Spark-Southwest Michigan-May 2024

Expert Advice

Financial Services

Chuck Henrich President & Owner

Q: Should I start contributing to a Roth IRA?

A: Roth IRAs offer versatility and have tax-efficiencies that other financial vehicles don’t. Roth IRAs are funded with after tax money.  The advantages of having a Roth IRA include:

• Tax-free growth

• Your withdrawals will be tax-free (penalties if younger than age 59 ½)

• Withdrawals will not impact your annual earnings for Social Security or Medicare purposes

• There are no Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) If you would like to discuss your options on establishing your own Roth IRA, give us a call.

Michigan Financial, LLC

The Atriums • 4341 S. Westnedge #1201 269-323-7964

Health Food

Q: What type of produce does Sawall’s carry?

A: Sawall’s has always carried local and certified organic produce.  Its the very best quality that can be found.  We receive produce orders almost every day!  We also carry as much local produce that we can find seasonally.  We are always looking for quality produce from local farmers.  Come in soon and enjoy the areas largest selection of fresh CERTIFIED ORGANIC PRODUCE!!

Mon-Sat. 8am-9pm, Sun. 10am-6pm

Sawall Health Foods

Oakwood Plaza • 2965 Oakland Dr. at Whites Rd. • 343-3619 • www.sawallhf.com

Transitions

Roofing

Q: How much time should I allow for an appointment with a senior living community Sales Counselor?

A: Allowing up to 90 minutes for a personized appointment will give you a great start in understanding what options work best for your health age and finances as well as timing your move.

Friendship Village

“Where Connections Matter” 1400 North Drake, Kalamazoo 269-381-0560 www.friendshipvillagemi.com

Counseling

Kim Powers, Owner, Licensed Professional Counselor

Q:

Why would I set a boundary in my

relationship?

A: Boundary setting creates a framework for how you can simultaneously love others and love yourself in a healthy way while communicating your wants and needs, without compromising yourself. Without safety and parameters, the relationship may become dysfunctional, leading to bitterness and resentment, even abuse. Boundaries can enhance the quality of a relationship, end a toxic relationship, or create better balance and improve the dynamics, helping you to honor yourself and your worth.

Heart Soul Mind

Strength LLC

Faith. Acceptance. Empowerment. Purpose. Www.HeartSoulMindStrengthLLC.com 510-827-1305

Justin Reynolds Manager

Q: With all the recent stormy weather, should I have my roof repaired?

A: We recommend that roofs be inspected about once every five years if the roof is under 15 years old and then once every other year for roofs older than 15 years.

These inspections can and should be done after the kind of stormy spring weather we have had this year. We have seen a little of everything since the first of the year including wind related damages and even hail damage on roofs that have been inspected so far this year.

Inspecting a roof in this manner can often lead to minor repairs that can prolong the normal life expectancy of your existing shingles that are still in relatively good condition as this is confirmed more times than not during our inspections. For a free roof inspection, please give us a call at (269) 342-0153 or visit us at worryfreeroof.com

Sherriff-Goslin Roofing

Stroke

Q: What Are the Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke?

A: The key to achieving the best possible outcome for a person having a stroke is to know the signs and BE FAST. When someone with a stroke is brought to any one of Bronson’s hospitals in an ambulance, the stroke team is notified so they can be prepared for immediate intervention.

• Balance. Vertigo or you’re feeling dizzy or falling to one side.

• Eyes. Loss of vision or blurred vision.

• Face. Facial drooping to one side.

• Arms. Weakness in the arms, leg or face.

• Speech is slurred or doesn’t make sense.

• Time is very important. Act quickly if you notice any of these symptoms and call 9-1-1 immediately. This is the fastest and safest way to get to the hospital.

Mark Sawall Owner

Diana Duncan Director of Sales and Marketing

Courtney VanderBroek, PA-C

I Love Libraries!

The first library in the U.S was started by Ben Franklin in Philadelphia in 1731 and called The Library Company of Philadelphia.

Billionaire Andrew Carnegie donated money to build 2509 Carnegie Libraries around the world. I recently visited the gorgeous Howell Carnegie District Library. It was originally built in 1906 and has since been restored to its original splendor.

Delivering Spark throughout Southwest Michigan affords me the luxury of visiting several libraries every month. Each has its own unique personality, special programs and so much more!

I love reading about an author and then checking out a handful of their books.

I recently picked up the David Sedaris’ book: Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules-A compilation of his favorite short stories.

This prompted a library visit to check out a stack of Alice Munro and Flannery O’Connor short story books.

O’Connor’s most famous story is A Good Man is Hard to Finda dark and gritty story written in 1953.

Alice Munro is a Canadian

short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013

I just finished Carried Away from her Open Secrets collection from 1994.

Munro tells of a shy librarian during the first World War, receiving a later from a hometown soldier stationed in Europe. He mentions that they once exchanged a smile at the library as she was shaking her long wet hair over a heat register after coming in from the rain. She does not remember him but writes back and they continue their letters, sharing much of their lives and feelings. The war ends and she waits hopefully for him to come home so they can finally meet. It gets complicated as most of her stories do, but Munro keeps you enthralled until the end.

