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Ward Morgan (1907-1997)
All the photographs in this calendar were taken by local photographer Ward Morgan whose collection of 27,000 negatives is housed at the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections. For close to fifty years, Morgan, a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo, did work for both companies and individuals photographing buildings, products, groups and special events
COVER
Shirt Sale at J.R. Jones Sons and Company Department Store. February 1939
In operation for close to ninety years, this department store was located for nearly half of its existence on the southeast corner of West Michigan Avenue and South Rose Street. The clerks are easy to spot as they are the only ones not wearing hats.
JANUARY
Muggs Celebrating his Birthday at the Howard J. Cooper Auto Dealership, July, 1941
A tiger in your tank…how about a lion helping to sell cars! Muggs resided at the H. J. Cooper auto dealership on West Michigan Avenue from 1939 until 1945. Purchased from a circus and trained by Cooper, his fame extended to national magazines and newspapers. He eventually was sent to a zoo in South Bend.
FEBRUARY
Neil and Marv’s Phillips 66 Service Station, 653 West Michigan Avenue, February 1951
Oh for the days when a fill-up meant not only gas but also a wide variety of services provided by attendants such as these. Located on West Michigan Avenue just to the east of Oakland Drive, this filling station was open from 1935 to 1962.
MARCH
Sutherland Company Bowling Tournament, March 1945
Sutherland Paper Company, like so many other local companies, sponsored recreation programs for their employees including bowling leagues. Sutherland had over seventy-six teams for both men and women. Robert Rutledge, company president, opens the tournament in clothing not usually found on players today.
APRIL
Marketing Class, Western Michigan University, April 1959
Not much is known about who is in this photograph and why so many students are wearing suits, however it does illustrate how classrooms and teaching have changed. A marketing class these days would have more female students and more technology although there may be a few wooden desks still floating around the University.
MAY
Typing Contest at Maher’s Business College, May 1940
Opened in 1905, Maher’s Business College offered a wide variety of business-related courses from Accounting to Typing along with instruction on just about every business machine available. Located in downtown Kalamazoo, it offered extracurricular activities, including clubs and athletics, and was gone by 1943.
JUNE
Soldiers at the U.S.O. in Kalamazoo, June 1944
World War II soldiers visiting Kalamazoo could find many activities to do at the local U.S.O. club. Food, telephones, games and books along with regular dances were provided to servicemen, many from Fort Custer and Kellogg Air Field. Staffed by volunteers and funded by local organizations, it served over 260,000 soldiers in 4 ½ years.
JULY
The Queen and Her Court, Douglass Community Association, June 1945
Formally organized in 1919, the Douglass Community Association traces its beginnings to World War I meeting the need to provide activities for African-American soldiers. Over the years, the organization provided, and still provides, a wide variety of recreational, educational and social activities for people of color including the crowning of the Queen and her court.
AUGUST
Backyard picnic in Kalamazoo, June 1957
It’s very easy looking at this photograph to hear the steaks sizzle and smell the corn on the cob. Located on Embury Road in Kalamazoo and taken for a landscape company, this typical ranch home is complete with family, food and the dog waiting patiently for her or his fair share.
SEPTEMBER
Snack Bar, Bernhard Student Center, WMU, January 1958
September, 1957 was exciting on campus as the new student center opened. Reports stated that all five hundred seats at the basement snack bar were filled. Studying would have been challenging due to the juke box which would have been playing along with the noise from the bowling alley next door. The building remains a popular student gathering place.
OCTOBER
Employees making parachute flares, Kalamazoo Stove Company, June, 1945
By 1943, over sixty-five Kalamazoo companies, like the Kalamazoo Stove Company, were engaged in war production producing everything from penicillin, to radar assemblies, aircraft parts, armor plate and even cigarette lighters. More women entered the workforce like never before and in Kalamazoo County, between 1940 and 1945, that number increased by 63%.
NOVEMBER
A & P Grocery Store, Vicksburg, December 1943
No supercenter here, just a small grocery store well-stocked and ready for customers. One can almost smell the Eight O’clock coffee being freshly ground. Produced by A&P for years, it got its name from when people reported the time both in the morning and evening that they drank the most of this beverage.
DECEMBER
Christmas Party, Knights of Columbus, December 1944
A Catholic fraternal organization organized locally in 1912, the Knights of Columbus had a wide range of activities for their members and their families including golf and bowling leagues, dances, picnics and of course, Christmas parties. One wonders what could be in the wrapped package given by an unusually masked Santa Claus.
BACK
Diners and Wait Staff at Lunch Counter, Kalamazoo, May 1949
Even though the specific location of this restaurant in Kalamazoo is unknown, it is very typical of what one would find in a lot of communities with unlimited coffee, the daily specials and lots of meat and carbohydrates. Just make sure you save room for that piece of pie.
