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www.mybaycity.com July 17, 2003
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Old Globe Hotel, at Fifth and Water, had third floor hall featuring many out-of-town shows.

The Tattler Unveils Violent Bay City History from the Early Days

Are the Stories of Hells' Half Mile True? Heck, Yes!

July 17, 2003       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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Was Bay City really a wild place in the old days? Or are the stories exaggerated?

The confirmation that the old days in Bay City did indeed measure up to their reputation, rivaling the cow towns of the Wild West, is found in a box of old clippings found by volunteer Ruth Manke in the Essexville-Hampton Heritage House. Ruth, a member of a new Bay County history study group coordinated by Bill and Barb Tite, brought the box of clippings to a recent study session at the farm of Pat Okon, an antiquedealer who lives on Eight Mile Road.

A perusal of the clippings reveals so many interesting Bay City stories that it would take an entire issue, or several issues, of MyBayCity.com to just mention them. Suffice it to say, they provide a fascinating picture of life in Bay City in the early days.

The most valuable aspect of these clippings is that they provide detail about the activities of the lumberjacks, the saloonkeepers, the prostitutes, and the attempts of the police to control them. Some of the most lurid stories, of course, are those concerning the notorious Catacombs section of the city, at Third and Water, the start of the so-called "Hell's Half Mile."

The best stories are called "The Yesterdays of Bay City," written byThe Tattler, who reveals himself in his columns only as a former reporter of The Bay City Tribune.

One of the early brick buildings in Bay City was the Heumann Block, on the northeast corner of Saginaw Street and Center Avenue. The builder was Leonard Heumann, who sailed away to visit Europe about 1870 and was never seen or heard from again. It is believed his ship was sunk in a storm.

Be that as it may, an auditorium on the second floor of the Heumann Block was the scene of much violence. A man who was disturbing the performance of a German comedian was thrown down the stairs and killed. This led to the closing of the show.

The upstairs later was used for the offices of the Morning Call, a newspaper, published by George Lewis and James Gray. "A drunken printer attacked James Gray on the stairs one night and stabbed him in the face," The Tattler tattled.

The old Globe Hotel, on the northeast corner of Water and Fifth, was was the scene of the first theatrical show given in Bay City. Performances in a hall on the third floor included "Ten Nights in a Bar Room" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the Peck family, bell ringers, educated dogs, Chinese jugglers and concerts. The Home Dramatic Co., made up of local artists, also performed.

"The Globe had many escapes from being burned. During one fire, by the time the blaze was extinguished half the furniture had been stolen" the Tattler related. "At the next fire the residents of the hotel stood on the porch with shotguns andlet no one in but the fire fighters."

"The whiskey sold at the Catacombs saloons was chock full of fights, and even worse, murders," wrote The Tattler. "Stabbing affrays were happenings of every two or three days. Dr. Charles T. Newkirk was called upon to dress many a stabbing affray's victim. His office was close at hand, on Water street between Fourth and Third, and he always answered the call."

This is the same Dr. Charles T. Newkirk whose grave has recently been identified at Pine Ridge Cemetery. He was a member of the Brazilian and Argentine armies and served the U.S. Army in the Spanish-American war as an expert on tropical diseases, being credited as having controlled malaria and smallpox among the troops.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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