Next July, Tecumseh will celebrate its bicentennial, marking 200 years as a community. While there likely aren’t any residents who remember the centennial, a fair number of us can recall bits and pieces of the festivities from 1974.
I was turning 16 that summer. I was a sophomore at THS, and working at the Dairy Deluxe, now the home of Von Schrekenberg Chiropractic. Plans for the big celebration of our community’s birthday had been under way more than a year in advance and the kinds of activities mirrored the times. The 1970s were marked by civil unrest, war, crazy politics, soaring inflation, and the erosion of our nation’s prestige around the globe. Sounds just a bit familiar, doesn’t it?
I think when we are confronted with the kinds of social unrest and global uncertainty we see in today’s culture, we are pulled into the past, to a time when things seemed less confounding, happier, safer. When I remember our sesquicentennial celebration, I recall pioneer days, Conestoga wagons, caravans with people dressed like extras from “Little House on the Prairie,” men sporting beards, mutton-chops, moustaches, and Van Dykes, women in long dresses. It was a time for the community to come together, to have fun and enjoy each other’s company without the constraints of being divided by whatever was happening in the world.
The Herald from 1974 showed just that. The Brothers of the Brush had every male growing facial hair and those who didn’t had to get a special “permit” allowing them to be clean-shaven. There were garters and straw boaters and suspenders. There was a parade, a queen contest, which was won by Frances Spreeman, and a pageant. The pageant covered the history of Tecumseh, from its founding in 1824 by Musgrove Evans and General Joseph Brown, to the present day. The pioneer days and the launch of Tecumseh Products figured prominently in the event. In June, more than 800 people joined a caravan that included two antique fire engines, a 1929 Model A Ford, an iron jail, and Keystone Kops on motorcycles. All sported Sesquicentennial garb and made their way through Adrian and Blissfield.
Wendy Carter, formerly of Tecumseh, and daughter of Jerry and Jeannie Carter, was 9 at the time.
“I remember being involved in the pageant and carrying a big U.S. flag,” Carter said. “My dad was in the Brothers of the Brush, but I don’t remember much more than that. As a 9-year-old, I wasn’t that observant.”
My classmate, Carl Aebersold, drove the family 1929 John Deere tractor.
“I was pulling a wagon,” he said. “My cousins Elaine, Peggy and Rita were in the wagon, but I’m not sure who else. My dad rode on the front of the wagon in case something went wrong.”
Another classmate, Linda Staples Bird, remembers the long dresses, the suits and ties.
“Men grew beards,” she said. “I remember Jo Cooley’s dance studio dancers dancing at the start of the pageant to ‘Magic to Do.’ After we danced, there was a play on the football field.”
Kathie Bick Pickney, also from the Class of 1976, recalls country reels and pioneer garb. She remembers the pageant as presenting a theme of dances through time. Diane Williams Perry, Class of 1977, recalls her father buying a shaving permit so he didn’t have to grow a beard.
“I remember making a dress and my little sisters and I wore old fashioned dresses for the parade,” Perry said.
Local businesses also got in on the act. The Fisher Body plant held an open house in conjunction with the Commerce and Industry Day of the Sesquicentennial, and The Tecumseh Herald also opened its doors to public tours, giving the community a chance to see a “web offset press in action.”
The bicentennial planning committee is seeking more volunteers and more ideas. The committee currently meets the third Wednesday of each month at City Hall. I encourage you to get involved.
As our community moves forward with plans for its 200th birthday, I hope we all can take advantage of the opportunities these events provide for a more genteel, pleasant and caring interaction. There is much more that unites us than divides us and a birthday celebration is a perfect time to come together.
SQUIBS 