By AARON MUELLERaaron.mueller@leaderpub.com

It's easy to pick Tom Majerek out ofthe crowd during concerts at theNiles Riverfront Park Amphithe-

ater, and not just because of the blinding-ly bright Hawaiian shirt and the PanamaJack hat he sports.

He's the one wearing the endless grinfrom the very first note until the momentthe stage is torn down.

It's obvious that Majerek, who booksall the bands and artists that come to theNiles Bluegrass Festival, Riverfest andthe Summer Concert Series, loves hisvolunteer job.

The owner of Majerek's Gift Shop andMajerek's Readers World in downtownNiles has brought in hundreds of bandsin the 15 years he has been organizingentertainment in the area.

This year Majerek booked some of thebiggest acts the city has seen in a while,including Grammy Award-winning artistPeter Rowan, Cadillac Sky, Jypsi and AliBaba's Tahini, featuring Niles nativeJake Cinninger of Umphrey's McGee. Itwas also the first year the bluegrass festi-val featured carnival rides.

But for Majerek, it's been a long pro-cess developing a music scene in Niles.

DaydreamingWhen Majerek lived in Arizona in the

early 1990s, his heart and mind were stillvery much in his hometown.

"I got the Niles Daily Star deliveredby mail," he said. "That's when they weredoing a campaign to raise money for theamphitheater. So I would daydreamabout when I returned to Niles how therewould be this cool concert venue that I

could have concerts at."In 1994, after returning to Niles, Ma-

jerek went to Riverfest and was a littledisappointed.

"I noticed they had a DJ and karaokeand maybe 20 people in front of thestage," he said. "I knewit could be better."

The following yearwhen Majerek was ap-proached to donate mon-ey toward Riverfest, heagreed to sponsor a bandif he could make thehire.

That sparked his lovefor concert organizingand he's been in chargeof entertainment forRiverfest ever since.

His success bookingfor Riverfest led to himtaking a stab at bringing"a younger, hipper con-cert scene" to Niles onSunday nights during thesummer.

Majerek quickly de-veloped a full contactlist of bands in the areaand began schedulingmusic three nights aweek during the sum-mer.

Niles bluegrass is bornInspired by his success with booking

bands for several years and trips to theOsceola Bluegrass Festival and Mer-leFest in North Carolina, Majerek tookhis most ambitious step in 2002 when hebegan the Niles Bluegrass Festival.

Although he still consider himself a

"rocker," Majerek says bluegrass is "theperfect live medium."

He also tries to avoid featuring onlypure bluegrass acts.

"The type of music I like the most is acrossbreed of styles — like bluegrass and

rock 'n' roll," Majerek said.The eclectic slate of artists each year,

he says, makes the festival truly unique.that, and the Niles Bluegrass Festival

has always been free — and will remainthat way, Majerek said.

"There are some people in Michianawho can afford to go to Chicago for the

big events and concerts," he said. "Butfor most people, having a picnic lunch onthe hill and getting to see good music isas good as it gets."

The festival has grown every year tothe point that in 2010 the four-day festi-

val featured more than20 local and nationallyrecognized acts.

Keep them comingback

It's 1 a.m. and themusicians of CadillacSky are unwinding intheir hotel room aftertheir show at the NilesBluegrass Festival.

But they realizedtheir night was far fromover when Majerek ar-rived at their door.

"We kidnapped twoof them and took themon a tour of NotreDame," he said. "Theygot to see 'TouchdownJesus' and the grottoand they thought it wasreally cool. I wanted tomake the trip memo-rable so when they getthe call that Nileswants you back, they'relike 'Oh, yeah. We had

fun in Niles.'"But a lot of times, Majerek doesn't

even need to make that call to inviteartists back; they call back themselves.

"We pay so little for the acts, but theykeeping calling and emailing back thatthey want to come back," he said. "It'sbecause of the cool vibe we have."

Majerek also does little things to makesure the musicians are taken care ofwhile in Niles, like delivering pizza totheir hotels or allowing them to stay athis home.

Bringing in nationally-known bandslike Cadillac Sky has put Niles on themusic map.

"In the last 10 years, we've made aname for Niles music," he said. "Theyknow they can come to Niles three nightsa week during the summer and get good,quality music."

After the Ali Baba's Tahini show inAugust, fans of the band from outside thearea approached Majerek.

"They were amazed at how cool thescene was that night," Majerek said.

All about the peopleSo what possesses Majerek to invest

countless hours into organizing concertsand festivals for free?

"The most rewarding part of this is thepeople," he said. "Being able to have arelationship with the artists that's differ-ent from being a fan."

Majerek gushes when he talks aboutmeeting Peter Rowan, Stevie Coyle ofthe Waybacks and Tommy James.

But just as important are the relation-ships he's developed with concert-goers.

"A lot of the bands I discover comefrom the fans themselves," Majerek said.

Majerek also loves to see people out-side enjoying the community.

"It gives us a reason to use that park,"he said. "People just want to sit back andwatch the world go by and watch the riv-er go by. They always seem to come outwhen the concerts are going on."

Looks like Majerek's daydream hascome true.

Tom Majerek (left) is proud of booking the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band for last summer's Niles Bluegrass Festival.Photo submitted by Tom Majerek

Tom majerek:the man, the myth, the legend

How a bookstore owner took a small-town music scene under his wing

“There are some people inMichiana who can af ford togo to Chicago for the bigevents and concer ts. But formost people, having a picniclunch on the hill and gettingto see good music is as goodas it gets.”

