Hunting, Riding, and Driving
Teamster's Coat
Used by a Midwife, Carlshend
Fur was a practical material for winter clothing. This practical coat is made from bear fur. You can imagine the midwife traveling by a horse drawn sleigh in the middle of winter to attend births throughout her community.
Deerskin Gloves
Ruth Frimodig Cole (1910-2010)
Ruth Cole made these deerskin gloves in the 1940s although they were rarely worn. Ruth’s brother David “Mac” Frimodig (1922-1995) is thought to have shot the deer that she used. Ruth married Eugene Cole, a chemist at Cliffs Dow. The couple raised four children in Marquette. Ruth was involved in the community in several organizations including 4-H and Girl Scouts. She enjoyed pressing flowers, was a talented seamstress, and worked at Wolffs Sewing Center.
Mac worked for the Michigan DNR including as the regional information officer. He was involved in the Marquette County Historical Society and wrote illustrated humorous stories for its quarterly publication, Harlow’s Wooden Man.
Lynx Muff
Trapped by Henry Blemhuber (1835-1914)
Henry moved to Marquette in 1859. Henry was a pioneer in agriculture in Marquette with a farm that grew to 400 acres, near Grove Street. Not happy to settle for only growing potatoes in the Upper Peninsula, he and his son Robert experimented with different types of produce.
Lynx may have been considered a nuisance on the Blemhuber farm. It was trapped in 1890 and made into the muff in 1915, not long after Henry Blemhuber passed away.
Used by a Midwife, Carlshend
Fur was a practical material for winter clothing. This practical coat is made from bear fur. You can imagine the midwife traveling by a horse drawn sleigh in the middle of winter to attend births throughout her community.
Deerskin Gloves
Ruth Frimodig Cole (1910-2010)
Ruth Cole made these deerskin gloves in the 1940s although they were rarely worn. Ruth’s brother David “Mac” Frimodig (1922-1995) is thought to have shot the deer that she used. Ruth married Eugene Cole, a chemist at Cliffs Dow. The couple raised four children in Marquette. Ruth was involved in the community in several organizations including 4-H and Girl Scouts. She enjoyed pressing flowers, was a talented seamstress, and worked at Wolffs Sewing Center.
Mac worked for the Michigan DNR including as the regional information officer. He was involved in the Marquette County Historical Society and wrote illustrated humorous stories for its quarterly publication, Harlow’s Wooden Man.
Lynx Muff
Trapped by Henry Blemhuber (1835-1914)
Henry moved to Marquette in 1859. Henry was a pioneer in agriculture in Marquette with a farm that grew to 400 acres, near Grove Street. Not happy to settle for only growing potatoes in the Upper Peninsula, he and his son Robert experimented with different types of produce.
Lynx may have been considered a nuisance on the Blemhuber farm. It was trapped in 1890 and made into the muff in 1915, not long after Henry Blemhuber passed away.
Queen City Cams Jacket
Bruce Closser In 1960 a few teens were driving, attempted to “drift” around a corner, and hit a mailbox. With the encouragement of their fathers, they formed a car club, The Queen City Cams. The founding members were Bob Berryman, Bruce Closser, Gary Kropp, and Bill Bryant. They promoted safe driving. Club members helped motorists with problems like flat tires and being stuck in the snow. They met regularly and competed for points through car safety checks, with deductions for traffic violations and profanity at club meetings. Today Bruce is a retired appraiser and he still is enjoying some speed on his mountain bike or cross country skis. |
Touring Coat or Duster
Jessie Maitland Sporley circa 1910 Everett Sporley Estate (1889-1966) Who wore this coat? It was donated by the Everett Sporley Estate. I assume it was worn by a woman. Everett Sporley was born in Negaunee to Charles and Jessie Maitland Sporley. He had a younger brother, Charles. His father was the superintendent of the poor. Everett never married nor did he have a sister. Everett would have been a young man when cars first appeared on the road in the 1910s and 20s. When Everett died he lived at 202 Peck Street in Negaunee. His family had lived there since circa 1912, so items may have come from his parents. Everett worked with the mines for the Michigan Inspection Bureau. This photo also came from the Everett Sporley Estate and was identified by John Maitland, a descendent of Alexander Maitland in 1987. Jessie is in the back seat, with her husband, Charles behind her. Rose Maas is also in the back seat. Jessie’s elderly father, John, is in the front next to a young driver who wears a touring coat and leather driving gloves. The steering wheel is on the right side of the car. The young man standing is Everett Sporley. The women have their hats wrapped to protect them while riding. It looks like one of the women is wearing a duster, but the sleeves are gathered at the shoulder, so it appears to be a different coat than this one. We know