GAS COMPANY PICNIC, 1944

Facts and trivia: Our newly arrived 2008-09 by-itself Albion telephone book has just 17 pages of phone numbers. What a large drop! Last year it had 24, as was the average number of pages for most of the early 2000s. In 1999 there were 29 pages of phone numbers. No, they didn’t make the print smaller. Do you see a trend here?

As we approach the end of summer and look forward to the fall season, we remember that summer used to be the time for company picnics here in Albion. Many of our local factories treated their employees and families to a day of food, fun, and recreation. Union Steel Products, for example, used to hold their picnics at Victory Park.

The Albion Gas Light Company, later the Southeastern Michigan Gas Company, would hold their annual picnic in July during the 1930s at Lake Michigan. During the 1940s it was held at Swain’s Lake near Concord. During the 1950s it was at White Marble Spring Lake near Allen.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of the 1944 Albion Gas Light Company picnic, courtesy of Gary Fouts. His father, Neville Fouts worked for the gas company for 40 years. Front row (L-R): Plant superintendent Floyd A. Rogers, Gary Fouts, Irene Fouts holding Pat Fouts, Gustave Bohm, Gertrude Rogers, Marjorie Rogers, Max Smith, Geraldine Bohm, and Cleo Bohm. 2nd row: Myrtle Smith, Neville Fouts, Marjorie Bohm, Leah Smith, Elmer Radee, Mrs. John Miller, Donna Smith, Yvonne Smith. Top row: Reine Koth, plant manager Frank W. Koth, and Marceline Bohm.

How many of our readers remember attending company picnics at either Swain’s Lake or at Dudek’s?

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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