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May Francis Heath Memorial

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Content from a series of webpages about the May Francis Heath Memorial on the old SDHC website at http://sdhistoricalsociety.net/research/SDHSWeb/MFH/MemoriesOfMayFrancesHeath.htm
May_-Morrison-_Mrs_Francis.jpg 1.6MB; May Heath with grandfather S.A. Morrison (1815-1905), mother Julia Francis (1846-1924) and daughter Gladys It was natural for May Francis Heath to become Saugatuck's first historian. Her grandparents, Stephen A. and Mary Peckham Morrison, were among the first settlers and a
Scan-100825-0030.jpg 602KB 0022 May the Teacher.jpg 1.1MB; MAY AND HER SCHOLARS, c1893-5 May Francis Heath was a school teacher in her youth, first teaching in rural schools, and then the Saugatuck Union School. From the Lakeshore Commercial (Commercial Record) of the times we see that May was hired to teach the primary department of the Ganges School in March 1892, before she had herself received a High School Diploma. In later years she spoke of the poverty of her family as a child and perhaps that is why she went to work so early. She did get her degree as a member of the Saugatuck High School Class of 1893, giving the Valedictory address, an essay entitled image002.jpg 25KB; May Heath and the Saugatuck High School Alumni Association The Jun 8, 1894 Lake Shore Commercial (Commercial Record) announced that the graduates of Saugatuck High School had formed an Alumni Association! The president was Minnie Breuckman, the vice president was 21-year-old May Francis Heath, G. B. Pride the secretary and Mrs. M. Robinson the treasurer. May was to remain active in this group for the remainder of her life. When the Alumni Banquet was held in 1899, May hosted it in her own home, with 055Doc Anderson.jpg 307KB; A Young Doc Heath By the time he passed away in 1947, the 81 year old Doc Anderson Heath had left an 8 decade impression on his community as a prominent businessman and civic leader. But who was he on Oct. 30, 1895 when, at 29, he married 22 year old school teacher May Francis at the Congregational Church? Drawing from his obituary and the local newspaper, we'll try to reconstruct a bit of his life up until that time. Doc was born Nov. 22, 1865, the last of six children to Allegan county residents George P. and Amelia Bigsby Heath. His parents moved to Saugatuck in 1867. George had been involved in lumbering, grist mills, and shipping, and was in the process of building a new mill in Ludington when he died of typhoid fever in Dec. of 1875. Doc was 10 years old at his father's death, and he went to work, according to his obituary BB-SaugatuckLibrary-WomansClub.jpg 125KB; Woman's Club Buildings-Once the Public Library On Nov. 25, 1904 a group of ladies met in the home of Hattie Bird to form a reading group. May Francis Heath was member number 10 in the roster, and, at 31, one of the youngest of the founders. A club constitution was developed and voted upon on Dec. 9th, and in the same meeting May was elected the club's first librarian. On May 5, 1905 she was chosen club secretary. Over the next 57 years, May would serve as vice president, president, corresponding secretary, and was an active contributor to the many and varied educational programs. A natural speaker, she came to be frequently selected as toastmistress for the Club banquet. Her knowledge of local history was always evident, as she gave a program in 1916 on MayCentennialGown.jpg 699KB; May at the 1930 Centennial Ball Local residents of mature years may remember the Saugatuck Cannon.jpg 33KB; May Heath and the Village Square A few days ago, a public memorial was unveiled to May Francis Heath in the Saugatuck public square. How fitting was this location! May was born on Butler Street two blocks south of the square at what was later to be the Elms Hotel, and for almost all of her life she lived within a three block radius of the square. The ancient cannon which is a feature of the square was purchased and donated to the city by her grandfather Stephen A. Morrison, Heath_shop_ca_1920s.jpg 1.6MB; For a girl who had to delay her education to help support an impoverished family, May was a hard worker and thrived in the business arena. She one wrote BB-1889SSClass.jpg 2.2MB; 1889 Congregational Sunday School Class- May at Center Rear (Can you name any of the other girls?) May writes in her book that Saugatuck's BB-May-Children-FloridaOstrichFarm.jpg 226KB; May Heath Goes To Florida Today it's very common for Michiganders to go to Florida or Arizona for the winter. We even have a name for them, SaugatuckSongCover.jpg; May Heath - Song Writer May Frances Heath loved to write. She wrote her book on the history of Saugatuck; she served for 17 years as the local correspondent for the Grand Rapids Press-resigning from this role in March 1940; she took correspondence courses on writing to hone her skills. She also wrote at least three songs heralding the town she loved. The first we know of was written for the Woman's Club and sung at the club meeting 18 Jan 1907 which was held at the home of May's Aunt Jessie Leland. The tune is the old favorite Heathcote.jpg 832KB 525 Butler St. Photo Feb. 25, 1952 (smaller image at bottom is from back of photo); May Heath and the Homes named

2023.10.413

Introductory text from website: The May Francis Heath Memorial Project was formed in 2009 to: 1) determine and implement a public memorial for Saugatuck's first historian, May Frances Heath (1873-1961) 2) To collect and present information about Mrs Heath. Data to be collected includes: News articles, photos, copies of her paintings and her various writings. A variety of activities are planned leading up to the 50th anniversary of her death (Sept. 1961- Sept 2011). If you have information to share regarding May Francis Heath, please contact a member of the Memorial Committee. (Members: Chris Yoder, Marshia Kontio, Peg Sanford, Jim Schmeichen, Mary Lyons, Sally Winthers, and Jack Sheridan). Donations for this project may be made out to the "SDHS" marked for "The May Heath Memorial Fund".

May Heath

Winthers, Sally

Heath, May (Francis) 1873-1961Morrison, Stephen A. Jr. 1815-1905Francis, Julia E. (Morrison) 1846-1924Heath, Doc Anderson 1865-1947Saugatuck Woman's Club 1904-presentBleeker, William H. "Bill"

Saugatuck Centennial 1930

08/10/2024

08/10/2024