— Tom Majerekbusiness owner, concert promoter

By JOHN EBYLeader Publications

Sixth Generation rode the garage band wave inthe wake of the British Invasion and nationalprominence achieved by Niles’ Tommy

James and the Shondells.Recorded May 18, 1967, in Chicago, the Fred

Bachman/Ron Hamrick original tune gave Sixth Gen-eration its only No. 1 — at least at The Spin-It RecordShop.

Dave Walenga produced the bestsellers for Sept. 9,1967, on which Sixth Generation led some prettygood company: 2.) "Come Back When You Grow Up"by Dowagiac visitor Bobby Vee; 3.) "The Letter" bythe Box Tops; 4.) "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gen-try; 5.) "Never My Love" by The Association; 6.)"Funky Broadway" by Wilson Pickett; 7.) "Light MyFire" by The Doors; 8.) "Brown-Eyed Girl" by VanMorrison; 9.) "ZIP Code" by The Five Americans;and 10.) "Reflections" by The Supremes.

College years found Sixth Generation a quartet:Fred Hulce (Michigan State) on organ and vocals,John Dale (Grand Valley State), Paul Davies (FerrisState) and Dave Walenga (Ferris State). Every week-end, the group played local high schools, colleges anddances across Michiana.

“We consider ourselves lucky to have grown up inan era where garage bands were able to spring up andthrive in local and regional venues," Walenga, drum-mer, said. "Now there are so few bands like that.There’s a real loss of music being produced out ofsmall venues. It’s a shame times can’t be like thatnow. Our first dance was at the Niles Y(MCA). Weplayed eight songs over and over for three hours andeverybody was happy."

Walenga even worked at The Spin-It Record Shopafter James and owns the “Hanky Panky” 45 on theSnap label.

Sixth Generation became the “house band” at Sky-liner at Five-Mile Corner north of Dowagiac andbroke up the same year as The Beatles, 1970, after aDecember dance at Buchanan American Legion.

They knew it was to be their last appearance, butmade no farewell from the stage. They just drove offin different directions.

Unlike The Fab Four, who never reunited, andmany other bands enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hallof Fame, “We’ve got one thing going for us” as theyplot their Facebook-fueled 2011 comeback. “We’re allalive.”

Another thing going for Sixth Generation, a bigfish in a small pond, is that catchy single, “This is theTime."

While primarily a cover band, “This is the Time”got them play on the big 89, Chicago’s WLS, and ex-posure to larger-than-life jocks who spun songs on theSilver Dollar Survey.

The duo has now written “That was the Time.” They and other band members are writing new

songs. Not only do they have loads more life experience

on which to draw, they need slow songs. They didn’tdo ballads back when.

The same year James, then Tommy Jackson, gradu-ated from Niles High School, 1965, Walenga, LarryTownsend, who still lives in Niles, Bob Lowery andPaul Davies, formed The Vampires, playing their firstgig July 4.

Their eight-song repertoire included “Kansas City,”which The Beatles covered; Roger Miller’s “King ofthe Road;" and Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.”

What started as a “garage band” in Niles gainedwider prominence with bookings to play all oversouthwestern Michigan, northern Indiana and even inIllinois.

Headlining with such notable groups as The Kings-men ("Louie, Louie"); the Buckinghams ("Kind of aDrag," "Susan," "Hey Baby"); The Box Tops ("TheLetter"); Ides of March ("Vehicle"); Mitch Ryder and

the Detroit Wheels("Devil with a BlueDress"); and the Elec-tric Prunes ("TooMuch to Dream LastNight") became a regu-lar event.

“We had a tremen-dous following in theDowagiac area,” where“we will be trying tobook a dance” this fallfor six of the originalmembers and one oftheir brothers, saidWalenga, a formerrailroad employee whonow sells swimmingpools in Baltimore.

“We had a follow-ing in Marcellus andCassopolis, too," hesaid.

“We’ve reallythought long and hardabout it,” Walengasaid of their aim toplay 60s pop music ex-clusively. “We’re go-ing to be a cover bandagain and Dowagiac iscritical for us.”

Adding to theirsense of anticipatoryexcitement is that theyhave been nominatedfor Michigan Rock andRoll Legends, an on-line Hall of Fame where voting begins March 1 andruns until June.

This is Sixth Generation’s first year on the list.Forty-eight artists have been inducted in six years.The first class in 2005 included Alice Cooper,

Aretha Franklin, Bob Seger and The Silver BulletBand, Rare Earth, Bill Haley and his Comets, DelShannon, The Four Tops, Grand Funk Railroad, Jack-ie Wilson, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye,Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, Smokey Robin-son, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Temptationsand Wilson Pickett.

James and the Shondells were inducted with thesecond class in 2006, along with Question Mark andthe Mysterians, Bob Seger System, Madonna, TedNugent and the MC5.

A lengthy list of 2011 nominees includes SonnyBono, Marshall Crenshaw, Iggy Pop, Suzi Quatro andDiana Ross along with Sixth Generation.

Inducted in 2010 were The Kingtones, Hank Bal-lard and The Moonlighters, The Funk Brothers, TheRationals, SRC and Holland-Dozier-Holland.

“We played a lot of places and opened for some ofthe top acts,” Walenga recalled.

Back in the 60s the band played venues rangingfrom the Buchanan American Legion, the YMCA andThe White Rabbit in Niles to Shadowland Ballroomin St. Joseph and Blossomland in Benton Harbor.

After four lads from Liverpool brought Beatlema-nia screaming to these shores on the Ed Sullivanshow of Feb. 9, 1964, it seemed mandatory for everyteenage boy to start a band.

“It was so simple back then,” Walenga said, recall-ing that they were motivated less by fame and fortunethan finding the “friends you wanted to make musicwith. We all grew together.”

