were half a dozen old men riding on the truck (I say old men because most all of the young men were still in the armed services) and one of them had a fire hose in his hands. As they raced by our house he pointed the nozzle at me and gave me a good dousing of cold water. This startled me and I jumped off my trike and ran into the house to report to my mother what had happened. She tried to explain what all the excitement was about, but I was too young to understand the concept of victory over the Japanese. Mom and I went back outside where neighbors in small groups up & down the street were excitedly discussing the event.

Uncle Bill Ackerman

Napalm Delivered by The Jug
By Thomas W. McCort

My first memories of my Uncle Bill began when he came home from the war in late 1945 after flying 89 missions in a Republic P-47 Fighter-Bomber. Uncle Bill was my mother's kid brother; he was 21 and I was 4. Next to my dad, he was from that time forward my only hero. Later, I became the envy of other boys in tiny Bridgman, Michigan when Uncle Bill joined the Air Force Reserves in the early 1950's. Flying out of Selfridge AFB near Detroit every weekend for several years, he and his pals would routinely treat the citizenry of Bridgman to a buzzing of their town; first in T-6's and P-51's, and later in F-80 jets. My friends refused to believe it was my uncle doing the flying until I gave them a personal introduction one day.

Several of us 11 & 12 year-olds happened to be trudging by his house one Friday afternoon just as he was leaving for a 'Weekend Warrior' stint at Selfridge. Apparently sensing my need to prove a point, Uncle Bill, nattily decked out in his captains' uniform, called us over and began a man-to-man discussion about flying. My buddies were thoroughly charmed by this and my credibility with them was instantly reinforced. He told us to watch for him the next day, giving the precise time, direction of approach, and the number of passes he would make. Well, following that Saturday's performance, which included some dandy aerobatics, there was never again a question among the gang as to who was flying the airplane.

As I grew to adulthood my association with Uncle Bill became more like that of best friends than that of typical uncle-nephew relationships. As time passed, the 17-year age difference seemed to narrow and we actually began viewing one another as contemporaries. But as close as we were, and try as I would, I could never get him to say much about his World War II combat experiences. Then, one winter afternoon a few years ago while helping him clean his attic, a sheaf of typewritten papers caught my eye. "Aw, that's nothing," he growled, when I asked what they were. Well, the papers turned out to be the debriefing summaries for each of the 89 missions he had participated in. Later, as we sipped whiskey in his family room, I began paging through these documents, kind of reading aloud under my breath when I'd come upon an interesting passage.

Feigning a lack of interest in my reading material, Uncle Bill got up, poked the fire and pretended to busy himself with other things in the room. But as I continued muttering through the narratives, he'd throw in an occasional tidbit like, "Oh yeah, that's when Homolka got his prop shot off by German ground fire, then crashed & burned; or, "That's when Mecklenburg got hit, bailed out, and spent the rest of the war as a POW; or, "Lemee see that.... yeah, that's when my gun cameras showed a confirmed hit on a ME-262, but the sumbitch outran me and got lost in the clouds before I could do him any serious damage."

Before the day ended, several whiskeys later, Uncle Bill flew all of those missions for me again, animating them with hand flying as if they had occurred last week. He had waited 50 years to blurt it all out.

While all of Uncle Bill's missions were fraught with danger and excitement, I have selected for the following story the one in which he and seven other volunteers attacked German anti-aircraft batteries at LaSpezia Harbor, on the northwest coast of Italy, deploying a then-new weapon, napalm.

Its massive power and heavy lifting capability made the Army Air Corps' Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, or Jug as it was called, a good choice for deploying the newly developed weapon, napalm, in the final stages of World War II, and Bridgman, Michigan native Bill Ackerman was in on the action. Ackerman was a 20 year-old 2nd Lieutenant when he arrived in Italy in October 1944 with the 27th Fighter-Bomber Group.

Constantly on the move, by January 1945 his 523rd Squadron was flying its P-47's out of a hastily-constructed airfield near Pontedore, Italy and Ackerman, now promoted to 1st Lieutenant with 30 missions under his belt, was among eight pilots who volunteered to make one of the first drops of napalm on enemy positions. Here is his story as he told it to me:

It was a real experience; the ground crew had worked all night fitting two large tanks to the racks on each plane which normally held 500-pound bombs. When we went out to the line I couldn't believe my eyes; the tanks were huge. As I recall they were P-38 drop tanks retrofitted for this purpose, each holding about 300 gallons of napalm and weighing around 2,000 pounds for a total load of about 4,000 pounds, far exceeding the airplane's design maximum bomb load of 2,500 pounds. The tanks were rigged-up Rube Goldberg style with ordinary hand grenades attached to them. The grenade pins were tethered to the bomb racks and would pull out automatically when we released the tanks at a pre-calculated altitude; this would cause the napalm to detonate at just the right moment over the target.

