Mar. 10, 2010 - 160 years ago....
Potters Field
-- Bay City's first cemetery was a high sandy ground, called potters field, located just south of Columbus Ave between Saginaw and Washington. The first burial there was a pioneer named Bennett from Pine River. By the mid-1850s the city had grown to the point that the cemetery's location was becoming a problem. Relief came in 1858 when Judge James Birney opened Pine Ridge Cemetery, which was then outside of the town's limits. Many of the burials were removed to Pine Ridge, some to the small cemetery at the Bay County Poor Farm, and some may still buried somewhere in the old potters field.
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    Mar. 3, 2010 - 131 years ago....
    Francis MacLennan (1879-1935)
    -- Mr. MacLennan was born in Bay City, and at a young age developed an interest in music, singing in his church's choir, and later took voice lessons. When of age, he moved to New York, and there worked his way up in opera to become a leading opera singer in the U.S and in Europe. His wife, Florence Easton, was also a prominent singer of that time.
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    Feb. 21, 2010 - 140 years ago....
    Thomas F. Marston.
    -- Mr. Marston, born 1869, in Bay City, a son of Justice Isaac and Emily Marston. Attend school at Mich. Agricultural College, Univ. of Wisc., and was a member of Mich. State Board of Agriculture. He married Francis Sheldon.
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    Feb. 13, 2010 - 161 years ago....
    Lt. Fitzhugh Birney (1842-1864)
    -- Fitzugh, the son of James G. and Elizabeth (Fitzhugh) Birney II, was born the same year his parent moved to village of Lower Saginaw (Bay City), which at that time was sparse settled. His father, an anti-slavery leader, was one of the most priminent men of the 20th Century, who twice was a candidate for president of the U.S. (1840, 1844). Fitzhugh and his brothers, Dion and David Bell, lost their lives in the Civil War.
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    Feb. 1, 2010 - 129 years ago....
    Rolph Armstrong (1889-1960)
    -- This Bay City born artist went onto become a popular commerical artist during the 1940s. Many art experts consider him one of the country's greatest "pin-up" artists. His paintings of beautiful women and other subjects appeared on calendars, magazine covers and in commerical ads. He was often called upon by hollywood stars to paint their portrait, and many became close friends with him.
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