The Oceana Echo - Mears 150 - Aug. 11, 2023

Years of Mears

We are Helping Mears Preserve Its 150 Year History for Future Generations!

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History is so important to Us - Here is oUrs:

Many of the current employees were staff members of Buildings Plus of Hart. Mike Blackmer (owner), worked with his Dad (Bob) not only in the lumberyard, but in the field helping construct buildings for Buildings Plus.

• Mike started his own electrical contracting company in 1999. While he loved working in this field, he still felt the passion to return to his youth, by launching the pole building division in 2003.

• Mike Blackmer Electric Inc. is a licensed electrical contractor in the state of Michigan, and is a member of the National Electrical Contractor Association (NECA).

• Expanding his businesses, Mike Blackmer opened Up North Farm Market and Up North Garden Center in 2016. Up North Storage Facilities was opened in 2021. 3910 W. Monroe Rd. in Hart • (231) 873-4361 • blackmerelectric.com

2023 marks the 109th year of the Golden Fair

By Sharon Hallack The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent

In a couple of weeks, the Village of Mears will celebrate another milestone birthday—150 years! Records reveal that past village anniversary celebrations were several days long and involved nearly every community member. The Mears 100th Anniversary celebration took place Aug. 17–19, 1973, and included special meals, exhibits, kids activities, a parade complete with a King and Queen, Prince and Princess, along with a fashion parade and beard judging contest. The Mears 125th Anniversary celebration was in July 1998 and included many of the same activities as the 100th, with the addition of special historical programming sponsored by the Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and the dedication of the newly-built Transportation Building at the Mears Museum Complex rounded out the festivities.

While it is fun to celebrate the big anniversaries, another Mears annual tradition and celebration has been hap-

pening nearly every year since 1914. The Golden Fair, or “Flower Carnival,” as it was called in the early days, brought the growing community together as a way to enjoy food, fun events, a parade, and an exhibition in the town hall building. People were encouraged to bring items to display, similar to the county fair. A $1 prize was awarded for the biggest pumpkin, a box of candy for the biggest cucumber, and so on. In 1917, the Golden Fair took place on October 4 and 5. In 1946, the fair was an all-day celebration on September 27.

From the beginning, 8th grade students would be named to reign over the event as King, Queen, Prince, and/ or Princess. Alice Fuller was the first queen named in 1915. Then, in 1979, the king and queen were chosen from the school’s kindergarten class. From 1981 to 1987, royalty was chosen from Golden Elementary’s sixth grade classrooms. From 1988–1999, royalty was chosen from the fifth grade classes, and from 2000–2011, a king and queen were chosen from the first-third grade classrooms. Now a prince and princess are selected from Spitler’s fourth grade classrooms. It’s all in good fun and just adds something extra to the festivities, much as it did way back in the day.

Early photos show schoolgirls carrying or wearing flowers while walking in the parade. Many of the girls pushed doll buggies, with some people riding bicycles. Photos also show hundreds of people in attendance. The displays in the town hall were generally agriculture-related and quite elaborate.

Maureen “Mort” Wiegand of Silver Lake, who was in the third grade in the

early 1950s, remembers attending one of her first Golden Fairs. She was attending the Wilson School at the time and recalls all of the area one-room schools coming to town for the afternoon. Many brought displays of family-grown produce for the town hall exhibition. “One year our school made a diorama of the Silver Lake Sand Dunes on a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood,” Weigand recalls.

Originally lasting three or four days, the event has been reduced to a single afternoon in recent decades. Up until 2019, it usually included some type of meal at the Mears Methodist Church. The parade has always been the signature event, including local emergency vehicles and personnel, the Hart High School marching band, old cars, trucks, tractors, machinery, horses, and the like.

For the past several years, festivities have commenced on the first Friday afternoon of October. In order to maintain the tradition of having schoolchildren involved, Mort still works with Spitler Elementary School to have the fourth grade classes walk in the parade. A prince and princess are still chosen, and they get to ride in a special car at the parade.

All are invited to be involved in this year’s Golden Fair Parade, which will take place Friday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. in downtown Mears.

150 years of history in Mears

By Sharon Hallack The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent

The idea of creating a timeline for the Village of Mears over the past 150 years came to The Oceana Echo from resident Jan Lathers. Her late husband, longtime Mears resident and local icon Dale Lathers, wrote a two-part series for the Mears Centennial in 1973 that included many of these dates. Additional dates were also gleaned from the Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society’s collection of archival documents, as well as from many locals. Our apologies for other important dates that may have been omitted. In the interest of preserving Oceana’s rich history, please contact The Oceana Echo with any additional information so it can be included with this compilation of history.

1776: The United States becomes an independent nation.

1796: The United States acquires Michigan from England.

1837: Michigan becomes a state.

1853: Charles Mears (lumberman, developer, storekeeper, hotel owner, investor, and real estate salesman) arrives in the area.

1855: Oceana County organizes.

1856–1868: Silver Lake was commonly known as Au Sable Lake.