(side bar)
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, or JUG, as it was affectionately called by those who flew it, was a workhorse -- the largest, heaviest armored, most powerful single-engine fighter plane of the war. This aircraft and its pilots were called upon to perform a wide variety of tasks. From bomber escort duty with many air-to-air combat encounters, to low level strafing & bombing missions, the JUG turned in an exemplary performance. It was truly a juggernaut, thus the nickname. In a dive, with the throttle to the firewall and the 2,300 horsepower air-cooled Pratt & Whitney engine turning a huge four-blade propeller, it could reach speeds exceeding 500 miles per hour. Unlike Luftwaffe fighters, the JUG was designed to withstand the extreme G-forces of a last second pullout at those speeds.  Many German pilots were lured to their demise in pursuit of diving JUGS, learning only too late of their inability to pull out of a high-speed dive.  While German airmen eventually learned the folly of following JUGS into a dive, it wasn't always the case. Early on, many a P-47 pilot would sucker an opponent into a chase, nose his plane into a power dive, wait until the last moment before hauling back on the stick, then go screaming across the tree tops and back into the sky, as the hapless German augured in to his death.

In my estimation, just the act of getting off the ground was the most dangerous part of this mission. The P-47 was a very forgiving airplane, but in this case there was absolutely no margin for error. Any number of minor mechanical malfunctions, like a tire blowing out, or a slight miscalculation by the pilot, would have meant certain disaster. Eight of us were assigned to the mission in four flights of two planes. Because the strip was very narrow we had to take off one at a time, circle until all planes were at altitude, then join up in formation. I was the element leader of the second flight, which meant I would be third to take off.

Sergeant Foster looked me straight in the eye and said in his Texas drawl, "Sir, I doubt if you'll get this sumbitch off the ground."

As I hopped out of the jeep and strode quickly toward my plane I could see and hear some of the other Jugs warming up. Sergeant Burl W. Foster, my crew chief, was standing on the wing waiting for me. I detected an expression of total panic on his face as he buckled me into the cockpit. Finally, with dead seriousness, he looked me straight in the eye and said in his Texas drawl, "Sir, I doubt if you'll get this sumbitch off the ground." This unnerved me a little as the sergeant was a very knowledgeable technician and knew the mechanical limitations of the Jug as well as anyone. Not responding directly, I gave him a weak smile and said let's wind 'er up. Foster and another man stood ready with fire extinguishers as I let the inertia starter howl up to speed. Getting a 'thumbs-up' from Foster, I switched on the ignition and engaged the starter. Blue smoke and flames belched from the exhaust ports as the huge engine slowly turned over, coughing and backfiring before finally thundering to life.

When my turn came, I slowly taxied my Jug to the end of the strip and nosed her into the wind. I intended to use every inch of runway to build speed before attempting liftoff. There would be no second chance. With flaps set at 15 degrees and the prop at full pitch, I stood on the brakes and ran the engine up to maximum power. The Jug began doing a little dance -- all 2,300 horsepower straining to be released. I thought it's now or never, Ackerman; get off the brakes.                                              

The Jug began rolling, slowly at first, but with steadily increasing speed. My eyes darted back and forth from the runway to the air speed indicator... 35.... 40.....45 c'mon baby, 55.... 60.... faster... faster, 70.... 75 not much runway left, 85.... 100, end of runway coming up, 110.... 115. At 120 mph I pulled the stick into my lap just as the last few feet of runway disappeared under my wing and the Jug seemed to stagger as it barely clawed its way into the air.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I coaxed her along. . . . . .

I immediately raised the landing gear to cut drag as much as possible, but the control stick felt like it was in a bucket of mush as I wallowed out over the treetops, just above stall speed. Slowly, ever so slowly, I coaxed her along, gradually gaining speed and altitude. I finally reached 5,000 feet, leveledoff and began circling with the others, waiting for the five remaining planes to join us. Still at maximum power and full prop pitch, engine temperature was nearing the red line, so I eased back a little on both and let her cool down as we circled and waited.

Finally all of us managed to haul our overloaded jugs with their ungainly payloads into the sky. Forming up in pairs, we set a course for LaSpezia Harbor, the target's location about 60 miles distant. This harbor was on the Mediterranean in the northwest corner of Italy, just below the Appennine Mountains. A sizable German garrison was tenaciously holding the area, preventing Allied ships from off-loading fuel, ammunition and other sorely needed war materiel. They also had several anti-aircraft gun emplacements, the infamous 88's, to fend off Allied bombers. Our job was to destroy those gun positions; it was also calculated that the effects of a napalm attack would demoralize the German troops to an extent that they would totally abandon the area and retreat northward to their homeland.

