The Moving Wall in Downtown Sparta

The Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial in Sparta August 21 through August 24, 2008
Balyeat Field in Downtown Sparta
190 Olmstead Sparta, MI 49345

The Moving Wall in Downtown Sparta, a half size replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., will be arriving in the Village of Sparta for public display Thursday August 21 through Sunday August 24, 2008. The memorial is an opportunity for those who have not experienced the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. to see the names of the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country and freedom.

The Moving Wall in Downtown Sparta will be open 24 hours a day for visitors to view and show respect. A special Opening Memorial Ceremony for the Moving Wall in Downtown Sparta will be held on Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 6:30 pm in Rogers Park in Downtown Sparta at 75 N. Union Street, Sparta, MI 49345.

Anyone who would like to volunteer for the memorial is welcome to contact Volunteer Coordinator Dwayne Pride at dpride@deanboiler.com to sign up for volunteer duties which include:

• Set up
• Name Look Up
• Food and Bottled water Donations
• Security and
• Teardown
  

Financial Donations can be made through the Sparta Chamber of Commerce - The Moving Wall at: PO Box 142 E. Division, Sparta, MI 49345 or by contacting Elizabeth at ddadirector@spartami.org or by telephone at (616) 887-2454.

Other program details

MILESTONES ON MAIN STREET SPARTA!

Summer 1908 Looks Great

For Nelson A. Shaw, things look great in July of 1908. His new business, the Shaw Palace Livery, is doing well in its first year of operation.

In the fall of 1907, he finished construction of a two-story building on main street Sparta to house his livery. The American flag, now with 46 stars since the admission of Oklahoma, waves proudly in front. A blacksmith is right next door. The harness shop is across the street. The railroad depot is just around the corner to the east.

Things to Move
Horse drawn wagons from Shaw’s livery move supplies that arrive by train to the farms and small manufacturing businesses around Sparta. The late summer will be busy. Many German and Swedish immigrants have settled in the Sparta area. They are growing fruit, mainly apples and peaches, on their farms. As the harvest ripens, these products must be transported to markets in Grand Rapids.

22 Cents an Hour
So business in July 1908 looks promising for Nelson Shaw and his wife Jessie. They need that. The building, horses and wagons are large investments that need to be paid off. And good help can cost as much as 22 cents an hour.

Living expenses at the Shaw home just south of Main Street are increasing as well. Sugar is up to four cents a pound, coffee 15 cents a pound and eggs 14 cents a dozen. Plus there is a delicious new product on the market, Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes, from a new company down in Battle Creek. Nelson and Jessie have never tasted anything like it.

Imagine the Profit
As their business flourishes, they dream of the things they can do with the profits. Perhaps attend a baseball game. The Chicago Cubs beat the Detroit Tigers in the 1907 World Series. The way things are going, the two teams will meet again in the 1908 Series. Or maybe visit the Grand Canyon someday, which President Roosevelt has just designated as a national monument.

Down in Detroit
There is, however, one thing that concerns Nelson Shaw. Down in Detroit, a man called Ford is making horseless carriages. Shaw has seen one in Grand Rapids. They are the strangest things. They make an awful noise and smell terrible. But maybe there is a future for these contraptions. How will they affect his livery?

A New Business Model T
By the summer of 1908, there are 8,000 cars in the United States. That same year, Henry Ford introduces the Model T. In 1909, its first full year of production, about 18,000 units are built. By 1920, Ford produces more than one million cars a year. What will all this mean for Nelson and Jessie Shaw? For the Shaw Palace Livery? For east Sparta?

From Palace Livery to Transfer Line
East Sparta remains a transportation center for several decades. Shaw Palace Livery becomes “Fields Transfer Line.” Horse drawn carriages are replaced by motored vehicles, but still operating from the two-story structure that Shaw built.

The building is a cornerstone in Sparta as one of the first erected on main street. It is renovated in 2007, exactly 100 years after construction, to restore the original materials and display the original header: “N.A. Shaw Palace Livery 1907.” It has been a downtown business location for more than a century. Today it houses ‘Round Again consignment shop, a dance studio, a used book store, and an ice cream shop.

Enterprising in 1921
As for business in east Sparta, the harness shop, the blacksmith and the train depot disappear with the rise of the automobile; but not without economic compensation. Just south of main street, a new enterprise begins in 1921, an important supplier to the industry that Henry Ford is driving.

It’s the Sparta Foundry, an iron foundry that becomes one of the largest piston ring manufacturers in the world. It also becomes a major employer in the area and backbone of economic activity in Sparta throughout the 20th century.

Nelson A. Shaw was born on 18, May 1856 and died on 8, January 1933, 26 years after he started Shaw Palace Livery on main street Sparta. His wife Jessie was born on 18, December 1862 and died on 4, April 1932. They are both buried in Sparta’s Greenwood Cemetery.

This is the first in a series of Milestones on Main Street articles specially produced for Sparta Today. Input and contributions to this column are welcome. Please send your ideas to Dean Lettinga at hlet@hetnet.nl or contact Joan Lettinga at 887-0013 in Sparta.

Downtown Sparta is celebrating with an Old Fashioned Christmas throughout the month of December. Horsedrawn Trolley Rides for luminary tours and Santa pictures for pets with Santa are just a part of the wonderful activities going on! Don't miss out on Candy Cane Lane, located behind the Library or the Santa Train bringing Santa in straight from the North Pole!

While in Sparta, participate in our Downtown Strolling Sticker program where participating businesses hand out stickers. Fill your sticker card with a sticker from each business and receive a FREE Sparta Christmas Ornament! Also, you will be entered into win the Downtown Gift Basket, worth over $800!

Check out the printable PDF fliers:

Xmas Bakeoff http://www.spartachamber.com/pdf/XmasBakeoff.pdf
Chili Cookoff http://www.spartachamber.com/pdf/Chili2007.PDF
Pet Night with Santa http://www.spartachamber.com/pdf/PetNight.pdf
Downtown Strolling Sticker Cards http://www.spartachamber.com/pdf/downtown_stamp_card.pdf.
Event Flier (all events) http://www.spartachamber.com/pdf/SpartaEventsFlier1.pdf

Spring is In The Air!

The 5th grad historical tour has been postponed to Friday, May 11, 2007!

Sparta Middle School's 5th grade classes will be taking a tour of downtown Sparta with historical photo books to analyze the changes that have taken place over the past 150 years in Sparta. Around downtown you will see antique cars and prominent historic community members such as Johnathan Nash (founder of the Village of Sparta).

Take a walk on Friday and enjoy the sights of our history!