1864: Golden Township is organized. Early resident William Haughey originally named the township after his mother, “Golding”. Due to a transcrip-

tion error, the township was recorded as “Golden”. The first school district was formed at Mears some nine years before the town was fully established.

1869: A prevalence of wolves was reported in the township. The township board offered a bounty of $10.00 per full-grown wolf killed.

1872: Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Road reaches the area. The Montague, Pentwater, and Manistee Railroad begins making stops in Mears on its way to Pentwater. The railroad’s name is soon changed to the Chicago & West Michigan, then the Pere Marquette, to become part of the Chesapeake & Ohio, or “Chessie” system.

1872: Charles Mears builds a sawmill at the mouth of the outlet, which he calls Silver Creek; later, the creek would become Silver Lake.

1872: Benjamin Moore, of Hart, builds the first sawmill in the village. As late as 1890, it was still standing. In 1934, one could still see the various excavations on the land. Most sawmills were built near a stream that emptied into Lake Michigan. Mears was the exception because of the railroad extension from Muskegon to Pentwater.

1873: The Village of Mears is “born”. Charles Mears and Samuel Odell bought land for the site from Hart physician Dr. McPherson and had it platted. The plat was recorded and signed by T. S. Gurney, Register of Deeds, at the Oceana County Courthouse on January 22, 1873. Some streets in Mears today bear the names McPherson (the former owner of the village property), Morrison (the general manager of the railroad), and Joy (another railroad official).

1873: The Little Point Sable lighthouse is built

with James Davenport as its first lightkeeper.

1873: Mears and Odell petition the county board to have the county seat moved to Mears. The two offer an already-constructed brick building complete with separate rooms and a vault. They also offer a land option and $10,000 in cash if the board wants to build their own courthouse. Their main argument was that the railroad might not come to Hart for many years. Of the 16 supervisors who voted on the proposal, only one voted for it, and he was from Golden.

1874: A blacksmith shop is located where the former Golden Township Hall sits. A log church located in the village burns down and is rebuilt by Mr. Mears and others. The Reverend James A. Draper was the pastor at the time. The first school building was built in the village. Mears went on to build three two-story buildings, one complete with dry goods, groceries, drugs, feed, and farm supplies.

1874: Charles Mears, age 59, marries Miss Carrie A. Middleton, age 23, at his “White House”, near his mill on Silver Lake.

Late 1870s: Swedish immigrants begin to arrive in Mears. Family names include Anderson, Haggquist, Johnson, Peterson, Thorson, Jonson, Hallberg, Jenson, Carlson, Linn, Krantz, Ling, and Pearson.

1877: Lumbering becomes important to the area; Three sawmills, a bowl factory, a broom handle factory, a shingle mill, and a clapboard mill are reportedly in existence. Fruit, lumber, shingles, wheat, and potatoes were the main commodities being shipped from Mears via the railroad.

1879: Ten 75-cord coal kilns are built on the north side of Mears for the production of charcoal for the

150 years of history in Mears continued

railroad by the Spring Lake Iron Company of Fruitport. Some 40,000 bushels were produced monthly by a crew of 70 men.

1880: The Golden School listed 283 students in attendance. The school included students through the 10th grade. Juniors and Seniors could go to Hart for the remaining two years of high school.

1880s: A narrow-gauge logging railroad runs from along Goyt’s hill at Mears to the sawmill on the west edge of Morris Lake.

1881: The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Road is taken over by the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad. Reportedly, 60.5 acres of apples and other fruits are growing in the township. The second Golden Township school is built.

1882: There are reportedly two post offices in the Mears area: one in Mears proper and one located in East Golden Township.

1890s: Up until World War I, 12 passenger trains traveled through Mears each day to Hart, Pentwater, and Muskegon.

1890–1900: This decade is the best guess as to when the historic Fenton Mill building was built.

1893: The Swedish Evangelical Mission Church of Mears formally organizes.

1895: A map of the dunes and Silver Lake shows the lake to be some 1.4 miles wide at its widest point, with three parcels of land totaling 92 acres on the west side of the lake.

1898: The Swedish Covenant Church building is built and dedicated.

1899–1918 The Mears Post Office is housed in the former Edwin Johnson family home.

1902: The Mears Methodist Church is built. Its large fieldstone foundation and red brick adorn the exterior. Inside, oak trim and furnishings and stained-glass windows, made in Belgium, complete the sanctuary. The present-day church is the third Methodist Church building in Mears. The first, made of logs, sat on the corner of 7th and Joy Streets and burned down when a forest fire came through the village. The second Methodist church sat near the same location and was later sold to the local fraternal order of Maccabees.

1907: A cement block school is built one block east of the four corners. It had three classrooms for Kindergarten through 10th grade students. It also had a room that was used as a gymnasium and a full basement with two Holland furnaces. In 1930, indoor toilets were installed in the basement. It would be used as a school until 1961. At one time, the school operated its own high school for Mears residents, with an additional 22 tuition students from surrounding rural schools.

