Topic: Colorado - Institutions - Michigan Memories Search Results

1. Handwritten letter of introduction for William D

Description:: Handwritten letter of introduction for William D. Purdy, with envelope, written by C.E. Applegate, the Chief Steward of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Colorado, dated November 5, 1906. The note is on Brown Palace Hotel stationery, and the envelope is printed with an image of the exterior of the hotel. The letter reads: Introducing Mr. Wm. D. Purdy, who for several years, was associated with The Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colo., first, as store keeper and wine room superintendent from which two positions, he later on, was promoted to the position of Assistant Steward which latter position, he held when he, in order to better his conditions, resigned and accepted a position as Steward of The Hotel Chamberlain, Des Moines, Iowa. We found him to be at all times intelligent, faithful and painstaking in the discharge of his duties. Respectfully C.E. Applegate, Chief Steward, Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colo.
Date Issued:: 1906-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Detroit Historical Society
Collection:: Biographical

2. Leonard Family Collection

Description:: This collection includes three photo albums and several loose photographs from the Leonard family of Lansing, Michigan. Chauncey Bloomfield Leonard (1860-1941) was born near Ann Arbor and came to Lansing as a child. He began work in the grocery business when he was 13 under John Whiteley. In 1881 he married Emma E. Parker, the daughter of Daniel Parker, Civil War veteran and builder of Buck's Opera House among other buildings and homes in Lansing. They had one daughter Iva May. Mrs. Leonard, who perhaps went by the nickname Effie, was involved with many social clubs in Lansing and served as president of the Club House Association for two years. Iva May married Walter M. Goodrich, an executive at the Reo factory. C. B. Leonard, as he was known, used either Chauncey or Chester as his first name. His own grocery store, known as C. B. Leonard Cottage Grocery, was at the side of a home in the 300 block of South Butler Boulevard in Lansing until 1901 when he sold to Shank & Reynolds. It was then in a couple of locations on West Lenawee until his retirement from the grocery business in 1920. Under him, several successful Lansing grocers were trained, such as Maynard W. Wise, Ora H. Bailey, and Fred Weaver. Following retirement, Leonard became a salesman and collector for the Lawrence Baking Company. The photograph albums in this collection mostly contain family snapshots, as well as photos from travel out west to Colorado, Utah, California, and Mexico, or to Washington, D. C. and New York. There are several from trips to smaller lakes in Michigan as well as Traverse City or Grand Haven. Most photographs date from the 1910s and 1920s. The photographs in the albums slightly duplicate one another in that all the same events and activities are pictured in all three, but variations of scenes and events, as well as unique images, are in each album. Subjects pictured include boating, fishing, and swimming; picnics; cats and dogs; family and friends; homes on Butler Boulevard or West Washtenaw Street in Lansing. The Cottage Grocery appears in a few of the older loose photographs.
Date Created:: [1907 TO 1955]
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Leonard Family Collection

3. Handwritten letter of introduction for William D. Purdy

Description:: Handwritten letter of introduction for William D. Purdy, with envelope, written by C.E. Applegate, the Chief Steward of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Colorado, dated November 5, 1906. The note is on Brown Palace Hotel stationery, and the envelope is printed with an image of the exterior of the hotel. The letter reads: Introducing Mr. Wm. D. Purdy, who for several years, was associated with The Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colo., first, as store keeper and wine room superintendent from which two positions, he later on, was promoted to the position of Assistant Steward which latter position, he held when he, in order to better his conditions, resigned and accepted a position as Steward of The Hotel Chamberlain, Des Moines, Iowa. We found him to be at all times intelligent, faithful and painstaking in the discharge of his duties. Respectfully C.E. Applegate, Chief Steward, Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colo.
Date Issued:: 1906-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Detroit Historical Society