EE
FR
Reflections
Summer 2016
Ogemaw County Herald Oscoda County Herald Arenac County Independent
Q
UILTING FOR
RELIEF:
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS PG. 8
MUSICIAN & SONG WRITER BUDDY GREENE Pg. 12
LOCAL PILLARS
OF THE COMMUNITY REMEMBERED Pg. 7, 16 & 18
Pictures of summer past
As seen in the 1990s Pg. 13
LOCAL
GARDEN
YIELDS A
CHANCE TO SERVE Pg. 16
Page 2 • 2016 Summer Reflections
What’s inside Commission on activity
Pg. 4
Quilting for Relief: 50 years of Caring — Sharing — Giving
Pg. 8
Walker’s passion for Au Gres visible through businesses, attractions Painting her landscape with flowers & greens
Musician & songwriter led to greener pastures Still impeccable after 80 years
Former commissioner, mail carrier loved sports, singing
Reflections
Final page sounds for firefighter who put people first
PUBLISHER Elizabeth Gorske
MANAGING EDITOR Eric Young
EDITORIAL STAFF Tim Barnum Scott Nunn Tiffany Kimberly Johnson Landenberg Matt Varcak
ADVERTISING SALES Joyce Clark Anthony Kachiros Carla Reeves Shannon Arnold COMPOSITION Sharon Ehlert Merhia Adrian
Pg. 7 Pg. 10 Pg. 12 Pg. 14 Pg. 16 Pg. 18
On the cover
Collage photo by Tiffany Johnson
EMAIL tiffanyjohnson@oscodaherald.com
2016 Summer Reflections • Page 3
Page 4 • 2016 Summer Reflections
Commission on activity
Activities coordinator retires after almost a decade of keeping active in seniors’ lives BY TIFFANY JOHNSON
WEST BRANCH — The stereotype of having nothing to do as a senior citizen is almost nonexistent at the Ogemaw Commission on Aging, also known as “My Place.” This is true only because of the staff and community present there. Sharon Burdine, now former activities coordinator, is one of the reasons so many people have been able to enjoy staying active in their community, and she too will continue to stay active after her retirement. “People are retiring every minute. What’s so special about me retiring?” Sharon said. Sharon isn’t of the mindset that she had much to do with the well-built community hosted in and around OCOA, but she does agree that there is great community at the center. The tagline — “My Place” — is important to her, as it is to the seniors at OCOA, because it communicates what the center is all about. “It’s where seniors come in to meet and greet and dine together and meet people and have a good time,” she said. Sharon has long been a resident of Ogemaw County and loves sharing connections and roots with the senior citizens who frequent the center. “Like deep roots — generational,” she said. “My grandparents homesteaded.” After attending and graduating from Ogemaw Heights High School, she went on to Northeastern School of
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Commerce in Bay City, then found her way to the senior center. “I got a job right out of there in a hospital in Bay City. I stayed in Bay City for probably two years, then I got lonesome and had to come home,” she said. Looking to come home to Ogemaw County, Sharon started seeking employment and found an opportunity. “It was October of 2007,” she said. “I was just looking to do part-time to supplement my income a little bit. (OCOA was) looking for someone to do in-home reassessments and I thought, ‘Oh, I think I’ll go and see what that’s about,’” she said. “I loved it, I went all over the county. I covered the whole county. It was very enjoyable and I met a lot of really super seniors.” The position Sharon is retiring from — activities coordinator — was made when the Ogemaw Commission on Aging was in the midst of moving its multiple locations to one central location, which is the one currently in operation in West Branch. “What happened was, the director starting (talking) about building a new center because at that time we had a Skidway center, a West Branch center, a satellite center in Rose City — there was no cooking going on there, they would deliver foods to it — and we had offices in yet another location, so we had four locations,” she said.
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With condensing of the four locations, there was a need for someone to head up and organize activities for the new “My Place.” Sharon was all too happy to try her hand at the job. “We were looking to purchase land and make one center for everyone. The center for the county was chosen and they were going to be creating a new position called activities coordinator,” she said. “I just thought, ‘I want to do that’ — I wanted that job.” Among other events like bingo and card games, one activity Sharon gets excited about is one that might not be expected in a senior center — volleyball. “They play bingo, they play volleyball — you should see our chair volleyball — then they have cribbage, we’ve got bridge, pinochle, euchre, we’ve got our Wii, our pool table,” she said. Sharon’s job was to be a jack of all trades at the center, organizing events and being involved with the residents during meals and parties, though she never felt like the relationships were forced — in fact, quite the opposite. “(My favorite thing is) I think kidding around with the people,” she said. “On the other hand, the saddest thing is losing them,” she said. “Sometimes they move away or sometimes they go to be with their children in another town and sometimes they just pass away.”
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A group of senior residents play chair volleyball at OCOA’s “My Place.” OCOA’s My Place has just about everything you could think of wanting in a senior citizen community — but that wasn’t always the case. “We had a wonderful gentleman from the Soo and he had moved here to take care of a family member. And he’d gone to the senior center every day in the Soo. He hunted us down — wonderful man — and he said, ‘Um, where is the hot chocolate?’ We have a whole beverage thing, we have their coffee, their decaf, hot water for just tea and we have iced tea and water. So I went to our nutrition coordinator and said, ‘We’ve got to have hot chocolate,’ and she got it. We have 50-50s (raffles) for that kind of stuff. And I asked him, ‘David, what do you think?’ and he said this is a great place and he’s back every day. He said, ‘If I was doing an evaluation, the only thing would be the hot chocolate but you fixed that.’” The center sees people from all over including Rose City, Prescott, Twining, St. Helen and Houghton Lake as well as Oscoda County. “There’s not much of ‘this is my table’ or ‘this is our table.’ They pretty much will mix it up and sit around different spots. We’re mixing up really like my senior year in high school; we’re mixing it up from several communities,” she said. “I’ve got a couple that comes down from Mio three days a week — Mio!”