There are so many great books and stories out there. Get out and visit you local Library!

Steve Ellis, SPARK Publisher steve@swmspark.com

FROM THE EDITOR

and Contributors Include: Area Agency on Aging, Steve

Lee Dean, Laura Kurella, Richard Martinovich

Person, Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo Public Library, Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Portage Public Library, Senior Services of Southwest Michigan, YMCA

readers, 650 locations and online at swmspark.com Like us on

Paul Selden in front of thc cool Bike Friendly Kalamazoo mural on Lovers Lane just north of Centre Street.

Photo by Steve Ellis

The house

is gone, but not the memories

Lee A. Dean screendoor@sbcglobal.net

Sociologists make a case for the importance of a “third place,” a location that is not home and not work or school.

My third place when I was a farm two miles south of Bloomingdale. It was easy to get to from my house — only a three-minute walk away. The house wasn’t much to look at with its grey and weathered siding, but in its heyday, the property was the site of a working farm, complete with huge barn, chicken coop, icehouse, outhouse, chicken coop, and other outbuildings.

Despite its modest appearance, the house and farm were a piece of paradise for me. Those 40 acres were a playground, classroom, worksite, treasure trove, and gathering place.

The house and outbuildings were the handiwork of my great-grandfather, Arthur D. Shaw. One of his quirks was a disdain for internal combustion farm machinery. “I will not have a tractor on this farm,” he vowed. “They compact the soil.”

My Grandma Dean was Arthur’s oldest daughter and was born in that house.

When my family moved to Bloomingdale in 1961, she and Grandpa Dean were living there to care for her elderly father. Grandma never owned the house — that honor belonged to her only brother due to the practice of primogeniture. This is a fancy word that means “the oldest son gets the best stuff.” But Grandma was still able to live there.

I am eternally grateful for this fact because she was the main reason that farm became so important to me. That third place planted seeds — often literally — that have borne fruit in my adult life.

Seed #1: A work ethic. Grandma always planted two gigantic gardens, and I was her main assistant. The farm had a sizable lawn that needed mowing, a job my brother and I shared. Every fall before Grandma went to Florida, uncles and cousins all gathered to winterize the house, which was a combination workday and family outing.

Seed #2: Biology. The property included a small patch of woods. Grandma would take the kids on wildflower walks and the men would search for morel mushrooms. In autumn, that same group of uncles and cousins descended on the farm to hunt deer, game birds, and rabbits. The birds were Grandma’s favorite, even the barn pigeons, which we were not allowed to harm.

Seed #3: The culinary arts. One of the few regrets I have is that I didn’t learn how to cook from Grandma Dean and my mother. I would have probably been the only boy in the kitchen but that should not have been a deterrent. Grandma was often called on to produce lavish wedding cakes. She would often point at her latest creation and proclaim that it required 38 eggs to bake. No wonder she had a chicken coop.

Seed #4: Caregiving and compassion. Grandpa Dean was in poor health due to Parkinson’s disease. He needed a caretaker when Grandma was gone, and that job almost always fell to me. Our guilty pleasure was watching The Three Stooges and laughing our fool heads off. After Grandpa died, I took on the task of sitting with Grandma during storms. Those were times of conversation about every topic, which she called “solving all the problems of the world.”

Seed #5: Family gatherings. Most families had Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings, but we had one more special time. Each year in August, the farm was the site of a gathering of the clans, officially called the Shaw-Calahan Reunion. One of the fields was moved and transformed into a softball diamond. The sheep shed in the barn became

a cartoon theater for the littlest ones. Mountains of food, gales of laughter, and fresh air — who had it better than us?

Now it’s all gone.

The barn and outbuildings, no longer in use for farming, crumbled and fell. After Grandma died, ownership passed to family members who were many hours away. In the most telling symbol of all, the words on the state centennial farm plaque faded away, victims of the prevailing west winds.

When ownership of the farm passed to the next generation, they decided to cash in and sell the farm. The first thing the new owners did was tear the house down, a move that stabbed the heart of many local residents.

That corner now looks bare, but I can still see that house and all those outbuildings when I drive past and in my mind’s eye. I can still smell the food, hear the laughter, and sit on the porch swing to watch the cars fly by on County Road 665.

I hope the new owners are an Amish farming family, which means they won’t be using tractors. Wouldn’t that make Grandpa Shaw smile? “Finally,” he would say. “Somebody who knows how to farm.”

“Winnie’s

contagious smile was what my mother needed”

By Jim Coppinger, Milestone Senior Services Volunteer

The Crystal Heart Award is given to a hospice caregiver recognized as someone who “transcends any description of kindness, service and ministry” with “a special kind of compassion and dedication.” It is sponsored by Langland Family Funeral Homes. Nominees are selected from submissions by patients, family members, and peers.

