On Saturday, September 28, the 75th annual Red Flannel Queen’s Scholarship Pageant took place at Cedar Springs High School. Eleven contestants competed in this year’s pageant, which celebrated 80 years of the Red Flannel Festival. 

The master of ceremonies for the evening was Cedar Springs High School teacher, David Stuart. He was joined by the 2009 Red Flannel Queen, Jenna Johnson, who returned as hostess. 

The pageant was full of wonderful moments. The contestants all did a wonderful job answering their on stage questions, the 2019 Prince and Princess made an appearance, and even the Keystone Kops got some time in the spotlight. Also, in celebration of the 75th pageant, over 20 past Queens and Court Members attended the pageant wearing their crowns and sashes. All were recognized on stage. There was also a presentation recognizing Cindy Patin, who has volunteered with the Red Flannel Pageant for the past 17 years, most recently as the Queen’s Director. Cindy stepped down this year and leaves behind a wonderful legacy. 

Contestant 6, Nicole Baker, was awarded the Miss Congeniality Award, which is voted on by her fellow contestants. Contestant 11, Bella Mosqueda, the daughter of Patrick and Catreal Walters, was named the 2019 Red Flannel Queen. Named to the Queen’s Court was Contestant 8, Makayla Pierce, the daughter of Thomas and Melinda Pierce; and Contestant 5, Paige Marsman, the daughter of Chad and Teri Marsman. 

The Queen and Court will be presiding over Red Flannel Day, this Saturday, October 5.

For more Red Flannel news… download this week’s Red Flannel POST below

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Post photo by L. Allen.

It was the first Red Flannel Day for this cute little munchkin. Rylee Dines, just one-year-old, and her mom, Rita, had something special to celebrate—Rylee was born on Red Flannel Day last year! All dressed up in long johns and a granny cap, Rylee had a good time taking it all in. 

Although it was a little wet at times, thousands of people still descended on Main Street and the surrounding area for the day and had a great time visiting the many shops, booths, food vendors, marketplace, lumberjack show, carnival rides, playing games, watching the parades and much more. Click here to see more Red Flannel photos.

CORRECTION

On last week’s front page, we ran a photo of a beautiful baby girl, one-year-old Rylee Dines, who was enjoying her first Red Flannel Day. We said that she and her mom, Rita, had something special to celebrate—Rylee was born on Red Flannel Day last year! And it was true, they did have something to celebrate, and she was born on Red Flannel Day last year. However, the woman in the photo, named Rita, was not Rylee’s mom, but her grandma! How were we to know? She looked young enough to be her mom. Has she discovered some type of miracle face cream that melts away the years? We want some of whatever she’s using! We might even invest in this miracle elixir. At any rate, we do apologize to Rita, and to Rylee’s parents—whose names we just learned—Kelly and Matt Dines. Thank you for sharing Rylee with us!

Download this week’s Red Flannel POST for all the coverage of Red Flannel news and events and to view our Red Flannel collage!

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Red Flannel Day is just around the corner on Saturday, October 6. PreK through 8th Graders, are you ready to take “The Red-Reading Challenge?” Our Community’s annual Read-to-Ride program has officially started! You have until October 5 at 6 p.m. to get your (6) hours of reading done and cashed-in at the Cedar Springs Public Library. At that time you will receive your free red ticket to ride a Carnival Ride with Elliott’s Amusements on Friday night, October 5 from 5-9 p.m. or Red Flannel Saturday until 5 p.m. You have all of September, plus five October days, to accomplish this easy-to-do goal. Hurry, there are a limited number of tickets printed each year.

Elliott’s Amusements has been Cedar Springs’ valued reading partner for 12 years now. Michele Andres, former Red Flannel President, pitched the idea to Deb Elliott and the Cedar Springs Library in 2006, and it has been an annual event ever since. We are carrying this tradition forward!  

Red-Reading Logs are available at the Library and online at cedarspringslibrary.org, cityofcedarsprings.org, redflannelfestival.org, and at solontwp.org. Our community sponsors of this year’s Read-to-Ride Program are Clint and Pam Conley, in memory of Pam’s father, Robert Medford. 

by Donna Clark and Sue Wolfe

The asphalt being poured on the walking trail at the Library.

Volunteers continue to work hard to complete the projects around the library and surrounding park areas, which includes the flowers around the stainless steel structure and the native grasses in the rain garden on the south. Naturalists Tom Mabie and Perry Hopkins took oversight of these two projects, gathering most of the native grasses and plants from the area around Cedar Creek, and then babying them to be sure they survived.