By “simple,” Walenga means lack of distractionscompared to his era of three black-and-white televi-sion channels — “with the Indian staring back” (testpattern) late at night or wee hours of the weekend —and AM radio tucked under his pillow to either listento his Chicago White Sox or rock and roll that could

be tuned in fromKansas City orNashville.

Kids bought mu-sic in stores onblack records —platters — catego-rized by revolutionsper minute, orRPM, on a turntable— 45, 33 1/3, 78.

Curtis TV onPennsylvania Av-enue in Dowagiaccarried records andWLS surveys.

“Superjock” Lar-ry Lujack saunter-ing down FrontStreet spread likeMuhammad Ali didcoming out of Caru-so’s with a shakedowntown in 1998.

Where James’legendary story isabout “HankyPanky” belatedlyhitting in Pittsburghafter a DJ discov-ered it in a cutoutbin, Walenga hashis own amazingvariation.

They used to spinrecords duringbreaks, so each mu-sician initialed his

contribution to the stack.While rummaging through discount discs in Mary-

land, Walenga ran across the very same copy of "Han-ky Panky" still bearing his initials that he owned inMichigan — and had to cough up $5 to be reunitedwith the treasure.

After the Vampires, Paul and Dave stayed togetherand, with the addition of John Dale from Buchanan

and Bachman and Hamrick from Niles, Sixth Genera-tion formed in the summer of 1966.

They even featured a saxophone player in 1966-67,Dale Chadderdon.

The reason behind their new name was simple:There were six of them playing music of their genera-tion.

When they played a junior high dance, their audi-ence had never heard live music and they were stillhoning their sound, so it was “perfect,” he said.

Paul played bass, Dave was on drums and both didvocals. Fred was lead singer. Ron played organ anddid backup vocals, and John was on guitar.

In 1967, as the group’s popularity increased, it wasregularly booked for Saturday night dances at theSkyliner, which at that time was regarded as the mostpopular dance venue in southwest Michigan.

Marie Needham of Decatur, a co-owner of the Sky-liner, realized the group’s potential and became SixthGeneration’s manager; the group then became the“house band” at The Skyliner. Later, Needham negoti-ated their first recording.

“This is the Time” was recorded at Sound Studiosin Chicago and released by GMA Records in August.

The group also cut “Glitter and Gold” by The Tur-tles, but it was never released as a single.

“This is the Time” became not only an instant hiton the charts in Niles and other parts of the Midwest,it was played daily on WLS by Bernie Allen, DexCard and other top DJs of that time and other top arearock 'n' roll stations in Indiana and Michigan.

Card and other WLS and WCFL personalities alsopersonally appeared with the Sixth Generation at Sky-liner.

“One of those guys was a pilot” and flew to Munic-ipal Airport for dances.

Their roll proved shortlived, but unlike bands VH-1reunited, it wasn’t hard feelings that kept them apartfor decades.

Unfortunately, with the priority of college educa-tions, changes in the group’s roster were necessary.

Fans encouraged them to reunite. Fans live not onlyaround Michiana, but as far away as Missouri, wherea group of Holland followers settled after college.

Paul Davies (note the Hofner bass like Paul McCartney’s), Ron Hamrick, Fred Bachman, Dave Walenga, Joe Davies, Fred Hulceand John Dale. Reuniting in July after 40 years apart, Sixth Generation wants to become exclusively a 1960s cover band. Theyare nominated in the 2011 class of the Michigan Legends online Hall of Fame. Niles’ Tommy James and the Shondells were in-ducted in 2006, the second year.

Photo submitted

Bandon theSceneNiles’ Sixth Generationwas once a big fish in alittle pond.

After 40 years, it’s readyto swim again.

See BAND, Page 3

By JESSICA SIEFFLeader Publications

Anew initiative on behalf of the NationalParks and Recreation Association (NPRA)is taking aim at the general American pub-

lic in an effort to engage and educate citizens aboutthe value and importance of public parks and recre-ation communities across the nation.

The hundreds of thousands of public park andrecreation services just like those available to theresidents of Niles, "provide essential services formillions of Americans," says the NPRA.

It's something city officials in Niles have recog-nized for years.

For more than three decades, the city has fundedand provided a summer parks program for parentsand children within the community at a number ofNiles' public park areas.

This year, the program will be held exclusively atthe newly renovated Plym Park.

According to Neil Coulston, director of publicworks, the program was originally developed by theparks and recreation board.

"Over the past several years the department ofpublic works has set up and overseen the programeach year," Coulston said. "My assistant Joe Ray andI put the program together each spring but once wehave a director hired he/she sets up daily activities,schedules the field trips and supervises the coun-selors.

"Each year I prepare a three-page flyer that is de-livered to Niles Community Schools just prior tosummer break and then the schools distribute them,"he said. "The program is offered to children enteringfirst grade through children entering sixth grade."

Through the "America's Backyard" initiative, theNPRA hopes to encourage funding to support the or-ganization and its programs.

“'America’s Backyard' is about empowering andeducating people of all backgrounds, interests andprofessions to support parks and recreation in theU.S.,” NRPA CEO Barbara Tulipane said. “Ulti-mately, 'America’s Backyard' will further expandand strengthen the park and recreation movement—in local communities, on Capitol Hill and in the na-tional public eye.”

Niles' summer program costs an estimated$16,000, Coulston said.

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269-646-3336

www.campcranberrylake.com

They played clubs from Holland on the west sideof the state to Ann Arbor on the east.

Davies’ daughter, Amanda Lingerfelt, started aFacebook page for the band.