My Place is not only a place for senior residents to come and enjoy each other’s company but it is also a place where seniors can bring their family members into a part of their community. “We’ve got regulars that when their family members (come) they say, ‘Oh, you got to come up, we’ll take you out to dinner — senior center,’” she said. “Then they come and bring their adult children out for the day, then they sit and visit and have coffee and everything with the parents and it’s like, this is our place to visit.” Sharon is kicking off her retirement in a big way with a road trip with her husband David in the summer. “We have a two-month road trip to Alaska,” she said. “I have siblings in Alaska and I’ve been there but we have never driven. I had a brother-in-law say, ‘Flying back and forth is wonderful but you’ve got to drive it once.’” Sharon wants to make the most of her retirement by taking advantage of her time with family and friends while making sure she takes the time to do the things she has on her list. “Every day that these folks here have known that I’m going to retire, many of them have said, ‘Oh, I’ve always wanted to do that,’ and I don’t want to be one of those people that say, ‘Oh, I always wanted to do that but we just never did,’” she said. “So we’re going to do it right away.” The Burdines have plans to take their time going across
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country over the allotted two months as they head to Alaska, planning to go through and stop in North Dakota, Montana and multiple national parks. “It’s probably going to take us 20 days before we actually hit Alaska,” she said. “I’m going to do things that I’ve never done because when you go to visit family you kind of just stay in their world but (at the same time) it’s fun to go somewhere and be where the real people are, and it’s not just if you took a tour — it’s the real Alaska.” Sharon has a natural love for people both in her travels and in her daily life, which was until this point spent mostly at the Ogemaw Commission on Aging My Place. She admits that is what she will miss the most — being involved in the daily lives of area seniors. “The people — well, the work was fun, but the people,” Sharon said when asked what she will miss most. “I plan on being back and playing volleyball, euchre and have a good dinner for two bucks.” Her time planning activities at OCOA was one of the best jobs, she said. “I haven’t regretted it one single day because this has just been the best,” she said. Read a poem written for Sharon on pg. 18
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Walker’s passion for Au Gres visible through businesses, attractions
2016 Summer Reflections • Page 7
TIM BARNUM
Many people have been affected by Joe Walker, who died July 11, and may have never known it. It could’ve happened while they were buying insurance, putting their ball in on the 18th hole or getting their teeth cleaned by Dr. Otis McKinley, DDS. Joe, who was 85 years old when he died, founded the Walker Agency in 1967; helped establish the Huron Breeze Golf Course in Sims Township and the Sleepy Oaks Campground in Au Gres; and was one of many Au Gres natives who convinced McKinley to set up shop in Au Gres in 1974. “In school we received notifications from the health departments of places that needed dentists,” McKinley said. “For a couple of summers before that, I toured the state, both the east and west sides of the state. When I came to Au Gres, it was a pretty small town, but I ran into and got to meet Joe Walker and a couple of other fellas, Pete Stanley and Judge (Kenneth) Ralph. Kind of in my travels, I always made an effort to stop and see them because they were great guys. Very gregarious and very successful guys, and they were fun to talk to.” “That relationship with Joe and those other guys convinced me to come here,” he said. It wasn’t many years after McKinley started practicing in Au Gres that he got involved with what he said is Joe’s biggest project. “He’s done a great deal for the town, and one of the biggest things he’s done is the Huron Breeze Golf Course,” he said. “He spearheaded that through thick and thin. I was involved with that, too, but Joe spearheaded that.” “It was Joe’s idea,” McKinley said. “He gathered about eight or nine of us together to put some money into it and get started on it.” Sheree Wiltse, Joe’s daughter, said her father was ambitious and used much of that ambition to try to help Au Gres flourish. “He wanted to see the community grow, and he just didn’t like sitting still, I guess,” she said. “I can remember when they started Huron Breeze, and I went out there and here he is on his hands and knees laying every brick in that sidewalk.” Sleepy Oaks Campground was another one of Joe’s projects
that came to fruition. Karl Edmonds of Au Gres said the campground was a need at the time he and Joe started putting the wheels in motion. “We could see a huge need for it,” he said. “There were an influx of boat slips coming in and there was a huge demand for boat slips.” “We knew we had to come up with some capital, so we got together to find out how much we’d need, and then we got some investors to buy stock, and once we got enough investors, we got a loan and built it,” Edmonds said. Stock certificates were issued in 1982, and once the money was on hand, Edmonds said the investors and partners working to establish Sleepy Oaks were the ones who initially did the on-site work. “In the first phase we did all of it,” he said. “We rented all of the equipment and got in there and did it.” Joe’s impact on Au Gres wasn’t only made in the business community, but also through organizations such as the Au Gres Lions Club and the Au Gres Men’s Club, the latter of which he helped establish. Joe’s longtime friend Jerry Heinrich was one of the early men’s club members. Heinrich said the club was formed to help promote the area, but it also includes a charitable aspect via its annual Christmas party. “We have the Christmas party at Christmastime and give a gift to each child that shows up to the school,” he said. Heinrich said Joe could either lead a project or work behind the scenes. He just worked hard to get things done and liked to make life better for other people in the area, Heinrich said. “He was a really nice fella and he helped out different people,” he said. Part of the reason Joe was able to accomplish a lot in the Au Gres community was a refusal to give up. “If I had to put it in one word, I’d have to say it was determination,” Edmonds said. “Joe had a fixed mind, you might say. When he saw something and saw possible potential, he had the eye for making good financial decisions.” “Joe is not a yes man,” McKinley said. “Joe did it the way he wanted to do it.” Wiltse said one of the reasons Joe was often confident in his various undertakings, and why he was able to see them
Joe Walker
through, is because he didn’t simply rush into a project without having a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish. “He was one to get an idea and then dwell on it for a while and kind of think it out in his head,” she said. “He was a great businessman, so he thought things through well in his head before he proceeded with them.” Wiltse said her father had a strong work ethic, including when he first started out on his own in the insurance industry, going door to door to drum up business. Wiltse said she and her siblings inherited Joe’s attitude and she is grateful they did. “He had a rough exterior, but he had a heart of gold,” she said. “He would do anything for us kids, but we had to work for it.” “I personally am very proud of my upbringing, because he set the goals and the standards high for us and I respect that,” Wiltse said.
