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BAGLEY, ALFRED A. MR.

Obituary

Muskegon Chronicle, Muskegon, Michigan, 15 February 1960, Page 9

A. A. Bagley Taken by Death; Formerly Operated Red Rooster.  WHITEHALL – Alfred A. Bagley, who will be remembered as operator of the Red Rooster store, gas station, and tavern on Scenic drive from 1925 to 1946, died Saturday at Traverse City.  The emblem which identified his place of business derived from his service in World War I.  An American ambulance outfit in which he served was for a time attached to the French army.  Some of the men who emerged from the Battle of Verdun called themselves the “Cocks of Verdun” and adopted the rooster as an emblem.  He also saw service with the British in the Boer War in South Africa.  Mr. Bagley became a U. S. citizen in 1919.  *  *  *  MR. BAGLEY was born in London, Oct. 12, 1874.  After years as a world traveller and soldier he chose the wooded spot on Scenic drive about half way to Duck Lake to settle down to a life of tranquility and peace.  He had come to Michigan in 1920.  In 1900 he joined the Fourth Hussars, Queen Victoria’s own regiment.  He served in South Africa where the British were engaged in warfare with the Dutch Boers.  Following his service in the British army Bagley travelled over most of Europe, Australia, and Asia.  *  *  *  MR. BAGLEY and his wife came to America in 1913, going to Ottawa, Canada.  After a brief stay, they came on to Detroit.  Mr. Bagley’s service in World War I started with organization in May 1914 in Chicago of an ambulance unit.  He applied and was accepted.  He participated in the battles of Montdider-Noyon, Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, Somme, Oise-Aisne, Ypres-Lys.  He had the seven-bar Victory ribbon.  *  *  *  MR. BAGLEY’S interesting life story contains another chapter of note—that telling of the time he was a chauffeur for royalty during the coronation of King George V in 1910.  At the time he was with the Daimler company, Limited, manufacturers of the famous English Daimler automobile.  He became a picked driver of the car-for-hire department, and such was his popularity with prominent personages that he was among 20 chosen to chauffeur European royalty during the activities incident to the coronation that May day in 1910.  *  *  *  MR. BAGLEY was married to Christina Sutherland in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1908.  She died in 1950.  He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Hannah Stenning, of Montreal; a brother, Edward, in England; two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.  Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Purdy Funeral Home, Whitehall, Rev. Keith A. Davis, of First Congregational Church, Whitehall, officiating.  Burial will be in Speed Cemetery, Fruitland.

Page 22

BAGLEY, MR. ALFRED A., Traverse City, Mich.  Services for Mr. Bagley, age 84, will be held from the Purdy Chapel Tuesday at 2 P.M., Rev. Keith Davis officiating and the interment in Speed Cemetery, Fruitland Twp.  —Purdy, Whitehall.     

Information donated by Matt Burns

 

Whitehall Forum, Whitehall, Michigan, 18 February 1960, Page 5

A. A. Bagley.  Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at Purdy Funeral Home for Alfred A. Bagley, colorful British and American war veteran who built the Red Rooster on Scenic Drive and who for years was a member of veterans fife and drum outfits as a drummer.  He was well known and well liked here.  He had countless stories of his service with the British army in the Boer War and of driving royalty in London when he was a representative of the Daimler automobile company.  He served with the British in 1900 and enlisted in the American army after coming to this country in 1914.  He was born in London Oct. 12, 1874, and was married to Christina Sutherland in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1908.  She died in 1950.  Mr. Bagley came to this area in 1925 and built the gas station and tavern on the Scenic Drive.  He died Saturday at Traverse City.  Rev. Davis of the Congregational Church, Whitehall, was in charge of the services and burial was in Speed Cemetery, Fruitland.  Surviving Mr. Bagley are a daughter, Mrs. Hannah Stenning, of Montreal; a brother, Edward, in England; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Information donated by Matt Burns
 

BAGLEY, CHRISTINE MCKAY MRS. (SUTHERLAND)

Obituary

Muskegon Chronicle, Muskegon, Michigan, 12 December 1950, Page 2

Mrs. Bagley Dies, Ran ‘The Rooster’.  Mrs. Alfred A. Bagley, R. R. 1, Whitehall, who with her husband, for 16 years operated The Rooster, a small store and service station on Scenic Drive, died yesterday in Hackley Hospital after a long illness.  She was 76 years old.  The colorful and popular Muskegon County resident, who made many friends since coming here 30 years ago, had been in ill health several months.  She had been hospitalized 30 days.  Both natives of Scotland, Mr. and Mrs. Bagley came to America from Canada in 1913.  Prior to moving here, they lived in Chicago and at Gull Lake.  In 1928 they opened the Scenic drive business which they operated until their retirement in 1944.  The business was sold.  The establishment, through the years, was popular with tourists and local residents.  Mr. Bagley, her husband and only survivors, saw service in the Boer War and in World War I.  While living in London he served as a chauffeur during the coronation of King George V in 1910.  Formerly Miss Christine McKay Sutherland, she was married to Alfred A. Bagley in Scotland in 1901.  She was born in Scotland Nov. 3, 1874.

Page 22

BAGLEY, MRS. ALFRED A., R. 1, Whitehall.  The funeral services for Mrs. Alfred A. Bagley will be held at 2:00 P. M. Thursday at the Witt Funeral Home, Rev. Donald Skinner officiating.  Friends may call at the Witt Funeral Home beginning Wednesday.

Information donated by Matt Burns