1915 HOMECOMING ARCH

On August 19-21, 1915, the city of Albion held a special Homecoming Celebration for its residents and former residents. (Note: This was NOT the Albion College Homecoming). Hundreds of persons attended this first-such celebration the city ever had. Downtown Albion buildings were decked with regalia for this major event. There were various events and programs the entire weekend which included a 10-mile motorcycle race, horse races at our fairgrounds (across from present-day Victory Park), a baseball game, a band concert, a community dance on the brick pavement on W. Erie St., speeches by dignitaries such as the Hon. Washington Gardner and Dr. Samuel Dickie, an exhibition drill by the local Knights of Pythias lodge, a parade with 150 floats and automobiles, airplane rides, a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round, and yes, high school class reunions.

One big feature you couldn’t miss was a huge homecoming arch covered with white cloth stating "Welcome Home" in electric lights located in the middle of the street at the S. Superior/Erie St. intersection in front of the Peabody Block. It was erected by Fred C. Sackett and his work crew and took ten days to erect. This arch contained 510 incandescent bulbs which were lit during the evening, including the "Welcome Home" banner on top. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of that arch as it appeared at night. If you want to know how this arch looked like in the daytime, see the September 11, 2016 edition of this column which is available on the www.albionmich.com website.

This postcard was produced by local photographer B.C. Tuttle, who was located at 414 S. Superior St. His location later became the Ludwig Studio, and then the Austin Studio in the 1950s and 1960s.

	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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