People soon began contacting them. The band alsohas its own website, www.thesixthgeneration.com.

“I blame Amanda every day,” Walenga laughed,“for the little stir she created with Facebook, but aplan started to come together.”

It was heartening to come together after 40 yearsand find magic still there.

“We sounded pretty good,” Hamrick was quotedabout their recent jams. “It was magical when we gottogether.”

Walenga noted that while the guys have all goneon to other careers, their enduring love of music stillbinds them.

“We’ve never not been serious about music,”he said.

“When we got together (in October, and again overThanksgiving), we worked hard for four hours. It’slike learning to walk again, but our skill levels havemultiplied.”

So, though their comeback is recreational and fun,at the same time, “We’re very serious about it,”Walenga said.

Like countless men who came of age in the 60s,they had their musical heroes, from The Beatles tohomegrown hero James.

Walenga lists Santana and the Tower of Power aslater influences.

He saw Rod Stewart and Faces at the University ofNotre Dame, so suspects Rolling Stone Ron Woodmight have been in the mix, just as Brian Wilsonmight have still been touring with his brothers in theBeach Boys, but passage of time blurs such details.

Although he wasn’t a member of the band backthen, Paul’s brother, Joe Davies, recalled Jamesteaching him the D chord on the guitar.

“Craig Villaneuve, one of the original Shondells,his brother Todd was a friend of mine and I was mon-keying around with his guitar. Tommy sat down andtaught me the D chord.”

Every 60s group worked some angle to stand apartfrom the pack — Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs intheir turbans, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap inCivil War uniforms, Paul Revere and the Raiders inRevolutionary War attire, the Dave Clark Five werelike The Beatles with a sax player and The Shon-

dells accented green sharkskin suits with gold Beat-les boots.

Sixth Generation also sported sharkskin suits andBeatles boots, but Walenga remembers going to astore in Gary, Ind. where the The Jackson Five wasreputed to buy their matching stage togs.

The drummer also remembers matching bluevelour shirts which made them look like “waiters onthe Love Boat.”

One promotional photo was taken at Island Park.Only the Davies brothers still live in Niles. The

others reside from the east coast in Maryland, Vir-ginia and Florida to elsewhere in Michigan.

They’ve had a variety of careers, from teaching,construction to law and heading up an internationalcompany.

Most of the musicians still have family here andcontinue to visit.

Forty Decembers after disbanding, when the oldfriends confided their dormant desire to one another,they realized “we’ve been waiting for this phone callfor 40 years,” Walenga said. “I feel bad for kids to-day that they don’t have these outlets.”

Walenga happens to have a friend who works atthe Holiday Inn Express in Niles from periodicallyvisiting his hometown.

He put in a plug for getting on the motel marqueewhen the reunited Sixth Generation makes its tri-umphant return, hoping to play this summer at theRiverfront Amphitheater, though their official come-back concert will be July 16 at Buchanan AmericanLegion, where they left off.

“We want to play old-fashioned dances and have agreat time,” he said, assuring his friend her roomswould be safe from being trashed by a rock band,though he jokingly offered to have the staff do it andthey would pay for the damage because “by 1:30we’ve been asleep for two hours.”

Band: ‘We’ve never not been serious about music’Continued from Page 2

Sixth Generation plays at The Skyliner in Dowagiac.Photo submitted

Pay Attention to Our Parks nationwide initiative promotes summer rec

Niles’ 2011 Summer Parks Program• The park program is open to area children enter-

ing the first grade through entering the sixth grade. • Program hours will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Monday through Friday. • Lunch will be provided free of charge each day,

sponsored by the Niles Salvation Army, the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture and the Niles Public Parksand Recreation Board. Lunch will be served, provid-ed your child is at the park at the time of the morninghead count.

• Children must be picked up promptly at 3:00p.m. or sooner if the park closes early. The park pro-gram may be cancelled due to inclement weather and

it is the parent's responsibility to arrange for pick upof a child at the park if the park is closed for the day.Parents should monitor weather forecasts regularly.

• While it is not required to attend programs ev-ery day, it is recommended that attendance be on aregular basis to get the greatest benefit from the pro-gram.

• Children are not allowed to leave the park dur-ing the program hours unless accompanied by a par-ent or in the case of an emergency. Children who doleave without a parent will not be allowed to returnfor the remainder of the day. Repeated violations ofthis rule could result in removal from the program.

• Fighting, rough play, swearing or name callingwill not be tolerated and could result in removalfrom the program.

• Children must respect the park staff and cityproperty at all times.

• Tree climbing is prohibited. • Playground equipment is to be used safely and

correctly at all times. • All children must wear and keep their shoes on

at all times. • Written permission slips will be distributed pri-

or to any field trip activity. Some of the events mayrequire money if your child wishes to participate.

• Bikes ridden to the park must have their ownlock. The City of Niles and the park staff are not re-sponsible for any property brought by children to thepark.

• The park director, supervisors and counselors, atany given time, have the right to send your childhome for violating any of the above rules and regula-tions.

• Additional questions regarding the program maybe directed to the City of Niles, Department of Pub-lic Works, at (269) 683-4700.

Source: City of Niles Department of Public Works

See PARKS, Page 6

By JOHN EBYLeader Publications

One thing Director SteveArseneau would like tochange about The Mu-

seum at Southwestern MichiganCollege is its reputation as a “hid-den treasure.”

“Something we worked on lastyear” that holds promise for thefuture was a summer old-timebaseball game like the House ofDavid played, which can be ex-panded into a children’s work-shop.

