What's New in Sparta?

The Moving Wall in Downtown Sparta

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:57:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:56:00 +0000

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.

Celebrate Central!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:18:00 +0000

Celebrate Central
A heartfelt farewell after 50 years.

This year marks the last year Central Elementary will be educating the youth of Sparta. As this is a sad occasion to some as the building is home to so much history and many loving memories, it is also a joyous occasion to know our students will be in refurbished, high tech classrooms next year. Some of you may have gone to school in this building or perhaps your parents or your own children as well.
There is a long history behind Central’s brick and cinder blocks. This has not always been a K-2 building, nor has it always been known as Central Elementary! The original building that stood on this plot of land was a white brick building built in 1875 and housed kindergarten through twelfth grade students. (This was after the school moved from a much smaller building in 1849 that was later turned into a store.) In 1883, a small wooden frame building was added to the white brick building for the lower grades. Fourteen years later, in 1901, everything was torn down and replaced by a much larger, red brick building. This is the structure many remember as the “original” high school. In 1910, 1925, and 1936 additions were made to the red brick as additional classrooms and a gymnasium were built. This building stood erect in the current parking lot at Central Elementary. In 1949 an elementary building was built on the east side of the red brick building and connected to the high school by a single hallway. Some of this new addition still stands as the current first grade hallway. In 1954, a new section of nine classrooms opened with a dedication ceremony that was held to welcome “Sparta Elementary”, changing to ”Central Elementary” in 1957. In 1959 the high school moved out and the junior high followed in 1969 leaving kindergarten through fourth grade at Central Elementary. By 1970 renovations to the building were again made as they tore down the old high school and added five new classrooms, multipurpose room, and two storage rooms. In 1981 there was another reconfiguration of grades and Central housed second and third grade students. Then in 1990, Central made its final change to the kindergarten and first grade building which it remains today.
On Saturday, May 3, 2008, we are going to give a heartfelt farewell to Central Elementary. “Celebrate Central” will begin at 10:00 am and conclude at 2:00 pm. When the doors open the community is welcome to visit old classrooms, sign memory books, view a DVD of old pictures, have refreshments, listen to music and visit the “interview room” –former students and staff will be recorded sharing their special memories of this wonderful building. These recordings will be added to the historical DVD.

The highlight of the day will be an aerial photograph of everyone in attendance surrounding the school to give a farewell “hug”. This will take place promptly at 1:00 pm. Sparta Airport is donating their services and time to provide the photograph. The community can sign-up to purchase the historical DVD and or aerial photo for a nominal price at the Celebration on May 3. The paid photos and/ or DVD’s will be mailed out as soon as they are finished. We will also be taking donations for new books as we are adding another grade level and the books in our current library have aged a great deal.
Central Elementary holds a specials place in the hearts of many and we want to say goodbye in a well-deserved way! We hope you and your family will join us as we “Celebrate Central” by meeting and greeting friends and families at this special event.

Events for Saturday, May 3, 2008
10:00am to Noon
Walk down memory lane and visit your classroom
Take a moment to write on a amemory page
Visit the "interview Room" in Room 10 to record your memories on a historical DVD
Shop at the Book Table to donate a book for our new K-2 Library
Pre-purchase the historical DVD and/or aerial Photo
View Celebrate Central student artwork
Stop in Gymnasium for refreshments and music by Ass. Supt. Mark Kasmer & Teacher Jeff Schroeder

Noon
Go to Gymnasium to hear short remarks from honored guests
Listen to Central Elemenatry Students and staff sing Roger Day's "Good-bye Song"

At 12:40pm, go outside to hold hands around the buidling to give "Great Farewell HUG" for the aerial photograph!

We really hope your family will participate in this historic celebration!

Creative BOWLing for Charity!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:58:00 +0000

The unique wooden bowls are ready for picking and ripe for embellishment of your
choice! The Regional Arts Guild in Sparta is honored to be offering fully seasoned wood bowls for a community-wide fundraising effort compliments of
The Holland Bowl Mill. By teaming with the American Cancer Society, RAGS is looking for artistic support from local artists for the Relay for Life event that will be held in June in the Village of Sparta! Click HERE
to find out more information about other ways to get involved with Relay for Life!

