(Taken from the archives at the Then & Now Historical Library in downtown Dorr)
25 Years Ago — Aug. 10, 1998
The Wayland Township Board has decided to give its assessor an ultimatum on the Selkirk Lake issue deadline.
State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials are finalizing plans to cap Wayland’s Sunrise landfill on the south side of town.
Longtime Wayland resident Dora Weaver’s generosity continues with a huge fund, but local officials are left with the arduous task of how to spend it Weaver had died at at the age of 91 in the past November.
A Dorr resident and the Allegan County administrator, continue to battle over a dirt issue.
The YMCA Camp Manitou-lin on the east edge of Wayland Township now can be used year-round.
Alice Davis of Hamilton responded to Soullieres’ letter from the week before about township officials not caring about local residents’ opinions, suggesting those aggrieved persons retaliate by voting.
Tom and Kathy Morefield expressed their thanks in a letter to the Dorr Township Fire Department for quickly pulling their son out of a sand pit.
Melanie Shook, 20, of Shelbyville, a sophomore at Indiana Wesleyan University, was crowned Miss Allegan County at the pageant at the Wayland High School auditorium.
Four Wayland High School students are recovering from injuries sustained in a traffic crash on 18th Street near 143rd Avenue in Dorr Township.
River City Jazz will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, at the next in a series of August concerts in the Wayland City Park.
Longtime Allegan County Commissioner Muriel O’Leary won her primary election in a landslide. Jeff McElwee grabbed 88% of the vote for Monterey Township Supervisor.
Watson Township voters approved a two-mill renewal for road improvements and one mill for dust control, but turned down two other road-related millage requests.
50 Years Ago — Aug. 7, 1973
Jane Kessler, a 1973 Wayland High School graduate, was crowned Miss Wayland at the high school girls’ gym. Special guests at the pageants were former local queens Patricia Krup, Lynn Freeman, Rita Belka Brown, Lucinda Browand, Roxie Greenwalt Muczynski, Jeri Selkirk Schmidt and Harriette Birchard Yenser.
Klaus Tanis, Clare Colvin, Patty Jean Young, Mary Kent Kent and Doug VanderMeulen all were elected to the Martin Village Charter Commission.
Hopkins Township voters agreed to continue a tax levy for maintenance and improvement of local roads. Only 45 people showed up at the polls.
City Council members were told by engineers from Williams & Works that cost of water system improvements would be $348,800.
The Allegan County Pleasure Riders Club sent the Globe a letter outlining rules and regulations at Silver Creek campground, urging area residents to use the facility with “good horse sense.”
John Zemlo was named new head varsity basketball coach at Martin High School, succeeding veteran Herb Johnson. A 1970 Western Michigan University graduate, he coached junior varsity hoops at Gobles for three years.
A serious difference of opinion about the score of a suspended Little League game for a league championship cause tempers to flare among fans. David Young, Harding’s Market coach, insisted his team led 16-10 after four innings and Wayland Globe coach Hal Brocker said the count was 16-12. The Globe scored five runs, but Young refused to continue the game because he maintained his team had won 16-15. The matter was resolved after a private meeting with Recreation Director Dave VanEerden. Harding’s was declared the winner and the team moved on to a berth in the local World Series.
The Legendary Luke Warfel hurled three innings and Ed Buchanan mopped up, as the Ogres were pummeled in a road game at Dowagiac. David Hunsberger, nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Hunsberger of Wayland, had one hit.
A Holstein owned by Tom Weick of Hopkins won third place aged cow in the All-Michigan Holstein Show.
Robert Sponable, 59, of Payne Lake, died after open heart surgery at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo. He had been funeral home director at services in Hopkins, Otsego and Hastings.
Mrs. Bruce Moulenbelt presided over the second meeting of the Hopkins VIP group that is implementing changes for the Parent-Teachers Organization.
The No. 1 slot among the nation’s tunes belonged to Maureen McGovern singing “A Morning After,” taken from the movie “The Poseidon Adventure.”