Edwina “Winnie” Jackson received that award in March of 2022. Her nomination was submitted by the daughter of a woman in hospice at Rose Arbor. It read: “Miss Winnie immediately bonded with my mother. Winnie’s contagious smile was what my mother needed on her first day at Rose Arbor. Naturally, mother was scared, but Winnie’s outgoing personality, respect, kindness, and love welcomed my mother, as she (mother) began her last life chapter. Mother looked forward to the days/ shift Winnie was working..... it did not take long, before Winnie felt like part of our family. Not only was Winnie there for our mother, but also for our family. Near the end of my mother’s journey, my sweet out of town sister was having a rough day while visiting our mother, Winnie hugged and supported my sister as well. My fondest Winnie memory: holding mother’s hand, while singing ‘Amazing Grace’.” Those sentiments capture the core of Winnie

Jackson. Winnie is a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo. Her early careers included factory production and manufacturing but says she felt the calling to go into healthcare. In 1980, she took a position with Abby Nursing and been a homeand healthcare provider ever since. Following Abby Nursing, Winnie worked with Alzheimer residents at Heritage Community for nearly a decade before joining Centrica Care—Rose Arbor where she continues to care for patients.

Winnie derives boundless pleasure caring for people. She says working with Alzheimer patients who may not remember a name, intuitively recognize deep-within, a kind face, a warm smile, and a cheerful voice. She applies that understanding working with hospice patients and their families. Winnie says she loves just talking with people and listening to their life stories. It’s also the trivial day-to-day things like combing their hair, singing a song, or holding a hand that is so sustaining and healing.

One of Winnie’s hospice patients was a woman who played on the famous All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 40s. Winnie says listening to this woman’s first-hand account of her of

role in that historic time was inspiring and touching. Winnie’s husband, David, passed away a couple of years ago. Winnie has one step-daughter, three grandchildren, and one great-grand child. She enjoys spending time with them and watching the children grow. She also continues her husband’s legacy of gardening by tending to the plants and flowers around the home.

While her life’s work is devoted to caring for others, Winnie is also a dedicated volunteer. She began as a volunteer homecare provider for Milestone and now as a Meals-on-Wheels driver.

Like so many volunteers soon realize, Winnie says she gets far more in return for her volunteer time and efforts. “Live every day as it is your last” is a motto close to her heart. And while those things like a smile or a kind word may seem insignificant, they are often truly significant in someone’s life.

Milestone Senior Services (previously known as Senior Services of Southwest Michigan) is an AmeriCorps Seniors grantee. AmeriCorps Seniors empowers people age 55 and older to serve their communities. RSVP helps people find a volunteer opportunity that fits their passion. There are currently opportunities in Kalamazoo County and a few in Calhoun County. Volunteers are needed with Meals on Wheels, Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes, Telephone Reassurance for Seniors, Milestone Home Repair, and more. Regular, flexible schedules available. Contact RSVP at 269-382-0515 or apply to volunteer at www.milestoneseniorservices.org.

Vidalia Derby!

by Laura Kurella

Seared Chicken Breast with Pancetta, Vidalia® Onion and Fennel Cream

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic, thinly sliced

1 cup fennel, julienned

1 cup Vidalia® Onion, julienned

1/4 cup Pancetta, small diced

4 chicken breast, 6 ounces Kosher salt, as needed black pepper, as needed

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup red wine demi (Refer to Recipe)

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add Vidalia® onions, garlic, and fennel. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove garlic and fennel mixture from pan using a slotted spoon; reserve mixture to the side. Increase heat to medium-high heat. Add pancetta, sauté 5-7 minutes or until crisp. Remove pancetta from pan using a slotted spoon; reserve pancetta. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper; sauté 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from the pan. Add lemon juice to the pan to deglaze; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until the liquid almost evaporates (about 3 minutes). Return chicken to pan. Add chicken stock and red wine demi; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 6 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from the pan. The Internal temperature should be above 165 degrees. Add heavy cream to the sauce in the pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Combine melted butter and flour, stirring with a whisk in a separate bowl Add the flour mixture to the sauce in the pan; bring to a simmer. Cook 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens; stir in pancetta, garlic- fennel mix, and lemon zest and let simmer for an additional 2 minutes. Serve sauce over chicken and garnish with chopped parsley.

comments at laurakurella@yahoo.

Look for direct links to it on Laura’s FB page and website.

Laura Kurella is an award-winning home cook who loves sharing recipes from her Great Lakes region kitchen. She welcomes

com, and she invites you to check out her new (free) cooking series that can be viewed on YouTube.

Steinspark Biergarten

By Richard Martinovich

Outdoors. Shaded with trees. Communal tables. Ingredients that make a traditional beer garden, or biergarten, as known in Germany.

There are beer halls, where beer is served inside a large facility, but beer gardens are meant to be outside gathering places. Large spaces surrounded by leafy trees where beer and food are served.

Steinspark Biergarten and Food Court in Portage will open May 8, weather permitting. An authentic German-themed beer garden, Steinspark offers community-style seating at tables that seat eight (A table can be reserved for groups).