1908: The Ward and Walker Store burns to the ground on July 8. Damages were sustained in buildings owned by R. T. Morris, C. L. Gold, and E. A. Post.

1909: The Swift Lathers family moves to Mears.

1910: A second train depot is built in Mears after the first burned down. Mac Woods comes to Silver Lake to farm and ends up in the tourist business with his Floradale Resort.

1912: Ernest Johnson arrives in Mears from Sweden.

1914: Swift Lathers starts the Mears Newz newspaper. The weekly paper sold for a 50-cent subscription fee for its entire 55 years of existence.

1914: Mrs. Augur’s Kanning Kitchen opens as a custom cannery. The business, owned and operated by Warner and May Augur and their daughters Helen, Gertrude, and Alice Augur, continued for 46 years until 1960.

1914: The first “Golden Fair Flower Carnival” is held. The annual event would include produce displays put together by local schools and displayed at the town hall, a meal served at the church or school, often with a program afterward, and the crowning of a king and queen by the local schoolchildren.

1914: The first street lights appear. The Mears Civic Association, or “Booster Club,” forms

1915: Alice Wright Fuller is crowned the first queen of the Golden Fair Flower Carnival.

1915: The Tiffany family builds a bakery and combines it with a general store.

1915: Luther Fenton, forerunner to the Fenton Receiving Company, buys land from Charles Mears to build a home.

1917: Mears reportedly includes a lumber yard, feed mill, livery stable, two blacksmiths, wagon sales, two grocery stores, general dry goods stores, a hotel, a bank, a newspaper, a post office, a bakery, Methodist and Baptist churches, and a railroad station.

1919: Land owned by Carrie Mears is sold to the state park’s commission for a state park.

150 Years of HistorY in Mears

is continued on page 6

150 years of history in Mears continued

1919–1935: The Mears Post Office was located in the old George Reid Building.

1920s: The Silver Lake School burns. The district is split between Peach Ridge and Willson. Batham, Round Lake, Willson, and a part of Hovey joined Mears to eventually form Golden School.

1920’s - One hundred acres overlooking the dunes and Lake Michigan are purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Moses Davis, retired black school teachers, who use them for growing fruit, vegetables, and livestock. Later, their daughter Lila and her husband David O. Duncan acquired it and invited many friends to enjoy it with them, nicknaming the location “Val-DuLakes Farm Resort”.

1925: Swift Lathers begins building Dune Forest Village in the sand dunes of what is now Silver Lake State Park. It would be in existence until 1970, when state park rangers removed it due to vandalism.

1926: Passenger rail service from Mears to Pentwater ends.

1927: Mac Woods discovers he could drive his “jitney” over the rain-soaked dunes. Later, he discovers that by letting some of the air out of his Model-A Ford tires, he could travel on the dry dunes. The Silver Lake Sand Dunes begin to grow into a resort destination.

1927: Development of Silver Lake State Park begins.

1929: Freight rail service from Mears to Pentwater ends. When rail lines were taken out, many small towns turned into ghost towns. However, nearly 100 years later, Mears is still working to stay alive and relevant.

1933: The Mears railroad line to Pentwater is torn up due to a lack of patronage.

1934: The Mears Cider Mill is built by Frank Fenton for M. Steffen & Co. of Chicago.

1935–1959: The Mears Post Office is located in a small building next to the Mobil Gas Station.

1939: Henry Vavrina, the last resident keeper of the Little Point Sable lighthouse, moves to the area with his wife.

1940’s: Prisoners of War, living at the Oceana County Fairgrounds, supply the Fenton Cider Mill with much-needed labor during WWII.

1946: Norman and Clifton Fenton buy the Fenton Cider Mill business from their father and change the name to Fenton Brothers. Norman’s wife, Elise, becomes their longtime office secretary and bookkeeper.

1940s: John Flood opens Old Trail Stables. Rides took place on many trails formerly used by loggers and stagecoaches.

1946: Grace Youth Camp opens as a summer youth camp.

1949: Oil is discovered in the Morris Lake area; at one time, there were three producing wells there. A pipeline is built to the village, and huge oil storage tanks are built within the village to store this new commodity. At the same time, Elmer Krantz builds cabins on Fourth Street and apartments in the downtown area for the oil men.

1955: The Little Point Sable lighthouse is converted to automatic status; a large brick keeper’s residence is torn down.

1956: Johnson Tree Farms begins operations.

1959: After having been located in at least four different buildings over the years, the present Mears Post Office is built and dedicated.

1960s: Fenton Brothers starts receiving sweet cherries from local growers for Liberty Cherry out of Buckley, Michigan, for the production of maraschino cherries.

1961: The Golden Elementary School is built just to the west of the former school built in 1907.

1966: Grace Youth Camp (now Grace Adventures) moves to 30 acres on Upper Silver Lake, where it is still located today.

1970: Swift Lathers passes, and the Mears Newz publication comes to an end. The Swift Lathers home was donated to the Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society for the purpose of creating a museum to display artifacts.