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Page 8 • 2016 Summer Reflections
Quilting for Relief “50 years of Caring — Sharing — Giving”
BY TIFFANY JOHNSON
Oscoda County will see another installment of caring, sharing and giving with the 50th annual Northern Michigan Relief Sale, which is slated to be held at the Oscoda County Fairgrounds on Aug. 5-6. The sale is overseen by the Mennonite Central Committee, which disperses the funds to areas in need around the world. In past years the event saw thousands attending, with more than $150,000 generated last year, according to relief sale Director Carl Dube and his wife Laura. “There are 47 (sales) scattered around the U.S. and Canada,” Carl said. “This is the only one up in Northern Michigan. Each year we pick out 10 projects; this year is about health. Gross proceeds were $165,000, which was like $10,000 over the prior year; it’s really amazing.” The event will kick off Friday with a garage sale, silent auction, Relief Sale Fun Run and concert by Buddy Greene of Nashville, which starts at 7 p.m. On Saturday, people can enjoy a pancake breakfast from 6-10 a.m. followed by the quilt auction starting at 11 a.m. “Buddy Greene and Jeff Taylor, that’s a big thing for us to have them come; we’re really glad to have them. It should be a fun night of music for us,” Carl said. The event, including the concert, is free to attend, but donations are always welcome. A donation bucket will be passed during the Friday night concert, Laura said. Items up for auction at the event will include local woodworking pieces, a storage barn from North Star Storage Barns, Model T car tools and Detroit Tigers gear. “We’ve gotten baseballs and signed phoDonna Carley works to finish bags that will hold school supplies going overseas.
Detail of a quilt that will be featured at the Northern Michigan Relief Sale.
tographs from players,” Carl said. “(This year) we will get a Miguel Cabrera signed baseball. That is great news for our 50th sale.” The first sale in 1967 raised just under $3,000, according to a press release. Last year, the event had 320 people placing bids, 117 of whom were new bidders. The sale has consistently grown from previous years, according to the Dubes. “One of the things that we do at the sale is what we call blessing bids, and so Carl will go and look through the catalog and they have a whole bunch of different projects,” Laura said. “There’s projects all over the world that have to do with health (this year’s theme); it could be even just teaching health, or building latrines, or growing gardens and things like that. So there are development workers in lots and lots of countries that work under the auspices of the Mennonite Central Committee. So we raise funds in order to facilitate the aid workers that are in the different countries.” Plenty of work goes into putting on the sale, and preparations are already in the works for next year’s quilts. “Everything that everybody makes is all donated, so they spend money themselves on making it, putting it together, buying the fabric and stuff like that, but they’re just purely giving a donation by giving (the quilt) to the sale,” Laura said. Quilts are made not only locally but also around the state of Michigan and even as far as Kentucky. For the second year, a color challenge will be conducted for those donating quilts, comforters and afghans.
“So (a church member’s) idea was every year she would change the color and announce what it is and then people will make donations through the year or bring it even to the sale,” Laura said. “This year she decided she would do gold because it is the 50th sale. Everything doesn’t have to be completely gold but something gold on it.” Anyone participating in the color challenge bought the fabrics at last year’s sale and is donating the finished product back to the sale this year, Laura said. People can bring gold items to the sale or drop them off beforehand at the office in the main quilt building at the fairgrounds. The finished quilts will be voted on in a “people’s choice” fashion. “It doesn’t have anything to do with if it’s perfectly done; it’s just what looks nice to your eye,” she said. “What’s nice with this is it’s not just the people from the Mennonite churches that are donating — people from the Detroit area, all that quarter from Detroit, Flint — bunches of people that (have) seen this now for seven or eight years, and they all want to help.” The quilts are always a hit at the auction. “We’ve got some really generous bidders who are ready to spend their money,” Laura said. “Yeah, they’re getting something — they’re getting one of these beautiful quilts, but they also know it’s making a big difference. They could go to a quilt shop to buy a quilt but they want to come here.” Another way to give to the relief efforts is to bring items that can be included in the 8,000 hygiene kits that will be sent overseas. “One (project) that the MCC does are hygiene kits — it’s got a towel, toothpaste,
toothbrush and a fingernail clipper,” Carl said. “Last year they distributed over 57,000 around the world. We’re asking people to bring the towels and brushes.” The relief sale runs mostly on efforts from volunteers and generous people who care, share and give. “We run ragged those two days, but it’s such a rewarding thing to think that up here in Northern Michigan we have all these people’s help. We can really have an impact on people’s lives somewhere else.” The preparation for the event really does take a village, and part of this village are some ladies from Fairview Mennonite Church who spend their time cutting, sewing, and preparing quilts for that first weekend in August. “What will happen is on Wednesday before the sale Rosie (Ross) will take all of these things that have been accumulated (at Fairview Mennonite Church) and the other church will be bringing their donations,” Laura said. “People like to be involved. Yeah, they like to purchase but they also like to donate, especially quilters. Maybe 10 more people bought (color challenge) kits from the year before.” Anyone wanting information about volunteering can call Carl at 989-848 5904, Laura at 989-335-0130 or email them at info@reliefsale.org. “We’re always in need of volunteers,” Carl said. “The first chance is on Monday — we can always use hands to unload the trailer. All of our equipment is in the truck.” “The whole idea is that a whole bunch of people, doing a little bit, make a big impact,” Laura said.