The food menu features Bavarian favorites Bratwurst, Schnitzel, and sides: Pommes Frites – French fries with ketchup, mayo, and Loaded Spätzle. Imported German beers on tap include Radeberger Pilsner(founded 1872), Paulaner Munich Helles, and in cans, bottles Bell’s Two Hearted IPA, Erdinger Weissbier Biergartens originated in Bavaria, and

Steinspark Biergarten

were opportunities for breweries to sell beer outdoors.

Beer was stored in cellars, and gardens and Chestnut trees with broad leaves planted to keep the beer cool and enhance fermentation. The shady venues attracted people to drink ale, eat together, and socialize. When Germans immigrated to the US, they established beer gardens in their local communities. Scholz Garten opened in Austin, Texas in 1866, is the oldest beer garden in the US still in operation.

The Steinspark Biergarten season runs from May until October when the weather is pleasant for outdoor activities. Steinspark won’t shut down during a brief shower but will close when inclement weather is forecast.

Pets are welcome in Steinspark but should be on a leash and picked up after.

There is always a festive atmosphere in the air at Steinspark Biergarten with German brass music swirling about, live entertainment on most Friday nights, a dance floor, and board games!

Steinspark is also looking for cooks, and team members!

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Book Reviews

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

David Grann

In 1740, a fleet of British ships set out with a lofty goal: to travel around the world to find and ransack a Spanish ship carrying priceless treasure. As the voyage progressed, countless things went wrong, leading to ships turning back, many sailors dying of disease and accidents, and one ship, The Wager, wrecking off the coast of Chile. Months later, a group of half-starved sailors washed up on shore in Brazil and were hailed as heroes. Later still, the captain and some others arrived in Chile, claiming treason and mutiny. David Grann is an extraordinary storyteller. His account of this tale from the 1700’s is enthralling from start to finish. He vividly brings these characters to life, and reading about what these men endured: scurvy, shipwreck, murder, kidnapping, starvation, and more, makes you wonder how any of them survived. This is one of those “Can’t put it down” reads.

The Berry Pickers

Amanda Peters

An Indigenous family is forever changed after one of their own goes missing. Peters’ debut novel explores the lives of a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia as they grapple with their decades-old trauma. In 1962, Ruthie, the family’s youngest daughter, goes missing from the berry farm in Maine, where they work every summer. The novel follows Joe, Ruthie’s older brother and the last person to see her before she went missing, and Norma, a young girl with an aloof father and overbearing mother. The novel is less concerned with maintaining a mystery than exploring how brutality ripples out, touching everything and everyone in its wake. Peters beautifully explores loss, grief, hope, and the invisible tether that keeps families intact even when they are ripped apart.

God Killer

Hannah Kaner

Zealots of a fire god killed Kissen’s family. Now, she makes a living killing gods and enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, has somehow bound himself to a young noble, and they are both on the run from unknown assassins. A dark and thrilling world with sharply written characters bent on revenge and a small desire to make their world right. Civil war seems inevitable unless wildly different heroes can pull it together and figure out a plan to defeat the Gods and those in power. If you’re a fan of fantasy and knights and gods and weird creatures and revenge, this one is a must-read.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts

Katherine Arden

In January 1918, 24-year-old combat nurse Laura Iven was sent home from Flanders to Halifax, Nova Scotia, after receiving serious wounds. When she’s notified that her younger brother, Freddie, who’s serving in Belgium, is missing and presumed dead, she becomes convinced he’s still alive. In an alternating timeline that begins several months earlier on the front lines, Freddie finds himself buried underground in a concrete German pillbox, his only companion, the wounded German soldier Hans Winter. The two form a strong bond and eventually dig their way out, only to be confronted by more mud, blood, and death. As the novel proceeds, the two storylines merge, with Laura attempting to save Freddie before it’s too late. The landscape, both physical and spiritual that the characters navigate is hellish, and for better or worse, their old world is being transformed into a new one.

Book Reviews by the Portage District Library staff

The Edible Adventure of Foraging

By Tom Springer, Vice President of Development, Kalamazoo Nature Center

On my early forays as an urban forager I learned to find nature’s bounty at arm’s length near welltraveled sidewalks. This knowledge did not prepare me, however, for the weird looks and comments that I’d get along the way. But so be it, because the pie, jam and muffins my picking yielded were well worth any amount of social opprobrium.

At the time I worked in downtown Battle Creek, and used my lunch break to walk along the 17-mile Linear Park trail. In June, the object of my affection grew near a church parking lot. It was a serviceberry tree, a medium-sized species with five to six slender trunks that grow from its base. They rise to form a crown that’s topped with a blizzard of white blossoms in spring. Yet few people give them a second glance, since they’re often planted near innocuous places such as banks, public buildings and big box stores.

That’s a shame, because serviceberries are the best wild fruit you’ve never tasted. They’re purple-red, with a complex sweet flavor that’s part cherry, part blueberry. They have small edible seeds that taste of almond. While birds such as cedar waxwings will strip a serviceberry tree bare, they usually don’t register as food for most humans.

