2011

Revisting the main 4 corners

Each room at the museum is hosting a different Bridge and Jefferson street corner.

On the present PNC Bank or SE corner did you know there was a hotel for many years? That Mickey Maguire and several others ran gas stations? That Brooks Furniture preceded the banks? That the Jefferson Street side housed the early Post Office, restaurants, bars and dry cleaners? That Drs. Stanka, Bell, Baribeau, Johnson attorney Don Richardson and J. Riley Oles Insurance occupied the second floors?

Many people remember the Funtukis family Blue Bird Cafe on the NE corner. We show one of the original stained glass windows. There were drug stores, C. A. Smith and Kroger groceries, Western Auto, a telephone company also. Then later a new building for Michigan National Bank was built and now is "Imagine This" Church.

The NW corner was known as the D & C 5 & 10 for many years. On display is the candy counter that Esther Haueter manned for 42 years. The D & C we remember was originally three stores. On the corner was George Sheets Clothier, Economy Clothing and Lines 5 & 10. The center store always housed shoe stores -- Spencer, Hall, Byington and Smith. We are lucky to be able to display a 4 x 6 foot photo of Streeter's early grocery store in the northern 1/3 of the building. MacDowell's Fireplace & Flower Shop now occupy the corner.

Drug stores were always on the SW corner until CanCun Mexican Food moved in a few years ago. We recognize the names -- Babcock, Campbell and Chappell, Mac's and Funtukis Pharmacies. The early drug stores only occupied one half of the building. The other one half housed Simons and A & P grocery stores. Next door were hardware stores -- Colville, Knickerbocker and Winnie's, later Michigan Paint Store. On the back of the building was an early telephone office, Kuhn's Shoe Repair, a print shop

The exhibit is open on Sundays between 2 and 4 p.m., and on festival days from 12 noon to 4 p.m. The museum is also open by appointment for tours for school groups and bus tours can be arranged by calling (517) 627-5170.