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MaryAnn Moeller Day Marked with
Dedication of Heritage Trail Marker and
Opening of the Community Bulletin Board
Photos by Larry Cummins |
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MaryAnn Moeller prepares to cut
the ribbon officially opening the Heritage Trail marker recently
installed in the Green Space.
(l to r) Jim Suerth, Jim Lytle, Elice Menear, Mark Schrock and
MaryAnn Moeller |
Walla! It's done. |
by MaryAnn Moeller
The Allegan County Heritage Trail came from an all day
brainstorming meeting in June 1999. Those attending were people in
the tourist industry and representatives of the governmental units
throughout the county.
John Pahl and Kit Lane brought the idea to the group and it was
believed to be a good, doable project. The roads were in place and
it would take a minimal amount of money to establish a trail. Jan
Cushman from Otsego, volunteered to chair a committee and work
began.
Several approaches were discussed and many hours were spent
surveying agriculture, craft and tourist related businesses. It was
decided that it was not practical to have more than one hundred
sites. We finally agreed that we should highlight the historic
sites, towns, cities and special places of interest.
Following many hours of driving different routes by Jan and others
on the committee, a plan was formed. Funds from the Allegan County
Tourist Consul allowed the hiring of professionals to assist in the
production of the booklet and CD. These are available at all the
libraries and at most village and city offices.
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The Allegan County
Community Foundation donated $1,000.00 toward the printing of the
booklets. The trail officially opened at the Iron Bridge in Allegan
with a ribbon cutting in May 2003.
Several people throughout the county recorded information to be put
on the CD for driving instruction and information. More meetings
were held to work on the style, content, size, color, placement and
other details for the interpretive panels.
The first one of fourteen panels was placed in the green space next
to the post office in Fennville on June 7, 2007. The panel and
placement was paid for by the Fennville Downtown Development
Authority. It is hoped that all the panels will be installed by the
end of July.
This was a long process and I do not believe it could have been
done without the dedication of Jan Cushman. Most meetings were held
at her home and she always had a special lunch for all. There were
many committee people who were a great help to her including Kevin
Ricco of the Allegan County Tourist Consul and Bill Nelson of the
Allegan County Road Commission. |
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John Pahl, longtime resident of
Fennville and member of the Heritage Trail board, relates background
stories to those attending the dedication. |
Jim Lytle prepares to cut the ribbon
officially opening the new kiosk that will serve as the community
bulletin board. (l to r) Elice Menear, Tony Morgan, Jim Lytle, Lisa
Shaffer and Mark Schrock |
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Mark Schrock assists town
treasurer Lisa Shaffer in posting the first notices on the community
Kiosk. |
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