As a case in point, one day during peak serviceberry season I descended on “my” tree with a onegallon Ziploc bag. As I picked and ate an inquisitive older man approached.

“Hey, what are you picking?”

“Serviceberries -- and they’re delicious. You want to try one?”

“Never heard of them. Are they poisonous?” “No, they’re actually really good. Also, I try to avoid eating poisonous food.”

In a nutshell, that’s the biggest fear you’ll hear from people about foraging. Before they eat any wild food, they want to make sure it won’t kill them (as opposed to junk food that kills you slowly). As it turns, out that’s exactly the question they should be asking.

“There are about 400,000 plant species in the world and some 350,000 are in some way edible,” said Shaina Alvesteffer, Kalamazoo Nature Center conservation technician and skilled forager. “But

all foraging comes with a caution. For example, on some plants the flowers may be edible, while the leaves and roots are not. You just need to do your research. There’s plenty of good guidebooks and free materials such as the Seek app by iNaturalist that tell you what to avoid.”

Alvesteffer will lead “Foraging the Edible Wilderness,” a guided hike on foraging at KNC on April 18 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. She’ll introduce would-be foragers to wild plants that are easy to recognize and prepare. These include dandelion, honeysuckle flowers, onion grass, redbud flowers and goldenrod shoots. Participants will receive a pamphlet that shows them how to identify these plants and how to avoid dangerous lookalikes.

Some of these plants are invasive species, Alvesteffer said, so harvesting them helps to reduce their ability to spread. And, at no cost, provide some wild, free and nutritious variety for the table.

“Dandelions aren’t a weed, but a friend,” Alvesteffer said. “Their early leaves taste like lettuce. Honeysuckle flowers are wonderfully sweet and early shoots of goldenrod taste like asparagus. American plantain is more nutrient-dense than spinach, yet it’s something we walk on in our backyard. That’s crazy to me!

Tom Springer is vice president of development at the Kalamazoo Nature Center and author of Looking for Hickories and The Star in the Sycamore.

THE KALAMAZOO BICYCLE CLUB INTENT ON MAKING KALAMAZOO MORE BIKE FRIENDLY

By Dave Person david.r.person@gmail.com

A motorist who side-swiped Paul Selden as he rode his bicycle on D Avenue 14 years ago was unwittingly the catalyst for a bike awareness and safety movement that has led to a slew of initiatives to benefit bike riders in the Kalamazoo area.

“From that time on I felt a drive to make Kalamazoo more bike friendly,” says Selden, who was not injured in the hit-and-run accident that damaged his bicycle.

A member of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club, Selden served for several years as its director of road safety, but his more visible role was starting an organization called Bike Friendly Kalamazoo in 2011.

“It started with just word-of-mouth networking,” he says. Seven years later it became a nonprofit charitable organization composed of individuals as well as volunteers with ties to cities and villages, transportation planning and engineering agencies, law enforcement, businesses, education, bike clubs and more.

When Bike Friendly Kalamazoo asked the community for ideas for making Kalamazoo more receptive to bicyclists, it received 600 responses, Selden says, leading to a three-fold mission to promote: Improved infrastructure;

Improved bike education; A more informed general public.

“Over the years, we’ve added programs to that list,” says Selden, 72, of Portage, who was president and board chairman of Bike Friendly Kalamazoo until last year when he stepped down to allow others to take leadership positions in the organization.

Selden is serving as chair-at-large until November when he will leave the board completely.

But he will continue his involvement in support of bicycling.

During his time in leadership of Bike Friendly Kalamazoo, he has seen many improvements that have led to a better awareness of and courtesy toward the bicycling population.

One of Bike Friendly Kalamazoo’s accomplishments was taking over sponsorship of Kalamazoo Area Bike Week, a celebration of the joys and benefits of bicycling. The annual event has seen steady growth in recent years, Selden says.

This year, Kalamazoo Area Bike Week, which is May 1118, will have some 30 events.

Bike Friendly Kalamazoo also sponsors a Fall Bike Celebration Weekend to highlight bicycle safety as the days get shorter and darkness falls earlier. It features the Vicksburg-Shipshewana Century ride, this year on Sept. 22, that takes bicyclists from the Vicksburg Historic Park through the Vicksburg Quilt Trail and on to Northern Indiana Amish country..

Another successful venture is the All Kids Bike Learn To Ride Kindergarten PE Program available to area elementary schools.

“We were for many years trying to get bicycle education in the Kalamazoo area schools,” Selden says.

PHOTO BY DEREK KETCHUM

After three years of fundraising, it is now in about a dozen Kalamazoo area elementary schools.

“The kids just love it,” he says.

Bike Friendly Kalamazoo also has begun a community mural program, enlisting artists to paint murals with bicycling themes. The first two are on Lovers Lane in Portage and Portage Street in Kalamazoo’s Edison Neighborhood.

“We are just starting to work on a third one,” Selden says.

Supporting the efforts of communities to improve access and safety to bicyclists also has been a big part of Bike Friendly Kalamazoo’s work.

