Sat pan of gasoline onlight stove

The following story is from the Ypsilanti Daily Press of Wednesday, May 30, 1906.

The carelessnes of a young lady roomer very nearly proved disastrous to herself and the household about 6:30 o'clock lst evening. Miss Spitzer who rooms at the corner of Cross and Hamilton streets at the home of Miss Minnis, sat a pan containing gasoline upon a lighted cook stove, leaving the can itself very near the fire.

In some manner the flue ignited and before the young lady could do anything the curtains and sashes about the room were ablaze. Her screams called the remainder of the household and George Morgan and Charles Webster, two Normal students, who happened to be passing the house. The young men did the fire laddie act very skillfully, throwing the can of gasoline out the window and smothering the blaze with the an old piece of carpet. The fire department appeared on the scene just as the flames were extinguished. The only damage from the scare were the badly scattered wits of the young people and the destroyed curtains.

It appears Miss Spiter started out to clean a garment with gasoline, but not knowing the danage of using it near a fire, carelessly placed the pan upon the stove. Everyone in the house is congratulating themselfs this morning tha the accident was not an infinitely more serious one.

Police After Bicyclists

The following story appeared in The Ypsilanti Daily Press on Friday, May 25, 1906.

The police are hot on the trail of bicyclists of the city who persist in violating the ordinance on this city relative to riding uppon the sidewalk. Coplaints have been coming in thick and fast for the last few days and they cover pretty near all the wards in the city, being especially thick from Chicago avenue (now Michigan AVe.)and River street, and streets about the Normal (now EMU). On Chicago avenue the grade is very steep and particularly inviting to coast on, so the cyclists indulge to the danage of themselfs, pedestrains and to the childern who live upon the street, until the residents have felt that somethingshould be done.

Already the names of several of the offenders have been secured, but the people making complaint do not care to go to the court room as witnesses, so they wil not be arrested until the offense is witnessed by some member of the police, all of whom are watching very closely to catch the offenders in the act.

The offense besides being a dangerous one is more serous haen one would at first think. Section 2 of ordinance 72 says that 'No person or persons shall ride any bicycle or other vehicle on the sidewalk within the limits of the city of Ypsilanti,' and section 8 says that any person violating will be fined not to exceed $50. or confined not less than ninety days in the county jail.

Several complaints have also been made about childern with speed carts riding down the sidewalk at breakneck speed. While the disposition of the complainants is not to put a stop to this practice entirely, they feel that parents should be more careful about restricting their childern about riding so fast, and should see to it that their instructions are carried out.

Ypsilanti once excelled Chicago

The following story is from the Ypsilanti Daily Press of Thursday, May 15, 1906.

A relic of old days, when Ypsilanti was a town more important than the city of Chicago, has been found by George D. Lockwood, of the city, and is a circular issued by the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, of Newark, N. J., when their general western office was in this city.

In order to see what sort of a place Ypsilanti was then, the Daily Press sought out Mr. Robert W. Hemphill, and asked him if he knew S. M. Loveridge, who was general agent of the company in this city at that time, and where he kept his office.

"Do I remember Mr. Loveridge and where he kept his office," repeated Mr. Hemphill "Yes, I remember him, but I don't think he had any office, all of his business being done at his residence which was situated on the site where the postoffice now stands. There was no town in those days, as we have now, but instead of stores were gardens and flower beds. From Mr. Loveridge's house to the store now occupied by Mr. Stein's cigar store was all flower gardens. Only one store stood on Congress street (now Michigan AVe.) then that stands now, the one occupied by Frank Smith, who was then the junor member of the firm of Kinne & Smith, druggists. East and west of this store were gardens and across the road lived the father of Mr. Samuel Post. His residence sat just back of Kuster's market, and I think is still standing. Out by the east side, back of Griffen's law office was his garden. The only block in the village at that time was the three stores on the east side of Huron street, now occupied by Wilber's insurance office, and extending to Burtis' barber shop."

Mr. Loveridge live until about fifteen years ago, and was well known in this city. He was the grandfather of Mrs. Glen Seymour.