Edwin H. House, a Friend to Man

Name/Title

Edwin H. House, a "Friend to Man"

Entry/Object ID

2023.50.36

Scope and Content

[In collecting biographies for the book and exhibit "Heroes, Rogues and Just Plain Folks" much more information arrived than it was possible to use. Two daughters of Edwin H. House wrote biographies of this remarkable man. Some facts and stories were used in the book and display, but much rich material remains. The main work below is from Celia House Allen, with additional material in brackets from Katharine House Allen and other sources. - Kit Lane] --- Edwin Harvey House was born in 1875 in the house his father, Harvey Lathrop House, built in 1868 with lumber from the Singapore mills. He was assisted by a Connecticut carpenter who had been trained in Greek Revival building. House was the son of pioneers who had come to Saugatuck on the Ira Chaffee from Oswego, New York via River Forest, Illinois. His ancestors were early settlers in Massachusetts, one of whom sacrificed the lead weights from her treasured clock to make bullets for Revolutionary soldiers. He attended the Ward school (located on land he later owned) where his mother taught and, later, classes taught by Captain Phelps who ran a very tight ship even on land. He and his classmate Carl Bird decided that was not for them. Shortly they moved on to Oak Park High School. In his teens he picked violets in the woods and took the night boat to Chicago where he sold them on the corner of State and Adams Streets. Pocketing the money he went to the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 to see the sights His Oak Park High School days were followed by study at the Columbia School of Expression (later the Chicago Musical College). This period was terminated by his return to the farm upon the death of his father. [Edwin took over the farm on the death of his father when he was just 22 years of age. At that time he had the family's riverfront property platted with 26 lots. It was to be known as Riverside Heights, with two winding roads, Riverside Drive and Poplar Road.] The farm became his pride and pleasure working very hard and being in constant touch with the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State College he raised the best apples he could. Nils Haars who at one time was his principal helper selected the best specimen and showed them at Michigan State Fairs where he won silver cups and many ribbons- so many his wife made soft cushion covers -12 ribbons in each. [An article in a 1907 issue of the Saugatuck newspaper states: "E. H. House has a display of Wagner's apples in Bird's Drug Store that is rarely seen. It is a small branch with 87 apples, each one perfectly colored and without blemish... "] When the need arose he erected a temperature controlled storage house which was described as a model facility for those days. In the earliest days of the farm apples were shipped in barrels from Pier Cove. In the 1900s the barrels were loaded from his own dock on to the interurban, then on to a steamboat in Holland and on to Chicago. In the 20s he bought two Reo trucks to carry the apples to the South Water Street wholesale market each one going in every other night to be in time for the early morning opening of the market. House's cider mill had one of the first hydraulic presses in the area and a flash pasteurizer where the cider was processed after being bottled. The jugs often came by rail from Ball Brothers in Muncie, Indian, to a siding in East Saugatuck and were trucked to the mill. He also sold fruit locally from a fruit stand in front of his house. Along with the fruit, he sold cider, a cherry based drink called "Cherri-Mix" and also honey produced from his own beehives. Another product very much like the later one called "Kool-Aid" was tried with a powder wrapped in cellophane. While that enterprise was not successful, the Cherri-Mix business grew and a concentrate was shipped all over the country to other owners of roadside stands. In the early 1940s he started battling and distributing soft drinks in 7 oz. Bottles. A jobber came to buy a truckloads of apples and, on seeing what was going on, said, "Oh, are you that guy? Why, I seen your name all over Hell?" This amused House although he was always a devoted church man, a soft spoken gentleman who never used language stronger than "Sam Hill" or "Great Scott. " The roadside stand was a popular place for resident of the area as well as passers-by on the road. If no one happened to be in attendance the customer could ring a bell and usually someone from the house would hear it and go out. Or if the family wanted to go for a Sunday drive, they would simply leave a cigar box with some change on a table and the customer was trusted to pay the proper amount for his purchase. After the