By Ruth A. Ringelstetter
The U.S. Coast Guard first took its name 100 years ago in January of 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service. The Revenue Cutter Service was founded in 1790 as the Revenue Marine, and the U.S. Life-Saving Service had been founded in 1878. This makes 2015 the 225th anniversary of what was the beginnings of the U.S. Coast Guard.
In 1939, the Coast Guard absorbed the Lighthouse Service which had been founded in 1789. In 1946, the Coast Guard absorbed the Maritime Service which had roots back to the Steamboat Inspection Service, formed in 1838. What a history the Coast Guard has!
In 2007, Joann and I took a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan and visited the historic town of Glen Haven. One of the historic areas of Glen Haven is the Sleeping Bear Point Life Saving Station, which was built in 1901. Its purpose was to save the lives of passengers and crews of ships in distress in the Manitou Passage.
There were 60 such stations along the Great Lakes and many more along the Atlantic Coast. The first keeper of the Sleeping Bear Point station was Captain William Walker of Grand Haven. He brought along a six man crew and his family.
The location of the Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station was more exposed to wind and waves than any other station on the Great Lakes, which made it difficult to launch the rescue boats. In December of 1914, about 20 acres of land at Sleeping Bear Point slumped into Lake Michigan. The same thing happened again in 1971. These events changed the shoreline and made it even more difficult to launch the rescue boats, but the biggest problem was drifting sand. The sand threatened to bury the Life Saving Station buildings.
In 1931, the station and other buildings were moved east to their present location. A system of rollers, track, and cables was constructed, and horses were used to pull the buildings over them to the present location. After this move, the station became an “eyes and ears” operation. This meant that they patrolled the shore and relayed communications but rescues were left to a motorized boat stationed at South Manitou. The station closed in May of 1944.
Today you can visit the Maritime Museum to see how the captain and his crew lived, and learn about the rescue boats and equipment that was used.
If you visit Sleeping Bear Dunes, make a side-trip to Glen Haven to see the historic buildings.
And a big thank you to all of the current and past Coast Guard members for your service to our country during times of peace and war.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
Shunpiking To Heaven Backroads Blog
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Ghost Signs – Selz Royal Blue Shoes
By Ruth A. Ringelstetter
A ghost sign is an old advertising sign that was hand-painted on the side of a building. Many of these signs are from the 1890’s to the 1960’s. If they have been exposed to the elements for the entire time, they are often very, very faded and hard to read. Painters of these signs were called “wall dogs.”
Some people might prefer today’s modern, digital signs, but Joann and I usually find them annoying and distracting. We much prefer the simpler, old-time painted signs. Future blogs will focus on some of the other ghost signs we have found in our travels.
Some towns also have these old painted wall signs that have been restored, as the sign below, in Iowa, was. It’s nice that the repainted sign is legible, but preservationists are now recommending that the original signs be preserved using new products rather than repainting the signs.
Selz Shoes was a Midwest brand of shoes which had its beginnings in Chicago. The company was founded by Morris Selz in 1871. By the beginning of the twentieth century, they had multiple factories around the Chicago area employing about 1,500 workers, and making 12,000 pairs of shoes per day.
Sometime in the history of the company, the word “Royal” was added to the brand name. Supposedly, this is because the company had been commissioned to make a pair of dancing shoes for Queen Elizabeth when she was young.
Several years ago, in Kahoka, MO., the brick of an old building failed, and the building was demolished. This demolition uncovered a pristine Selz Royal Blue Shoes ad. I planned this as a stop on our spring trip this year.
Unfortunately, shortly before we left, I stumbled on a new picture showing the sign and a new building that had been built just several feet from the old wall ad. Bummer!
Joann and I discussed it, and decided that we should still go and see what we could get for photographs. How often would we have the opportunity to see an original sign in pristine condition?
Selz Shoes had several slogans over the years. One was “The Sole of Honor” as shown on the close-up above, and another was “Selz Shoes Make Your Feet Glad”.
At the height of sales, Selz shoes were sold in almost 20,000 stores. The company was a leader in the shoe trade until the Great Depression. At that time, shoe sales fell, and they were forced to close the factories.
On our way home this spring, we came into a small town in Illinois and noticed a very faded $3.50 and $4.00 sign on the side of an old brick building. Now that we’ve seen multiple Selz Shoes ghost signs, we knew this was originally a complete Selz ad, and now was only a partial ghost sign.
