ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” story. It is an editorial by the editor.

“History? What do I care about history? I AM history.” — The joke about coach Wayne Fontes when he was fired by the Detroit Lions

The Wayland/Penasee Globe is dead, and the clock is ticking on the only other viable historical record of our existence in northeast Allegan County — the Then & Now Historical Library in downtown Dorr.

If something isn’t done fairly soon, the citizens of Wayland, Dorr, Moline, Martin and Hopkins could be without any official record of these five communities.

It’s bad enough when a 134-year-old weekly newspaper goes belly up, it’s even worse when a local treasure full of information about ancestry, soldiers, officials, athletes and events follows suit. Such a calamity is possible after examining the situation for Then & Now.

The historical library more than a decade ago moved into the old Dorr Township Hall, later the Dorr Township Library. Township hall moved to more spacious quarters across the street at the corner of 18^th Street and 142^nd Avenue. The new library was built to the north on 18^th Street.

Though the new library is a fine facility, it is not capable of absorbing the materials and artifacts from Then & Now. So that option has been ruled out after careful consideration.

Officials with the all-volunteer historical group have been considering taking over a building in downtown Wayland, but such a move is cost prohibitive.

The clock is ticking because Then & Now’s next door neighbor, Billy Fifelski’s gas station and towing service, has purchased the building now housing the library with designs on expanding its business. Fifelski has graciously agreed to give the historical service some time before moving, but prospects are gaining for eviction if something isn’t done. And Then & Now, as it stands now, has nowhere to go.

There has been some talk about perhaps locating the service inside a good-sized idle building in the area and combining its services with a center for senior citizens. The argument is that the seniors’ population is growing leaps and bounds because of the retirements of Baby Boomers, and a lot of these people would like somewhere to go for some fellowship and even some public programs.

One huge drawback is financial because such a place just doesn’t bring in the bacon and it’s likely the seniors and Then & Now would ask the facility not have to pay taxes. Local municipalities these days aren’t keen on giving up taxable properties for free.

I hereby ask representatives from the Wayland City Council and the township boards of Wayland, Dorr, Leighton, Hopkins, Martin, Watson, Salem and Monterey to gather to do some brainstorming about how to save a local treasure. Perhaps some kind of Historical Commission for Northeast Allegan County could be formed. Perhaps some sort of civic- and history-minded businessperson could be consulted about lending financial support or location.

All I know is that without the Then & Now Historical Library, I will no longer be able to provide the weekly “Bygone Days” columns that include tales of what happened 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago.

What a shame it would be if we lost our own history.