The South Haven Centennial
From James Donahue’s Diary
When I was a child I remember when folks at my hometown of Harbor Beach, Michigan, staged a centennial celebration of the town’s 100-year anniversary. During my years of reporting I was around to watch and cover similar events in other communities around Michigan. I grew up with a keen interest in history, and discovered that most newspapers either maintained a library of old newspapers or kept a record of publications on microfilm. And reading microfilm became a most interesting pastime.
While living and working in South Haven, I did not neglect researching the local library’s microfilm files. My main focus at that time was a search for information about the strange number of “Indian mounds” and “garden beds” found by the early settlers that moved on the land. But one winter day, early in the year 1968, I came upon an interesting discovery. The City of South Haven was incorporated as a village in 1868, exactly one hundred years earlier.
I took this information to Ad Roberts, the director of the South Haven Chamber of Commerce, and suggested that the city put on a big centennial during the summer. Roberts was interested but said he didn’t think there was enough time to prepare for such an event. Because of my persistence, Roberts set up a meeting of all business leaders, club and civic organizations at the high school auditorium. That meeting was packed, and there was a lot of interest expressed, but nobody seemed willing to take charge and run with it. It was suggested that the Chamber hire a professional planner to do the ground work.
The day after that meeting I went into Roberts’ office and asked what he thought was going to be done. He shook his head and said he didn’t think there was going to be a centennial because there were no volunteers to start the ball rolling. I remember that moment. I was so personally enthused I told him we were going to have a centennial if I had to do it myself. I asked if he would get involved if I put a committee together. He said he would.
As busy as I was in those days, I must have been a little crazy to jump into something like that. But I did it. I saw Tom Renner at the fire hall later that day and asked him if he would be interested in serving on such a committee. He thought it was a great idea and jumped right in. We contacted the reporter at the local radio station and got him on our committee. Somehow Tom also brought in Ed Stieve, one of the brothers who operated two service stations in the area. Ed became the fifth member of our centennial committee.
We knew we had to move fast to get an event like that organized and make it work within the next few months. Armed with a budget of several thousand dollars approved by the City Council and Chamber of Commerce, we held our first meeting at the Aldo Hotel. That became our center of operations from that day on. We held breakfast meetings every day, exchanging ideas and establishing one-man committees to take on various projects. Perhaps because I started the ball rolling they elected me chairman.
The first idea we had was that we could hold our centennial at the same time a new pleasure boat marina under construction by the state was expected to be completed. That was to happen on or about the Fourth of July. That led to inviting Michigan Governor William Milliken to town to speak during grand opening ceremonies. It was an exciting day when he accepted. From there we moved to having a showboat with local talent performing on the Black River.
I contacted Doris’s nephew, Dave Babcock, a member of a state steam tractor club, and he put us in touch with a club in our area. We ended up with a whole field filled with operating steam powered tractors, oil pulls and other antique machines that was a show in itself. The operators even staged a special parade through the downtown area.
We contacted all of the clubs and church groups in town, and I think every one of them came up with a project of their own. We had a week of celebrations, with morning breakfasts, special demonstrations, a garden show, an art show, a gala parade with floats and marching bands, a beard contest and just about anything else we could think of to commemorate a century celebration. We opened a special store in a vacant downtown building where we sold t-shirts, old-time hats, women’s dresses, moustache wax, coffee mugs, and anything else commemorating our event.
The local blueberry growers got involved. The growing and production of blueberries is a major industry in Southwestern Michigan. They wanted in on our gala affair and we were happy to have them. We managed to promote blueberries everywhere food was served, and there were a lot of food venders operating in South Haven that week. People ate blueberry pancakes for breakfast and blueberry pie at just about every meal.
A private helicopter pilot offered to set up a landing pad in town and give rides over the city throughout the week.
The whole affair developed so fast and was getting so big it almost scared us. One day we decided to buy some liability insurance on ourselves in the event anything went wrong, such as a stream tractor blowing up or the helicopter crashing. For a while we each had a million dollar insurance policy on our heads.
We rented a large mobile home that was parked on a vacant lot on Main Street. We set up a public office there. Of course, all of us, as committee members, grew full beards and bought special old-time costumes so we fit right in with the celebration. We all wore special jackets with red and white stripes that set us apart as members of the centennial committee. As chairman of the committee, I was invited with Ad Roberts to appear on Kalamazoo television one evening to promote our celebration. That was my first and only appearance on television.
As the big week approached, the weather forecast was ominous. Severe thunderstorms were predicted to sweep Southwestern Michigan. The opening event was to occur on a Sunday morning with an interfaith prayer meeting conducted in a century-old vacant church that was located within a block of the downtown area. The old church had been opened up, cleaned and some redecorating done in preparation for the occasion. That morning I asked that everybody pray that the rain storms go around South Haven, and that we would have nice weather for our centennial. That was the community prayer that morning. And the most amazing thing happened. The storm clouds loomed, the sky looked ominous almost every afternoon. But the rain always went either north or south of South Haven. There was only one rain and that happened during the big parade. It soaked the floats, old cars and marching bands, but it didn’t spoil a thing. All-in-all, we had one heck of a centennial celebration.
The whole affair was such a success the town held another one the following year, long after I was gone. They made it an annual event, calling it the South Haven Blueberry Festival. At the time of this writing that city is still holding what is now called the National Blueberry Festival. I laugh when I see their promotions because I was the guy who started it. Not too many people are there now who have any idea who I am.
