Headlight Flashes
Headlight Flashes was a descriptive booklet of Grand Haven published by the Grand Trunk Railroad in 1894 for it's railway passengers. I was given an original copy from good friend and neighbor Ray Mieras who is a collector of local history. About six years ago I tried to digitally reproduce this wonderful document by scanning each of the many beautiful images and typing all of the text. Much care was taken to create the publication exactly as it appeared in 1894. This project reached about 90% completion with some formatting and proof reading remaining. Although it has always been a separate project, it may be incorporated into the Special Feature section of the Evening Tribune, if and when that publication carries through into 1894.
Sample Content
BLAST FURNACE, SPRING LAKE IRON CO.
The Spring Lake Iron Co.
This enterprise began operations in 1879 and is incorporated with a capital stock of $200,000. The officers of the Company are: Irving M. Bean, President; C. F. Isley, Vice-President; Samuel Marshall, Treasurer; J. C. Ford, Secretary and General Manager. They manufacture Lake Superior charcoal and pig iron, conceded to be the best iron in the United States. Their capacity is about eighty tons per day and they employ in all about four hundred men in the blast foundry and in the manufacturing of charcoal. The annual capacity of the plant is 29,000 gross tons. The institution is located at the head of Spring Lake, that region being favorable for the production of charcoal. Also, it is in direct connection with all of the lake ports, and easily reached by the boat transportation companies. The output is marketed through the agency of Pickands, Brown & Co., Chicago. J. C. Ford was superintendent of the Michigan Central Iron Co., until 1879 when he became identified with the above firm. He is a man of long experience in the iron business and the present success of the Spring Lake Iron Co. is due largely to Mr. Ford's efforts.