Thorval “Bo” Nielsen, 81 of Cedar Springs, died Friday, August 7, 2015 at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. Bo was born September 29, 1933 in Cedar Springs, Michigan, the son of Vern and Lillian (Pritchard) Nielsen. He graduated from Cedar Springs High School and attended Davenport College. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Bo attended the East Nelson United Methodist Church, was a member at the Cedar Springs Historical Society and active at the Museum, the Cedar Springs American Legion, and a lifetime member and very active in the Red Flannel Rod and Gun Club. He was a lifetime builder in the Cedar Springs area, enjoyed hunting and fishing, and loved his family and spending time with his sons. Surviving are his wife, Sharon (Buchholz) whom he married on December 6, 1958; sons, Brian (Deborah), Alan (Rhonda); grandchildren, Ryan (Molly), Lauren (Will) Buttars; great grandchildren, Kendall and Mason; brothers, JC, Walter (Helen), Ivan (Phyllis), Eugene (Shirley); sisters, Nina Middleton, Karen (Leonard) Deyman; in-laws, Otto (Marion) Buchholz, Alvin (Patricia) Buchholz, Joyce (Richard) Johnson, Lois Garvey; many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother; one sister; and one brother-in-law. The family greeted friends Tuesday, August 11 from 6-8 pm at the Bliss-Witters & Pike Funeral Home, Cedar Springs where the service was held Wednesday 11:00 am. Pastor Herb VanderBilt officiating. Interment with military honors at East Nelson Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 100, Southfield, MI 48033.

Arrangements by Bliss-Witters & Pike Funeral Home, Cedar Springs

Raise money for library

Ms. Jennifer Kahler’s 5th grade class.

When teachers encourage their fourth and fifth graders to scope out their community for worthy projects to support, it is a very good thing. Leading the way this year were Cedar View teachers Ms. Dawn Nielsen (4^th grade) and Ms. Jennifer Kahler (5^th grade). Arrangements were made with Cedar Springs Library Director Donna Clark to receive what turned out to be massive FUNds, according to the creativity and dedication of these students.

Ms. Dawn Nielsen’s 4th grade class.

Ms. Nielsen’s class focused on raising donation dollars through their annual Read-a-thon. To add incentive, the Library promised a Red Hawk Beanie Baby to any student raising $35 or more. Twenty-two students collected a Red Hawk, including one student from Ms. Strumk’s 4^th grade class. Students raised….DRUMROLL…$1,067! Half of that was given to the Library ($533.50) and half will be used for new books for the classroom.

While Clark was still rejoicing, another call came into the library, this time from 5^th grade teacher Jennifer Kahler, informing her, “I have some very good news for you.  Room 12 has a surprise for the library. The students selected the Cedar Springs Library to be the recipient of their new fund raising effort, a store.  I gave each student $5 and their job was to come up with a product to make to sell at the store. With any luck, they would turn their $5 into a profit.” The conversation ended with Friday, April 30 being set as the day that Ms. Kahler’s class would present the Library with a check representing their creativity and hard work.

Mrs. Clark showed up at the appointed time, 9 a.m. The class chatted with Mrs. Clark about their store, consisting of everything from bookmarks to slime, and then asked her to guess how much they raised.

She guessed that doubling their $5 would mean a $300 donation for sure. Amidst grins and wiggles, it was clear that the class had raised much more. At that time two of the young ladies came forth and took turns sharing about how the money was raised.  The big moment arrived…DRUMROLL…a check for $496.11!  Shock,  smiles, and congratulations all captured on video. It was a moment to celebrate.

How will the money be used? Mrs. Clark encouraged the students to come up with a thorough list of books that they would like to check out from the library over the last weeks of school. By checking the Library’s website, cedarsprings.llcoop.org, students can check to see if the book they want is already owned by the Library. The Library also has a wish list of various things that are needed to improve the library and its services. Some of the money may be used for the Library’s annual Summer Reading Program, June 9-July 30. All are invited to Opening Day of the Summer Reading Program Monday, June 9 from noon to 6pm, to sign up for a summer of 20 programs, receive a free bookbag  (Grades K- 12), eat free ice cream, check out the petting zoo and storybook characters and the Friends of the Library’s annual book sale.