Its Bike-Booster Mini-Grant program has benefited cities, villages and others by providing such things as bike lights and locks as well as bike racks.

Promoting proper signage for the safety of bicyclists is another dimension of the work of Bike Friendly Kalamazoo.

“I like to think we’ve added to the civility of the discourse,” Selden says of discussions of how to keep streets safe for both bicyclists and motorists.

Selden says he has seen big changes in motorists’ roadside manners over the years, particularly with the passage of laws like a 5-foot requirement for motorists when they are passing bicyclists in the most populous areas of

Kalamazoo County.

“I’m getting more room from courteous drivers than I ever have,” he says. “I have a lot of confidence in the common sense and courtesy of a vast majority of motorists out there.”

Despite that confidence, Selden still stresses the importance of taking extra precautions and bicycling defensively.

“Not everybody rides with a helmet,” he says, “but I do.” Selden says studies show more and more people are bicycling, with many using bikes as a primary means of transportation.

Bike Friendly Kalamazoo, according to Selden, supports organizations such as Ministry With Community and Dignity in Motion to provide bikes to the unhoused, and Open Roads to donate bicycles, along with providing the skills to maintain them, to area youths.

“We do an awful lot for what we have,” he says.

Selden says he didn’t become a serious bicyclist until after his children had grown up and left home and he was looking for a way to keep in shape.

Soon he was bicycling about 7,000 miles a year. He would ride 100 miles some days to train for competitions.

That has changed over the years.

“I used to ride in all weather,” he says. “I’m a fair-weather rider now.”

Selden and his wife, Mary, enjoy going for leisurely rides these days.

HEALTHY LIVING

I love this magazine. Let me tell you why.

At a time when everything under the sun seems to have gone digital and the whole world seems to live in web pages, smart phone apps, TV screens, and the next new emerging technology – what a wonderful resource SPARK is!

To open a multi-page collection of papers spilling with special features on them about this, that, and the other thing–it’s not just the old-fashioned nostalgic exercise of flipping through pages of information and the act of touch that warms my heart –there’s something bigger at play. There’s something in these pages that feels like community to me.

I love that that these papers we hold in our hands, flimsy as they are (a statement more about their delicateness, not that they are insubstantial!) are really more of a commentary on the Publisher’s strong commitment to community and his understanding

I love that on any given page, there’s a story, a photograph – and yes, even an advertisement, that is about someone in Southwest Michigan making something, doing something, thinking something, going somewhere, feeling something… LIVING in the same area as me.

And still, it’s not just that.

that PRINT can keep us together. It keeps more of us engaged and feeling a part of the whole. Where the act of picking up each edition at our favorite magazine stand (there’s one at each of the YMCA’s at Maple and Portage) is in itself communitybuilding.

I love how a magazine like Spark

makes it possible for everyone to have access to the same information. That in a time when electronic gadgets can seemingly cause a greater divide among those that live on them and those that don’t or can’t, this free paper is something we ALL can hold in our hands. Regardless of where we are in life. Where we can ALL read about the cool gal who’s doing this or that, the neat fella who’s collecting this thing or the other. We have so many stories to tell each other. To share. So much wisdom, advice, about how to work toward a richer, healthier quality of life – how to build stronger bodies, minds and spirits. THIS. In these pages. We can do these things! So that we are on the same page. So that when we bump into each other, or meet someone new, we can say to them, “Hey, did you see that Spark article about suchand-such?” and then suddenly a conversation can be had. And the next thing you know, you’ve made a connection.

And isn’t that a great opportunity for a beautiful, functioning, and healthy community?

Vicky Kettner is the Association Director of Marketing, Community Relations, and Member Engagement for the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo.

There’s a decent chance you might never have heard of Vic Taylor or his Kalamazoobased indie record label, LaVal. But during the 1960s and 1970s, LaVal was a big name in popular entertainment, especially among lovers of blues, R&B, and comedy.

Born and raised in Henderson, Kentucky, Harold Victor “Vic” Taylor (a.k.a. “Vic LaVal”) arrived in Kalamazoo while serving in the army during WWII. After the war, he began promoting blues and R&B shows that appealed to the underserved black community. Black music was rarely heard on local radio back then, and Taylor did much to promote blues and R&B in this area. In July 1963, Taylor brought Ameri can blues legend Little Junior Parker to town for a dance at the community center on Lake Street. The show featured soul singer Joe Hinton, the famous Johnny Brown Band, and others. Later in the year, Taylor promoted a follow-up show at the armory fronted by Texas bluesman Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland and songwriter Al ‘TNT’ Braggs, both superstar showmen at the time. Vic Taylor was also behind the scenes when Ike & Tina Turner came to town in 1971 for a pair of shows at Miller Auditorium.

by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library

were gospel flavored R&B singles by The Harps of the Coast, The Southern Echoes, and The Mighty Stars of Joy.

their strong language and adult subject matter, but the records sold extremely well through independent channels.

