Vicksburg Village Council member Denny Olson expressed concern about two intersections in the area that he said feature an inordinate number of crashes.
During trustee comments at the end of the council’s Aug. 19 meeting, Olson said he addressed the Kalamazoo County Road Commission Board in July regarding Sprinkle Road and TU Avenue.
“I’m a little tired of all these accidents at TU and Sprinkle,” he said. “A guy blew through the stop sign doing 60-plus miles an hour, did an almost-head-on crash with a young lady.”
Meanwhile, Olson said he’s aware of a crash at U Avenue and Portage Road two days earlier.
“There has been a grant submitted by (Brady Township supervisor) Tracy Locey and in November, that a grant will be coming up for review … hopefully it will be approved for a roundabout at TU Avenue and Sprinkle,” Olsen said. “I don’t care if they make it a four-way stop, I don’t care if they put rumble strips, I don’t care what they do but they’ve got to do something.”
Olson said more has to be done to make the two intersections safer.
“TU Avenue and Sprinkle, and U Avenue and Portage are on the top 20 list of intersections in the county that have to be addressed,” he said.
An intersection between those two locations, at TU and 23rd Street, is the site of a roundabout proposed by the Road Commission for Kalamazoo County and opposed by nearby residents and Schoolcraft Township officials. The road commission has said it has a grant for the project.
In other action:
Council member Wendy Phelis said the 2024 “Movie Night in the Park” was a success, thanks in large part to the Vicksburg District Library. The series concluded last month with a “Date Night” theme. Phelis said it was well attended, featured ‘80s trivia and was strongly supported by local businesses. Board President Tim Frisbie, a member of the South County Sewer and Water Authority, said the village of Schoolcraft is in talks with St. Joseph County’s Lockport Township about extending water service into Schoolcraft.
Phelis said WWMT Channel 3 is now including Vicksburg during its live views of various communities at the onset of the station’s weather report. Phelis said she met WWMT meteorologist Will Haenni and his wife at a recent ‘Burg Days event. A discussion about showcasing Vicksburg in the weather report ensued and a bird’s-eye view of the village is now included in the rotating community feature.
Council member Gail Reisterer, who chairs the village’s Tree Committee, said the next round of village water and sewer bills will include an invitation for residents to request a tree. She said the goal is to get at least 25 people to respond.
‘Burg Days were also a hot topic at the meeting. Vicksburg Cultural Art Center offered activities for children during the event. Photo by Randall Hartman.
Village Manager Jim Mallery said he was recently contacted by representatives from three different municipalities interested in learning more about what it takes to make ‘Burg Days as successful as it has been in its first two seasons and its impact on downtown. “I hope to be in a position the third week of October to make a more formal presentation in how that breaks down,” he said. He said the village is looking at an impact of at least $30,000 per Wednesday. “We think it’ll be more than that.”
Heavy July rains resulted in the flooding of the area on East Indian Lake Drive. Photos by Alex Lee.
Lee Philport, former Brady Township supervisor and former township drain commissioner, has lived on Indian Lake in Vicksburg for the past 45 years. Philport says, “In those 45 years we’ve had three or four flooding events similar to this one, but this is definitely the biggest.”
According to an article written by Mark Torregrossa on Mlive and published July 16, 2024, “We can see a small area south of Portage and Kalamazoo at over 15 inches of rain in the past month. This spot is the wettest area in Michigan in the past month.” The little spot on the map that accompanied the article seems to sit directly over Indian Lake.
Indian Lake Association members have been busy removing clogs from bridges in the Portage River to try and facilitate the drainage of water leaving Indian Lake. And while these efforts are unarguably helpful, as are removing beaver dams and fallen trees, the mere six-foot elevation drop between Indian Lake and Portage Lake on the way to the Saint Joseph River is the stuff that slow and lazy rivers are made of. And a wide area of land, estimated at up to 50,000 acres that drain into the Indian Lake Basin make heavy rain situations difficult.
Philport says, “Living on a waterway comes with certain challenges, and flooding is a big one. Long-term residents are usually more ready with dock and boat removal plans, and even having sandbags ready from experience with these 8-year cycles of ebbs and flows. Newer residents seem to mix a little more panic into their response in experiencing their first flood.”
As in every lake community in our beautiful State of Michigan, discussions for solutions will be discussed with a sense of urgency during and after the flooding. These discussions will wane after a few perfect, or more normal, summers. In the end Mother Nature will be Mother Nature and do what she does. The floods will come again, and all we can do is hope they won’t come soon.
Top left: The new façade. Top middle: Claude Stephenson, 1938. This photo hangs inside Rise N Dine. Top right: Eddie’s Grille, 1957 to 1959. Photo courtesy of the Vicksburg Historical Society. Bottom: John Debault shows an old sign referencing a bygone day when a thriving Vicksburg Mill created a hungry third shift. Photo by Alex Lee.