Patrick, Tia and Tresa Nielsen, of Pierson, along with Tia’s best friend Brianna Monroe, of Marco Island, Florida, recently took the Post on an educational road trip. They started in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and made a stop in Cave City, Kentucky, where they booked an over night stay at the Wigwam Village Inn #2. Frank A. Redford patented the design with the US patent office in1935, so he could build these tee-pee sleeping structures in Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, New Orleans California and Arizona. Today this is one out of three Wigwam Village Inns still in existence. The other two are in Arizona and California. The Nielsen’s stayed overnight after visiting the Mammoth Cave National Park, which encompasses 52,830 areas. The Native Americans discovered Mammoth Cave about 4,000 years ago and continued to use it for 2,000 years. Tours began in 1816 and it increasingly draws in about 650,000 visitors a year.

“We have the Post mailed to us down at Marco Island, Florida every week,” noted Tresa.

Thanks so much for taking the Post with you on your adventure!

Will you be traveling? Take along a copy of the Post and get a photo. Send the photo and some info about it to news@cedarspringspost.com. We will print them as space allows.

Taylor Nielsen signs with Argos Of Great Falls University in Montana.

Cedar Springs seniors Taylor Nielsen and Erica Wagner have signed National Letters of Intent to play College Softball.

Taylor Nielsen has signed to play with the Argos of Great Falls University, a Catholic university located in Great Falls Montana. UGF plays in the CAL/PAC Frontier Conference. Taylor will be studying Pre-Med, with a focus of going on to be an Orthopedic Surgeon. Taylor is playing her fourth year on varsity for the Red Hawks. The last 3 seasons she has earned All Conference, All District, All Region, and All Area Honors. Taylor is Team Captain and has earned Individual Academic All State Honors early in the 2012 season. The past three summers she has played travel ball for Elite and the Grand Rapids Blaze.

Erica Wagner signs with the Saints of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids.

Erica Wagner has signed to play with the Saints of Aquinas College, a Catholic college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Aquinas plays in the Wolverine-Hoosier Conference. Erica is undecided about her major. Erica is playing her fourth year on varsity for the Red Hawks, earning All Conference, All District, All Region, and All Area Honors the last three seasons. Erica is Team Captain and has Earned Individual Academic All State Honors early in the 2012 season. Erica has also played travel ball in the summer with the Superior Sting.

Congratulations and good luck to both girls.

Mrs. Nielsen, a 4th grade teacher at Cedar View Elementary knows that it is difficult for many students to learn how to do long division.  To get her students fired up and excited to learn long division and have a little fun with it, Mrs. Nielsen showed them a YouTube video of a teacher doing the “long division rap.” After showing the video, Mrs. Nielsen told her class if everyone in the class learned how to do long division she would dress up as a “rapper” and sing the long division rap in front of the class.
“My class really must have wanted to see me make a fool of myself because I have never seen students work so hard to learn anything before!” said Mrs. Nielsen.
By the end of the unit, every single student in her class was able to pass the long division test. Mrs. Nielsen kept her promise and performed the “long division rap” in front of her class. The students really got a kick out of how many “takes” it took for her to get it right! Congratulations to Mrs. Nielsen’s 4th grade class! You proved that you can do anything you set your mind to!

There are only TWO weeks left in our subscription drive! If you haven’t yet subscribed or renewed your subscription to the Cedar Springs Post, you are missing out on a chance to win some great prizes from local businesses!
You can win by subscribing to the Post for only $25 per year. Fill out the entry form on this page and mail, or subscribe through our website (www.cedarspringspost.com) using Paypal. But you better hurry!
This week’s winners are:
*Kim and Diane Johnson, of Courtland Township, won a 4-pc Pyrex prepware set, courtesy of Independent Bank in Cedar Springs.
*Dorothy Zank, of Cedar Springs, won a one-topping hot-n-ready from Little Caesar’s Pizza on 17 Mile in Cedar Springs.
*Eugene and Shirley Nielsen, of Nelson Township, won a hat and keychain from Tri County Body, in Sand Lake.
*Jeanice Goltz, of Solon Township, won four movie passes to the Kent Theatre in Cedar Springs.
Winners must pick up their prizes HERE at the Post within 14 days or the prize will be awarded to someone else. We are open from 9-5 Monday through Friday. Please call 696-3655 to make other arrangements.
Thanks so much to the businesses partnering with us in this drive! Be sure to thank them.
*Subscribers are assigned a number, and then chosen at random through a computer website, www.random.org.

Thank you to all of this week’s subscribers!

Dennis & Denise Gross
Sandra McEwen
Ronald & Sharon Burt
Susan Brown
Rick Surdam
Darold & Janie Harper
Opal Lewis
Debbie & Terry Avery
Althea & Roger Swift
Royce & Dawn Ulberg
George & Della Michaels
Gary & Barbara Woodhull