25 Years Ago — Oct. 9, 1991
Fire destroyed the James Gara
ge and Used Cars building near 137th Avenue and 10th Street, just north of the Wayland city limits. Owner Gene James was in Grand Rapids and his son, Gene Jr., was having coffee at the Auction Café when the blaze occurred. Fire departments from Leighton, Dorr and Wayland battled the blaze, but the business was full engulfed when they arrived and it was pronounced a total loss.
Wayland’s city curbside recycling program will begin Nov. 25 as a result of a $25 annual surcharge and residents will get twice per month service from Van Dyken Disposal.
Members of the Allegan County Board of Commission had an extensive discussion about a hiring freeze. They were told there were openings that hadn’t been filled in the sheriff’s department, mental health, Friend of the Court and the prosecutor’s office and juvenile court.
Keith Schoonveld appeared before the Dorr Township Board to inquire about possibilities of converting the abandoned Penn Central Railroad along 18th Street into a recreational trail for bicyclers and pedestrians. He insisted it would help with safety problems along main roads, but the idea doesn’t seem to be getting much traction.
Luis Eduardo Rodriguez, 19, of Grand Rapids, has been arrested for three felonies and is believed to be connected with a recent spate of daytime burglaries in Leighton Township.
Wayland Junior High School teacher Jan Elvin has launched a monthly creative writing contest for students.
The Martin girls’ basketball team avenged a loss to Hopkins earlier in the season by taking a thrilling 38-37 decision on Amanda Herbert’s two clutch free throws with two seconds remaining.
The Wayland girls’ basketball team lost 63-62 to Caledonia and 69-59 to Kenowa Hills in double overtime, but beat Allegan 66-56, as Ann Iciek scored a career-high 27 points.
Hopkins overcame Eau Claire’s impressive aerial game with a 42-32 victory. Wayland lost 6-0 to league-leading Coopersville and Martin was shut out 8-0 by Lawrence, causing coach Pete Zeinstra to remark that the Clippers will have win all four remaining games to be considered for playoffs. Tim Dimock had a huge game defensively with 22 tackles.
Bob and Karen Wiersma opened their B & K Discount Store on South Main in Wayland.
50 Years Ago — Oct. 5, 1966
The banner headline read “Wayland’s own Phil Regan to pitch in World Series.” The story was about his wife, the former Ann Jurians of Dorr, and four children and coping with the baseball lifestyle. Regan had just finished a 14-1 season with a Major League best 1.92 earned run average for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Felix Pankratz and Roger Barnhart both received a special award for accident prevention at the Pet Milk plant in Wayland.
The zip code number 49348 will be applied to residences and addresses in the city of Wayland, according to an announcement by Postmaster Richard L. Finkbeiner.
Then Wayland VFW Post No. 7581 color guard has been chosen for the honors of leading the Allegan County Fair parade this year.
Martin voters approved by a margin of 130 to 111, the proposed merger with the Osborne rural school, but Hopkins soundly rejected a proposed reorganization plan to annex a number of nearby rural districts, as mandated by a new state law. The tally was 606-172.
The Allegan County Historical Society will meet for a luncheon at the Allegan County Park at Gun Lake and then take a tour of the old Meredith House, owned by Paul Ray, in Shelbyville.
Members of the newly-formed Wayland City Council are studying a proposal for installation of a city-wide storm sewer, along with consultants Williams and Works of Grand Rapids.
Superintendent James Thomas has announced the Wayland Union school district will expand its offerings for adult night school if enough interest is shown.
Caledonia tallied a late touchdown to come from behind and defeat Wayland 19-15 and retain possession of the Cowbell. Roger Merren scored on a one-yard plunge after a George Towne interception and Mel Spencer scored the other TD. Curt Sebright kicked an 18-yard field goal.
The Hopkins football team recorded its first victory of the season, 19-8 over Lawrence. Tim Morris retunred a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown, Keith Newell tossed a 40-yard scoring strike to Charlie Stewart and Dennis Brenner romped 40 yards for the other six points.
Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint were starring in “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” at the Wayland Theatre.
The Association made it two weeks in a row on top of music charts with “Cherish.”
75 Years Ago — Oct. 10, 1941
Kathryn Haywood, Lois Flieser, Norma Herrington and Adeline Kaminski were the four queen candidates for reigning over homecoming festivities at “Sand Burr Stadium.” The Wildcats were to take on Martin.
Editor-Publisher Rollo Mosher reported that village street signs have been installed and “Now you can tell the names of village streets.”
Mosher and Fred Hilbert Sr. were guests of the Michigan Farm Bureau in East Lansing for its Quarterback Club luncheon in advance of Michigan State College’s football game against Marquette. Assistant coach Joe Holsinger gave a presentation.
New brick insulating siding is being installed on the corner Malmstone Building with the intent of improving conditions indoors during the summer and the outdoor appearance in general.
The Dorr Farmers Club will meet at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ira Stebbins Oct. 14, with Clayton Smith presiding.
Fred Huff was elected worshipful master of the Wayland Grange.
The Ladies Library Club had a bit of fun with a mock Globe story about Bessie B. Baker and Effie Greenawalt.
The village’s new fire truck finally has arrived, according to Chief C. D. Averill. The delay was caused by a lot of contracts with the U.S. Defense Dept.
Wayland defeated Middleville 18-0 on the gridiron Oct. 3.
Now showing at the Wayland Theatre:
- Henry Fonda and Joan Bennett in “Wild Geese Calling.”
- Jack Benny, Kay Francis and James Ellison in “Charley’s Aunt.”
- Double Feature — Merle Oberon and Melvyn Douglas in “That Uncertain Feeling” and Sidney Toler in “Charlie Chan in Rio.”
100 Years Ago — Oct. 6, 1916
Rush Sooy, former football star at Western Normal and teacher in the Battle Creek school system, has signed on as an assistant to R.L. Cole of Kalamazoo for handling scouting activities in the region.
Miss Mabel Lentz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Lentz, collected 875,625 votes to win the queen contest for the Fall Festival. Runner-up was Tessie Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gay Smith and third was Leona Baker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Baker. All three top vote-getters will be featured in the lead float in the festival parade.
A.M. Young, owner of an 80-acre apple orchard near Shelbyville, has sold the crop grown on 30 acres. He has the option of taking in $6,000 for the entire crop.
The Globe listed the winners of the contests and races in the Fall Festival on the front page. The competitions included tug of war, three-legged race, 100-yard dash, 50-yard dash, egg race, girls’ foot race, bicycle races and sack race. Entertainment events included the Walton Family, acrobats, Miss Pearle the Perfect Lady Hercules, The Dutch Comedian and a milking machine exhibit.
Kelsey Isaac, Indian preacher, has been forced to give up his work because of ill health and he has gone to live with his children in Northern Michigan. George Mosher wrote: “He is an unsually intelligent Indian and his departure is much regretted.”
An advertisement asked voters in the upcoming election to “Vote Dry Nov. 7… “The saloon is the friend of all that is evil, and naught that is good.”
The Wayland High School football team was “outlucked and outweighed” in a 14-0 loss to Grand Rapids South Saturday.
Mrs. David Mallett recently underwent surgery for cancer and now is recovering slowly in Eaton Rapids. Her daughter, Mrs. Ellis Sigler, is with her.