Expectations for fundraising at the 2007 event were doubled, with all the efforts of the Sparta community working together to reach the $80,000 total. The success of the event designated the Village of Sparta the Rookie of the Year throughout the nation.
Organizers are planning to showcase the decorated bowls from local Sparta artists at their silent auction and as gifts for special volunteers. The bowls are already beautiful as they are turned from natural wood from real trees. They're dried with all the knotty elements that make each a one-of-a-kind, heirloom quality, earth-friendly gift. With the 2008 Relay for Life Luau Theme and the Relay for Life 'Remember', 'Celebrate' and 'Fight Back' mottos, designs and materials used to decorate the bowls will be easy to find! This is a chance to be creative in your usual medium or venture out of your comfort zone and go wild. At 7", these bowls are small enough to do in one sitting; go with the flow or cover up what doesn't fit your vision - there are no rules! If you would like to use your artistic talents (amateur to professionals welcome!) in a fun way for a good cause, please stop by the RAGS headquarters at CreativeOne Gallery, we're ready to play! Questions? Contact toni@creativeonegallery for more information.

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:56:00 +0000

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

Rotary in the Clean Up...

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:31:00 +0000

The Sparta Rotary Club was thrilled with the work completed in a three hour period on the banks of Nash Creek. With the hands of many, the work was still laborious, but very rewarding. These local business people and high school students from the Interact Club volunteered their time on a Monday afternoon to clean up the banks of Nash Creek picking up garbage, cleaning debris, weeding, and creating a beautiful view of the slow moving creek. Conversations led from the beauty of Nash Creek to other project that could be done to keep the community looking great. The Rotary Club meets every Monday at 12:10pm to discuss "Service Projects" around the community and around the world. This group of people definitely made a significant change for Nash Creek in downtown Sparta. Thank you, Rotary!

Sparta Town and Country Days 2007!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:56:00 +0000

Sparta Town and Country days was a big hit for the Village of Sparta again this year. With five days of non-stop activities, it was a bustling town!

Thousands of people lined the streets for the spectacular parade at 2:30pm, the car show expanded to Balyeat Field and winners were announced with cash prizes, and the carnival saw record numbers enjoying the rides throughout the weekend. It was a fun Town and Country Celebration for everyone!

Photo courtesy of Tom Scott.

The Visual Arts show had record numbers entered and was held in a new location this year. CreativeOne Gallery hosted the new location for the Visual Arts show. A record number of artists participated in the event of all ages.
Photo courtesy of Tom Scott.

Saturday night to the crowd who enjoyed the free event! Lawn chairs covered Balyeat field as the concert began Saturday Night. Daryle Singletary played a rip-roaring concert and the crowd sang along for the free event. For information on next years Town and Country Days event see the Fair website at http://www.spartafair.com/.

Photo courtesy of Tom Scott.

The Garden Club Does It Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 12:15:00 +0000

The Garden Club crew met in the parking lot on the evening after the last expected frost to sort out the hundreds of flowers purchased from Ostman’s Floral to fill the downtown flower pots. Sounds like a simple job, but not when you have over ten varieties of flowers to sort out and plant throughout downtown Sparta. Yet, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Garden Club, this crew made it happen, and not without the additional help of some young gardeners too! To the Sparta Garden Club, THANK YOU for all your hard work in keeping out downtown looking beautiful with flowers.

Sparta Golf Outing.... A "Wild" Sucess!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:07:00 +0000

The Sparta Chamber of Commerce held its 13th Annual Golf Outing at The Rogue Golf Club on Friday, May 18th, 2007. The weather was perfect, the food was great, and the golf was… at least it was fun as you can see by the Independent Bank team . Everyone enjoyed the “Wild” scramble, including the winner of the five-card Poker Run, Marty Anderson from Anderson Insurance. Golf sponsor Kent Power brought in the big lawn mower to display at their sponsored Tee.