1970’s: Fenton Brothers begins running a “pit station” east of Mears for the purpose of supplying brined cherries to Gray & Company in Hart.

1970: Golden Township passes a resolution to allow alcoholic beverage takeout from local stores.

1972: Golden Elementary School becomes part of the Hart Public School District.

1973: Mears 100th Celebration includes three days of activities. At that time the village included the following businesses: Mears Food Store, owned by Terry Corliss (a grocery store formerly owned by Keith Corliss, Chester Brubaker and a Mr. Averill), Mobil gas station (owned by Ronald Foster), Gold-

150 years of history in Mears

en Inn restaurant (Owned by Jack and Ursula Robinson), Golden Bakery (operated by Ken and Doris Dunlop), Mears Barber Shop (owned by Dick Corliss), Jeannine’s Beauty Salon and The Beauty Box (owned by Jeannine Highland and Billie Whelpley respectively) , a bridal shop (owned by Mabel Dean), Mears Methodist Church, Golden School (Kindergarten through 8th grade), Fenton Brothers cider mill, Leonard Fenton Well Drilling, Lewis Wilson Mason Contractor, Mears Post Office, The Bike Shop (owned by Floyd Whelply, Sr.) Loren Beggs Excavating, and the Golden Township Hall.

1973: The Little Point Sable Lighthouse celebrates its 100th year of operation.

1976: The Mears Museum Complex is officially dedicated.

1976: A regional sewer plan is proposed in Golden.

1982: Val-Du Lakes restaurant, ball field, and concert venue open Memorial Day Weekend.

1982: The Boynton family donates the “Boynton Cottage” and the Robinson family (both from Silver Lake) donate funds for the construction of the “Robinson Building,” both to be housed at the Oceana County Historical & Genealogical Society’s (OCHGS) Mears Museum Complex.

1982: OCGHS hosts its first “Pleasant Afternoon” at the Swift Lathers’ home at the society’s museum with 68 people in attendance. Singing around the old pump organ was enjoyed by all.

1983: Fifty years after its opening, Dave and Dan Fenton take over the Fenton Brothers business.

1984: The Swedish Covenant

Church congregation disbands and deeds the historic church to the OC GHS for display at the museum com plex.

1985: Fenton Brothers is renamed Fenton Receiving and Trucking.

1986 or 87: First Arts and Crafts Fair in Mears, started by Martha Lathers and two other shop owners in the vil lage.

1992: The Morats reopen Tiffany’s Bakery, renaming it “Morat’s Old Tiffa ny Bake Shop”.

1998: Mears celebrates its 125th Anniversary with a three-day celebra tion including an historical pageant, a pictorial display and historical tour, a parade, a King and Queen contest, the dedication of the new William Lathers Transportation Building at the Mears Museum Complex, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Bakery), a pig roast followed by a street dance, a potluck picnic, and children’s activities.

1998: Businesses in the Village of Mears at that time included The Village Store (antiques and crafts), P. M. Collision, The Wood Shed Bike Rentals, Mears Post Office, Morat’s Old Tiffany Bake Shop, Golden Inn Restaurant, Howard’s VCR/TV Service, Wilson’s General Store, and Fenton Receiving. The Transportation Museum is added to the Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society’s Mears Museum Complex.

1999: Reportedly, 1 million people visited Silver Lake State Park and Dunes.

2000: Brubaker’s Farm Market was built and operated for ten years.

2003: Silver Lake Apple and BBQ Cookoff Festivals debut.

2006: Reportedly, 20,000 people climbed to the top of Little Point Sable Lighthouse.

2007: Jane and Dan Morat, with their daughter and son-in-law, Carolee and Dan Castle, purchase most of the buildings in downtown Mears and work to remodel and refresh many of the buildings. Stores in downtown Mears that year included Morat’s Old Tiffany Bake Shop, The Cake House, Mears Insurance, Golden Inn, Oceana Fruit Company Ice Cream Shop and Gift Shop, and Mears Market Grocery.

2007: Golden School preschool students and staff move to the district’s main school campus in Hart.

2014: 100th Anniversary of the Mears Newz; Swift Lathers statue at the Mears Museum Complex dedicated

2015: Golden Township receives a $45,000 DNR Recreation Passport grant for improvements to Golden Township Park and the dunes.

2016: The first Jeep Invasion event at Silver Lake Sand Dunes

2019: A sanitary sewer development project is proposed by Golden Township and is overwhelmingly resisted by township residents. The board decides against pursuing

2023: Mears celebrates its 150th Anniversary in collaboration with the OCHGS Pleasant Afternoon on Sunday, August 20, 2023. A short program will be followed by a parade, antique car rides, music, dessert, ice cream, and “Swift” himself, who plans to make an appearance.

