TYRONE GLEANINGS 2015 Apr-June

TYRONE GLEANINGS
Volume 29 Issue 123
Apr-May-June 2015
Ione’s Community News:
Tyrone Township Area Museum is moving right along- thanks to some new and younger members
with lots of enthusiasm and knowledge. Ed Morgan is back from living in California for a number of
years. He has as much knowledge of our area as we do, actually more- so he is our historian.
Karen Seites is our information coordinator, meaning a lot of decision making and bringing our files
up to speed. Karen Barnum is helping her and Amy Veenendall is our web designer and
researcher. Gayla Thomas is still helping me put our Gleanings Newsletter together. All I do is
gather the info and Gayla does the rest and has been for a number of years. Nita Kaminski is our
President and she is busy working on placement of new artifacts that have been found. Our
librarian, Liz, is always helpful for things we need and adds another layer to our group.
We meet every Thursday morning from 10:00am until about noon. This is our workshop meeting
but the museum is open during that time as well. Of course we have our regular meeting the
second Tuesday of each month at 1:00pm in the museum. This is a good time for conversation,
keeping our members moving ahead and of course- coffee. Everyone is invited!
We do have a lot of local artifacts. There are a lot of framed pictures (thanks to Maynard) and a
great amount of pictures and information all of which can be duplicated at anyone’s request.
We have a couple of great new ways to share our information. If you (or someone you know) are
computer orientated- check out facebook- “You know you grew up in Kent City.” Ed posts every
day for all to read and/or comment on. AND we have a website now thanks to Amy V. The
address is: kentcityareahistoricalgroup.com. We are just getting information posted which takes a
lot of time so it’s a work in progress. There will be obituaries available along with lots of other
interesting info. Check it out! We are excited and hope you are too.
Enjoy this quarter’s edition- we have Sandy Wylie’s story along with pictures which will definitely
bring back lots of memories for many folks.
Please mark your 2015 calendar for the following meetings at 1:00pm
April 14th, May 12th, June 9th
Doug & LaRaine
SEITES SERVICE
My family moved to Kent City in 1951 from
Muskegon. My mom, LaRaine Seites, and her
dad, Cliff Cooper, worked for a large dry
cleaners and they always talked about having
their own business. So when they heard about
Bill and Nellie having a store for sale, they
purchased it. The business became known as
Seites Service. The building included a small
grocery store, a gas & service station and a dry
cleaners.
THE GROCERY STORE
People probably remember the grocery store most for the famous pickled bologna and the big
wheel of cheese on top of the meat case. Lots of customers asked for the recipe for the pickled
bologna- but there was none- just good planning on Mom’s part. Mom bought it from Farmer
Peet’s Meat Co. and stocked it way ahead so by the time it was purchased, it had really been
pickling for a long time in a big barrel shaped glass jar. It was a big draw and a money-maker.
Of course, the younger
customers will remember the
huge candy barrel full of
wrapped penny candy. Mom
would try to buy as big of a
variety as the wholesale
house had, to surprise the
kids. Maggie and I got the
“job” of bagging some into
tiny brown paper bags,
marking 5 or 10 cents on
them and sealing them with
one staple. We made
mistakes on purpose
sometimes to give the kids
an extra piece.
THE GAS AND SERVICE STATION
My dad, George Douglass “Doug” Seites, ran the service gas and service station. The station
offered gas and oil changes, tire repair and detailing for the Kent City Ford Garage. Dad still
worked second shift in Muskegon at Dresser/Budget Co. as a crane operator, so my sister and I
were in charge and pumped gas after school at the gas and service station. We knew better than
to forget to check oil and wash windshields or Dad would let us know! Probably half of the teen
boys in Kent City worked for him at some point. He took them under his wing and kept them from
(or got them out of) trouble.
THE DRY CLEANERS
My Grandparents, Cliff &
Hazel Cooper, ran the dry
cleaners until he died one
Thanksgiving and they
closed it down. Later the
space- where the dry
cleaners had been- would
be a family apartment and
today it is the Red Rock
Café.
The dry cleaners became
an apartment when we sold our house on Clover St. The buyer, Pete Cavanaugh, needed a place
to live quickly. My mom sold it to him and told my dad when he got home from work! With the help
of about ten brother-in-laws and friends, within 3 weeks we had a nice 3 bedroom apartment where
the dry cleaners had been. Now, the apartment is the Red Rock Café. My folk’s bedroom was
where the round table sits now at the Red Rock. The only thing in the same place is the bathroom,
too hard to change the plumbing, I guess!
1960
MEMORIES OF MOM
Mom set a good example for us by being on the election board for many years. She taught us to
work hard and give back when we are able. Mom loved to paint and wallpaper and work made her
happy. Probably- being the eldest of 12- she learned that early.
My brother, Morrie Seites, and I both followed her
example. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to
be on the village council for a while. Morrie became
a trustee and village president. He was
instrumental in helping create a program to help
fund the 1998 Sewer Improvement Project which
replaced 90% of the main sewer lines. It was called
the Building Sewer Replacement Program and most
of the residents took advantage of this program.
These are just a few memories of a kid that grew up
in Kent City and came back after 20 years away. I
returned knowing that Kent City was a great place
to grow-up in and grow-old in. People have good
‘ole country values and friendships that last forever
and are always helping each other, generation after
generation.
-Submitted by Sandy Wylie
Doug & Morrie
Coming up next in our quarterly issue we
will be taking a look into the history of
Block School and a reminder of our local
celebration in September- Kent City Fall
Festival.
--The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don’t
know what you’re doing, someone else does.
--Women over 50 don’t have babies because they would put them
down and forget where they left them.
--I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are:
eating too much, impulse buying and driving too fast. Are they
kidding? That is my idea of a PERFECT DAY!