In 1877 John H. Young and Thomas G. Moses headed to Detroit. They received word from their previous employer Wardus about a large church project. I was surprised to read this entry as Wardus skipped town with their money after a previous church job, owning a substantial amount to Moses, Young and Tom Brown. Brown returned to New York, but Moses and Young remained unemployed in Jackson, Michigan. It is understandable that they would agree to meet Wardus in Detroit, as it might be have been the only way to ever recover their lost wages. Unfortunately Wardus wasn’t there when they arrived at the designated hotel. He had left a note explaining that he was traveling with his family to Rochester and would return in a few days. The two boys waited for an entire week to no avail. Moses wrote, “we were broke; had to borrow money from a priest that we knew to get us back to Jackson where we arrived safely and very much wiser.”
Moses sought employment with George W. Stevenson again, the manager of the “Two Theatre” and “City Bill Poster.” After Stevenson suffered a $1600 loss of all his scenery and mechanical effects in a fire, the author of this military drama decided to stage a new version. Moses was hired to create scenery for the production “The Drummer Boy of the Rappahannock,” advertised as “the best military drama in the business.” The painted scenes for this production included views of Fort Sumpter, Charleston Harbor, Fredericksburg, the interior of Libby Prison, the Camp at Falmouth, Camp of the 13th Massachusetts, Pontoon bridges, and boats crossing the Rappahannock. Various newspaper articles described magnificent cloud scenes and tableaux.
The production was advertised as a drama “of the same characteristic as the ‘Union Spry’ and would be given under the auspices and for the benefit of the Detroit Life Infantry. Stevenson appeared as the leading character, Harry Harpre, the Scout. Advertisements noted that “the play abounds in intensely dramatic incidents and military tableaux, and there is enough of the patriotic element and of rollicking humor to keep up interest throughout the entire five acts” (Detroit Free Press 1889 11 Jan 1880, page 8). The scenic effects included “the bombardment of Fort Sumpter, the charge on Fredericksburg, the crossing of the river on pontoons, the escape from the horrors of Libby prison, the return of Col. Freeman’s regiment and the grand dénouement. Capt. Dupont and the light infantry will appear in the bayonet drill, for which this company has already been celebrated.”
While working on a few decorating projects for Stevenson, Moses had the opportunity to make acquaintance with of “the better class of young people” and went out a good deal with them. By that summer, painting work for Moses began to wane and he advertised as an art instructor.
Recalling his first studio in Grass Lake in 1931, he wrote, “I opened a ‘School of Painting.” I can still see my little tin sign swinging in the breeze. Some nerve! Say I. I soon had a class of fourteen – mostly girls. They came from farms and villages. I was teaching something that I knew very little about and I got away with the bluff, and made good. Everyone was satisfied and I earned four dollars a day. I was entertained and invited to all the best homes. I was a real artist for a while and lived among real people.”
To be continued…