From James Donahue’s Diary
When I was a child I remember when folks at my hometown of Harbor Beach, Michigan, staged a centennial celebration of the town’s 100-year anniversary. During my years of reporting I was around to watch and cover similar events in other communities around Michigan. I grew up with a keen interest in history, and discovered that most newspapers either maintained a library of old newspapers or kept a record of publications on microfilm. And reading microfilm became a most interesting pastime.
While living and working in South Haven, I did not neglect researching the local library’s microfilm files. My main focus at that time was a search for information about the strange number of “Indian mounds” and “garden beds” found by the early settlers that moved on the land. But one winter day, early in the year 1968, I came upon an interesting discovery. The City of South Haven was incorporated as a village in 1868, exactly one hundred years earlier.
I took this information to Ad Roberts, the director of the South Haven Chamber of Commerce, and suggested that the city put on a big centennial during the summer. Roberts was interested but said he didn’t think there was enough time to prepare for such an event. Because of my persistence, Roberts set up a meeting of all business leaders, club and civic organizations at the high school auditorium. That meeting was packed, and there was a lot of interest expressed, but nobody seemed willing to take charge and run with it. It was suggested that the Chamber hire a professional planner to do the ground work.
The day after that meeting I went into Roberts’ office and asked what he thought was going to be done. He shook his head and said he didn’t think there was going to be a centennial because there were no volunteers to start the ball rolling. I remember that moment. I was so personally enthused I told him we were going to have a centennial if I had to do it myself. I asked if he would get involved if I put a committee together. He said he would.
As busy as I was in those days, I must have been a little crazy to jump into something like that. But I did it. I saw Tom Renner at the fire hall later that day and asked him if he would be interested in serving on such a committee. He thought it was a great idea and jumped right in. We contacted the reporter at the local radio station and got him on our committee. Somehow Tom also brought in Ed Stieve, one of the brothers who operated two service stations in the area. Ed became the fifth member of our centennial committee.
We knew we had to move fast to get an event like that organized and make it work within the next few months. Armed with a budget of several thousand dollars approved by the City Council and Chamber of Commerce, we held our first meeting at the Aldo Hotel. That became our center of operations from that day on. We held breakfast meetings every day, exchanging ideas and establishing one-man committees to take on various projects. Perhaps because I started the ball rolling they elected me chairman.
The first idea we had was that we could hold our centennial at the same time a new pleasure boat marina under construction by the state was expected to be completed. That was to happen on or about the Fourth of July. That led to inviting Michigan Governor William Milliken to town to speak during grand opening ceremonies. It was an exciting day when he accepted. From there we moved to having a showboat with local talent performing on the Black River.
I contacted Doris’s nephew, Dave Babcock, a member of a state steam tractor club, and he put us in touch with a club in our area. We ended up with a whole field filled with operating steam powered tractors, oil pulls and other antique machines that was a show in itself. The operators even staged a special parade through the downtown area.
We contacted all of the clubs and church groups in town, and I think every one of them came up with a project of their own. We had a week of celebrations, with morning breakfasts, special demonstrations, a garden show, an art show, a gala parade with floats and marching bands, a beard contest and just about anything else we could think of to commemorate a century celebration. We opened a special store in a vacant downtown building where we sold t-shirts, old-time hats, women’s dresses, moustache wax, coffee mugs, and anything else commemorating our event.
The local blueberry growers got involved. The growing and production of blueberries is a major industry in Southwestern Michigan. They wanted in on our gala affair and we were happy to have them. We managed to promote blueberries everywhere food was served, and there were a lot of food venders operating in South Haven that week. People ate blueberry pancakes for breakfast and blueberry pie at just about every meal.
A private helicopter pilot offered to set up a landing pad in town and give rides over the city throughout the week.
The whole affair developed so fast and was getting so big it almost scared us. One day we decided to buy some liability insurance on ourselves in the event anything went wrong, such as a stream tractor blowing up or the helicopter crashing. For a while we each had a million dollar insurance policy on our heads.
We rented a large mobile home that was parked on a vacant lot on Main Street. We set up a public office there. Of course, all of us, as committee members, grew full beards and bought special old-time costumes so we fit right in with the celebration. We all wore special jackets with red and white stripes that set us apart as members of the centennial committee. As chairman of the committee, I was invited with Ad Roberts to appear on Kalamazoo television one evening to promote our celebration. That was my first and only appearance on television.
As the big week approached, the weather forecast was ominous. Severe thunderstorms were predicted to sweep Southwestern Michigan. The opening event was to occur on a Sunday morning with an interfaith prayer meeting conducted in a century-old vacant church that was located within a block of the downtown area. The old church had been opened up, cleaned and some redecorating done in preparation for the occasion. That morning I asked that everybody pray that the rain storms go around South Haven, and that we would have nice weather for our centennial. That was the community prayer that morning. And the most amazing thing happened. The storm clouds loomed, the sky looked ominous almost every afternoon. But the rain always went either north or south of South Haven. There was only one rain and that happened during the big parade. It soaked the floats, old cars and marching bands, but it didn’t spoil a thing. All-in-all, we had one heck of a centennial celebration.
The whole affair was such a success the town held another one the following year, long after I was gone. They made it an annual event, calling it the South Haven Blueberry Festival. At the time of this writing that city is still holding what is now called the National Blueberry Festival. I laugh when I see their promotions because I was the guy who started it. Not too many people are there now who have any idea who I am.