The Leisure Hour Club located next to the Kalamazoo River at 211 Market Place, in Albion, opened its doors at 4 p.m. Sunday for a final send off. Michigan’s oldest member only club could no longer afford to operate in its current form. They were in the process of buying their building, but now those plans are on hold as the board members decide their next move. There are no plans to tear down the building, but the future of the property and club remain uncertain. The only decision the board has made is that the club will no longer exist as it is now.
First known as the Gentleman’s Leisure Hour Club, established in 1895, the men only club was located in the Ismon House at 300 S. Clinton St. and had a 99-year lease. The men had their own meeting rooms, access to a library, bowling alleys, smoking and card rooms. They shared the building part of their time there with Albion’s women E.L.T group which was established at the Ismon House. The Leisure Hour Club was eventually renamed and became a social club for men and women and relocated to their current location.
In the 1930s the building currently housing the club was a hideout for the notorious Purple Gang from Detroit. In September 2022, former Albion resident artist Payge Rumler unveiled a Purple Gang Mural inside the club’s wall to record the history of the building, citing that the city needs to recognize both the good and bad of its history.
Bill Zaremba, Albion, has been president of The Leisure Hour Club for about eight years. He shared that he and the board did their best to keep the club afloat. “Trying to hold it together but with the economy it’s not going to happen.” He said, “We never actually bounced back from COVID. Fewer and fewer people were coming in and can’t make the bills meet, so we had to do something.”
The city’s construction for Stoffer Plaza was challenging, but Zaremba said the people that did come to the club found their way around and he shared that city officials preserved their parking in their future plans of having more green space in the area. “The city did work with us,” said Zaremba. He shared a lack of member participation made it difficult to keep the doors open. That was reflected in the closing celebrations. On its last day, the club had 102 members. “The count for Saturday’s 130th party was 45, not at all what we were hoping for,” said Zaremba.
Two weeks ago, the board decided to stop functioning in their current form. He said not everyone wanted to shut the place down, but the mounting bills required action. The five board members will decide if the club will return in a different form and the future of the building. The club membership was aging with most people being above their 50s. They did attract some new members such as city council member Jim Stuart, who sits on the board. “I joined because I wanted to help the club to keep going,” said Stuart.
Those that were at the party shared fond memories. There were birthday parties, wedding receptions, musical performances, food sales at the Festival of the Forks. Albion residents Isidro Garcia and Patty Bailey have been Leisure Hour Club members for quite some time. Garcia for about 15 years and Bailey for seven.
Garcia loved the hours in the yard by the river. “We had a good time out in the yard. We like to come down here at least two days a week,” said Garcia.
“During the summertime, they had corn hole, horseshoes. We had picnics and barbecues,” said Bailey.
With the club closing both said they would spend more time down at the Moose Lodge in Albion, but they will miss the Leisure Hour Club. It gave them additional activities and was an easy location to get to and they loved spending time by the river. “It’s kind of private,” said Bailey. Both said they will miss the friends that aren’t Moose Club members.
Member Beatrice Embry, Albion, was cooking taco meat for their final party and shared how she felt about the club closing, “It’s sad because we’re like a big family and I am going to miss that a lot.”
Carrie Blicke, Albion, said she has been a member for 15 years or so. “I painted the whole entire inside of this place. My daughter painted the mural that was there.” Being a member of the club is important to her because of the history of the club, the beauty of the location, and she said, “These are all Albion people.” She shared that social clubs still have a place in society. “It keeps people together and being social is good mentally for people, and it helps to keep the community closer.” She, too, is a member of other clubs in town and mentioned the Moose and Elk as examples. But she still will miss the Leisure Hour Club. “Most of this club is like family,” she said.
Ted Blicke has been a member since 2019. He and Carrie spent a lot of time together at the club and shared, “I became a member because of her.” Although they don’t credit the club with getting married, some of their dates involved being at the club together. Ted Blicke said, “We enjoyed our time here very much.”
cut 0608 Long time friends and Leisure Hour Club members are sad to see the club close. Isidro Garcia and Patty Bailey loved the convenient location and being by the river.
Cut 5608 Carrie and Ted Blicke spent time together having fun at the Leisure Hour Club and working to repair it. They didn’t meet at the club but spent many hours there together getting to know each other before getting married.
Cut 1207 Members and non-members gathered together one last time at the Leisure Hour Club to give the club a send-off. At the table Floyd Bell, Chris Farmer, and Gloria Lopez.
Cut 1503 Leisure Hour Club President Bill Zaremba sits in front of the Purple Gang Mural. He and the other board members tried to keep the club operational, hosting parties, selling food, and inviting bands to attract people. He hopes that some part of the club can be kept alive, but that is yet to be determined.