Two adjacent addresses, 119 and 121 South Main Street, have long and varied histories in the Village of Vicksburg.
119 started as a bakery and grocery store in 1877. 121 started two years earlier, advertising furniture and undertaking – back in those days furniture builders also made coffins. 119 was at one time a bicycle repair shop and three different jewelry shops before ending up a vacant lot in the early 1950s. The lot was purchased by Gerald Smith, who built and opened a radio and appliance repair shop in 1953.
The property first became a restaurant in 1982, the Village Kettle Restaurant. 121 saw service as a gunsmith and locksmith shop, a shoe store, and an auto parts store, among other things, before first becoming a restaurant in 1951 known as Crummel & Family Restaurant in1953.
The two properties were combined in 2001 as Mar-Jo’s Restaurant. Current owners John and Deb Debault and sons John and Jake acquired the properties in 2012, first under a lease with the Vicksburg Downtown Development Authority, then buying the properties two years later. The iconic Rise N Dine opened on November 22, 2012.
The Rise N Dine is unquestionably a hometown favorite, but people from throughout the region visit on a regular basis. The business recently took advantage of the Village’s façade grant program to give the business a facelift. This is the second time that the program has assisted; the first was in 2016 when the old single-pane windows were removed and replaced with double-paned energy-efficient windows. “The estimate for the new facelift came in at $15,000, so we applied to the Planning Commission/DDA for, and were awarded, a $7,500 grant,” John Debault said.
Debault praised Vicksburg’s support of local businesses, “We’ve faced several challenges since we’ve started here, and never alone. The first big challenge was Covid. We received support from the Village in several ways, including marking off some downtown parking spots so we could offer drive-up service to our customers.
“The second challenge was the massive downtown infrastructure project. Great communication from the Village helped us inform our customers how to get to our business daily. And we also owe a great deal to our customers who continued to show up despite the obstacles.” The next big challenge was a fire that saw the restaurant close for two months, making the repairs required to reopen.”
Debault said, “While it was painful being closed after the fire, we used that time to create a new kitchen, added new carpeting, and painted walls to give us a totally upgraded interior.” Debault said about the new look façade, “We found a lot of rot and structural issues as we moved through four layers of old facade, but we were determined to do this right. We were not going to use band aids as repairs since we’re here for the long haul.” The work to the front of the business is being done by Restorations Concepts, a local company. Debault said, “The materials being used are state of the art. The no-maintenance materials, known as LP Smart Siding, is a wood simulation composite material that won’t require maintenance for the next 30 years and beyond.”
Debault was asked what makes the Rise N Dine so popular. “We take great care in what we make and how we make it. We take time to focus on both the food and the experience.” Debault added that being in the Village of Vicksburg, and filled daily with great customers, makes things pretty special “It’s why my family is here to stay.”.
Lynn Kim, John Kern, and Merry Sun. Photo by Alex Lee.
“The Prairie Ronde Artist Residency,” its web site says, “provides artists with the time, space, and freedom to create, on over 100 acres and a historic mill for inspiration.” Now in its seventh season, the residency has hosted over 100 artists.
I sat recently with John Kern, residency director and visiting artists Lynn Kim and Merry Sun to talk about the residency. Both artists were near the end of their 2024 summer residency session.
Kim uses live-action and animation techniques to create short films that explore the social conditions and realities of the human body. “This residency is ideal in that it provides a stipend and housing for the artist. Residencies can be a sizeable financial hurdle in many cases.”
Sun, whose work dwells between the sonic, visual and written, says, “Vicksburg has given me a sense of fearlessness in creating my art.”
Kern says, “From far away, Vicksburg may seem a little off the beaten path, so providing a stipend, housing and a travel allowance removes some concerns artists might believe exist in smaller locations.”
The Prairie Ronde Residency has a goal of artists engaging with The Mill and its surrounding 80 acres of property during their five-to-six-week sessions. Kim says, “my work requires space for a camera, a tripod and a computer, while time consuming in that it takes 24 frames to create one second of film, I don’t require a lot of studio space.”
Kern says, “We focus our artists on the mill and its surroundings, and we purposefully keep the space open and liberating. But that’s not to say we can’t accommodate needs. If an artist needs woodworking space, we’ll find it in the community. If a potter needs a kiln, we have that resource as well.” And therein lies perhaps the most important set of unwritten goals of the program. Kern says, “It’s about more than art, it’s about conversations, it’s about experiences, it’s about connections.”
I was surprised to learn both Kim and Sun are educators. Kim is on a tenure track at the University of Missouri in Columbia teaching courses in animation and film. Sun is an instructor at the University of Kansas teaching design, sculpture, and expanded media. While the residency certainly creates a space for their individual art, it also meets a need for continuing education, professional development, in their education careers.
