Blossomtime Festival: A Life that Blossoms

By Annette Christie

The 2017 Blossomtime Festival officially kicked off Sunday, April 30 with the Blessing of the Blossoms event at the MSU Extension Office in Benton Harbor.

“B” FOR BLOSSOMS… Tri-City royalty participated in the Blessing of the Blossoms Sun-day afternoon to kick off the Blossomtime Festival. Pictured (from the left) are: Miss Coloma Cassidy Fickett, Miss Blossomtime Kaylee Chapin of Watervliet, Mr. Blossomtime Hunter Ackerman of Hartford, and Miss Hartford Mariel Hallgren. (TCR photo by Annette Chris-tie

A procession was held through the event center with all the local royalty brandishing blossoms from their respective communities. A history of the event was given providing an overview of how the event began. The Blossomtime Festival is the largest multi-community festival in the state.

As early as 1891, local area business interests took a proactive role in attracting visitors to Southwest Michigan with their promotion to the Chicago market. Hundreds of visitors made their way across Lake Michigan with the local steamship company.

In 1906, Rev. W.J. Cady of the First Congregational Church in Benton Harbor was the first to urge his parishioners to drive through the local orchards to take in all the beauty of the fruit blossoms. Cady termed them “symbols of life renewed” and his sermon is credited with the birth of Blossomtime Festival.

On Sunday, Pastor Corey Kugel with the Chapel provided a similar reading, reminding those present that it is easy to miss the beauty all around us this time of year with our busy schedules and running from one event to another, but that it was important to live a life that blossoms, much like the season’s agriculture before us. Kugel referred to Psalm 1, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law, day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”

Kugel thanked the farmers for all of their hard work and for their skill which helps to create this season of beauty in Southwest Michigan.

Following the blessing of the blossoms, community royalty did an exchange of their blossoms. Mr. Blossomtime Hunter Ackerman of Hartford and Miss Blossomtime Kaylee Chapin of Watervliet were among those that exchanged blossoms with each other.

The annual baseball game with the House of David team was cancelled due to the weather. There is another one scheduled during the week of the Berrien County Youth Fair.

Community royalty begin a week full of festivities. They will be traveling all over Southwest Michigan for the Goodwill tour, where kings and queens will tour the communities. These tours will include stops at elementary & middle schools and assisted living facilities.

The Mayors Banquet will be held Tuesday at the Lake Michigan College Grand Upton Hall. This event includes all mayors, village presidents, city managers and officials of the respective communities. The gathering gives all the dignitaries the opportunity to present the keys to their cities to their respective royalty.

In addition, the presentation of the queens’ charm bracelets is held. The history of the charm bracelet exchange began over 40 years ago. The bracelet includes charms with each queen’s photo in it. The community chairpersons make this presentation.

The Youth Parade will be held on Thursday at Dickinson Stadium at St. Joseph High School. Youngsters from preschool through middle school participate in this event that starts at 5:00 p.m. It annually includes floats, bands, scout troops, 4-H groups, and the younger Blossomtime royalty.

Saturday morning brings the Run/Walk for the Buds event. In its 38th year, it has a 10K run and a 5K run/walk. It begins at 10:30 a.m. near the corners of Main and Ship streets in downtown St. Joseph and takes place along the Blossomtime Festival Parade route before the parade begins.

To register online, visit www.blossomtimefestival.org and select the Run for the Buds drop-down box. The entry fee is $25 for adults and $15 for youth 14 and under. Adult registration increases to $30 after May 3.

The highlight of the week will be Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. with the Blossomtime Grand Floral Parade. The 111th parade will feature 114 units.

Retired Blossomtime Festival worker Joyce Vance will be the Grand Marshal for the 2017 parade.

Tri-City communities brought home awards last year and hope for a repeat of their success. The community of Hartford was the big winner in 2016 by receiving the Sweepstakes Award for the second year in a row. The award is given for the most outstanding float concept and artistic merit of: theme, color, animation, beauty, and floral display.

The community of Watervliet won the Mayors Award. The award is given for the float exhibiting excellence in presenting the Festival Theme. This year’s theme is “If it begins with a B….It Must Be Blossomtime.”