Because the 88's were pointed almost vertically skyward to defend against the high-flying Allied heavy bombers, our strategy was to come in fast and low, from the side so to speak, dump our loads and beat it out of there before the Germans had a chance to crank their huge guns down to a trajectory that would be effective against us. It worked very well. About ten miles out we broke off in pairs and went into a fast shallow dive. Flattening out at less than 1,000 feet above our targets, we released the tanks and sped off toward the horizon without looking back.

The Germans never knew what hit them.

As we regrouped and headed back to base we could see the destructive results of our raid. Off in the distance bright orange flames were still covering the targeted area as columns of greasy black smoke rose hundreds of feet into the air. The Germans never knew what hit them.

Our single-file landings were uneventful, but I remember that my flying suit was wringing wet as Sergeant Foster, grinning like a chessie cat, helped me out of the cockpit. Normally after a mission we were required to head straight to a debriefing session; but this time we were driven tothe tent which served as our makeshift officers club, where we found eight double shots of whiskey lined up on the bar by order of our squadron commander, Major Robert Brown.

Ackerman went on to fly another58 missions, for a total of 89, all of them presenting highly dangerous situations. His fighter group relocated several times as they moved into France and it was the first to cross the Rhine into Germany where they flew their final missions of the war out of a captured German air base near Mannheim. He received several decorations and citations for his wartime service including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Six Oak Leaf Clusters.

Ackerman and some of his fellow pilots were on a short rest leave in Paris when they got word that hostilities had ceased. It was May 7, 1945 -- about a month short of his 21st birthday.

Mr. Ackerman passed away on May 26, 2006, just ten days short of his 82nd birthday.

Musings & Ramblings about Bridgman By Tom McCort

I am often asked how I came to have so much knowledge about Bridgman history. I will give most of the credit to my mother, Sarah Ackerman McCort. From the time I was a little boy I would listen to her tell about her great-grand parents, George and Sarah Cowls Bridgman, who came from Massachusetts to the western reaches of Lake Township in 1856, and how they and other pioneers eventually carved a thriving community out of the wilderness, which came to be called Bridgman.

 

George and Sarah Bridgman’s daughter (also named Sarah) was my mother’s Grandma Ackerman, and Mom remembered her well. She was her grandma’s namesake and perhaps her favorite grandchild. Mother would sit by the hour, listening intently as her grandmother recounted stories of the early days in Bridgman, and Mom passed these stories on to me. One of the tales that I found particularly fascinating was her grandma’s recollection of being a 16 year-old girl, sitting on the beach one Indian Summer evening in October of 1871 and observing a red glow in the western sky; it was the Great Chicago Fire. And later, as a 24 year-old young lady sitting in the Congregational Church one Sunday morning in 1880, when a young man passed her a note asking her hand in marriage. The young man was Frank Ackerman and they were indeed married the following year.

 

My mother’s tutelage was the beginning of how I came to be so interested in my ancestors and their connection with Bridgman history. But my curiosity didn’t stop there. My Grandpa Ackerman also filled me in on a lot of information, such as how he and other men would dam the creek and cut ice in the winter, store it in the icehouse, then deliver it by horse & wagon in the summer. Grandpa also told me how he got into the nursery business, a subject that I will cover in detail later.

 

By the late 1940s, when I had grown old enough to walk or ride my bike up town by myself, I found to my delight that there were still lots of old-timers milling around in the stores, barber shops and on the sidewalks of the village. When other boys my age were doing the things most pre-adolescent boys do, I could likely be found deeply engaged in conversation with the likes of Nate Shuler, Allie Chauncey, Charlie Myers and many others, all of them well into their 70s or 80s at that time.

 

These men were a wealth of information about early Bridgman, and they were so appreciative of my interest in the subject (probably because no one else had the time or desire to listen to them), that they were more than happy to share it with me. I remember in particular Nate Shuler telling me about the time that my great-great grandfather, Charles Ackerman, who was a blacksmith, shoed a horse for him. Afterwards Nate hitched up the horse and drove across a wooden bridge, whereupon the nails on all four shoes broke off, leaving the horseshoes lying on the bridge. When Nate reported this to Mr. Ackerman, he examined his stock of nails and found that an entire keg was defective – he could break them in half with his fingers, and he had to discard all of them. Of course he re-shod Nate’s horse with good nails free of charge.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed talking with all of these old-timers as a boy, but Nate Shuler was probably my favorite. In his declining years, after I had grown to adulthood and not long before his death, I would stop by his home on South Church Street and visit with him. He was bed-ridden by that time and close to100 years old, but his mind was still sharp as a tack and we had several more good conversations about early Bridgman.