“That’s got a lot of potential,”he said. “I hope to do a members-only event because we haven’tdone anything the past few yearsas we renovated exhibits. We usedto do one a year when AnnThompson was here. One year wedid a behind-the-scenes tour.When Ann left, I was curator andI became director.”

His staff of three includes part-time exhibit designer TomCaskey, part-time educator Jen-nifer Quail and Jo Silvia, who co-ordinates 25 to 30 volunteers,such as retired Sister Lakes teach-er Phyllis Petersen.

Lecture series programs takeplace in the fall and spring.

“I’ve tried to really upgrade thelevel of our speakers,” he said, of-ten featuring professionals fromother area museums. "SometimesI think of the topic, then go findsomeone to present it,” or an ideamight be suggested by an advisorycommittee member.

Arseneau himself ended the fallseries Dec. 1 with a program onBeckwith Theatre, “The One ThatGot Away.”

Another program the Wisconsinnative gave centered on his col-lection of presidential memorabil-ia and political buttons.

Arseneau, who formerly livedin downtown Dowagiac in anapartment overlooking the Beck-with site, often heard, “They nev-er should have torn that down” inthe mid-1960s.

Today it is the site of BeckwithPark summer concerts, its sand-stone medallions on a pylon out-side SMC’s Dale A. Lyons Build-ing.

The museum hosts a "brown-bag" lunch series in the summer.

Twenty to 30 people regularlyattend to watch documentaries.

“It’s some of the same peopleas the lecture series, depending onwhat we’re doing,” said Arseneau,who is collaborating with hiswife, Christina, on a coffee tablebook for Dogwood Fine Arts Fes-tival’s 20th anniversary.

The spring series starting inFebruary will feature Ruth An-

drews on the Kentucky slave raidmural she helped create in Cas-sopolis with the minority coali-tion.

Quail in March will focus onCassopolis aviator Leigh Wadeand the first around-the-worldflight.

Presenter Rick Sheffer will turnhis attention from oil to electricityin April.

Several recent presentations,such as Denton Kime’s “Grunt’sPerspective” on Vietnam Sept. 1,2010, overflowed the museum’sUpton room and moved to a largerroom across from the LyonsBuilding auditorium.

Arseneau plans an exhibit onEleanor Colby in 2011.

A soldier she drew on a Dowa-giac wall during World War IIdidn’t reveal itself for more than30 years.

In some ways, the GI Colbycreated Aug. 3, 1945, remains lessof an enigma in the 21st centurythan the Ladies Home Journal il-lustrator herself.

The 1888 Dowagiac graduatedied Sept. 8, 1958 at age 88 —perhaps in the same Italianatehome facing Dance of Creation inFarr Park as she was born. Thereis some evidence Colby was bornin 1870 and the structure on WestDivision Street that housed Dr.

James Wierman’s medical prac-tice was not built until 1875, ac-cording to a dated piece of butter-nut trim found inside.

“It’s a great group of people,”Arseneau said. “The collectionis divided into sections,” suchas World War II, Capt. IvenCarl Kincheloe (who will be in-ducted into the national aviationhall of fame in July) newspa-pers, photographs, Dowagiacyearbooks. Every item has anumber assigned to it and isrecorded in the database andscanned if it’s paper.”

Operation of the museum isguided by an advisory committeewhich consists of a communitycross-section interested in history.

It meets every other month. Anewsletter appears twice a year.

While some volunteers serve onthe advisory committee, such asAl Palmer of Wayne Township,they are separate groups of peo-ple.

She enhanced her talks bysketching with colored crayons,doing paper cuttings and using pa-per dolls she dressed while relat-ing anecdotes.

The Colby home was featuredon Historic Dowagiac Associa-tion’s home tour in the 1980s.

Solid doors between the parlorand living room Colby altered to

replace wood with glass and oneof her intricate paper cuttingswithin, strung with delicate graystrands of her mother’s hair.

Others fondly recalled holly-hocks painted on what was then ascreened-in porch.

Annual reportSMC Board of Trustees heard

an annual update from Arseneauduring its Dec. 14 meeting.

In addition to many acquiredhistorical artifacts, the 2009-10year saw the opening of the muse-um’s last renovated local historygallery.

“Because this was the firstyear to see how visitors react toall the new exhibits and to pro-vide the least disruption for visi-tors after three years of renova-tions, staff did minimal workmodifying the permanent ex-hibits,” Arseneau said.

“Instead, staff installed small-scaled exhibits that fit within thebroad themes of each of the muse-um’s four, all-history galleries,"he said.

The primary focus of eachgallery includes the early historyof the college district to earlymanufacturing in the area; theRound Oak Stove Works; recre-ation in the college district; andlocal individuals who have made

history, Arseneau said.Museum highlights include

serving more than 5,000 peoplethrough museum visits, outreachprograms, events and lectures,said Arseneau.

The museum accepted about400 donations into its collection,he added.

Some of those acquisitions in-clude the original 1899 desk fromthe Cass courthouse of that era;Silver Creek Township ledgerbooks with records dating fromthe 1860s to 1900s; and the pur-chase of artifacts at the Ritter-Kingsbury auction, where morethan 2,000 documents were ac-quired, Arseneau said.

The Ritter and Kingsbury fami-lies owned First National Bank inCassopolis and were influentialbusiness people throughout CassCounty.

“The museum staff and volun-teers have worked hard to cata-logue 100 percent of the collec-tion as well as 99 percent of themuseum’s photographs have beendigitized,” Arseneau said. “Weare also in the process of digitiz-ing the museum’s document col-lection.”

About 50 percent of the muse-um’s attendance came as a resultof programs offered by its staff,Arseneau said.

