By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
When you have 4,000 images in The Museum at Southwestern Michigan College collection at your disposal, how do you winnow them down to 200 historical photos for the new book "Dowagiac?"
Authors Steven Arseneau, curator of history, and Ann Thompson, SMC museum director, divided the pictorial treasure trove, many never seen before, into "themes" that seemed to best portray the remarkable past of a notable small Midwestern city.
One of their goals, after all, was making SMC's photographic collection accessible to the public.
The Dowagiac Daily News, established Feb. 6, 1897, donated its archive to the college in 1982.
There is a photo of the Round Oak Band on the stops of the Daily News when it was Round Oak Stove's new office building in 1930.
Because of the research they did, they were able to identify and clarify information they had on many of the photographs - including many photographs not included in the book.
Several individuals were identified and business locations were confirmed.
In one case, the location of an early Dowagiac business, the Rudolphi Drug Store on Front Street, was identified for the first time.
There was a balcony on the building which today houses Vincent J. Jewelers and the photo shows youthful pharmacy worker Arthur Rudolphi, better known for later founding Rudy Manufacturing.
It only took a few months from the time they submitted their initial proposal to completion of the book, though they admit at times it was difficult to stay on task because the research was so interesting it led them in many other directions.
The authors think people will enjoy the book because historical photos are fun to look at, providing insight into how people lived in the past. They document changes that have taken place in a community and impart a sense of history. It's always interesting to compare life today with those who came before.
And for those who like the behind-the-scenes "backstory," Arseneau and Thompson will be discussing the book Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 6:30 p.m. as part of the museum's fall lecture series. More than a third of the first printing of 1,200 copies has already been sold.
Thompson has a particular interest in architecture.
Oct. 5 "I'm going to put (photos in the book of houses) with photos of how they look today because some of them are barely recognizable, but they're there."
Royalties from sales of the book come back to the museum collection.
An accompanying exhibit will be composed about half photos from the book and half photos which missed the cut.
Even with 4,000 images, gaps exist in the Grand Old City's illustrated legacy.
While there are pictures inside the Beckwith Theatre as well as the stage, "There have got to be pictures of the hallways," Arseneau said.
Thompson also wonders what happened to Beckwith family photos. "They were wealthy and there have to be more."
She also wishes they could have delved more into World War II.
The sturdy-looking Pray building stood where Harding's Friendly Market is today. Over the years it built windmills and washing machines and it was the Front Street school. "James Heddon used it for production of his lures for a while," Arseneau said.
The book is divided into 10 chapters, including agricultural roots, Round Oak Stove Co., "Making a Buck in Dowagiac," "Furnace City," "Friends and Families," "At Home," "The ABCs of Dowagiac Schools," "A Sports Town" and "Fairs, Festivals and Fun," including those Homecoming parades with girls in their Sunday best pushing doll carriages and bicycles flying off trick ramps.
What set Dowagiac apart from many other small Midwestern towns springing up along the railroad, of course, was the guiding influence of Philo D. Beckwith and his Round Oak Stove.
Beckwith, buried in Battle Creek, died in January 1889.
Arseneau adds, "For a town its size, Dowagiac had a lot going for it and still does. It had several industries going at once- Round Oak, Dowagiac Grain Drill was one of the largest drill manufacturers in the country, if not the largest, and the arts were flourishing in this small town. It never reached more than 7,000 people," yet the Round Oak Band performed concerts in Michigan Central Railroad Park in a tradition carried on today with the Beckwith Park Summer Concert Series and the manufacturer sponsored a baseball team.
Beckwith Theatre, constructed in 1893, represented the first building erected in memory of an American citizen.
It tops Arseneau's personal list of yesteryear Dowagiac he wishes he could have witnessed, along with Michigan Central Railroad Park, Colby Mill, Round Oak in its heyday and old hotels.
Arseneau researched the history of Beckwith's opera house for an article in the museum's September newsletter.
In February 1892, Fred Lee (Kate's husband and president of the stove works), proposed to the city that Beckwith's estate would build the theater that would also house the City Council chamber and municipal offices on the second and third floors.
Occupying the first floor were the post office, Lee Brothers Bank and a millinery shop, plus the theater where the first Miss Dowagiac, Velma Lason (she's pictured in the book) was crowned in 1930.
In exchange for providing offices rent-free, Lee asked Dowagiac to exempt the property from taxes for 30 years. The Feb. 18, 1892, Dowagiac Times reported a 442-40 win for the proposal.
Chicago architect W.E. Brown oversaw the project, for which Lee picked Lake Superior red sandstone, with the cornerstone laid in May.
Kate Lee placed a time capsule in the cornerstone. The box and its contents are on display in the museum.
The Beckwith building's facade featured arched doorways and carved faces. At the top was P.D. Beckwith and below him a group of male artists, composers and writers, including Shakespeare, Voltaire, Beethoven and Chopin.
On the first level were busts of women, including Dowagiac visitor Susan B. Anthony, who, like Sojourner Truth, once spoke at the oldest public building, now St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Courtland Street.
The interior spared no Victorian expense, from plush mohair seats and ornate brass trim to luxurious woodwork and stylish wallpaper.
The touring company of Mademoiselle Rhea opened the ornate theater the weekend of Jan. 20, 1893, with "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Josephine."
Col. Robert Ingersoll, a noted orator and friend of Beckwith, dedicated the building the following Wednesday with a talk on Shakespeare.
Arseneau said photography was introduced in the late 1830s and "spread like wildfire."
The earliest known picture of Dowagiac, included in the book, is wheat day 1860.