25 Years Ago — Aug. 28, 1991
Michael Kelly was app
ointed to the seat on the Wayland Board of Education vacated by Lee Pankratz, who left the district for a new job in Muskegon. Others interviewed for the post were Diane Butler, Gary March, Greg Damveld and Jeff Pillar.
A second sampling of well water near the Sunrise Landfill on 133rd Avenue in Wayland Township showed it to be contaminant free in the wake of the discovery of problems left by a disposal company.
Hopkins Township Supervisor Kevin Cronin and the Township Board have filed a formal protest with the State Tax Commission because the Headlee Amendment rollback did not take into account that township property value increases included the new fire barn and village hall.
A public forum on downtown business needs, sponsored by the Wayland Area Chamber of Commerce, will be held Sept. 5.
Chris Schwartz of Dorr penned a letter to the editor opposing implementation of the Michigan Model in sex education curriculums. She urged citizens instead to read Dr. James Dobson’s book “Children at Risk.”
Mark MacLaughlin, 20, or Martin, was killed in a traffic crash when his motorcycle struck a boat being towed by James Bourdo of Shelbyville.
Dennis Dunlap, an analyst with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, will present a slide show and give a talk about the state of Gun Lake today at Bay Pointe Restaurant Sept. 5.
Junior Ann Iciek returns for the Wayland varsity girls’ basketball team, but she is slowed by a sprained ankle. Martin is preparing for the new season, shooting for the Clippers’ sixth straight Southwest Athletic Conference championship, though coach Robert VanDenBerg’s group’s 56-game league win streak had been halted. Hopkins will join the River Valley Conference for the first time, sporting a team of seniors noted for defense with problems scoring.
50 Years Ago — Aug. 24, 1966
Pictures and brief sketches of the final four of the contestants for the Miss Wayland pageant appeared on the front page. Jane Gonzales, Nancy Novosel, Mary Lou Eylander and Gail Wilcox will be among those appearing in the contest Saturday night, Aug. 27, to cap the Community Fair celebration.
The front page also featured photos and brie sketches of City Council candidates Everett Mutschler, Don Bush, Richard Wilson, Bill Conwell, Richard Krup and Roger Barnhart.
Wayland Union schools will open Sept. 6, with students from the Sproat, Moline Agricultural Elementary, Dorr Community, Corning and Jones school districts enrolling automatically after their votes earlier in the year to agree to annexation.
The Wayland Senior Citizens group will have their next meeting Sept. 1 at the Legion Hall.
Mrs. Martje Auwena from The Netherlands was visiting her niece, Mrs. Irene Low, in Wayland.
Wallace Wakeman of Wayland was named chairman of the 1966 Romney-Milliken gubernatorial campaign for Allegan County.
Elvis Presley was starring in “Paradise; Hawaiian Style” at the Wayland Theatre.
Wayland High School senior John Cook had just returned from his Youth for Understanding summer trip to Japan. Classmates Janine Hampel and Pat Nickels wrote letters to the editor to describe their experiences in Germany over the summer for the same exchange program.
The Midnighters were slated to provide the musical entertainment for a Saturday night dance from 9 p.m. to a 1 a.m. at Hillards.
Featured in this week’s “Our Men in the Service” column were Naval Airman Apprentice Eugene Leep of Shelbyville, Army Sgt. David Sebright of Wayland, Army Specialist Terry Roxbury of Hopkins and Marine Sgt. Lauren Bergeron of Wayland.
The funeral for Starr Gilger, 63, of Shelbyville, was held in Plainwell.
Atop the nation’s musical survey for the week again was the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City.”
75 Years Ago — Aug. 29, 1941
Among the contents of the time capsule being filled at the cornerstone for the new Wayland School were 25 issues of the Wayland Globe, a copy of a 1941 Wayland High School Tooter student newspaper, a list of teachers serving in the county and a congratulatory telegram from Michigan Gov. Murray D. VanWagoner.
The Cowbell Carnival, featuring radio star Pat Butram, got off to a good start, with sales brisk for ice cream and hamburger stands. Local officials said, however, that sales were better two years previous when film star Patsy Montana came to town.
William Herb is wrecking an old house on East Superior Street to create more room for his used car business.
Barry County has announced plans to make improvements to roads in the Gun Lake area. “Which is about time,” wrote Editor-Publisher Rollo Mosher. “Barry County is so far behind neighboring counties in their road program.”
Ten members of the Sprouters group of the Junior Garden Club met at the home of counselor Mrs. Glen Clark, while the Climbers gathered for a picnic at the home of Mrs. Harold Steeby.
Mary Francisco, 65, died at her residence in Kalamazoo. Her son, Oliver, is an artist who lives in the Green Lake area of Leighton Township.
Listed among the faculty for the academic year for the new Wayland school are Ethel Overmire, Lela Reinhart, Helen Horning, Goldie Stockdale, Esther Simpson, Helen McCrummonom, Lena Heydenbrink, Gertrude VanHarn, Forest Calkins, Claude Smith, Alma Weeldreyer, grade principal Justin McCaslin, Jake Prescott, Beatrice Ackerman, L.D. Wesley, Charles Wegner, Margaret Stanton, Julia Smith, Rex Allen, Horace Bennett and Bessie B. Baker, principal.
Now showing at the Wayland Theatre:
- Charlie Ruggles and Ellen Drew in “The Parson of Paramint.”
- Don Ameche and Mary Martin in “Kiss the Boys Goodbye.”
- Double Feature — “King of the Zombies” and “The Range Busters.”
100 Years Ago — Aug. 25, 1916
Political campaign negativity proved its existence a century ago with a couple of heartfelt letters from candidates. Allegan County Probate Judge candidate J. Ford Stratton, responding to “vicious personal attacks” by opponent E. W. Stone, acknowledged introducing Gov. Ferris, a Democrat, at a banquet, but said he is good friends with the governor and still is a committed Republican.
Meanwhile, Frank Hillman, running against incumbent Allegan County Sheriff Mack Short, dismissed comments by the sheriff about him as “political hokum” and the incumbent set up a whiskey running scheme without catching a single wrongdoer.
“Russell Hanlon is the first reported victim of hay fever, and he is not very proud of it, either.”
Von B. Goshorn of the Goshorn and Yeakey car sales business insists sales of the new 1917 Ford are “beyond expectations” and “taking the country by storm.”
The second annual reunion of the descendants of Rollan Youngs was held. Youngs, father of H.B. Youngs, was one of Wayland Township’s earliest settlers, born in Connecticut and a veteran o the War of 1812.
The farm house of Homer Todd was destroyed by fire while he was away delivering cucumbers. His wife discovered sparks coming from the chimney while ironing. A number of neighbors came to the scene by auto to try to help, but it was too late.
The Globe endorsed the candidacy of Wayland Township Supervisor Frank Chamberlain for Allegan County Register of Deeds.
The new bank and post office in Moline had a grand opening ceremony that included music by the Moline Band and Mrs. S. Clemons.
PHOTO: The Wayland High School basketball team of 1955, which was runner-up in the state Class C tournament.