By Sue Moore
Boy Scouts Camporee
It was fun to witness the energy of the scouts who participated in the 75th anniversary camporee at the Historic Village in April. The weather wasn’t ideal, but that didn’t seem to bother the kids. What was even more impressive were the adult leaders of Troop 251 who came together to plan this event as the highlight of their celebration. These men and women are the epitome of what makes Vicksburg a great place to live. They give of their talents, time, and money to make scouting the best experience a young boy can have while growing up in this community. Congratulations on a weekend for all who took part to remember.
A Birthday Video Salute
Anyone who remembers Linda Van Emst as a teacher at Sunset School for 30 plus years should appreciate that her son Brett, called the newspaper, wondering how he could tell the world that she was turning 70 on May 3. He is suggesting that friends send him cell phone videos that he will put together as a birthday salute to her. He was reminded that NOT a lot of women like to have their name published all over with their age in the message. He assured the newspaper that she would be fine with it, as she and her husband were returning from a celebration trip to Paris and would love to hear from her friends in Vicksburg. The family moved from Portage to Northport a few years ago. He is requesting videos to be sent to him at brettvanemst@gmail.com. He is the proud owner of a marketing firm, headquartered in Napa, CA with two wineries as his primary customers. Just like his dad, he also tinkers with old cars, especially VWs and their special car parts.
TV Special on Vicksburg
Fox TV, channel 17, was filming the Dog Walk at Prairie View Park on May 2, which benefitted the Humane Society. They called here to say they were in Vicksburg and wanted to do a special about Vicksburg, thinking the park was in the village. They didn’t have time to bring the camera crew to downtown Vicksburg, so several people they picked out, went to them to film a segment on the many activities taking place in South Kalamazoo County.
Gas Lines in the Historic Village Park
For years, Warren Lawrence and then Ken Evensen have bemoaned the way the propane tanks looked in the Historic Village—which is supposed to represent what life was like in the pre-propane early 20th century. Time and again, Evensen contacted Consumers Power—bugged them, might be more like it—to put in underground gas lines to provide heat in the historic buildings. After many visits over the phone with Ken, their engineers and digging equipment showed up in early April to get the job done. The miracle of it all is that they agreed to do the work for practically nothing, $700 to be exact. Now the plan is to haul away the tanks, and give the historic village a neat new/old look.
Celebrate 25 Years of the Historical Society
It hardly seems like very many years have passed since Bonnie Holmes, Maggie Snyder, Esther Rasmussen, Warren Lawrence, Meredith Clark, Roberta Davis, Gordon Daniels, Eddie Newkirk, and a few others got together to form the Vicksburg Historical Society. They wanted to preserve the history of the village and showcase the artifacts that were being stored in various venues around town, primarily Esther Rasmussen’s basement. They needed a building for that purpose. In looking around, the Depot seemed ideal but it was way too decrepit to be a safe place to house precious artifacts. That’s when Jim Bach and his trusty kids in the high school building and trades program came to the rescue. Over several years they gutted the interior and rebuilt it from scratch. Others in the community put in a lot of elbow grease to get it ready for occupancy. In June 1990, a dedication ceremony was held and the purveyors of local history, Snyder and Holmes started to propagate the Depot with memorabilia.
To celebrate this event, an open house has been scheduled for Sunday, June 13 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Depot. Tours of the six buildings that have been added since then will begin the day, with a recognition of the dedication of the far-seeing people who made this a reality.