From the first days of May to the Grand Opening of the new Library, many good folks from the Community Building Development Team (CBDT) and beyond came together to put in the shrubs, trees, stones and lawn around the Library. An underground watering system on timers has been key in aiding in the growth and stability of the healthy plants and lawn. The system was provided by Dan McIntyre and his company, Splash, and then installed at no extra cost to the Library. Several free visits have been made as adjustments or replacements to sprinklers have been needed.

City Councilor Dan Clark has put in a lot of hours tending to the library grounds.

Councilman Dan Clark has spent many evenings and weekends around the Library and walking path in the surrounding park areas off Main and Pine Streets, hand-mowing the lawn,  edging, checking on the sprinklers, making sure the timers are set right, and cleaning around the new asphalt and placing sod to prevent any washouts. Clark is doing the finishing touches that take a lot of time but really pull things together for a neat and crisp appearance. Also spending many hours toward cleaning up the grounds, trimming bushes, and sweeping sidewalks has been donated by Andy Dipiazza.  The public grounds are really beautiful!

Along the new path you can now see the (36) 10”x8” brass plates inset into the retaining wall blocks. Thanks to Don Snow and his team at CS Tool Engineering, Inc., the plates and engraving are finished, and at no cost to the Library. Thanks to Dale Larson, owner of Northwest Kent Mechanical and his team, 36 plates were installed with great care and precision on September 27 and 28. 

An example of one of the many bricks available to purchase.

The 129 bricks that have sold this past year have arrived and will be installed very soon. With the help of our new DPW Director, David Ducat and his team, and any other volunteers needed, the plan is to install them at the entrance of the new Library. According to Duane McIntyre, foreman of the project, we have 410 places for bricks, depending on the sizes purchased. The sizes offered are the 4×8 for $50 or the 8×8 for $100. On the 4×8 there can be 3 lines of 21 characters, including spaces between words and for the 8×8, 6 lines. These will make wonderful holiday presents! In fact a long-time community person with lots of family and grandchildren recently said she was going to purchase 21 bricks for her family Christmas presents.  

Mayor Gerry Hall and Councilman Perry Hopkins have been assembling the 10 benches purchased through the CBDT. The nameplates will again be engraved under the direction of Don Snow. Memorial and honorary brass plates will be installed on these benches, also. McIntyre and Hopkins will oversee the installing of the benches on various cement slabs around the library and surrounding park area. 

You perhaps noticed the four six foot benches around the clock tower and the sidewalk at the east side of the Library, ready for Red Flannel visitors.  They were in constant use and a very attractive and useful addition to our festivities!

Director Donna Clark was on hand at the library on Red Flannel Day offering tours and information about the vision our community has embraced called, the “Heart of Cedar Springs.” The entire property, going even beyond the edge of Cedar Creek and the White Pine Trail, will be a park-like area, developed and supported through a base constituency of over 100 volunteers and donors, the Community Building Development Team.  

The next project is building an amphitheater along where the White Pine Trail and Cedar Creek meet west of the park property.  A new fundraising campaign has begun. The City of Cedar Springs and the CBDT will work together on submitting an application for a Economic Development Grant for a $50,000 match within the next few weeks. Watch for details soon on how you can get involved. 

It was a gorgeous Red Flannel Day last Saturday, in the 70s and partly cloudy, with a slight breeze. It couldn’t have been better! It did drizzle during the firefighter parade on Friday night, but the rain was over by the time things got underway on Saturday, and thousands of people headed downtown for all the events. 

The Post took photos, but also asked our readers to submit some photos on Facebook, and the two here encapsulate both the joy and agony we all feel on Red Flannel Day! The beautiful baby above was submitted by Tara Stricklen, and the jail photo was submitted by Nicole Black, who said it was taken after her sister in law was arrested by the Keystone Kops. (She got the shirt after being arrested.) See more photos from Red Flannel Day below…

For more photos, visit our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/cedarspringspost/

The Cedar Springs Community Library reverted to the City of Cedar Springs in a signing ceremony Wednesday, August 30. From L to R: Julie Wheeler, notary Independent Bank; Kurt Mabie, Chair of the CBDT; Bob Ellick, Library Board Chair; Gerald Hall, Mayor of Cedar Springs; and Rebecca Newland, Cedar Springs City Clerk. Photo by J. Reed.