Local ladies provide backing for relief sale
Much of the sale efforts wouldn’t be a reality without the quilting ladies of Fairview Mennonite Church. The church has been the meeting place for a quilting group for as long as any of the members can remember. “This group has been going on over 100 years because the church is over 100 years, and I know the ladies always had this,” quilting group member Loretta Troyer said. Meeting once a month throughout the year, the group makes, preps and organizes a lot of what happens at the relief sale, especially in the weeks leading up to the sale. One of the group’s eldest members, Wilma Bontrager, 95, said one of her favorite things is not only giving toward the sale but also enjoying her fellow quilters. “Oh, the visiting and community,” Wilma said. The other ladies in the group agreed and added that it’s a relaxing hobby to get into. On the first Thursday of the month, the group works on sewing items and putting together other items like school bags. “We make the bag, and it takes four notebooks, an eraser, eight pencils in colors. We have a couple ladies that make the bags,” Luetta Detweiler said. “We make school kits, health kits, relief kits and ship them out.” Another woman who is heavily involved in the sale efforts is Ardis Miller, longarm quilter at Stitches For You in Mio. “Well, it’s a lot of fun; it’s like going to
a family reunion,” Miller said. “Everybody is there to raise money for the charity, and it’s a very good charity. It’s just a nice way to get together and see things and bid on something you might like, but the visiting is the best part.” Miller has been a part of the relief sale since childhood when she would assist at her father’s booth. Miller’s involvement has ranged from manning booths, being treasurer and now both directly and indirectly sewing quilt backs for items to be sold. “There’s a kids booth there so that was kind of the first thing that we got involved in, and then I was the treasurer; now I’m kind of getting out of that. And
I’m getting into the quilters because I’m helping my sister do it,” Miller said. When asked how many quilts she has had a hand in making, Miller said there is no way to truly know. “I don’t even know, because a lot of times I’ll quilt them here and won’t know till I get there that they were going to sell them at the relief sale,” she said. The piece Miller is working on with her sister is something she is proud to be donating to a great cause. “I like that I can make something that’s unique,” she said. “Nobody will probably ever make one like it because I can pick my own fabric and I can pick my own design.” The quilting group at Fairview Mennonite Church works on preparations for next year.
2016 Summer Reflections • Page 9
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Page 10 • 2016 Summer Reflections
painting her world with flowers & greens BY TIFFANY JOHNSON
When Linda Esch married her husband John, she found that his parents grew a large garden just like she and her family did, so it made sense to her that they would continue the tradition of gardening that was strong in both families. Linda has been tending the garden at the couple’s blue farmhouse in Oscoda County since 1979, when they moved into the house. “I garden because my grandparents always had a big garden,” Linda said. “They grew lots of vegetables and flowers and that was in Detroit, so in the city. So I grew up with the legacy of their gardening. It wasn’t until ’89 that I began growing the flowers and herbs and putting in a lot of the perennial gardens. I grow primarily culinary herbs — I don’t know enough about the medicinal side of herbs to feel comfortable to use those — but I really love to grow the flowers and the vegetables.” Having raised a large family of nine children, Linda said planting and using all their own vegetables gave the family a way to be self-sustaining. “I have always grown a lot of vegetables. I’ve canned and processed and froze a lot of vegetables. We’re a farm and until 2013 we were a dairy farm, so we did produce most of our own vegetables, a lot of our own fruit and
meat and of course milk,” she said. “We weren’t entirely self-sufficient but we did like to produce a lot of what we consumed.” “We’re not afraid of food, and we don’t have a problem with eating McDonald’s once in a while or buying stuff from the grocery store, and I have teenagers who like the typical teenager foods,” she continued. “We’re not antiGMO; we’re just practical common sense.” Being a stay-at-home mom of many children, Linda had the time to garden while enlisting the help of her family, but she said the reason she keeps up her flower gardens is simply the love of the activity. “‘Flowers are evidence of God’s goodness in the world,’ and I’m quoting Arthur Conan Doyle in one of his Sherlock Holmes novels on that,” she said. “It’s the fact that it’s above and beyond what it would have to be for mere reproduction.” Having so many favorites, Linda could not choose any certain flower, but said she loves whatever is blooming at the time. “I could not pick a favorite any more than I could pick a favorite child,” Linda said. Linda has multiple gardens at her home, including veg-
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etable gardens and various flower gardens that are wellestablished, some from the time before she moved in 1979. The grounds also have structures like cold boxes, built by her husband, that allow her to start her lettuce crop and other greens earlier than most gardeners. Having a garden of this magnitude, there is always work to be done, Linda said. “I have found that every year some things do really well, some things don’t do too good,” she said. “And there is always work.”
