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The end of an era
Northmen poised to play final home game of regular season at Curtis Field RYAN BENTLEY DREW KOCHANNY
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ETOSKEY — As Petoskey High School’s football program winds down its 88-year stay at Curtis Field, the varsity head coach sees reason for both nostalgia and optimism. The Northmen’s home game against Alpena today, Friday, marks the team’s last regular-season matchup at the Standish Avenue stadium, which dates back to 1927. When the program moves next year to the Northmen Stadium now under construction on the Petoskey High School campus, 13-year head coach Kerry Van Orman notes that it will leave behind a unique atmosphere. “Where else do you go and you’ve got tailgaters right up against the fence on the other side, smoke from grills rolling over and people on the street parked
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there from the night before trying to get a spot?” the coach asked. VanOrman added, “We’ve played in big games where the fence is filled with people lined all the way around. Then we’re not far from the stands. You’ve got people right up on top of you. That’s what makes it really unique. (At) a lot of fields now, you sit so far away. We’re so close to the field that (with) our locker room, we step out the door and we’re almost on the field.” Jerry Rosevear, a retired News-Review sports editor, also sees tailgating as a distinctive part of the stadium’s atmosphere. “The big thing in regards to that facility ... was the fact cars could always come in the back gate for tailgating or to get a prime spot to watch the game from their car,” said Rosevear, who wrapped up more than 40 years with the News-Review in 2005 and more recently has helped with tickets at Curtis Field’s gate.
“Where else do you go and you’ve got tailgaters right up against the fence on the other side, smoke from grills rolling over and people on the street parked there from the night before trying to get a spot?”
“That tradition has gone on forever and I first ran into it during my first year in high school here as a sophomore in 1955.” Curtis Field sits on land donated in the mid-1920s by local businessman Morgan Curtis. As noted in the Little Traverse Historical Society’s “Historical Glimpses,” a gift from Joseph Magnus aided in the project. Some financing offered by the Petoskey Stadium Association also played a part in stadium development. This group, organized by school faculty manager (athletic director) Arthur Treloar, issued $25,000 worth of notes at 6 percent interest to help the project move forward. The Petoskey Engineering Co. handled construction. Field lighting was installed within the stadium’s first few seasons of use, and has been upgraded from time to time through the years. Curtis Field’s seating capacity originally stood at 1,500, but it now offers seating for 1,800 spectators. Petoskey resident Matt Berger recently has helped local football boosters research Curtis Field’s past for a commemorative publication. “I just think overall, it’s a great history,” he said. Berger noted that Petoskey’s team for Curtis Field’s inaugural year
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2015 NORTHMEN
1927 — Stadium opens, Petoskey varsity football goes undefeated in regular season, loses to Alma in state championship 1928 — Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University meet for a hockey game at Curtis Field
1927 STADIUM
early 1960s — Central Michigan University and Northern Michigan University opened their football seasons at Curtis in the “Northern Bowl” 2006 — Petoskey outlasts Cadillac in a thrilling six-overtime game that took place on an extremely muddy field.
2015 STADIUM was the first of several in the stadium’s history to achieve an undefeated regular season. The 1927 Northmen lost to Alma in a state championship game. Curtis also has hosted a variety of athletic events beyond the realm of Petoskey football and track. In the early 1960s, Central Michigan University
and Northern Michigan University opened their football seasons at Curtis in the “Northern Bowl,” Berger said. The Petoskey stadium also served as the site for a 1928 hockey matchup between Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University. Jerry Donnelly, a 1963
Boyne City Injuries and hears ‘State of more spell the Community’ trouble for Harbor Springs PAGE A3
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PETOSKEY: CHARLEVOIX: BOYNE CITY: EAST JORDAN:
Moments in Curtis Field history
Kerry VanOrman, Petoskey head varsity football coach
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1927 NORTHMEN
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graduate of Petoskey’s former St. Francis Xavier High School, recalls an unlit field on Petoskey’s west side serving as the Catholic school’s home football turf in that era. But Donnelly, who played four seasons on the St. Francis varsity team, added that they See CURTIS FIELD on PAGE A6
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