Back in Sheboygan, the parade had just begun when, suddenly, ominous blue black clouds blotted out the setting sun. Like some onrushing evil monster, the mass of boiling clouds covered the sky. Then the winds struck, howling like a demented banshee. The wind roared through town, uprooting trees, stripping shingles from roofs and tearing down utility wires. In Sheboygan County, near Batavia, a huge tree was uprooted and flung across a moving car. The driver was killed instantly, but his wife and son seated next to him were uninjured.
Sheboygan was a total shambles; Camp Haven, a military camp that was located near the village of Haven near today’s present Whistling Straights golf course, suffered severe damage and could not function for two weeks.
Onboard the westbound airliner, the passengers and crew were unaware of the oncoming gale. At 11:15 p.m. EST, Captain Lind reported that flight 2501 was passing over Battle Creek, Michigan, and was flying level at 3,500 feet. Normally the aircraft would have crossed the lake near Chicago, but due to weather in the area Captain Lind asked for permission to change his course farther to the north to avoid bad weather in his path. Northwest control in Chicago granted him permission to divert farther north so that flight 2501, upon crossing the lake, would pass over Milwaukee. In a few moments, Captain Lind again called Chicago control with the estimate that he would pass over Milwaukee in about twenty minutes at 1:37 p.m. EST.
At 1:13 a.m. EST, flight 2501 was approaching the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, at which time Captain Lind again called Chicago control and asked permission to descend to 2,500 feet due to bad weather in the area. This time permission was denied, as there was other traffic at that altitude. This communication was the last ever heard from flight 2501.
When the airliner vanished with the fifty-eight persons on board, it carried 2,500 gallons of fuel, 80 gallons of oil and 490 pounds of mail and cargo.
When the DC-4, which was scheduled to pass over Milwaukee at 1:37 p.m. EST, failed to arrive airline officials became anxious. They called flight 2501 repeatedly but received no answer. A call then went out to all control centers in the Midwest to try to contact the overdue plane; none succeeded. Northwest control then called all available air sea rescue units to stand by. At 5:30 a.m. CST, Northwest Airline announced that it was quite clear that flight 2501, its passengers and crew were lost over Lake Michigan.
A massive search was immediately launched. Every available Coast Guard plane took to the air, and every Coast Guard vessel joined the search. Air force and Civil Air Patrol scoured the surface of the big lake for survivors. None was ever found. About twelve miles northwest of Benton Harbor, Michigan, a small debris field was located. Only a few of the items that were recovered were positively identified as having come from the missing aircraft. It was indicated, by the small size of the pieces of debris, that the DC-4 had hit the water with tremendous force, totally obliterating the aircraft. Several well-equipped teams of divers have tried to locate the wreckage of Northwest 2501, but none has succeeded.
Was the cause of the crash pilot error? Very unlikely, as both pilots had thousands of hours of safe flying. Was it structural failure, or bad weather? The true cause will never be known. The secret of what happened lies on the bottom of Lake Michigan beneath hundreds of feet of cold dark water, and the lake does not easily give up its secrets.
The alleged Lake Michigan Triangle. Chart created by author.
Believers in the Lake Michigan Triangle theory are convinced that the reason flight 2501 disappeared is simple. After all, the airliner was flying through the heart of the triangle, and it is just another victim that can be added to the long list of ships and planes that have vanished in this mysterious area.
CHAPTER 5
TRUE BITS OF LOCAL HISTORY
SOME OF THEM FUNNY, SOME OF THEM SAD, BUT ALL OF THEM TRUE
In the year 1836, the population of Sheboygan was thirty-six persons.
For many years, Sheboygan was known simply as the “Mouth” because it was built on the mouth of the Sheboygan River.
During the great financial panic of late 1837, all but two people left the city. As they left, some people took their houses with them. The houses were loaded on barges and towed to Milwaukee. Indians moved into the abandoned homes and painted colorful native designs on the walls.
In 1837, the first mail service to Sheboygan was supplied by a letter carrier whose route was a rather long one. The route started in Chicago and ended in Green Bay, a distance of over two hundred miles, which he walked!
During the period of 1840 to about 1860, at least six railroads were proposed, but none was ever built.
Winter furs, which were thicker, were purchased from local trappers by fur traders and were of two kinds. Fine furs were obtained from beaver, otter, mink, fox, raccoon and skunk. Coarse furs, such as bear, deer and elk, were used for coats and lap robes.
In the early 1830s, a Mrs. Glass and her husband ran a small store at the mouth of the Sheboygan River. She sold coffee, sugar and sewing items such as pins, needles and thread. Whiskey was sold by the drink or by the quart. She also had several books that she would lend out, if she knew you. So it might be said that in the city of Sheboygan Mrs. Glass ran the first retail establishment, the first tavern and the first lending library. It was also noted that she had to keep the whiskey under lock and key, as her husband on frequent occasions sampled the stock—to excess.
An artist’s conception of what Sheboygan looked like in 1936. Author’s collection; artwork by Ed Sofa.