2023: Businesses and entities within the village include Sprinklez Ice Cream, The Golden Eatery, the U.S. Post Office, Wilson’s General Store, Open Hearth Restaurant, The Wood Shed Bike Shop, Johnson’s Trees & Wreaths, Fenton Receiving and Trucking, the Golden Town Hall, The Oceana Echo and the Oceana County Historical & Genealogical Society.

Val-Du Lakes has storied history

By Caleb Jackson The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent

At the end of June, scarcely two months ago now, the Electric Forest Festival kicked off in Rothbury at the Double JJ Resort. This four-daylong music festival, which is a wildly successful event every year, brought roughly 50,000 people to our cozy little corner of Michigan. Not only that, but it brought them to a village with a population of less than 500. In fact, the number of concertgoers dwarfed the population of Oceana County itself, which is said to only range in the 26,000s. It is surprising to think that such an event could be successful here and that it could have such a strong pull across the whole nation. However, it is not unique, and the Double JJ Resort wasn’t exactly going out on a limb when they decided to start hosting this festival. The truth is, things of this sort have happened here before at Val-Du Lakes.

The first person to see the potential that Val-Du Lakes held as a place for fun and relaxation was a man named Moses Davis.

“Perched on the brow of a wooded eminence and commanding a view of a most enchanting valley, nestled in which is beautiful Silver Lake, and with a background of the most wonderful shifting sand dunes in the world and, in the greater distance, the wide expanses of Lake Michigan, is the most charming farm resort in all this famous resort region!”

The above quote is taken from an ad for the resort that Moses would start on the property. This same ad even tells us where the name of the Val-Du Lakes comes from, being a “combination of the words valleys, dunes, and lakes.” Davis and his wife, Beulah Thompson, were both retired schoolteachers. They bought the 100-acre farm back in the 1930s and decided to set up their resort. They farmed cherries, apples, pears, vegetables and livestock, all of which went to feed their guests, and they offered services such as “boating, fishing, swimming, horseback riding, hay rack rides, barn dances... the list goes on. Being African American themselves, the Davis’ resort was primarily a place for other African Americans to come and unwind. Eventually, it was the Davis’ daughter Lila who brought an end to this era when she sold the property “for a dream — a place to play ball, listen to music, relax, and enjoy.” And quite the dream it ended up being.

Blue Öyster Cult, Metallica, Megadeth, Doc Watson, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys—these are just some of the names that graced

the stage at Val-Du Lakes. Initially, three men purchased the property in the early 1980s: Merle Johnson, Craig Cihak and Bob Foster. Their intentions were to turn it into a strip for dune buggies and drag racing. But then there was a change of ownership. Bob Foster was replaced by Paul Erickson, and Tom Greiner was brought on board. What followed was an era of rock ‘n’ roll the likes of which West Michigan hasn’t seen since. Thousands of people flooded the hills of Val-Du Lakes to see some of the biggest names the nation had to offer. Guns N’ Roses opened for Aerosmith in 1988; Bon Jovi played the summer of the following year; Meat Loaf and Mötley Crüe both played in 1990, only nine days apart. But it wasn’t all just rock stars and mosh pits. The Hilltop Hoedown event in 1985 brought some of the biggest names in bluegrass together for some more family-friendly music. Some of the acts included The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Doc and Merle Watson. The flyer for the event even boasted, “Remember, Rain or Shine, Bring Yer Lawn Chair!”

Aside from the outdoor amphitheater, some of the other renovations made to the property in the early 1980s included the addition of three softball diamonds and the conversion of the 100-year-old barn into a restaurant. This, coupled with one of the largest outdoor liquor licenses in the state of Michigan at the time, made Val-Du Lakes a very popular vacation destination. The softball tournaments were another very popular event held on the property. The 1985 tournament

schedule ran from May 18 to Sept. 29 and involved all three softball fields.

All the while, of course, the Silver Lake Sand Dunes were only two miles away. Two of Oceana’s greatest tourist destinations were nestled right next to each other in Mears.

These days, the Val-Du Lakes are in a new era, but they carry the same spirit of fun and relaxation forward.

After closing sometime in the late 90s, the property was purchased by Brian and Mary Lowing, who revitalized and reopened it over a decade later. To quote from their website, valdulakes. com, “Val-Du Lakes Resort continues to embrace its rich past as both a scenic country resort and West Michigan’s entertainment hotspot,” and a big part of the charm of the Val-Du Lakes of the present day is the campground. “Guests at the Val-Du Lakes Campground still enjoy the beauty of the natural grounds and return year after year to make memories at the best and most relaxed campground in Silver Lake,” the website boasts. Not only that, but the Lowings have also restored the Val-Du Manor, Moses Davis’ home, which was originally built in 1888. “The manor house is available to rent throughout the season and features the original hardwood floors and authentic 1920s furnishings, reflecting its past as a turn-of-the century boarding house.” If camping isn’t your thing,

the manor includes “a full kitchen with appliances, a formal dining room, a living room, a front porch/sunroom, a large deck with a hot tub, and a spacious one acre yard with a gazebo and fire pit.” Of course, good food and music are quintessential to the Val-Du Lakes, and both can still be enjoyed at Val-Du Lakes Bar and Grill, which is in close proximity to the manor! Pictures of the restored manor and the menu for the bar and grill can both be found on the previously mentioned website.