Other awards up for grabs are the King’s Award for the most outstanding tow unit and the best concept of overall theme and creativity; the President’s Award for the float that is the second highest overall, for having the best concept of imagination and creativity in developing their presentation; the Queen’s Award for exceptional beauty and dramatic impact; the Twin Cities’ Award for best display and floral craftsmanship of live flowers and blossoms; the Board of Director’s Award for the float having the most outstanding costumed characters that add to the float presentation; the Chairman’s Award for the most creative and impressive use of animation and movement; and the Parade Committee’s Award for the best presentation and use of color and color harmony.

The premier event which is the crown jewel of the festival attracts approximately 250,000 spectators and travels 2.5 miles through the community of St. Joseph and into the community of Benton Harbor.

Vanderlyn Community Center million dollar infusion breathes new life into idled Red Arrow Elementary building

Library, Senior Services & Adult Ed slated as tenants

By Jon Bisnett

When Hartford voters narrowly approved the recent school construction bond many expressed deep concerns over the disposition of the Red Arrow Elementary building to be idled at the close of the school year this June. “Who might buy it? – How would the property be maintained? – Would it fall into disrepair? – Hope they don’t tear it down? At what cost?”… On and on the list of questions went.

But with vision for the good of the community and the philanthropic checkbook to back it up, the coming of the new Arthur and Bonna Vanderlyn Community Center now stands to preserve the integrity of an iconic Main Street building fueled with new purpose to the better serve of the community.

“Who would have ever thought we’d still be here after all these years,” mused Bonna during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of her local Harding’s store back in 2013, then went on to reveal the secret, “It was all about following Art’s dream.”

The Dream

A young, ambitious Art Vanderlyn graduated high school at the age of just 17. Back in those days it was tough to find work if you weren’t 18, but Art found a job with the Hartford Kroger Grocery. Starting at the bottom as just a kid, the hard working Vanderlyn found himself with a real knack for the grocery business, quickly became a rising star and in his early 20s moved up to be one of, if not the youngest Kroger store manager in the entire country.

Enjoying the moderate success of his hard work, the young Vanderlyn married the love of his life, a petite local farm gal named Bonna Modro. The pair went on to build a modest home in the City of Hartford, where Bonna still lives today.

Around that same time another grocer some 40 miles to the east was building the foundation of his business.

Mel Harding opened his first store in the small town of Parchment, built on a simple business practice. “Customers deserve the best possible service provided by friendly employees.” So there’s where that familiar phrase “Harding’s Friendly Markets” came from.

Harding along with partner Herb Corum laid the groundwork for the Southwest Michigan supermarket empire known today as the Harding’s West Corporation. The shrewd duo used their business savvy to recruit the top general managers from their primary competitor, national retailer Kroger. In 1962 the wily Harding offered youthful Vanderlyn the opportunity to build and run the Watervliet store. Then in 1963 Art built the Hartford store and the young Vanderlyns stayed on post to work together managing their hometown store.

The duo worked side by side for several years, building their business until the late 60s when Art was diagnosed with cancer (malignant melanoma,) and died in 1970 at the age of only 40. Devastated with the loss of her best friend and business partner, that simple gal from the country now found herself at a crossroads. “It would have been so easy to just walk way,” says Bonna, “But I just couldn’t let Art’s dream die with him. Then one day Mel Harding came to visit me about five years after Art was gone. We sat in Mel’s car while he gave me advice on the business and then out of the blue offered me the chance to purchase the Hartford store outright. Looking back, I think I made the right decision,” she winked.

Red Arrow School

The building now known as Red Arrow Elementary dates back to an original construction date of 1960. A major remodel took place in 1975 adding to the land-locked building footprint and removing partitioning for the open-classroom trend of the times as a K-5 building.

As fact-finding teams would eventually determine in the recent bond initiative, it was no longer cost effective to spend roughly a million taxpayer dollars to replace a roof and update mechanicals on a building already overcrowded and land-locked preventing any real future expansion. Bus safety has been an issue for years as well. Amid a quiet insurrection of emotional connections to the aging structure, the reality that all K-5 students would move to the new $10 million remodeled Woodside site was eventually embraced, while at the same time striking the final blow to predict the end for the Red Arrow property.

Fast forward

Just earlier this year the Berrien Community Foundation announced two perpetual Hartford scholarships funded by the Vanderlyn Estate plan. The same legal team who orchestrated the scholarships on the Vanderlyn Estate’s behalf, reached out to the community via estate co-executor Scott Smith in search of any additional philanthropic projects that would benefit the town Art and Bonna called home for all these years.