 

The Beginnings

 

(Editor’s Note: To have a real appreciation for how the Bridgman area appeared before it was logged off 150 years ago, we recommend a visit to Warren Woods State Forest, which is administered by Michigan’s State Park Service. It is the last known stand of virgin beech-maple forest in southern Michigan containing outstanding individual specimens of sycamore, beech, maple, and other northern hardwoods. Located approximately halfway between Bridgman and Three Oaks, it is well worth a visit).

 

George Bridgman was no kid when he arrived here from Massachusetts. Born in 1813, he was 43 years-old when in the fall of 1856 he, along with Warren Howe and Charles F. Howe, formed the Charlotte Lumber Company and set up a large steam-powered sawmill near the present intersection of Lake Street and Red Arrow Highway. But he had a vision, and before his death in 1895 Mr. Bridgman had lived to see the heavily forested wilderness of western Lake Township evolve from that sawmill into the thriving farm community which bore his name.

 

To facilitate the logging and milling operation, and the shipment of the final product by schooner, Mr. Bridgman and the Howes built a pier into Lake Michigan. A narrow-gauge railway was constructed, running from the mill to the lake, along with several branches into the timber, about seven miles of track in all. The rolling stock included the engine and about 33 cars. The area around the mill came to be known as Charlotteville after the company and in honor of Mr. Howe's wife, Charlotte. A few years later, in 1861, the government established a postal designation for Lake Township, calling it Laketon, but people living around the mill still considered themselves residents of Charlotteville. (Editor’s Note: The federal census of 1870 listed the area as Charlotteville).

 

In 1863 the mill was destroyed by fire. Two other mills were erected on the same site and shared the same fate, the last one being consumed in 1870. Since most of the virgin timber had been harvested by that time, this last destruction of the mill prompted the Howes to move on to other pursuits.

 

Anticipating the eventual depletion of the timber, George Bridgman had wisely diversified his holdings during the 1860s, gradually acquiring several hundred acres of land east of the mill, including nearly all of the present-day downtown area. He and other residents began engaging themselves in the growing of fruit trees, grapes and berry plants. However, the market for their produce was limited to what they could sell regionally due to the lack of transportation to more highly populated areas.

 

In 1869 Mr. Bridgman entered into an agreement with the Chicago Michigan & Lakeshore Railroad, granting the company a right-of-way through his land. In return for that, along with a reliable supply of water for their locomotives, the railroad agreed to erect and maintain a depot to serve thearea. Mr. Bridgman then platted and recorded a village near the depot site. Laying of track was completed in 1870 and when the depot was erected in 1871, the railroad company assigned the name “Bridgman” to the stop. The post office designation was officially changed from Laketon to Bridgman that same year. Because the mill and associated lumbering activities had come to an end, Charlotteville faded and assimilated with Bridgman.

 

The coming of the railroad immediately opened the huge Chicago market for the orchard and farm products of Bridgman and other towns along the track. The ensuing years saw Mr. Bridgman and other growers ship thousands of tons of their produce to this virtually insatiable market.

 

The Advent of Bridgman’s Nursery Industry

 

In 1888, farmer and community leader Ozro Baldwin observed that a small patch of his red raspberries had produced an unusually large number of sucker plants between the rows that year, and he conceived the idea of advertising the plants in a little farm paper. Short of ready cash at the moment, he borrowed ten dollars from a friend and sent a three-line ad along with the ten-dollar bill to Wilmer Atkinson, editor of the Farm Journal, Philadelphia, Pa. In due time he received orders for all the plants. In the spring of 1889 he mailed out several hundred folders quoting prices on strawberry and cane plants. This was the beginning of a business that was destined to become a million-dollar industry in Bridgman.

 

As with all successful ventures, others followed in the business. The next year Mr. Baldwin's uncle, Addison Weston, along with Charles Whitten who owned the adjoining farm, started in the mail-order nursery business. Mr. Weston died soon after and his nephew, Frank L. Ackerman (who was George Bridgman's son-in-law), inherited the business. While Baldwin, Whitten and Ackerman came to dominate Bridgman's early nursery industry, many other Bridgman families entered the mail-order nursery trade as time went on. Among them were the Stahelins, Essigs, Dasses and Rokelys. The Rambo and Krieger families, though not in the retail & mail-order trade, operated very successful wholesale nurseries that still exist in Bridgman today.

 

Other enterprising farmers along the track from St. Joseph to New Buffalo entered the nursery business as well – the Emlongs in Stevensville, the Zilkes in Baroda, the Westhausers, Keiths and Knights in Sawyer and the Stromers in New Buffalo, just to name a few. But, the nurseries of Bridgman by far led the pack in terms of the annual number of catalogs mailed out and the volume of nursery stock shipped. Bridgman was indeed the epicenter of Michigan’s nursery industry for more than 75 years.

