Uniquely Ada

October, November

and December 2013

SOCIETY OFFICERS

Bernard Veldkamp-

President

Kristen Wildes-

Vice President

Sandra Sefton – Secretary

Marie Vierson—Treasurer

BOARD MEMBERS

Betty Jo Crosby

Marilyn DeGood

Ken Dixon

Frank Hoover

Kevin Moran

Al Mracna

Lydia Vierson

The Averill Historical Museum of Ada

is open for tours Friday and Saturday from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

and other times by appointment.

Newsletter of the Ada Historical Society and the Averill Historical Museum of Ada

www.AdaHistoricalSociety.org 616.676.9346 AdaHistoricalSociety@gmail.com

1914 postcard touting the virtues of the

Village – and its rivers!

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Hello again. Well it's been a very busy, and I would like to think,

successful summer. Music on the Lawn, our summer concert season on

Tuesday nights behind the Museum, was great again this year. I would

like to say THANK YOU again to each of the groups, as well as the

volunteers, who helped to make this happen. I hope that you had a chance

to attend. If you have any comments, or suggestions for next year's

concerts please let us know.

I don't think our grounds at the museum have ever looked better! I hope

that you have had a chance to enjoy them. Again, a big THANK YOU to

Carol and Dave Penninga.

This summer there has been a lot of talk about the Village and the possible

changes that could take place in its future. One of the benefits of this is

that it has given us a chance to pause and contemplate the Village's past as

well as those things that a Village represents versus that of a town or a

city. What does it mean to be a Village centered community?

To all of you who have

been involved by lending

a helping hand,

participating in some of

our programs, through

your contributions, or

just by coming to visit,

learn and share with us,

we THANK YOU.

A thought: Today is

tomorrow's history in the

making.

Bernie

See Next Page For

Upcoming Events!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, Oct. 19 – Fall Door Decoration Class 2:00 pm in the barn. Bring the beautiful

fall colors home with you! Master Gardener

Carol Penninga will demonstrate techniques and

help you create a natural masterpiece to adorn

your front door. Plant materials will be provided.

If you wish to incorporate a particular color

ribbon, please bring it along. Class is free to

members, $5 for non-members. Please pre-

register. Spaces are limited, so register early!

Thursday, Nov. 7 – Veteran’s Day Lecture 7:00 pm at the Ada Township Assembly Hall. Marine Vietnam

veteran John Voshel will speak about his war-time experiences in

Vietnam, particularly his involvement with Operation Rolling Thunder.

The event is open to all and free of charge.

Tuesday, Nov. 19 – Decorate the Museum 1:00 pm at the museum. We could use a helping hand getting

into the holiday spirit. Volunteers will gather to break out the boxes and

the Christmas carols to get the museum dressed for the holidays. Please

come and share any new decorating ideas for our old house!

Wreath Sale – begins Nov. 22 Please stop by our annual wreath sale

fundraiser! We will have Douglas Fir and

Fraser Fir wreaths with handmade bows.

See enclosed order form for sizes, prices,

and sale hours.

Friday, Dec. 6 – Tinsel, Treats, and Trolley 5:45 – 9:00 pm in the village. Join us for a fun-filled way to

kick-off the holiday season in Ada! This annual event begins with a

bridge lighting ceremony at 5:45 p.m. at the covered bridge, followed by

caroling and trolley rides with stops at area businesses from 6 p.m. until 9

p.m. For more info, check out Ada Business Association’s website at

www.adabusinessassociation.com.

Saturday, Dec. 7 – Cookie Decorating and Santa Parade 10:00-1:00 pm in the barn, parade at 11:00 am. Santa Claus is

coming to town! Grab a seat along the parade route and enjoy a winter

wonderland parade. The Society will do its part to welcome ol’ Saint

Nick with cookie decorating for kids of all ages and hot chocolate in the

barn.

Uniquely Ada

Old World Santa & Mrs. Claus at the Museum

THE GYPSIES COME TO ADA

Years ago, the Gypsies would come to Ada from time to time,

usually in the summer. I don’t know where they came from

or where they went when they left Ada. They didn’t stay very

long. At first they came with horse drawn wagons, which

they lived in. Later they had automobiles.

Several people mentioned the Gypsies in their oral histories.

Following is the way these people remembered them.

FLOYD CHAFFEE remembered the Gypsies coming every

summer during the 1920s. He said the Gypsies traveled in

caravans through the country in great big touring cars and

they had all of their belongings with them. The cars would be

full of little kids, blankets, and everything else. The Gypsies

were pretty light fingered, and would steal chickens, or any-

thing that they could get. His mother kept the doors locked

when they were in the area. One day when Floyd was in Bill

Furner’s grocery store, the Gypsies came and some of them

distracted Bill while others were seeing what they could

swipe.