In the 1840s, early hotels, during busy times, made it a common practice to rent out the room to two, three or even four persons (of the same sex), all of whom had to sleep in one bed! Hotel patrons often complained that their bed partners failed to remove their shoes.
William Farnsworth, founder of Sheboygan, was so respected by local Indians that they gave him the name Ni-Kick, meaning the one who must be obeyed.
In 1846, the entire police department consisted of one man known as the town crier. It was his duty to make one round trip around the village each hour and then call out the time, such as, “Two o’clock and all is well.”
A petition drawn up in 1847 was presented by H. Lyman and others praying the village board of trustees to take some measures to preserve the peace of the village from being disturbed night and day by Indians.
Also in the year 1847, the first printing press was brought to Sheboygan by George W. Gillette, who was editor and founder of Sheboygan’s first newspaper, the Sheboygan Mercury. Gillette was the father of King Gillette, who invented the famous Gillette Safety Razor and founded a company that to this day carries his name. Since the Mercury’s publication, more than twenty-nine newspapers have come and gone in the city and county. One suspended publication after a mere five weeks. At least six of these newspapers were published in German.
The Abraham’s Hotel at North Eighth and Ontario Avenue, the first of four hotels built at this location. Author’s collection.
William Farnsworth, founder of Sheboygan. Courtesy Sheboygan County Historic Research Center.
The year 1847 was also recorded to have been one of the coldest on record. Sheboygan County experienced frost in every month of that year.
With all his land dealings and other business ventures, there is no record of William Farnsworth, founder of Sheboygan, ever owning property in the city of Sheboygan.
In 1848, Mr. Wade, owner of Wade House Stagecoach Inn, was appointed one of the commissioners to lay out the territorial road from Sheboygan to Fond du Lac. It’s no surprise that the new road ran directly past Mr. Wade’s property.
A bill of fifty cents was presented to the common council and allowed for removing a dead hog from the street.
The city employed a clock winder, whose job it was to set, maintain and wind all city clocks. He was paid more than a city firefighter.
Two petitions were submitted to the 1851 common council: one for and one against an ordinance prohibiting swine from running at large in the city. After fai
ling to come to a consensus, the petitions were tabled.
In the early days of Sheboygan, the city had no city jail, and whenever a wrongdoer was given a jail sentence, he was confined in any building that could be securely locked. One person was found guilty of disorderly conduct, and the judge fined him two dollars, but the guilty party stated he had no money. The judge then said in lieu of the fine he would accept a jug of whiskey or the defendant could spend thirty days in jail—it was his choice. The defendant replied that he had a jug of whiskey but in no way was he going to give it to the judge. The guilty party was then hauled off and locked up in a horse barn, where for three days he banged on the walls and kicked on the door, demanding to be let out. He was not. Finally, after several more days, the prisoner agreed to turn over his jug of whiskey to the judge. He then left the improvised jail, a free man. What happened to the whiskey was not recorded.
In the 1850s in the Plymouth area, flour sold for five cents for two pounds, coffee was twelve cents a pound and tea was seventy-five cents a pound. Whiskey was sold at ten cents a quart, and butter was eleven cents a pound. A pair of shoes cost the princely sum of one dollar. A farm family’s yearly grocery bill averaged about twenty-five dollars.
Deputy custom collector Michael Lynch reported that in 1854, 20,914 immigrants landed at Sheboygan. Residents complained that the city was beginning to assume the appearance of a gold mining camp with all its noise and clatter.
Drinking tanks for horses were placed at various points around the city. During hot weather, six horses and water wagons were used to keep the tanks full. The horses that drew firefighting equipment were not allowed to water at the city water tanks, as the fire department had its own tanks. In fact, one firefighter was disciplined when he watered fire horses at a city water tank. While watering the horses, he was approached and berated by his superior, which led to an altercation during which the firefighter punched the superior officer in the nose!
The first railroad train to run west out of Sheboygan, appropriately named the Sheboygan. Courtesy Sheboygan County Historic Research Center.
In 1859, rail fare from Sheboygan to Sheboygan Falls was twenty cents, but if your trip was going to take you all the way to Plymouth that would cost you the handsome amount of sixty cents.
The census of 1860 showed that the majority of the city’s population consisted of German-born immigrants. Most spoke only German.
Prior to a city waterworks, it was common practice for people who lived near Lake Michigan or the Sheboygan River to lay a pipe into the lake or river and pump water directly into their homes. It must be noted, however, that the river and the lake were a lot cleaner in those days.
The Liberty School of joint school district 11, which served the towns of Holland and Sherman, was built in 1868 at a cost of $160 and served the district for ninety-three years.
When a ship disappeared on the Great Lakes without a trace, which many did, sailors said the ship had sailed through a hole in the lake.
In 1872, it was recorded that 50 percent of students in the school system spoke German. The frustrated county superintendent of schools stated, “German students are making little attempt to learn English,” even though school regulations of the time required them to do so.
In 1874, an item before the common council stated that neighbors in the area of Sixth Street to Seventh Street and Erie to Superior Avenue were complaining that owners of cows were allowing them to run at large in their neighborhood. The residents further complained that the cows were eating their gardens.