Mears United Methodist Church

Just after the Civil War, the Mears Methodist Church was formed. One of the life-long residents of Golden Township, Rosa Hunter Reid (1884-1966), wrote the following: “Few people living in the Village of Mears today know there were two Methodist church (buildings) in our town before the beautiful red brick church on the corner was dedicated on June 23, 1902. Long before there was a Village of Mears, there was a log church located in what is now block 48.

Charles Mears, one of the founders of our village, made a record in his diary of this church. His daughter Carrie Mears came to one of the home-comings of the church and read from her father’s diary, which describes this location of the church. Just when it was built, I don’t know. The pastor was half indian and half white. The church was called the Methodist Mission.

My parents who were early settlers in

this vicinity knew about this church and the people who attended services there. Indians and a few white people made up the congregation. My father, Liberty Hunter, lived near Silver Lake on Hunter’s Creek, came to Golden Township in 1866. To better understand this generation, one has to go back many years and try to picture a virgin wilderness of pine, maple and beech, ready for the lumber man to clear the land and build homes, schoolhouses, churches and places of business. The log church burned to the ground in 1874. With the settlers coming to build their homes, a new church had to be built. As I recall, the log church was caught in the path of a forest fire which could not be stopped and the church quickly burned to the ground. After the log church burned, a frame church was built on the S.E. corner of Joy and 7th street, almost cross the street from where the log church once stood. This church was used until 1902, when the new red brick church was built, on the S.E. corner of Joy

and 4th street. The old church was sold to the Macabees and used as a meeting place where they had a stage built for Vaudeville shows and was also used as the gymnasium for the Mears School.

The new church was built by the sacrifice and dedication of many people who wanted a beautiful church where they could worship God. The red brick structure was built on a field stone foundation and contains a bell, lovely furnishings and beautiful stain glass windows. The windows were made in Belgium with silver and gold mixed in the glass to reflect the light. These things make the Mears United Methodist Church one of the most beautiful country churches in the area. A fitting structure, build by some of the Christian pioneers of this area. The church is dedicated to the Glory of God and to spreading the Gospel, (the good news of salvation).”

(Addendum) In 1948-49 a basement was built under the current church. The sanctuary retains much of the beauty that must have

been present when the church was first built. In 1992, Rev. Ken Snow was the pastor of the church and his health began to fail. Attendance was on the decline with winter attendance in the 10-15 range. At the urging of some of the members, the DS of the Grand Traverse District invited Rev. Ken Vanderlaan to fill in for a time until a decision could be made on the future of the church. Pastor Ken began his ministry in July of 1993 and it continues on until today. We completed a beautiful new addition in 2002 and remodeled the old basement in 2003 for a total cost of around $400,000. The attendance of the church has continued to grow since 1993 with some summer Sunday attendance in excess of 200. It remains our fervent hope that God will continue to bless the ministry of the Mears United Methodist Church in the year 2011 and all the years following...as He did in the 146 years leading up to today! Mears United Methodist Church is currently served by Pastor Beverley Williams.

The Fenton Mill Legacy continues nearly 90 years later

By Sharon Hallack The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent

With a 150th anniversary celebration on tap for August 20, history is “ripe in the land of Mears,” as they say. One of the oldest buildings and businesses in town is located just behind the main street. The historic “Fenton Mill,” as it is known by the locals, is a beautiful brick building estimated to have been built between 1890 and 1900 by Frank Downing. It was first used as a farm hardware and supply store.

Now “the mill” is home to Fenton Receiving and Trucking, a business that has been in their family since the 1930s. “It was a farm hardware and farm supply store and used to pack out fruit to be shipped by train,” said Dave Fenton, co-owner with brother Dan Fenton. “The main part of town used to be located close to the mill.”

Fenton and his brother acquired the building and business from their father, Clifton, who acquired it from his father, Frank. There is so much history at the location that it was hard for Fenton not to get ahead of himself.

Family history records that Frank Fenton started out in town working for area farmers before becoming a partner in George Reid’s grocery store business. He would have several other privately owned businesses through the years, including a meat market, a blacksmith shop and a mechanical garage.

Then, in 1934, the M. Steffens Company, out of Chicago, hired Grandpa to build a cider mill in Mears. The cider mill would take in apples from surrounding farmers and make what was called “vinegar stock,” or raw cider, that was sold to various companies for processing into vinegar. The stock would be loaded onto big train tankers and shipped to Chicago. At that time, the mill probably had 10 huge cider vats holding 60,000 gallons each,” Fenton said. “Then, when rail service to and from Mears ceased in the 60s, they switched from rail tankers to truck tankers, shipping the stock on to Coloma and eventually to Indian Summer in Belding, Mich.”

