(Taken from the archives at the Then & Now Historical Library in downtown Dorr)
25 Years Ago — Jan. 10, 1996
Hopkins junior guard Tim Kisner scored 41 points, his last two just before the buzzer to lift his team to a thrilling 72-70 victory over neighboring rival Martin. The Vikings now are 4-1 overall. Robert Mitchell netted 26 points and Richie Guerrant 19 for the Clippers, now 3-4.
Holly Lear has been selected as principal for Wayland Junior High School, succeeding Jon Jensen, who is stepping down after seven years to return to the classroom as a social studies teacher.
WGRD disc jockeys Rick, Darla and Scott will join the festivities Jan. 27 for the annual Gun Lake Winterfest.
Three Wyoming teenagers have been apprehended in connection with a series of daytime burglaries and break-ins in West Michigan, including Allegan County.
Dorr Township Clerk Dick Dutkiewicz told his colleagues that he has saved the township about $8,000 by eliminating one of three voting precincts (No. 2).
Leighton Township Supervisor Dar VanderArk has thrown his support for a proposed Leighton Township Library in the wake of the demise of the Moline Library, predicting a massive increase in population in the next 20 years. He has insisted a good and visible location be selected.
The Wayland City Council denied a request for a zoning variance to permit a used car business at 648 W. Superior St., site of Wayland Self Storage.
A pollster told the Hopkins Board of Education the district will face an uphill battle in gaining enough support for a bond issue to build a new high school.
Tom Jenkins, Aaron Patrick and John Athearn won championship medals for Wayland over the weekend at the Hudsonville Wrestling Invitational. The Wildcats placed second.
The Wayland High School varsity basketball team under coach Mike Hudson continues to surprise opponents by fashioning a 4-1 record. The Wildcats beat Forest Hills Northern, as Jason Burgess scored 24 points, Walter Smith 13 and Boone McEwen dished out nine assists.
The Wayland volleyball team is on a roll with a 12-3-1 dual match record. The Lady Wildcats are led by Kerri Anguilm, Jessica McEwen, Heather Postma and Angie Farmer.
Josh Conley has come down to the 145-pound weight division and he has a sparkling 22-1 record for the Martin wrestling team. Heavyweight Don Bailey is 21-2.
Harold Schumaker, who spent 24 years with the Michigan Highway Department and was a World War II veteran, died. He was 77.
50 Years Ago — Jan. 6, 1971
Wayland Union Schools head chef Harold “Butch” Hinckley was pictured on the front page of the Globe with new baking equipment that promises students to get more and better rolls.
Wayland High School graduate Cathy Belka earned her licensed practical nursing degree at Grand Rapids Community College and will begin work almost immediately at Blodgett Hospital.
L.F. “Monty” Montague will be guest speaker at the next Wayland Rotary meeting to talk about “Turned Out to Grass,” his call for Americans approaching retirement to “retire to something instead of from something.”
Wayland High School auto mechanics instructor Frank Bastian has announced his class has received a donation of three turbo-hydramatic transmissions from Oldsmobile.
A sizable group of local citizens attended a special meeting on a proposal to allow Wayland-to-Grand Rapids toll-free calling. However, a regional telephone representative informed them there is no justification for absorbing added expenses of extending the lines.
Snowmobiles continue to be a controversial inside the city and citizens Jim Hackett and Paul Carpenter offered to form a group to create rules and regulations, insisting most snowmobilers are law-abiding citizens and don’t annoy neighbors by driving them at night.
Now showing at the Wayland Theatre: The Little Rascals.”
The Globe social page ran the headline, “When the Clock Strikes Twelve” for a feature that surveyed New Year’s Eve parties in the area.
Tom Selzer wrote a letter to the editor attempting to explain why there is a rise in drug abuse problems. He opined, “The kids with nowhere to go and nothing to do are looking for trouble, and that’s what they’ll get.”
Welding classes will be taught as adult education at Hopkins High School by veteran agriculture teacher Roy Miller.
Smokey Robinson had the No. 1 song in the land with “Tears of a Clown.”
75 Years Ago — Jan. 11, 1946
Editor-Publisher Rollo G. Mosher said conditions have improved for dairy farmers with a price increase, but, “the old law of supply and demand will do more to regulate the supply and price of butter than all the regulations Washington can conjure up.” He added that coal is still scarce, a but a recent spate of mild weather has helped.
The topic of debate for the next Wayland Grange meeting will be, “Shall we have peacetime military training?” Arguing for the affirmative will be Ray Smith, Leona Farnsworth and Elton Calkins. On the negative side will be Ruby Smith, Howard Clack and Lonnie Brenner.
A weekly adult education class at Wayland High School will focus on sewing and family living will start at 8 p.m. Monday at the homemaking room. “Come and bring your neighbor.”
Sgt. Lynn Miles, an Air Force ground crew mechanic in Shanghai, China, has been discharged and is coming home.
Tom Bartell has arrived home after serving in the Marines in the Pacific Theatre as a night fighter.
Pfc. Frank Konecny has been awarded the Bronze Star after his discharge from the Marines, serving most recently at Okinawa.
The Dixie Ballroom south of town plans to welcome Versal Fales and his Old-Time Band and Rex Smith and His Orchestra this Friday and Saturday.
Now showing at the Wayland Theatre:
- Jinx Falkenburg, Jim Bannon and Steve Cochran in “The Gay Senorita.”
- The Three Stooges and the Hoosier Hotshots in “Rockin’ in the Rockies.”
- Robert Young. Laraine Day and Ann Harding in “Those Endearing Young Charms.”
- Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan in “Christmas in Connecticut.”
100 Years Ago — Jan. 7, 1921
Fire of mysterious origin destroyed the Birney Hotel in downtown Dorr Wednesday night and threatened other businesses nearby. The loss was estimated at $10,000. The hotel, owned by Lyman Ehle, wasn’t in use at the time of the blaze, which was believed to have started in the kitchen, destroying 40 cases of eggs.
Wayland Schools teacher Miss Haines presented a program for Chapel Hour on her holiday vacation trip to Upstate New York.
Miss Delaven, educational director of the Michigan Department of Health, will speak to members of the Ladies Library Club about “Social Hygiene.” At the latest LLC meeting, a Mrs. Church from Salem sang Indian songs, “in a pleasing and decidedly composed manner.”
Alphonso Hilbert died at his Hopkins Township home. He had lived in the Wayland area since coming here in 1862. He was 72.
Now showing at the Regent downtown: “A Man’s Man” with J. Warren Kerrigan, “Mind the Paint Girl” with Anita Stewart and “Blind Youth.”
David Stockdale of Wayland Village has been appointed deputy sheriff for the 29th consecutive year by Allegan County Sheriff Leo Hare.
Mrs. Loretta Lindsay of Otsego has been sentenced to 60 days in jail for disorderly conduct after deserting her husband and children. Her children have been ordered to the state home in Coldwater.
New cement pavement indeed will be installed north of Wayland by the State Highway Department after the Village Council voted in favor of the necessary drainage.
The Shattuck Store downtown is selling 44 Parisiana corsets at the low price of 99 cents apiece. They normally sell at between $2 and $3.