Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 51

I got sidetracked from this collection several months ago after posting #1-50. That was only the first half of this wonderful collection of postcards saved by Edith (Duffield) Sisson (1864-1926). The postcards were found in the Sierra Madre, California home of her grandson, Warren Brown, after his death in 2015. They were stacked and tied up with string, then tucked away in a box of photos and other memorabilia. This one is extra special because the note on the back was from her husband, Charles Herman Sisson (1868-1927).

65. Interior of Big Pavilion, - Saugatuck, Mich.

The Big Pavilion was built in the Spring of 1909 as a dance hall to entertain the families vacationing for the summer in Saugatuck. It was situated on the banks of the Kalamazoo River and not far from Mount Baldhead (if you wanted to climb more than two hundred steps to the top). Wealthy and upper-middle-class families flocked to the resort from Chicago, St. Louis and the surrounding areas for vacations. Some very wealthy drove themselves, but most came by train or by boat across Lake Michigan. They could then either drive or rent a horse and carriage to take them to the beach on Lake Michigan. Some families rented canoes and paddled the river, or fished from the docks. Many, though, came for the dances and concerts in the Pavilion. Saugatuck was in the "dry" county of Allegan, so refreshments at the pavilion were limited to soda, lemonade and perhaps an ice cream or some popcorn. Young men wishing to meet and dance with unescorted young ladies had to first be introduced by the Master of Ceremonies.

Addressed to:

Mrs C. H Sisson

Dear Madam this is

from your old man

Fennville Mich July 31 -11

Dear Edith i got here

safe and sound also 

right side down, at

two oclock in the

morning. Had a nice 

trip the lake was 

as smooth as glass

the smoothest i ever

saw it. the folks are

all well this is all this time

P(ea) S(oup) i think i will be

Home thursday

night on the CRI

There isn't a postmark, full address, or a stamp, so I think it's safe to say that this card was sent in a package or another envelope. The Sissons lived in Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois. His message offers a glimpse of Charles's personality. The "Dear Madam this is from your old man", "right side down", and "P(ea) S(oup)" for postscript are all fun little touches that show he was a good-natured man. 

Charles parents, Luther and Mary Jane (Bassage) Sisson, lived just west of Fennville, Michigan. In 1910, they had two grown children, James and Dora, living with them, too. James helped his father with the farming on land that they owned.  The town of Saugatuck, with the Big Pavilion pictured on this postcard, was less than ten miles from the farm. 

About 1900, Fennville, Michigan
Left to right: Belle Adora "Dora" Sisson, Dora's daughter Beulah, Mary Jane (Bassage) Sisson - seated, Emma Lucinda (Sisson) Buchanan, James Sisson, Luther Sisson - seated, and Emma's daughter Lizzie.

Charles traveled across Lake Michigan by boat, probably from Chicago, on his trip to Fennville. He likely returned the same way, but then had to get from Chicago to Ottawa. We know from his postscript that he planned to take the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, called the Chicago Rock Island, or the CRI, for short. His old lady may have been waiting for him at the station that Thursday night.

Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 11



This is the eleventh in a series of postcards from 1908-1914 discovered last year in the Sierra Madre, California home of Warren Brown after his death. The collection of memorabilia was saved by Warren's grandparents and passed down. Warren was my husband’s cousin and we are the proud holders of the collection today.

Warren’s mother, Edythe Grace Sisson (1897-1978), was the daughter of Edith Amy Duffield (1864-1926) and Charles Herman Sisson (1868-1927).
Charles was the son of Luther Sisson (1840-1923) and Mary Jane Bassage (1847-1915).
Their children:

• James H. Sisson (1866-1931)
• Charles Herman Sisson (1868-1927)
• Belle Adora Sisson (1869-1957)
• Emma Lucinda Sisson (1872-1939)

This particular postcard was sent by Belle Adora "Dora" to her sister-in-law, Edith in July of 1909.



Observatory, Saugatuck, Mich.

Postmarked July 6, 1908 or 1909, Fennville, Michigan

The card is postmarked July 6 and was mailed from Fennville, Michigan. The year looks like 1908, but I think it is 1909 because of a reference in the message to the "big dance pavillion".  Dora and others were visiting the area for the 4th of July holiday. Saugatuck, on the shore of Lake Michigan, was only about six miles from Dora's home in Ganges, Michigan. In the early 20th century the famous Big Pavilion, a large dance hall that attracted bands and visitors from across the region, was constructed. Tourists were also drawn to the harbor, beaches, marinas, scenery, and the view from atop Mount Baldhead.

The card was addressed:  

Mrs C. H. Sisson, 408 Marcy St, Ottawa Ill.

And read:

Dear Sister: We took in the fourth at Saugatuck. so will send you this card.

I did not cross over to baldhead. but what a crowd there was.

I will try and send you a card of the big dance pavilion.

                                                         with Love

                                                                    Dora.



Belle Adora Sisson, photo from the collection of
Edythe Sisson Brown, now in my possession.

I love her name, Belle Adora. As a young girl she was called Belle, but in most later records she went by Dora.



It's not known if she was married to the father of her daughter, Beulah Sisson, born in 1892. If she was, it must have ended prior to the birth as she named her daughter with the surname Sisson. Back then, it was not common for a single woman to raise a child unless the father had died. That may have been the case, but because the child carried Dora's surname, my guess is that she chose to raise the child alone.

When Beulah was a child, Dora raised her in her father Luther's household. In 1905 Dora was married briefly to a widower, James H. Lamper. By mid 1910, James was listed on the census as a single boarder, signaling that the marriage had probably been dissolved. Dora is listed as single in both the 1900 and 1920 census, but in 1930 is shown as widowed. James was still living so it's unknown who the deceased husband was (maybe Beulah's father?).

Dora continued to live with her daughter, even after Beulah married and began her own family. They were together, a tight mother daughter unit, until Dora's death in 1957. When Beulah died in 1991, she was laid to rest next to her mother. They are buried side by side in the Pilgrim Home Cemetery in Holland, Michigan, a town less than twenty miles from this 4th of July holiday spot.