main road was changed to what is now Blue Star Highway, the fruit stand was moved to a part of the property along the new road. It was enlarged and eventually part of it was converted to a restaurant. The fruit stand and the restaurant were called "The House by the Side of the Road." Edwin often referred to a poem of that title by Samuel Walter Foss. He liked the sentiment expressed- of living in a house by the side of the road and being "a friend to man." This became his motto. For over fifty years he served on various boards although he never campaigned for election. His interests lay with the Congregational Church, the Board of Education, and the Township Board. [Often he was called upon to use his elocution skills at public gatherings.] Vitally interested in those suffering hardship during the Depression and World War II he made many visits to determine what could be done to help. During World War II he granted asylum to an architect who, with his young wife and infant son, had been interned because they were of Japanese ancestry. The community accepted them and they were extended a warm welcome by the Methodist Church which pleased House very much. He was vigorously patriotic and saw that the men who worked for him were registered and drove them to the polls. If he was on the election board, which he often was, his wife did the driving. Activities on the farm continued into January and the orchards were at a standstill until spring leaving time for rest and travel. He loved the natural wonders and national shrines of our country and enjoyed short stays in big cities. Through out this busy life he maintained an interest in the arts as well as service to others. During his student days he attended the Chicago Sunday Evening Club where he met Dr. George Gray. Dr. Gray had already met Dr. William E. Gamble who enthusiastically supported Dr. Gray's idea that inner city families needed more than fresh air in the country, but society with people of wider experience and broad interests. At this point House invited Dr. Gray and two friends to visit Saugatuck to see its natural beauty and its suitability for a camp site. So Forward Movement began. During this time House gave the use of his barn as a studio to young artist who had come to paint the Saugatuck scene. Among them were John Johansen, Jean McLean and Fred Stearns. This group, along with Fred Fursman started the colony at Ox-Bow which became the Summer School of Painting- later affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During this time Dr. Gamble and his family camped on the beach at Forward Movement and participated in camp activities. After several summers the Gambles came to need a real cottage for their children and their diverse activities. They bought river front property from Edwin House and built the cottage, a platform for a tent to put guests and a dock for their motorboat "Uncle Dan." Now the Houses and the Gambles were neighbors and Edwin House met his future wife, Celia Gamble. House encouraged and supported her efforts to make visible to the public the work of local artists. With a few friends and the help of Fred Fursman the Saugatuck Art Association began. It was copied by other Michigan towns which was the beginning of the Michigan Federation of Art Associations. House had the first telephone line out to his area. The operator rang him up with one ring. He cranked the phone twice to get the operator. Many parties joined the line, among them Force's Florists who had four rings. All the rings were heard by all the parties. When Force's four rings were heard unusually often other party line members just picked up the phone to find out who died.

Context

Biography of citizen written by daughters.

Collection

SDHS NL Inserts, Biographies and personalities, Family History, 1870 Fruit growing, farming, agriculture

Cataloged By

Winthers, Sally

Acquisition

Accession

2023.50

Acquisition Method

Found in Collection

Notes

SDHS Newsletter insert pages

Location

* Untyped Location

Digital data in CatalogIt

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Allen, Celia Martin (House) 1921-2007/8, Allen, Katharine "Kiff" (House) 1926-2012, House, Edwin Harvey 1875-1958, House, Harvey Lathrop 1825-1897, Phelps, Waterman George Grandison 1849-1934, Ward School/Singapore School, Kasten/House's Cherry Cider Co. at Riverside Fruit Farm, Riverside Heights/House-Allen house, Lulu Cadieux/House by the Side of the Road/Edwin House farmstand, Gray, Reverend George W., Presbyterian Camp/Camp Gray/Forward Movement Park 1899-2014, Saugatuck Art Association 1931-

General Notes

Note

This information was OCR text scanned from SDHS newsletter supplements. A binder of original paper copies is catalog item 2023.50.01

Create Date

November 9, 2023

Update Date

April 24, 2025