According to family history recorded some time ago by the Fenton’s aunts, Jeannette (Fenton) Lipps and Violet (Fenton) Frost, once the cider mill was

operational, the M. Steffens Co. began exploring the pickle industry, and pickle seed was supplied to area farmers on a contract basis. Once the pickles were harvested, they were purchased by the company and shipped out by Frank Fenton’s private truck. Due to the demand for seasonal workers to harvest the pickles, Frank worked with the county extension agent to contact the Texas Chamber of Commerce, which resulted in some of the first migrants entering Oceana County. Hispanic families would correspond with “Mr. Frank” during the winter months, asking for work in fruit or pickles. He helped place families according to their size and the work needed.

“My dad, Cliff, would talk about how as a kid the train would go through Mears on its way to Pentwater and back, several times a day. That would have been the 30s,” Fenton recalled. “The train stopped right here on the East side of the building.”

By the 1940s, the operation was packing out pickles in barrels of salt water, which were shipped by rail to Chicago as well. “During World War II, grandpa used the POWs (Prisoners of War) encamped at the Oceana County Fairgrounds. He would drive a panel wagon over every day and pick up eight to nine men to run the mill and pickle station for the day. Grandma would make them a good lunch every day, and one of the prisoners commented one day, ‘We never had chicken like that in Germany.’”

In 1946, Frank’s sons, Clifton and Norman Fenton, who had been serving during WWII, took over mill operations from their father and renamed the business Fenton Brothers.

In the 1950s, Fenton Brothers had begun receiving locally grown cherries and crabapples, which were delivered to DeWan’s in St. Joseph, Mich., and later to Coloma, Mich., as juice stock for M. Steffens as well.

With asparagus being the up-and-coming crop in the 1960s, the brothers started receiving asparagus at the mill, as well as sweet cherries for Liberty Cherry out of Buckley, Michigan. The cherries were held in totes of brine located at the mill until they were shipped out for processing.

By the 1970s, the Fenton Brothers operation was one of the largest receivers of apples in the area. Photos of those years show trucks lined up for blocks or parked for the day, waiting to be unloaded. “It was at that time we also started running the ‘pit station’ on the East side of town for Gray and Company. Eventually our sons and nephews would all work on what became known as the ‘pit crew’ in the 1990s and 2000s,” said Fenton. Referred to as “the pits”, this operation is now owned by Gray & Company’s successor, Seneca Foods.

In the early 1980s, Dave and Dan Fenton completely took over mill operations from their father,

The Fenton Mill Legacy continued

Cliff. Then, in 1983, after nearly 50 years, “cider mill” operations came to an end.

Inside the iconic brick building, history is everywhere. One can still see replaced sections of wooden floor inside the mill. “Everybody had their own bin. When they’d bring their fruit or potatoes, they’d empty it into their assigned bin. The basement had scales and a bagger, and it was someone’s job to go down there and bag and label the produce,” said Fenton. Pointing to a large open elevator, “Then the produce would be put on this elevator and be brought up from the basement to be loaded on the trains.”

“The west side of the building was the hardware store, and one room on the east side was home to what we believe was the Mears Bank,” Fenton said. In fact, the original safe with multiple doors and locks is still located at the mill.

Fenton likes to share the “Famous Mears Bank Robbery” story, as he calls it: “Guessing it would have been in the late 20s or early 30s, Uncle Ralph, who lived just south of the mill in his one-room cab-

“When the banker found out about it, he realized he wasn’t going to be able to do business that day if he couldn’t get into the safe. He contacted my grandpa, Frank Fenton, a blacksmith at the time, who was able to bring his torches and get the main door open. He replaced the ruined part of the door by welding on a steel plate where the tumblers were. Once the main door was opened, the bank could unlock the second combination door and conduct business as

“The safe has a third smaller door inside the outside and inner door that has never been opened. I had a safecracker come one time, and he worked on it for several days but could never get it open. We joke that’s where the gold bars were kept. I doubt you could even blast it open with dynamite.”

The building remains much the same as it has for decades, with offices, storage and a bathroom. “We’ve tried to keep it up; it’s got so much history,” said Fenton.

Still slightly visible on the north side of the building is the insignia “Mule-Hide Roofs”, a roofing company formed in 1906 and still in business today. Also

on the north, the cement platform and brick wall have been favorites of photographers for years. “People are always asking if they can come over and get their pictures taken in front of it,” he said, smiling.

When asked about the future of the business, Fenton said wistfully, “The final chapter of our story is yet to be written, but we are getting to the end of the book—not this year, but soon. Agriculture is changing.” Humbly, on behalf of his entire family, Dave wished to express sincere appreciation to all of the local farmers and employees who have worked with and supported their business all these years.

Many alive today have their own memories of working for or with the Fenton family at the historic mill. Whether as employees or farmers, friends or neighbors, its history is something the entire village can be proud of. No matter what the future holds for its current owners, they can be proud of the business they are operating and preserving.

