By Kathy Oswalt-Forsythe
And so it starts…
Composing this column, started by Meredith Clark, continued by his daughter, Sue Moore, and now passed to me, is a humbling task. I remember Meredith, but I knew Sue well; she was an important part of my growing up and was a vibrant member of “The Martini Club,” the subject of “It’s a Fine Life” this month.
The South County News team has committed to the continued producing and publishing of this paper. Sue worked to improve our community and to document life here in Southwest Michigan. We will do our best to do the same.
Here is what the team at South County News needs from its readership:
Patience and grace during this time of transition.
Continued financial support. The paper will not survive without it.
SCN is Visible in the Classrooms
I am a teacher at Vicksburg High School. At the front of my classroom is a bulletin board titled “Bulldogs in the News.” Throughout the year, I staple pictures and articles from the South County News. My high school students love it. They enjoy seeing their own images and their friends’ faces in the many shots included in the paper. This visual presence helps my students feel a part of our community and remember that there are many people who care about them. By the end of the school year, I have layers and layers of photos.
VHS Graduate Returns to Vicksburg
I am continually pleased and amazed by former area graduates who return to our area for retirement. Carole McCallum, 1976 VHS grad, is another former classmate returning to her roots. Carole is a professional bassoonist, retiring after a professional career in Los Angeles. We spent a wonderful afternoon with Carole, her husband Leon, and several other friends, catching up and concluding that southwest Michigan is a great place to live. Welcome, Carole and Leon!
Kayak Engagement on Sunset Lake
Bronson primary care doctor Evan Fitzgerald borrowed Dave and Paula Schriemer’s kayaks one warm Saturday in May and proposed to his fiancé, Kateri Trelles. Evan shares that he and Kat met in Washington D.C. and moved to the area a year ago. COVID-19 put a halt to any “fancy” plans Evan could make, so he took Dave up on his polite offer of borrowing the kayaks for an adventure. Dave is happy to report that the kayaks remained upright and the ring ended up on Kat’s finger, not at the bottom of the Sunset Lake! Congratulations, Evan and Kat!
Showcase Memory of Sue
Dani Carpenter-Littel expressed her grief about Sue’s passing and her own special Sue story. Last January, Sue stopped and knocked on Dani’s door right before The Vicksburg Rotary Showcase practices began, inviting Dani to be a part of the chorus. Sue had heard Dani was a singer, and she invited Dani to join. Even though Dani has a strong music and theater background, she wasn’t sure about it. But Sue persisted, stressing that for the first time, women would be part of the chorus. That did it. Dani joined the cast, and she loved being a part of the show. “Sue just wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. It was a small thing to her but a huge thing to me. I will always appreciate that gesture.”
Awards Continue for Local Author
Hadley Moore’s book Not Dead Yet and Other Stories, which came out in September 2019, after winning Autumn House Press’s 2018 Fiction Prize, was longlisted in December for the 2020 Pen/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection. This spring, Moore, a Vicksburg resident, also learned it had won the 2020 Eric Hoffer Book Award’s short story/anthology category, as well as a First Horizon Award for debut books; and was recently shortlisted for the short story category of the Rubery Book Award, out of the UK.