Each of the artists who participates in the program is given the opportunity to display the work they do while in Vicksburg, and they donate one piece of art to The Mill’s permanent collection. James Baldwin said, “Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” Art brings a community together. It exposes us to the world beyond where we are. The value of art in a person’s life is infinite; in society it validates who we were and who we are.
Both Kim and Sun will depart Vicksburg with great memories. They mentioned the beauty, the friendliness, and the kindness of this place we call home. Kern adds, “We are also creating a family of artists that connect with each other and talk about the experiences and promote our program. And we see that in the numbers and quality of our applicants.”
So, while we have met these artists and enjoyed their art and their time with us, imagine the conversations about Vicksburg among artists, in major university classrooms, and in studios far away. This program is extremely important to our community, and I encourage you to learn more about it at prairierondeartistresidency.com.
Each year the Vicksburg Rotary Club identifies a resident from greater Vicksburg, a non-Rotarian who has made a major commitment to improving life in the Vicksburg area, to become a Rotary Mercer Munn Fellow. This year’s recipient is Karla Stubblefield. Karla graduated from Vicksburg High School and has spent most of her life in Vicksburg. She has one daughter, Diana, a granddaughter, and a great-granddaughter.
Since she was a young girl, Karla has always been involved in Vicksburg musical presentations. Whether it be with accompanying multiple high school students at district solo and ensemble festivals or providing music at the Vicksburg United Methodist Church, Karla is there.
Karla has freely provided support with sectional rehearsals and with chorus members and soloists, accompanying them at the Vicksburg Rotary Showboat and Showcase for over 55 years. She also worked with other local adult productions, such as the Main Street Revue. She also performed with Vicksburg High School musical productions, as well as accompanying other area high school musical productions.
In addition to her fine talents on stage, Karla has been a critical performer over the years when asked to play at Rotarian funerals. Rotarian and former Showboat director Jim Shaw said, “It just wouldn’t be the same without Karla at the piano. She is a true professional performer.”
The club will invest $500 in her honor into its endowment fund held with the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.
In the 62 years that Mercer Munn spent in the Vicksburg club, he exemplified all that is best in Rotary. To him “Service above Self” was not a slogan; it was simply a way of life. It was impossible to separate Mercer’s Christian humility and compassion from his Rotary determination. If there was something in the community to be fixed, helped, or healed, Mercer Munn was often part of the solution. Munn was a special person, respected and treasured by all who knew him. He continues to set the bar for community involvement long past his time here. The Mercer Munn Fellow award continues to inspire and honor his leadership in the Vicksburg community.
Book Club for Adults – Thursdays, August 1, September 5 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Discuss a book with the group. Check with the library for this month’s book.
Robert Weir Presents “Australia” – Monday, August 12 from 6-7 p.m. Explore Australia with world-traveler Robert Weir.
Author Visit: Anita McBride – Monday, August 19 from 6-7:30 p.m. Anita B. McBride, co-author of Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women, visits the library.
Movie Club: Featuring the Classics – Monday, August 19 from 1-3:30 p.m. Watch a 1941 classic film and discover the meaning of rosebud. Drinks and popcorn provided.
Writers’ Motivational Group – Thursday, August 22 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Report progress, set goals, share resources and advice, and troubleshoot or brainstorm your projects with other writers.
Bridge Club – Join the weekly friendly game. Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m.-noon.
Tai Chi Class – Weekly class. The community is welcome. Tuesdays from 7-8 p.m. and Thursdays from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Youth Events
Family Storytime – Mondays, August, 5, 12, 19, and 26, from 10-10:45 a.m. Books, songs, and more!
Mugs & Hugs – Wednesdays, August 7 and 21 from 10-11 a.m. Stories, activities, and interaction.
Teen Break & Bulldog Break – Thursdays, August 8 and 22 from 2:45-5:45 p.m. A safe space for teens and tweens to get together and have fun. Crafts, games, social activities, and tasty treats are for people under 18!
SPECIAL Teen Trading Card Day – August 8 from 2:45-5:45 p.m. Bring your card collections (Pokemon, Magic: the Gathering; Yu-Gi-Oh! and more) to trade, view, play, or just hang out and play games. Designed for grades 6-12.
STEAM – Thursday, August 15 from 6-7 p.m. and Monday, August 19 from 11 a.m.-noon. Engage in hands-on activities and use problem-solving skills.
LEGO & DUPLO CLUB – Tuesdays, August 20 from 1-2 p.m. Evening LEGO August 20 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Individual creativity is the goal.
Vicksburg Library at the Vicksburg Farmer’s Market – Friday, August 30, 2-6 p.m. All ages are welcome to stop by and make a fun, quick craft with us! We’ll also have handouts and information about our current library activities. We’ll be at the Farmer’s Market the last Friday of each month from 2-6 p.m., May through September.