BLANCE MACNAUGHTON CORYELL lived on Ada Dr.

about ¾ of a mile west of Ada. As a child she remembered

the Gypsies camping on their property under a big tree. There

would be 2 or 3 families camping together with 2 wagons and

everything they needed was in the wagons. They would beg

at their door and would steal anything they could get their

hands on. The family was afraid of them.

ELINOR WASHBURN STASKAS remembered seeing the

colorful wagons with pots and pans hanging on the sides and

hearing the music they made as they banged against one

another. They had tired old horses pulling the carts and they

had long-tailed dogs running alongside. The Gypsies wore

bright colorful clothing tied at the waist with a bright colored

sash and a brilliant head cover.

VELMA SISSON STEVENS remembered that if they could

get in the house, they would swipe anything they could get.

The Gypsies had dresses with big pockets. Nobody dressed

like they did. They came in the summertime.

NORMAN WRIDE remembered how the store keepers would

lock their doors when the Gypsies came to town to keep them

out. When they got in the stores, one or two of them would

distract the store keeper while the other Gypsies would help

themselves to the merchandise.

By Marian Wride Bolhuis

Uniquely Ada

VOLUNTEERS

We were fortunate this summer to benefit from

some very talented volunteers. The Historical

Society would specifically like to recognize the

efforts of Emily Riippa and Carol and Dave

Penninga.

Emily is a student at the University of Michigan

in Museum Studies. As an intern, she was a

wonderful asset to us this summer. She helped

out in many facets, from collections to

programming to administrative duties. Her

enthusiasm and genuine interest will be missed!

Again this year, Carol and Dave Penninga have

spent countless hours transforming our gardens

and grounds. Hopefully you have taken the

opportunity to visit and see their beautiful

handiwork in all its abundance.

MUSIC ON THE LAWN

Thank you to all the musicians and visitors who

helped make Music On the Lawn our best

concert series yet! We offer a special thanks to

Vanessa Marsiglia for scheduling the line-up.

More than 2,000 concert-goers enjoyed the

thirteen concerts. That’s an average of about

160 listeners at each event.

Tuesdays in the summer belong to Ada – from

the wonderful Farmers’ Market during the day

to Music On the Lawn in the evening. We wish

to extend a BIG thank you to the township for

their annual support of this community event.

ABUNDANT BLESSINGS

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:

DOCENTS NEEDED

Do you enjoy telling stories about the "old days" in Ada? Are you interested

in learning a few old Ada stories to tell? Have we got a deal for you!

The Museum is in need of docents to help with scheduled tour groups.

Docents are usually teamed up with another individual. Tours can be in

mornings, afternoons or early evenings and are always scheduled ahead of

time with plenty of notice. Group size and age group varies. We will be

offering a training session on October 22, 2013 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at

the Museum.

If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity,

please contact Sandy Sefton at 616-682-5780.

TRI-RIVER HISTORICAL MUSEUM NETWORK

In July we had a catered lunch and program. Dana Macklin brought some of

his crystal dishes and told us about them. David Lorenz from Pure Michigan

came and gave us a presentation on the Pure Michigan campaign, which was

very interesting.

Now we are working on the Spring Into the Past brochure for 2014.

Emily Riippa (left)

and Carol Penninga

On Our Wish List: Slide to Digital Image Converter

The Society has a number of old-format

photographic slides that we would like to

convert to digital images. That change

would enable us to preserve, explore and

display some long forgotten Ada photos.

Many small-scale styles of desktop

converters are available on the market.

Please call or e-mail if you might be

willing to make this technological dream a

reality for us.

One example of a converter

Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Society! Please circle any areas that interest you:

Programs/Events Collections Gardening Research Education Fundraising

Docent Lecturing Children’s Events Special Projects Other __________

Membership Level

AdaHistoricalSociety@gmail.com

616.676.9346

www.AdaHistoricalSociety.org

Ada Historical Society Membership Form

Name __________________________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________________________

City ______________________________ State ___________ Zip_________________

Phone ___________________________ E-mail _________________________________

Ada Historical Society

Averill Historical Museum of Ada

7144 Headley St.

PO Box 741

Ada, MI 49301

Society meetings are held on

the second Saturday of the month at 10:30 am

at the Averill Historical Museum of Ada

If you would like

to help preserve

Ada history,

please fill out this

form and return

along with a check

to the address

below.

Personal Membership

_____ Individual - $10

_____ Student (under 18) - $5

_____ Friend - $25

_____ Senior (60 & above) - $5

_____ Family - $15

Business Membership

_____ Corporate - $100

_____ Business - $50

_____ Non-profit - $10

Additional tax-deductible gift ________

_____ I have items I would like to donate to

the museum’s collections