Page 99 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

A partial index of obituaries published in the Grand Rapids Press between
1918 and 1999 lists the deaths of the following Poots in Grand Rapids:

Name Born Died-Obituary date
POOT Marvin Tue, 9 Apr 1918 Obit GR Press page 16
POOT Adriana Tue, 12 Apr 1938 GR Press Obit
POOT Henrietta Tue, 11 Apr 1944 GR Press Obit
POOT Henry (Hendrik Jan) 1890 Mon, 10 Jan 1949 GR Herald Obit
POOT Jacob (Johannes J.) 1892 Tue, 2 Sep 1952 GR Press Obit
POOT Dena (Hollander) 1888 Mon, 25 May 1964 GR Press Obit
POOT Joseph 5 Sep 1892 Fri, 18 Dec 1964 GR Press Obit
POOT Mrs. Joseph (Kate) 1893 Fri, 18 Dec 1964 GR Press Obit
POOT Mrs. James (Margaret) 26 Sep 1919 Sat, 28 Apr 1984 GR Press Obit
POOT James 1 May 1918 Mon, 30 Aug 1999 GR Press Obit

When J.W. Poot arrived in 1891, Grand Rapids was considered an urban
city. It possessed many large factories and tall buildings downtown. The
Michigan Trust Building erected in 1891 was the area's first "skyscraper", a
new word applied to steel framed buildings that were 10 or more stories
high.

Michigan contained vast forests that provided a cheap supply of lumber
for various industries. During the second half of the 19th century, Grand
Rapids was a major lumber cutting center. The lumber business was at its
peak between 1869 and 1889, but was still very active when the Poots
arrived. Millions of tree logs were floated down the river to Grand Rapids
for cutting. Sometimes floods would drive too many logs down the river
causing the destruction of bridges and boats. After thousands of square
miles of land were cut bare, the floods became worse and more frequent.
In the 20th century the natural environment was improved with tree
planting and flood-control projects.

The supply of high quality lumber helped Grand Rapids to become the
premier furniture manufacturing center of the United States. Numerous
furniture factories employed thousands of workers. Seven of the largest
buildings in the city were furniture factory showrooms. Will Poot's
exposure to all of this furniture activity probably helped to provide a
foundation for his later interest and expertise in carpentry.

A large amount of wood products were sent from Grand Rapids to nearby
Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo was a leading paper manufacturer, and Grand
Rapids was a major user of paper in its many printing and publishing
businesses. This aspect of its business environment also had an impact
on Will Poot, as he would spend many years working in printing and
publishing businesses.

In 1880 the world's first hydroelectric power plants were put into
operation on the city's West Side. During the first few years, electricity
was used for intensely bright carbon-arc lights in commercial buildings

(12-2005) - Grand Rapids - - page 3 -