Monday, June 27, 2022
Since 1854 — News from Montcalm County and Ionia County, Michigan
Saturday night, the big two-day Labor Day event at Crystal Motor Speedway got rolling with two traveling sprint series and most of the weekly divisional action.
Jac Nickles of Harrod, Ohio, claimed the feature win in the Hiram’s Lightning Sprints over Brendon Cascadden of Traverse City, Alex Cogley of Findlay, Ohio, Mack Erickson of South Boardman, and Lindsey Erickson of South Boardman. Nickles had also picked up the feature in his previous 2021 appearance at the raceway.
Autumn Roossien nervously walked on stage, requesting that the microphone be placed in a stand rather than holding it. She was afraid, if she used a hand-held mic, that her hands would shake so much.
In her debut singing on stage, the Belding 10-year-old harmoniously sang Christina Perry’s “1,000 Years,” at first shyly, but then warming up to a flawless performance.
Eric Leiter of Belding found his dog Khaos as a rescue dog.
The black and brown rottweiler was likely turned in for aggressiveness, but through diligence and daily working together, Khaos has become a neighborhood fixture.
Following last year’s semi-hiatus from the annual event, residents and out-of-town visitors flooded the streets of Belding over Labor Day weekend once again to cheer on firemen playing waterball, watch the fireworks, observe the annual parade or pay respects to soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Seeing everyone come into town to celebrate the holiday, Belding Labor Day Committee co-chairperson Amber Rood said, was a great triumph and a return to normalcy after the majority of last year’s Labor Day events in Belding were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Looking to bring back some traditional elements and new events to this year’s Trufant Jubilee, Dennis Marsh wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to participation at the small-town festival.
Following a previous summer in which nearly every festival in Michigan was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Dennis said he and his wife, Lisa, along with other festival organizers, were determined to make sure this year’s 42nd annual Trufant Jubilee, hosted by the Trufant Area Chamber of Commerce with the help of local volunteers, would be a success.
Robroy Enclosures, manufacturer of the leading brands of non-metallic electrical and industrial enclosures, will once again participate in and host special activities during this year’s Labor Day celebrations in Belding.
The company, which has been a key employer in West Michigan for nearly 70 years, will be the main attraction of the parade at 11 a.m. on Monday. This family-friendly event is free to all.
Hannah Hummel doesn’t think of herself as a typical pageant girl.
She had never entered any kind of scholarship pageant in the past. But Hummel, in her first pageant ever, walked off the stage wearing the crown and sash of Miss Belding 2021.
A rescheduled fireworks display at the Ionia Free Fair grounds will usher in the Labor Day weekend.
One of Ionia’s most anticipated annual events is the annual Independent Day fireworks show. This year, due to unexpected flooding of the fairgrounds, the original July launch date was changed to Thursday, Sept. 2, with a rain date of Friday, Sept. 3.
In years past, the Belding Labor Day Committee has often hosted various forms of entertainment throughout Labor Day weekend, whether it be performances from tribute bands or a talent show on the entertainment stage at The Gathering Place.
In an effort to keep things new and fresh this year, the Belding Labor Day Committee is mixing things up a bit for 2021.
Dave Musser remembers coming to the Trufant Jubilee as a youngster. He grew up in town, where his dad was a firefighter for 40 years. Musser recalls the chicken barbecue his dad and colleagues cooked up for the community during its annual festival, “just a little village-type thing,” he said of those days.
“I remember as a young, young kid, down here by the ball diamond, the firemen would take steel fence posts and drive them into ground,” said Musser. “Then they’d take barn steel and wire it to the post, dump a bunch of charcoal in it and that’s how we had the barbecue. … Back then, 42 years ago, things were a lot different.”