LaVal found great success with a local comedian named Jimmy Lynch, who he discovered performing at a club in Battle Creek. LaVal released several party albums by Lynch, who stylized himself as “That Nasty Funky Tramp.” The language and subject matter made his records “Adult Only” hits, and as you might guess, they sold like hotcakes.

Vic’s older brother, Brad Taylor, had a record company on the West Coast during the 1970s called Soul Set Productions, and called on Vic to help with distribution in the Midwest. Releases on the San Francisco-based Soul Set label (distributed nationally by LaVal Records in Kalamazoo) included “underground” hits by the likes of Cold Fire, Apollis, and

With no musical background but sensing an opportunity, Taylor formed LaVal Records in December 1963, which grew to be a leading blues and comedy label. Based in a small studio on North Burdick Street, Taylor began recording both black and white artists. Among his early LaVal releases

Taylor was also a big fan of comedy. By the late 1960s, LaVal had become a major distributor of black comedy albums, including early releases by future superstars Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor. Many recordings by black comedians were considered too racy for general distribution with

Around 1972, LaVal began promoting guitarist Chick Willis, who scored a significant jukebox hit with a dirty blues number called “Stoop Down Baby...” The song was considered too “hot” for radio play, but it sold well through independent dealers. When jukebox companies began ordering the record by the thousands, Willis was quoted as saying, “I stopped eatin’ hot dogs and started eating pork chops.” LaVal went on to produce several singles and an album for Willis.

LaVal Records closed in 1980. Vic Taylor passed away in December 1998 at the age of 79.

More at kpl.gov

WARRIORS Wednesday

Lifecycles

A new book by Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox is making the rounds. “The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants” is geared for people wanting to create native plantings on their own property. But what caught my eye is the extensive tables describing the various plants, including lifespan. In previous times, a prairie with hundreds of species would take care of its own balancing act. With a little help from the Indigenous people

who ran fires through there regularly. Now that we have disturbed the balance, we need to stay involved. One of my favorite plants is the Baptisia or wild indigo. With its mega taproot, it can live a hundred years! Plant one of those for your legacy. Although I think Warrior Stan will outlive any Baptisia! The book also has oodles of tables and photos to guide us preserve volunteers, as well as the private landowner, as to

what plants need and look like. This is the first reference I have seen that includes photos of every stage of a plant’s life cycle, which is pretty helpful come spring when you need to figure out which is the tiny plant you want and which is the non-native plant you don’t want.

Speaking of time, three hours a week doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up. If you want to add your elbow grease to the SWMLC legacy, come join us as your schedule permits. No experience necessary, just bring your enthusiasm. We meet every Wednesday, and a second group, the Privateers, meets every Monday. Details of each week’s workdays are posted on the website swmlc.org/weekly-outdoorstewardship. Hope to see you out there.

Kristi Chapman, volunteer, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy

Poor Things (2023)

Director Yorgos Lanthimos certainly has a talent for creating singularly bizarre films. From The Lobster (2015) to The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) to the relatively straight-forward The Favourite (2018), his unique filmography tends to resist comparison. Having said that, with four Oscar wins, Poor Things will certainly be the standard by which all his future films will be measured. Emma Stone, long adored for her comedic chops, turns in an Oscar-winning performance in the lead role of Bella. ‘Frankensteined’ together in Victorian London by her creator & father figure, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), Bella possesses the body of a woman and the brain of a child, the ability to rapidly learn and mature, and a preternatural desire to wield a scalpel. What follows is a twisted journey of self-exploration, largely populated by men who either misunderstand her or outright fail to appreciate Bella’s burgeoning intellect at their own peril. Mark Ruffalo is particularly excellent here as Duncan Wedderburn, a swaggeringly oafish Lothario and case study for our heroine in the predictable depravity of man. Poor Things is a remarkable achievement and unlike anything else you are likely to see any time soon. –Submitted by Patrick J.

Strange Way of Life (2023)

Spanish writer/director Pedro Almodóvar’s newest film, 2023’s Strange Way of Life, departs from the majority of his oeuvre in two ways. It’s his second English language movie, and it’s a short

Movie Reviews

the primary differences between this piece and the rest of his work; the auteur’s thematic obsessions with sex, violence, fashion, and melodrama remain in view here. Subverting the tropes of the “spaghetti Western”, this film’s widescreen landscapes were filmed in Spain’s Tabernas desert region - the brief story follows an encounter between two estranged lovers (Ethan Hawke as Jake, and Pedro Pascal as Silva) a quarter century after their first impassioned tryst. Jake’s life as a sheriff is long established; Silva’s reappearance in his life is soon revealed to hold an ulterior motive. A showdown ensues, though its outcome is not of the tried-and-true variety expected in classic Westerns, leading to a thought-provoking question which lingers after the movie’s end credits roll. Strange Way of Life succinctly displays the artist’s cinematic interest in style as substance. – Submitted by Karl K.

