History of Michigan, / by Charles Moore. [Vol. 3]

1682

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN

Melvin E. Trotter received his education in the public schools of
Polo, Illinois, and as a youth learned the barber trade, at which he was
working at the time of his conversion, January I9, I897, at the Pacific
Garden Mission. He at once threw himself whole-heartedly into the
work of rescue, and the next three years were crowded full of various
experiences in the slums of the large cities. After three years of preparation of the. most comprehensive character, he was sent to Grand Rapids
to become superintendent of the City Rescue Mission work of the city.
The first meeting was held at the old Ionia street auditorium, now a furniture store, and Mr. Trotter was called upon to speak. In the words
of one of the men who attended that meeting, and who has since become
a convert: "He didn't know much, but he was bridlewise and would
stand without hitchin', and when they put him up to speak he just told
them in a slang way how God had saved him from a low life of sin and
drinkin' and I guess it made a hit, 'cause the folks gave $I,Ioo to open
the Mission and Mel was the one the directors chose to run it." As related, the night the Mission opened the crowd was four times too large
to be accommodated in the hall, and during the following year there were
fifteen hundred conversions. It was soon apparent that larger quarters
were needed, but money became scarce, the confidence of the public
abated, and the outlook for the little Mission was anything but a bright
one. Through it all Mr. Trotter never lost his faith. Laboring energetically, he finally persuaded five men to donate $500 each, more funds
were raised by selling bricks at ten cents each, a lease was secured on
the vacant lot across the street from the Eagle Hotel, and within fortyfour days there was erected a one-story building with seven hundred and
fifty chairs. Two years later it was found necessary to secure more
room, and a two-story addition was erected which gave the Mission one
thousand chairs, but not only did these not accommodate the great crowds,
but there were two hundred children in the Sunday school to be taken
care of. It was then decided to secure Smith's Opera House, which for
years had been operated as a low-class burlesque house, where vice and
drinking were rampant. An extended legal battle followed, but after a
determined struggle, during which several Mission supporters held the
property several nights with loaded guns, Mr. Trotter and his helpers
were triumphant. To use the words of the authority quoted before:
"When the 'Cherry Blossoms' came to bloom, they did not even bud."
The present structure is one of the handsome edifices of the city, to which
it is a credit, and seats eighteen hundred persons. The meetings in the
auditorium are but a part of the work. The Sunday school at this time
has an attendance of nearly five hundred; the clothes room, the superintendent of which is Mrs. Trotter, furnishes clothes, shoes and other
necessities to the needy; house to house canvassing is done; jails and
hospitals are visited regularly, as well as the police courts; the Gospel
is preached in the streets by enthusiastic workers, not by the old method
of horse and wagon, but by an up-to-date automobile, furnished with an
organ; mothers' meetings are held, as well as Bible classes for beginners and men's classes; and twenty-six outside missions are conducted by
the original home. And behind it all is the constant directorship of a
determined, inspired and devout individual, ever ready to do more than
his share of the labors which are constantly growing heavy, never too
busy to add to the burden of his own work by accepting a share of the
troubles of others. With all his accomplishments and achievements,
Mr. Trotter is a modest man, although easy of approach. It may give
some insight into his character to quote his answer to a question put to
him on one occasion when he was asked what gave him the greatest satisfaction as he looked back over the years since his conversion. He said: