[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 126 (Monday, September 12, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF STABILITY, FRIENDSHIP, AND COMMUNITY

                                 ______


                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 12, 1994

  Mr. BARCIA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention 
to the 100th anniversary of the Cass City Summer Home Club in 
Caseville, MI. This club beckons to a time when distances were 
considered great, and when a summer home was considered to be among one 
of the most special parts of the year.
  The Cass City Summer Home Club celebrated its anniversary at a 
centennial celebration dinner this past Saturday. I was pleased to join 
with so many of the club's members in regaling in the fact that what 
started 100 years ago as a summer recreation association on the Saginaw 
Bay waterfront has resulted in family friendships lasting generations. 
When Burt Smalley, a resident of Pontiac who worked as a conductor on 
the old PO&N Railroad, helped people from Cass City acquire property, 
little did he know how important he would be to people for years to 
come.
  The early members of the club which was founded in 1894 would ride a 
train from Cass City to Caseville and then spend several weeks laying 
out at first a pavilion and dormitory for members of the club. 
Individual members then built individual cottages which were often 
handed down from generation to generation, and occasionally sold to new 
members of the club.
  Bill Stevenson, a current member, can trace his family's membership 
back to his grandmother, Lucy Holmes, who was issued stock on June 9, 
1899, the earliest record stock issuance date. David Donnellon can 
trace his family's ownership back to 1919. The Sandham family can also 
trace ownership over 75 years. Bessie Maxwell has owned her current lot 
for 62 years, a club record for ownership by a single individual.
  Mr. Speaker, the Anderson, Benkelman, Mason, Stormzand, Sturm, and 
Vader families can all trace their families' ownership for more than 50 
years. Certainly this type of constancy, ranks as unique in Michigan, 
and among an elite few in our Nation's history. With people who spend 
every summer together, whose families have grown up together, and who 
look forward to the friendship and community that the Cass City Summer 
Home Club provides, the centennial of the club is certainly worth 
celebrating.
  I urge all of our colleagues to join me in wishing them a most happy 
100th anniversary, with best wishes for at least another 100 years of 
what has made the Cass City Summer Home Club great.

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