In 2009, the museum hired Jen-nifer Quail as its educator and,through museum tours and in-classroom educational programs,museum staff served more than1,000 area school students.

In addition, museum staff hasseen an increase in the number ofattendees at the evening museumlecture series and summer brownbag lunches, Arseneau said.

“Much of what goes on withthe museum is accomplishedthrough the assistance of 25 to 30dedicated volunteers,” Arseneausaid.

“The museum would not oper-ate as smoothly and efficientlywithout these volunteers who con-tributed more than 2,000 hours ofservice last year," he said.

Located on the college’s Dowa-giac campus, Museum at South-western Michigan College is openTuesday through Saturday withfree admission.

“The Museum at SMC contin-ues to be an irreplaceable com-munity asset,” said Dr. FredMathews, chairman of the boardof trustees. “The museum staffhas done an outstanding job ofacquiring, preserving and dis-playing the local history of ourservice area as well as educatingour local school students aboutthe history of this area.”

Unearthing the ‘hidden treasure’

Museum at SMC Director Steve Arseneau is pictured outside the replica of Dowagiac’s Beckwith Memorial Building, which housed a variety of things be-sides stage entertainment, which ceased in 1928. Band leader John Philip Sousa appeared there. The museum has two of its stained glass windows. Thememorial to Round Oak stove founder Philo Beckwith, torn down in the mid-1960s, is today Beckwith Park, home of the summer concert series.

Photo by John Eby

Museum at SMCDirector SteveArseneau wantspublic to see itspotential

By SCOTT NOVAKLeader Publications

The fall of 1990 was a magicalone for the community ofDowagiac.

Coming into the football season theChieftains had high expectations. Dowa-giac had reached the state playoffs theprevious season with a strong juniorclass, but were eliminated early on by ri-val Three Rivers.

Headed by a class of seniors, severalof which went on to play college footballat various levels, Dowagiac was ready totake on all the challenges it faced.

After a week one lopsided win, theChieftains were sidetracked by theirarchrival Lakeshore, in the second weekof the season. The loss to the Lancersmade each and every week that followeda playoff game because even with justone loss, no one knew if the team wouldqualify for the post-season.

Week after week Dowagiac rolled upimpressive victories en route to a spot inthe playoffs and then an amazing runthrough the post-season to the newly cre-ated Class BB state championship.

The Chieftains knocked off opponentafter opponent on its way to the PontiacSilverdome where it would face and de-stroy Oxford 35-14 for the school’s firstofficial state football championship.

It’s been 20 years since Dowagiacclaimed the championship on Thanksgiv-ing weekend just north of Detroit, but thememories are still vivid for many of itsplayers.

Mike Behnke, a teacher at DowagiacUnion High School and varsity softballcoach, was the center on the champi-onship team. He recalls, like many ofhis teammates, how the entire communi-ty seemed to have showed up at the Sil-verdome to cheer on its champions.

"One of my fondest memories washow the whole town came together andrallied around the team," he said. "Notjust the current residents, but alumniand others that had moved on some-where else, but came back to supportthe town and the team. For those fewweeks there weren’t any cliques or divi-sions. It was like the whole town wasone big family who wanted to let theirteam know they were behind them.

"Nothing proved that more than whenwe came out of that tunnel of the Silver-dome to start the game and looked up atour sideline and saw all those peoplecheering us on. I don’t know what thepopulation of Dowagiac was then, butthere were more people in those standsthan there were people that l ived inDowagiac. I loved that and I think thatis kind of missing these days in Dowa-giac," he added.

Behnke also cannot believe it hasbeen 20 years since that day.

"When you are young 20 years seemslike such a long time, but I can’t believehow fast it goes," he said. "This is my15th year teaching and for the last twoor three years I haven’t had a studentthat was born yet when we won state."

Behnke returned to his alma materand coached JV and varsity football for12 years and has been the varsity soft-ball coach for the past six seasons. He ismarried to wife Stay and lives in Dowa-giac with their three children, Zech,

Tyler and Bree.Andy Kruger was a record-setting

kicker and wide receiver for the Chief-tains on the title team. He, like Behnke, isnow a teacher in the Dowagiac system.

Kruger remembers that it was no acci-dent that Dowagiac got to the finals andwon the state title. The team had talent,was smart and had the right work ethic.

"I remember how much we worked atpractice and how long we practiced forthe playoffs and nobody complained. Wejust went to work," he recalled. "It waspretty amazing how our second and thirdteams were better than other teams’ firststringers. I liked that we got the jobdone with 32 players. Most wentboth ways. My favorite game wasputting a whipping on Cheboyganat Houseman Fie ld (GrandRapids) our first time on AstroTurf and it was a beautiful sunnyday. I will never forget how manyDowagiac fans came to the cham-pionship game and cheered us onto victory."

Kruger recently ran into a team-mate, who mentioned it had been20 years. "I couldn’t believe it," hesaid.

Kruger is in his 12th year ofteach health and conditioning atDowagiac Union High School. Hehas been married now nine yearsand has two daughters.

Greg Younger went on to star atHillsdale College and set severalrecords as the Chargers’ quarter-back.

He initially went into coachingat Hillsdale before leaving to be-come an accountant. He would dosome coaching at Lakeshore HighSchool as an assistant before be-coming Dowagiac’s athletic direc-tor until 2009 when he moved overto Lakeshore to become its athleticdirector and assistant principal.

He remembers fondly the waythe team was a unit.

"We all got along well and hungout together," he said. "We allcame over to my house on Fridaysafter school and hung out togetherbefore the games. We had a lot offun at practice as we worked hardand often times we stayed afterpractice to work on different skillsand to just hang out together."