By Judy Reed

The ownership of the Cedar Springs Community Library was transferred to the City of Cedar Springs Wednesday in an official signing ceremony at the new Library.

The Community Building Development Team had previously entered an agreement with the City to develop the library on City property, and then sign it over to the City on completion. Both the CBDT and the Library signed a real estate conveyance agreement, quit claim deed, and transfer agreement.

Signing for the CBDT was Chair Kurt Mabie; signing for the Library board was Chair Bob Ellick, who is also Solon Townships Supervisor; and signing for the City of Cedar Springs Mayor Gerald Hall. City Clerk Rebecca Newland was on hand to distribute the paperwork, and Julie Wheeler of Independent Bank served as notary.

The City will now lease the building to the library board.

The new $1.6 million facility was completed in the spring. “This just shows what we can do when we work as a team,” remarked Hall. “We owe a debt of gratitude to a great many people.”

Included are Tom and Claudia Mabie, who donated $300,000 in December of 2006 toward the construction of a new library in an effort to kick start enthusiasm for the project. The signing was an emotional event for Claudia, who has waited a long time to see the library come to fruition. “Cedar Springs is full of kind, caring, hard working people. Good things can and will happen in Cedar Springs,” she said. “Cedar Springs has something to be proud of.”

Other people mentioned included the Holton family for their contributions; Duane McIntyre for his volunteer work; and the dedication of Nugent Builders on the project.

Kurt Mabie said that the next part of the project would be the amphitheatre, which will sit to west of the library. They also hope to have all the bricks in place by Red Flannel Day. There are bricks still available to purchase. You can pick up a brochure at the Library or contact them at 616-696-1910.

Tom Anderson will be the 2017 Grand Marshal of the Red Flannel Festival. Courtesy photo.

By Judy Reed 

The Red Flannel Festival board of directors has chosen Thomas Anderson, a long time Cedar Springs attorney, as the 2017 Grand Marshal for the 78^th annual Red Flannel Festival.

Tom, who is now 82, was born in Grand Rapids, but raised in northern Kent County. He graduated high school from St. Patrick’s, in Parnell, Michigan, which is in Grattan Township. His father was an attorney in Rockford, and Tom decided to open up an office in Cedar Springs. “I knew my father got a lot of business from Cedar Springs, so I thought it would be a good idea,” he explained.

And it was. He opened up his office here in 1961, and continued working until he sold it in 2011—50 years later. During that time, he worked as Cedar Springs City attorney for many years, served as Kent City’s attorney for 30 years, and was attorney for the Village of Morley.

In 1963, Tom began announcing the Red Flannel Parade, and continued through 1990.

In 1962 he became a Rotarian, and has been one now for 55 years. Most years you can find him working at the Rotary Chicken BBQ on Red Flannel Day.

How does Tom feel about being selected as Grand Marshal? “I was surprised,” he said. “I guess it’s a good thing. I thought they had forgotten me.”

Not by a long shot.

“The Festival is extremely proud and thankful for the many years of Tom’s outstanding dedication to the Cedar Springs community,” said Randy VanDuyn, President of the Festival. “It’s very obvious Tom loves the Red Flannel Town, and especially the Red Flannel Festival! The Red Flannel Town is a better place because of his involvement and extraordinary volunteerism!”

Tom’s family also has close ties to Cedar Springs and Red Flannel. His wife, Jean, taught at Cedar Springs Public Schools for 30 years. And the couple’s three children all went to Tri County High School, participated in band all four years, and all marched in the Red Flannel parades.

This year’s Red Flannel Festival weekends will be September 30 and October 7. Anderson will reign this year, the Festival’s 78^th, over the two weekends of the 15th oldest Festival in the state of Michigan, sharing the Red Flannel warmth of our community to visitors and residents.

Rain or shine, FFA members show their dedication to agriculture. Cedar Springs FFA held their annual Fall “Drive Your Tractor to School Day” on September 30. The men and women braved the storm to participate in their favorite event. Over 15 members drove their tractors to school that Friday. Those who drove received a complimentary breakfast featuring FFA made syrup and will be receiving a free t-shirt for participating. Drive Your Tractor to School Day is among the favorite events the club puts on throughout the year.

