The Brewsters charge into Cedar Springs! Pictured (from L to R) are Laura Johnson, Jon Gamm, and Linda Hunt.

The classic comedy “Arsenic & Old Lace” by Joseph Kesselring, is the next production by the Cedar Springs Community Players set to hit the boards on October 18, 19, 20, 2018 at the Kent Theatre.  The show, directed by Sue Harrison, will start each night at 7:30 PM. Charlene Sommer is stage manager and Nolan Patin has designed the set of the old Brewster home.

The play, “Arsenic & Old Lace” was written in 1939 and was produced as a serious thriller.  At the first preview, when all the laughter occurred, the piece was declared an instant comedy hit! It takes place in the 1940’s and has everything a good comedy requires—two charming old ladies who are actually murderers, a crazy brother who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, another brother who looks like Boris Karloff and his wacky doctor friend Einstein, a love story, and the antics of good-natured bumbling cops.  

“This is a classic play,” shared director Sue Harrison. “It has a great storyline and the characters are delightful to watch. It will keep audiences laughing and enthralled with all the antics!”

Cast members include Laura Johnson and Linda Hunt as the Brewster sisters; Jonathan Gamm as Teddy Brewster; Jonathan Befus as Jonathan Brewster; Cody Wilson as Mortimer Brewster; Anna Ambrose as Elaine Harper; Dave Schmuker as Dr. Einstein; R.J. Moore, Tom Johnson, and John Kerrish play Officers Brophy, Klein and O’Hara; Lieutenant Rooney is played by Jerry Hoye; Don Hunt and Doug Christensen play Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Witherspoon; and Mr. Spinoza is played by Madison Ruth.

Pre-sale tickets are on sale now from cast members and at the Cedar Springs Community Library. Adult pre-sale tickets are $10 and students under 18 are $8. Tickets at the door are $12 for adults and $8 for students under 18. Purchase must be made with cash or check.

Kristina Kornoely, Cedar Springs Women’s Club 2017 Outstanding Woman of the Year, with her family. Courtesy photo.

By Sue Harrison

The May Cedar Springs Women’s Club meeting was full of lots of activities. The most exciting was the presentation of the 2017 Outstanding Woman of the Year award. Each year one woman is recognized for her exemplary spirit and contributions during the Club year. She must be enthusiastic in the promotion and support of Women’s Club and be active in community activities.

The 2017 recipient of the Women’s Club Outstanding Woman of the Year was Kristina Kornoely. Kristina is one of the Directors of Women’s Club and serves on the Archival Committee, the Holiday Tea Committee, and the Social Activities Committee.  She is usually the first person at the meeting to open up and often the last to leave.

Kristina’s husband, Michael, and friend Soonja Koole, were instrumental in getting biographical information secretly to prior award recipients, Carolyn Davis and Penny Dietrich, to organize for the surprise presentation. Kristina’s biography was read by Carolyn Davis, last year’s recipient of the award. A copy of the biography was presented to Kristina along with a plaque and a certificate commemorating the event. Kristina was presented with a dozen red roses by Women’s Club President, Sue Harrison, also a former award recipient.  Kristina’s husband, Michael, daughter Rachel, and mother Ellen Moore attended the ceremony and lunch.

Women’s Club meets the first Thursday of the month from September to the following June.  Any woman wishing to join Women’s Club needs to attend two meetings, then fill out an application and have two sponsors who have been members for at least one year. She then can be inducted into membership during the month following the receipt of her application. No members are inducted in the month of June.

The ceremonial ribbon cutting at the new Cedar Springs Community Library. From L to R: Duane McIntyre, licensed builder; Solon Township Supervisor Bob Ellick; Cedar Springs Mayor Gerald Hall; Library Director Donna Clark; CS City Manager Michael Womack; Lakeland Library Coop Director Sandra Wilson; Claudia and Tom Mabie, representatives of the Community Building Development Team. Not shown are Mayor Pro Tem Pam Conley (to the far left of Duane McIntyre) and Kurt Mabie, Chair of the CBDT (to the right of Tom Mabie). Photo by Kathy Anderson.

By Sue Harrison

A project planned for many years became a reality last Saturday, May 13, with the grand opening celebration of the new Cedar Springs Community Library, located in the “Heart of Cedar Springs” at the corner of Main and W. Maple St.

Sue Harrison, Master of Ceremonies, introduced the event by thanking the dozens of organizations and countless individuals who have been working on the Town Square, which includes the new library, a Veteran’s Clock Tower, a bridge across Cedar Creek, a steel dragonfly sculpture, and the historic flowing well.

