“Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” — Georges Santayana
“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.” — Aldous Huxley
History? What do I care about history? I AM history!” — A caricature of Wayne Fontes after he was fired as head coach of the Detroit Lions
As I was growing up and decided to 
major in history in college, I was often asked, “What good is history?” and “Don’t go into history, you can’t use it to make money.” There were many who openly questioned why history was taught in schools. Many asserted knowing your history was a useless skill.
I have come to the depressing conclusion that we as a society don’t value history, even more when you consider that our eastern part of Allegan County may lose it forever without so much as a whimper of protest.
The best source for local history in these parts is the Then & Now Historial Library in downtown Dorr. It’s a great place for people to get information about their ancestors, view pictures of what life was like in West Michigan a century ago and read actual documents of events long ago.
But Then & Now is in serious danger soon of being lost for the ages — and condemned to the dust bin of history.
The historical library itself exists because of the good graces of the Dorr Township Board, which permitted the service to locate inside what was once the township hall and later the township library.
Then & Now personnel have been working on fund-raising to be able to move into an addition to the new library, but progress has been slow.
Furthermore, volunteer staff members are no spring chickens. Helen Ringer is 86, Pete Arnsman and Pat Brewer both are in their 70s and Linda Stoepker is in her early 70s and has had some recent medical issues.
These volunteers are at the heart of the service I regard as very valuable. I stop in for three to four hours every Wednesday afternoon to gather material for the weekly “Bygone Days” column in Townbroadcast. They have been extremely helpful and supportive of what I do.
I am grateful to all of those who have said publicly they appreciated my historical feature that includes events and developments from 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago. But the awful truth is that continuing this service is going to become more difficult moving forward.
Then & Now needs a new home because future township board may not be so accommodating, viewing the old hall as a liability with high utility costs. And we don’t know how much longer these faithful volunteers who show up every Wednesday and Saturday to do their work out of love, may be able to continue.
Consider this a heartfelt plea to anyone who is retired, semi-retired and loves history and record keeping. New volunteers are sorely needed to fill in the gap when these selfless, wonderful people pass on.
The United Negro College Fund used to say, “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” I’d like to add, “Our Heritage and Story Would Be a Terrible Thing to Waste.”
PHOTO: The Then & Now Historical Library in downtown Dorr.
Four of the staff members who regularly come in to help with geneology, death records and old photos.
