05-14-2020 Bonna Vanderlyn’s service to Hartford Community will live on;

Bonna Vanderlyn’s service to Hartford Community will live on

By Jon Bisnett At her home, on the quiet Tuesday morning of May 5, Bonna Jean Vanderlyn slipped her earthly bonds as quietly as she lived. As graduate of Hartford High in 1949, with her passing at age 88, Bonna leaves a legacy that will always remain in the hearts and minds of the small town she loved so deeply. United Methodist Church Pastor Stephanie Norton remembered her as “a hard worker, diligent and smart. Her trademarks were strength and kindness,” at the small private ceremony held the following Saturday. Members of the Hartford Fire Department saluted their friend and benefactor with an American Flag flown from Ladder # 1841, (a truck she purchased when the HFD had the need,) known affectionately as the Miss Bonna, as members of the department carried her coffin to its final resting place in Maple Hill Cemetery. “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, whom 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 met the love of his life, a petite local farm gal named Bonna Modro. Bonna then worked as a stenographer at an office of the State of Michigan on Main Street and Art would walk by her window each day to make the Kroger bank deposit. One thing led to another and they were hitched. The pair went on to build a modest home in the City of Hartford, where Bonna still lived.

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 what would eventually become the Southwest Michigan supermarket empire known today as the Harding’s West Corporation of which Bonna became one of the founding seven stockholders. 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. In 2013 Bonna told this reporter, “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. Apparently, it was solid advice from ol’ Mel Harding as evidenced by the golden anniversary of the store. Bonna highly valued her advisors throughout her life also including retired Harding’s CEO Bryan Hettinghouse and Hartford’s own Cocky Walker. Under Bonna’s leadership, Harding’s has always been a good neighbor, employer and benefactor to the community. Literally hundreds of area kids got their first real paycheck signed by Miss Bonna, long before McDonald’s came to town. Kind and generous as she was, it’s not to say she wasn’t a tough boss in her heyday. Though physically small in stature, the boss had no problem showing the door to those who “just couldn’t cut the mustard”. Bonna simply demanded excellence from all her staff. Nothing more… nothing less.

Giving back Following Mel Harding’s credo of friendly service, Bonna’s store has been a soft-spoken unassuming titan of philanthropy in the area. Support for the Hartford Public Schools, Animal Aid and the Hartford Fire Department lead a list of so many she won’t even admit. Her success she attributed to the thousands of loyal customers that shopped the Hartford Harding’s for years and years. Bonna never was flashy. Never a fancy house or lavish vacations, save just one guilty pleasure, her Lincoln Town Car. In many ways one could say that Bonna never measured the wealth she accumulated in life with dollar signs or a bank balance, but more bask in the luxury to help others with her fortune. Bonna’s love of animals was obvious and led to her support of many associated causes. Over the years she was honored as an Honorary Member of the Lions Club, and Fire Department, in addition Founding Member of the Hartford Foundation for Quality Education. Most recently the family trust she established bore fruit in annual, perpetual high school senior and adult learner scholarships. Her ultimate gift to the community came in a gift in excess of $1 million to create the Art & Bonna Vanderlyn Community Center which will serve as the new home of the Hartford Public Library.

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 has left this mortal plane to be reunited with her beloved Art, the pair will forever have left their mark on the hearts of those small-town folks that supported their remarkable success all these years. God’s speed, Miss Bonna… You were truly one in a million. A celebration of life will be held at the Hartford United Methodist Church as soon as Stay at Home restrictions are lifted. Memorials may be made to the Art and Bonna Vanderlyn Community Center c/o the Hartford Public Library.

Watervliet Library 3rd Monday Book Club stays home!

Watervliet District Library’s first online book club event will take place Monday, May 18 at 7 p.m. This month’s book, Virgil Wander by Leif Enger, is available for unlimited downloads on OverDrive, an online library free to any registered patron. Library staff is able to remotely register anyone without a card and get them set up with an OverDrive account. Third Monday Book Club will meet using the Zoom platform. All that’s required of participants is internet or phone access and an email account. Anyone wishing to participate can notify the library by email at info@wdlib.org or through Facebook. To speak with a staff member, call the library and listen for the prompts at 463-6382. Weekly Facebook programming schedule Make-It Monday @ Home, May 18: Ideas to prompt kid builders and creators, using household items or toys. Post and share photos of the results! This week’s suggested building project: Homework project Shout Out. Have your kids done something cool for school? Finished a packet project? Post a photo on the library’s Facebook page for a round of applause. Trivia Tuesday, May 19: How well do you know… just about anything? This week’s topic: Michigan weather. Three questions on people’s favorite subject to complain about! Correct answers will be shared the following Tuesday. Celebrity Story Times on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.: Each week a celebrity author reads a favorite children’s book online. This week Chris O’Dowd reads Arnie the Doughnut by Laurie Keller. Friday Free Reads: Library director Sharon Crotser-Toy shares the latest news in online books not-to-be-missed, all available through OverDrive, starting May 15 at 1 p.m. Foodie Friday: A lot of people are home cooking up a storm! Share a photo and recipe because the staff is home cooking, too! They’ll throw in some fun foodie-fiction suggestions, for dessert. Saturday Story Times, live! Look for details in the coming week, beginning May 23 at 10 a.m. Michigan elibrary Need research for school or work from home? Try mel.org, the state wide database resource. MEL includes a huge selection of articles, journals and ebooks for curious minds of all ages, and contains a link for tools to help kids and parents, under Learning From Home. These are available to all Michigan residents. For information about the COVID-19 crisis, unemployment and business support during this time, please visit the library’s website, and scroll down the home page. They are adding links regularly to help guide people throughout this challenging time.