The “Traveling Trophy” was taken home by the team from Clark Insurance from Casnovia, pictured at left. Clark Insurance tied with Austin Realty, and the 16th hole broke the tie; the hole that you had to use only your 5 iron throughout the entire hole. What a tie breaker that is!

Thank you to all of the community sponsors and donors for providing over $900 in prizes for the golf outing. We had a great time, plan on joining us next year at our annual Golf Outing!

Historical Downtown Sparta

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Fri, 11 May 2007 18:22:00 +0000

If you were in downtown Sparta today, you may have seen the historically dressed characters and older model vehicles talking with Sparta students on the the fifth grade historical tour of Sparta. Mr. Larry Carter correlates the tour with Sparta businesses and residents to incorporate a true historical feel of our community. On the left is a picture of one group looking at the Lamoreaux Grave Site and learning the significance of the history behind the three brothers from Sparta that all perished in World War II. The 5th grade classes also learn about proper gravesite etiquette in the historical exploration of their community. This picture below is of Paul Badgerow, better known as Sharky, describing to the 5th graders the specific historical aspects of the building that currently holds the Reunion Street Cafe. Below is a picture of Norma Gene Chapman describing the Cheslek Funeral Home building history and the downtown mainstreet fire of the 1970's to a group of students.

With period specific music playing downtown, the students learned about their community and their heritage through the school led program but only with the help of area residents who took the time to help make Sparta truly "What A Neighborhood Should Be".

Special thanks to all the volunteers who took the time to help share their memories and knowledge about the history of our community.

Sparta Rotary Celebrates 70 years!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Mon, 07 May 2007 12:54:00 +0000

The Sparta Rotary Club celebrated 70's years of service in the Sparta community last monday. Guests of honor included past Rotary members who established major foundations of the current Rotary foundation. The Interact Club, a new service minded group of Sparta High School students, was founded this year with the help of the Sparta Rotary Club. The High School Interact Club attends Rotary meetings, participates in service projects such as raising money for international aid, and colaborates with Sparta Rotary service efforts, such as Nash Creek Cleanup.
To learn more about the Sparta Rotary Club or the Interact Club, contact the Sparta Rotary at 616-887-8255.

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:50:00 +0000

Chamber Golf Outing!

Want to play?? For a chance at winning the TRAVELING TROPHY, call Elizabeth Gorski to sign up your foursome. A great fundraiser, supporting the events in our community!

The golf outing is Friday, May 18, 2007 at the Rogue Golf Club. Tee off at 11:00am! Join us for golf, a steak dinner and prizes, or as a Tee Sponsor! Contact Elizabeth Gorski to find out details about the Golf Outing... we'll see you there!

Sparta Business Watch: Getting Involved in Our Community

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:15:00 +0000

Tuesday morning brought the first Business Watch meeting for Sparta businesses. Officer Darcy Balahoski spoke to a few of the business owners about the benefits of a business watch program and the topics that could be covered at a seminar. "We will discuss a topic or issue of your choice at the seminars, such as bad checks, reporting crime, and internal theft," Officer Balahoski explained to the group. The group discussed having the next meeting in May to discuss managing Summer break mischief for school aged kids. The next meeting will be held in May. If you would like your business to get more involved, contact Elizabeth Gorski, Chamber Director for details.

Spring Clean Up at Nash Creek!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:00:00 +0000

On Monday, April 23, 2007 community and business members from the Sparta Rotary Club gathered on the banks of Nash Creek to clear up the brush and debris during the bi-annual "Nash Creek Cleanup Day". Through the slight drizzle that came down throughout the afternoon, the leaders of the community cheerfully kept up to clean up the creek- no small task by any means. Village President, Skip Meyer said, " What a great way for a community to work together!"

Spring is In The Air!

noreply@blogger.com (Sparta Chamber of Commerce) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:42:00 +0000

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!