On days when the lake is very rough, the horizon over the lake looks very jagged, almost like a pine forest against the sky when seen from a distance. Sailors called this kind of horizon “Christmas trees.”
The well in Fountain Park, drilled in 1875, was a fire well providing water to the fire department. This well is 1,475 feet deep and is an artesian well. A series of cisterns was dug on each corner south of Fountain Park along Eighth Street. The cisterns were approximately 16 feet deep and 8 feet in diameter. The first cistern located at Eighth and Ontario was connected directly to the well. Once that cistern was full, it overflowed into a pipe that ran to the next cistern, and so on down the entire length of Eighth Street until the last cistern was full and overflowed into the river. But, due to the heavy mineral content in the water, it could not be used, as it caused severe corrosion in the firefighting equipment, and the cisterns had to all be filled in again.
Finding the water unusable for firefighting, it was piped to a fountain, from which the park got its name. People were soon coming to the park to sample the water, which had a heavy metallic or mineral taste to it. Apparently, people felt that anything that tasted that bad had to be good for you, and they began to take the water home by the jug. Eventually, the water was bottled and shipped around the world. In fact, several cases were sent to the White House.
Records from 1876 indicate that at one time mental patients were kept in the county jail. A Mr. Jewet then erected a home for the mentally ill and was paid by the county $2.75 for each patient he cared for. The home was located just south of Plymouth in the village of Winooski, which has since disappeared.
In an 1878 school census, the number of children attending school in Sheboygan was found to be 1,459. Of that number, 38 students were enrolled in high school, 13 boys and 25 girls.
The average wage for a ten-hour day in a furniture factory in 1881 was ninety cents a day. The wages for a city worker during that same period were as low as twenty-five cents a day. At times, the city was unable to meet the payroll and gave city workers food coupons redeemable at a local grocery store that was owned by the city treasurer.
As strange as it may seem, Sheboygan, prior to 1881, had no system for house numbering or, for that matter, any street signs. In August 1881, a measure was passed creating a building numbering system and ordering street signs to be placed at all intersections.
Many of the area’s worst snowstorms occurred not during the dead of winter but in March, such as the great snowstorm of 1881. For weeks, snow drifts as high as second-floor windows blocked Eighth Street.
Today, one of the often discussed topics in the school system is class size. In the year 1885, the Sheboygan school system enrolled 1,450 students while employing 20 teachers. That figures out to an average of 72.5 students per class!
Over the past 125 years or so, there were five ships named Sheboygan. The first was a sailing schooner, the second a side-wheel steamer, the third a passenger and freight vessel, the fourth a wooden harbor tug and the fifth a World War II frigate.
The second of four ships that carried the name Sheboygan. Artwork by the author.
In 1886, the first baseball game was played in Sheboygan by an organized team named the Ellwell Boys. It took place on a vacant lot in the summer of that year. There were no seats, no admission was charged and nearly every man in Sheboygan attended the game.
According to official police records from 1888, Sheboygan Police made several arrests that year for idiocy. It makes one wonder how many arrests could be made today for the same offence.
In the 1890s, lake captains had little use for charts or compasses. To determine directions, they stepped out onto the deck on a sunny day and pointed the hour hand of their big gold watch at the sun. Then they located a spot halfway between the hour hand and twelve, and that was south. Try it—it works!
In the year 1895, the Sheboygan Light and Power Company was granted the right to operate electric streetcars in the city.
The year 1896 saw a resolution passed that ordered council proceedings to no longer be published in German and English; henceforth, they were to be published in English only.
In 1888, the entire Sheboygan Police Department lined up for a group picture. Author’s collection.
Car #26 at North Eighth and Pennsylvania Avenue. This car is still in existence and has been completely restored. Courtesy Sheboygan County Historic Research Center.
For many years, alderme
n, bridge tenders and the cemetery sextants carried badges and had full arrest powers.
During the bicycle craze of the early 1900s, February 22 (Washington’s birthday) was a very special day to bicyclers, for that was the traditional first day of the bicycle season. It was also the day the new models for the year came out, and bicyclers would line up early in the morning outside the bike shop to see them.
In the late 1890s and early 1900s, more furniture and wood products were manufactured in Sheboygan than any place on earth. It was reported that in 1888, 890,000 pieces of furniture were shipped out of Sheboygan.
At one time in Sheboygan, horse racing was extremely popular. During the summer months, North Sixth Street, which in those days was a dirt road, was often closed to traffic between Pennsylvania Avenue and Geele Avenue to permit horse racing.
The following item was taken from the February 15, 1906 edition of the local newspaper: “Nicholas Hoffman, who is 64 years old, bathed today for the first time in 50 years. He made a vow when he was 14 years old that he would never take another bath. A sheriff’s deputy stood by while Hoffman was forced to break his vow.”
In the year 1910, nearly ten thousand automobiles were sold in the United States, and predictions were made that the following year as many as twenty thousand would be sold. This figure was scoffed at by most people. It was just plain common sense to realize that the smelly, noisy automobiles would never replace horses.
Sheboygan Tales of the Tragic and Bizarre Page 10