little about John Maitland, the father of Jessie. He operated a hardware store in Cleveland when Jessie and Charles married in 1886. He died in Negaunee in 1918, so perhaps he moved here, or he was visiting when this photo was taken. Alexander Maitland, born in Scotland, settled in Negaunee in 1864 working as a mine manager and supervisor. He served as mayor, state senator, and from 1903 to 1907 as Lt. Governor. I assume the car to be owned by the owner of the house, which is George Maas. In the back seat is his wife, Rose Maas. This distinctive home on East Main in Negaunee was torn down in the 1950s. The boy in white could be William G. Mather Maas, their son, and the other boy may be Charles Sporley, Everett’s younger brother. It is circa 1908. Charles Sporley Sr. was the son of Gottlieb and Caroline Sporley. Gottlieb owned and operated a hardware store in Negaunee. It hardly seems a coincidence that husband and wife both had fathers who owned and operated hardware stores. |
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Motorcycle Gloves
George Stammis wore these. He was a machinist at Quincy Mine in the 1930s. The copper mine in Hancock operated from 1846-1945. Child’s Metal Toed Boots circa 1870s Donated in 1921, these handmade boots are symmetrical. Shoes and boots were made identically for hundreds of years. It wasn’t until the early 1800s that left and right shoes were made. The metal toe strip is likely for protecting the boots so they could be handed down to a sibling. |
A Lighthouse Keeper and a Coast Guard Officer
Wool Pullover Shirt
Thomas E. Deegan (1875-1951) Thomas Deegan was born in Au Sable, Michigan. His father Dennis, a surfman with the US Life Saving Service at Pointe Aux Barque, drown while attempting a rescue of JH Magruder. All six of the crew perished and only the captain survived the storm while Magruder itself was able to weather the storm. Thomas was only about five years old when his father died. In 1894 he entered the Coast Guard at Grindstone City Station on Lake Huron under Capt. Henry Gill who became his father in law soon after. In 1915 he was No. 1 Surfman and transferred to the Marquette Station under Capt. Cleary. Clearly died the following year and Deegan took over his command. He later was promoted to chief boatswain before he retired in 1939. Thomas and his wife Ora had four children, one of whom also served in the Coast Guard. This practical machine knit wool shirt may have been worn under a uniform. Deegan was the officer in charge when JH Sheadle hit rocks after the steering failed, making a large hole in one of her tanks. The 550’ ore boat was backing away from a dock in Lower Harbor with a load of ore at the time. She sunk to the bottom of the harbor, was salvaged and repaired. Deegan and his crew were also involved in retrieving the body of Oscar Lampinen from the Chocolay River in 1924. Lampinen shot and killed police officer Thomas Thorton after breaking into Boucher’s Drug Store downtown Marquette. While on the run, he also shot and killed Chief of Police Martin Ford and his son Lloyd Ford before he was shot by police officer Walter Tippett while in the river. |
Infant Dresses
Mary Ann Loftus Wheatley (1855-1906) and daughter Hazel Wheatley Begole (1892-1985) This upper infant dress was worn by newborn Mary Ann Loftus in 1855 in England. She married William Wheatley in 1882 in Negaunee. From 1883 to 1892 they had four children while William was a Lighthouse Keeper on the Great Lakes. The lace trimmed dress was worn by Wheatley’s youngest daughter, Hazel. Mary Ann may have made the dress. Mary Ann’s sister Hattie Loftus Jilbert did the needlework. Hattie was married in Marquette in 1892. Although both are long and white cotton, the two dresses are very different in style and construction. When Hazel was about six years old, the family lived in Marquette as her father William was keeper here. They are thought to have had a house in town rather than live in the lighthouse. In 1898 William drowned while boating with one other man off Presque Isle. Since there was no pension, the Lighthouse Board (part of the US Treasury Department) gave Mary Ann a job as lighthouse keeper at Eagle Harbor Range Light. She and her youngest, Hazel lived there seven years. Hazel recalled to her family how she helped her mother clean the lenses and fill the oil lamps. Mary Ann went to live with an older daughter out West because of her poor health while Hazel, about 15 years old, went to live with an older sister. Hazel married Charles Begole and they had two children: Harriet and Charles. Several of Hazel’s descendants live in Marquette today. |
Learn more about local people and their clothing through these subjects:
Pioneers and Immigrants | Made with Love, Reused & Recycled
Teachers and School Days | Artists & Musicians
Men at Work and Play | Hunting, Riding, and More
Pioneers and Immigrants | Made with Love, Reused & Recycled
Teachers and School Days | Artists & Musicians
Men at Work and Play | Hunting, Riding, and More