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2016 Summer Reflections • Page 11
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Page 12 • 2016 Summer Reflections
Musician & songwriter divinely led to greener pastures BY TIFFANY JOHNSON
Musician and songwriter Buddy Greene has a love for music that started when he was young and has not altered in its sincerity. From being involved in a neighborhood band at the age of 10 to touring with well-known gospel artists during his professional career, Greene has brought his love for music and faith to a head with his numerous albums and songs like “Mary, Did You Know?”. Greene attended college at Mercer University in his hometown of Macon, Ga., studying music. “I kind of chose music because it was the path of least resistance at that point,” Greene said with a laugh. “I was already moonlighting in college and just playing clubs, bars and parties and things like that.” Growing up in Georgia was important to his formative years, according to Greene. Being familiar with the Southern Baptist church from an early age, he was taught the beliefs his family held but soon strayed from his roots. “In my mid-20s — by that time I had rejected what my parents’ generation stood for — my life was sort of in shambles because I was making such bad choices on my own,” Greene said. “At the same time I was making music.” Green started re-examining his life and questioning his life choices. Having the desire to make music for a living but being at a standstill vocationally, he was at a loss for direction until a friend reached out to him. “One day I got a call from a friend who was working with country music star Jerry Reed. My friend lived in Nashville and was sort of the band leader for Jerry and he offered me a job — or a chance to audition,” Greene said. “And a week later I was on ‘Austin City Limits’ with Jerry Reed and it was like, ‘Wow, how did this happen?’” Things were starting to pan out for Greene; he was engaged to be married and was getting chances to play his music. “For the first time, I got a big sign that ‘Hey, maybe I should stick with this music thing for a while,’ and I did,” he said. During a four-year period, Greene gained valuable experience. “That was a momentous period in my life. During that time with Jerry I was
learning; it was a great apprenticeship that I always needed as a musician,” he said. “To be playing at a national level with an artist of the caliber of Jerry. Playing everything from big arenas to TV shows and going into recording studios, just doing everything I had sort of dreamed about.” At this point in his career, Greene ventured back into his religious roots, writing songs that incorporated his beliefs and lifestyle. “They were gospel songs, is what you would call them,” he said. “They were based on my own personal story — what was going on. I started pitching those songs to a few people. I didn’t know hardly anybody in the gospel music world.” By chance, well-known producer Bob MacKenzie, whom Greene called a gospel music titan, heard his music and was intrigued by Greene’s ability to play not only the guitar but also the harmonica. “To make a long story short, he just offered me a recording contract,” Greene said. Greene went on to record both his own lyrical songs and instrumental renditions of well-known hymns and songs featuring the harmonica. After finishing the first album under that recording contract, he said his time with Jerry Reed came to a close. “The longer I had that job and just saw the trappings of that success; it was kind of the stuff I realized I needed to get away from, a lot of it — as far as some of the lifestyle,” Greene said. “I didn’t do too well with temptations and the things that were replete in that world. At one point I even thought I should just quit Jerry because I was having such a hard time trying to live out my faith.” “At that same time I met Bill Gaither, and Bill liked my music and liked me, all the same reasons that Bob MacKenzie had,” he continued. “In fact, Bob and Bill were good friends — Bob had introduced us,” he said. “Right about the time that I left Jerry (Reed), Bill offered me a job to go out on the road with him.” Greene took the job with Gaither, which gave him an opportunity to see a world of music he was inexperienced at. Touring with Bill Gaither for five years, Greene had the chance to play for
thousands and began gathering his own fan base. Being well-established in the mid-90s, he composed and performed numerous works during that time. Greene has released 19 collective albums to date, including a “best of” album and others of that sort. His newest album, called “Someday,” came out within the last couple months. “I currently have another in the works,” he said. “I don’t know if it’ll see the light of day or not but I’ve got one that I’m working on as well.” When it comes to songwriting, Greene said there is no perfect formula. His efforts include playing a melody, thinking on it and bringing it out when the time is right, and sometimes it will be the words that drive the tune. “Sometimes it’s a musical hook will sort of grab my attention as I’m playing. I’ll think, ‘Wow, that’s a nice melodic theme there,’” he said. “Sometimes it’ll be a lyrical idea. I remember one time writing a song, and I was riding around town and I just started thinking about something, started writing a song and by the time I got to where I was going I had a verse written. Over the next couple of days I finished the song — and all I had was a meter and a rhythm in mind; I wasn’t thinking melody at all.” Greene has written songs alongside Gloria Gaither and Mark Lowery, among others. “Mark Lowery and I wrote a song together called ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ that’s become quite popular,” he said. “That was an instance of Mark having written songs. He had written that lyric six or seven years earlier. He gave it to me and I took it home. I didn’t even look at it for a while, then one day I spent a lot of time playing music, so it’s kind of like the juices were flowing. When I finally saw his lyric, I loved what I saw for one thing, and a little melodic idea popped into my head.” Greene has devoted a large part of his career to writing songs, but has now slowed down that drive and really enjoys simply playing for the love of the music. “I love music, I love to play, I love to learn songs and work on my instrument and stay in shape,” he said. “But I’m also an entertainer.” Greene, accompanied by Jeff Taylor, will be playing at the Northern Michigan
Relief Sale on Friday, Aug. 5. “I love playing with other musicians. I rarely, these days, play by myself,” he said. “(Taylor) is a great musician and a great friend. We’ve traveled all over the world together at this point, so we really do know each other and each other’s songs well.” At the concert, gospel music will not be the only genre heard; the duo will also be playing Irish fiddle tunes, bluegrass and Celtic music. “I love that aspect of what I do — of what I get to do,” he said. “I love going into a place where I sense there is a large welcome from the audience, and the people are just anticipating something good to happen. I think on those special nights, the song list becomes secondary. It’s just a night where there can be some serendipity involved where it’s not just going through the motions: you’re really having some spontaneous good fun.” Songs from his new album will be featured at the relief sale, their themes echoing what the sale is all about. “I will be doing a lot of new songs because I think they will speak kind of well to what is going on through the relief sale,” he said. “The effort among the Mennonite churches to do something that helps relieve some of the suffering worldwide — they see themselves as a Christian witness throughout the world that is first and foremost trying to come alongside the poor and help those who are struggling, whatever that may be.” While he has played in various churches, including Mennonite churches, being at this specific Northern Michigan event will be a first for Greene. “Just the fact that over 90 percent of what they raise actually goes to meet the needs that they are trying to address — that’s a huge thing,” he said. “And I think it’s because there is such a great volunteer effort.” After this tour, which includes the relief sale and two other stops in Northern Michigan, Green will be back with his family in Nashville. When he is home, in between concerts he enjoys golf and running, but his love for music extends to his home life. “My vocation is also my hobby,” he said. “I’m just like everybody else at that point — when I’m home.”
Pictures of summer past
2016 Summer Reflections • Page 13
As seen in our newspapers during the 1990s
Thanks for everything
Commander Elmer Pichan (left) of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 73 in West Branch presents Archie Manina with a certificate of appreciation for helping area veterans. Jerry Adcock (behind Manina) also received a certificate.
Parade of Lights
The “City of Au Gres” entry helped light up the night sky during Saturday’s Parade of Lights down the Au Gres River. The parade was part of the city’s annual Venetian Days celebration. Marcy and Don McKenzie, below, prepare their boat, the USS Lollypop, for the parade earlier in the day.