“So much has been done already, but in order to complete the vision, much more funding is needed through donations and pledges through the Community Building Development Team,” she added.

The Ceremony started with the American Legion Color Guard Glen Hill Post 287 raising the American flag and the State of Michigan Flag on the new flagpoles in front of the Library

The Ceremony started with the American Legion Color Guard Glen Hill Post 287 raising the American flag and the State of Michigan Flag on the new flagpoles in front of the Library. Viet Nam veteran Dan Davis delivered the invocation, which was followed by the playing of the Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful by members of the Cedar Springs High School, under the direction of Ryan Miller and Adam Borst.

City Manager Michael Womack and Mayor Pro-tem Pam Conley spoke about the city planting a maple tree on the library grounds. Mayor Gerald Hall presented some special “Making a Difference” awards to Duane McIntyre, Kurt Mabie, Dale Larson, and Dean Wall for for their work on the “Heart of Cedar Springs” projects.

Louise King, member of the Library Board, gave some of the history of the library in Cedar Springs and introduced Cedar Springs Library Director Donna Clark, who spoke about the importance of the new library to the Cedar Springs Community.

Crowd gathers in front of library for the Grand Opening.

“This is a very significant contribution to our community and one only being accomplished through a cooperative and caring group of people. Our community now has its own library where people of all ages can learn, share, gather, and celebrate for many years to come,” said Clark.

The Ribbon Cutting for the Library followed with many dignitaries present. They were Duane McIntyre, licensed builder; Solon Township Supervisor Bob Ellick; Cedar Springs Mayor Gerald Hall; Library Director Donna Clark; CS City Manager Michael Womack; Lakeland Library Coop Director Sandra Wilson; Claudia and Tom Mabie and Kurt Mabie, representatives of the Community Building Development Team.

Mayor Gerald Hall does a ceremonial first check-out of The Cedar Springs Story. He is shown here with co-author Sue Harrison and Library Director Donna Clark. Photo by Kathy Anderson.

After the ribbon cutting, Mayor Gerald Hall ceremonially checked out the first book, a signed copy of The Cedar Springs Story presented to him by co-author, Sue Harrison. The book will remain permanently in the library and will be checked out in perpetuity to the Mayor.

Members of the Cedar Springs Women’s Club served refreshments to the hundreds of visitors who toured the new library and grounds. Visitors also talked with local authors Sue Harrison, Shirley Neff, Kathryn Moore, David Stricklen and puppeteer Rebecca Casavant. The Open House lasted from 2:30-5:00 p.m.

View of the Community Room patio.

View of the interior of the new Cedar Springs Community Library

Cast names (in photo) are:  seated: RJ Moore, Anna Ambrose, Tom Johnson. Standing l-r: Rod Zamarron, Mark Stoll, Deb Irwin, Doug Christensen, Laura Johnson.

The comedy “The Foreigner,” by Larry Shue, will be presented by the Cedar Springs Community Players at the Kent Theatre on Oct 13, Oct 14, Oct. 15, 2016.  The show, directed by Sue Harrison, will start at 7:30 p.m. each night. The show was one of Jack Clark’s favorite shows and is being dedicated to him. Pre-sale tickets are available at the Cedar Springs Library or from any cast member for $10. Tickets at the door are $12 for adults and $8 for students under 18.

Pictured in the photo (from left to right): Grandson Alec Falicki, daughter Soonja Koole, Woman of the Year Carolyn Davis, husband Dan Davis, daughter Kelli Koole Clark.

By Sue Harrison

The May meeting of the Cedar Springs Women’s Club was full of celebrations.

Every year one woman of the Cedar Springs Women’s Club is recognized for her exemplary spirit in the promotion and support of Cedar Springs Women’s Club and her involvement in community activities. This year’s recipient of the 2015-2016 Outstanding Women’s Club Member is Carolyn Davis. Carolyn has been active on the Women’s Club CAN committee, has volunteered at North Kent Service Center, has held the offices of 1st and 2nd Vice President, and served as Club President  from 2012-2014. Her husband Dan, daughters Kelli Clark and Soonja Koole, and grandson Alec Falicki, surprised Carolyn at the ceremony and luncheon. Past Woman of the Year recipients, Penny Darling, Caroline Bartlette and Sue Harrison presented Carolyn  with a dozen roses (the Club flower), as well as a certificate and wall plaque designating her as the 2015-2016 award winner.

Thelma Morris celebrated her 95th birthday on May 2 and was presented with a bouquet of flowers.

