Tonybumpkins & Co.

Hey! How many times have you wondered what the popular dog names were in Ypsilanti a century ago?

102 years ago, to be precise.

Well, hold onto your seat. I will tell you this thing. These are from a list of dogs whose owners followed the local law and got their dogs a license...there was an intermittent rabies scare that long-ago spring and summer, with one kid bundled off to U-M for rabies treatment, which was fairly painful in those days.

Anyways, who's a good boy? Whooo's a gooood booooooooyyy?

Beaut, Bess, Bettie, Bing, Doc, Don, Gil, Jack, another Jack, Jim, John, Lassie, Nellie, Piker, Queen, Rab, Riley, Rover, Sheriff, Stub, Sugar, Teddy, Tip, Tobias, Toby, Tonybumpkins, Trey, and Willie (one of our dog's names!).

--July 13, 1909 Ypsilanti Daily Press

A Sad, Sad Story is the Tale of the Tail of Pal

For Pal Has Passed Through the Mill Indeed, and Bears the Marks of Misfortune

Pal, Mrs. Mary Discher's little black and white pet dog is today recovering from a sad experience. He is no longer running briskly about the neighborhood, wagging his tail in friendly fashion; he ambles about slowly now, as one does after passing through some of life's serious adventures and his tail--well, that is a very sore point, and "thereon hangs the tale."

Pal, a pal in reality as well as in name, is not denied privileges other members of the household enjoy. His is the liberty of the house; he participates in many, if not quite all, family activities. But there is one weekly function in which he no longer takes enjoyment and that is the ceremony connected with wash day. Pal avoids the washing machine as if it were the plague. He will hardly go into the room where it is kept.

Has Passed Through Mill

For last wash day Pal, or at least part of him, passed through the mill in deed as well as word.

Pal ran into the kitchen where the electric washer was assisting with the task of turning out the weekly wash. All was well with the world, and Pal was wagging his tail in anticipation of the happy state of affairs. Under the tub he went, then under the wringer.

There was a sharp yip of pain, terrified barking and crying. The women screamed, and turned off the electricity, but Pal was fast. His poor tail was bleeding profusely, his hind legs wrenched from the floor. Faint at the sight of blood, someone rushed into the street and called the neighbors. They responded but could not free Pal, who continued to bleed and cry with agony.

John Baker, the mail carrier, was passing, and hearing the commotion, offered assistance. He was obliged to take the wringer quite apart before Pal was free. A portion of his tail was lost entirely.

This is life's sad experience through which Pal has passed--the tale of the tail of Pal.

--Daily Ypsilantian-Press, December 15, 1925.

Mystery Photo: Can You Help Identify?

Deep within the highly organized and accessible Archives are a few back-room boxes of forgotten history. Several boxes of unlabeled photos featuring beloved aunts, cherished sisters, and memorable outings are shelved in a back storage room. With each passing day, the chance of identifying these photos grows incrementally smaller. These photos, and the stories of the Ypsilanti lives they depict, are falling through the sieve of collective memory into obscurity. Can you help save this photo from that fate?

You can see the original scanned, faded version and a version I sharpened a bit. The photo depicts a woman holding up a dog treat for her eager dog. The photo has no label, number, name, or any other identifying inscription on the back.

But we are not without resources. The photo shows many clues that could help us pin it down.

1. The photo shows what appear to be the fronts of 2 neighboring houses. The closer house has a distinctive porch lattice.

2. The woman's dress likely dates from a particular time period. Is there a kind reader who is knowlegable about the history of fashion?

3. Similarly, from what period is the rather ornate wooden chair?

4. The woman is wearing a necklace. Is it a rosary? Does the necklace signify she was rather well-off, or was it more common in her time period for women to wear somewhat large-ish necklaces in general?

5. The structure at the left middle distance has a roof with two distinctive chimneys. What is this structure?

What other clues am I missing? Do you have some ideas to contribute in "comments"?