 

(A note from Tom: At this juncture I will focus on the Weston Nursery and the Ackerman Nursery which are, as you will see, actually one and the same business although it went through various partnerships and name changes. My great grandfather, my grandfather and my uncles were the successive owners and I am therefore familiar with the details. The history of Bridgman’s many other nurseries can be found in this book, written by descendants of the respective owners).

 

As mentioned before, in 1891 my great-grandfather Frank L. Ackerman inherited the Weston Nursery from his uncle, Addison Weston. So as not to confuse customers on the Weston mailing list, Frank continued to operate the nursery and publish its catalog under the Weston name rather than the Ackerman name. Frank’s son, Robert Weston Ackerman, joined his father in the business in 1907. They continued operating the business as the Weston Nursery until 1922 when the last Weston catalog was published. By this time Frank had essentially retired, and son Robert had assumed all the major responsibilities of running the business.

 

In 1923 Robert Ackerman joined with Messrs. O.A.D. Baldwin and R.C. Whitten in combining the Baldwin, Whitten and Weston nurseries into a new business venture called the Baldwin, Whitten & Ackerman Nurseries. Their offices & packing facility was located in the building later occupied by Pemco (now ICG Berrien), which still stands. In June of 1926 Mr. Ackerman and Mr. Whitten severed their connection with the Baldwins and formed the Whitten & Ackerman Nurseries. This enterprise continued successfully until 1939 when that partnership ended.

 

(Another note from Tom: When I was a youngster I asked Grandpa Ackerman why these various partnerships didn’t seem to work out. Without mentioning names and with absolutely no trace of malice in his voice, he kind of brushed off my question by saying that it just seemed like there were always too many guys sitting around the office wearing business suits and not enough guys out in the fields wearing bib overalls. As far as I know these business split-ups were amicable and all of the principal characters remained friends throughout the years).

 

The spring of 1940 saw the publication of the first Ackerman Nursery catalog. By that time Robert’s son, Robert Weston Ackerman, Jr. had been working with his father in the business for several years, and when Robert, Jr’s younger brother Bill came home from the war he, too, joined them in the business.

 

The war years were a great boon to the nurseries. People were earning a lot of money in war-related industry, but they had few places to spend it due to the shortage of goods. The production of automobiles, washing machines, refrigerators and other durable products had been suspended for the duration of the war. One commodity not in short supply was nursery stock, and folks spent large sums of money on the landscaping of their homes.

 

After the war, the returning veterans were marrying, building new houses and starting families at a record pace. It was the beginning of the baby boom, which lasted through the 1950s, well into the 60s. This bode well for the nursery industry because each new home required nursery stock for the landscaping. My Uncle Bill told me that during those years the Ackerman Nursery would typically send out 300,000 catalogs in the spring and another 200,000 in the fall. If you were to conservatively calculate that each catalog, on average, returned an order for just a dollar or two, you wouldn’t have to be a mathematical wizard to get a rough idea of annual cash flow – and that didn’t include income from the “walk-in” trade at the packing house and later at the garden center. That was a lot of jack sixty years ago. Come to think of it, that’s a lot of jack today.

 

The Ackermans built a new office complex in the early 1950s, and a few years later they were one of the first nurseries in Berrien County to conceive the idea of opening a garden center. These buildings are now occupied by the Southwestern Medical Clinic.

 

Grandpa Ackerman passed away in 1956, after nearly a half-century in the nursery business and almost exactly 100 years after his grandfather, George Bridgman, came to the area. His sons Robert and Bill continued in the business for many years. In the 1970s they developed and built Shawnee Mobile Home Park, at the time one of the most modern and attractive parks of its kind in Berrien County. Because this new venture consumed so much of their time and energy, they gradually exited themselves entirely from the nursery business.

Chronological History 1955 through 1956

 

1955      

First RCA 21 inch color TV set arrived at Bridgman Appliance Center in January. This set is the first of its kind in Berrien County.

 

Ice Skating Rink on American Legion property. Pemco and Castings Service donated lumber for a shelter.

 

Nylen Products moves office to Bridgman plant.

 

Bridgman Bees basketball team won the district championship. This was the thirteenth district win in 16 years.

 

Retired A & P Store Manager, John Riggle, died April 15, after his retirement. He had served as manager for 26 years.

 

Bridgman to have launderette in the Ward Baking Company building on Lake Street. Mr. And Mrs. John Horon will be the owners.

 

Dedication services were held at the Olivet Congregational Church for the newly remodeled church building and Diamond Jubilee (75th anniversary).

 

Cub Scout Pack 50 organized.

 

Bridgman Clinic opens with Dr. Robert J. Feldman M.D. and David D. Heath M.D. and Dale L. Smith D.D.S.

 

Mr. & Mrs. Sam Pollack open Garden Center one mile south of Bridgman on US 12.

