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Hazen S. Pingree

Hazen S. Pingree image
Parent Issue
Day
28
Month
October
Year
1896
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Still is it true that deeds lieroio For man, by man uaselflsh wrought. In spite of skeptic and of stoiu hall thrill the world with kindlier thought. While pulses warm with quickened beating, Divine reltionsbip to trace, We hail with universal greeting The brotherhood of all the race. And bo it is the people claim him This civic chiftáiu of h;s clan ; And thus Ihe houting thousands name hlm The Prophet oí' the working man 1 He lives in the beautiful city of the straits. Hf Is the ivpublican candidate for goveraor of his state. He wlll nndóubtedly be ehief executive of Michigan uiion and after .Tanuary 1, 1897; y et his f ame, his prestige, bis liolfl upon the popular heart do not depend upon tlu issues of November 3; nor has Michigan any longer the ol claim on him, for belongs to the nation, and in one sense 1o the world. He was bom at Denmark, Mniue, August 30, 1840, and is the son of Jusper Pingree; his mother's maulen name was Adaline Bryant. The family records have been faithfully kept, and show that tlie mayor of Detroit ís of the eiglith generation c.f Pingrees bom on American goil. The ttrst of the name here was Mose Pin gree (spelled Pengry) who, with Uh brother Aaron settled in Ipswlcli Mass., in 1640. It is believed tliei carne from England. No oue who pos esses what is called family despiso such distinction. and it is interestin;; t kuow that this sturdy Champion of tl rights of common humanity has a : line of christian aucestry behind hiir men and women of character, standin and influence. Puritanic ideas of ho;i or and honesty. love of home anti con try, and a readiness to defend tlieso :: tlie hazard of Ufe and fortune, liy ever distinguished them. It is inspiriug to be thus fore-fathered, . it is altogether better to be worthy such ancestry; to have in his soul the elementa pí true greatness. The early youth of Mr. Ptagree was ülled with labor; flrst on his father's farm, with the usual New Eugland winter's schooling to the age of tour teen; then in a cotton mili a1 Saco Maine; then in a shoo factory at Hop kinton, Mass. At the outbreak cf war he enlisted in Conipany i'. First Massacbuetts Heavy Artillery. was in the battles of Fredericksbur? Road, Harris Farm. Spottsy 1 vanin . Cold Harbor, and Xortli Anna. On June 1. 1S(4. he was captured by M is by's men and suffered the usual bittei experiences of a Union prisonev at An dersonville, Gordousville. Salisburj and Millen. After live months he was exehanged, in time to take pari in thi battles of Petersburg, fort I-'isiiur Boyden Road. Sailor's Creek, Fan villc and Appomattox. His regiment lost heavily. both in offlcers and en üsted men. After his muster out in AlU'ust ol 18U5, he came djreetly to Detroit and was eniployed in Baldwin's shoe faco!-y. He fofmed á partBérsaip wltli C. H. Smith in 1866, aud it is relat ed that he put into the flrm $460. That the house so launched has been a suciessful one, is tshown by their commercial rating of $500,000 capital. Detroit people say the flrm is distin„'uislieii tor straightforward honesty, enterprlse and square dealing. Seven years ago last .Tanuary, Mr. Pingree was eloeted mayor of his city, and it is in this capacity he has vtob his fame. Here he has been most approved, and most opposed; most enthusiastically admlred and applauded, most cordlally hated. feared and exe:rated; here he has made friends who would die for hini, and foes who hesitate at no device against hlm. It is sald that a man is known by his friends. but he is sometimes better known by noting who are his enemies. So berculean have been his strugglee igainsi eorporations, monopolies, f raud, ïreed and mismanagement, and so sigaal his triumphs that it has brought the man and the city iuto the public eye to a remarkable extent Politically speaking ]■■ lias accomplished the impossïble. He found the city in the grasp of corrupt eorporations, poorly lighted al greal expense, illpaved, no adequate sewer system, a most indifferent and inefficiënt street car service, with biibery prevailing in municipal affaire to a frightful degree; this was the situation. Now, Mr. Pingree has ■■onvictions: his ideas of rlght and wrong are very simple, being derived froni that old Book long ago given for their guidance to the children of men. In the depths of his soul he believes in human rights, and he has colossal lourage of his own whieh never falters. Given such a situation, and auch a man, a battle to the death was inevitable. He begun his warfare against these conditions in Detroit with the cheerful relish of a good fighter, nul he has never given an inch of g round. IIow he espoused the cans of the woiklng man. how he declared for liont dealiüg in the management ''1' pubic moneys, how be exposed bribery , nrt raufi eoirpdcheap ratea of portation. projected a series of needed iinproyements, public lighüng plants. parks, miles of well paved roadways, water service reform, a perfect sewer systeia and other benefaetions - is not the history of all this writteu upon the beautiful and purified face of the city, and in the hearts of the people? ' He lias entered witli syuipathy into the wants of the needy, aud his plan of permití ing the and unemployed to plant and cultiva te the waste and idle lnurls in and about the city. lias nor oiily fed hungry thousands, but stimulated in them a love of bonest labor.'and glven to naany, doubtless, iheir flrst Impulse to manly independence aud thrift. President Geo. A. Cates, of Iowa College, says of him: "It is probably a fair statement of the truth that no mayor of any considerable city in America has done so imieh for the interests of histown as this man.""Tne battle Mayor Pingree has fought out iu the eyes of the nation in aud for the City of Detroit has put the American naiiou under obligations to him." In appearance Mr. Pingree is much better looking than his pictures would indícate: the usual full front view is misleoding, and does poor justice to the strong, thoughtful and kindly face. He has a very olean and elear complexion, is six feet high, well proportioned, and enjoya superb health. Any personal sketch of him would bc incomplete in the eyes of the femInine world without some mention of the graceful and gracious woman who lias been his wife since 1872. An hniir's conversatlon with FRANCÉS (JILBERT PIXGREE is sufficlent to reveal one reason. at least, for the niarvelous serenity of the man. for the great successes of his Ufe; lie has had at home the restful Iiapjiiness of a wonianly nature in arlent sympathy with his owd: a second 3elf with ability to comi)rehend, eourage to endure and wisdom to advise; a modest, beautiful, and discreet power behind the throne! Mrs. 'Pihgree's maiden name was Francas Amelia Gilbert. Her mother was Eliza Riehardson, a family of nany historie names. whose annals run back through perfectly well authenticated channels to the time of the Norman conquest of England. She was bom in Mt. Clemens, Mich.. and has an honorable record as pupil and afterward as teacher in the Union school of that city. The home of the Pinprrees has been blessed with three children. Their lovely first-born, Gertrude, whose habitation is in heaven. but whose sweet memory will never leave her father and her mother: the only son. Hazen S. Jr.. a student in the University of Michigan, and Hazel. the remaining daughter. a young miss. The Pinsree home on Woodward avenue is a delightful place, not only for ontward beauty, but for domestic oharm. cultured refinement and hospitable good cheer.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier