Saugatuck/Douglas Commercial Record

Pray for Alzheimer’s cure

Pray for Alzheimer’s cure

Editorial StaffAug 24, 20223 min read

Of all the conditions or diseases, one might encounter, Alzheimer’s/dementia is in my opinion the worst.Many of us know a mother, father or a close relative that has suffered from this disease that saps almost all memory from a person.…

Life as a Performance Art

Life as a Performance Art

Editorial StaffAug 24, 20227 min read

   Play, we are told, is the work of children.  Einstein wrote that when children play it is the beginning of all research. A classic example that philosophy might be the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  As a youngster his mother sat…

Minstrelsy image inappropriate

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20221 min read

To the editor, The mission of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center is to preserve local history and inspire learning to inform and improve our community. We are a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the stories of the people of…

Familiar faces, new places as township realigns

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20222 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR It wasn’t musical chairs but close Aug. 10 as the Saugatuck Township Board: • Accepted supervisor Cindy Osman’s resignation and appointed her full-time building official/assistant zoning administrator; • Named clerk Abby Bigford supervisor to replace Osman;…

Saugatuck city seeks to fill 3 posts

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20223 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Saugatuck City Council has hired Frank Walsh Municipal Services to seek candidates for three city positions, two old ones combined plus a new one. A new combined zoning administrator and project manager, combining jobs recently vacated…

Hesse, Alexander are Mill Pond scholars

Hesse, Alexander are Mill Pond scholars

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20222 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR New Saugatuck High School and home school graduates Cai Hesse and Lucy Alexander respectively have been awarded $1,000 Mill Pond Realty “Follow Your Dreams” scholarships based on essays written. Hesse, daughter of Jeani and Doug Hesse…

Young Trailblazers hope to contend for division title

Young Trailblazers hope to contend for division title

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20222 min read

Quarterback Matthew Hartgerink hands off the ball during a game last season. Hartgerink is one of 10 returning players for the Trailblazers. (File photo) By Jason WesseldykSports EditorGraduation took a serious toll on Saugatuck’s roster, with 12 members of the…

Obituary: Phillip Wightman, 81

Obituary: Phillip Wightman, 81

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20222 min read

Phillip Lawrence Wightman, 81 of Fennville, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022, at his home.Born Feb. 1, 1941, in Douglas, he was the son of the late Chester and Hilda (Stein) Wightman and the husband of Fae Ann (Christensen)…

Mike’s Musings: Don’t be scam victim

Mike’s Musings: Don’t be scam victim

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20223 min read

By Mike WilcoxPublisherScammers are everywhere these days, often where you least expect them.I ran into a group a couple nights ago while trying to call Spectrum to fix my internet.Spectrum wants you to make all inquiries online, so they do…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20226 min read

By G.C. Stoppel A recent TV insurance commercial shows an older man trying to help young people not turn into their parents. Good luck with that one. Why run from their attributes and quirks when it gives you instant status as…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20225 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorLife LessonsI like history straight up: good, bad, ugly … It is not mine to airbrush or condone but learn as best I can from what happened. Let’s discuss it.I love and support the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center (formerly…

Poets play on Salmon Docket

Poets play on Salmon Docket

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20221 min read

The once-annual, interrupted-by-Covid-Etc.-too-long Red Dock Poetry Reading will return to the eye-popping-now-more-more-like-a-Salmon Dock (shown with Chief Tony Amato vanishing through a portal) off the end of Douglas North Union Street Wednesday, Aug. 31, from 6 to 7 p.m. Live music…

Familiar faces, new places as township realigns

Familiar faces, new places as township realigns

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20222 min read

Cindy Osman Abby Bigford Rebecca Israels By Scott SullivanEditorIt wasn’t musical chairs but close Aug. 10 as the Saugatuck Township Board:• Accepted supervisor Cindy Osman’s resignation and appointed her full-time building official/assistant zoning administrator;• Named clerk Abby Bigford supervisor to…

Saugatuck city seeks to fill 3 seats

Editorial StaffAug 17, 20223 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorSaugatuck City Council has hired Frank Walsh Municipal Services to seek candidates for three city positions, two old ones combined plus a new one.A new combined zoning administrator and project manager, combining jobs recently vacated by Cindy Osman…

Township may seek .5 mill for parks

Township may seek .5 mill for parks

Editorial StaffAug 10, 20222 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR The Saugatuck Township Board was scheduled to vote Wednesday, Aug. 10 (too late for this week’s deadline) on asking voters Nov. 8 to approve a 10-year, 0.5-mill property tax assessment to operate, maintain and improve public…

Mt. Baldhead Challenge comes home Sept. 10

Mt. Baldhead Challenge comes home Sept. 10

Editorial StaffAug 10, 20225 min read

The 22nd annual Mt. Baldhead Challenge will “come home” to downtown Saugatuck’s Wicks Park Saturday, Sept. 10. The Saugatuck-Douglas Rotary Club’s Saugatuck Public Schools’ Boys and Girls Club fundraiser, aka “The Ultimate Multi-Terrain Race,” will offer 8.2-mile “Challenge” and 12.5-mile…

Pickleball power kids pop!

Pickleball power kids pop!

Editorial StaffAug 10, 20221 min read

A Douglas-Saugatuck Pickleball Club hosted camp Aug. 1-2 at Schultz Park had 15 kids ages 9 to 15 jumping for joy with new tie-dyed t-shirts and paddles from Niles-based Paddletec Co. Club member Sarah Cullen and Saugatuck Community Recreation director…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffAug 10, 20224 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorMonkeypoxI’ve wanted to be Monkeypox Czar since I heard of the job just now. President Biden tapped FEMA regional administrator Robert Fenton to the new role with Demetre Daskalakis deputy. Their mission: get new vaccines into arms of…

Abstract a part

Abstract a part

Editorial StaffAug 10, 20221 min read

Abstract is not apart from the Art Coast of Michigan. Kevin Barrett’s steel “Kickstart” sculpture, shown here framed by Saugatuck Center for the Arts arches removed one more level from “reality” photographically is shown here. Look for more public sculpture…

Water Street building hearing Thursday

Water Street building hearing Thursday

Editorial StaffAug 10, 20222 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorShould Saugatuck’s former River Market/Gleason’s store and current Big Lake Outfitters buildings at 650 and 640 Water Street, sold together Oct. 15 for $1.75 million, be razed and replaced by a 20,327-square-foot, 3-story mixed-use building?A Saugatuck Zoning Board…