Smith bounced the Vanderlyn Community Center idea around informally with a few local leaders as one conversation led to another until formal discussions involving the Hartford Public Schools and the City of Hartford brought the first formal presentation to an equally land-locked Hartford Public Library in search of options. Executive Director Stephanie Daniels candidly admits they have been out of room for the better part of five years, and despite looking at multiple expansion scenarios, the financial means are just not available. Library staff and board of trustees recently toured the Red Arrow building coming out with a very positive impression as to finding a solution to their needs for expansion. Summer youth programs particularly strain the library at its current location often falling victim to the whims of Mother Nature when overflow forces them outdoors.

The library board and staff toured the building which then prompted the board to schedule a special meeting on Tuesday, April 25 to discuss the matter. Without much debate the board voted unanimously to send a letter of interest to Superintendent Hubbard in what Board Chairman James Jonatzke called “resounding support” to pursue relocation.

Van Buren County Senior Services has been shopping around for a centrally located facility to host its various senior day programs and also facilitate its meal distribution. The Red Arrow building has not only classrooms that will soon be vacant, but also a multi-purpose room/gymnasium and a commercial kitchen.

Executive Director Jennifer Carver and Assistant Director Diane Rigozzi recently toured the building. “In a word I’d say ‘excited,’” said Carver. The director went on to say the location is highly desirable for distribution of the VBCSS meals program. The pair will submit their findings to their board of directors with expectations of executing a letter of intent within the next 30 days.

Hartford Public Schools Adult Education program seeks an off-site location as well.

Superintendent Andy Hubbard is quick to point out “There is a ton of detail to be worked out as to the various players’ needs and roles, but unlike most community concepts like this, the funds are already committed by the Vanderlyn Estate. Up to $1 million has been allocated to infrastructure, roofing, mechanicals, ADA compliance, additional parking, landscaping, signage and the like. We already have good engineering data in terms of existing issues with the building that require attention through the bond process we already performed. I’m excited to see a repurposing that will have a broad reach to the whole community. With funds to rehab the building in place and potential tenants that are both millage-driven, there is little doubt that one way or another this community center will come together.”

Hubbard is no stranger to the design and construction process as a result of overseeing the recent bond work performed by the school district. With a steering committee already in place, and the infusion of the million dollar Vanderlyn donation, the district is well prepared to assess needs and assign priorities to bring the building back to tip-top shape before handing the keys over to the City of Hartford who is planning to manage the ongoing use of the facility.

City Manager Yemi Akinwale is excited about the possibilities the refurbished building will offer. In addition to the three non-profits that have identified initial interest, Akinwale says the building has enough space to perhaps offer office or retail space as well. A small business incubator would certainly not be out of the question. A “community room” might also be included for use for everything from meetings to wedding showers and birthday parties.

Once the formal lines are drawn for the various organizations occupying the complex, Akinwale will work with District Business Manager Mike Hallgren to develop an ongoing maintenance plan and create lease agreements to generate the necessary revenue to cover future expenses and protect the city from any financial liability in owning the building.

As the primary anchor organizations visit and evaluate the site, each of course must formally sign on to the facility plan. In a nutshell the million dollar commitment should handle all mechanical, roofing and parking along with a fresh coat of paint here and there and ADA compliance upgrades reported Hubbard. The naming rights to the building goes without saying and will be prominently displayed with new signage that hopes to include an electronic message board on the property’s north border on Red Arrow Highway. 14,000 cars a day travel that road says Akinwale, who feels it’s a great way to let the world know what’s happening in Hartford. Question still remains as to whether the school district retains ownership or passes the building to the city for long term management.

A project of this magnitude is usually estimated to require 6 to 12 months to plan and receive bids plus another year to complete putting a target sometime late in 2019.

Retrospective

Back in 2013 on the occasion of Miss Bonna’s 82nd birthday, this reporter wrote the following: “Though we never know exactly what the future may bring and when, I just have a feeling this savvy little businesswoman has a plan in place that will preserve the Vanderlyn legacy of hometown values and friendly service and gratitude long after she is gone.”

Now as the undisputed Tri-Cities’ Queen of Retail enters her twilight years, it is with the full knowledge and feeling of contentment that she and her beloved Art will forever have left their mark on the hearts of those small-town folks that supported their remarkable success all these years. Thank you, Aunt Bonna. You’re truly one in a million.