CITY COUNCIL ELECTION 60 YEARS AGO

Be sure to get out and vote on Tuesday, November 4. Your vote can make a difference in tight local elections—recent elections show that. It was 60 years ago that Albion voters went to the polls in November, 1954 to elect a new City Council and Mayor. This was during Albion’s boom years when the city was burgeoning with new residents and there was a housing shortage.

The Albion Citizens League held a rally at Washington Gardner High School on October 29, 1954 on the behalf of the eight City candidates they endorsed. One-hundred persons attended the forum. There each candidate gave his (sorry ladies, no "hers") views and positions on various topics. Candidate for Mayor, Charles E. Hughes, stated, "I am here because I was drafted by others. I believe the office should seek the man and not the man the office." There were two other candidates for Mayor that election, namely C. Sam Harding, and W. H. McKanic, but they were not invited to the event. Instead, local radio station WALM broadcast the latter’s campaign talks.

From our Historical Notebook we present a photograph from October 29, 1954 showing the eight endorsed candidates for City Council, Justice of the Peace, and Mayor. From left to right are: Jasper Scott, Paul Hawes, Frank Costello, James McIntosh, Gardner Lloyd, Arthur Maase, Donald Harrington, and Charles Hughes. How many of our readers voted in the November, 1954 Albion City election?

	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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