Along with braving the storm on Friday, many members were also out in the elements Saturday morning, October 1, to make last minute preparations to finish the Red Flannel Day float. With a lot of help through the two weeks prior, the float turned out wonderfully. Red Flannel Day was an exciting opportunity to get members involved with one of the oldest festivals around, with the Cedar Springs FFA chapter being only six years younger than the festival. Thank you to all members who participated in Drive Your Tractor to School Day, and those who worked especially hard on the Red Flannel Day float. Everyone knows that tractors are one of the most distinguishable tools in agriculture; they are staple in many of the FFA’s activities like Harvest Day.

On October 14, the club hosted Harvest Day—a day dedicated to agriculture—for the second grade students at Beach Elementary. While fall is typically associated with picking apples, corn mazes, and celebrating the new season, the club took this time to celebrate agriculture, educate, and have fun with tomorrow’s agriculturists. Each class was picked up by tractor and hay wagon, where they climbed aboard to travel to the corn maze. A big thank you goes out to the tractor drivers, David Schoenborn and Nathan Schoen, for keeping the students safe and smiling while traveling to and from school. Pictures soon followed as the second graders got broken into small groups; each FFA member helper on the wagon was assigned four students to lead. The high school helpers found small groups allowed them to talk and learn more about the students in the short amount of time they had together. As each group entered the FFA corn maze and wandered to its exit, they received an apple and milk as a reward. As they munched their apple and drank their milk, they were able to tour an amazing children’s barnyard put on by FFA members with help from Brayden Bigney. By the smiles on each of their faces, it was evident they had a wonderful time in the maze and the barnyard. The Cedar Springs FFA put hours into planning and setting up this wonderful event. Thank you to to FFA chairperson Madison Strain for heading up the entire event. Each second grade class spent 45 minutes going through the rotation. Before they climbed back on the wagon, each student received a coloring book -it was put together by a club member- all about crops and animals. The smiles on the second grade students showed the success of the event. A big thank you goes out to all who helped and supported the event from around the school and community.

The 2016 Red Flannel Queen Mumina Ciise (top) and court members Madison Case (center) and Kaley Louck (bottom). Photo courtesy of Tim Hindenach.

What started out as a rainy, gloomy, Red Flannel Festival on Friday evening turned into a beautiful Red Flannel Day Saturday.

It was sprinkling during the Firefighter’s parade Friday evening, and rained Friday night and early Saturday morning. But the weather cleared by noon and people came out in droves to climb aboard the Red Flannel Express and experience what Red Flannel Day 2016 had to offer.

People partied into the evening, as there were several options for live music and adult beverages to keep people in town for the evening, including the Red Flannel Festival’s Grand Lodge, the Cedar Springs Brewing Company’s Festival tent, the American Legion, and other local pubs/taverns.

A big thanks to Tim Hindenach for the photo of the Red Flannel Queen, and Randy Tate for the photo of the crowd on the street.

The original Methodist Episcopal Church built on the corner of Main and Church Streets in Cedar Springs. Its cornerstone was laid August 17, 1870 and the church was dedicated June 7, 1871. This newly built Methodist church cost $6000 and was the tallest building north of Grand Rapids in 1871. The spire with the bell tower could be seen for miles.

by Sue Harrison

The roots of religious heritage in Cedar Springs are as deep and long as the history of the people who settled it. No group or community can survive long without some common belief or religions commitment to bind them together.

The very first sermon in Cedar Springs was preached in 1855 by a Methodist Episcopal preacher, Rev. W. W. Johnson, a circuit rider. Those services were held in the little log schoolhouse, which was then located on the southeast corner of Main and Muskegon Streets. A class of eight persons formed and continued to be served by Laphamville Circuit riders. (Laphamville was the original name for Rockford, Mich.)

The Methodist Episcopal Society was organized on October 6, 1866, with Preacher in Charge, Rev Burton Smith, along with four circuit riders who served eight other outposts in the North Kent area. Thus, the Methodist Episcopal Church became the second organized church in Cedar Springs.

This year, 2016, marks a milestone for the Cedar Springs United Methodist Church, which will be celebrating 150 years serving Cedar Springs through Christian worship. As part of its Sesquicentennial celebration, the Cedar Springs United Methodist Church has planned the following events open to the public throughout the summer and fall.

June 25 – Following a week of Vacation Bible School, there will be a Field Day held at Skinner Field with games, bounce house, and face painting. Hot dogs, chips and water will be provided.

July 31 – Hymn Sing and Ice Cream Social held at the church.

August 28 – Tent Revival in Morley Park, with hot dogs, chips, and water served afterward.

