As the Oceana County Fair draws closer, our postcard series visits one such example from the past. Taken about the 1940s, the photograph on the front sees the fairgrounds appropriately festooned for the occasion.
In the foreground, several tents cast shade over the concrete, offering shade to the fairgoers seated at what appears to be a mess hall, dinner counter, or bar. In the bottom left corner, the ticket booth offers fares of a staggering $1. Next to it, a parked car (contemporary to the mid-century but classic to us) sports some type of fair sign or advertisement. Visitors travel between the food tents to the rides, most prominent of which is the Ferris Wheel. Tucked into a wooded area behind the rides is a building, which I don’t immediately recognize as one of the existing fairground buildings (some of which have been on the grounds for likely over a century), but cannot necessarily exclude.
While a black-and-white photograph, the variety in shades is enough to hint at the likely colorful scene, and the grounds are packed with people, even at midday. The stark shadows on the ground reminds me of the hot summer days we’ve been experiencing the past few weeks, even though folks in the crowd are wearing long-sleeves and sportsjackets.
The photograph is uncredited, but clearly marked as the Oceana County Fair in Hart, as remains its location to this day.
The card is postmarked “Shelby, MICH - Jul 11 - 6pm - 1949” and addressed to Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Houghton of Afton, Michigan.
The card is written in a very novel color, a bright green, and the penmanship is rushed but not necessarily as difficult to read as some others I’ve found.
The note reads:
“Dear Kids,
Just a line, will try to write a letter soon. I got laid off last Fri. night. Louie is on vacation this week. Sherman Powers was up looking at the T.V. wondering what LeRoy wanted for it. I told him it wasn’t for sale. We made Baby a play pen yesterday + fixed the porch. Big circus in Ferry tonight and tomorrow night. Notice grandpa S. in the picture on the other side. Love, D. L. + Brenda Lou”
It was not hard to find the recipient, Eldon “LeRoy” Houghton was an Oceana County resident from birth to death, save for the time he served with the Army Air Corps in World War II. He was born in Shelby in 1922 to a farming family, but found work as Ferry’s fire chief, a welder at Westron, as well as serving as law enforcement and Justice of the Peace in Ferry Township. The last few years of his life, before passing away in 2000 at age 78, was spent RV-ing in Hesperia with his wife, Anne Belle (Miller) Houghton.
Now, the identity of the senders were a little harder to find, all we have to go off are the initials D. L. and the name “Brenda Lou.” I started with LeRoy’s obituary, scoping out his close relatives who either survived or preceded him in death. He had five siblings, with three having either the initial D. or L. - Dale, Dilbert, and Louis.
Now, I realized our sender couldn’t be Louis as the author of the note mentions that “Louie is on vacation,” so I looked into Dale and Dilbert Houghton. As I was looking through their obituaries, I figured that if I could find an L. or Brenda Lou, I could confirm the sender. Dale, LeRoy’s younger brother by five years, never married nor had children, so that was a dead-end.
Dilbert was over a decade younger, putting him at 15 at the time of the postcard’s sending. I know folks started working at a young age back then, but 15 seems a little much. Not to mention, I hope that a 15-year-old wouldn’t be married with a baby to build a playpen for. Regardless, like Dale, Dilbert never married nor had kids. Another dead end.
So I looked further into Louis Houghton, almost four years younger than LeRoy. Lo and behold, he was married to Dorothy E. (Miller) Houghton, with whom he had two daughters, Brenda and Marsha. So that would make Dorothy the sender, the Baby with a new play-pen Brenda, and Louis (“Louie”) enjoying a vacation.
The last detail of interest is the mention of “grandpa S,” who is apparently pictured in the county fair photograph. Louis and LeRoy’s mother’s maiden name was “Swinton,” so I wondered if that might be who they’re referring to. I turned the postcard around and began scanning the crowd for any old-timers who looked like farmers.
So there I am, studying the crowd, when I spot a distinctive outfit: a light-colored button-up, slacks, sweater vest, and derby cap. Well, lookie there, it’s our Mears Newz founder and frequent flier of “The 1306,” Swift Lathers. Now, I can’t say as to whether “grandpa S” was referring to Swift, but is certainly the most distinctive person in the crowd, and looking at the OCHGS’s Mears Newz collection, Swift certainly knew LeRoy well enough to mention his marriage to Anne Belle. But I wasn’t joking back in June that once you learn Swift’s everyday outfit, you start to notice him everywhere.
As always, if you recognize any of the folks in our postcard from the past, please do share! I received the loveliest letter from a gentleman in Montague whose mother was friends with Margaret Minich (our sorority girl who gave Swift a ride into town) and he shared several lovely memories from his years vacationing in Silver Lake.
Otherwise, I wish our readers a pleasant fair week. Drink plenty of water, keep cool, and don’t wear knit sweater vests.
