Classic Cars, Tech Center News, October 30, 2000

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TOP HAT JOHN-CLASSIC CARS COLUMN - Tech Center News, October 30, 2000

SEEMS the folks at MIT are having way too much fun amassing information on dumb things that people do. One of them is the ANNUAL DARWIN AWARDS for people that manage to extricate themselves from the good planet Earth in the strangest of ways. Upon the reading of those who left us strangely, and are among the 2001 nominees, is an individual who supposedly once dwelled in our fine state. Now I couldn’t pass this one up since the person is reportedly; from Michigan, was a mechanic-hence I deem, a car person. Here’s the story.

A 34 year old James Burns, a mechanic living in Michigan, was supposedly killed in March as he was trying to repair what police described as a farm type truck. Burns got a friend to drive the truck on a highway while Burns hung underneath the vehicle so that he could ascertain the source of a troubling noise. Burns clothes caught on something, however, and the other man found Burns wrapped in the driveshaft when he stopped. Okay.

MT. CLEMENS is my kind of town-I live here. Its old and renewing itself, again. And on most any Wednesday evening the towns streets are filled with the old cars that we love so much to drive. Three times a year the local Bearing Burners Car Club take over this little burb and put on a car/truck show, burnout contest, and flame throwing exhibition, thats just plain good old fun-and sure brings in some good revenue for the city. And renewing itself again it sure is with restaurants, neat little shops and now a very functional theatre called the Emerald, featuring some big name entertainment. We have good fun here with our cars, just like other small towns. But sometimes you just like to know a little bit of the real history of where and how a town began. Everybody knows-I think-that at one time Mt. Clemens was virtually nationally famous and even somewhat internationally famous for its mineral baths. That was in the 1800’s. Things change, but next time your in town, whether its for the Wednesday car night or for a visit to the many restaurants and pubs, here's a little history on Mt. Clemens as a city-The only Michigan city that the HOT ROD MAGAZINE POWER TOUR called home for three consecutive years.The city was originally founded by one Christian Clemens who was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He was given a land grant from the United States for the property in 1798 and plotted the original village in 1819. Both he and his wife Elizabeth are buried in a park right where Mainstreet and Northbound Gratiot intersect-at the north end of town. A lone monument stands on the location and I do believe, most folks don't even know it exists there.

The other evening I was dining in a new establishment on Macomb Place called the Bath City Bistro-appropriately named-and on the back of the menu was great history. By the way, Macomb-as in Macomb County and Macomb, Michigan-was a General in the US Army two centuries back. From the menu. In 1870 a flour mill proprietor, Dor Kellogg, had cured his severe case of eczema by bathing in the salty mineral waters of Mt. Clemens. Dor became convinced that in this water was a remarkable remedial agent and began to bathe his friends and neighbors. Results were truly wonderful. A local physician, Dr. Abner Hayward, had started prescribing bathing for his patients suffering from rheumatism. Interest in the curative powers of the city’s mineral waters continued, and as a result Dr. Henry Taylor, another Mt. Clemens physician, built the first bath house so that the mineral-rich waters could be pumped from the wells into large tubs. The first bath house in Mt. Clemens, called the ORIGINAL, was constructed in 1873 and marked the beginning of the city’s fabulous bath era. To accommodate those who came from afar for the baths, the original’s owners built the Avery Hotel, thereby setting a pattern for the bath Era. Mt. Clemens became known as a leading spa and people came from across the country and from all over the world seeking benefit from the special mineral waters.

By 1895 hotels and bath houses were a major business for the city. The needs of the hotels and bath houses promoted other businesses and profoundly influenced the way of life in the area. Summer months were the height of the bath season and those seeking relief came for three weeks, taking the mineral baths and its accompanying massage and rest daily. This left a portion of the day for pleasurable recreation: riding or strolling about the city’s tree shaded streets, sipping sweet artesian well water at one of the attractive springs, enjoying horse races at the track on the edge of town, and seeing the theatricals at the Nelson Opera house.

Many famous people came to the elegant hotels from around the world and the PARK became the social center of Mt. Clemens and was the scene of many fabulous parties and balls. Known for its luxurious accommodations, the Park hosted many affluent and famous personalities including Henry Ford, George M. Cohan, Mae West, Booth Tarkington, William Randolph Hearst, Helena Rubenstein, Jerome Kern, William Jennings Bryan, Alice Roosevelt and Fannie Hurst. At the peak of it’s popularity, Mt. Clemens featured 13 bath houses which included, The Baths of Artethusa, The Clementine, The Colonial, Fountain Bath House, The Medea, Mineral Baths, Mt. Clemens Bath House, The Olympia, The Original, The Park, The Plaza, The Riverside and St. Joseph Sanitarium. The city of Mt. Clemens known as "The Mineral City" and "The Bath City of America" became famous around the world. And when HOT ROD MAGAZINE brought the Power Tour to our town, Mt. Clemens became famous once again … all over the world as "Car Town USA".