 

Mr. William Ketelhut, former postmaster and Royal Blue Store owner for 19 years in Bridgman, died at the age of 64, July 31.

Citizen Telephone has dial equipment available for installing in Bridgman and Baroda area.

 

Ben Franklin store owned and operated by Jack and Bette Fuller. Grand Opening September 20 and October 1.

 

Bowling Green Lanes open at the Bowling Green Golf Course and Bowling Lanes.

 

1956

Immanuel Lutheran starts fund drive for new school in January.

 

R.W. Ackerman, Sr. dies. He was a life-long nurseryman in Bridgman.

 

Baroda, Bridgman and Stevensville plan trial petitions for merger of schools.

 

Lake Township organizes zoning board.

 

Cornerstone laid for new Christian Education School of Lutheran Church.

 

Williams Pharmacy to open June 1.

 

On November 9, Albert Chaunceys celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

 

In December Bridgman City Commission acts tobuild water filtration plant.

 

Bridgman Bank has 25th anniversary. Gus Knaak a member of original Board of Directors.

 

Petitions circulated for merger of Bridgman, Baroda, Stevensville plan in June.

 

In July, Dr. Sharp DDS starts practice with Dr. Smith.

 

Results of Bridgman voting in August – down “BBS” plan 4-1.

 

Congregational Church burned mortgage incurred September 1953.

 

High school renovated and modernized.

 

First FHA homes offered for sale in Bridgman.

Chronological History 1941 - 1954

1941    -- BRIDGMAN GOES TO WAR

 

Here’s some statistics: After war broke out, seven Bridgman boys went to Detroit to take the examination for the Naval Aviation Cadet Corps. Out of a group of 42 taking the exam, only seven of them passed and they were all from Bridgman. Several more boys joined the Army Air Corps, making a total of 12 pilots from Bridgman. Bridgman had 208 personnel on active duty at the close of the war. Eight men had been killed. There were15 nurses in the service and five more were taking training when the war ended. There were 40 commissioned officers ranging up to Brig. General, and eighty non-coms. Many of them were highly decorated for their service. None ever received a dishonorable discharge, and none ever refused to be drafted. Quite remarkable for a tiny Michigan community that, at the time, graduated only about 25 students per year from its high school. (Editor’s note: Much of the foregoing information was gleaned from the autobiography of Frederick C. Reed, Superintendent of Bridgman Public Schools, 1921-1951)

 

1945-46    -  Bridgman High School, Wins Class “C” Basketball State Championship.

 

1949    May 19  --  Bridgman makes plans to become a city, 150 citizens take preliminary steps to

                             change government.

          Sept. 13 --  261 votes were cast to see whether Bridgman should become a city. Out of the 261,

                             200 voted yes, 59 voted no, and 2 void.

                             A nine-man charter commission was elected:

                

                             Mead Beacraft

                             G.W.R. Baldwin

                             Russel Jennings

                             James Harris

                             Carl Bruener

                             Robert Gittersonke

                             Fred C. Reed

                             Harry Liskey

                             Chalmers Ackerman

 

          Dec. 22  -  Bridgman becomes a city.

 

1950      

U.S. Ground Forces land in Korea June 28.

Bridgman’s only casualty of Korean War – 2nd Lt. David Burwell killed in action Sept. 23.

1951  

Frederick C. Reed retires as Superintendent of Schools after 30 years of distinguished service.

1952   

Club Twenty was new name for the Junior Womens Club, formed on May 28. They followed

the format of the Senior Womens Club Group.

 

1953

Roy Rankin and Ray Ambler were awarded life membership to the Bridgman American

Legion Post 331 for long service to the organization.

 

Nylen Manufacturing Company considers site one mile south of city limits.

 

Bridgman organizations concerned about careless drivers speeding in the city. Legion Post 331 commander Frank Snyder urges drivers to cooperate in new child safety program.

 

Bridgman Theater to feature mountain lions Jerry and Lodi owned and trained by Ben Magavern at Navajo Post. The movie was entitled “Sequoia.”

 

Free movies at Bridgman Theater sponsored by the Bridgman Chamber of Commerce. Matinee and evening performances. Do your Christmas shopping and then stop off at the Bridgman Theater for a first run movie December 20-21-22-23 and also see Santa Claus.

 

Billman’s Flower Shop receives national praise for unusual way of advertising. They send out advertising on blotters with the telephone bills.

 

1954 

“Mogambo” showing at Bridgman Theater with Clark Gable and Ava Gardner January 22, 23, 24.

 

Olivet Congregational Church rebuilt from shell of old church with a new furnace installed also.

 

Reck Motor Sales, Inc. opened in the former Charles Reck Chevrolet Garage and were selling Chrysler and Plymouth. The buildings were extensively remodeled.