Oct. 1 – Red Flannel Day. Parade entry of circuit rider and a horse-drawn float.

Oct. 16 – Jubal Brass Concert at the CS United Methodist Church with a reception following the concert.

Nov. 20 – Rededication of the church cornerstone. Former pastors will be invited. A potluck will be held after the morning church service and before the ceremony.

Donna Clark on her first Red Flannel Day after returning from Israel.

By Judy Reed

When there is community group doing something good in Cedar Springs, there is a good chance that Donna Clark, our town’s head librarian, is a part of it. Her dedicated involvement in the betterment of our community is being recognized with her selection as the 2016 Grand Marshal for the Red Flannel Festival.

“The Festival is extremely proud and thankful for the many years of Donna’s outstanding dedication to the Cedar Springs community,” said Michele Tracy, President of the Festival. “Donna has volunteered for Red Flannel Festival for many years. She is also a great leader in the community, serving as Secretary of the Cedar Springs Rotary Club, 2^nd Vice President of the Cedar Springs Women’s Club and Secretary of the Community Action Network. Donna is also very active as a volunteer for the Community Building Development Team. She has also been the Librarian at the Cedar Springs Public Library for the past 15 years.”

Donna Clark (far right) with the 2015 Red Flannel Queen and Court and Red Flannel Festival President Michele Tracy after announcing Donna would be Grand Marshal of the 2016 Festival.

Donna has a heart for Cedar Springs, and it shows through in everything she does.

“It’s very obvious Donna loves The Red Flannel Town, and especially the Red Flannel Festival!” said Tracy. “This year, with the ground breaking of a new library, is the perfect year to honor Donna for her many years of community service. Her personal volunteerism on the Red Flannel Queen Scholarship Committee and over 10 years of directing the Festival’s “Read to Ride” Program are instrumental to the success of the Festival. The Red Flannel Town is truly a better place because of her exceptional community involvement and extraordinary volunteerism!” said Tracy.

Being selected as Grand Marshal was the last thing Donna expected.

“I was shocked when I heard that I had been named 2016 Red Flannel Festival Grand Marshal,” explained Donna. “My second reaction was to think of others more worthy. I then realized that 2016 is going to be an epic year for the Cedar Springs Public Library as the Community Building Development Team moves to initiate Phase I of their master plan—to build a beautiful, spacious new home for its “Red Flannel Town” Library.

Tentative plans are for the library to begin construction this summer at the corner of Main and W. Maple, near Cedar Creek.

“In 2016 we are trading out 2016 sq. ft. for 9,998 sq. ft. How about that? Our Community Library will also celebrate 80 years since the 1936 millage was voted in to provide stable funding, thanks to the inspiration and hard work of the ‘Clipper Girls’ and others. I share this honor with those who have gone before me and those serving with me today. Let’s celebrate as we ‘Build the Heart of Cedar Springs!’” remarked Donna.

Donna came to Cedar Springs in 1971 from her hometown in Mustang, Oklahoma at the age of 18 to go to the tiny Bible school on Pine Street, Wesleyan Bible Institute. Her pastor, one of the founding members, encouraged four of his local youth to go and study in Cedar Springs. The following year Donna married a talented fellow from Ohio, Dan Clark. WBI was reborn as Jordan College, where Donna eventually graduated and took her credits to Grand Valley State University to graduate with a B.A., certified to teach English to grades 7-12. Donna stayed on at Jordan College and taught a few English-related courses.

Donna thrived here in Cedar Springs, got her education and in 1978, she and Dan started a family. They have four children, Daneille, Shianne, Josh, and Tamar; and two grandchildren, Clark and Oaklee. The couple went to Oklahoma for 10 years, and then lived in Israel for almost 13 years. They returned in November 2000 for Dan to take a job at Creative Technologies Academy.

“Imagine my delight and surprise when 23 years after leaving Cedar Springs for Oklahoma and then almost 13 years in Israel, our family of six ended back here in Cedar Springs! After only two months, a job found me through my Cedar Springs friends from the 70s—the Cedar Springs Public Library! In all we have lived in Cedar Springs for 22 years.”

Donna will reign this year, the Festival’s 77^th, over the two weekends of the 15^th oldest Festival in the state of Michigan, sharing the Red Flannel warmth of our community to visitors and residents. Visit www.redflannelfestival.org to volunteer or for additional information.

Watch the Post for more announcements about the new library, and what to expect at this year’s 2016 Red Flannel Festival.