Kirtland Community College Athletic Director and men’s basketball coach Glen Donahue is flanked by new Firebird recruits Dmitry Popov, 6-foot-7 forward from Tashkent, Uzbekistan (right) and Alvaidas Gedminas, 6-foot-11 center from Plunge, Lithuania.
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Page 14 • 2016 Summer Reflections
Still impeccable after 80 years
BY TIFFANY JOHNSON
After eight decades of service, one local company is celebrating its long-lasting dedication to the artistry of plaster-making with a transition to new management. Perma-Log has been in operation since the 1930s, starting two generations before the current owners, Bill Maier and his wife Diane. “(Bill’s) grandfather and his grandfather’s brother were plasterers in the Detroit area,” Diane said. “And (his great-grandfather) liked log cabins so he created Perma-Log.” Sometime between its start and the 1940s, the company made its way north to Mio, where it is to this day. “I’m not sure when he actually moved up here, but 1936 is when he created and started the actual Perma-
2
Log product,” she said. Staying true to its roots, Perma-Log has kept historic skills at the forefront of its work by staying with one medium. Though the end product may take on various styles, the cement mixture used in the PermaLog process has not changed much from the original mixture used by Bill’s great-grandfather Wellington William. “The way the swirling is, it’s not repetitive and has a very nice look to it,” Diane said. “I have an admiration for (William) even though I’ve never met him. He ran the business and did jobs up in Northern Michigan as well as other jobs in Detroit and so on, around the state, Drummond Island, western UP, maybe something in Canada.” Because of William’s special recipe, Perma-Log products are synonymous with longevity. “You put mud on the wall, it’s dry the next day — it will continue to strengthen the longer it goes,” Diane said. “It continues to strengthen for 50 years and then it starts the reverse process, so that is why we say basically cement has a life of 100 years. As far as a Perma-Log home, it’ll last your lifetime.” Although the primary skill of plastering the PermaLog facade is strenuous, the client is left with a virtually maintenance-free product encasing their home. “The great thing about Perma-Log is that there is no maintenance. That’s huge for some people,” she said. “Some people are fine when they’re younger but when they get older or their health is going and they don’t want to be out there.” Another benefit the siding product offers is that it is fire-retardant, Diane said. “It does add some insulation value because you’re creating air pockets in there, and it also adds some strength to the structure,” she said. “Kind of helping to limit fire — we won’t say it will fireproof your home. It won’t necessarily save it but it can help, depending on the structure of the home or where the fire might start. So there are a lot of benefits to it.”
3a
1 “The great thing about Perma-Log is that there is no maintenance. That’s huge for some people,” she said. “Some people are fine when they’re younger but when they get older or their health is going they don’t want to be out there.” — Diane Maier Like the time-honored cement recipe they use, the Maier duo has preferred the old ways when it comes to their business style as well. Until recently, one of the ways Bill and Diane kept track of the various jobs was with a physical record book. “It’s like something out of Harry Potter or something,” Bill said jokingly. “I’ve connected with people that own some of these earlier (jobs) because there is a date knot — we put the date in the knot.” Having been at the business for more than 45 years himself, since he was in his teens, Bill has the mixture down pat, but he will be using less of his time putting plaster on walls and more time enjoying something he has been working toward — retirement. With recent health concerns but also a trusted employee to run the labor side of the business, it seemed like the right time to make some changes within the business, the couple said. Bill still plans on creating with plaster but in a more artistic way. “Sometimes if jobs were slow and there wasn’t work, well then you want to keep your guys some hours and plus keep them trained, and how to do it because you can’t just get a skilled plasterer off the street,” Diane said. “So then he’s filled in some time with his art-type thing, so that’s more his mastermind of creating the sculptures,” she said. Not only can logs be made out of the mud but some artistic forms as well. On the lot of their business, which is located along M-33 just outside of Mio, there are dozens of sculptures, including some replicas of the Easter Island heads, tiny cabins and giantsize antlers. To avoid waste and take advantage of some unique color mixtures, the mud was used. “(We had) leftover cement at the end of the day and we had no use — no place to put it. A lot of times there were nice colors,” he said. “I made a lot of big ones at first but then I realized, man, they’re heavy when they dry to move them around.” Bill plans on doing more small-scale artistry like that seen on the lot. Beyond that, he looks forward to what retirement can offer. Taking up the labor side of the business will be an 11-season veteran Bill has been training. “When I first started, I don’t know, (for) probably three years, there were quite a few people that wanted the crooked stuff,” foreman Tyler Layman said. “I didn’t know how to make it straight after that because I was making crooked logs and crazy knots. This is my 11th year and I’m still learning.” When asked about what is most common when
3b
2016 Summer Reflections • Page 15
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constructing the facade, Layman said it is ever-changing along with trends and clients’ taste. “People want different things. Some want it perfectly straight, and others want crooked. So we can do a root system on a tree or crooked logs and stuff that get to be more flowing like that,” Layman said. “It depends on the customer.” Knowing the ins and outs of the process, Layman will be handling most, if not all, of the siding projects while the office work will be overseen by Bill and Diane. “That’s a big relief. Like how he handled the rain today — I’m really proud,” Bill said, referring to Layman’s quick thinking on a job site. His skill set has grown over the years to adapt to clients’ wants and needs. Because Layman has been working alongside their family for so long, the Maiers see this transition as a way to keep the business in the family, so to speak. “It’s part of letting go,” Diane said. “We’re happy to have someone who likes the product as much as we do.” Bill added that even though the business is constricted to operate in the warmer months, his workers have stayed on with him, which he appreciates. “One thing is he is faithful; he hasn’t gone out and gotten other jobs because he could have — we can’t do it in the winter,” Bill said. Being from the area, Layman has seen what it takes to run a business here and looks forward to what the future has for Perma-Log. “He’s been here a long time here in the county, so that’s good,” Bill said. “Oscoda County, the home place of Perma-Log.”