 

Memorial services were held for Lonnie Hora who died of polio at age 15.

 

Wright’s Style Shop has opening sales for womens apparel  -  shoes $3.90 a pair and leather and suede purses $2.70 each. Owned by Harley Wright.

 

New clothing store opens called Bridgman Clothing Center for men and boys.

 

Nylen Products, Inc. will open soon on U.S. 12.

 

Gemar Store opens on U.S. 12 and Lake Street featuring home made candies.

 

Mrs. Agnes Minturn, High School Home Economics teacher, awarded scholorship from Red Cross chapter. This scholorship will qualify her to teach home nursing to the high school students.

 

Bridgman Womens Club won “State Club of the Year.”

 

Ollie Metcalf opens “The Bee Hive” formerly Brady’s Coffee Shop.

 

Emil Machan sells barber shop to Adolf Ruff. Mr. Machan was in the barber shop since 1927. Located on Lake Street.

 

Mac’s Drive-Inn opens on U.S. 12. They also have the M & E Motel right along side of the Drive-In.

 

Rev. Harold A. Ott acceps call to missions for Central and South America. He was pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church for 12 years.

 

Blossom Shop opens on U.S. 12 across from Wildwood Estates. Owned by Barbara Fleming.

 

Gaul’s General Repair Shop located three miles north of Bridgman stop light. With ten years experience, Leo Gaul will be well qualified.

 

Pastor Theodore Stolp accepts call to Bridgman Immanuel Lutheran Church in September.

 

Three flasher lights purchased to be placed on posts near high school and Lutheran School cautioning drivers to slow down because of school crossings.

 

Arthur Kretlow will give dancing lessons sponsored by American Legion Post for local children.

 

Bridgman Appliance Center opens November 26. Purchased by Edward Gast. Frank Snyder will be manager.

 

Roy Anderson retires from DX Service Station on corner of Lake Street and U.S. 12. Hehas been in business 27 years. Will continue Greyhound and South Shore Bus station office on Lake Street.

 

Chronological History 1932 - 1939

1932 -  Bank that closed now has permission to pay 10% dividend.

Receiver Gore hands out $27,000 to savings depositors.

 

Telephone companies to merge. Bruner buys out English in move toward consolidation.

 

George C. Bridgman Republican nominated for Sheriff.

 

Village roads put in shape by local booster club.

            

Plans under way to make Bridgman a resort center – Booster Club.

 

W.K. Mathieu local Foundry head, passes away.

 

1933      Mar. 16 – Bridgman Farmers Exchange to open for business.

May  18 – Bridgman will have a modern fruit market. Adolf Spitzer, manager.

Feb. 6  -- Bridgman Strawberry Plant Capital of World. Farmers sell plants wholesale to                   nurseries.

Zeppelin seen in Bridgman.

 

1936    Former sheriff George C. Bridgman dies.

 

1937    Aug. 13 – Vandercook Band sponsered by business builders in place of wrestling and boxing

 bouts every Friday night.

 

 Bridgman to have dry goods store – Bushmann’s.

 The village farms along the line will be supplied with electric current. Power furnished

 from Buchanan.

 Local foundry makes casting to be shipped to London, England. Shaping propeller

 blades on large ocean liners. They are 17 feet in diameter and weigh 30 tons.

 Blizzard grips community area. About 20 people who went to the theater had to

 remain all night.

 Centennial Year of the State of Michigan.

 

1938

May 9 – J.N. Klock provided capital to start a new bank in Bridgman.

Sep. 3 – Henry Backus buried alive for 5 days in black coffin. Main event for 7th annual Fall Festival.

 

1939-- Book Drive gets 440 books.

Chronological History of Bridgman through 1929

(Editor’s note: The Sociology Class at Bridgman High School compiled a chronological history of the Berrien County & Bridgman-Lake Township Area (1800 to !949) as part of an Educational and Community survey conducted in 1949. Irving Cutler was the teacher and the following students helped in its production:  Harold D’Agostino, James Jasper, Wanda Johns, Henry Kading, James Kostka, Miriam Magavern, Joseph Rambo, Martha Rutkowske, Emily Svorec, Shirly Svorec, Donna Welch, Maynord White.

 

Marilyn Roth, Head Librarian of the Bridgman Public Library, compiled the period of 1950 through 1975.

 

The following historical time-line (1856 to 1956) borrows heavily from that manuscript, and the editors of this book wish to thank the original authors).

 

1856 – George Bridgman, Warren Howe and Charles F. Howe formed the Charlotte lumber Company in Lake Township and built a large steam saw-mill in section 19, at a cost of $20,000 with a railway to the lake, and several branches into the timber, in all about 7 miles of track. Thirty-three cars, 70 men employed and a locomotive, the “John Bull.”

