By Sue Moore
Behind the Scenes
Both Schoolcraft and Vicksburg have a new group of volunteers helping to inspire the early Christmas celebrations in each community. This has sparked new life into each event, making them a “must see and do” for the residents of South County.
The Christmas Walk in Schoolcraft was the brainchild of Norma Tackett nearly 30 years ago. As it grew, it brought many visitors to the community. Upon her passing, it was hard to find someone to step into her shoes but now they have. Thanks to Deb Christiansen and Kelly Bergland with some encouragement from their husbands, there is renewed purpose and plenty of great ideas.
Christmas in the Village was initiated three years ago by Kathleen Hoyle in Vicksburg to showcase what the Downtown Development Authority could do to attract visitors. Previously, the Vicksburg Community Association had been organizing Santa’s visit and a parade. Upon Hoyle leaving to head up parks and recreation for the city of Portage, Mary Ruple, Stella Shearer and John DeBault have stepped in with new ideas and plenty of energy.
There is something for everyone between the two villages with only a few overlaps in timing, so folks will be able to experience both village’s celebrations with kids and family for this most hallowed of holidays.
Boy Scouts Newspaper Collection
Remember that Troop 251 will be collecting newspapers for the last time on Saturday, December 2, along with all the other activities going on in the village. It’s sad to see this fundraiser for the scouts go away but it does represent a sign of the times with the cutback in newspaper circulation. The South County News is doing its best to help out with its 10,500 circulation each month but there was not enough newsprint coming in to pay for their upfront expenses, according to Kevin Borden, the head scoutmaster.
Sprinkle Road Tree Slaughter
Most folks know I’m a tree hugger. It makes me very upset to see the Sprinkle Road harvest of the beautiful trees that once lined the roadway but are no more. According to Aileen Greanya who had two silver maples cut down in her front yard, it was at the behest of the Indiana Michigan power company. They claimed the trees were dangerous in a wind storm because they were too close to the power lines. “We practically had a wood war over the felled trees as the contracting tree cutting company didn’t want the wood. Somebody had scooped up the wood from my yard the very day the trees were cut down.”
Schoolcraft’s Undefeated JV Football Team
Coach Terry Haas’ varsity football team in Schoolcraft suffered one of its down years (5-5), largely due to injuries to many starters. It looks like he will be able to reload for the 2018 season because the junior varsity team went undefeated in the SAC conference. Ted Manning was the head coach of the JV team with assists from Tracey Branch, Joe Thole and Brian DeVries. Even with four of their JV players suiting up on the varsity, the team posted this impressive record. “They were a hard working group with some games being tight but with their backs against the wall, they managed to find a way to win,” according to Jeff Clark the Schoolcraft athletic director.
Vicksburg Had an Undefeated Freshman Squad
The freshmen football team went 9-0 for the year with head coach Sean Mulhearn ably assisted by George Thompson, Sawyer Duncan and Kyle Owen. The sophomore squad had some exciting moments but didn’t fare as well. The varsity will lose some stellar seniors on a team that went 7-4 on the season and qualified for the District playoffs once again. Edwardsburg the top team in the Wolverine conference represented the league in the finals of the state playoffs.