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1: An illustration from an original flier from the early days of Perma-Log Co. 2: Layman applies the mixture of mud to wire mesh that has been formed into loglike shapes. 3a: An illustration of a “scratcher” from an original flier. 3b: A “scratcher” used on current job sites. 4: Diane and Bill Maier smile for a photo in front of their Perma-Log home. 5: A finished PermaLog home. 6: Easter Island head replica sculptures rest in the Perma-Log yard on M-33.
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Page 16 • 2016 Summer Reflections
Former commissioner, mail carrier loved sports, singing M
BY TIM BARNUM
Many people in the Sterling area came into contact with the late Bob Proulx over the years, whether he was representing them on the county commission, delivering their mail or selling them meat at his grocery store. While Bob may have served thousands of people in those capacities, when he was on the baseball diamond, basketball court or golf course, he was less concerned with serving and more concerned with besting his competition. Longtime friend Louis Fisk said Bob was very competitive, and was good at pretty much everything he did. Louis said he first competed against the man who would eventually become his good friend while they were both in high school. “I played basketball against him in high school,” Fisk said. “He played for Tawas and I played for Sterling.” Fisk also played baseball against Bob, the latter of whom went on to play AA baseball with a Chicago White Sox affiliate. Bob played in the Northeast Michigan Baseball League at one point, too. “He was a better ball player than I was,” Fisk said. “Bob was a good baseball player.” Bob’s parents ran a store in Alabaster in Iosco County, and later moved their operation to Sterling. Marc Franklin, whose father Alt Franklin was a friend of Bob’s, said the store was in the building that now houses Cliff’s Bar. “Cliff’s was still a bar right there where you walk in, but there was a store to the right,” Franklin said. “There was an entrance right off Main Street next door.” “His folks moved to Sterling and opened a drugstore first, and then they moved across the street and they had a grocery store,” Fisk said. “Bob went into the military, and when he came back out he went to the store with his folks.”
Bob Proulx (far right) sings in a group in 1976. COURTESY PHOTO
One of Bob’s other passions, singing, picked up at that time, Fisk said. “After the war when we both got out of the service, we got together with Dorothy and Alt Franklin, and me and Roma Jo and Bob and Lee, we sang together in the church choir,” he said. Bob and the guys formed a quartet that would sing whenever anyone asked. “We sang for funerals,” Fisk said. “We sang in church. We sang for dancing. Anybody that’d ask us to sing, we would sing.” Bob Pelton, who organizes the Northeast Michigan Baseball League reunion each year,
said Bob’s singing was part of the event every year. “At the end we always sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ and Bob always led it,” Pelton said. “He was always in the front row during the reunion.” Franklin said Bob, Alt and the rest of the group were pretty talented when they performed. He said they had a lot of fun with it, too. “He loved to sing, and he was pretty good,” he said. “All of them were. All four of them were pretty good, but Bob and my dad played a lot together. They sang together and they would put on this little skit that they
Bob leads the Northeast Michigan Baseball League reunion crowd in a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” INDEPENDENT FILE
mastered.” As Bob aged and could no longer play baseball and the singing gigs wound down, he found a new passion — golf. “We were golfing partners for, I don’t know, 20 years up at the West Branch Country Club,” Fisk said. “He was competitive in that, too.” “He was a good golfer. He always carried a low handicap,” he said, adding the pair won the league title several times. “Right up until his 90s he was still golfing and he was still golfing well,” Franklin said. “I think at one time he golfed his age.” Bob died July 11.
local garden yielding a chance to the
serve community Ogemaw County is home to a hidden gem that indirectly feeds many in the community, according to Deb Loar, gardener and organizer of Our Community Garden Club. “I sometimes hesitate to call it a club because ‘club’ insinuates or refers that you’re going to have a membership or something like that,” Deb said. “We probably have a dozen or so, give or take, volunteers that come in and participate.” No matter what the group is called, its members are all on the same page about what they do — growing sustainable foods while serving the community. “A lot of people don’t even know that it’s here,” member Angel Holbrook said. Pat Green of West Branch owns the land on which the garden is planted, located west M76. Produce from the garden goes to both the members of the gardening group and the food pantry at the Trinity Episcopal Church, managed by Bob Finn. While the group is not opposed to other ways of gardening, they make an effort to grow non-GMO and organic produce. “We’re not certified organic, but we try to be as organic as we possibly can,” Deb said. “We use all non-GMO seeds, organic seeds.” The garden runs on hard work and donations from area residents, like Walt Sappington, and larger organizations as well. “For the majority we will have one or two
people who will provide us with some donations. Griffin Beverage will typically donate a little bit. This year they donated all our hay bales,” she said. “Pat (Green) and I come up with the majority of the funds, and then there are a couple of the people within the organization within our volunteers that will donate a little bit.” One of the main reasons some of the members of the group joined was because of a belief that this gardening effort will benefit both them and their families, in the long run. “I think in future, this is what we’re going to have to do is raise our own to have healthy food,” Angel said. “Because of GMOs.” Every year a new type of seed is introduced into the garden, which continues to grow, according to Deb. “I kind of just look around, I watch markets and see what’s going on. If I see something that is becoming very popular then I’ll look at the viability in the garden and kind of ask the rest of the group if they’re interested. I’m not the only one who chooses the seeds,” Deb said. “I try to introduce a lot of color so our carrots are not just orange carrots; they’re red, they’re white and they’re purple and orange,” she said. “A variety of really wild colors.” Not only has the group introduced more
See COMMUNITY GARDEN, 18
Above, Pat Green adds fresh soil to beans planted in the hay bale method. Left, Deb Loar shows Jeannie Tervol how to spray weeds. Pictured below are multiple tomato plants.