 

Settlement around the mill named Charlotteville after the company and in honor of Mr. Howe’s wife, Charlotte. The main street then was what is now Baldwin Road. The schoolhouse stood on the location now occupied by Bridgman Psychological Services.

 

1860 – Abraham Lincoln elected President.

 

1861 - Post Office established with the name of Laketon, but 10 years later the name was changed to Bridgman.

 

The Civil War begins.

 

1863 – The Charlotte Lumber Company was destroyed by fire; two other mills were erected on the same site and shared the same fate.

 

1865 – Lincoln Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

 

The Civil War ends.

 

1868 – Peach trees destroyed by the “yellows.”

 

1869 – George Bridgman grants right-of-way through his land to the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore R.R. In exchange for this, Rail Road Co. agrees to erect & maintain depot.

 

1870 – Village near future depot site laid out and recorded by George Bridgman.

 

Feb. 2 – Grand celebration at St. Joseph in honor of the completion of the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore R.R. between New Buffalo and St. Joseph.

 

1871    -- 

Rail Road Company completes construction of the depot and assigns it the name “Bridgman.”

 

Post Office designation changed from Laketon to Bridgman. Charlotteville fades due to depletion of timber and defunct saw-mill. Eventually some Charlotteville buildings, including the Odd Fellows Hall, are moved a half mile east to Bridgman.

 

Red glow can be seen across the lake at night – The Great Chicago Fire.

 

1873 – Bridgman’s Business Directory:

Isaac Hathaway – Supervisor of Lake Township.

Thomas F. Doker – Carpenter, joiner and contractor.

George Maisner – Proprietor of Mineral Springs House.

Traver and Seeker – Dealers in drugs, medical oil, paints, varnish, dry stuffs, etc.

C. F. Seeker – Surgeon and Physician, all calls attended to promptly, day or night.

Oliver P. Miller – Justice of the Peace for Lake Township.

L. Kiefer – General Blacksmith.

C.M. Smith – Dealers in Groceries.

Dr. S. Maudlin – Medical Advisor.

 

1879 – Congregational Church organized.

 

1881 – Year of the Big Blizzard.

 

1888 – Ozro Baldwinadvertises raspberry plants in Farm Journal.

 

1889 – Ozro Baldwin sends out several hundred folders quoting prices on various fruit plants – the beginning of Bridgman’s nursery industry.

 

1890 – A.R. Weston and C.E. Whitten start in the nursery business. Mr. Weston dies soon after and his nephew, F.L. Ackerman, inherits the Weston Nursery.

 

1893 – Chicago and West Michigan R.R. local train makes all stops between St. Joseph and New Buffalo except Harbert and Union Pier, where it stops only when flagged.

 

1894 – County Seat moves from Berrien Springs to St. Joseph.

 

1905 – Value of Berrien County fruit crop $2,000,000.

 

1920      Feb. 20 - New High School proposed.

Mar. 11 – Area Boy Scouts organized.

Apr. 4 – Businessmen club organized.

Apr. 7 – Canning Company ready to build.

Apr. 8 – Booster Club organized.

Jun. 24 – New foundry now running.

Aug. 26 – George C. Bridgman Jr. for Sheriff.

Dec. 23 – Local fire squad being organized. Bridgman newspaper started.

 

1921      Jan. 6 – Small fire at school.

Feb. 24 –Consolidation of rural schools.

Aug. 11 – New theater under way.

 

1922      Mar. 22 – New  Broom Factory for Bridgman, A.F. Thiels owner.

May 31 – Chicago Advertising Council visited.

Jun. 7 – Three nurseries consolidate, O.A.D. Baldwin, C.E. Whitten & Son and A.R. Weston.

              Silver Fox farm – new industry.

Jul. 26 – O.A.D. Baldwin home scene of big fire, $22,000 loss.

 

1927      Jan. --  New road to connect Tower Hill with U.S. 12.

Jun. --  Work starts on Knaak Building.

 

1928      – Four-lane highway passes through Bridgman.

Mar. 28 – Bridgman High School is Class D State Champions of Basketball.

 

1929   Feb. 7 -- $43,000 worth of High School Bonds sold at interestof 4 ½ % and premium of                                                                                  

                          $181.00. Grand Rapids Trust Company wins bid to build new addition to school over         

                          10 other companies.

           Mar. 7 – Mathieu & Sons Foundry to build 60 X 240 addition on north end of present plant.

           Mar. 21 – Chauncey & Baldwin sell business to G.A. Zick.

            Jul. 3 – First talking pictures in theater.

           Jul. 28 – Judge George W. Bridgman dies at 85.

           Aug. 15 – Bridgman votes to have waterworks.

           Nov. 21 – Bridgman Women’s Club organized.