One of the best things about my weekly visits at Then & Now Historical Library in Dorr is the opportunity to learn about remarkable people in the Wayland area’s past.
My most recent “find” was Wallace Wakeman, who was almost single-handedly the reason the City of Wayland and Wayland Township in 1968 did the unthinkable and voted Democratic in a State Senate special election. Wakeman, a member and former president of the Board of Education, penned a front page letter to the editor exhorting local citizens to reject the Republican nominee, Gary Byker, and instead choose Democrat Chester Harmsen.
It was an unusual and courageous move, one we will not see in these modern times. Wakeman was a life-long Republican, a genuine mucky-muck in the Allegan County GOP.
Wakeman was a man about town who ran in the heady local social circles with the Irv Helmeys, Joe LaValleys, Earl Lannings, William Mauchmars and most of the best-known people in the community. He was trombone player with the Terrible Troubadors, a dance band that included Helmey, Mauchmar and a few other dignitaries who performed on behalf of charity events, such as the Precious Acres Home for Retarded Children.
Besides being president and a 10-year member of the Wayland Board of Education, he was on the Allegan Intermediate School District Board, was active in the Big Brother program, and assistant vice president at Hastings Mutual Insurance, where he worked for 25 years.
On the surface, he appeared to be a classic Republican, but he proved himself to be a fierce supporter of public education and an independent voice of reason not seen in these days of rampant tribalism.
Wakeman’s heartfelt letter maintained that Gary Byker of Hudsonville essentially was elected by two large churches in that area that were seeking to funnel public tax dollars into private and religious education. Byker took advantage of a very small but loyal group to win in a very crowded field of primary candidates. Sound familiar?
Furthermore, the runner-up in that primary race was former Senator Fred Hilbert of Wayland, who was Wakeman’s choice. Wakeman seemed to believe the game was rigged in favor of a small, but powerful special interest. So he proposed the unthinkable, the politically incorrect — vote for the Democrat.
Irv Helmey pointed out in reporting on the special election results that it would be difficult to find a Democratic winner in the political history of Wayland.
Wakeman’s most impressive legacy in this story was his unflinching defense of public education, insisting public tax dollars should not be spent on private religious education permitted to discriminate and which doesn’t follow the same rules as public schools. He rightly maintained that religious schools have every right to exist, but not at the expense of public ones, which were and are open to all.
There were some local citizens who immediately excoriated him, two in a letter to the editor the following week, from Dick and Rusty Dutkiewicz of Dorr. Another woman opined that religious schools should get public money because they offer parents more options and haven’t banned God from their classrooms, as if that is actually possible with a supposedly omnipotent deity.
Wally and Patricia Wakeman had three children, Mark, David and Lesley. Mark not long ago told me he was particularly proud of his dad when he publicly defended son David’s decision not to serve in the Vietnam War, a very dangerous position in those days.
Wally himself was a World War II veteran, serving in the Pacific Theatre, and was a graduate of Ferris State College.
Patricia died early in 1970. Wally resigned his ACISD post in June 1972 and had stepped down from the school board.
The Wayland Globe published a very carefully worded obituary on the back page of its July 4, 1972, edition with the headline, “W. Wakeman Dies At Home Unexpectedly.” None dared say so publicly, but it was widely believed he took his own life at age 50.
In those days, such matters just weren’t talked about, except privately. His story left me sad that he apparently had suffered enough pain to employ a drastic and permanent solution for his troubles.
I was profoundly moved by his courageous and independent actions. Wally, I wish I’d have known you.
Editor,
Just a point of information as a post script to your interesting editorial: Gary Byker’s family donated a considerable amount of money to the Hudsonville Public Library many years ago toward the construction of their new facility. It now bears his name.
From a GVSU interview by the Lanthorn in October 1968 with assistant editor Wayne Isbell, “Listen, Joe McCarthy wasn’t such a bad guy. We should’ve listened to him about China.”
Note that his family donated the money. Not the man himself. Regardless, it’s true that one’s perspective clearly advises perspective about any individual. I was merely sharing an interesting factoid. But thanks for the reminder that a pig remains one despite the lipstick.
We would be much better off with the likes of Irv Helmey,, Joe LaValley, Earl Lanning and others of that generation that truly loved their country, their town, and wanted the best for both.
They were the “movers and shakers” of this community only in that they gave back to the community and served others and not just themselves. I knew Irv Helmey, Joe LaValley, and Bill Mauchmar and they were and are wonderful people. I didn’t know Mr. Wakeman well but knew Mark and Leslie. It was a tough time for the family to lose their mother and then to lose Wally shortly after.
I’m sure his heart and spirit were broken, and he saw no other way out of his misery. I know Leslie has commented to classmates she wanted nothing to do with them or the town, such is her animosity towards her experiencing the deaths of her parents. When I knew her, so was a leader in her class and was a fun-loving young woman. I’m sorry she feels the way she does because she was such a great role model.