1972 Family Pictures

On this page you will find the pictures of our family that I didn't take and which, consequently, were not part of my own album pages. As near as I and my sister can determine, the pictures on this page were taken sometime in 1972. Picture descriptions will be as accurate as possible, given that either I didn't take the picture, or wasn't present when it was taken, or was too young to remember when/where it was taken. Such actual dates as are specified were either written on the pictures or can be inferred.

August: My Mom and Dad in Muskegon

In my own picture pages from this year, you saw my parents visit me in Chicago in early August, and you know that their next destination after they left me on Monday morning was Muskegon.

I'm not sure what route my parents took to get over to Muskegon, so other than saying that Muskegon is on the other side of Lake Michigan from Chicago, I won't bother with trying to approximate the route they took.

But I can identify some of the locations where my parents were when the pictures that I have from that trip were taken. So I have taken a map of the Muskegon area and on it have marked the approximate locations (from my memory) where the pictures below were taken.

I've been left with a group of pictures from my parents' visit to Muskegon. First, they visited the Carters and Charters- two families I remember from my trips to Muskegon as a kid.

I believe that this is Mrs. Carter at right, with my Mom next to her. My guess is that the other woman is Mrs. Carter's daughter with Mrs. Carter's grandson.

If I remember correctly, this is the Carter's house which I believe was quite close to the Muskegon Yacht Club.

The next pictures were apparently taken by my Dad of some of the boating activity near the Carters' house and the yacht club:

They also visited two other people I remember- Harold and Irma Charter. As I recall, they had a house on Lake Michigan, but I don't know if this place on a lake north of Muskegon took the place of that or whether they still have both places:

Here are Harold, Irma, and my Mom.

This is the lake near the Charter's house in North Muskegon.

These two kids were apparently at the Charters' house when Mom and Dad visited, and I assume that they are the Charter's grandkids.

I think I remember the footbridge in the pictures below as being out on the causeway between North Muskegon and Muskegon proper. It seems as if Mom and Dad stopped there to photograph each other on the bridge;

And my parents also went to the Farmers' Market- a place I remember vividly. The Muskegon Farmers Market began in the late 1880s, originally as a place to sell wood and hay. It was located on a triangle-shaped piece of land near Cedar, Eastern, and Ottawa Streets and stayed there until 1907.

My Mom is at left.

At the time, selling fresh produce wasn’t allowed. In fact, local merchants pushed back hard against the idea. They were afraid of competition and didn’t want farmers selling fruits and vegetables directly to the public.

In 1907, under the leadership of Mayor Norman B. Lawson, the City of Muskegon tried moving the market to Morris Avenue. But that location didn’t work out—it was abandoned the same year. Finally, in 1921, the City Council approved a major change: farmers were allowed to sell produce at the market for the first time. A new market was built in 1922 on Beidler Street at Washington Avenue. It’s not clear how long it stayed there, but the market continued to move and grow.

By 1933, it was known to be operating at the Michigan Dock and Market Corporation, better known today as the MART Dock. Then in 1936, the City opened a new market on East Webster Avenue between Spring and Cedar Streets.

That location was improved again in 1949, with a restaurant and market office added. It became a busy hub and remained in use until 1964, when the market moved to Yuba Street— where many residents still remember it today. This is the "old" location marked on the map at the top of this section; it it where it was when my parents visited this year.

While not pertinent to my parents' pictures from this trip, I should complete the story of the Muskegon Farmers Market (they have officially dropped the possessive). In 2013 the Muskegon Downtown Development Corporation offered to build a brand-new market using private funds. The plan was to place it on Western Avenue, where the old Muskegon Mall once stood. That mall was torn down in 2003, and the land was ready for something new.

Not everyone was happy about the move. The Yuba Street location had been successful for nearly 50 years. It was part of the Jackson Hill neighborhood’s identity. Farmers and vendors also had concerns about costs and losing customers. But the new plan had big benefits. It would offer more space for vendors, an indoor market for winter, and a commercial kitchen to help small food businesses get started. It could also help bring life back to downtown Muskegon. After holding meetings with residents, farmers, and other groups, the City Council approved the plan with a 6–1 vote. Construction started in 2013 and the new market facilities opened in May 2014.

August: My Mom at Somerset Drive

I have no idea who took these two pictures, or even why they were taken. They are of my mom down by the low juniper bush at the corner of our driveway and Somerset Drive. When my sister and were little, this bush was way overgrown, and we could actually get inside it. At some point it was cleaned up and trimmed.

Two Pictures from Burlington

In this short section I have a couple of pictures taken at my sister's. I am inferring that these pictures were taken either early in the summer (it had to be warm enough to be at the pool at Hawthorne Lane) or perhaps when my parents made their first stop on their summer road trip that brought them eventually to Chicago.

Here is the family at the pool at their apartment building. As near as I can figure, Jennifer is a little over two years old and Ted a year older.

I am surmising that Judy took Mom and Dad to see the land they eventually purchased on Lowe Road over past Elon west of Burlington. This is the old barn on that property.

Those are the old pictures that I have for 1972.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.