The Cedar Springs Women’s Club celebrated the election of a new Board of Officers for 2016-2017.  They are: President Sue Harrison; 1st Vice President Penny Darling; 2nd Vice President Donna Clark; Secretary Caroline Bartlette; Corresponding Secretary Sally Grayvold; Treasurer Char Heim; Directors: Kristina Kornoely, Louise King, and Kathy Anderson. The officer installation ceremony takes place at the June meeting.

by Sue Harrison

Each year the Cedar Springs Women’s Club awards a $1000 scholarship to a female of any age who resides in the Cedar Springs Public School District and plans to attend college. The recipient may be considering any type of skill training or degree program. The scholarship is awarded without regard to race, creed, color, religion or national origin. The scholarship is awarded at the June Women’s Club meeting.

Applications for the scholarship are available at the counseling offices at Cedar Springs High School, Creative Technologies Academy, and at the Cedar Springs Library. All applications along with the required attachments must be mailed to the Cedar Springs Women’s Club and postmarked by March 15, 2016.

By Judy Reed

The Post recently received an old photo from reader Jennifer Bell. She said that her family has lived in Cedar Springs for many years, and that her grandfather, Orville Moore, recently passed away. Before he died, he passed on quite a few old photos to Jennifer’s sister. One of them is of a building they think is 73 S. Main, where there is currently a pet grooming shop. Jennifer said all she knew was that back when the photo was taken, a woman named Rose ran the store.

“We’re not exactly sure her exact relation to us but it’s pretty neat for us to have a photo this old and thought we would share,” she said.

73 S. Main Street today is the home to Peacock Pet Parlor.

We passed this photo on Sharon Jett at the Cedar Springs Historical Museum, and she agreed that the building looks like 73 S. Main. She directed us to page 211 in the Cedar Springs Story by Sue Harrison and Donna DeJonge, which lists three millinery shops in the building from 1885-1931. From 1908 to 1931, it was run by a Mrs. Rose Dorman, which could be the Rose that Jennifer mentioned.

We thank Jennifer for sending us the photo, and Sharon, of the Cedar Springs Historical Museum, for helping us with the information.

The Grand Rapids Sweet Adeline’s Chorus traveled to Cleveland in May, for the Region 17 competition. “We were performing for evaluation only and received two A- and many B +’s on our performance, which prepares us to compete at the International Competition in Las Vegas, Nevada in October,” said Sue Harrison, of Nelson Township.

Pictured are gals from the Cedar Springs and Greenville area (l to r): Judie Wabeke, Sue Harrison, Mary Myers, and Marcia Taft.

Thanks for taking the Post with you!

Are you going on vacation? Take the Post with you and snap some photos. Then send them to us with some info to news@cedarspringspost.com or mail them to Post travels, PO Box 370, Cedar Springs, MI 49319. We will be looking for yours!

Pictured (from L to R) is Pastor Steve Lindeman, Commander Bill Gregones, food pantry volunteer Caroline Bartlett, and food pantry volunteer Sue Harrison. Post photo by J. Reed.

By Judy Reed

The Cedar Springs American Legion Glen Hill Post #247 presented checks last week to both the Cedar Springs Ministerial Association and the Cedar Springs Community Food Pantry.

American Legion Commander Bill Gregones presented Pastor Steve Lindeman, representing the Ministerial Association, with a check for $200, to help with the requests they receive at Christmas time.

Gregones presented Sue Harrison with a second check for $100 for the Community food pantry, which is located at the Cedar Springs United Methodist Church, on Main Street, where Lindeman is pastor.

The American Legion makes the presentations annually. “They do quite a bit to make sure the unfortunate have something on the table for the holidays,” noted Gregones.

The Community food pantry serves up to six families per day, up to 30 families per week. The pantry can always use donations. They have needs for personal care products such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, toilet paper, etc. Foods they are currently in need of include dry milk, eggs, milk, butter, margarine and venison. “We received no venison this year,” said volunteer Sue Harrison. Any venison would need to be processed through a commercial processor in order for them to use it.

If you’d like to drop off food, the pantry is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Food can also be left near the church office. Anyone wishing to become a client at the center must be referred through North Kent Community Services.

Sue Harrison, of Nelson Township, sent us these photos of wildlife that were taken in her yard. “I saw this ‘hummer,’ the butterfly and the praying mantis all in the same day as I was watering my potted flowers,” noted Sue. “I thought they were each beautiful in their own way.”

According to Sue, the praying mantis was stalking a small spider on the handle of her planter and he was successful!

She said the hummingbird and the butterfly were both after the nectar of the Rose-of-Sharon flowers on the bush next to their house.

Great photos! Thanks, Sue!

If you have wildlife photos you’d like to send, email them to news@cedarspringspost.com with a short summary or explanation.