819 Lyon NE MIDTOWN GR HOUSE STORIES/The Old East End

copyright Pam VanderPloeg 2024. 

 The Old East End is a "sub-neighborhood" of the popular MidtownGR neighborhood located at the east end of the former Valley City Street and Cable Railway, which ended at Lyon and Grand.  The street car was a main source of city transportation in the 1920s. The property just east of Eastern and Lyon was a convenient location for William (who worked downtown) and Marie (Quackenbush) Witt, so in 1923 they built a house.  The style was the popular Craftsman bungalow with a frame facade and brick porch pillars constructed on a foundation of stone veneer. The sloping backyard suited Marie's pretty rock garden. She installed stone steps leading down the hill. In January of the following year, with the popularity of the automobile, the couple took out a $200 permit to build a garage, now replaced by a later structure. 

THE WITTS—Six years earlier and single, William, the son of Canadian immigrants, had registered for the draft in June 1917. He described himself as slender, of medium height, with light-colored hair and brown eyes. At that time, he waited tables at the very cool Phoenix Club in the now-gone but famous Ramona Park. A month later, on July 4, 1917, William and Marie Quackenbush married. When William met Marie, the granddaughter of a Civil War veteran from Newaygo County, she was a laundress at the Baxter Laundry at Eastern and Fountain.  Today that is the site of the new Midtown Green. William proposed and, soon after the wedding, left for Europe and World War I. Upon discharge, he worked as a salesman in the floor covering department at the beautiful, modern Paul Steketee & Sons Department store designed in 1916 by architects Robinson & Crowe. William and Marie saved their money and, by 1923, built 819 Lyon NE. Although they did not have children, the house was home to a prized black and tan hunting dog who went missing in 1927, according to the classifieds.

 By 1930, the Witt's home was valued at $6,000 and photographed in 1937 as part of a WPA-funded city-wide inventory. In 1942, William registered for the commonly described "Old Man's Draft," conducted by the Selective Service during World War II. The Witts still owned the home in 1943 when the Grand Rapids Press ran a tongue-in-cheek  human interest story about the live Barred Rock Hen they purchased with a plan to cook it the next day for Sunday dinner. The hen got a reprieve when overnight it produced an egg, worth 5 cents in those days. The Witts swore that, when she hatched the egg, the hen etched the likeness of a blue gill on the shell because it was William, an avid sportsman’s, favorite fish. The hen’s fate is unknown. 

By 1950, William was still working at Paul Steketee & Sons Department Store, but he and Marie had moved to 941 Northlawn NE in the Cheshire neighborhood off Plainfield. From that perch, they enjoyed trips like one in 1951 to Stratford, Ontario. They entertained family and friends at a birthday dinner and hosted family members visiting from Canada. William retired from Steketees in 1956. He enjoyed hunting and fishing until he died in 1958 at 68. Marie lived on Northlawn until she died in 1966.

THE PORTERS—By 1950, Stanley Edward Porter, a wholesale rug importer, and Rose Marie Klocko Porter, a bookkeeper, owned the house. Stanley, who grew up in Comstock Park, was born in 1917 in Benton Harbor where his father Frank E. Porter was a warehouse foreman for the Pete Marquette Freight house.  He earned his five-year award as an Eagle Scout from the Grand Valley Council. In 1941, Stanley registered for the World War II draft, and named his employer as Lott & Geckler, a component of the American Fabric Rug Company headquartered in Germantown, Pennsylvania. That same year, he married Rose Klucko, a graduate of Central High School who was the daughter of a Polish immigrant father and Chicago born mother.  In her Central High yearbook, Rose was described as “not only a cook, but a secretary.”  Stanley was inducted into the army as a private and Rose along with her sister-in-law, Mrs. C.A. Wilkins, visited Stanley over the 1942 Memorial Day weekend at Camp Forrest in Tulahome, Tennessee.  Porter received his honorable discharge from Fort Sheridan, Illinois in 1945, came home to his family, and resumed his career as a rug salesman.  

By 1950, Stanley and Rose owned 819 Lyon.  Stanley was the manager of the American Rug   Company’s Grand Rapids headquarters. That same year, he was listed as a Department Manager at the stunning new  Herpolsheimer’s store. The Porters made some structural changes including the addition of a small room on the back or north side. They removed a small bay window on the home’s east side and covered the opening with wood frame. Rose was active in the Nazareth Catholic Services League and co-hosted the League’s dinner in 1952. Stanley joined American Legion Post #67. They had two sons, William (Bill) J. and Frederick Porter.  Frederick listed his BB gun for sale for $5. in the classifieds, claiming it had a 1,000 shot repeater. In 1960, the year Frederick graduated from Central High School, he was a runner-up for Junior Achievement president and by 1965, Stanley and Rose celebrated his wedding. William received Honors in Journalism, in his communication studies at Michigan State University. William enlisted as an army private, Clerk Typist, assigned to Company Headquarters in Fort Myers, Virginia.   Rose died in 1983.  At that time, Frederick was living in Indianapolis and William and his wife, Kathryn Porter were in St. Cloud, Minnesota.  Now a widower, Stanley E. Porter remarried Doris T. (Buist) Porter. 

In 1987, Bill, a clerk at the Meijer’s store, and Kathy were owners at that time.  The Midtown neighborhood association had formed and partnered with the East Hills Neighborhood to clean up the Cemetery. They also organized the Friends of the Fulton Street Farmers Market. By at least 1989, Kathy Porter was president of the Midtown Neighborhood Association.  In 1990, she shared her grandmother’s favorite paczki recipe with the whole city when it was featured in the Grand Rapids Press. Was Kathryn sitting on the front porch at 819 Lyon, while predicting college and professional football winners from 1992 to 2001, becoming a three-time winner of the-then-popular “Beat Becker” contest.  Kathy died in 2011. Bill Porter continued living there until, after a long illness, Frederick sold the home on Bill’s behalf. 

TODAY - THE POOLE HOUSE—Current owner, Cheryl Poole, moved to Grand Rapids from Okemos to be closer to her daughter Sarah who became acquainted with Bill Porter after she moved to 821 Lyon Street next door. Watch for the upcoming story “821 Lyon NE”.  When Cheryl bought the house, she mixed rustic with modern by replacing the roof with one in a new soft gray color, painted the facade a bright white, and installed a unique set of artistic metal porch railings. With a pleasant nod to history, Cheryl restored the lovely original wood and glass door. Her curvilinear garden beds are designed for all-season beauty. It was Cheryl who shared the wonderful Porter family vintage photos. More photos at https://midtowngr-housestories.com/