75 Years Ago — Aug. 13, 1948
Editor-Publisher Rollo G. Mosher reported in his “Observations Here and There” column that many local residents were eliminating the massive numbers of English starlings that are infesting tress in back yards, using shotguns.
Six people suffered injuries in a traffic crash on U.S.-131 south of Wayland. Some were taken to Butterworth Hospital and others to Crispe Hospital in Plainwell.
Laura Ward of Caledonia was killed in a car-train accident on the east side of the town. Authorities said she died of a skull fracture. A passenger in the car she was driving was not hurt.
A Festival and Ham Dinner is planned at West Gun Lake Aug. 22 at Sts. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church. Music will be provided by Charles Kuhtic and His Orchestra.
Final rites for Pvt. Leo Moore, who was killed in the war in 1945 in Italy, were scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Archer Funeral Home.
Three passengers in a rowboat on Green Lake were killed by a speedboat causing a huge wave that resulted in their boat capsizing. The three who perished, all of Jamestown, included a 17-month-old boy, a 14-year-old boy and 71-year-old Henry Zylstra, who was captain of the boat.
Lue W. Purdy, a native of Hopkins and most recently a farmer in Douglas, died at University Hospital in Ann Arbor. He was 65.
The Rev. Henry Sheler, pastor at the Bradley Free Methodist Church, moving to Manton because of his wife’s ill health. The Rev. A.A. Ruble from Bruce in the Upper Peninsula will succeed him.
Miss Lorna Averill was taken to Crispe Hospital in Plainwell for an emergency appendectomy. While there, he and her family saw a very ill George Ryno.
Maude Steeby of Wayland was granted her bachelor’s degree with a secondary teaching certificate at Western Michigan College in Kalamazoo.
Now showing at the Wayland Theatre:
• Gene Krupa and His Orchestra, Virginia Grey in “Glamour Girl.”
• Roddy McDowall, Gale Sherwood and Nita Hunter in “Rocky.”
• Mickey Rooney, Gloria DeHaven and Walter Huston in “Summer Holiday.”
• Clark Gable, Lana Turner and Anne Baxter in “Homecoming.”
100 Years Ago — Aug. 10, 1923
A boxed item on the front page of the Globe said: “The nation mourns the loss of its beloved president, let us hope and pray that Calvin Coolidge may fill the office of chief executive as efficiently as did Theodore Roosevelt, who also ascended from the vice presidency.” The reference was to the death of President Warren G. Harding.
Cora Belle Sharpe, who was reported to have come to Wayland in 1918 from Moline to improve her health with the quiet rural atmosphere, died Aug. 3.
The Corning Community Club and four area farmers’ clubs will have a union picnic at Cook’s Landing, Green Lake. The Moline band will be present to entertain.
The Hopkins Township Board and Highway Commissioner toured the roads in the township and determined many need improvements, but there is no consensus on what to do about it.
“The old school building (in Bradley) is nearly torn down and a cement walk has been laid from the new building to the street. When nicely graded, it will be a very attractive looking place and one which Bradley people may feel proud.”
The Farmers Picnic will be helkd Saturday, Aug. 25, at Streeter’s Landing, Gun Lake. The Wayland band will perform and there will be dancing in the afternoon and evening. There also will be speakers and a ballgame.
Walter Balch came to the village with a threshing outfit and parked his car on a crowded street near village hall. He discovered his car had been stolen and it was recovered a day later near the pickle factory. The thieves are unknown.
Frank Post lost a jersey cow that broke into the ground feed supply and later died of overeating.
Now showing at the Regent Theatre downtown: Dorothy Phillips in “Hurricane’s Gal.” Round Three of the Big Prize Fight. Harry Carey in “Crashing Thru.”
Cleo Fox of Wayland, a member of the Dunbar American Bell Ringer Co., can be heard over the KDKA radio station from Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. Sept. 9, in a broadcast concert.
John Latourette died at the State Hospital in Kalamazoo last Tuesday and his remains were brought to Wayland Methodist Church for the funeral.