The Oceana Echo wishes to thank the Fenton family for providing access to their family scrapbooks and photo albums for the compilation of this wonderful Mears history.

Mears

By Sharon Hallack The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent

Mention the name Ralph Fenton to the locals in Mears, and one will most likely have a story to tell about him. It is quite possible Ralph has been written about almost as much as the founder of the Village of Mears, Charles Mears himself.

Ralph Fenton, son of Mears pioneers Luther and Rebeca (DeGraff) Fenton, brother to Harry, Frank (Mattie Reames), and Lillie Fenton, uncle to numerous nieces and nephews, and friend of hundreds, was born March 20, 1910. He came to live in Mears with his parents and sister in 1915, when he was just five years old.

Family history records that Luther, born in Pennsylvania, moved to Indiana before moving to Manton, Mich. From Manton, the senior Fenton would move to a little berg south of Mears, quite possibly Collinsville, before purchasing land from the Charles Mears estate.

Ralph grew up farming and developed a love for animals at a young age. As a young man, Ralph would make his living picking fruit for area farmers. At one point, Ralph was looking to make some more money and asked his friend Ed Brubaker of Silver Lake if he knew of anything. Ed advised him to try trapping.

And that advice would set Ralph on a lifelong path of trapping for both pleasure and livelihood. Having never learned to drive, his father Frank asked his son Cliff if he could try and teach “Uncle Ralph.” Ralph’s great-nephew, Dave Fenton, retells the story: “After three sessions, grandpa asked dad, ‘How’s he doing?’ dad said, ‘He’ll never drive; he’s too busy looking out the window for game!’”

So Ralph got around on foot ev-

Ralph Fenton

erywhere he went, often walking upon friends and neighbors as he traversed the county. Everyone who knew him recognized his gait: quick and steady, with a little hop every so often. He could cover a lot of ground in one day, getting back and forth to work and checking his trap lines. “You couldn’t keep up with him,” said Dave Fenton. “He had many friends who offered him rides too.”

Speaking of friends, later in life, hundreds of people would attend his birthday parties. Ralph passed away at the age of 92, and his funeral was a packed house. “He was a poor man by the world’s standards, but a millionaire in friends,” Dave Fenton said.

Some of his local fishing and trapping buddies included Bill Volpp Sr., Don Brubaker (son of Ed Brubaker), Clair Purdy, Pete P., Walt Walsworth, Steve Swihart, and others, along with his special trapping friend “Rusty,” from the Ruby Creek area.

When he wasn’t working, Ralph could be found fishing in local streams and lakes or hunting and trapping in the area’s many woods and grasslands. Throughout his life, he would trap everything from racoons, mink, muskrats, and beavers to both red and gray foxes. By far, foxes were his favorite animal to trap, as well as his most lucrative. A scrapbook compiled by Dave and Vickie Fenton shows several photos of his “hauls” over the years.

Those who attended the Mears Centennial Parade in 1973 may remember Ralph leading a mule along the parade route loaded up with trapping supplies.

Fenton lived in a one-room house just one block south of the historic Fenton Mill for his entire life. He was content to live simply with only electricity and no plumbing, except for a hand pump and an outdoor privy, all those years. The majority of his 93 years were spent outside

everywhere, enjoying the sports of trap ping, hunting, and fishing as well as greeting his many friends and acquaintances along the way.

Following his death in 2003, the Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society acquired and moved Ralph’s humble home to its Mears Museum Complex.

Today, visitors can see this piece of history and get a sense for Ralph’s unique way of life. The Mears Museum Complex is open every Saturday and Sunday between 1-4 p.m.

The Oceana Echo wishes to thank Dave and Vickie Fenton for their assistance in creating this story about Dave’s great-uncle, Ralph Fenton.

our historY

In 1979, Craig Cihak and his parents Ron & Donna Cihak purchased property in Silver Lake, Michigan (formerly Bill’s Dune Rides). They started the first go-kart track with just 8 go-karts. Each spring for several years, new attractions were added. Campers and seasonal tourists at the beautiful sand dune vacation spot patronized the first Craig’s Cruisers Family Fun Center. As patronage grew, so did the business. In 1990 a second location was built in Muskegon and in 1994 a third location was built in Holland.

Craig’s Cruisers wanted to be able to offer indoor entertainment for guests through all four of Michigan’s seasons. After much research and planning the doors to our fourth Grand Rapids location opened in December 1999. The first offerings included: indoor electric go-karts, laser tag, video arcade, private party/meeting rooms, full kitchen and four outdoor attractions.

In March 2006 the 25,000 square foot restaurant opened. The space can accommodate seating for over 700 guests. Menu offerings include salad, pasta, pizza and dessert. Business continued to grow and in July of 2017, Craig’s Cruisers broke ground on the second addition to the Grand Rapids location. A 36,000 square foot expansion to include a trampoline park, ninja warrior course, two level laser tag arena and compact spinning coaster.

Through the years Craig’s Cruisers Family Fun Center has built a reputation for family entertainment in a clean and safe environment.