Planet Earth III (2023)

The Planet Earth series is back with a recently released third installment. What separates this BBC-produced documentary series, skillfully narrated by Sir David Attenborough, from other nature films is the quality of the cinematography. In this third part, viewers are invited to tag along with Attenborough across a variety of locations, including oceans, grasslands, deserts, and forests, learning about a wide variety of creatures, both large and small. Attenborough also draws attention to the contemporary ecological challenges facing earth, reminding viewers of the role that humans play in altering these wild places. The Planet Earth series is must-watch programming for all ages. –

Submitted by Ryan G.

Reviews submitted by Ryan Gage. These great titles and others are available at the Kalamazoo Public Library.

The Day “Granny” Came to Town

Presented by: Steve Ellis

Portage Zhang Senior Center

203 East Centre, Portage Tuesday, May 8 - 2-3:30pm

$3 Members/$5 Non-Members

Spark Magazine publisher Steve Ellis, has spent the last several years researching stories about celebrities that came to Kalamazoo. He will give a lively talk and photo presentation about visits by Irene Ryan (Granny), Buddy Holly, Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Tarzan, Kevin Costner, Ty Cobb, Buffalo Bill, Jackie Robinson, Elvis and others. To register, please call (269) 329-4555.

By Steve Ellis

Jackson was founded in 1829, and named after President Andrew Jackson. The town was first called Jacksonopolis. Later, it was renamed Jacksonburgh, and in 1838, the town’s name was changed to simply Jackson.

Michigan’s first prison, the Michigan State Prison opened in Jackson in 1838 and helped put Jackson on the map.

By 1882, the prison was the largest walled prison in the world. Within its walls, the factories and surrounding farms, manned by cheap inmate labor, made Jackson one of the leading industrial cities in the nation. In 1934 a new prison was completed just north of Jackson’s city limit in Blackman Township.

The original building is now used as an artists’ resident community, known as the Armory Arts Village. Tours of the original prison site on Cooper Street are available through the Original Jackson Historic Prison Tours.

Jackson was an early automobile pioneer and the auto industry had become Jackson’s main industry. More than 20 different brands of cars were once made in Jackson, including the: Reeves, Jackson, Jaxon, Gage, Buick, Standard Electric, Duck, Steel Swallow and Wolverine. Detroit’s auto assembly lines slowed this down but the auto parts industry continued and is still one of the largest employers in Jackson County.

The Ye Old Carriage Shop in Spring Arbor displays more than 60 antique and classic cars, including five one-of-a-kind and 16 made in Jackson.

Tales road FROM THE

jackson

In 1914, George Todoroff founded the first “Coney Island restaurant” and created his famous Coney Island topping. His Coney Island restaurant was located next to the railroad station on East Michigan Avenue and was open 24 hours. The restaurant proved to be a popular dining option for rail passengers. Over the course of 31 years, Todoroff sold more than 17 million Coney Island hot dogs. Today, two popular long-time Coney Island restaurants are located in a building near the train station, Virginia Coney Island and Jackson Coney Island.

Numerous railroad connections were constructed to Jackson, connecting it too many markets. Through the midtwentieth century, Jackson was a major railway hub and for over a century has been known as the crossroads of Michi-

gan. Today the Michigan Central Railroad Jackson Depot is the nation’s oldest train station in continuous active use. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

I had not been to downtown Jackson in a few years, so decided to take a drive over this past March.

Jackson has dozens of classic old buildings and first thing that caught my eye were the large, colorful murals on dozens on their walls. I asked around and found out that the murals are an organized program and event created by the non-profit Bright Walls organization. It is a public art and mural festival founded and run by volunteer members of the Jackson Young Professionals. In just five years, the festival has hosted artists from across the globe

and brought more than 75 murals to the downtown district. Each summer the mural painting climaxes with a large festival. Jackson has run out of buildings to paint so the event is being shifted to music and other activities.

I had hoped to stop by the famous Hinkley Bakery with its large donut selection, in its 1890s wooden building with a brick facade, but got there too late. The bakery originally opened in 1913.

Another local landmark is The Parlour. This ice cream favorite was the result of a merger between Loud’s Dairy and Jackson Dairy Co. in 1933. An ownership change in 1962 led to the name being changed to Jackson All-Star Dairy. It started being called The Parlour in the early 1970s and is still the go-to spot for ice cream.

I stopped into Crazy Bob’s Record Store that has been a local institution for over 40 years. The Book Exchange next door has an eclectic selection used books.

I poked my head in the door of the FarmSudz store and was quickly greeted by Erin, who gave me a tour and showed me the process of cutting large bricks of soap into soap bars. She gave me a variety of colorful, great smelling soap samples. Before I left, Erin pointed out a handful of other fun stores to visit including The Front Porch, a fresh locally grown flowers store across the street.

The historic Michigan Theater opened in 1930 as part of the Butterfield Theatre’s chain. It is now owned by the non-profit Michigan Theatre of Jackson and is being restored to its original splendor. The Ogma Brewing Company has only been open a for a few years but has quickly established itself as a funky place with a cool vibe, great food and beer. The Grand River Brewery is a large brewery with good food and beer. I had a bowl of their tasty mac and cheese before heading home.

I was very impressed with the recent revitalization of Downton Jackson and would recommend a visit.