In researching the company for these photos and this blog, we found that the old signs we had photographed in Illinois in 2012 had been repainted. We might travel through again on another trip and take pictures of the restored ads.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into ghost signs. Look forward to more posts about other companies’ painted wall ads.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
A ghost sign is an old advertising sign that was hand-painted on the side of a building. Many of these signs are from the 1890’s to the 1960’s. If they have been exposed to the elements for the entire time, they are often very, very faded and hard to read. Painters of these signs were called “wall dogs.”
Some people might prefer today’s modern, digital signs, but Joann and I usually find them annoying and distracting. We much prefer the simpler, old-time painted signs. Future blogs will focus on some of the other ghost signs we have found in our travels.
Some towns also have these old painted wall signs that have been restored, as the sign below, in Iowa, was. It’s nice that the repainted sign is legible, but preservationists are now recommending that the original signs be preserved using new products rather than repainting the signs.
Selz Shoes was a Midwest brand of shoes which had its beginnings in Chicago. The company was founded by Morris Selz in 1871. By the beginning of the twentieth century, they had multiple factories around the Chicago area employing about 1,500 workers, and making 12,000 pairs of shoes per day.
Sometime in the history of the company, the word “Royal” was added to the brand name. Supposedly, this is because the company had been commissioned to make a pair of dancing shoes for Queen Elizabeth when she was young.
Several years ago, in Kahoka, MO., the brick of an old building failed, and the building was demolished. This demolition uncovered a pristine Selz Royal Blue Shoes ad. I planned this as a stop on our spring trip this year.
Unfortunately, shortly before we left, I stumbled on a new picture showing the sign and a new building that had been built just several feet from the old wall ad. Bummer!
Joann and I discussed it, and decided that we should still go and see what we could get for photographs. How often would we have the opportunity to see an original sign in pristine condition?
Selz Shoes had several slogans over the years. One was “The Sole of Honor” as shown on the close-up above, and another was “Selz Shoes Make Your Feet Glad”.
At the height of sales, Selz shoes were sold in almost 20,000 stores. The company was a leader in the shoe trade until the Great Depression. At that time, shoe sales fell, and they were forced to close the factories.
On our way home this spring, we came into a small town in Illinois and noticed a very faded $3.50 and $4.00 sign on the side of an old brick building. Now that we’ve seen multiple Selz Shoes ghost signs, we knew this was originally a complete Selz ad, and now was only a partial ghost sign.
In researching the company for these photos and this blog, we found that the old signs we had photographed in Illinois in 2012 had been repainted. We might travel through again on another trip and take pictures of the restored ads.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into ghost signs. Look forward to more posts about other companies’ painted wall ads.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Brief Encounters - Happy Days Dairy Bar
By Joann M. Ringelstetter
In May of 2013, on a photography trip to the beautiful state of Ohio, we drove through the small village of Bethel. On the outskirts of town, we passed a brightly colored drive-in called the Happy Days Dairy Bar. And out by the street was a statue of a hot dog squirting ketchup and mustard on himself. So we pulled over and I grabbed my camera to take a picture of this silly hot dog.
As I snapped my pictures, the owner came out and explained that the drive-in was recently renovated and they were hoping to open for the summer season. He told me how he had acquired the hot dog statue and also the vintage car driven by Elvis that was adorning the front of the building. I wished him good luck with his new business and we went on our way.
A quick Google search today revealed that the drive-in had some bad reviews in 2013 and their Facebook page now says, “Permanently Closed.” Hopefully, this wonderful little drive-in will get new owners (or maybe it already has) because it would be a shame to lose this nostalgic drive-in.
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
In May of 2013, on a photography trip to the beautiful state of Ohio, we drove through the small village of Bethel. On the outskirts of town, we passed a brightly colored drive-in called the Happy Days Dairy Bar. And out by the street was a statue of a hot dog squirting ketchup and mustard on himself. So we pulled over and I grabbed my camera to take a picture of this silly hot dog.
As I snapped my pictures, the owner came out and explained that the drive-in was recently renovated and they were hoping to open for the summer season. He told me how he had acquired the hot dog statue and also the vintage car driven by Elvis that was adorning the front of the building. I wished him good luck with his new business and we went on our way.
A quick Google search today revealed that the drive-in had some bad reviews in 2013 and their Facebook page now says, “Permanently Closed.” Hopefully, this wonderful little drive-in will get new owners (or maybe it already has) because it would be a shame to lose this nostalgic drive-in.
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
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