By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
If you visit Bill and Deb Brown at their house in Plainwell, you’re sure to notice the large tree that stands guard very close to the driveway.
On Sunday, Nov. 24, Deb Brown decorated the tree with a silver ribbon.
The occasion? The 94th birthday of Bill Brown’s aunt Beatrice (Brown) VanWeelden, who planted the tree when she was a little girl.
“Bill and I are the third generation of Browns to live in his family’s home,” Deb said. “It’s been in the family for more than 100 years.
“A lot of people have commented about the tree, since it is so close to the driveway. Each time that happens, I’m always sharing the story (of how it got there).”
As Beatrice recalls, she visited her uncle’s farm in Charlotte when she was four or five years old in the mid-1930s. She brought home the tree as a sapling.
Soon after getting back to the house—which is located at 309 E. Hill Street—she and her father planted the sapling, which has continued to grow for nearly a century.
Given Beatrice’s connection to the tree, it only seemed right to Deb that it should be decorated for Beatrice’s birthday.
Deb selected the silver ribbon to decorate the tree because it was the largest one she could find and it sparkled the most.
“When we recently visited Aunt Bea, I told her I was going to put a big bow on the tree for her birthday,” Deb said. “I said, ‘Who knows, Aunt Bea? Maybe someone will see it and do a story about it in the newspaper.’
“She got a big smile on her face and laughed as she said, ‘Wouldn’t that be something.’”
And while Beatrice hasn’t seen the ribbon on the tree in person, Deb promised to take a picture and show her.
“The smile on her face and her laughter when I told her someone may write a story about (the tree) was priceless,” Deb said. “Being able to share some love and laughter is always what our hearts need.”
Speaking of love and laughter, Deb said the house she and Bill share have seen plenty of both since the Brown family started living there more than 100 years ago.
Bill’s grandparents Reon and Velma Brown moved into the house prior to having any children. Beatrice and her brothers LaVerne (5/14/33 to 3/2/22) and Harold (3/9/38 to 2/16/21) soon joined the family.
Beatrice, LaVerne and Harold were all born in the house.
In the years that have followed, countless memories have been made in the house, according to Deb.
“Preserving the Brown legacy is extremely important to me and my husband,” she said. “Stories, family history, traditions, family values and the house itself—not to mention the tree—are all part of that legacy.
“Cherishing memories made and looking forward to creating more are what we look forward to as a family.”
