25 Years Ago — Jan. 17, 1990
Orangeville Township made it official by voting to enter into a one-year trial contract for services from Wayland Area Emergency Services (WAEMS) at a cost of $2,500.
The Hopkins Public Schools has received a $40,000 grant from the State of Michigan to help restructure the junior high into a middle school program for sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
Wayland City elections will take place in April. The two-year terms of Mayor Linden Anderson and council members Marie Hall and Mike DeWeerd will expire, as will the three-year terms of Library Board members of Dr. John White and Monica Baker. The term of Jan Predum will expire because she is filling the unexpired term of Rose Dunsmore, who resigned.
Randi Ann Merlau told police she thought the intersection of Bass and Patterson roads at the Allegan-Barry County line was a four-way stop. She pulled into the path of an oncoming truck and a traffic crash ensued, in which she and three children, all Girl Scouts were injured. Today that intersection indeed is a four-way stop because of too many traffic fatalities.
Nightclub-style singer Tootsie VanKelly will be featured in the entertainment portion of the 1990 Winterfest celebration at Gun Lake.
The Wayland High School band is doing some fund-raising in hopes of coming up with $100,000 for a trip to Europe in 1992. A committee has been formed with co-chairs Erwin and Cathy Doublestein, Ed and Cheri Torkko, Pat and Jim Veltman, Robert and Sandy Brenner, Kate Britten and Mike Browand. They are being assisted by Robert Oster, choir director at Lake Odessa Lakewood High School, who led his group on a European tour earlier.
John Tillotson, a former employee, has purchased Dorr Pharmacy from longtime owner Bob Glupker.
The Wayland community lost two prominent citizens in the same week. Thomas W. Jackson, 73, former owner of Jackson’s Western Store, died of a heart attack in Ft. Myers, Fla. Gene Weber, 58, former owner of Weber’s Dry Goods, official with Kesslers Inc. and most recently president of Baby Bliss in Middleville, died of cancer at Blodgett Hospital. Weber had been president of the Wayland Chamber of Commerce and the local Rotary and Lions clubs.
The Wayland High School varsity basketball team perked up with two victories, one in overtime over Allegan and another over Coopersville.
Martin scored a huge Southwest Athletic Conference basketball victory, 76-62, over Bloomingdale to take over first place. Coach Herb Johnson’s Clippers are 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the SAC.
50 Years Ago — Jan. 13, 1965
The official opening of Dorr Raceway was marked by a ribbon cutting that included Township Supervisor Clem Rewa and 35 racing enthusiasts. Owners Mr. and Mrs. Paul Despres expect to have a three-mile track that amounts to a half million dollar investment.
Petitions opposing the Village of Wayland’s efforts to extend its boundaries have been presented by neighboring Wayland and Leighton townships to the Allegan County Board of Supervisors, which tabled a decision until Feb. 7.
Allegan County voters will vote in a special election in April on a proposed $1 million county medical care facility for the elderly. The proposal was defeated in September 1964. Clayton Jackson of Leighton Township, chairman of the County Board, said the one-mill, five-year request, “is little to ask for the proper care for the aged in our county.”
Mrs. Wayne Ritz has been added to the faculty for Wayland schools, replacing Joan VanderLeest, who recently married David Morris and has asked to be released from her teaching contract.
Miss Charlyne Kimble, a 1956 Wayland High School graduate and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Kimble, has been appointed register of probate by Allegan County Probate Judge Harold Weston.
The Wayland High School Student Council sponsored the first of two “hootenannies” to raise money for a special foreign exchange student fund. Members of the Hootenanny Club and the Triple Trio sang folk selections at the gathering. WHS hopes to attract foreign exchange students to come to Wayland for the 1965-66 academic year.
The Wayland High School varsity basketball team finally claimed a victory after an 0-6 start by taking out Grand Rapids Northview 66-59. Gordon Hudson scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Bill Simkins scored 13 points and Terry Parks, Steve Clack and Scott Hilbert contributed eight points apiece.
The St. Therese basketball team, coached by Dave VanEerden, rallied to overcome St. Margaret’s of Otsego, as Jerry LaValley netted 10 points and Richard Tolan 10. The Panthers now are 3-0.
David Snyder canned a shot with time running out to break a 50-50 ties and hand coach David Nelson’s squad a tight victory over Northview.
James Darren and Pamela Tiffin were starring in “The Lively Set” at the Wayland Theatre.
The Beatles’ “I Feel Fine” topped the nation’s music charts for the third straight week.
75 Years Ago — Jan. 19, 1940
The proposition to create a new township school unit and erect a new and modern addition to the present Wayland school plant with the aid of help from the Kellogg Foundation is receiving much support as the details of the proposition become better known to the taxpayers and the general public.
Last Monday evening, the chairman of the various committees, which have the job in hand to spread the information on the proposed change to all parts of the township, made a bus trip to visit the new Kellogg school (Delton) located about seven miles north of Augusta and a few miles south of Hickory Corners.
This school should be the delight and pride of everyone living in that territory for the new building is just about everything that anyone could wish for in the way of a modern school building. This school has an enrollment of 385 pupils and the novel part of it is that every single one of them is picked up and taken home in one of the 10 school buses operated by the school.
Also, every student is served a hot lunch or meal each noon in the cafeteria. The superintendent, Mr. Harrington, said that a full meal was provided for a cost of 13 cents each.
100 Years Ago — Jan. 15, 1915
School in the Bobbins’ district opened last Monday with Miss Adams as teacher.
The sale of Mr. Lutz’s called out a good crowd last Thursday.
Mr. Charles Brooks of Allegan is visiting his brother, George, and family at the Gun Lake Store.
The West Gun Lake Skating Glub held a business meeting last Saturday evening and reported the ice in fine shape.
Lee Smith has just purchased and received this morning a new ice cutting machine.
Jay Chapple was a Grand Rapids visitor yesterday and attended the laying of the cornerstone to the new Masonic Temple.
Supervisor Frank Chamberlain is attending the January meeting of the Board of Supervisors at Allegan this week.
Mrs. Chas. Yeakey is in Grand Rapids every week, taking a teachers’ course in dancing, the study of grace and body culture.