He, as his teammates, cannot be-lieve that 20 years has flown by.He noted that something about thatseason comes up nearly every dayin his interaction with people.

Younger married high schoolsweetheart Jeanna (Burling), whowas a standout athlete at Dowagiacand Hillsdale as well. The couplehas two young children Mahri andMeghan.

Twenty years after leadingDowagiac to its football state title,Coach Bernard Thomas returned tothe sidelines as the head man.

After coaching the Chieftains tomore than 130 victories in his ca-reer, Thomas stepped away fromcoaching for a few years in themid-1990s, but returned as an as-sistant coach for Niles.

He coached the defensive linefor the Vikings until 2009. He re-

tired from teaching in 2010 and shortlyafter was approached to coach his almamater in Cassopolis.

"If the timing hadn’t been right, Iwould not be coaching r ight now,"Thomas said of his decision to return tothe position of head coach. "Our winninga state championship 20 years earlier hadnothing to do with it, but I used that asmotivation on more than one occasion."

Thomas remembers everything aboutthe state title run like it was yesterday.He recalls the great weather the teamplayed in all throughout the playoffs.

"I remember the Cheboygan game," he

said. "I had doubts and concerns aboutthat game, but we totally dominatedthem. I was a sun-shiny day, which Iguess was an omen. I can remember thedome (Pontiac Silverdome) itself. Butwhat I really remember is the receptionwe got when we got back home."

Thomas said that a police escortpicked up the team around Decatur andled the team into the city.

"The closer we got to Dowagiac themore people there were along the side ofthe road," he recalled. "But when we gotto the high school, I never had seen thatgym so full of people. That’s what stands

out in my mind."The al l- t ime winningest coach in

Dowagiac football history still cannot be-lieve it has been 20 years. "I am remind-ed of the Bob Seger song ‘Like a Rock.’The song goes ’20 years, where’ve theygone? Twenty years, where’d they go?’ Itseems like those years have just flew by."

Thomas said that he, his coaching staffand his players took in the moment andrelished it because they understood theimportance of it.

Chieftain players douse Coach Bernard Thomas after their 1990 state football championship win.File photo

It was their year

Former Chieftains reflect on that magical 1990 season

See CHIEFTAINS, Page 6

"The parks and recreation budgetcovers the cost of the arts and craftsmaterials, sports equipment, trans-portation, etc.," he said. "There aresome minor costs for field trips thatare the responsibility of the partici-pants. When we travel beyond walk-ing distances we use the services ofBrandywine school buses, which ispaid for from our budget. Field tripshave been taken to Wonderland Cin-ema, YMCA to swim, Galaxy rollerskating, Potawatomi Zoo, the NilesDistrict Library," among others.

Those taking part in the programreceive a snack in the morning andlunch at no cost, Coulston added.

"The service is paid for by theUnited States Department of Agri-culture and the snacks and mealsare prepared and delivered to thepark by The Salvation Army herein Niles," he said.

Still, like many programs in com-munities across the country, Niles'summer parks program had to bescaled back due to budget cuts.

"Over the past several years theprogram was run at Eastside, Cle-venger and Southside Parks but thisyear it was only offered at PlymPark,” Coulston said.

"With funds allocated to run theprogram at just one park, we chosePlym Park due to the close walkingdistance to the YMCA and Wonder-

land and because we completed ma-jor improvements to Plym in 2009,"he said. "Plym offers tennis, soft-ball, basketball and soccer facilitiesplus features a new play structure."

Coulston added that attendanceat Plym following the programchanges remained strong withmore than 100 kids estimated in at-tendance on most days.

Though no additional changesare planned for the program for2011, what the future holds for aprogram that may have been inno-vative back when it first began issomething public parks supporterscan only hope will be increasing inpopularity.

"I think the program is great forkids that may have nothing to do inthe summer time," Coulston said."It's great for parents and great forkids."

It seems as though the NRPAcouldn't agree more.

“Our nation’s public parks andrecreation areas are the roots of lo-cal communities,” Tulipane said ofthe "America's Backyard" initiative.“They are our green space, ourtrails, our ball fields, our play-grounds, our gardens, our beaches,our waterways, our imaginationsand our cultural heritage. They areour legacy.”

Parks: ‘Our nation’spublic parks andrecreation areas arethe roots of localcommunities’Continued from Page 3

The reach of public parks and recreation in America

• 105,000: Estimated number of public parks in the U.S., servingmore than 300 million people

• 12,000: Approximate number of local and state public park andrecreation agencies in the U.S.

• $730 billion: Amount that parks, beaches and other recreation fa-cilities generate each year for America’s economy, according to anOutdoor Industries Association study on “Active Outdoor Recreation”

• 6.5 million: Number of jobs supported by parks, beaches and oth-er recreation facilities, according to the Outdoor Industries Associa-tion

• 1.1 million: Estimated number of children who receive healthymeals each year from park and recreation agencies

Source: National Parks and Recreation Association

"We enjoyed the moment be-cause we knew it may not happenagain in our lifetime," Thomassaid. "I got every memory out ofthat I could get. I didn’t take any-thing for granted and neither didthe other coaches and the players.We knew this could be the oppor-tunity of a lifetime."

Thomas said he has seen a lotof his former players over theyears. He noted that most of themcame to parent-teacher confer-ences because he had their chil-dren in class at the DowagiacMiddle School.

" I don’ t know i f there i s ateam that we didn’t mention it,"he said. "We didn’t spend hoursat a time on it, but the topic didcome up a time or two."

