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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, May 8, 2005, pg. 3 Coming up on Sunday, May 15 at the Clarence Township Hall just east of Duck Lake is the annual history and genealogy Open House held by the Duck Lake Area History and Genealogy Club. This free event begins at 1 p.m. and lasts all afternoon. This club doesn’t recognize the numerous converging boundaries assigned to the area, so everyone is free to participate no matter what side of the telephone, or school, or postal, or county line boundaries you happen to be from. There will be various displays of historical area and family photographs, as well as family genealogies. The tri-county area genealogy societies have been invited to attend, and will have their own booths along with other history-genealogy vendors. Last year’s event was packed with people, and I encourage our readers to attend this very interesting event this year. If you want to learn more about researching your family history, there will be people there to help you get started. People will be there with computers and databases. For more information, contact Larry Randall at (517) 857-2387 or e-mail him at: lrand@voyager.net. Did you know that Duck Lake once had its own post office and postmark? That is a fact that some residents there wish would become true again today. The Duck Lake post office opened on May 5, 1875, and operated until September 14, 1901 when rural free delivery (RFD) routes from Springport, Olivet, and Albion divided the area. Does anyone have an envelope with a Duck Lake postmark? If you do, bring it to the Open House and show it to the group! One organization that served the Duck Lake area for many years was the Duck Lake Ladies Endeavor Society. It was formed in 1896 to help care for children and parents in the area who needed assistance. Its members would meet together and make quilts and clothing for those in need. They would also go to homes as well, to attend to those who were sick. This would include meals and household chores, and other needs. The founder of this group was Roseanna (Livingston) Perrigo (1870-1948), a well-respected midwife and nurse who cared for hundreds of children in the greater Albion area during her lifetime. The Duck Lake Ladies Endeavor Society finally disbanded in 1993, after nearly a century of community service. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of this group, circa 1907, posing on the steps of a house. There is a wooden sidewalk in the lower right portion of the photograph. POSTSCRIPT: We’ve learned that this photo was taken in the spring of 1907 at the farmhouse of Frank & Roseanna Perrigo. It was located on W Drive north east of 27½ Mile Road. The farm house was demolished years ago. The occasion was a going away party for the Perrigo’s who were moving to Albion so their daughter Myrtle (later Mrs. Myrtle McAllister, who was a nurse in Battle Creek) could attend Albion High School beginning with the 9th grade. That’s Myrtle in the front row with the white blouse and dark skirt, just to the right of the left porch pillar. Roseanna Perrigo is standing in the far right section, just above the two ladies in the white blouses. Special thanks to Jeanne Bryden for her identifications. Also the woman standing on the right in front with two children below her is Annabelle Hoag, and her son Alonzo Hoag with curly hair is the child on the left. 
Duck Lake Endeavor Society, ca 1910 Next: QUAKERTOWN All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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