2016 Summer Reflections • Page 17
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Final page sounds for firefighter who put people first
Page 18 • 2016 Summer Reflections
BY TIM BARNUM
Longtime firefighter Bob House died at the age of 76 July 9, leaving behind many memories of his years of service on the Twining-MasonTurner Fire Department, many of those years as the department’s chief. Current Fire Chief Chris Grauherr said Bob was one of the most dedicated guys on the department. After Bob retired from GM in 1993, he would sacrifice a lot of his time so others on the fire department didn’t have to, Grauherr said. “When everybody else had to work, he’d stay out on the power lines all night long so we could go home and do our jobs,” he said. “The last one he was out on, he was out there I think for 14 hours. That was just during the last windstorm that we had.” Grauherr said during Bob’s 30 years on the fire department, whether he was a chief, officer or general firefighter, he could always be counted on. “Anytime they had a call he was there,” he said. “You knew Bob was coming.” Bob was instrumental in helping the department install a new well so it could have a hydrant nearby and would work to make sure the trucks and equipment were maintained, Grauherr said. “He was always there when the trucks needed to be worked on,” he said.
Community garden: FROM PAGE 16
variety to the vegetable garden but also a new method of growing those items. “This year we did a little experimentation because there was a lot of talk about the hay bale gardening,” she said. “The whole idea is to keep it up off the ground so you’re not doing so much weeding. Most of our volunteers are retired individuals, so all that bending way down here is hard on the back, and if the bales are a little bit higher it makes picking a little bit easier.” Deb said the garden gives retirees like her a sense of purpose. “I retired in ’96 from the Air Force,” she said. “About five years ago, I went to work for the hospital and now I’m getting ready to do another retirement. I’m 62. It’s time to, I think, put more energy into the things that I really love to do. You’re getting something in return, but you’re giving so much to the
As veterans conduct a graveside service for Bob House, firefighters and trucks can be seen in the background. KELLY GRAUHERR/COURTESY PHOTO
FROM PAGE 4-5
SHARON’S FAREWELL POEM!
Thoughts are running through my mind so fast. Suddenly it’s time for my retirement, at last. It fills me with excitement and sadness too, Wondering what such a big change will do.
I know I’ll miss going to work each morn. Between you happy people and my bed I’m torn. Showering, fixing hair and trying to be awake, Trying to remember all I needed to take.
I’m forcing myself to put that behind me. I dream I can catch up on all I can see, With all that extra time I know that l’ll have, l can dig out all old projects that have been put on save.
My mind wanders back to the road I’ve trod. I worked at Arts & Crafts while still on old sod. And worked at Gould’s Drug ’til graduation, Then off to a business school called Northeastern.
“When we had to have our radios worked on he went to Saginaw to have them worked on,” Grauherr said. Interacting with the community the department served was also important to Bob, Grauherr said. “He would set up the hoses in town for the kids to come run through,” he said. Arenac County Clerk Rick Rockwell, a member of the Twining-Mason-Turner department, said Bob was always willing to community that it makes you feel good about who you are and what you do.” “I do it for a number of reasons,” Deb continued. “Number one, I first started doing it because I just plain enjoy gardening, and then when I found out that our food pantry feeds so many families — I mean, thousands of families — then it became more of a mission. Most of the people that are here are the kind of people that just give of themselves anyway. I think if you have to choose a service project this is one of the most rewarding.” Members of the group are Pat Green, Deb Loar, Chris and Christine Laurion, Jack and Liz Peterson, Bill Downing, Angel Holbrook, Jeannie Tervol, Cheryl Dean, Ron Burger, Robin and Debbie Craft and Vicki Barnes. Anyone looking for more information about the group can visit its Facebook page at www.facebook .com/PatsGardenClub.
Summertime recipes
help out the community. “He would give anybody the shirt off his back,” he said. “He helped a lot of people.” Rockwell said Bob’s dedication to the fire service was evident during his graveside service, at which fire trucks from departments around the county were lined up. Trucks from the various departments were also in the procession, Rockwell said. Bob was also a veteran of the U.S. Navy.
While I was learning to be a secretary fine, I got a job at Fanny Farmer, part time. Shared an apartment with five other students First time living away and paying the rents.
Graduation from there, now to prove ability. At last a real job at old Mercy medical facility, My own apartment and a Red Mustang car, I thought my future was right on par.
Life in West Branch kept moving ahead. In Bay City, weekends seemed kinda dead. So I moved home, got a job at Osceola Refinery And bought a mobile home right next to family.
After moving home to live near family again, I married, got a stepdaughter & with Mom did upholstery. We bought a home, then moved the upholstery shop, Then built a new house, had a baby and kept on the hop.
Next was a fabric & upholstery store in town. Soon it was clear our space was outgrown So we split & Mom with sister moved again. And I bought a large home with room to put fabric in.
Growing tired of have a home & business as one. Sold out all the fabric and reclaimed the home. Worked at Farm Bureau Insurance and Michaels store, Sold Real Estate, then ABC Medical for seven years more.
It all boils down to this final year. When this building was built, I was here. We got activities coordinated, and had lots of fun. My favorite job of all was this nine year run.
We’ve had a good staff, and everyone was with it. I’ve enjoyed all involved, most every minute. But the time has come, not to say Goodbye, Because at volleyball, I’ll be the next guy.
Angel Holbrook of West Branch works in the garden tending potato plants.
Fruit Pizza
Back to things that I’m going to do. We bought a motorhome with travel in view. This summer we’ll execute our biggest plan, To go to Alaska and visit the Bennett clan.
By Shirley Bennett - Sharon’s mother
RENEE NUTT, FAIRVIEW
Store-bought or homemade sugar cookie dough 1 8-oz. package cream cheese 1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar 1/2 tbsp. milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla Assorted fruit
Place sugar cookie dough in a pizza pan; bake for 10-12 minutes or as directed. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until whipped. Spread over cookie crust and top with assorted fruits in desired pattern.
Pickle Dip RENEE NUTT, FAIRVIEW
1 8-oz. package cream cheese 2 whole dill pickles 2 tbsp. pickle juice 1-2 tsp. dill weed 1 tsp. onion powder
In a bowl combine cream cheese, pickle juice, dill weed and onion powder. Chop whole pickles into cubes. Add pickle pieces to mixture. Chill and serve.
2016 Summer Reflections • Page 19
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