Thomas used the experiencesfrom his coaching days in Dowa-giac, and in particular the cham-pionship run in 1990 and the1996 season in which the Chief-tains reached the state semifinals,to motivate his 2010 Cassopolisfootball team.

"They ( the Ranger footbal l

team) knew my reputa t ion,"Thomas pointed out. "They knewI had won a state championshipright down the street. I often usedthose experiences to motivatethose kids. I didn’t try to com-pare them to that team, but Ican’t tell you how many times Ita lked to them about what i ttakes to not only get into thep layof f s , bu t to compe te fo rchampionships. I used that as anexample of what can happen if

you go out and you execute."Dowagiac’s football program

is still chasing another magicalseason. The Chief ta ins havereached the playoffs numeroustimes since that season, but as ofyet, has not been able to recap-ture the magic that they experi-enced 20 years ago.

As another famous song goes… "We may never pass this wayagain."

Chieftains: ‘I got every memory out of it’

Andy Kruger kicks off during the state championship gameof 1990. Kruger is now a teacher in Dowagiac.

File photo

By JESSICA SIEFFLeader Publications

At the Niles District Library, an age-oldgame is developing a new local audi-ence and showing its academic benefits

as chess serves as a vehicle for young adults andplayers of all ages to engage in the game, learnvarious aspects of critical thinking and applythose skills to their every day lives.

More than 10 years ago, Martin Klubeckbrought the idea of holding a chess club at theNiles District Library to library officials.

Ever since, just as players have done aroundthe world for centuries, men and women, boysand girls of all ages have been sitting down to aboard of regal pieces — opponents in a game ofmind and skill.

Klubeck, who says the club offers kids a wayto learn vital skills through competition whichcould improve their academics, has been playingchess since childhood.

"My father taught me when I was 8 years old,"he said.

Klubeck competed at home against a veryworthy opponent: his brother.

"I didn't like losing," he said. He practiced hisgame, built up his ability to play the game andnow, he says, his brother "is turning 52. And oneof his goals … is to beat me.

"When I grew up I played in Brooklyn onstone chess tables in a park," Klubeck said. "Andone of my favorite opponents was a Russian. Hewas probably about 60 years old, 65, but he didn'tspeak any english, just a nice guy, played chess.It gives you that opportunity to play people.There are people of all walks of life, of all profes-sion or intelligence ... it's a universal game."

At the library, those taking part in the chessclub meet on Saturdays during the school year at10 a.m. All ages are welcome, though the origi-nal focus is on children and young adults, givingthem a lesson in competition of the game andhelping them build the skills they need in schooland in life.

An old game for a new generation"One of our basic rules is we want them to

learn how to keep score," Klubeck said. "Becauseone it's a good way to get better at chess but italso solidifies the benefits you get from learningto play chess."

Those benefits, he said, includes helping withmath scores, cognition, problem solving and ana-lyzation.

It helps players realize "there's other choices,"Klubeck said. "I don't have to do what my peerswant to do, I don't have to bend to peer pressure... there's always another choice and they knowthere's good choices and bad choices and realizethat through learning chess.

"When we teach, we stress that they under-stand how to solve problems, a lot of its problemsolving," he said. "We try to do that withoutmoving the pieces so they have to use their braineven more; they have to visualize it and see it."

Recently the club decided to split its partici-pants up into two teams in order to encourage ca-maraderie and to give players a chance to helpeach other.

"Now they can play a great game and thenfind someone on their team and sit down andplay a game with them," Klubeck said. "It's creat-ed an atmosphere where it's not chess competi-tion. The more advanced players are trying tohelp the weaker players on their team and ofcourse, we try to make the teams as equal as pos-sible."

At the library, participation in the chess clubvaries.

"We'll have some times we have so many peo-ple we're pulling tables from other rooms andwe'll have some times where we're lucky to fillthree," Klubeck said.

With the academic benefits that come from thegame, Klubeck said he'd love to see area schoolsembrace the idea of having a chess club.

"I know in the bigger cities they do (havechess clubs)," he said. "They have them, they use

them. It's part of the curriculum. (It's) one of theways to give (students) a way to compete buttheir grades go up. The SAT scores are better; theACT scores are better.

"The high schools, the middle schools … theycould all have chess teams," he said. "It doesn'tmatter if you're boy or girl; you play equal, so it'son equal ground. It has a lot of benefits and if youask me, one of the things that they could doaround here to improve the school systems, asimple thing is to have chess teams in theschools. They'll start finding the kids do better inschool."

Klubeck said Cedar Lane Alternative HighSchool was considering incorporating a chessteam into its offerings at the school.

For all of the benefits to reap from the boardand its pieces, chess is still a game and it's still amatter of skill and of surpassing one's opponent.

"You play almost any table top game, it'sluck," Klubeck said. "There's a definite luck fac-tor involved. There's no luck in chess. They haveOlympic competition for chess because there's noluck in chess … In chess, there's billions of com-binations, it teaches you how to understand prin-ciples, play by principles. It helps you focus andconcentrate, helps you to be still."

A centuries-old game with plenty of gamesstill to be played.

CheckmateClub more than just fun and games

Participants ofal l ages havebeen coming tothe Niles Dis-tr ict Librarymore than 10years to takepart in the cen-turies-old gameof chess.Though thegame may haveage-old princi-ples, i t isteaching thoseprinciples to anew genera-tion of playersand proving tohave academicbenefits.

Photo submitted

Niles District Library Chess ClubSaturdays from 10 a.m. to noon during theschool yearRemaining meeting times for year: March 5and 19; April 2 and 16; May 7 and 21

Continued from Page 5